I have 83 Cj8 with 35" tires and i have bad brakes. I have changed all the parts on the front brakes. Calipers, lines, hoses, master cylinder, brake booster. the rear are still drums with new shoes, I have not changed the proportioning valve or the lines to the rear brakes. I thought maybe i had reached the limit on what the stock brakes can handle but then i saw the same calipers are used on some humvee so i don't think that could be it. I purchased a dual diaphragm BB and Master cylinder combo and felt it did not work as i didn't get any assist. i called the seller and they sent me a new combo but still no assist. i have a $300 vacuum pump that works as it pulls vacuum on the booster and shuts off. If you push the check valve you can hear vacuum escape but if i disconnect the vacuum pump and the hoses from the booster there is no change in the braking.i do not have a vacuum reservoir Is it possible that the BB could hold a vacuum and release it when the brakes are applied but that the vacuum leaves by some other path then the one that would provide assistance. I was frustrated and busy with work so i pushed it to the back of the warehouse were it has set for the past 5 years. I have a vacuum reservoir i can put on but it has very small inlet and outlet compared to the other hoses so i didn't think it would matter much, but My buddy who knows alot about cars has a number of old jaguars said that his vacuum reservoir has the same small houses compared to the rest of the hoses. He said if he pinches of one of the very small hoses the car acts like it doesn't have the brake booster but he doesn't know why that is. It's now out of the warehouse and it still runs great but bad brakes. that sucks because this thing drives great compared to the one i had a kid and fast. it has chevy 383 and a bunch of performance parts including a cam. NV4500 5 speed transmission. So Im Considering the options im aware of and suspect the are options i have considered. I don't do anything close to extreme 4 wheeling so i don't need 1 ton axles but have considered buying a F350 4X4 with blown motor and axle swap would bring plenty of braking power and the parts to possibly change the front suspension to a coilover setup. I need the 4 door with POWER W&L as well as the interior to upgrade my crew cab f650. all of this would be a big hassle if i really just need a new booster or proportioning valve.--- i suspect 95% of the people on this forum know more then i do about jeeps and cars in general so please let me know what you did to fix crappy brakes. Thanks
I have changed a lot of parts and still have bad brakes. please advise
- Thread starter Bewer1100
- Start date
- City
- Bedford
- State
- NH
Are the calipers on the correct side?
cb
cb
What is cb?
Of course i think they are but since i still have brake issues i question everything brakes. In the current arrangement of the calipers the bleeder valve is at the top of the caliper. If switched the bleeder would be at the bottom and that doesn't seem right BUT that could be it . the calipers will fit on there the other way. I would love to hear i have that wrong and i just need to switch the calipers. I will feel like a jackass when telling my friends but it won't be the first time. I will say when bought these calipers i got the cheapest ones i could because no one could tell me why the more expensive one was better than the cheap one. I look at the jeep parts websites, they may have 3 different brands but all priced around $100. no reviewer saying (get this, not that). On amazon 2 seller have 95% of the 50+ CJ caliper listing. ranging in price from 2 for $60-$297. I contacted the seller saying if he could tell me why the one was so much better i would buy it because i needed better. They could not answer the question until i gave them my vin number so they could tell me it fit my jeep. & that's exactly what the did. They sent back yes this fits your car. I wrote back in all caps I KNOW IT FITS. Now 3 day later could you PLEASE answer my original question and pasted my original paragraph with my question all in caps because amazon does not have a highlighter. And you guessed it i got back “the more expensive the better”. I bought the cheap one from the other seller. As well i used the same possibly poor logic when purchasing my booster/master cylinder combo and I feel there is a problem with the booster. This has all come back to memory because the right caliper seized this morning. As it got hotter it got harder to push.stopped a station, i didn't know what the problem was but as i walked around you could feel the heat radiating of the front right wheel. I threw a couple of buckets of water on it. When cooled it almost rolled normal. I had to stop 2 more times I have 15” wheels with 85% tread on BF goodrich all terrain that are over 5 year old. I will need at least 17” wheel for a big brake kit to fit. Wheels + Tires + Kit + Shop Labor=??? $5000; can i buy a used jeep that stops better for less
