FINALLY working power brakes!

Well after fighting for 2 weeks with this set up I've got a reasonably working brake system The magic combination seems to be Subaru pedal assembly/booster + CJ5/DJ5 master cylinder + CJ2 brakes. I took some pictures of the set up in case anyone else has an interest in adding power brakes relatively easily to a flat fender. So why Subaru parts? Well they seem to be very plentiful in the junk yards around here and the whole assembly is very compact. Mine is from an 84 Subaru GL wagon. There were at least 6 of them at the yard. I didn't document the installation of the pedal assembly because most of our jeeps have been customized too much for it to be useful and the PO did the initial conversion and I didn't feel like tearing the whole thing apart again to get pictures. For reference mine is a 46 CJ2 with a 74 wagoneer column. The pictures should get the idea across.

The pedal assembly bolts through the firewall with 4 bolts built into the booster assembly. In the below picture you can see the cable running to the clutch going through the floor and the brake pedal/rod in the center.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d46/exilesanhusky/cj2/brakerod.jpg
The brake rod needs to be extended a bit but this is cake since the factory rod is already threaded with plenty of extra thread. It needs to be extended so the brake pedal doesn't hit the floor. I backed mine out until the end of the thread was about half way through the nut on the brake arm. No hacking or welding required . I don't think you really have to use the CJ5 master cylinder. The Subaru one would probably work fine with no modification required. I used the CJ5 because I thought it was needed to move the correct amount of fluid and I like the idea of dual cylinders for front and rear brakes. Here's a picture with the Subaru booster AND Subaru master cylinder before putting the CJ5 master cylinder in. Plenty of clearance in there!
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d46/exilesanhusky/cj2/mcr.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d46/exilesanhusky/cj2/mcl.jpg
Assuming you want the CJ5 master cylinder there are 2 simple mods required. The rod coming out of the booster is 1/2" too short to push the CJ5 plunger all the way. I found a nice long metric bolt in my spare bolts drawer that worked great. The rod is already threaded so it's just a matter of unscrewing the old one and screwing the new one in. Here's the old rod end next to the bolt for size comparison. The second pic is of the bolt after cutting it to length and rounding the cut off end with the grinder. 2 nuts make it easier to thread the rod in and lock the rod once the length is right.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d46/exilesanhusky/cj2/subbolt.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d46/exilesanhusky/cj2/newrod.jpg
Here's the booster with the old rod end removed and the new longer rod installed
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d46/exilesanhusky/cj2/boosternorod.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d46/exilesanhusky/cj2/booster.jpg
One last step before we're ready to mount the master cylinder. The mounting bolts on the booster are just slightly too close together, approx. 1/8". Some light grinding with a dremel to remove about 1/16" material on the inside wall of the mounting holes and it will slide right into place. This is the best picture I could get of the amount of grinding required. It really doesn't take much.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d46/exilesanhusky/cj2/mcend.jpg
Here's the a picture with the CJ5 master cylinder ready to go.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d46/exilesanhusky/cj2/newmc.jpg
Once that's done you're ready to reconnect the old brake lines and bleed the system. Enjoy!

If anyone wants different pictures or information please feel free to ask and I'll do what I can to help.

Note: This took me 2 weeks to get working because I didn't notice the rod from the brake arm to the booster was adjustable and I thought the booster wasn't moving anymore when the pedal was actually hitting the floor (yeah how the hell could I miss that!) . This is really a pretty straight forward procedure and makes braking much easier. It still won't stop on a dime as I'm still stuck with the stock 46 brakes but with 11" upgrade or discs it would be great. Now to get that damn rear brake assembly replaced :twisted:

 

That's pretty cool! I've been following your progress and could see you put a lot of time into that project. Besides under the hood , you've been to the junkyard quiet a bit sizing parts up and that takes plenty of time.
Glad to see everything is coming together for you and that you are seeing light at the end of the tunnel!
When you get ready to install the 11" drums are you gonna drill them? It's said to give the more stopping power, especially after they are submerged.

 

I'm strongly considering drilling them but I have to get them off the mail jeep first . I should probably get a better set of bits to drill them out too... Another idea that popped into my head was using the entire axles from an old 77 wagoneer I used to have. I sold it to a guy who just left it in a field to rot The only thing wrong with it was the rear driveshaft snapped off. I might be able to get it back free/dirt cheap and scavange the axles if they'll work. IIRC the wagoneers had D44 front and rear? It was a quadratrac T/C if it matters. That way I get stronger axles AND new brakes

 

The Waggy axles will work but you will have to move the rear spring pads (not hard if you can cut/weld), you will need to outboard the front springs to make the front work, and will need custom length drag link. The wheels will be 6 lug vs. the 5 lug CJ's have...... Most Waggy's had lousy gear ratios too, like 3.07, 3.54, 3.31, etc. Since the Waggy had Q-trac the pumpkin will be offset to the passenger side so will work nicely with an 18 transfer case.

 

UPDATE: An old friend's dad GAVE me a complete spare D44 with 11" brakes that was already set up for one of his willys! I finished swapping it in this morning and with working rear brakes the thing stops like it has discs . With the power brake swap it's as easy to stop as any car I've driven. I'll have figure a way to do this swap on my DJ5 too (stopping from 100+mph with manual 4 wheel drums is a bit scary ).

 

Alright, well I gave it a good test drive and on the way home it seemed to be slowing down fast when coasting. When I got home I checked the rear wheels and the shoes on both ends of the axle are dragging. I found the adjustment gear slot but my service manual doesn't say which direction to turn the cog. Will rotating it down or up loosen the shoes?

EDIT: Nevermind I figured it out. Properly adjusted it's stopping in a straight line and can easily lock the rear tires up. I'll have to look into swapping the 11" drums up front too.