| ***UPDATE*** | ||||||
| Here's a chart I compiled of potential brake lines to try for the front. Some of the hoses I know will definitely work whereas others I am unsure | ||||||
| of. I created this list to help speed up the search process for others. Before I did I killed a lot of time going through a brake hose catalog looking | ||||||
| for potential donors. I'm not saying all of these hoses will work, you will need to make sure the fittings are appropriate or not. I keep a copy in | ||||||
| my glove box. I had a SSB hose break once when at an off-road park on a weekend about 30 minutes before the local auto parts store closed. | ||||||
| I had to buy a tight fitting XJ hose to make the 3 hour trip home. If I had this list I would have had another 10 hoses to try other than YJ that may | ||||||
| have been stocked by that particular auto parts store. | ||||||
| ****END OF UPDATE*** | ||||||
| While in the process of doing a WJ brake conversion to my 98 XJ, I knew I would need a set of longer front brake hoses. I previously had been | ||||||
| using 1995 (YJ) Wrangler rubber hoses. When performing the WJ brake conversion there are two different replacement calipers to choose from. | ||||||
| The earlier set are manufactured by Teeves and the later is made by Akebono, I chose the Akebono calipers due to Jeep switching to them to | ||||||
| address rotor warping issues on the WJ when using Teeves. | ||||||
| The Akebono calipers (dual piston) are physically larger than my stock XJ calipers (single piston). Because of this the mounting location for the | ||||||
| brake hose is maybe 3-4 inches lower than the location on the XJ calipers, which eliminates the YJ hose from further service. | ||||||
| Some may say now is a great time to purchase a set of Stainless Steel Braided brake line and I have previously used SSB on my Jeep. | ||||||
| Problem is that I had a brake hose failure off-road when I was just starting to head down a hill. The wild ride down the hill was enough to | ||||||
| sour me on SSB lines. Now truth be told the hoses probably wore quicker because of the way I had them cinched away from being chewed | ||||||
| upon by my Swampers, but still the failure after 2-3 years of use was alarming to me. I did a ton of searching on the Internet to see what | ||||||
| the consensus was on the reliability of SSB lines. Turns out there was a ton of similar stories that further reinforced my decision to steer | ||||||
| clear of them from now on. If you choose to run SSB lines then I strongly encourage you to routinely check them for wear and tear and to | ||||||
| replace them every two years, whether they look like they need replacing or not. | ||||||
| I hopped onto NAPA's website and began searching for hoses that were longer and with similar fittings. I first double-checked the Jeep | ||||||
| models hose lengths to make sure I hadn't overlooked a better solution within the family, as suspected the YJ hoses were the longest | ||||||
| hoses offered as OE from Jeep. Next I was onto searching through Chevy/Dodge/Ford 1/2-ton trucks both 2wd and 4wd from 1970 to present. | ||||||
| The list below is largely from going through those parameters. I did largely ignore 3/4-ton trucks seen as I had a fair number of hoses to | ||||||
| try without including 3/4-ton. 3/4-ton can be somewhat of a grey area when searching through hoses. The fittings used on brake hoses | ||||||
| can be either in SAE or in metric, so you have to be careful with what you buy. The other gotcha is that larger vehicles use a larger line, | ||||||
| which is why 3/4-ton trucks can be somewhat of a grey area. I know most 1-ton trucks definitely use larger diameter brake lines than the | ||||||
| XJ and it wouldn't surprise me if some years of 3/4-ton trucks did as well. Unfortunately NAPA's website doesn't tell you what the bolt diameter | ||||||
| and thread pitch is so it can be a bit of a crap shoot. Having said that some of these hoses may be the wrong size for all I know, so don't be | ||||||
| surprised if that happens. The other bugaboo is that the pictures of the fittings in some cases was cropped so you couldn't see the entire hose | ||||||
| and fitting. So some of the hoses listed below might be less desirable than the others. | ||||||
| The hose that worked out for me was the 1990 Chevy C1500 1/2-ton 2wd pickup hose. The hoses are cheap and plentiful so I am ecstatic with the | ||||||
| results. I hope this chart is helpful for you as well. | ||||||
| FRONT BRAKE HOSE | ||||||
| Vehicle | Left Part# | Right Part# | Price Left | Price Right | ||
| 1985 Jeep CJ7 | UP 38150 - 16.438" | UP 38151 - 16.25" | $ 25.99 | $ 25.99 | ||
| 1998 Jeep Cherokee | UP 38895 - 18.37" | UP 38894 - 18.37" | $ 22.49 | $ 22.99 | ||
| 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee | UP 38895 - 18.37" | UP 38894 - 18.37" | $ 22.49 | $ 22.99 | ||
| 1998 Jeep Wrangler | UP 38895 - 18.37" | UP 38894 - 18.37" | $ 22.49 | $ 22.99 | ||
| 1995 Jeep Wrangler | UP 38862 - 20.75" | UP 38861 - 20.75" | $ 21.99 | $ 25.99 | ||
| 1980 Chevrolet Truck Suburban-C10 1/2 Ton 2WD | UP 38186 - 22.5" | UP 36855 - 22.625" | $ 18.49 | $ 18.49 | ||
| 1995 Dodge Truck Grand Caravan | UP 380074 - 22.5" | UP 380073 - 22.75" | $ 18.99 | $ 18.99 | ||
| 1985 Chevrolet Truck C10 1/2 Ton 2WD - Pickup | UP 38066 - 22.75" | UP 38065 - 22.75" | $ 23.49 | $ 23.49 | ||
| 2000 Chevrolet Truck Express G1500 1/2 Ton - Van | UP 380752 - 22.75" | UP 380753 - 22.75" | $ 55.49 | $ 55.49 | ||
| 1995 Dodge Truck Caravan | UP 380072 - 22.75" | UP 380071 - 23" | $ 24.99 | $ 24.99 | ||
| 1975 Chevrolet Truck Suburban-C10 1/2 Ton 2WD | UP 36760 - 23" | UP 36759 - 23" | $ 23.99 | $ 23.99 | ||
| 1985 Dodge Truck B150 1/2 Ton - Van | UP 38199 - 23.25" | UP 38200 - 23" | $ 19.49 | $ 19.49 | ||
| 1981 Dodge Truck B150 1/2 Ton - Van | UP 38047 - 23.156" | UP 38048 - 22.875" | $ 31.99 | $ 31.99 | ||
| 1985 Chevrolet Truck G10/1500 1/2 Ton - Van | UP 38182 - 23.938" | UP 38183 - 23.188" | $ 18.49 | $ 18.49 | ||
| 1987 Chevrolet Truck P20 3/4 Ton - Step Van | UP 36954 - 23.25" | UP 38563 - 24.25" | $ 21.99 | $ 21.99 | ||
| 2000 Dodge Truck Ram 1500 1/2 Ton - Van | UP 381161 - 24.57" | UP 381160 - 24.57" | $ 22.99 | $ 24.99 | ||
| 1990 Chevrolet Truck C1500 1/2 Ton 2WD - Pickup | UP 38620 - 25.125" | UP 38621 - 25.125" | $ 18.49 | $ 18.49 | ||
| Unknown application | UP 380533 - 25.5" | UP 380534 - 25.5" | $ 31.99 | $ 31.99 | ||
| 1995 Chevrolet Truck Suburban-K1500 1/2 Ton 4WD | UP 38622 - 25.75" | UP 38623 - 25.75" | $ 26.49 | $ 29.99 | ||
| 1995 Dodge Truck Dakota | UP 38893 - 29.5" | UP 38892 - 29.5" | $ 31.49 | $ 31.49 | ||