Front Brake Problems

[Bennett]

Yesterday I went and washed my car at the local superwash.

Anyways, after that I started to notice the brakes would make noises when they were applied firmly..

Now today when I go to stop the wheel quickly swings to the left, meaning probably the right front brake isn't working.

I am thinking that possibly some debris has got in it, so I just went out and sprayed it down with brake cleaner. Should I take the pads out as well? I know there just clipped in there, but it looks like I need to take the calipher apart in order to get them out.

Hmm any ideas are appreciated.

Thanks,
Bennett

 

[TRAILN]

Sunday I got my brakes nice and wet and now its making a noise from the rear when braking. Got to check it out.

 

[Bennett]

I fixed it for the most part, I just took of both front tires. Used brake cleaner and now there working good again.

Bennett

 

[TRAILN]

Good to hear

My rear shoes were super low and I had a new set waiting to put on. Now Is a good time I guess. Just have to wait till thursday when the weather is going to get a little warmer.

 

[bigfella]

Yes you have to swing the caliper away from the brake rotor to remove the pads. It sounds like this is what you need to do.

This condition is usually caused when one side binds and does not release right, not when one side is not working. Common to our old cars is brake pad contamination which makes them stick and the car will pull to one side.

The good news is it's not real hard to do if you have the right tools. Just go slow and don't strip and bolts as they are in tight places. If your still running the pads from the factory it may just be time for them to be replaced...the factory pads usually wear out pretty quick and if you have put on a lift and bigger tires then they will probably wear even faster. If they are contaminated then they should be replaced...

 

[Bennett]

What kind of pads do you guys recommend and can I just order them off the net? My front pads, don't have much left, as I was looking at them today. I have no idea how much the back ones have left, since I couldn't see the pads without removing the drum.

Also if I replace all the pads, is there a chance I will need to disconnect the brake lines? Cause I hate bleeding the lines.

Thanks,
Bennett

 

[bigfella]

in the old cars we just get a clamp and push the brake piston back in very easy. Then you can change the pads without removing the brake lines. now i have not done anything with the newer pistons or disc brakes on the rear with a parking brake...

As far as type of pad, call the local parts store and they usually have a couple of grades. See what brands they are then buy them whereever you can find them...

 

[eric af blkltd]

I just did the brake job on the front discs, never done it before in my life but its pretty simple...and NO you don't have to bleed the brakes awesome huh? Theres two bolts you need to remove on the caliper to get that out of the way. After that take the old pads out and put the new ones in. Before you put them in you need to push back the piston. Be sure to take some brake fluid out of your reservior so its only about half full or you're gonna need a new paint job! Once you get the new pads in put the caliper back on, tighten the bolts and you're ready to go. The pads I put on were Raybestos PG Plus PN PGD856AM and I also went and replaced the rotors too nothing special about the new ones they're OEM but Raybestos Brand too the PN for those are 780036. Bought the stuff at the local Kragen and it ran me about 100 or so.

 

[Bennett]

I just did the brake job on the front discs, never done it before in my life but its pretty simple...and NO you don't have to bleed the brakes awesome huh? Theres two bolts you need to remove on the caliper to get that out of the way. After that take the old pads out and put the new ones in. Before you put them in you need to push back the piston. Be sure to take some brake fluid out of your reservior so its only about half full or you're gonna need a new paint job! Once you get the new pads in put the caliper back on, tighten the bolts and you're ready to go. The pads I put on were Raybestos PG Plus PN PGD856AM and I also went and replaced the rotors too nothing special about the new ones they're OEM but Raybestos Brand too the PN for those are 780036. Bought the stuff at the local Kragen and it ran me about 100 or so.

Well I've decided to replace them today. Since, I just looked at one of the pads and it looks time for replacement. So I'm going to give it a try.

When you say remove some fluid from the reservior, that because you are pushing the piston in?

Thanks,
Bennett

 

[Bennett]

Do you know if we have ceramic pads from the factory?

I was just making some calls to some brake stores and they would do all 4 brakes for 89 bucks including labor, but he said if they were ceramic it would be 169 including labor.

I absolutely hate changing the shoes in drums, I have a hard time for some reason. The discs I could do, but I just don't want to deal with those drums.

Bennett

 

[TRAILN]

I absolutely hate changing the shoes in drums, I have a hard time for some reason. The discs I could do, but I just don't want to deal with those drums.

Bennett

They are really not that bad to change. I just did mine before my trip to NYC in the drivway, freezing cold and late at night. Took me 30 mins back rolling again. I've done many many sets of shoes over the years and these are one of the easier ones. Two maybe three special tools required, make sure you have them before you start the job. I actually made a few mods to the adjusting wheel at the bottom. For one they never work properly and two they are a pain to back off. I rather adjust them manually at every oil change or so. I also flipped them around the other way. Now they line up with the adjusting hole as before they were not lined up and in the way due to the lower shock mount.

Good luck

 

[04RkMtnKJ]

Probably a little late but a little hint on doing rear brakes is to do one side at a time that way if you need to look you have a reference on the other side. Actual thing is a hundred times better than a picture in a manual.

 

[TRAILN]

Oh that reminds me. One thing overlooked and extremely important is the primary and secondary shoes. Primary ALWAYS face towards the front and secondary in the rear. I've seen guys put two primarys on one side and two secondays on the other side [-X

 

[eric af blkltd]

Well I've decided to replace them today. Since, I just looked at one of the pads and it looks time for replacement. So I'm going to give it a try.

When you say remove some fluid from the reservior, that because you are pushing the piston in?

Thanks,
Bennett

Yes you have to push the piston in so removing some brake fluid is a good idea. Just suck some out of the reservior and you'll be set. BTW there are ceramic pads out there, Raybestos and Wearever make some the p/n for raybestos is PGD856AQS you should be able to order them at your local parts store or go to www.partsamerica.com. Hope that helps.

 

[Bennett]

I think I am going to try doing the rear brakes myself. I just had bad expieriences in the past with them on my wrangler.

If I take apart the back brakes is there any bleeding of the brakes involved? Since on my wrangler I had to take the brank lines off to change the pads.

Bennett

 

[04RkMtnKJ]

You shouldnt have to bleed any brake lines if you only change the shoes or pads of the are rear disc. The only time you should have to take a brake line off if you do something with the wheel cylinder back there but if you are just replacing the pads no lines are disconnected.

 

[Bennett]

Oh wait now I remember why I had to discount the lines on my wrangler. I had to bleed the brakes. What happened was one of the rubber hoses started to rub on the tire, eventually one day I was driving down the road and all of sudden the brake light lit up on the dash. Then to my dismay I saw brake fluid being spraying all over the road. Needless to say I stuck a vice grip on the line to make my home.

But I'm going to take a look at the drums this week, and hopefully change them myself.

Bennett

 

[04RkMtnKJ]

Yeah you shouldnt have to bleed the breaks at all unless you open part of the hydraulic part of your system. Just doing pads or shoes does not require bleeding. My best advise on rears is too do one side at a time like i said before. My instructor told me that a long time ago and it is probably some of the best advise because of all the the little parts in the drum.

One trick if you ever do have to bleed brakes is too get a tube that fits snugly on the bleeder and put the other end in a bottle or bucket. It keeps the brake fluid from spraying all over you jeep and driveway. Less clean up.

 

[Bennett]

Well I replaced the front brakes, too me a whole 10 minutes to both sides. Really simple to do.

Even though 1/2" of pad was still on it, one of the pads had actually broken and was missing 1/4 of the pad.

But its working good now.

Bennett