Here's what I've got for this week's Puzzler:

2005 Liberty making a horrible squeeling noise when braking. Make a mental note that it's beyond time for pads and rotors. Then it starts making that noise when NOT braking. I go in immediately, and they replace all 4 sets of pads and rotors. I was expecting that something else would need fixing, since it was making the noise when NOT braking as well, but they didn't replace anything else.

A week later, the problem happens again - squeeling noise when not applying brakes, rear wheels generating a lot of heat and smell. I bring it back in, they say "the rear brakes were too tight, so we loosened them". I don't entirely believe this, since the problem happened before I brought it in to have the pads+rotors replaced, but the problem wasn't happening when I picked it up, so I guess it was fixed

A week later, it happens again. Same noise, same smell, same intermittent behavior. I bring it in, they say "it's not doing it right now, so we can't find the problem. Pads and rotors look fine, no signs of uneven wear or overheating"

It's only the rear brakes, and it's intermittent. Driving could be perfectly fine, brakes silent and operational, or it could be like driving a train, screeching like a pterodactyl the whole time. I tried pulling on the parking brake handle while driving, thinking that it could be stuck, and pulling and releasing might unstick it. It sometimes makes the problem go away temporarily, but not for long. I've also tried pulling the parking brake when it's NOT having the problem. It screeches.

Any ideas? I'm starting to think that I'm better off fixing this one myself, at least then I'll know which shoddy mechanic botched it up.

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Jeff 2005 Jeep Liberty Renegade
4x4, 6spd, Leather, Sunroof, trak-loc, skids/rails, hitch+shackle, hooks, Alpine/iPod, Thule, GPS, CB, Frankenlifted w/ 31" MTRs
Photos Cardomain

slider pins of caliper jamming,and check the hardware kit that hold the pads in place,small metal sliders that hold the pads into place,they rust,break,and move with the pads while you brake,but dont come back and rub against the rotors.

i would also check the e-brake adjustment if you say they get hot and smell,maybe theyre to tightly adjusted.

You answered your own question and found the fault.

Is it not supposed to do that? And if it does, what does that mean the problem is? I'm not very familiar with the braking system - are separate calipers and pads for the ebrake?

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Jeff 2005 Jeep Liberty Renegade
4x4, 6spd, Leather, Sunroof, trak-loc, skids/rails, hitch+shackle, hooks, Alpine/iPod, Thule, GPS, CB, Frankenlifted w/ 31" MTRs
Photos Cardomain

No the parking brake is not supposed to squeel.The parking brake for your KJ is a mini drum setup which uses the rear rotor hat as the drum.

Aha, that makes perfect sense! Thanks for that picture, that explains it pretty well. I didn't realize they were combination (or that combination disc+drum even existed)

They replaced the rotors and normal pads and probably didn't even look at the parking brake. I told them this morning to replace the parking brake pad and look for anything broken or fishy in there, so hopefully they find the problem (I wouldn't think a bad pad could cause it to stick, but maybe if it's parked for a few days with the parking brake on, when I release it there's some surface rust bonding the lack-of-pad to the inside of the rotor? I'm just talking out of my @$$...)

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Jeff 2005 Jeep Liberty Renegade
4x4, 6spd, Leather, Sunroof, trak-loc, skids/rails, hitch+shackle, hooks, Alpine/iPod, Thule, GPS, CB, Frankenlifted w/ 31" MTRs
Photos Cardomain

Sounds like they may have messed up the adjuster for the parking brake?? How high does the handle come up before it will prevent the jeep from rolling in neutral on a slight incline?? If it engages real low.....that very well could be the issue. Or maybe they damaged the shoes while changing the rotors....or took the ebrake shoes out and put them in wrong.

Whatever the case may be, pretty much all signs are pointing towards the ebrake setup.

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Civilisation exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice. -Durant