Jeep Wrangler PCM and module repair and replacement

Black Magic Brakes Big Brake Kit Install and Review

This is on the list of things to do in the future, so reading this thread was perfect. Why do you have to grind the unit bearing though? Are the rotars not technically designed to fit the unit bearings and this is the easiest (not in a bad way) way to fix that? Or is that just a quirk with the 15/16 kit?
 
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That'll Buff said:
This is on the list of things to do in the future, so reading this thread was perfect. Why do you have to grind the unit bearing though? Are the rotars not technically designed to fit the unit bearings and this is the easiest (not in a bad way) way to fix that? Or is that just a quirk with the 15/16 kit?
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The rotors were originally made for a different vehicle. I forget which, Explorer maybe? Same for the calipers, I believe. The custom piece to make it all work is the knuckle.
 
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What is the deal with the slide pin nuts. What if they not oriented flat? Will there be problems or will it just not go together?
 
Hackyman said:
What is the deal with the slide pin nuts. What if they not oriented flat? Will there be problems or will it just not go together?
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The guide pins have flats on them that prevent them from turning so you don't have to use a wrench to hold them. It is sort of a sloppy fit against the saddle so you need to take care not to get them bound up which makes the guide pin wonky in the hole which binds and causes the caliper to not move freely.
 
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Awesome review but I do have one question. How much is Blaine paying you? Nah seriously that is on my next year to do list and absolutely love doing business with mrblaine.
 
That'll Buff said:
Why do you have to grind the unit bearing though? Are the rotars not technically designed to fit the unit bearings and this is the easiest (not in a bad way) way to fix that? Or is that just a quirk with the 15/16 kit?
Click to expand...
It is manufacturers being silly. The Sport Trac uses a very similar style 3 bolt unit bearing with a 1/8" smaller flange at the OD. To get the rotor to fit, the flange OD has to be reduced slightly. Same 4.5" bolt circle, same pilot for the rotor, just a different flange diameter. If it wasn't for the ABS harness, it is hard to tell them apart without measuring.

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mrblaine said:
It is manufacturers being silly. The Sport Trac uses a very similar style 3 bolt unit bearing with a 1/8" smaller flange at the OD. To get the rotor to fit, the flange OD has to be reduced slightly. Same 4.5" bolt circle, same pilot for the rotor, just a different flange diameter. If it wasn't for the ABS harness, it is hard to tell them apart without measuring.

View attachment 710148
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That's cool. I love hearing about people repurposing parts or designs from other vehicles to increase performance. Reminds me that I have to read Mac's iBooster thread at some point.
 
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That'll Buff said:
That's cool. I love hearing about people repurposing parts or designs from other vehicles to increase performance. Reminds me that I have to read Mac's iBooster thread at some point.
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I always thought it was important to use as many off the shelf parts as possible to aid the customer who finds themselves in a predicament. Somehow the fuckwits on FB have managed to turn that around to accuse me being a rip-off by just putting our name on aftermarket parts and calling it a brake kit.

They arrived at the conclusion because being the nitwit they are, they tossed the instructions and part numbers so their shop had to call me to figure out what calipers and rotors they needed for replacements. When the shop told them what the rotors and calipers were from, they felt it necessary to get on there and disparage me and my products. When I asked them what magic fucking vehicle the knuckle was from, crickets.
 
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mrblaine said:
I always thought it was important to use as many off the shelf parts as possible to aid the customer who finds themselves in a predicament. Somehow the fuckwits on FB have managed to turn that around to accuse me being a rip-off by just putting our name on aftermarket parts and calling it a brake kit.

They arrived at the conclusion because being the nitwit they are, they tossed the instructions and part numbers so their shop had to call me to figure out what calipers and rotors they needed for replacements. When the shop told them what the rotors and calipers were from, they felt it necessary to get on there and disparage me and my products. When I asked them what magic fucking vehicle the knuckle was from, crickets.
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I can appreciate that design philosophy quite a bit, shows a good amount of forethought. Most times when I add something to my Jeep the realization often hits me that I'm unable to replace this part if something goes wrong in an emergency. It's the main reason I'm heavily toning down how much I wheel until I have a guaranteed way to make it home. Normally the performance increase outweighs this issue and the chance of breaking said part is often less than the stock part, but it still sits on my mind. It's one of the things I like about the ZJ steering, you can get those parts from most auto parts stores pretty easily. A cheap part that can get me home safely in a pinch is better than no part at all.
 
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It is a great setup. I'm another of the, "my brakes are probably ok, but I should maybe, kinda do something about them" club and I delayed for longer than I should have. I installed the BBK (15/16) and Holy Crap...what a difference.

Even with my recently installed, very heavy, walker evans beadlocks, I can lock the tires up any time I want. But more than that, there is an amount of control there that is missing in the factory system. I could stop before but it took a lot of pedal. Even after spending a bunch of time on the phone with MrBlaine, and finding a hinky master and replacing it. I still had to use more pedal than I wanted. That's when the BBK came in. Now, its progressive and the more you push, the more brake you get, right up to lock-up...It what brakes should be. Not overly boosted, not overly grabby, or weak. Just a nice progressive application of power.
 
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Intimnasc said:
Awesome review but I do have one question. How much is Blaine paying you? Nah seriously that is on my next year to do list and absolutely love doing business with mrblaine.
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I am nowhere near smart enough to be on Blaines payroll :)

I will say that I reach out to him quite a bit to make sure that anything I am doing as far as an install or write up is technically correct and as accurate as I can make it. Even then, I still get things wrong or don't understand them like I thought I did. He is a tremendous resource to this forum.
 
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hosejockey61 said:
I am nowhere smart enough to be on Blaines payroll :)

I will say that I reach out to him quite a bit to make sure that anything I am doing as far as an install or write up is technically correct and as accurate as I can make it. Even then, I still get things wrong or don't understand them like I thought I did. He is a tremendous resource to this forum.
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Agreed I called him too to make sure what I was ordering was correct and same results great resource.
 
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