A How To - Jeep Disc E-brakes on A-Body
I know several people on here have shown their Jeep Grand Cherokee disc brake kits mounted on their 8.25 axles. However, I can't remember any of them having completed their installs and hooking up the parking brake cables. I think this is probably the biggest thing that makes people think twice about this modification, so here is how I did it:
Let's assume you already have your Jeep discs mounted on your axle, and your factory brake cables for the drum assemblies have already been removed from the body mounts.
You will need the complete cable assembly from the jeep up to the coupler.
First thing I did, was remove the body mount brackets from the Jeep cables. They are crimped on, and the bracket can be opened up with some persuasion. It will be crimped back on later.
Then I cleaned them and cut them down, removing all the extra wings and such. I also drilled two 3/16 holes in them (not shown here):
Next, I took the Jeep cable and cut off the lead (forward) end of the jacket and the cable. I just took the end off first, then cut it to proper length later.
Before:
After:
Next, connect the cable to the backing plate as it normally would be. Using the cable as a guide, I determined where I wanted to locate the jeep brackets that I cut up earlier. I then marked and drilled mounting holes in the bottom of the body bracket that was previously used for the factory park brake cables. (NOTE: The cable should pass OVER the leaf spring, NOT under).
Here is the bracket bolted in:
With the bracket installed, I slid the brake cable into the bracket and determine where along the jacket the bracket needed to be crimped back on. Make sure to push the cable towards the back of the car. This gives it some slack and keeps the cable from rubbing the under body components. I marked it with a sharpie, took everything off, and crimped it using a vice.
All done, it looks like this:
Next, you will need to terminate the cable end. To do this, I purchased some brass cable stops from Oreilly's. This package came with a couple of different sizes, I used the largest set:
Now, the catch here is that the cable stop fits the factory cable interface perfect, but is too big to get in the hole, so I used a burr bit and opened it up a bit:
Factory:
After some cutting work:
Again, reinstall the cable jacket on the brake backing plate and connect the cable on the drum side. Then, install the cable interface bracket on the factory cable side, and mark on the Jeep cable where the cable stop will need to be installed. (NOTE: Make sure the factory cable adjuster is backed off to allow for future adjustment before you determine cable stop position).
Once this is done, take everything back to the bench. Install the stop where it needs to be on the cable. I used vice grips on either side of the stop to keep it in place, and drove a nail through the length of the stop, piercing the cable along the way. The excess nail was cut off on either end. I then used a propane torch to heat up the stop and cable, and filled everything with solder. Once cooled, I used a cut-off tool to clip the excess cable protruding from the stop.
After that, take everything back to the car and install:
That is all there is to it. Now you have factory parking brakes on your rear-disc conversion.
I know several people on here have shown their Jeep Grand Cherokee disc brake kits mounted on their 8.25 axles. However, I can't remember any of them having completed their installs and hooking up the parking brake cables. I think this is probably the biggest thing that makes people think twice about this modification, so here is how I did it:
Let's assume you already have your Jeep discs mounted on your axle, and your factory brake cables for the drum assemblies have already been removed from the body mounts.
You will need the complete cable assembly from the jeep up to the coupler.
First thing I did, was remove the body mount brackets from the Jeep cables. They are crimped on, and the bracket can be opened up with some persuasion. It will be crimped back on later.
Then I cleaned them and cut them down, removing all the extra wings and such. I also drilled two 3/16 holes in them (not shown here):
Next, I took the Jeep cable and cut off the lead (forward) end of the jacket and the cable. I just took the end off first, then cut it to proper length later.
Before:
After:
Next, connect the cable to the backing plate as it normally would be. Using the cable as a guide, I determined where I wanted to locate the jeep brackets that I cut up earlier. I then marked and drilled mounting holes in the bottom of the body bracket that was previously used for the factory park brake cables. (NOTE: The cable should pass OVER the leaf spring, NOT under).
Here is the bracket bolted in:
With the bracket installed, I slid the brake cable into the bracket and determine where along the jacket the bracket needed to be crimped back on. Make sure to push the cable towards the back of the car. This gives it some slack and keeps the cable from rubbing the under body components. I marked it with a sharpie, took everything off, and crimped it using a vice.
All done, it looks like this:
Next, you will need to terminate the cable end. To do this, I purchased some brass cable stops from Oreilly's. This package came with a couple of different sizes, I used the largest set:
Now, the catch here is that the cable stop fits the factory cable interface perfect, but is too big to get in the hole, so I used a burr bit and opened it up a bit:
Factory:
After some cutting work:
Again, reinstall the cable jacket on the brake backing plate and connect the cable on the drum side. Then, install the cable interface bracket on the factory cable side, and mark on the Jeep cable where the cable stop will need to be installed. (NOTE: Make sure the factory cable adjuster is backed off to allow for future adjustment before you determine cable stop position).
Once this is done, take everything back to the bench. Install the stop where it needs to be on the cable. I used vice grips on either side of the stop to keep it in place, and drove a nail through the length of the stop, piercing the cable along the way. The excess nail was cut off on either end. I then used a propane torch to heat up the stop and cable, and filled everything with solder. Once cooled, I used a cut-off tool to clip the excess cable protruding from the stop.
After that, take everything back to the car and install:
That is all there is to it. Now you have factory parking brakes on your rear-disc conversion.