Jeep brakes

[buck91]

Been working on a late 90's Grand Cherokee and noticed something funny. The caliper bracket is built in to the spindle and the brake pad ears contact the bracket directly. There are no replaceable abutment clips on the bracket. You can install some on the pads themselves, but that does nothing to protect the bracket from wear.

As such, when replacing the brakes I noticed some notches starting to wear in to the caliper brackets/spindles. Which as I said are not readily replaceable- you would have to remove them from the ball joints and all. I've tried using the little clip-on abutment shims on the brake pad ears but that only leads to the caliper seizing and frying the brakes.

Do any other vehicles have this type of setup? Is there anything I can do to prevent further wear on the spindle/caliper bracket? Looks like I have to run without any abutment clips to prevent seizure...

 

[Hokiefyd]

This is very typical of Chrysler brakes from that era. My 1997 Dodge Dakota had that, and they persisted through at least 2007, because our '07 T&C had it. Yes, as the brake pad wears against the knuckle, you'll get grooving in the knuckle, which will cause your brake pads to stick. If severe enough, you can replace the knuckle itself, or you can weld material back to the knuckle and then grind it flat.

I always thought that was a really poor design for a brake system. My Dakota's pads were sticky, and I got by by filing the ridges in the knuckle smooth. It was still concave a little bit, but at least the transitions were smooth.

 

[buck91]

Thats what I was afraid of. Guess they will be coming back apart this evening.

 

[Cardenio327]

I think what you're talking about is ATE's design, lots of different brands of cars have them. My Fit has them on the front. Personally, I don't like them, I think they are not a very good design. The nice thing about them is that the caliper slide pins are usually the same, regardless of car brand, and they sell them really cheap.

The way to avoid the notches from forming is to avoid turning your rotors. If you must turn your rotors, or if you get new rotors that don't have a non-directional crosshatch finish [like some Brembos], use a disc sander to cut a crosshatch finish before installation. If the lathe marks are left on the disc, they act like an album track and make the pads rock back and forth and damage the sliding areas of the brackets.

You can temporarily fix the notches by filling them with JB Weld and filing them to shape.

 

[buck91]

Figured it out I think. The abutment clips they sell. If you take and file down the spindle to "erase" the notches then you create too much play in the pads. Use the abutment clips to shim the pads to take up the play. Now... for a lengthy test drive.

 

[Chris142]

I weld up the worn spots and grind them back down. It's avery common thing to do.

 

[JimPghPA]

Originally Posted By: Cardenio327
I think what you're talking about is ATE's design, lots of different brands of cars have them. My Fit has them on the front. Personally, I don't like them, I think they are not a very good design. The nice thing about them is that the caliper slide pins are usually the same, regardless of car brand, and they sell them really cheap.

The way to avoid the notches from forming is to avoid turning your rotors. If you must turn your rotors, or if you get new rotors that don't have a non-directional crosshatch finish [like some Brembos], use a disc sander to cut a crosshatch finish before installation. If the lathe marks are left on the disc, they act like an album track and make the pads rock back and forth and damage the sliding areas of the brackets.

You can temporarily fix the notches by filling them with JB Weld and filing them to shape.


While JB Weld dries to a very hard high-temperature polymer, it might not hold up to the demands a brake system would place on it.

 

[eljefino]

This situation got worse around 1990 when dodge started using ABS. The chatter amped up the wear.

 

[buck91]

Blah. Finally fixed the physical problem only to find the hidden hydraulic issue. Just Empty Every Pocket.

 

[threeputtpar]

Yes, it's an ATE brake system feature as my '03 A6 had the same design up front. I too tried to JB Weld them and the stuff just didn't stick to the brackets.

I also had the misfortune to not know about using a machined rotor, and had the pads follow the album like groove until they jammed up in the caliper. Not fun.

In my case the brackets were separate from the knuckle, but were $200 a piece to replace.