Brake replacement 2020 JT Sport S with 93k

[Yallaen]

I noticed that my Gladiator has started pulling slightly right when hard braking. It has original brakes, with upgraded 35" KO2s on 17" Mopar rims. It has been fantastic. I did replace the rear wheel sensor on the passenger side due to rodent activity . But no squealing, etc.

Pulling the front wheels, I found both rotor looking great. The pads are just shy from the squealer, I'd say they have another 10k on them, but let's tackle it now. The rotors have no warping, no scoring, and have about 1/16" lip on outer edge from wear. Some folks have told me to just slap pads on it after roughing up rotors with sandpaper and sending it. I may take them to O'Reilly and have them resurfaced.

The pulling I think may be caused by the brake pins in the caliper? When I watch Eric with South Main Outer, he does all sorts of vehicle brakes. That is one thing he does, is pulls those pins out, cleaned them well, lightly uses ceramic grease (brake grease), and reinstalls being careful of the rubber boots. He then greases the caliper faces and locations where the pads ride.

I just was watching a couple YT folks doing front brake rotor/pad replacements on JTs, and none of them did anything with the pins. I'm thinking that's the cause of my pulling (both sides do have even, similar wear btw). I know to grease the ear tabs on the pads. But anyone else thinking about the brake pins?

Also, what your thoughts on turning rotors vs new rotors, vs just pad-slapping?

Final thought: I'm looking at just getting the O"reilly Auto Brake Best Select Pro rotors if I go to just swapping them. Never have had issues with them on past rides in the past.

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[GuzziMoto]

In my experience issues with the caliper pins tend to lead to uneven pad wear between the two pads, inner and outer. They can also lead to things like pulling, but usually there will also be a difference in wear.
That said, you should always inspect and clean the pins when replacing pads. They are cheap enough that you can just replace them.
Make sure you grease them with the correct grease. Do not use regular grease, use high temp grease made for brake caliper pins. It usually comes in small tubes as you don't need much.

I used to re-use rotors after cleaning and/or resurfacing, but as cheap as they are now I typically replace the rotors.

 

[MeanGreen]

My thought is rotors are a wear item and should just be replaced. Fresh rotors, fresh pads = peace of mind. Also no reason not to service the pins. They could cause you trouble down the road if you don't. I've had to replace the caliper mounting brackets in other vehicles before because the pins were neglected and seized up in the bracket.

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

When it’s time to do brakes, I plan on using Mopar pads. I’ve always thought they were pretty good. Better than what I’ve gotten on Fords for sure. As far as everything else I just do a good cleaning and a scrub if it’s needed. Usually do almost a can of cleaner per corner and everything is shiny like new after a spray and copper brush treatment.

 

[justbig]

I have had a similar pulling to one side on braking. After pads, rotors and greasing it ended up a bad hose. It had collapsed and wasn't allowing fluid to pass. So the pull to the right was due to a bad left side brake hose failure. Worth investigating.

 

[Yallaen]

Well, O'Reilly has the ability, and with as little they need resurfacing, I'm just gonna go that route. I am getting the high end ceramic brake pads that are OEM replacement. I have 2 cans of brake clean at the ready And I have the high-temp brake grease

 

[Rusty PW]

Pulling to one side. With that many miles. I say that you have a piston in the opposite side caliper of the pull sticking. How's the pad wear between the 2 calipers?

 

[GuzziMoto]

Another thing that can cause a pull is a bad brakeline on the side it is pulling to. Jeep brakelines can internally collapse, acting as a one way check valve for brake pressure. When you apply the brakes the pressure goes into the caliper under that pressure. But when you release the brakes the collapsed line does not freely allow that pressure to return back to the master cylinder.
If you have one of the cool laser temp guns you can stop during a drive and measure brake temp. All four corners should be fairly equal.

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