New Brake Rotors and PAD's all around

[Country2003KJ]

I posted about 1500 miles last weekend thru Appalachia and Liberty did just fine. Climbed hills with ease and passed others without a sweat. I did notice that the front brakes did throb a little bit when applied.

I have 118000 miles on my 2003 with the 45RFE (tr)anny and 3.7 engine. The brake pads are looking fine all around and I suspect the rotors are either original or maybe aftermarket - not sure, but I want to replace all rotors and pads. I see that Powerstop is an option for brake pads, but what are others using. I primarily use the liberty for onroad use and would like some ideas from the experienced crowd for new rotors/pads.

I see a bunch of options at Rockauto and have no clue on what is best. I usually use whatever is cheapest on other used vehicles in the past but prefer better quality on this jeep.

 

[seafish]

I like Power Stop or Akebono or Raybestos Element3

 

[u2slow]

I just buy cheap pads. Rust and seizing pin sliders take their toll before pads get used up

Same front rotors for the last 100k miles.

 

[JBDive]

How the heck do you just have 100k on an 03, I'm sitting at 240k and engine number 2?

I've tried all the "best" pads from NAPA, Auto"name your version" and every single one of them that use those thin metal antivibration shims has allowed for the shim to break free and cause various braking issues. At this point I just figure on replacing pads every 30k if lucky and don't go with the most expensive or cheapest. I did try some ceramic pads but took them off within 4k as the grinding noise was horrible. They are still sitting on the shelf in case of emergency Sunday night brake job I guess.

 

[Country2003KJ]

I bought the Liberty in Nov 2020 with 94000 miles on it. It was a trade in at a volvo dealership. The best I can tell is that the person that bought it in Washington State in Nov 2002 and then brought it to VA and had its first 3500 mile oil change. Then they used the vehicle sparingly around the area for about 5000 miles per year until they traded it in Oct 2020. I dug up some info on it and it basically sat around and used as a 3rd car and was well maintained. They had to get the emissions inspected every year so i could see the mileage each time and it basically never moved. I suspect after awhile they got tired of it and cut it loose. I my area we do not inspect for emissions so if there is a problem I do not know about it.

Good thought about the ceramic pads and noise. I want good pads that do not create alot of dust. Would like good rotors as I think these rotors are smoothed out.

 

[u2slow]

Good thought about the ceramic pads and noise. I want good pads that do not create alot of dust. Would like good rotors as I think these rotors are smoothed out.

Semi-metallics bite good, but are notorious for dust (blackening the wheels). Nature of the beast.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[JBDive]

I bought the Liberty in Nov 2020 with 94000 miles on it. It was a trade in at a volvo dealership. The best I can tell is that the person that bought it in Washington State in Nov 2002 and then brought it to VA and had its first 3500 mile oil change. Then they used the vehicle sparingly around the area for about 5000 miles per year until they traded it in Oct 2020. I dug up some info on it and it basically sat around and used as a 3rd car and was well maintained. They had to get the emissions inspected every year so i could see the mileage each time and it basically never moved. I suspect after awhile they got tired of it and cut it loose. I my area we do not inspect for emissions so if there is a problem I do not know about it.

Good thought about the ceramic pads and noise. I want good pads that do not create alot of dust. Would like good rotors as I think these rotors are smoothed out.

That is really similar to the 07 I bought. It showed up at one of our dealerships as a trade, a high value dealership that had no use for a Jeep Liberty. It came though on our inventory and I saw it but didn't give it much thought then overnight it hit me that the mileage on it was just 47k. Called the GM the next morning and he said it was headed to our wholesale lot and I asked him if he could hold off, I'd be over there within the hour. Got over to look at it and the thing looked brand new. It had two issues, a bad, strange smell inside and the A/C had been hot wired to a switch in the inside. Anyway I made an offer, he countered just a little higher so yeap I'll take it.

Anyway I dug around on the history and apparently it was a towed vehicle by an old couple behind a motorhome who used it just for errands once they arrived at a travel site. They must have had a full gravel guard on it as well as there was no paint chips and the windshield looked factory. The A/C issue is a vacuum leak way inside the dash so the A/C only works to defrost vents and for what we have used the Liberty for it has been just fine in that mode 95% of the time. As to the smell, it was a strange urine type smell but not quite. Took it to a service we use to kill smells out of cars we resell and they bombed and sprayed the crap out of it till it was barely there. Eventually we learned they had a damn ferret which had apparently pissed or musked the rear cargo area. We had to take the back panel off years later and found probably 5lbs of animal food pellets in it.

 

[Country2003KJ]

I figure I would give an update on my decision and results of the installation. I decided on the Raybestos Element 3 package - rotors and blended pads. My old rotors were the originals since installed in 2002. The shims cud have been the originals because they were embedded on the metal. The pads were aftermarket and the shims were broken. I measured the thickness of the old pads and rotors together and it was 2 - 1/8". The new combination was 2-1/2" so I gained about 3/8". The rotors were glazed and when the new pads were put on years ago they became glazed as well. I replaced rubber and lubed pins and shims and used anti-seize on the hub face. When I finished the brake fluid level was between Max and the cap so I took out that much fluid. My noise from the brakes and teh markings on the rotors and the brake performance was all indicative of glazing....so I am good for now..thx for all the inputs.

 

[Country2003KJ]

Possibly corrected dash light alarms. When I bought the Jeep in Nov 2020 I always had a periodic ABS yellow light pop up. It would come and go and I would continue to drive. When I backed out I would always get a scratching metal to metal grinding as if the brake pads were down to metal. But I always would take a peak at the brake pads and once in awhile I would adjust a shim or two. Most recently I went for a long drive and the ABS light would pop on then off. Now, after the rotor/pad change out I do not get the ABS light. It would always pop up weekly but not now.

Another maybe dash light solution is the SRS red light. Let me describe when it would pop on. If I get into the car and just start it up without adjusting my seat or rolling a window down or throwing something into the front seat the SRS light would not come on. But if I was doing something at the same time as starting it up the red SRS light would come on. It would stay on for awhile and if I stopped at store and then started it up the SRS light would not come back on. It would never stay red all day but just for a little while.

I went to get the jeep inspected and when the inspector got in he would start it and adjust the seat and it would come on. He told me that if he inspected it he would fail me so he let me go and said come back when the light is not on. I drove away and stopped at the store and stopped and then started it and the light went away and I went back and he inspected it since the light was out and I passed. I have not seen either the ABS yellow light or the SRS red light pop on since the rotor/pad change-out. Coincidence or fix?