I check the front brakes, rotors are in good shape, pads look to be 80%

have not checked rear drums, because to be honest I’ve never worked on drums, and don’t know much about them. If I had to guess my problem is in the drum brakes, but want to run it by you guys in case you’ve ever had thus issue.

when slowing down, to say, turn into a drive way or gas station, the Jeep slows fine, and at a normal rate. But when moving slow, if I hit the brakes, I get a small thud, and the brakes grab harder. I thought it could be the bushings in the front CA’s, as they do look to be pretty damn worn, and probably original (200K), so it’s possible the the weight is shifting forward in the worn bushings, but that doesn’t explain the brakes grabbing. I also doubt it’s my calipers grabbing, because it’s consistent and never have any other issues at faster speeds (that I can tell)

any advice is welcome. Thank ya!

 

It sounds like the rear drums to me... I hate them!
They're meant to self adjust but every now and then they decide not to and the rears ****** as you're coming to a halt. Sometimes they even chirp the tyres :/
I don't know if this is FSM approved but now and then I just gently ride the brakes for 200m or so at 20-30mph. It seems to level everything out - for a while.
Mine need a full strip/rebuild every 10k miles or so.

Edit. Seeing as I'm WFH in lockdown and most of my colleagues have been furloughed.. I broke out the FSM

From 5-11
REAR BRAKE GRAB OR PULL Rear grab or pull is usually caused by improperly adjusted or seized parking brake cables, contaminated lining, bent or binding shoes and support plates, or improperly assembled components. This is particularly true when only one rear wheel is involved. However, when both rear wheels are affected, the master cylinder, proportioning valve, or RWAL valve could be at fault.

and from 5-27 the final part of how to adjust the rear drums is:

(9) Drive vehicle and make one forward stop followed by one reverse stop. Repeat procedure 8-10 times to operate automatic adjusters and equalize adjustment.

NOTE: Bring vehicle to complete standstill at each stop. Incomplete, rolling stops will not activateautomatic adjusters.

So forget what I said about riding the brakes!

 

Thanks man! I’ll give that a shot and report back

 

Mine does that from time to time and the cause varies.

However, IIWY I wouldn't start with (9) in the FSM. It's at (9) for a good reason.

 

I adjusted my rear drums up today and had the exact same noise. It's now gone. I'd been meaning to get around to it for a while.

 

From 2000 FSM: