Are Brake Pads Side Specific?

[MD_Jeeper]

Diagnosing some brake squeak on a new to me TJ (Rubicon, all disk brakes). I was lubricating the pads and caliper pins and I noticed the notches on the brake pads don't match up to what is in the service manual. On my TJ, the full notch (the pad has metal on both sides, forming a 'C') of the brake pad is pointing up, whereas the service manual has them pointing down. Does this matter at all? The brake pads are secure as they are. Pretty sure the calipers are on the right side. Of course it wouldn't take much to swap the pads, but I am just curious. I also noticed the rear brakes had had some metal hardware brackets as shown in the picture but the front does not. Is it worth investing in a set for the front?

Thanks in advance for the help. Looking to get some Black Magic Brakes eventually but hoping this gives me a bit more life.

 

[gbirk]

Yes, full notch down on both sides. Having the notch up may cause noise/chatter.

 

[AjRagno]

That illustration you posted is for the driver side front. The rear pads are installed properly.

As for squeaks... I lubricated my brakes a few weeks ago while replacing the hardware. I used Permatex 80653 on the slide pins and AGS Sil-Glyde everywhere else. Squeak-free all around ever since.

Also: Your Jeep is unbelievably clean for the Northeast. I hope you're not planning on driving it in winter.

 

[LONGJP2]

Notches go down.

No hardware available for the front, which causes divots in the surface of the knuckle. The fix is to weld and grind flat.

 

[MD_Jeeper]

That illustration you posted is for the driver side front. The rear pads are set up properly.

As for squeaks... I lubricated my brakes a few weeks ago while replacing the hardware. I used Permatex 80653 on the slide pins and AGS Sil-Glyde everywhere else. Squeak-free all around ever since.

Also: Your Jeep is unbelievably clean for the Northeast. I hope you're not planning on driving it in winter.

So the full notch goes down on the rear calipers? Thank you for the links! I got some Sil-Gylde and just did the caliper pins. I also got some Brake Quiet which I used for packing of the pads. I’ve heard mixed things but we’ll see. And yeah I bought it at 36k miles last year and haven’t put much more on it. I just pulled it out of winter storage since the weather has been nice. But it does not see any snow or rain! My next purchase is for some Cosmoline to rust proof the frame.

EDIT: updated broken link.

 

[MD_Jeeper]

Thanks for your help guys! Got the pads swapped over so all of the notches point down in front and rear. Lubed everything and the previous brake squeak is gone. There is a related squeak (that I also got before) coming from the front driver's side. It was quiet on a drive to the store, but was extremely loud on the way back. It got worse as I was turning but also appeared in a straight line. It always went away after a hard brake until it would slowly start squeaking again. Noise is rotational and increases in frequency as the wheels move faster.

When I lifted that side and spun the wheel, it sounded like the rotor was rubbing the pads along a specific stretch of the rotor; the noise only occurred when the wheel was rotated to a certain location. I did not observe the rock shield to be touching the rotor. There was no play when I shimmied the wheel from side to side or up and down and it's not a growling noise that would make me think of a bad wheel bearing. Torqued the wheels to spec. Current thought is that it is a very slightly warped rotor that's brushing up against the pads at a specific point every revolution. The noise wasn't present on my drive out to the store because the brakes were cold, but it made noise on the way back as the brakes were used and the metal expanded. I don't get any pulsing brakes or pull to one side when I brake though.

Going to give it a few drives and if it continues maybe get a new pair of rotors for the front. It's my first time working on brakes, but does my logic seem sound?