kstrooper

This is a strange problem that I have had for some time now and is beginning to get worse.

As the Jeep comes to a full stop, somewhere in the 10-15 mph range the brake pedal feels like it drops a half an inch but as soon as that happens the brakes firm up and it comes to a stop with a firm pedal. Lately I have noticed the brakes sticking as I start moving also.

My first thought was calipers but after reading several posts I am wondering if a bad master cylinder would cause this. Any thoughts?

Turbo X_J

Are the drums paper thin, what about the rotors? Are the calipers free to slide on the knuckle or are they locked up in a groove?

RTorrez1

Start by checking the brake fluid level and also check the front and rear brakes to make sure that they aren't warn out.

caged

sounds like you have a leak in the system.
either that or your master is shot. (leaking into the booster)

cruiser54

Got ABS?

Check the rear shoes and adjust the rear brakes if the shoes are good.

That's along with what Turbo X J suggested.

Baby D

start with looing at brake fluid level
does ur engine have high or low idle or does it s5tay right around 800 rpm or so
next check rear drums for adjustment an easy way to check is jack up rear diff tires off the ground with vehicle in park if ur tires spin freely take ur wheels off n check ur drum linings either there worn to much, cracked/cracking, or out of adjustment. then after that. or if everything looks good i would then look at ur disc brakes in the front. make sure the calipers compress n the sliders are free of movement next look at rotors is there any rust on the contact area(were the pads meet)? replace if needed. if none of these are the issue grab a flaslight n pull off the hose that goes to the brake booster and look in there and check for fluid if that is there you will also have low brake fluid. if all of this checks out good and no problems with brake level crack ur bleeders open like u were gonna bleed and make sure when u push down u get a steady stream if u dont get a steady stream replace the brake hose.

Baby D

note: most common low brake pedal complaint is misadjusted rear drums or drums with fluid on them cause wheel seals or wheel cylinder leaking drums should be clean on the inside

kstrooper

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

I think I'll start with the rear brakes as I've never had them open before. I did notice yesterday that one of the rotors was partially rusted (about 6" around) but I just thought that was from not driving it for a couple weeks and the high humidity here. Not to mention that the whole Jeep is a rust bucket anyway. The front pads are good and move free or did when I last had the rotors off.

I"ll update this thread when I figure out the culprit. I also have a new issue that is non-related. After putting in a new ignition actuator over the weekend I now have an airbag light on. What next?