ahhh crap.....

[2003KJ]

well it's time for new brakes on the Jeep. Tonight was a rare night I was driving with out the radio on, and I had to stop short for a red light, and i heard the famous metal on metal grinding coming from the front end while brakeing. Pulled into my neighborhood and did some tests, it's the brakes.

I plan on takin care of this myself. I'm pretty sure I can get away with just the pads, as my rotors aren't warped yet, and they don't have massive grooves in them. Here are my questions.

Anyone ever done a brake job to a KJ yet?

How hard was it? (doesn't look to bad, and i'm somewhat mechanically inclined)

Anything special I should look out for while doing this?

Think I can get away with just the pads? If i need the rotors, i'm just gonna let a private shop that I know pretty good do it. Chrysler will not touch the brakes...LOL

I'm not really surprised these are toasted with only 22K on the clock. Chrysler's not known for the best OEM brakes, plus lately i've been pretty ******* them.

 

[TRAILN]

They are not hard at all, go for it. No special tools needed

 

[dnm45227]

I did mine not long ago, pretty straight forward. I didn't change my rotor's either.

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

 

[Bennett]

To do the front brakes it will take you like 15 minutes at most. I just replaced mine ther other day. They basically just clip right in.

I had to replace mine, since the OEM ones actually crumbled and cracked, which resulted in this god awful noise.

Bennett

 

[2003KJ]

crumbled and cracked??? yikes!

I'm gonna pull the wheels off today and look at them. I don't really have the money to buy any untill next weekend (this one paycheck a month thing really blows), but if they're that bad, i'll just go ahead and spend the money i don't have to get some.

o ya, how tight were the OEM ones? I know they go crazy with a torque wrench at the factory and make everything tighter than it needs to be.

 

[SRotblat]

what OE equivelent pad options are there? I'm looking to do all 4 corners soon and havent really seen anything not in the 30ish range for front/back for the pads.

 

[Bennett]

I got some Bendix Brakes for 40 bucks for the front. I didn't even bother to look at the rear ones, since I know they have quite a bit of pad on them. What happen is my OEM ones failed prematurely. If they hadn't cracked, (only the front right failed) I would have probably gotten another 20k miles out of them.

As far as torquing the caliper on, its not that tight really. I used a small socket wrench and didn't have any trouble taking the bolt out. Just make sure you have a C-clamp to push the pistons back if you get new brakes.

Bennett

 

[2003KJ]

Ok so it's not the brakes. I pulled the wheels off this morning on the front and all 4 pads have tons of life left in them. The bearings are nice and quiet, so i've ruled them out.

I've spent most od the afternoon thinking about what it could be, as this morning the sound was still there..... =D>

 

[04RkMtnKJ]

Any grooves at all on the rotors? the grinding noise comes only when you use the brakes? It may look like the brakes have life left in them but the rivits that are holding the lining to the backing plate may be grinding on the rotors even though it looks like there is some left. In any case if you decide to replace the pads you dont have to "replace" the rotors but it is a very good idea to take them some where to have them resurfaced. If you just replace the pads and do nothing with the rotors your pads will wear very fast at first in to the natural groove of your old pad.

 

[2003KJ]

I thought about that, but the pads probably still have about half their life yet, so i'm having a hard time believing that that's the problem. Although, there are a couple of grooves on the rotors. :-k

 

[4Factor]

Maybe a small pebble lodged in one (or more) of the pads? You likely won't be able to see it without taking the pads right off.

If I was a dealer, I'd tell you...
"Don't worry, all Jeeps are like that, it's the way they're supposed to sound" :^o

 

[2003KJ]

Maybe a small pebble lodged in one (or more) of the pads? You likely won't be able to see it without taking the pads right off.

If I was a dealer, I'd tell you...
"Don't worry, all Jeeps are like that, it's the way they're supposed to sound" :^o

I'd like to thank you....LOL. You just saved me 1/4 tank of gas, now i don't have to drive all the way down to the dealer anymore....LOL

 

[roadrunner]

Brake job

When the time comes....

It never hurts to have your rotors resurfaced -- keeps everything in tip top shape. Should cost about $6 or $7each -- shop around first. Having said that, I don't touch the rotors unless they're warped. I've even slapped new pads on scored rotors and had no problems or longevity issues (this is a confession, not a recommendation).

I highly recomend getting good pads though -- you'll get better performance, longer life and smaller chance of pad failure (like Bennett got). If that happens, by the way, you should get a replacement set free -- save your receipt!

 

[BluPhant]

Re: Brake job

...or just replace them. Rotors @ Autozone
DURALAST ROTOR ONLY 53001 2 YR $22.99/ea

-Blu