Topic: TJ Front Discs

[jagular7]

I'm detroying my front brake pads. In February 09, they walk outward in the upper portion of the mount. This was the second time I noticed this.


Yesterday while rotating my tires, the driver's side inside pad curled under the bracket up top and bent rubbing the rotor's leading edge. Caliper's bolts are still tight so the caliper slides in/out without any problems.
Only thing I can see is maybe the bracket is too wide and the pads don't fit tight so they walk.

Driver's side





Passenger side is working the upper portion of the pad into the bracket.


What are the options to remedy this situation?
- Vanco brakes
- Reider Racing knuckle (swaps in GM 1/2ton knuckle out and stub shaft)

Any other thoughts?

[sharpxmen]

on the left side looks like an alignment issue (or too much play in the caliper sliders) - are those calipers the dual piston ones? if yes i would also check to see if one of the pistons is not seized.

i had a second look at the top pic - seems that the pads are not sliding over when they wear out or that are somehow getting jammed - is your wheel bearing ok? too much play in it can cause that as the disk could move when brakes are applied and at that point being forced on the pad sliders they would rather bend than move over due to the pressure there - put the wheel on and tighten the bolts and with the front lifted try to see how much play you have in the front bearings - if that's not it and these are vanco disks + calipers i would give them a call as it is a safety issue and should take care of it even outside the warranty period.

EDIT: had a third look - they seem single piston calipers. I would say it's either the bearing (first choice), the caliper sliders are worn or one is seized or the pad slider (bracket) is misaligned.

[jagular7]

Thanks for the response.
This setup is all stock TJ. TJ has 141k miles on it. Axle was completely rebuilt 5 yrs ago (117k miles). Since then under 30k miles driven. (It is mostly driven to/from trails and nice sunny days.) It is a 4cyl/auto. Gears - 4.88, lunchbox lockers. Unit bearings appear to be holding tight. No movement in tire with no weight on it. The caliper is stock single piston. 

My guess is the pads have too much tolerance and move with the rotation of the rotor like you suggested.

[oldjeep]

Arn't there supposed to be anti-rattle clips on the surface that the pads ride on?

As for your options, I'd just find a set of junkyard caliper brackets that are in good shape and swap them on, and replace the calipers with rebuilt units just in case they have gotten messed up from the pads moving around like that.  That Vanco stuff is insanely overpriced considering that the stock setup is capable of stopping 35's with no problem at all.

[aw12345]

You got 2 choices to fix it. The cheapest would be to get the wear clips that a Rubicon and an LJ uses on the rear caliper brackets. Other fix is to replace the knuckles since the wear are for the pads is worn/ trashed. the pads should slide on it snoothly and since this area is dished they will hang up. You could try to weld and reshape this area.
You got nothing to loose there, its that or replace the knuckles or try to bolt on a hole XJ setup

[sharpxmen]

Arn't there supposed to be anti-rattle clips on the surface that the pads ride on?

As for your options, I'd just find a set of junkyard caliper brackets that are in good shape and swap them on, and replace the calipers with rebuilt units just in case they have gotten messed up from the pads moving around like that.  That Vanco stuff is insanely overpriced considering that the stock setup is capable of stopping 35's with no problem at all.

you're probably right, seems to be a lot of play there.