TJ rear disc brake conversion

My TJ has a Dana 44 with discs on the back. The conversion was done before I purchased it.
Now the pads are worn out. Can anyone ID the donor for this conversion from the pic so I can pick up pads before I tear it down?
jeep brakes.jpg
 
My TJ has a Dana 44 with discs on the back. The conversion was done before I purchased it.
Now the pads are worn out. Can anyone ID the donor for this conversion from the pic so I can pick up pads before I tear it down?View attachment 90128
Maybe @mrblaine, the brake guru can identify and sell you some great brake pads!
 
Hard to say but 90's era Ford Explorer disk brakes were a popular conversion.
Sort of. The caliper, rotor, pads, and a few other parts are very similar and will bolt up in place of each other. The part that won't bolt up is the backing plate itself that you hang everything on. The bolt pattern is different between the Dana 44 and Ford 8.8.

What confuses stuff further is folks like Tera have built a backing plate using the parts from the 8.8 and used the Dana 44 bolt pattern.
 
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My TJ has a Dana 44 with discs on the back. The conversion was done before I purchased it.
Now the pads are worn out. Can anyone ID the donor for this conversion from the pic so I can pick up pads before I tear it down?View attachment 90128
The only things I can tell from that is you took a pic of the left side from the front over the top of the axle and you have a non standard install of a disc brake set up with that oddly placed flex hose.
 
Thanks for the response mrblaine . If it would help with the ID I can take additional pics.

Can you give me a couple of possible donor models I should have the parts guy pull pads for so we can compare once I've pulled the existing? I've read about ZJ conversions as one of the most common. Are there other common ones?
 
Thanks for the response mrblaine . If it would help with the ID I can take additional pics.

Can you give me a couple of possible donor models I should have the parts guy pull pads for so we can compare once I've pulled the existing? I've read about ZJ conversions as one of the most common. Are there other common ones?
The dust shield says that it is not 8.8 but could be TJ/KJ or ZJ. The next thing to know is whether the pistons are phenolic or steel. Need to know if the sliders have abutment clips on them.
 
The dust shield says that it is not 8.8 but could be TJ/KJ or ZJ. The next thing to know is whether the pistons are phenolic or steel. Need to know if the sliders have abutment clips on them.

Ok thanks for the info. I'll have to pull the wheel this weekend (since it's going to rain until then) and get some pics.
 
The PO of my Jeep installed a Ford 8.8 with disc brakes. When I bought it, the e-brake didn't work worth a crap. I adjusted it at the cable & it worked for a couple months. Now it needs to be adjusted again. Not really impressed so far.
 
The PO of my Jeep installed a Ford 8.8 with disc brakes. When I bought it, the e-brake didn't work worth a crap. I adjusted it at the cable & it worked for a couple months. Now it needs to be adjusted again. Not really impressed so far.
They are all the same. No reason it should need adjusting unless you drive with it applied. No wear otherwise.
 
When converting the rears to disc does anything else need to be changed? Do I need a new/different master cylinder and/or pressure regulator?

Just found out the Dana 60's I'm upgrading to come with disc brakes all the way around. Trying to figure out everything I need in order to cut down on "downtime."
 
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When converting the rears to disc does anything else need to be changed? Do I need a new/different master cylinder and/or pressure regulator?

Just found out the Dana 60's I'm upgrading to come with disc brakes all the way around. Trying to figure out everything I need in order to cut down on "downtime."
I converted to 4wheel disks, on the stock master cyl, but not on Dana 60's. I don't have any brake problems, and I would assume you won't either, but I couldn't tell you for sure since your brakes are going to be bigger.
 
Not arguing with you just stating the fact that when I lived in the Pacific North Wet, it stopped way better with 4 wheel discs than it did with the rear drums after being submerged in water, and it was noticeable. Probably why almost all cars and trucks are 4 wheel discs now.

Plus all of the things you mentioned. I don't see any reason not to do it. I am looking for a zj parting now. Do you know what years of zj I am looking for?
I must agree with this as I regularly cross creeks and a river to get to my property. The rear brakes are near useless by the time I get home. That's what brought me to this thread.
 
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I must agree with this as I regularly cross creeks and a river to get to my property. The rear brakes are near useless by the time I get home. That's what brought me to this thread.
The rear brakes provide a very small percentage of the total braking force when driving forward. Improving the rear brakes does next to nothing for braking that you will notice. I did a rear drum to disk conversion on my previous TJ 20 years ago and was totally disappointed it did nothing that was noticeable.
 
Thinking about this conversion for a few reasons. Not so much to get better braking, but mostly ease of maintenance and the current drum setup needs to be completely overhauled soon.

Backing plates are rusty and not serviceable and wanted to upgrade the axle shafts to better chromoly units. This will hold me off without the need to upgrade to a bigger axle.
 
Just to update, I didn't end up doing the ZJ conversion, I did end up changing to a Ford 8.8 with disk brakes, so everything worked out well. I got a stronger axle, and didn't have to pay for a conversion. I like having 4 wheel disk brakes much better.
 
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I did mine using the components from a 98 ZJ which was easy to source and was pleased with the results however most will tell you that there is no braking improvement over a properly maintained drum setup, but I will take the E-brake performance over the drum setup any day. My disc install is in over 2 years now and I have yet to re-adjust the E-brake since the day it was installed. I used the old calipers as a core for new ones and replaced the rotors. All said and done the conversion cost me about $150.

East Coast Gear Supply and Black Magic both offer kits:

http://www.shop.blackmagicbrakes.com/Rear-Disc-Brake-Conversion-Kits_c105.htm

https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-17327330-jeep-dana-35-44-disc-brake-kit.html
I know that quote is 3 years old, and referenced a job that was already 2 years old then. So it could easily be way out of date now.

But I still can't help looking at the $150 total price tag after a core refund. All I'm seeing now is $600-$800 for a conversion kit, with little difference between a Cherokee or Ford base, and no mention of a core anywhere.

Am I missing something? Was it more of a self-engineered job without a kit? In any case, what should I look for now?

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'97 TJ Sport, Dana 35
 
I know that quote is 3 years old, and referenced a job that was already 2 years old then. So it could easily be way out of date now.

But I still can't help looking at the $150 total price tag after a core refund. All I'm seeing now is $600-$800 for a conversion kit, with little difference between a Cherokee or Ford base, and no mention of a core anywhere.

Am I missing something? Was it more of a self-engineered job without a kit? In any case, what should I look for now?

—-

'97 TJ Sport, Dana 35
He likely pulled everything off a zj from a junk yard and bought reman calipers at a parts store hence using the old ones as a core.

If you are serious about it I would just buy everything from Blaine at black magic brakes.