stubert

HI All new here and looking at buying my first jeep.
It's a jeep cherokee stealth year 2000 and in the add it say's that the car
(Drives for about hour and brakes seem to lock up eventially).
My question is might this be the 4x4 diff binding ? or something more simple.
any help please.
thanks
Stu

dave1123

If you're talking about the GRAND cherokee (WJ), it has dual piston caliper brakes on the front. There are 2 different types of calipers, the Teves and the Akabono. Most '00s have the Teves which most people claim tends to warp rotors easily.

I have the Teves on mine and never had a problem until one piston stuck and started dragging. I replaced BOTH calipers with Wagner re-mans only to have the same problem again within a year. Same fracking piston! Front piston, passenger's side. This time, I replaced both hoses, caliper and pads. This problem didn't appear until 165K miles.

Make sure the pins and brackets are lubed with brake grease because if one sticks, it will **** the caliper and cause the brake to drag.

stubert

Hi that sounds good to me if your right which l'm sure you are it's a
much easier job.
Thanks for the advice
Stu

pauldmuir

I have a 2000 3.1TD LTD (WJ)

I replaced the servo booster, rotors and pads on the front.

The brake pedal is really hard, but when the front brakes do engage, they bind almost solid!! (smoke coming from front left as I limp it home).

The calipers can be released by G-Clamping them back out, but it takes a bit of effort.

Does anyone know why my brakes are still hard after replacing the servo. I've checked there is vacuum being created from the brake vacuum servo pump by removing the pipe and placing my finger over, although it doesn't feel very strong.

Also, why are my calipers jamming on so hard?

Sorry if I've posted this to the wrong thread, I'm new to this, and this is my first post.

dave1123

Welcome to CF! I can tell you are overseas because we don't get to play with diesels.

Try replacing the brake HOSES. They have been known to collapse inside and restrict the fluid returning to the master cylinder. This sometimes happens if the caliper was allowed to hand on the hose while replacing the pads or dropped to hang in it while doing the same. They are about 18 USD from {url]rockauto,com[/url] plus shipping. That's for ACDelco which, unfortunately, are Chinese. They are about 3 feet long with steel sections and brackets.

Try breaking the hose loose from the caliper and see if your C-clamp works easier.

pauldmuir

Thanks for the info!!

I'd never thought of the hoses being the cause.

I'm waiting on a new master cylinder and a pair of front callipers being delivered, I'll order a set of hoses as well.

Hopefully get round to fitting them on Tuesday (after the festivities).

I'll post here on how it goes.

I've also got a problem where the tailgate locks with the central locking, but it doesn't unlock. Do you think it's maybe just the wiring? Or maybe the actuator? I've not much of a clue where to start with stuff like that.

dave1123

I take it, it's locked and you can't open it, right? On the inside plastic panel, there is a little door in the panel that gives you access to the lock mechanism. You have to cut thru the insulation underneath the panel, but you'll see a little lever on the center unit. Just a little flip and it unlocks. It may just be the accuator or maybe it just needs lube.

pauldmuir

Brilliant!! I got access to the little flap and I can now get my tailgate open.

Unfortunately though, it still only locks, and doesn't unlock. The switch feels nice and free, there's nothing obstructing it, and I've also lubricated it.

How do I check if the switch is receiving the correct signal when I try to unlock it with the central locking? Or is it most likely to be a dud locking mechanism?

dave1123

You'll probably have to probe the connector with a test light while you have someone work the lock switch. If you have both a lock and unlock signal, it's the accuator.

pauldmuir

Just fitted the new callipers and it's solved!! Got my brake pedal firmness back and no more binding. Jeep going for retest tomorrow and pretty confident it'll pass.
At least I'll know in the future.
It didn't need a new servo or a master cylinder, but at least I know they're done now.

Next job is the central locking on the tailgate, a driver-side wing-mirror that refuses to fold in when I press the button, and the cabin heater taking ages to warm up, but this can wait till after enjoyed our typical Scottish Hogmany celebrations. :-)

Thanks for the advice guys. Much appreciated.

Will be posting on here with my investigations into the latter problems, and any advice would be appreciated!!

pauldmuir

Got my jeep through it's MOT, but the brakes are still really hard and it takes a lot of effort to stop it!!

It's had a servo booster (from the breakers), and a set of disks and pads. I've checked there's a vacuum at the servo. I've also connected the pipe from the vacuum pump directly to the servo to ensure there's no leaks.

Is it possible I've been unlucky with a dud booster from the breakers? Or could this be caused by the master cylinder? (Just about the only thing I haven't replaced so far).

Also, I have something draining the battery overnight. I've had an ampmeter in line with the circuit on the battery, and it sits at a constant drain of approx 1.25amps with all doors closed etc. I started pulling out fuses, and the only one which makes a real difference in the 'ignintion/starter'. It then drops to about 0.3amp, which I know is still very high.

Anybody any ideas?

PS: Does the car have to be fully locked before the computers shut down?

dave1123

When I replaced the front calipers on my WJ, I had a lot of trouble bleeding the brakes because no fluid seemed to be coming out the front system. I had to break open all 4 bleeders and pump the brakes to get fluid flowing again. I think it had something to do with the shuttle valve or the ABS system.

pauldmuir

Did this cause the brakes on your WJ to be heavy and hard? (Before you bled them?)

dave1123

No, it just took a lot longer to stop.