So the other day, I noticed that my 'BRAKE' light wasn't coming on in the cluster even though the handle is pulled up... although I did notice that the brake wasn't engaging (I can shift into gear and the Jeep will move right away, even if the brake isn't engaged). I also need to replace all 4 pads and 1 caliper. Could the fact that my rear pads are bad contribute to my parking brake not working?

Also, I have another question. Before the parking brake stopped engaging, a few weeks ago I was driving it and noticed a hot smell coming from the right front wheel when I stopped to get gas. I thought nothing of it (it was blistering hot that day) and just kept on driving. About 15 or so minutes later, I feel a shakiness coming from the same wheel (right front), so I decided to stop at the next gas station to check it out, only to find my right front brake caliper had been sticking and overheated (only that caliper was smoking). I ended up buying a gallon jug of ice-cold water at the gas station and poured it into the wheel and brake caliper to cool things down. I was able to make it home into my driveway, trying not to hit the brakes more than I had to (e.g. stopping at a sign or light), but the caliper was starting to heat up again. The discs seem ok and don't squeel. Is it common for the calipers to stick on WJ's?

I'm planning to do brake work this week (all new pads and one new caliper for the RF) because I have to take a longer trip in the Jeep in the next few weeks, and don't want to have any issues.

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks,

Vince

 

Yes, unfortunately, the dual piston calipers do tend to stick if one piston hangs up the slightest bit. It will **** the pads and heat up very quickly, sometimes warping the rotor. It's very important to keep the slide pins well lubricated. The Teves calipers are more prone to this than the Akebono, but it can happen with both.

The parking brake has it's own drum on the back side of the rear rotor and each side has a cable that joins a master cable just behind the lever and underneath the car. It is a completely separate system from the disc brakes. They are internal drum brakes like on older cars.

It was not such a good idea to pour cold water on a hot brake. You could have cracked the rotor very easily doing that as well as gotten scalded with hot water or steam.

 

Yeah I stood from a distance when pouring the water. If the cable is bad for the parking brake, then I'm not fixing it, LOL.

I don't know what brand calipers my Jeep has, don't know if they've been replaced... CarFax said the first owner got the maintenance done at a dealer (original owner was from Mountain Top, PA), then the second owner had a shop she went to (she's the owner I got it from), I try to do my own maintenance, it doesn't say the calipers were replaced, though I'll double check my records. Going to go with whatever my local AutoZone stocks that's the cheapest (the pads will be Duralast brand, not so sure about the calipers, but they're not OEM).

Thanks for your help, Dave, I knew you'd probably be the one to respond!

 

Okay, here's pictures of the Teves and Akebono calipers. The Teves has a spring clip on the front of it to stabilize the caliper. The Akebono doesn't have one.

Teves caliper




Akebono Caliper The rear brakes are Teves on both the early ones and the later ones. You can swap to the Akebono if you want, but you have the change the mounting brackets as well.

 

I just read a couple of FSBs about brake pulsations and rotor warpage. This is usually caused thickness variations in the rotor or lateral runout. They are saying the rotors MUST be replaced when installing a new caliper and checked for variations and runout NOT TO EXCEED .001". The hub flange must be cleaned of rust and debris, the back of the rotor (mounting surface) must be free of nicks and other variations. The rotor must be "indexed" to limit any lateral runout beyond these stated limits or the rotor must be machined on the hub. This runout checking must be done with the wheel mounted and the studs torqued to 100 lb/ft. Do not use any lubrication or release compound on the hub flange when installing it.

Any thickness variation or lateral runout beyond this limit will cause the inner pads to drag and cause excessive heating. This runout spec includes the hub bearings which are held to 25 microns (.001) during production. All Mopar calipers are made with phenolic pistons to limit heat transfer to the body of the caliper.

It sounds like we're building the space shuttle here! All this is because of the DUAL piston calipers. This FSB was Chrysler's way of limiting customer comebacks for brake pulsations and rotor warpage.

 

My calipers look more like the Teves (first pic) calipers.

 

Yeah, mine too, and for 4 years I've messed with them trying to get them to work right, and had problems with sticking pistons, squeaking brakes when they weren't applied, and lots of dust on the wheel rims. I finally gave up and did the switchover to Akebono. So far, they've been perfect and give me a more solid brake feel and more consistent stopping distances. I added drilled and slotted rotors and pads for heavy loads and towing.

 

Tomorrow I'm headed to AutoZone to get my pads (F/R) and the RF caliper. Pads will be Duralast, caliper will be whatever AZ has that's the least expensive.

 

JMHO, but I think you'll be disappointed with Duralast.

 

I have a Duralast battery in it (previous owner put it in) and it's been reliable (*knocks on wood*)