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  #337  
Old 26-03-2019
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Ive done a lot of research on XJ brakes over the years. One name keeps popping up and thats Black Magic.

I checked my old receipts and my slotted and dimpled front rotors are nearly 10 years old. They are still in good condition, but this style is not recommended for superior stopping power. I decided to get a new set of RDA rotors with the new black finish.

Also, i pulled the pin on a very expensive set of Black Magic brake pads for the front of the XJ. As it is going to be my daily driver, and with the bigger tyres.. i need the best brakes i can get, and these have brilliant reviews..




http://www.blackmagicbrakes.com/

Cheers,
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  #338  
Old 04-04-2019
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I have some time off from work, parts are flying in and i am ready to rock n roll on this Jeep project....

My new RDA black passivated front rotors arrived today. They look to have a great quality and finish. These are just plain vented rotors as per what Black Magic wants matched to their pads.

I also have a RoadSafe adjustable panhard rod (track bar) on the way. I originally did the GoJeep track bar mod by drilling a hole and fitting the original further out to suit the lift. Now its time to fit a fully adjustable and beefier unit.

Pic below of the new RDA rotor with the new reluctor ring (tone ring) for the ABS system that just arrived from RockAuto. The bigger ring is from the Grand Cherokee and is needed on the rear axle to complete the ABS conversion, as the smaller XJ tone rings wont work.



In the next week i hope to get the the track rod, tone rings, rotors and new pads fitted, adjusted and bedded in. Not far off now from getting my new G2 4.56 gears fitted by http://www.4wdusa.com.au/

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  #339  
Old 08-04-2019
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OK, its Monday morning.. ive dropped the kids off at school and now its time to get a wiggle on with the XJ.

I grabbed the 54 tooth Grand Cherokee tone rings and popped them in the oven at 220C. While they were warming up, i jacked the Jeep up, got the diff cover off, removed C clips, wheels, discs and axles. By the time i had done all that, the tone rings were nice and hot and "expanded".

Then its a simple case of pulling them out the oven and they just drop into place. No presses or muss and fuss...



My Black Magic pads arrived today. So its time to get the front and back disc brakes fully operational and bedded in.

Cheers,
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'95 XJ I6 4.0 AW4 NP242,
  #340  
Old 08-04-2019
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Finished the job by 11am, and that included time for a few coffee's and taking the kids to school.

The fitment of the Grand Cherokee tone rings and sensors was perfect. I got the old feelers gauges out and set the air gap to 1mm. The tooth count on the new ring is the same as the old XJ ring at 54T and i have read of others doing the mod that just spliced the cable on the GC sensor to the XJ cable.

I bolted everything back up and put 1.7L of Castrol LSX90 in the diff. My ARB cover has a dip stick, so i just made sure the oil went about 5-10mm up from the bottom of the axle tubes so that the bearings get lubricated. I have overfilled it a few times before and the car gets covered in oil blowing out the breather tube.



Having a bit of lunch and swapping brakes on the front.. EBC Yellow Stuff to Black Magic and new RDA rotors.

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'95 XJ I6 4.0 AW4 NP242,
  #341  
Old 08-04-2019
awg  awg is offline
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great thread man

I must say, what you really need is a '95 wreck as a spare

sadly let one go that was free, (altho it had been 3/4 ratted out
partly be me)

you should be able to pick up an unreg goer for ~$500 ?

just for the used OEM sensors alone its worth it, linking back to your other thread

trans, steering box, ignition lock, TCM, PCM etc..also stupid little stuff that breaks, door & window pats, indicator stalk & so on
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Last edited by awg; 08-04-2019 at 03:20 PM.
  #342  
Old 08-04-2019
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Thanks AWG, and thats a great idea about buying an old stock XJ for parts.
I would love to have a spare 1995 limited in the same colours.. so i could swap upholstery, panels, parts etc as time marches on. I will keep an eye out for one in Perth.

Anyway, i managed to swap the front brakes over, bleed everything up again and wash the car down before i had to pick the kids up from school.

Black Magic is supposed to be the ducks nuts of XJ front brakes. I am hoping that with all the brakes modified and overhauled, that i am going to have some serious stopping power. They come with very specific instructions on bedding them in. Apparently, if you don't bed them in exactly as explained, then your braking will suffer significantly. I will do the bedding in and testing of everything over the next few days and report back.



Cheers,
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'95 XJ I6 4.0 AW4 NP242,
  #343  
Old 09-04-2019
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Bit of an interesting morning. Kind of took 2 steps forward and 2 steps back.

Firstly, i wanted to see if the Brown Dog motor mounts i had installed were giving me the vibes. I had a few hassles getting them off, as somehow, i had installed the through bolt the wrong way around on the left side mount. I couldn't pull it through as it hit the aircon hard piping. I had to take off the mount and also the mount that bolts to the engine. A few hours later and i had a brand new set of Crown OEM style ones fitted.

Pic below of the Brown Dogs up against the Crown. There was not much difference in size and weight, but the Dogs are beefier.



I took the XJ for a drive to do a final bed in on the brakes and check the vibes. There was a big difference in vibes and i think i am nearly there now. Much smoother and much less agricultural. The more i drove, the smoother it seems to get as everything beds in.

The brakes did not feel that good during the bedding in process. Just felt a bit mushy. By the time i got home, even with the ABS, i could make the tyres squeel and chirp and come to a really fast emergency stop. I think the more i drive it, the better everything will become.

Now on to the two steps back....

I nearly cooked the car on the test drive. Even with all the cooling mods i have done and everything being brand new, i have noticed the temps starting to creep up again. I did a pressure test on the system last night and thoroughly checked that the pressure remained at about 14psi (it did), and also used a black light to search for any glycol that glows green if there is a weep. (no weeps). When i did these jobs, i must have pulled the wires out for the temp sensor/fans. I was driving along and noticed steam coming out the bonnet vents, so i quickly pulled over and shut her down.... The gauge was up in the red!! (I noticed the fans were not on and the wires pulled out)
Coolant was bubbling out the overflow!! I was only a ten minute walk to a SuperCheap Auto, so i went and got a 5 liter bottle of coolant. By this stage, the engine had cooled down to 1/4 on the gauge. I added a little coolant, started her up and then slowly added the rest.

The bullet proof motor sounded great and seemed to run even better. However, even with the triple fan setup, the temps were creeping up on the way home. It was 36C in Perth today, but my temps were getting up to 3/4 on the gauge (about 105/110).

So, i think i may have to revisit the cooling system. Also, the other odd thing was the aircon vents. I know they are vacuum controlled, but when i put my aircon on, it kept swapping between blowing cold air on the windscreen and then cold air through the forward facing vents?? Like the controls had gone buggy??

So, thats another thing i have to research.

Anyway, brakes, vibes, engine, transmission, transfer case, alternator, aircon etc. all working much better. Will this Jeep ever be my daily driver??

Cheers,
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