Found a CJ

[Tidife]

While prowling the wrecking yards if you were to happen on to a front Dana 30 axle out of a 77-78 CJ5 there is a good chance it could have Disc brakes on it.........optional both years and the package was called there "Big Brake" option, Single 3" piston caliper and 1.125 thick vented rotors on HD 6 bolt hubs........this is an open knuckle axle and much better than the older closed knuckle D-27 axle and will slip right under yours with minor changes to the steering. The spring pads are also in the same place and the other benefit is that it is 3" wider which will help with track width and add additional clearance inside for the tires........gear ratio may have to be changed to match your rear?......just a thought if you ran into one cheap.

Thanks for the info! I'll keep my eyes open. Was going to go this weekend but now ill have to wait a month or so. Went in for my safety inspection today, was told my brakes were fine, practically new, i guess what I'm feeling is just the resistance with due to the pedals coming through the floor?

Anyways, I failed the inspection due to wiring. I knew it was kind of a rats nest, but everything important(except the heater and Speedo) all worked. well i guess at some point i hit a very hard bump or something and the tail light wiring all went to hell (multiple wires broke apart). So the guy checks some of the wiring for me and its all corroded through. Most wires are 50%-70% corrosion as opposed to them being copper(the ones he checked anyways. Inside the vehicle looks fine, for the most part but everything is corroded outside. So I'm now going to have to delve into the field of wiring. Have several guides already. This weekend ill be getting a cork board and yarn from Wally world to make a giant mock-up of it all. And sometime next weekend going i have a feeling ill be running all the wires. Good news is ill know they will all be done right. Only bad news is that it will delay a brake upgrade. Also was not charged for the inspection, guy just told me to come back when it was fixed.

 

[tarry99]

Thanks for the info! I'll keep my eyes open. Was going to go this weekend but now ill have to wait a month or so. Went in for my safety inspection today, was told my brakes were fine, practically new, i guess what I'm feeling is just the resistance with due to the pedals coming through the floor?

Anyways, I failed the inspection due to wiring. I knew it was kind of a rats nest, but everything important(except the heater and Speedo) all worked. well i guess at some point i hit a very hard bump or something and the tail light wiring all went to hell (multiple wires broke apart). So the guy checks some of the wiring for me and its all corroded through. Most wires are 50%-70% corrosion as opposed to them being copper(the ones he checked anyways. Inside the vehicle looks fine, for the most part but everything is corroded outside. So I'm now going to have to delve into the field of wiring. Have several guides already. This weekend ill be getting a cork board and yarn from Wally world to make a giant mock-up of it all. And sometime next weekend going i have a feeling ill be running all the wires. Good news is ill know they will all be done right. Only bad news is that it will delay a brake upgrade. Also was not charged for the inspection, guy just told me to come back when it was fixed.

Your Brake drums and shoes may be fine mechanically ..........but make no mistake they are to small area wise (friction material) to stop your Jeep with the Oversized and Heavier wheels and tires that are currently on your vehicle.......floor mounted pedals have nothing to do with that issue. It is all about hydraulic's , pedal ratio and pressure to create enough force to actuate the brake system.

 

[Tidife]

Your Brake drums and shoes may be fine mechanically ..........but make no mistake they are to small area wise (friction material) to stop your Jeep with the Oversized and Heavier wheels and tires that are currently on your vehicle.......floor mounted pedals have nothing to do with that issue. It is all about hydraulic's , pedal ratio and pressure to create enough force to actuate the brake system.

Never meant to say they were "Good" brakes, just that mechanically they met the specifications of having "life". lol As for the floor mounted, i thought i had read something that said they were stiffer or harder to apply or something to that regard. But I've got the go ahead to find the axles, Wife wants me to wait until Feb-March though, and i could "get what i want/need within reason." Thanks for taking the time to respond to all of my ignorant questions/comments lol

 

[Tidife]

Oh by the way, I took a better picture of my front breaks, and they definitely look like discs. I took a picture so I'll attach them. So I don't know why the pedal is harder to depress, if i already have the disc brakes.
Anyways just figured I'd post the picture. Did see a jeep someone tore apart and wants to sell, might see if he wants to part with his front axle, 1978 CJ5. How much are those axles normally worth? Was gonna send an email and offer $70 if he cant sell the jeep as a whole unit.

 

[Hedgehog]

About $300.00. Some are more, some are less expansive. Give it a shot though, there are still decent deals out there for axles.

 

[tarry99]

Oh by the way, I took a better picture of my front breaks, and they definitely look like discs. I took a picture so I'll attach them. So I don't know why the pedal is harder to depress, if i already have the disc brakes.
Anyways just figured I'd post the picture. Did see a jeep someone tore apart and wants to sell, might see if he wants to part with his front axle, 1978 CJ5. How much are those axles normally worth? Was gonna send an email and offer $70 if he cant sell the jeep as a whole unit.

Well how about that?......Thanks , A better picture is worth a 1000 words! So you do have some form of Disc's up front and that is good.......you may want to better describe with pictures your complete brake system including better pictures of that front brake system to see if we can ID what you have...........Floor mounted Master I get that , but is it a single or dual reservoir? A single would be original a dual would be aftermarket.......Is there a proportioning valve anywhere? Is there any inline check valves at the master?
Can you measure the distance from the fulcrum or pivot point to 1) the tip of your brake pedal and 2) from the same pivot to where the push rod enters the Master Cylinder..........this will give us an Idea of pedal ratio. ( see drawing) and does the caliper look like this?

 

[76cj7chick]

Ive never owned a CJ5 but it may be a good "practice" jeep...To get you ready for the CJ8 ... The only thing I own from a cj8 is the half hard top..
But, if I didn't have my CJ7 I'd either want the cj8 or Comanche truck.

Congratulations and Good luck with fixing the little cj5.

 

[Neuner]

Ive never owned a cj5 but it may be a good "practice" jeep...

That's one of the funniest things I've read on here!!

Do they need training wheels to keep from falling over?

 

[Tidife]

That's one of the funniest things I've read on here!!

Do they need training wheels to keep from falling over?

I thought that's what the step bars were for!

As for the "Practice" jeep, thats about what i used to convince the wife. She was against a project that would cost an arm and a leg out the door, so she let me get one i can spend money on over the next several years, until i can get somewhere where there are more scramblers that aren't 9/10ths rusted through. That being said, this jeep is going to work great as a weekend getaway vehicle and my DD on the days wife needs the main car.

 

[Neuner]

I love mine as a DD. Keeps me calm in the road-raged traffic and I actually look forward to my commute. Only have a safari top so it's been interesting when others ask about me driving it every day. Yes, there are days that I'm hot & sweaty, cold or drenched from a down-pour but that is part of the fun. They usually smile and shake their head in disbelief. Just a kid with an old body I guess.

 

[Tidife]

Yeah, the only vehicle that has compared to the CJ5 so far in relaxing me while i drive was a Vulcan 750 motorcycle i had for awhile. They both just make you feel "free" or something i guess.