gus.

Hey folks! I wonder if I'm missing something here or if my front calipers on my ZJ have actually somehow fused w/my pads. I've done brake jobs dozens of times but never on a Cherokee.

1. Remove caliper mounting bolts. 2x13mm.
2. Lift caliper away.

^ Am I missing a step somewhere? Haha. I cannot for the life of me release the caliper from the pads. Rotor spins fine but the damn caliper won't come off.



I've given it a few love taps to break it free and even shot it w/a bit of WD40 (no PB handy) to no avail. Any advice appreciated.

9XJSPORT7

no you have it right....try taking a screw driver and prying between the caliper and the bracket.....the rotor more than lickly has a lip on it and the pad is catching it not allowing the caliper to come off

ET JEEP

I haven't done brakes on my Jeep yet. On my truck, before I remove the caliper I use a clamp to squeeze the piston back to release and have more of a gap at the pads. I usually remove some brake fluid from the master cylinder. Never had a problem removing the calipers.

Nick318

+1 For the screwdriver method. Try prying at the top first, if that doesn't do it one time i had to open the bleeder, and get the screwdriver between the back of the pad and rotor, then give it a twist. Usually, the first works everytime.

sportrider

if you look at the pads you'll see where one side is slotted and the other is open. you have to rotate the caliper off. once the open side is clear from the anchor the slotted side will just pull off.

sportrider

looking at your pic again it looks like the bottom has to come off first.

gus.

That makes sense. Bottom pivoted upwards then out towards me. Will try this first thing tomorrow morning. Thanks all!

gus.

C-Clamp! Crappy iPhone pic:



That did it. So, the pad retainers were very new to me.



Knowing that the rear pad inserted itself into the piston would have given me a better understanding before starting the brake job. Also, note that the front pad has 2 anchors that need disengaging from the caliper.

Hope this helps someone doing a first time Cherokee brake job.

sportrider

glad you got it whopped