1996 XJ
My rotors are pretty grooved up. Not sure if these pix do the depth justice.


Passenger side

Driver's side

This Jeep has been the victim of some pretty shoddy brake work too. Around 2002 the clutch pedal mechanism broke, I also had a new in box rotor and the shop I took it to said they would repair the clutch pedal and do brakes all the way around for $400, including using my new rotor. It was a shop in Northern Virginia I had been doing business with too. Before I got two miles down the road, the front brakes locked up. They did not follow the proper procedure for adjusting the clutch/brake pedal so the brakes were dragging in front the whole time.

After they "fixed" that, I drove to Manhattan. The brake switch was not set right and brake lights were always on. Needed to get jumped every time I turned around until I figured out to remove the fuse when parked. Brought it back and they got that fixed. Stopped going there even for gas.

Five years ago the passenger side rotor was getting chewed up by worn pads. Took it to a shop here in Knoxville, TN and they replaced rotors, pads, and leaking rear wheel cylinders. Ended up with a crimp in a rear line at the wheel cylinder that they did not "notice" until a couple of months ago. Have been brushing up on my own brake work ever since. Did rear brakes complete a few weeks ago, except for that blast emergency brake.

Not getting any noise from these and they seem to stop OK, for now. Are they a problem waiting to happen by surprise?

 

For the time being till you finish getting the front brake parts in place and ready to roll?
I think you will be OK but....
Just drive cautiously and plan ahead.

 

If they stop and don't make any noise then I'd keep using them but start looking for new disks and pads for your next pay day.
Fronts are simple to change, too. It helps if you have some copper grease for the caliper pins, a decent sized bar and a C clamp to shove the pistons back in for the new pads.

 

The only things I am waiting for now is seal kit and POR caliper paint (apparently late this month is as quick as Amazon can send that stuff). Have new Raybestos coated rotors, rebuilding some junkyard calipers that I just cleaned up, and had stainless mesh flex lines made at a local hydraulics shop. Still need to pop the pistons out and see if the bores inside are good. BTW, don't believe the O'Reilly description that their caliper pistons are steel. They are phenolic just like the picture. However, they are priced close to Centric and another brand at Rock Auto, so for plastic, they are probably as good as others, but they are NOT steel.

If anybody knows what years of compatible calipers had steel, that would be a good junkyard adventure.

EDIT: I will be using Permatex silicone/ceramic for the pins and behind the pads. The 1997 and 1994 manuals specify silicone paste for that. They also specify a MOPAR lube for where the pad slides. Have seen some use anti-seize there instead. Might use nickel just because I already have it:
https://www.permatex.com/products/lu...ize-lubricant/

BTW, saw on some other boards that the people complaining about the silicone paste on pins drying up were also using grease there too. I think that combination does dry up (Eric the Car Guy tip? forgot source), but sticking to straight silicone products is best. The pins in these 1994 calipers have silicone and look great.

 

When you dig in to do the brakes or just the caliper painting you're planning on, and I'm sure you've read this here before, check your knuckles for wear where the pads sit. When I did my UJ's a few months back I had the infamous knuckle grooves and had to weld and file them smooth.

 

Definitely hard to say from the pics, but if I had to make a decision I would say you are fine to use them for now. They don't look terrible. Rotors are not terribly expensive, so you can easily replace them down the road if it bothers you still or if someone who can assess them in person says replace them.

 

Brakes are inexpensive and simple to DIY. That's the first thing I replace on every Jeep I buy. I replaced the pads, rotors, drums, shoes and hardware for around $160. That was before switching to Black Magic brakes to stop my 33" tires. $125 for front pads only.

 

If your nail catches on them they should be replaced before putting new pads on, but if you're asking if they need immediate replacing, I think they're fine.

 

They are way past nail catching. Especially on the outer edge.

New plan, getting these 1994 XJ calipers cleaned up, painted, and rebuilt to remanufactured status. Holding on to all the new stuff until the ones I am running give any sign of a problem then swapping everything out including flex lines. Noted above, I have new flex lines from a local hydraulic shop.

In the meantime, guess I can change that crusty front to back hardline and vapor line with NiCopp.

 

The real concern is whether or not you still have material left on your pads