general front brake replacement advice - shims, preferred brands

[87MJJeep]

I just stumbled upon a possibly needed brake job while trying to figure out what I posted in this thread:  I might as well freshen everything up. 

 

http://comancheclub.com/topic/44883-rearendaxle-or-brakes-making-a-noise-front-passenger-wheel-is-culprit/

 

On the passenger side caliper, I see where a prior owner or tech wrapped teflon tape around a bolt/pin.  Is this advisable, or when I replace pads and rotors, should I fix this differently?  See the photo below tef-tape2.jpg. 

 

As shown in the other thread, there are shims(?) behind the pads on both driver and passenger sides (see pics shims2 &3 ).  Are they supposed to be there, or did someone put them in as a band-aid?  Will a new set of pads come with them?  If they are supposed to be there, why did they slide out of their correct location?  Pads too thin or are clips missing?  

 

 

What store/brand brake parts have you Comanche owners had the best experience with? 

 

I'd like to replace the front rubber hoses, pads, and rotors. 

[MuddFoot]

none of my pads have the shims. but looks like that makes noise. i use bear or wagner brake products rockauto.com is where i shop

[gogmorgo]

The teflon tape is a bad sign. The bolts that the calipers slide on should have boots to retain grease for lubrication and to keep crap out. Without proper lubrication and protection, the caliper could seize up.

You might want to pull the calipers off to see what's up with the pads. There is no logical reason to put shims behind pads unless something is seriously wrong (i.e. mismatched or worn/damaged parts). The calipers are self-adjusting.

Looking at the picture again, it almost looks like the "shims" are the friction material of the brake pad that has separated from the backing plate... which I think is something I've heard about with cheap pads, but have no experience with. I've always had good luck just going into a parts store and getting whatever middle-of-the-range OEM equivalent pads/rotors they have in stock.

[Jeep Driver]

Ahhhh..........

 

I'd start from scratch. New rotors, calipers, pads, bolts.

 

And no, the rotors have nothing to do with the bearing units.

[87MJJeep]

I appreciate the replies.  I saw "with shims" and "without shims" on one auto parts store's website.  I did look at the pads carefully.  The friction material is still mated to the pad back plates.  I see calipers are not too pricey, and I need to replace the two front rubber hoses, so I'll get new calipers, too.  I'll check on getting new bolts, too. 

[ScottJeep]

Also the rubber boots the bolts ride in should be replaced...WITH the nylon sleeves inside the rubber boots..and the metal anti-rattle clips. 

 

All of these parts are available via ROCKAUTO.COM ( I know because I just bought it all during their latest close-out sale ) and other normal

local retailers.... the best I found locally was AutoZone ( NOT my preferred vendor but ...when it's all tore apart and they have it.... well you know.)

[87MJJeep]

Thanks, Scott!

[hillbilly51]

That white "Teflon" is actually the white Teflon sleeve bushings that are inside the rubber boots.

They guide and lubricate the caliper as it slides in and out on the guide pins.

They are split down the center and have a flared end that (is supposed to) keep them in the correct position...Your's needs to be replaced.

They are available as a Caliper Kit for your jeep.

[87MJJeep]

thanks Hillbilly! 

[Salvagedcircuit]

Does anyone know where I can find these teflon or nylon inserts for the slide pins? My new caliper from autozone did not come with them inside the rubber boots and the entire caliper shifted on me. Thanks.

[Salvagedcircuit]

I dug around a bit. The cherokees and comanches from 1984-1989 used a Teflon sleeve between the rubber boot and the slide pin for the front calipers. I attached a photo from the service manual.

I spent some time looking for this sleeve and it simply does not exist anymore. Not on rock auto, not jcwhitney, nothing from autozone, napa, advanced auto or fisher parts.

I called the jeep dealer and they at least acknowledge the part existed. They of course had no calipers or caliper rebuild parts. "Discontinued."

Here's some mopar part numbers:

1984-1989 Caliper

bushing #52001700
sleeve #52001701

 

The good news is this sleeve is nothing more than a sheet of 0.02in thick teflon rolled up. I measured with 2 calipers to make sure. There is a slight wavy pattern stamped into the teflon sheet, but I don't think it's that important of geometry. The omix part doesnt look like it has such a pattern.

Here is the 0.02in thick teflon sheet I have ordered:

https://www.mcmaster.com/1192N17/

 

I plan to cut some myself and see how it goes. I am also going to order the sleeves from omix and compare them.

 

Why am I doing all of this?

The calipers that I was sold by autozone did not have the slide pin bushings in them. I installed the calipers correctly and torqued them down, but I noticed after 4mi of use, the brake pads and caliper shifted on me and misaligned. When the caliper was removed and slide pins removed, the slide pin hole diameter on the autozone caliper was 0.53in. The same slide pin hole was 0.5in on the stock caliper. I removed both rubber boots and measured the casting hole diameter. The casting hole diameter on both calipers was 0.682in.

I cannot fully confirm that the omission of this sleeve caused the caliper to shift on me, but it definitely is not a good sign if rebuilt calipers are missing components. I did inspect the caliper anchor plates on both sides of the vehicle and neither were cracked, warped or damaged. The threads in both anchors looked clean and un-damaged.