Of course i think they are but since i still have brake issues i question everything brakes. In the current arrangement of the calipers the bleeder valve is at the top of the caliper. If switched the bleeder would be at the bottom and that doesn't seem right BUT that could be it . the calipers will fit on there the other way. I would love to hear i have that wrong and i just need to switch the calipers. I will feel like a jackass when telling my friends but it won't be the first time. I will say when bought these calipers i got the cheapest ones i could because no one could tell me why the more expensive one was better than the cheap one. I look at the jeep parts websites, they may have 3 different brands but all priced around $100. no reviewer saying (get this, not that). On amazon 2 seller have 95% of the 50+ CJ caliper listing. ranging in price from 2 for $60-$297. I contacted the seller saying if he could tell me why the one was so much better i would buy it because i needed better. They could not answer the question until i gave them my vin number so they could tell me it fit my jeep. & that's exactly what the did. They sent back yes this fits your car. I wrote back in all caps I KNOW IT FITS. Now 3 day later could you PLEASE answer my original question and pasted my original paragraph with my question all in caps because amazon does not have a highlighter. And you guessed it i got back “the more expensive the better”. I bought the cheap one from the other seller. As well i used the same possibly poor logic when purchasing my booster/master cylinder combo and I feel there is a problem with the booster. This has all come back to memory because the right caliper seized this morning. As it got hotter it got harder to push.stopped a station, i didn't know what the problem was but as i walked around you could feel the heat radiating of the front right wheel. I threw a couple of buckets of water on it. When cooled it almost rolled normal. I had to stop 2 more times I have 15” wheels with 85% tread on BF goodrich all terrain that are over 5 year old. I will need at least 17” wheel for a big brake kit to fit. Wheels + Tires + Kit + Shop Labor=??? $5000; can i buy a used jeep that stops better for less
I feel i have a good pedal it just wont stop. I could push as hard as i can with both feet and it still would not lock up the front tire. after the vacuum pump has done its job and stops running i can push the check valve alittle to the side and hear it hiss telling me its holding the vacuum. if i then unplug the hose from the chech valve i should get assist 1 or 2 more times but i get no chage in the pedal. its like it releases the vacuum at the right time but to the wrong place if thats even possible?
mysunnshine
Legacy Registered User
- City
- Phoenix
- State
- AZ
Big cam=low vacuum. Vacuum boosters do not work well with under 20" of vacuum. The best thing you could do is install a hydroboost brake booster.
I am aware that big cam =low vacuum. so i put a cheap vacuum pump on then the most expensive 12volt i could find on amazon. I am considering a hydro boost. maybe you have some insight as to what models might be compatible with Jeep CJ. On amazon there are alot of different hydro boost all in the 150-250 range but none say they fit Jeep. When i do a google search several things that fit CJ come up all around 1000. certainly something from another vehicle would work on the CJ but i would know where to begin. would i need a different master cylinder and or power steering pump?
Attachments
- City
- Centennial
- State
- CO
I only get 15" of vacuum with my setup and have the exact same situation where I cannot get the front brakes to lock up with 31" wheels. I live at high altitude but I want more confidence in braking. I am going to put a hydroboost setup from an Astro van. Google that setup, there are a few write ups on that.
- City
- Centennial
- State
- CO
I finally found the source of my brake issues. The proportion valve was bad. Brand new piece of brass junk with o rings smashed internally. My brake light always came on when I pressed the brakes. I am not exaggerating that I changed out 3 master cylinders, tried different brake lines, and became a master of bleeding brakes. I just got frustrated and took a 7/16 wrench and opened the front valve and I saw the smashed o rings.
Attachments
- City
- Centennial
- State
- CO
I got another one off Amazon. I could not find a USA made one.
scramblicon
Basic User
- City
- Lake Forest
- State
- Ca
I used to have 35's and I bought "loaded" calipers from Napa and that solved some issues but the brake peddle pressure needed sometimes to stop the Jeep when rock crawling took two feet. I went with a hydroboost setup from ABS Power Brake in Orange California and it works amazingly great. I had to run a two pass aluminum finned cooler before they would install it though. I think it was about $1,100 installed by them a few years ago. It really cleaned up the engine bay with that clunky vacuum booster gone and now that I have 37's the brake pedal effort is minimal.