I have a 98 Cherokee Classic and I am having a problem with braking. Every time I hit the breaks to slow down or stop I get a surging like my brakes are not hitting my rotor evenly. I plan to have my rotors turned and brakes replaced. I know on the newer Jeeps you have to have the rotors replaced, but I'm not sure what to do with mine. Any suggestions on what to do will be greatly appreciated.

 

Major problem with most rotors today is that they are imports from China and made with inferior metals. If you do a lot of hard braking the rotors will tend to heat up and warp. This is what gives you a pulsating in the brake pedal. Take your vehicle to a trusted garage and check to see if there is enough metal left to have the surfaces turned. This with new pads should solve the pulsating your experiencing. Since the price of rotors have come down in price over the last several years, most garages will opt to just replace the rotors instead of turning them even though it is cheaper to resurface the old rotors.

 

Before you do that, pull the rotors and wire brush around the lug nuts to make sure you are seating the rotors evenly when you torque doen the wheel nuts. The single most common fault in "I need my rotors turned" is uneven rust build-up or unevenly torqued lugnuts, leading to a slightly off true rotor and thus brake-pedal surging.

 

Thanks for the information guys. Do you think the bigger tires I put on with my lift could have aided in the problem?

 

do you feel this in the steering wheel or the brake pedal

 

if you are getting a shakeing in the steering wheel, its the front rotors are warped. If it like apulsing in the brake pedal or a up and down movement like feeling its the rear drums.

 

It is in the pedal a little and when you get to almost a stop it gets a little worse and you can feel your body pulsating forwards. It feels like its mostly coming from the front though. When you wait a little longer to brake and hit it harder you dont feel it as much.