skidding all over! how does everyone feel abou changing from drums to discs?

X

xjlady

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Hopatcong, NJ
need help! can't figure this out...

this is what's going on:
almost every time im driving and I tap my breaks, the rear waill lock up and I will skid :eek: I can't be travling a whole 10mph and it will happen. its hard to understand unless you are driving or watching it. someone once suggest that I convert to discs in the rear and it should stop. im not sure on a lot about changing so please help!
 
swapping to discs in the rear is a ridiculous solution to this problem. something is wrong with your rear brakes or your proportioning valve, I would start by pulling the drums off and seeing if any of the springs have come off their mounts or broken, allowing the shoes to drag in the drum.
 
^^What Grimm has said.^^

Sounds like the fronts aren't working as they should. That being said, the rears will lock up first as the Heeps weight distribution is around 55/45 with the majority on the front axle. This is for a stock XJ. Add in a heavy front bumper with a winch perched on it and the distribution gets worse.

Even though I run disks on all four corners along with a Currie 9" rear axle, the rears lock up first. Even with the spare hanging off of the back...

I would recommend the entire system be looked at. It should take a severe tromp on the brakes to lock them up.

As an aside, one of the Feds Safety Regulations state that the rear brakes must lock before the fronts so as to be able to maintain steering in an emergency stop.
 
i agree with O, there could be a problem with the fronts, but the rear should still not be locking up at a tap of the pedal it should take some force. There is something seriously wrong with your brake system.
 
sounds like it could be the rear wheel cyl's. does it only do it for a mile or 2 when you first start driving, or is it constant? I'd start by looking for leaks.
 
Yeah, I bet something's screwed up in the rear drums. That just isn't right.

That being said, at least around here, I can swap on junkyard ZJ discs for around 70 bucks in parts, when I did mine I just waited till I saw a ZJ with a very recent rear brake job and took everything, kept the pads and rotors for each side paired properly. Junkyard prices may be higher in NJ though.

When I looked online it was going to cost me nearly as much to rebuild my drums as it did to get the disc parts, and the axle wasn't in the jeep yet, so it was a clear choice.
 
HappySlappy said:
As already stated the rears lock first but that still takes a lot of foot pressure. He said "tap". I find it unlikely that something breaking would make the rear brakes work so much better. More likely the fronts are not working very well or not working at all.
Click to expand...
A leaky wheel cyl in the rear will most definitely cause that issue. Not as common over here in CA, but i've had that happen on a few vehicles back East due to more rust and road grime.
 
HappySlappy said:
As already stated the rears lock first but that still takes a lot of foot pressure. He said "tap". I find it unlikely that something breaking would make the rear brakes work so much better. More likely the fronts are not working very well or not working at all.
Click to expand...

Yes, she said "tap". Tap doesn't say "a lot of foot pressure". Even if there is a problem with the front brakes a tap would not be enough to lock the rears up.

Shoes or drums contaminated with axle lube or brake fluid will do this, much like the common issue of the rears being touchy first thing in the morning. I would also verify that the shoes are in the correct position.
 
^^Again, I agree^^

The brake system on this Heep needs be taken apart and checked for all of the things mentioned here. If the back brakes have been recently worked on, it is possible that the leading shoe was placed in the trailing position. Just asking here... Would not this condition lead to poorer stopping? Isn't the leading shoe smaller than the trailing shoe?

So, I am inclined to suspect contamination in the drum. If it is leaking gear oil that badly, she should be able to see it on the tyre sidewall. If it is brake fluid, the reservoir should be low.

At any rate, the Heep is unsafe to drive in the described condition.

The discs on the back on my Heep are from Currie and I believe they are Exploder in design. Biggest issue in the installation were the parking brake cables. That was solved by using a set of Lokar cut-to-fit cables purchased from Speedway Motors. I recommend these to anyone seeking to retrofit disc on the back. Makes life simple.

Yes, I am a Hot Rodder as well... Explains the Supercharger doesn't it?

Some one correct me if I am wrong here...

Drum brakes operate by the leading shoe causing the entire assembly to rotate presenting the trailing shoe to the drum. As the pedal is pressed, greater force is applied (yes, obviously, but some folk do not have the knowledge...) by simple hydraulic action plus the force of the assembly being rotated.

In the past, I have seen assemblies so caked with junk that they never returned to the neutral position. The symptom there was dragging/touchy brakes.

If this Heep's brakes are contaminated, we could be seeing a similar happening here.
 
i do not think it's gear oil due to the fact that i've had so many axles that've dumped oil out of the seals but the brakes never did this. but i am interested in the answer, be sure to post up what it was.
 
My jeep did this when it was cold out.

Even with the vanco big brakes on the front the stock rears would lock with minimal braking pressure.

I replaced all the drum hardware and its since stopped.
 
I live by the beach and my drums flash rust overnight, every morning i have racecar brakes, after one or two long stops with light pressure it goes back to normal. it's nowhere near skidding around though.

I hope the OP comes back with an answer from a mechanic.
 
sorry it took me so long, running around crazy. managed to some how get a break caliper bolt in my tire (sucker was all the way in). need less to say i need a new tire as well.


anyway; it does it ALL the time. i can be rolling down my hill with out using ANY gas and tap them or i could be on rt 80 for 100 miles and a squirrel pops out and i tap them. thanks for all the help :) i'm going to try all of this and keep posting as well. hopefully i find out what it is, i feel like a fool skidding all over
 
there is also no fluid leaking from anywhere. i check my break fluid all the time and i have been under there looking for leaks about 30 times since i got it. i have eve had other people look at it and nothing
 
I bought it in march and about 2 weeks after I bought i noticed it because a deer bolted across the street. i think im going to try to take it apart tomorrow
 
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