2006 Sport CRD, 81K miles. original brakes, rears adjusted once by the dealer. I have never had any sticking caliper issues previously.

decided to have a local shop get some new rear brakes installed, old ones were still working, just the linings getting a bit thin. got home and right rear was hot and smelly. looks like one of the rear calipers was caused to stick from the action of replacing the pads and rotor. it compressed OK by hand, but once the pedal was pressed in it was dragging. as far as I can tell the brake job was done to my standards by a reputable shop, used good parts, re-greased the sliders and pad contact points etc etc.

this is just sort of an FYI to those of us who are going into their first set of rear brakes, might want to consider (or at least budget for) doing calipers too. Advanced Auto got me a RR caliper, and a bottle of DOT 3, for $89.55 - $25 core = $64.55. I'm just glad I caught it before i ruined/warped my new set of pads and rotor.

i have had that happen to me a million times working with kj's. it's not the guy doing the job, i think it's the neopreme piston in the steel caliper housing. i'm not sure why the kj rears more than any other vehicle with the same design.

Place I've always gone to has always done a pretty good job on brakes, though they might not last as long as they could.

This year I got the jeep in the middle of the coldest part of the year and I didn't want to mess with them, so I had them put on new rotors and pads. Well, there were 2 problems. I left the parts choices up to them...and the brakes squawked and screeched every time I braked. 2nd, after braking at low speed their would be an audible squeak like one of the brakes was slightly engaged. After going back twice, I told them I wanted the crappy semi metallics taken off and ceramics put on. He told me they'd take care of it.

Well the sound went away for about a month and its coming back. I don't know if they just replaced one or two or what. I've been doing all in town driving, light braking, and I hadn't noticed a warp, but this weekend I got on the interstate and did a hard brake while doing about 80 and they shook so badly I was worried I'd lose control.

I'm torn in buying a whole new set after only 6 months, but I'm tired of jacking with them, as I'm guessing they'll just keep doing the minimum and keep one part or the other getting messed up.

I'll probably get all new rotors and pads, but what about the calipers? Should just the rears be replaced, or what is the best method to test each to see if they are working properly?

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2005 KJ Renegade
Fabrications for sale: Aluminum Roof Rack (See Page 9)
Aluminum Gas Tank Skid -- Radiator Skid -- Front Strut Shims
Coming Soon: Rear Bumpers with lots of options

i hav'nt seen a front set go bad yet, your rear calipers, brakes and wheel will get extremely hot and the rotor will turn rainbow colors when it happens.

I just did a full brake job last week. I've got about 75k and it was time for rotors.

I had a right rear caliber go bad at about 25k, piston seized. I replaced it myself. No problems since then. I had greased the caliper bolts during the last pad change, but as I tested the movement of the guides on the bolts, discover that at least one of the guides didn't move freely in the caliper. Pulling back the boot, I found considerable corrosion on the guide. This is MOPAR caliper I replaced at 25k. Never occured to me to check for lube for the guides on a brand new caliber. So I checked all the others and found almost no lubricant on any of them. Looks like they come from the factory that way.

Don't know if that has anything to do with the caliper piston seizing, but I recommend while your working on them, fill the guide boots with grease.

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2005 CRD "Ol' Blue"
Red Ryder carbine-action, two hundred shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time.
My build page- RL Komodo Rear and TJM Front Bumper, armored, lifted, JBA Steel D30, 4.10s and ARB air lockers.