Anyone have good links on this mod? I'm beginning to gather the parts for it and am looking for info, stuff to look out for, stuff NOT to do, etc. I'm liking the fact that I'll end up with dual piston front brakes, my steering will be higher and MUCH stronger, and I'll do the Warn Hub Conversion at the same time, strengthening other parts as well.

Thanks.

http://www.jksmfg.com/db/fab_parts/doc_page2.html

ive done this mod it was worth it but when you get done and you add up the cost of the parts especially with the warn hub conversion you still have a d30 if i had it to do over again i would have sold or parted my d30 and built a 44 or 60 just my .02 check this site its where i got some of my parts

http://www.downeastoffroad.com/miva/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=DEO&Category_Code=STHISTE

Turd polish

Thanks for the links, kjp98tj and rokj...I've been through the jks site a number of times and am familiar with that one. But the downeast one I don't think I've come across.

Does the DOE one use WJ knuckles or are they ones that they fab themselves? And that hub esentric bearing ring...would that take the place of me welding on the spacer on the jks site you think? and still allow for the wj calipers?

Thanks again!

http://www.americanjeepers.com/articles/12/1/WJ-Brake-and-Knuckle-Conversion-for-YJ%92s


this is what I am doing. The only reason I am doing this is I got the Knuckles out, both sides, brand new from a friend at a jeep dealer for free. If I had to pay for the parts, there would be a dana 44 under there.

Nice link...thanks, has part numbers in it!

down east offroad has some good info on it.. One thing I am not sure about is the DEO uses dowels and a spacer to get the hub bearings to work right, but the JKS says just use the spacer. I think the difference is the DOE uses different rotors and calipers, but the JKS uses stock rotors and calipers...

I worry about drilling out the rotors for 5x4.5 b/c if you are off at all, it will be way out of balance.

Just did this recently. Because of the fawked up area I live in that only has one machine shop that is not open past 5 or on the weekend here is what I did for rotors to stay at 5x4.5:

2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac 2wd (not 4wd no way they will work)
place spacers between WJ caliper and Knuckle to align caliper to rotors
shave .050 inch off the hun.

I would have shaved the .050 from the rotor but my friends lathe was not big enough for the rotor so had to take it off the hub.

http://www.4x4wire.com/jeep/tech/brakes/xj_wjbrakes03/

is the hub supported inside the knuckle at all or do those 3 bolts pull it onto the mating surface and support all the weight?

has everyone that has done this conversion built their own steering, or has anyone reused the stock wj steering? is it too weak to save? has everyone gone with the steering over the knuckle? i know a reamer is needed to do this, but was just wondering what everyone's thoughts on that was. also, if you left the tie rod under the knuckle did you need to cut the stock track bar bracket off and move it over the axle? i've searched and read for at least 6-7 hours, and still have questions.

i think the knuckles can be had new for 300 for the pair, and you can do an inverted T set up and keep the tie rod 4-6" up over stocks...

Only question is on the spacer. Is the JKS spacer good enough? And what to do for rotors if you want to keep the 5x4.5

Isn't this the same thing as polishing a turd? Go bigger. The benefit of a Dana 44 overwhelms the cost (if any) of building up your Dana 30. To give you an idea of the kind of cost you would be looking at I just purchased a set of Dana 44's from an 1988 Waggy for $350 and both are complete. Just a thought. Do the math and use some common sense before you spend a bunch of money that you are going to replace in the end. FYI, my Dana 60 wasn't even close to the cost of that DOE kit and it is set up with 4.56's and 35 spline shafts.

i think the knuckles can be had new for 300 for the pair, and you can do an inverted T set up and keep the tie rod 4-6" up over stocks...

Only question is on the spacer. Is the JKS spacer good enough? And what to do for rotors if you want to keep the 5x4.5

you can't use the inverted "T" setup with the WJ knuckles.

i have a rubi so I have a 44 with 30 outers and knuckles. I have chromo shafts and 4.88s, not willing to give it up and the air locker right now... so that is why I am looking at this upgrade

i have a rubi so I have a 44 with 30 outers and knuckles. I have chromo shafts and 4.88s, not willing to give it up and the air locker right now... so that is why I am looking at this upgrade

that is a good reason to me.

anyone know if the jks weld on spacer supports the hub? I agree that you dont want to just use washers, that will definatly not be good and put to much strain on the bolts but i am hopin that the jks spacer is the same inner dimension so it will properly support the hub... I also am not sure the hubs will just fit without any machining. Lastly I am unsure of a rotor to use. Some info says redrilling the stock ones is not a good idea, so I guess I will need to look into a aftermarket one. Maybe something sloted or drilled.

Also, I think you can do an inverted T with this set up if you use an import driver side knuckle. The american passenger side knuckle has 2 arms and the american driver side only one. so you have a knuckle to knuckle tierod and a seperate drag link. If you use an import driver knuckle it also has a second arm, so if you had both with the upper arms, you can run a inverted T from the top arms of both.

btt

anyone done this on a TJ and not done the warn upgrade

anyone???

Yes.

Yes, I have done it without the warn upgrade and I am also running an inverted t for the steering. You have to get the import left side knuckle to do an inverted t. As for what rotors to use, see my post above.

Good luck on getting the knuckles new for $300. Used should be about $200-250. New is closer to $400. They list for about $270. If you find a dealer that will chop off $120 a piece let me know, I will order all my shit through them.

You need 98-99 TJ unibearings and AIMCO '02 Ford Sportrac rotors (I used Cobra calipers instead of the WJ calipers).

Many thanks to mrBlaine for helping me out.

you said 98-99 unibearings specifically. i have a 97, is there a difference in those years of the tj unibearings? i'll be doing this swap in a few weeeks, and will be replacing them anyway due to them being worn out. thanx

Yes, I have done it without the warn upgrade and I am also running an inverted t for the steering. You have to get the import left side knuckle to do an inverted t. As for what rotors to use, see my post above.

Good luck on getting the knuckles new for $300. Used should be about $200-250. New is closer to $400. They list for about $270. If you find a dealer that will chop off $120 a piece let me know, I will order all my shit through them.


Nagal,

so you used stock WJ calipers?

Yes I used the stock WJ Calipers got a good deal on some brand new ones, $175 for both calipers and pads.

I used Cobra calipers instead of the WJ calipers.


Do you have a p/n for the Cobra calipers?