So my brakes on my 2000 xj overheated whilst driving over 3 mountain passes within 40 miles. I pulled over and they were smoking a little bit, the next section of road was flat so I let them chill for a bit and started driving again. When I got to about 35mph the steering wheel started shaking like crazy.

I'm pretty sure the rotors got warped and that caused the shaking. I'm definitely not a mechanic but I do understand cars. Is there anything else that could have caused this? Once rotors get warped are they done for even if they re-align when they cool?

Thanks for any help at all.

 

Yes they are warped. They overheating of the brakes is the cause of the warpage. Now we just need to determine the cause of the overheating. I drive in the mountains all the time. even pulliing heavy trailer up and down the mountains, the only time I have ever overheated my brakes like you describe was when a caliper was sticking, and dragging.

 

sounds like a rotor to me. but there is only replacing, no fixing a warped rotor. bummer yes. idk what condition your breaks are in overall, but i spent under 500 replacing all components front and rear. it made such a difference. but like i said it depends on what the rest of your set up looks like. make sure your rears are adjusted well...

 

That could be the case because I am very aware of not riding my brakes. The jeep is new to me and only has 83,000 miles on it, I was told by my uncle that the brakes were "good" but I havent checked them myself.