ASSESSEMENT OF QUALITY - new front disc conv. kit JT OUTFITTER

nov74fj40 · 01-07-07, 07:24 AM

Here it is..the good, bad & the ugly...

Yes you have to get the hubs ground down. Good luck finding a machine shop or auto store that messes with mod's these days. Insurance headaches for them....$50 extra buck plus gas (auto) & time. Bench grinding these would be extremely sloppy.

The JTO brackets rubbed against the interior / female part of the disc. Off with the calipers & tire...grind 1/16th of an inch of the top side of the bracked..hope it doesn't compromise the strength.

OEM hub studs on hubs almost too short with the disc...had to send a search party (me) to find lugs that had some extra threading to get into the hole of the rim...headached, gas (now auto and me), time. $20. This was a headache.

Wrong side of the lip grinded down (where the banjo fitting bolts in) on the JTO calipers. The banjo fitting won't fit unless you grid the other end of the lip. A must...off with the calipers again.

The acorn shaped regulator / spring thingy under the front reservior of the master cylinder does need to come out. Fortunately I did this before I bled the system.

YES - they work great...but JTO owes me $500 for labor.

NOW I GOTTA FIX THE NEW DEATH WOBBLE I DISCOVER YESTERDAY (not the brakes ... hopelully tightening down bearings and getting new shackles, bushings, will help this - that was not a fun experience yesterday).

peesalot · 01-07-07, 09:31 AM

dude, the hub can be ground down in like 20 seconds while it is on vehicle. Use a 4" grinder and spin hub while holding grinder in same spot, just like a lathe .

The oem lugs fit fine on mine and the bracket cleared everything just fine. You put the rotor over the hub right ? I have seen some guys tryin to press it on the back of hub like the oem discs.

Did you put the calipers on the right side ? I think I did have to grind some to get the banjo on satisfactorly.

I sold mine and since have dana 60 outers but I was happy with the braking.

Mr. Toad · 01-07-07, 10:02 AM

Reman calipers, loaded: $55 each
Knuckles-out from a disc brake cruiser: $0-300
Shims for the steering arms: $1.85
Knuckle/hub rebuild kit: $120
Bottle of brake fluid and some moly grease: $20
Total: about $550

A greasy afternoon and the joy of a genuine Toyota disc brake conversion: Priceless

Coolerman · 01-07-07, 10:12 AM

OEM Drums all the way around: Price $0

All the time wasted reading about these conversions: $50,000

Spending my time doing other things on !Oy: Priceless!!!

I'm sure one day, I too will go to the other side and install disks all the way around, but not until I have to do major work on the brakes.

Mr. Toad · 01-07-07, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coolerman

OEM Drums all the way around: Price $0

All the time wasted reading about these conversions: $50,000

Spending my time doing other things on !Oy: Priceless!!!

I'm sure one day, I too will go to the other side and install disks all the way around, but not until I have to do major work on the brakes.

I suppose someone was forcing you to waste your time reading this

I reached the day you describe on my personal truck when I took my OEM drums to be turned. They were so out-of round that they could not be properly turned and would have to be replaced. While this explained the grabbing and erratic braking that no hours of adjustment could fix, it also made me realize that there's a better way out there . . .

Coolerman · 01-07-07, 10:38 AM

You must have missed the smiley faces? I read all the threads on brakes. Never know when I might have a chance to learn something new.

Besides I was only being semi sarcastic.

It's like the tire size thread...

Newer drums are available with the mounting face thicker that won't warp when torqued down. These would take care of the warped drum syndrome.

Cruiserdrew · 01-07-07, 11:27 AM

Just my opinion, but just another example of why using this kit is a bad idea. The "kit" anyone needs is FJ60 knuckles out and go to town. It's less money, requires less time to install, and works fine for years. The only hassle, and it's a small one, is adapting the FJ60 arms to the FJ40 TRE's. You can use the starter bushing idea, or few a few $ more, use the little machined steel bushing that MAF sells, which is a perfect fit, and 100% satisfactory.

nov74fj40 · 01-07-07, 11:37 AM

Come on peesalot...cut me a little slack...yes I put the freakin rotors over the hub. The calipers will only go on one way - the same as the brackets which only go on one way....

