[keithert]

Last night I drove home my usual 30+ mile commute. No issues until I got about 1/4 mile from home. I smelled something. I got onto my block and I still smelled it. Then we noticed the driver rear brake was smoking. I called the dealer and a tow truck. The tow truck driver smelled it too. Even after this I was able to drive the Jeep. It was not locked up to the point of not moving. I jacked up the rear of the Jeep and put the trans in neutral and the wheel was hard to turn. The other tire though was on the ground and I do have limited slip.

Today the dealer looked at it and can't find a problem. They said the rotors normally turn blue if they overheat and mine are not blue. They also drove it and checked the temperature of the rotors and both were at 125 degrees. They will look again later today but don't see a problem. He said the rear is normally hard to turn because of being rear wheel drive. I did forcefully step on the brakes in my driveway a few times. Could I have dislodged whatever was causing the issue by doing this? Anyone ever had brakes intermittently lock up? The pads and rotors only have about 1000 miles on them.

[keithert]

The dealer said they drove it 9 miles this afternoon and checked the brakes when they got back and found no issues.

[Piratejonh]

I've had it happen a few times.
For whatever reason your caliper was not releasing. Once it cooled itself off it released. As you drive if the caliper is stuck the hotter it gets the harder it clamps down.
It's probably going to happen again. You can pull the caliper and remove the pads to verify its clean. Mud and sand seem to promote a frozen caliper. Don't bother rebuilding it. I personally havn't had much luck with that route. An entire caliper is cheep.
Some would say your brake line is breaking down and has created a one way valve of sorts internally and not allowing the fluid to depressurize. I suppose its possible but thats never been the cause of my stuck calipers.

[keithert]

My neighbor thought maybe the caliper pins were not lubricated when the brakes were done. Could this cause this problem?

[Piratejonh]

Unless the were corroded so bad they were frozen, not likely.

[danielbuck]

Originally Posted by keithert

My neighbor thought maybe the caliper pins were not lubricated when the brakes were done. Could this cause this problem?

Not sure, but if you are going to take the brakes off to check and clean everything, best lube then anyway

[MattJeep]

I had a front caliper do this on my Jeep. Its never happened on any other vehicle I've owned, but seems to be somewhat common with Wranglers. Just replace the caliper. And that rotor probably. And both pads...

[keithert]

I did take the rears apart and lubed the pins. So far it has not happened again. I'll keep an eye on them.

[jeffjeep1]

I had this situation on my 05 LJ Rubi. Went for a trip with wife, about 30 miles. Smelled brakes when pulling into parking lot. Right rear. Let cool off. Drove home, no smell. About a week later, smell is back and heat is obviously coming off right rear. Rotor not blue. Pulled caliper, after retracting piston. Pulled pads out, saw nothing. Next three days no issues, then on 4th day, same thing - hot, smells. Installed new caliper and pads. Removed piston from old caliper. Found rust at o-ring and part way into caliper. Some pitting in piston. Old parts now in junk pile. Yes, I could have honed it, gotten a re-build kit and new piston. New caliper was fairly inexpensive from the usual trademotion/online Jeep parts gurus.

HTH

[IH8PEPL]

I know this is an old thread but im gonna bump it anyway.

Heres my issue:
Brake Job, new rotors, pads, braded lines
Worked fine for about 3 months
Drivers side rear caliper grabbed
Let cool
Next day, Passenger side rear grabbed
Took it in for another brake job (calipers torn down), fronts calipers replaced
6 months go by, then passenger front started grabbing, blued rotor
Another trip in, upgraded front pads.
3 months go buy (today) front passenger side is grabbing - nearly pulled me off the highway.

I love my Jeep but am really starting to hate it equally. Not even 40K on this *****!

Still trying to figure out the cause of how it keeps picking and choosing random wheels to do this too. Im going to take it in again and have the brake system bled and inspected AGAIN!

[Turfzilla]

CHange soft lines and calipers. Both are cheap easy fixes.

[IH8PEPL]

Originally Posted by Turfzilla

CHange soft lines and calipers. Both are cheap easy fixes.

All my soft lines are SS braided and the front calipers are new. Rear caliper were inspeceted and look fine. Yeah i look like when I try figuring it out.