brakes are locking

sonofnothing · **Posted:** Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:10 pm

my rear brakes just started locking up, very very aggressively when applying brake rolling at only 5mph... i drove around to the liquor store, home from work, etc.. and it was fine.. parked, came back a few hours later and rear brakes are locking up so violently, the jeep feels like it is falling apart... ANYONE?? there are no leaks or visible damage to the line as i can see...

tommudd · **Posted:** Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:20 pm

some have had problems with the calipers sticking ( piston sticks inside) Check to see if it is one or both, after you drive for a short distance is there a burnt smell or are the calipers hot ( do not touch them cause if they are sticking they can melt your pinky right off :wink:

sonofnothing · **Posted:** Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:29 pm

well, the rear brakes are drum, so there are no calipers involved... the front i believe are fine, its my rear left tire i can see is clearly locking up, and it like buckles under the weight of the jeep. it looks @$#%! i cant even leave my driveway, they lock with such little braking that im scared to drive it... :/

tommudd · **Posted:** Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:45 pm

sonofnothing wrote:

well, the rear brakes are drum, so there are no calipers involved... the front i believe are fine, its my rear left tire i can see is clearly locking up, and it like buckles under the weight of the jeep. it looks @$#%! i cant even leave my driveway, they lock with such little braking that im scared to drive it... :/

whoops sorry did not see the year

could be several things , retainging springs may have broken and let the shoes go loose and stick
wheel cylinder , piston may of stuck and locked the brakes up,

are you sure its the brakes and not something in the rear axle/diff? can you jack it up with both tires off the ground and try to move both of them?

sonofnothing · **Posted:** Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:57 pm

i have not had the time. im very frustrated, too.. i will check tomorrow i think my uncle is gonna come over and check, he knows enough about drum brakes to troubleshoot it. i hope its not major, i just dropped 2 grand on the tranny, wtf

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Sat Feb 14, 2009 1:25 am

When was the last time you checked out the rear brakes? Ever taken the drum off to inspect?

At close to 60k I wouldnt think the drums would need replacing but there is a chance youre riding around with metal on metal. Hopefully you would of heard that coming though. :shock:

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Sat Feb 14, 2009 1:30 am

That's really odd, i'd seriously jack it up, DC the driveshaft and turn the wheels by hand and see if they seem at all funky, that and checking the brakes

the only odd behavior my jeep performs for me on occassion is that jumpy wiggle when backing up

sonofnothing · **Posted:** Sat Feb 14, 2009 1:59 am

there were no signs the brakes worked perfectly this was like a light switch. i will jack up tomorrow and take a better look. like i said, ima have my uncle mess with the drums but i will learn in the process. never messed with drum brakes before.

Guest · **Posted:** Sat Feb 14, 2009 11:33 pm

If you've never done anything with the brakes before then you are looking at new:

Drums
pads
springs

and maybe cylinders.

You might as well plan on replacing them all as they will be worn. If you've never done it before save yourself a headache and just go to midas. Drums are a pig.

calcrd · **Posted:** Sun Feb 15, 2009 12:32 pm

check the ABS sensors. Mine did same thing and dealer found a loose sensor.

sonofnothing · **Posted:** Sun Feb 15, 2009 3:07 pm

yeah im gonna have my uncle replace them, im sure theyre shot. it was just weird, real sudden. never squeaked or any signs of wear...

where are the sensors located?

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Sun Feb 15, 2009 8:31 pm

If you have ABS there will be one on top of the rear diff and one at each knuckle on the front.

Guest · **Posted:** Sun Feb 15, 2009 8:32 pm

calcrd wrote:

check the ABS sensors. Mine did same thing and dealer found a loose sensor.

LOL WTF?

ok, first:

I'm FAIRLY certain (maybe 70%?) that 02 KJs were not available with ABS. I know I will be corrected if I'm wrong. To find out if your KJ has ABS, go out to it now, turn the key to the On position and look for an ABS light on the dash that illuminates during the bulb test.
If you don't see one, ya ain't got it.

Second:

If he's got less than 70k on it, chances are his shoes/drums are not worn out unless they were WAY over-adjusted regularly, and if he's not touched them, they are probably way out of adjustment and plum not workin.

Don't try to diagnose this sort of brake problem over the internet. Ya can't climb through your monitor and help him, as much as we all would like to

sonofnothing · **Posted:** Thu Feb 19, 2009 6:32 pm

well, my dashboard has the light for FULL TIME even though i do not have that transfer case that allows 4hi full time. soooo.. it probably does have the ABS light even if i dont have ABS... i took the rotors apart, found a bit of water, and blew out the rust that collected with a gun, and its fine now. i think something was just stuck. thanks everybody.

brakes are locking

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