J8 booster talk

[necro]

It's not, I believe the OEM MFG is either Ate or Metelli, but I'm glad you figured that out on your own...


Incorrect, but lets not let information and facts get in the way of a good rant If you get bored though, you should check out what the J8 actually is - it's pretty awesome and a shame we didn't get one here in the U.S. (but and got the Gladiator instead )...
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An important thing to figure out, particularly since many people install the master cock-eyed which results in failures.


Generally not the case, but you're free to let your experience guide you as you want. I can assure you that Mopar (actual Mopar) sensors, alternators, starters, etc. last a long longer than third-party manufactured items. There are some cases where you can get a replacement part made by the OEM manufacturer of said part (e.g. LUK clutch components), but I don't believe that to be the case with any J8 part.


There's actually a Mopar "Big Brake Kit" as well (the original offering), and it was available from Mopar using Mopar-produced items. including the J8 Booster:
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If by 'normal', you mean you came in guns blazing with an opinion that was rooted in misinformation? Then yes, you're very normal...

This isn't Sherlock Holmes shit, this is basic, 10-minutes-on-the-internet research findings. Many people considering the upgrade are often familiar with the notion that the OEM Mopar J8 kits are hard to come by and usually sell out quickly when they do. Anyone who has spent any time on the "Jeeps on Tons" Facebook Page, or any of the similar ones, will undoubtedly find TONS (don't mind the pun!) of reports of the Crown parts not lasting long, though I don't think I've seen people have 3 MC failures.


Indeed, and this is why many people order the Mopar units and wait for months and months, or suck it up and spend 2x the normal retail and get a Mopar kit off of eBay or similar. I spent over $500 for my actual Mopar parts because the last thing I want to do is tear this all apart with the Hemi in there...

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Sorry bro.. I didn't mean to trigger you.

 

[necro]

I've seen a number of people refer to issues with their "J8 Kit", but it seems like it was always someone who used the Crown replacements, yourself included:

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Everyone I know with a real Mopar J8 - and off the top of my head is at least 5 people with JKU's running tons - have had theirs for a number of years with trouble free service and fantastic results.

And I'm not sure what you mean by "leaking somewhere"... seems like that would be an important thing to figure out to determine the root cause of the failure.

Ok, so I went back through my receipts and you are correct, Mine was/is indeed the Crown J8 Booster, and Crown J8 master cylinder. If I remember correctly, the sales person, who was a forum vendor at the time of a different JK forum, told me through email that Crown was the supplier to Mopar for the J8 big brake kit and it was all the same. I will see if I can locate those original emails.

 

[pc1p]

Ok, so I went back through my receipts and you are correct, Mine was/is indeed the Crown J8 Booster, and Crown J8 master cylinder. If I remember correctly, the sales person, who was a forum vendor at the time of a different JK forum, told me through email that Crown was the supplier to Mopar for the J8 big brake kit and it was all the same. I will see if I can locate those original emails.

Unfortunately I think the sales guy you were working with was just doing "sales guy stuff", either for the sale or b/c of a lack of understanding (or both)...

All the real-Mopar J8 kits were made by Ate. You can see the "Ate" logo on the M/C below:

And the Ate logo on the Mopar-sourced booster:

It is possible that at one time Crown was indeed selling kits made by the original manufacturer, but when I look at photos of the Crown-sourced parts, the castings look a bit different.

I do believe that Crown offered their kits, and continues to do so, as "replacements" for the original J8 and "big brake kits" (and now has their own), likely to prevent confusion with the "big(ger) M/C" sold in the later year Jeep JK's (which work with the factory booster). I have never seen it anywhere reputable that Crown was either the manufacturer or original supplier of the J8 kit. The Crown kits weren't even offered while the Mopar units were still being frequently manufactured (hard to compete with a $245 off the shelf part at your dealership!).

I'd figure out where/why your M/C keeps failing. I don't follow many of the reports of failures, but it seems like some people have issue with getting the pushrod inside the M/C rod hole, which causes the pedal to sit high or be stiff, and eventually causes damage (I've seen that happen to at least two separate people). Even aftermarket M/C's should last a while. They're not hard to manufacture really...

I will point out too that my J8 Booster, PN 68048755AA, looks quite a bit different than the one that @WSS installed in his (earlier in this thread). Mine has black hardware, whereas his his gold-zinc plating. Mine has a semi-gloss finish, whereas his appears more flat/matte (but that could just be lighting angles and camera). Mine has a grey-colored dust boot exactly like the booster I removed, whereas his looks black. Mine had a large, white foam seal/spacer on the firewall side whereas his appears to have been missing that (possibly accounting for the reason he had to run spacers on his to get the pedal to fit). Of course the big difference that I can see is that mine has an OEM Mopar sticker and PN on it in the exact spots I've seen other Genuine Mopar units have it.

If you're buying one from a dealership, or QT (get on their waiting list... I am still since I want a backup!), it should come in a sealed Mopar box with matching stickers.