Front brakes warping or, more accurately, the front brake rotors warping in Jeep Grand Cherokees was a big enough problem to call out a TSB (technical service bulletin) for the SUV. It covered models manufactured in the late '90s and a few years afterward. The cause was discovered to be a faulty caliper with improper centering that resulted in heating and warping the front rotors. The recall replaced the rotors, pads,and the caliper to a different design. There are other things you can do as well to help keep the brakes from warping in your Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Instructions
- 1
Determine if you have the calipers on the front brakes that were covered under the original TSB. Bring the Jeep to a certified mechanic to determine this. If you bought the Grand Cherokee secondhand you may not be able to do anything about it, but you might still try to get it serviced by a Jeep dealer to see if they will still cover it. If the calipers have indeed been changed and you still have a warping in the brakes, proceed to the following steps.
2Have the rotors removed and machined or replaced. Most places will not recommend or may refuse to machine a composite rotor (found on the Jeep Grand Cherokee models) so replacement might be the only option.
3Demand that the hub flange be cleaned thoroughly once the old rotor is removed from the vehicle. Most qualified brake technicians will clean the flange of the hub using an angled die grinder with a course reconditioning disc. This eliminates any improper seating of the inside hub of the rotor being deviated by debris or rust creating lateral run-out. Also, be sure to tell the tech not to apply any grease or lubricant to the hub bearing flange as this can also create a deviation on the Jeep Grand Cherokee.
4Ask the service center to have the rear brakes be adjusted. This would only be a viable option on rear drum brake applications on the Jeep Grand Cherokee and not rear disc. Commonly, rear brakes become unadjusted and cause the front brakes to work harder to compensate. This can create more heat in the front brakes warping the rotors and premature wear and tear on the pads and rotors.
5Don't let them torque the wheels with a pneumatic gun when they're through. While it might be okay to snug lug nuts up the the hub using the gun, it is better to have the lug nuts retightened from that point with a handheld torque wrench set at 100 foot pounds. This makes sure the tire isn't overtightened to the hub flange, which can also cause undo stress and warp the front rotors.
