So I am now running 33's and the stock brakes on my 2002 TJ just aren't cutting it. I have a 2002 Sahara, 4" short arm lift, and NON ABS brakes (drums on rear). Over the weekend I have noticed that somewhat steep hills are now dangerous, just barely enough holding power! What's the best bang for the buck brake upgrades out there? I am open to all ideas before deciding what direction to go.

I am running 35s with upgraded stock stuff - Make sure that
you have upgraded brake lines - the stock ones can bulge and
delivery poor - sometimes alarmingly - bad response.

1) Upgrade brake lines - use pull aways if you have alot
of lift on the front.

2) Do a complete and clean brake rebuild to be sure that you
don't have some basic problems - new drums and rotors - if
you have the cash go for a slotted front rotor with the
cryogenic metal - with the hotter pads to go with it.

3) I normally have a clean set of drums and rotors ready to
go so I don't have to consider waiting for parts - shoes -
and brake kits - I normally check my brakes about four times
a year - and I have been known to rebuild once a year if the
wear is alot - I have volcanic ash here in AZ and it can really
kill your brakes.

4) Make sure the master cylinder and the brake booster are working
correctly - they are the most common problem for a beginner to
miss. And can cause the most negative effect on braking.

Once I started doing my own maintenance I realized that I could use
the stock brakes just fine - had negative braking issues for high
speed lock up tests but that had more to do with the size of the tire on the wheel. The issue with the smaller brake is - fast ware
one time - ten to fifteen thousand vs. 30-60 on the road.

If you are not familiar with brake work - crack the books and see what it takes - not as much as you would think - and over ten years
it has saved me thousands - weeks of down time - and helped me do some wild repairs - on other peoples jeeps - when in the field.

Brake Upgrade Items -
1) Stainless Brake lInes - extended - new mount positions
with pull ways and shields on the front.

2) Slotted Front rotors - pads for hotter rotor - half
way bettween street and race.

3) Sock calipars up front - but new rubbers and brake
hardware when ever needed - kits are cheap. I don't
rebuild my calipars any more - the re-mans are too
cheap and work fine.

4) Complete set of rotors/drums, shoes, pads, and brake
hardware on the shelf ready to go - so I don't have to
wait to get parts - ONly do this once I have all the
parts defined - took the first set of rotors and drums
and turned them - used them for replacements.

5) Brake tools - I got a set of brake tools - but the most
important one was a good brake bleeding kit from Harbor
Freight that allowed me to do a fluid change out in an
hour or so.

6) Switched to a high end brake fluid - its hot here and
fluid gets a full change out every year.

7) Monitor my master cylinder and brake booster - have not
had to change them out because I do good maintenance. But
if they are suspect - POOF - new ones.

I check my pads and drums every few months (in season) - or if
think there is a problem. It helps to have air tools and the
stuff to get my jeep up and in inspection mode in a few minutes.

Jeep season is from Sept to May here in the desert so I do two
big prep sessions - one at the start of the season and one at the
end - two cycles a year keeps me SAFE.

I put longer YJ e-brake cables in my TJ after I put the long arm
lift in - the stock ones were too tight - I adjust it all the time
so that if it does not hold on my 45 degree test hill - I know there
is something wrong. I have a two mile test route just outside my door
so anytime I tweek the jeep - I test it to be sure I did nothing wrong
before I get 250 miles out.

Thought about upgrading the brake to a disk in the rear but the cost and
the loss of the e-brake - and what ever fix you do to get it back stopped
me.

Outside the brake area - I have 4.56 gears, ARB lockers, and a 4.3 Atlas so
I can gear down to 1/2 mph or less - and this does reduce my need for brakes
on really steep stuff - this should not be DISCOUNTED - when it comes to
really steep and dangerous trails - saved my life a few times... Manual 5
with a thumb throttle also - First Low/Low at 700 rpm is really SLOOOOWW.
1/4 my walking speed.

On may trails - a locked up set of tires would have got me killed - but a
moving set of wheels - slowly - got me outaaa there....

I will say that I have done the YJ brakeline swap up front and after wearing thru the stock front pads, switched to the Performance Friction Pads and new rotors. The new rotors were NOT slotted. I recently read "Stu's" website about brake upgrades and he had a nice procedure for breaking in new pads. I am definatley going to follow his break in procedure, although 4 months plus since the new pads, to see if I can improve breaking performance. I am also considering a professional brake bleeding. I have bled the brakes a handful of times but it's possible a small amount of air might be still trapped somewhere in the system? Are the YJ brake lines too flimsy? What are the pads and rotors you are running? What brand of fluid are you using? When I replaced the front pads I checked the rear shoes and there was ALOT of life left. I like your comment about the rear disc conversion, I probably won't pursue it for the same reasons.

I have been using the High End NAPA parts and tried some of the Cryo Disks. The NAPA high end
rotor costs about 180 for a pair - you can get
slotted and drilled ones if you want.

I tried them and got about 30% increase in milage
so the costs is a little high - it all depends on
what you do. Use Valvoine Sythetic Brake fluid and the tool I use to bleen has a fitting for my compressor so it putts alot of presure on the line to suck out air bubbles.

I bleed at least twice after a brake job and my jeep like to be on an angle with the front up a few degrees at least - my drive way is about fifteen and it like a nose up bleed there.

The pads need to be matched to the rotor - one of the reasons I went to NAPA - so I use high end NAPA for most things.

I have never had a problem with a rotor or drum unless I did not clean it well - the last two sets of pads from napa had a break in coating on the pads - to break in the rotor - I did not notice any difference...

A small amount of air can kill your brake system. Thus the power bleeder - X2.

Stock brake lines die here in AZ in two years - I've seen the have bulges almost an inch wide.