My son just bought a 1988 YJ. The guy he bought it from had done a pretty good job of cleaning it up. There have been a couple of minor issues. However the brakes are a little bigger issue. They are very very sensitive. Just a minor touch will lock them up. While it just makes for a jerky stop now, when the weather hits it is gonna be a nightmare. He said he had done the brakes about two months before we got the Jeep. Any ideas what he did wrong? Would like to have a usable Jeep this winter.
Very touchy brakes
- Thread starter MaridesBennett
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Flyer58
YJ Enthusiast
Front disk brake or rear drum locking up? I've seen rear shoes get sideways or the lining come apart and get wedged which causes the drum to lock up with little to no pressure. I posted in the "YJ How To Guides" section about how the rear drum brakes should look.
Also the front and rear brakes have rubber hoses that collapse over time that will cause the brake pressure to remain in the brakes and not release them. I ended up changing the front hoses along with the hard lines because I couldn't get then apart without tearing them up.
Also the front and rear brakes have rubber hoses that collapse over time that will cause the brake pressure to remain in the brakes and not release them. I ended up changing the front hoses along with the hard lines because I couldn't get then apart without tearing them up.
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Just went for a short drive and the brakes worked normally. Both forward and reverse. It was the fronts that I noticed locking up. Today was the first time they haven’t been sensitive. I am wondering if it is a heat thing. Today is cold and the first cold day I have driven it.
I can understand the drums locking up, but I'm not really sure how the fronts would lock up prematurely to be honest, as they are merely a hydraulic piston pressing a pad onto a rotor. The drums on the other hand have lots of adjustments.
jpjeep26uk
YJ Enthusiast
Good to see this older thread as I have an 88 YJ and it was braking fine up to September but in the rain or slightly wet on the roads the rear wheels lock up on the slightest hard braking or quick braking. Then the back starts to fish tail to the left a bit. Quite scary and probably quite dangerous 8f i really had to brake hard to avoid a probme. I'll read that post on rear pass and check they are in good condition. Not an issue in the summer dry months but totally different in the wet.