Cherokee Drums on 8.75”

Can anyone confirm that the Cherokee drums from an 8.25” rear will bolt up to an 8.75” rear? I believe this is the case with everyone doing the disc swaps. My 8.75” was converted to lbp with Yukon axles and green bearings but nothing was done to the sbp brakes. It is my understanding that I will have to change out the backing plates and drums. Or can I just redrill the drums to another pattern? Please confirm.

Thanks,
Zack

Your original sbp drums will not work with the Yukon axles. Even if you redrill the drums, the center register is a different diameter. And then if you have the center hole bored out, the distance that the new axle flanges extend out from the housing flanges is different than your old axles, which is why you need different backing plates and drums.
The Cherokee drums theoretically would fit if you drill the backing plates for the 6 o'clock stud of the axle housing flange, but why? Cherokees only had 9" and 10" drums available; and that's equal or worse than your original setup. The Grand Cherokee used 10" drums or the disc setup. All will require modifications to the parking brake cables and backing plates/caliper mounts. Since any of these would require basically require the same mods, the smart money is on just scoring the G.C. (or Liberty) rear discs and be done with it- same amount of work, but better overall brakes.
Or just get the drum brakes off any B, C body or early half ton truck with the 4.5 bolt circle and bolt 'em on, no mods whatsoever.

Thanks for the clarification. I had someone offering the Cherokee set-up to me in trade. I was trying to figure out if they worked like the earlier 8.25” brakes did and directly swapped.

I drilled out my original bell style small bolt drums with my yukons... also had to have center register hole opened up..they we work great..machine shop did both drums $50 total

It depends. There are Yukon axles that have the large bolt pattern but the small bolt pattern axle flange offset. If you have those, you have to use the SBP backing plates and drums, but re-drill the SBP drums for the 5x4.5" pattern.

There are also Yukon axles that have the large bolt pattern and the large bolt pattern axle flange offset. If you have those, you need BBP backing plates and drums, nothing you do to the SBP brake set will make them fit properly.

This is normally the difference between SBP and BBP axles.


The axle flange offset is clearly different- which means the backing plate offset is different and the drums are different not only in width but in the location of the brake surface relative to the mounting surface. But the aftermarket axle manufacturers complicated things by making axles that have the SBP flange offset with the big bolt pattern. Bottom line is, you have to figure out what axles you have and just looking at the bolt pattern won't tell you.