How did you "spin the wheel of fortune" and grind at the same time...come on man .. you had you girl helping you didn't you...? Lucky man if you did.

She brakes great now ... can't complain about that...

mustardfj40 · 01-07-07, 11:40 AM

I had positive experiences dealing with JTO but IMHO it's much simpler and better to go with mini-truck/FJ60 disk and cheaper too, here's how much mine cost:

- Mini-truck/FJ60 front axle - $180 from local junk yard and there're plenty of them around here.
- Load Raybestos Rebuilt 4Runner V6 Calipers - $200 for a set, used old mini-truck calipers as cores.
- New Toyota FJ60 rotors - $140 for a set from Stevens Creek Toyota with %25 discount for TLCA member.
- Axle rebuilt kit with seals/shims/gaskets: around $40 or less
- Koyo (Toyota OEM) inner/outer wheel bearings from a Las Vegas bearing house: $60.

Total cost was around $650 and I had a basically brand new all Toyota disk brake and also a freshly rebuilt axle in the process. The cool thing about this is you have a chance to upgrade to stronger FROR locking hub studs and 30-spline longfiled inner axle/birdfield superset

.

Of course I learned about this after burning some seriously dough maintainning the drum brakes to keep the truck stock.

Mark W · 01-07-07, 02:28 PM

I've only installed one of the JTO front brake conversions. Against my reccomendations, the owner chose that route. My thoughts are very similar to the original post here.

And there is no way that you can take all of that material off of the hub in 20 seconds. I'll allow for exaggeration, but there is also no way to do it in a few minutes either. I had to take about an 1/8 if an inch off, all the way around the hub. 1/4 inch change of diameter!

I also had to grind the caliper for it to fit, as well as the other clearance problems noted in the first post.

I like Joe and I like dealing with him. But this kit is not something I will ever install again.

Mark...

nov74fj40 · 01-07-07, 03:12 PM

I agree.. Joe was helpful.. .if these guys would do a couple of little things before they send the kit out it would be excellent.

nuclearlemon · 01-07-07, 08:24 PM

everybody already knows my opinion.....and the opinion of many i know that have bought their sh*^, so i won't say anything

jackbrad · 01-07-07, 09:20 PM

Heavy Sigh...

nov74fj40 · 01-09-07, 06:59 PM

I think I've been "nuked" by a lemon...

snailwagon · 01-09-07, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nuclearlemon

everybody already knows my opinion.....and the opinion of many i know that have bought their sh*^, so i won't say anything

I've bought two items from JTO, and both were an absolute insult to my intelligence. I felt like an idiot buying from them twice. From my experience, they are the kings of product variation, what works for one doesn't work for another. I still think 4w drums kick ass, it's just discs are so much easier and cheaper in the long run.

Deep South Cruisers · 01-10-07, 06:47 AM

Search JTO and you will find many unhappy ex-customers.

nov74fj40 · 01-10-07, 05:57 PM

Wait up guys...JTO made a good product, I'm satisfied with the end result, it was just a pain in the arse to install because they don't have the little kinks worked out. The TLC stops great, strait...now if the bracket breaks or something like that I will definately join the anti-JTO wagon. All and all I'm cool with the front end kit for around $5 Benjamine's.

Hopefully anyone considering a FE disc kit from JTO will read this and take care of some of this headache before installing stuff.

Later

projektdotnet · 01-10-07, 07:24 PM

I bought a front axle that was fj40 with mini-knuckles, put on fresh brake parts and some marlin crossover with some SOA perches, bled it and drove

fj40charles · 01-10-07, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deep South Cruisers

Search JTO and you will find many unhappy ex-customers.

You will also find many people that will NEVER be a JTO customer due to their business practices (tcase savers).

fj40charles · 01-10-07, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nov74fj40

Wait up guys...JTO made a good product, I'm satisfied with the end result, it was just a pain in the arse to install because they don't have the little kinks worked out. The TLC stops great, strait...now if the bracket breaks or something like that I will definately join the anti-JTO wagon. All and all I'm cool with the front end kit for around $5 Benjamine's.

Hopefully anyone considering a FE disc kit from JTO will read this and take care of some of this headache before installing stuff.

Later

IMHO, you can do a much better front wheel disk conversion using mini truck or FJ60/62 parts for 500.00