Willys Jeep Disk Conversion for $250

Roc, in fairness I think Stan is referring to having the vehicle out of action to do the disc conversion, not for maintenance of either disc or drum brakes....

I am right in the middle of the Geo conversion on my CJ5.  The reason for 'me' is that the 9", as we got the jeep, are plain scary.  Such that the wife refused to even drive it.  When I started reading about rebuilding them, I spent about a year reading and getting information.  One of my original criteria was keeping the original KH wheels.  Part of 'my and wifes' joy is it being old school so look was important. I figured that by the time I rebuilt the the 9" vs something else, I might just be wasting money. I gave up on the Chevy conversion due the wheel issue. So bought the 11" self adjusting Bendix for front and rear, and was going that route when I stumbled into this Geo discussing here. It seems pretty straight forward and fairly cost effective and it seems like those who have done it have been very happy.  Then adding to the bit about going thru water and drums taking awhile to dry out, I proceeded ahead.  Now, I have to admit that it has been like pulling teeth at times.  But that is really not about the conversion but more to do with getting all the parts on hand and the multiple vendors, trips for wrong piece, not in stock, one comes in, then wait for second, then it's wrong, deciding to do bearings and seal while in there,  blah, blah.  In the mean time since I started this, the jeep is out of commission and garage space occupied. So my advise is get your list and ALL parts in your hands before you even take the wheel off.  When finished, I'll be posting my finished feelings.  On the Geo conversion, Stev here has been very helpful.  A thank you shout out to him in particular and others. 

I think what Stan is trying to say is, If you are unhappy with the performance of your brakes, a disc brake conversion could be a good idea, but don't feel the need to make the conversion if your brakes were working fine until you learned that they are not working fine ... by reading this thread.

Edit: A dual master cylinder is a very good idea.

Edited by jpet - 17 Aug. 2018 at 3:18pm

I know that safety is a big thing for me.  I don't want to be the guy who has to live with the fact that my friend, kid or myself are in the hospital because I choose not to maintain my Jeep, do reasonable upgrades as people figured them out.  My kids wanted to wheel so disc brakes made since for me.

Edited by Stev - 17 Aug. 2018 at 3:24pm

Ha ha, I think Stan is totally right, I could just maintain the original brakes.  I totally admit that my intentions aren't entirely rational, but I think that's ok.  I just like the disc design better. I do have reasons: I like the lower pedal effort, and ive felt that scary feeling where your drums fade to "barely working" halfway down a long steep hill.  The trigger for me right now is troubleshooting a slight pull to the left, despite the adjusters seeming to be set correctly, using the feeler gauge method.  Troubleshooting a design youdon't like is pretty painful.  :-)

jpet wrote: .... how do you know that your disc brakes stop better than Stan's 9' brakes. You don't know that. You have never driven his jeep. You don't know that all jeeps with 9" brakes are unsafe. Why stop there? Is not having anti-lock brakes dangerous? how about no air bags?

I'm trying to read where this came into the thread??

-- This is just people trying to figure out what work for them.  Everyone has to figure it out for themselves what they are going to do.  No wrong or right answers.  Hopefully we will all have great outcomes and great wheeling experiences.

It is not my intention to offend anyone either so I'm sorry if I did.

I have 9" brakes on GW and have no intention of changing them. If someone wants to advise me or debate it, I'm fine with that. If someone is going to imply that I am irresponsible for not changing them and /or putting loved ones in danger, I will take offense to it. If I misunderstood, then I humbly apologize. We are friends here.