Front brake binding/catching

thedustyboot

thedustyboot

A drug habit would be cheaper
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Been having an ongoing issue where my front DS caliper will rattle and intermittently bind with the rotor. I'm on my third caliper now, and the issue persists. PO installed drilled/slotted rotors and calipers about three years ago and the vehicle has done roughly 25k-30k KM's since. Feels a bit silly and financially frustrating to just throw parts at it until the problem goes away but after installing a third caliper it feels like nothing will work short of refreshing every brake component...

Now I know some guys will say the clearances for the bolts that attach the caliper to the knuckle are way too loose. But three calipers in a row?

might start with a fresh set of pads and shoes, make sure everything is adjusted properly and see what happens.

Any insight as to what I could keep an eye out for?
 
Many people buy Drilled/Slotted because they think of it as "performance".
They work EXCELLENT on a race-track, but are extremely sub-par for real life usage.

Then the "Hot Boiz" get ahold of them, and think they've got something "cool" and "performance".

Drilled rotors specifically are NOTORIOUS for warping & cracking.
In my opinion they are the absolute worst type of rotor you can buy. (unless you're dealing specifically with race/track oriented builds)

I'd be willing to bet that is your problem.
Three new calipers in a row would typically indicate that it is NOT a caliper issue.
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An easy (although not extremely accurate) way to see if your rotors are warped, is to take them off the TJ and lay them on a flat surface.
Inspect them for "hot spots". If it's warped severely enough, it'll have discolored spots where the pad is "binding".

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Also, just because we're talking drilled rotors, make sure none of the drill ports are cracked.
That's typically the first symptom of drilled rotors and street usage.

1706509281213.png


I have yet to see a set of Drilled Rotors survive more than a few thousand miles of street-usage.
What you're experiencing is typical of drilled rotors installed on "normal" vehicles.

I would head to your local Auto store, and buy a set of OEM style rotors.
I'd bet that will fix your issue entirely.
 
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Before blaming the rotors, or calipers (especially since you replaced rotors), check the slides for the calipers on the knuckles for grooves. Next, replace the soft brake lines, especially if they are original, as they might be narrowing/collapsing internally... mine did this, and would drag the brakes.

And I would recommend flushing the brake system, there could be moisture or other junk in the lines that will cause any number of issues.
 
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@Artsifrtsi rotors were done by PO in spring '21 and ive only done about 25,000km since (less than 10k a year) . got a whole set of pre-bent stainless lines just haven't had the time or weather on my side yet. still cold and miserable out.

@zachpeakee no hot spots or cracking on the rotor. It's almost like something is ever so slightly misaligned. will try touching up the knuckle slides with the welder and see what that does. only the drivers side that's giving me issues.
 
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