front brakes hot

RAYMAN975 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2008 8:25 pm

i just replaced my front brakes on my 02 liberty, and i test drove it and they were smokin and were really hot, same on both sides. the pads moved freely in the calipers and the piston did as well. im thinking i need to adjust the rear drums, i heard you can go backwards and slam on the brakes but that didnt seem to do anything, i did it a couple of times. are there instructions on how to adjust the rear drums? i dont wanna overheat and warp my new rotors

Guest · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2008 8:55 pm

KJ's rear drums are not auto-adjusting.

go to Sears and get a brake spoon, jack up the rear of your KJ and put it in neutral...chock the front wheels. there's a rubber plug on each rear backing plate. stick the brake spoon and turn the adjuster "up" and spin the wheel until you feel some resistance.

RAYMAN975 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2008 8:59 pm

ok cool ill do that tomorrow. i heard from some people to break in the brakes hard, some other say break them in easy and just normal driving. i did a few hard brakes but hope i didnt hurt the rotors. ill just do normal driving from now on and be easy on the brakes and hope i didnt do any damage yet.

Guest · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2008 9:01 pm

oh
well if you JUST replaced the pads and rotors...that's normal. you should see how bad mine smoke when I get done. You should still adjust your rear brakes...but that's not a sign of anything abnormal.

RAYMAN975 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2008 9:17 pm

yours got that hot too? i cleaned the rotors with brake cleaner to get all the oil off. and when i test drove it i saw smoke, which i figured was normal with break in material and some oil "inside" the rotors passages, but touched them with a wet finger and they were sizzlin hot!! and could smell brakes. hopefully its just normal break in. but yes, me and my dad are going to adjust them tomorrow

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2008 9:32 pm

Quote:

KJ's rear drums are not auto-adjusting.

Yes the KJ's that have rear drums are self-adjusting,all drum brakes made in the last 20 years have been self-adjusting on non-commercial vehicles.At least my '02 KJ's rear drums are self adjusting.

RAYMAN975 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2008 9:34 pm

will just normal driving do that? or do i have do go in reverse and slam on the brakes a few more times?

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2008 9:36 pm

RAYMAN975 wrote:

will just normal driving do that? or do i have do go in reverse and slam on the brakes a few more times?

The auto adjusters adjust when going into reverse and slamming on the brakes.

RAYMAN975 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2008 9:42 pm

ok cool

although i do recall seing a rubber plug on the inside of the rear drums. does yours have that as well tkjk?

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2008 9:46 pm

You can also manually adjust the rear drums.There is a rubber plug on near the bottom of the backing plates(kinda oval looking),pop cover out and you will see a star wheel behind the opening,use a flat tip screw driver to adjust the shoes.You can only turn the star one way unless yo release the auto adjuster arm so you can't loosen them without removeing the drums.Don't over tighten them.

RAYMAN975 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2008 9:49 pm

so what should i do? adjust them, or let it autoadjust? whats the advantage/disadvatntage of manually doing it if it will auto-adjust for you.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2008 9:59 pm

RAYMAN975 wrote:

so what should i do? adjust them, or let it autoadjust? whats the advantage/disadvatntage of manually doing it if it will auto-adjust for you.

If your rears are way out of adjustment I would manually adjust them closer then drive in reverse to dail them in.Just make sure you don't over tighten the shoes or you will have on h$ll of a time getting the drums off the adjust them in.A few clicks at a time is all it takes.

Guest · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2008 10:24 pm

You know...i hardly ever back up. Maybe that's why I didn't think the KJ's drums were self-adjusting...I need to adjust them way too often :lol:

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2008 11:37 pm

Yea, turn the star a few clicks then spin the wheel and listen for the pads rubbing. You do not want them to drag much if any at all. Ive never had trouble backing them back off but it is tricky.

I just use a flat blade screw driver.

tjkoen01 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2008 11:42 pm

did i miss something? i thought the front brakes were smokin' hot. if that is the case, why are you messing with the drums?

the only time i've had smoke coming off my brakes was when there was serious problem, new brakes or not.

do you have to give it more gas to get it moving?

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 26, 2008 11:44 pm

tjkoen01 wrote:

did i miss something? i thought the front brakes were smokin' hot. if that is the case, why are you messing with the drums?

the only time i've had smoke coming off my brakes was when there was serious problem, new brakes or not.

do you have to give it more gas to get it moving?

The front brakes can get over heated if the rear drums are not adjusted and working right.

tjkoen01 · **Posted:** Fri Mar 28, 2008 11:07 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

tjkoen01 wrote:

did i miss something? i thought the front brakes were smokin' hot. if that is the case, why are you messing with the drums?

the only time i've had smoke coming off my brakes was when there was serious problem, new brakes or not.

do you have to give it more gas to get it moving?

The front brakes can get over heated if the rear drums are not adjusted and working right.

is the reasoning behind that because the rear brakes are not providing any braking? if so, how could the adjusters close to keep the shoes from touching the drum from replacing the front brakes? could there be a problem with the master cylinder?

i've had more than my fair share of problems with brakes. this sounds new to me. i want to know more!

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Sat Mar 29, 2008 10:10 pm

Probably not a problem with the master cylinder.

If the back brakes are not adjusted properly, they are not providing as much brake as they should. This means the front brakes must take more load.

When the rear pads are not adjusted, they sit further from the drum. When they are like this and the pedal is pushed, they must move further than then normally would which means they do not put as much pressure on the drum.

When they are adjusted properly, they sit closer to the drum so when the pedal is pushed they only need to move very little to contact the drum.

I hope that makes sense.

tjkoen01 · **Posted:** Sun Mar 30, 2008 8:06 pm

i understand all that, but why would that change when the front brakes were changed?

BeepBeepJeepJeep · **Posted:** Sun Mar 30, 2008 8:11 pm

Did you actually see them smoking, or could you just smell them? Anytime I replace pads they get smelly a little bit...

front brakes hot

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