Doing your own brake maintenance is fairly easy. I'd say it's easier then changing the oil.
I think I'll give it a shot myself then! I have the Chilton, Haynes, and Jeep Service Manuals, so I guess if it is not a complicated procedure, I'll take a shot at it myself.
I'd highly recommend checking your brake pads and shoes... More then likely the adjusters are fouled up and not working properly. When you back up hard adn break, it should adjust the shoes. If this hasn't been done in a long time, if ever then you'll need to manually adjust them so they are close to where the shoes rub against the drums.
Depending on how many miles you have on your brakes, you might get away with just adjusting them. The next step would be replacing the shoes. Going to some performance brake pads can make a huge difference. Hawk are popular. Bewarned that better brakes usually means they will wear out faster then harder brakes.
If you check the run out on the drums and discs and they are either warped or just warn out, it would probably be better to buy new discs or drums then to have them turned. It really depends on what they look like though.
For the same cost as getting the brakes done in the shop, I can get the Hawk Performance HPS High Performance Street Disc Brake Pads for 90-06 Jeep Wrangler YJ, the Rear Brake Shoe Set w/ Hardware for 90-00 Jeep Wrangler YJ, and Crown Industrial 5 Layer Custom Extended Brake Lines in Red for 87-95 Jeep Wrangler YJ with 3"-4" Lift from Quadratec, so I think it is a better investment of my money... And I could have enough for new rotors (maybe not crossdrilled and slotted, but you get the point!).
By the way, is the new brake hose something you guys would recommend?
There are several other ways to increase braking. Larger master cylinder is a common one. Either go with a large single or a dual diaphram. Another option is to switch over to ZJ 2 pot front brakes. Then there are slotted and drilled front discs but I'd put these lower on the priority list.
A double diaphragm master brake booster out of a 4L cherokee would be the best bang for the buck. The 2.5 use a single diaphragm.
I thought this was recommended for when you put 4 disc brakes, but not so much when you still have the rear drums. I can do this even with the rear drum brakes?
Check your brakes and then use the above suggestion for a brake booster the bigger the tire the longer the stopping distance. Going to 31" tires from stock causes a noticeable decrease in brake performance
And since I eventually plan on going to 33"s, I need as much stopping power as I an get... If I do swap out my rear axle for the Passport or Rodeo D44, that one comes with disc brakes, and that should help, but in the mean time, I do want my brakes to stop me!
