Quick brake Q...need fast reply!

Hey guys,

I'm re-bleeding my brakes before a long trip tomorrow morning. Last night they were really "grabby" and acting funny, I think there's air in the line.

However, I noticed when I had the wheels off that my pass side rotor has "lock washers" or something that spin on to the lugs and hold the rotor tight against the steering knuckle.

My driver's side (the side that was acting funny) does not have these, and if you remove the caliper, the rotor will come right off. The pass side doesn't budge, even when the caliper is removed.

When grabbing the driver's side caliper by hand and shaking it, the rotor moves around quite a bit without those lock washers there...but the pass side doesn't move at all, even with the wheel removed.

I figured when the wheels were mounted, they would hold the rotors tight against the knuckle and it wouldn't matter...but now I'm not so sure.

Are those little lock washers that hold the rotor to the knuckle actually necessary? And if so, what are they called...does AutoZone have them? Any info is appreciated. Thanks!

i have no lock washers on mine and my brakes work fine, when you tighten the lugs the back of the wheel holds the caliper tight to the hub so i really dont think you need them, but im sure somebody whose wiser inthe ways fo the jeep than i am will chime in

they are not necessary, they are installed at the assembly plant to keep the rotor,s from falling out of place while going down the line to the next station. I call them "cherry tabs"


btw air in the lines wont make your brakes grabby

Used during assembly only, remove them. Special note if you have aftermarket wheels you must remove them in most cases because usually aftermarket wheels are not machined for clearing them.

What year? It sounds like the clips from the factory. They use the to keep the rotors on during the assembly process. Can't believe you have one that has never had a rotor replaced yet. But who know's, maybe.

Cool, thanks guys!

The car has ABS, so if there's air up near the solenoid I'm thinking that's why it's acting up.

At any rate, I'll try a manual bleed once more (ABS light wasn't lit up), and keep my fingers crossed.

Everything was tight, and they worked fine before I installed new brake lines and introduced air into the system...so the only two things it could be were a shimmying rotor, or air.

Then again, I did jack up the suspension to install my springs by putting the jack under the rotor...DOH! Hopefully that's not what did it. Anyway...wish me luck!

Oh, it's a 2001, 65k miles.

xL8 APEKSx said:

Cool, thanks guys!

The car has ABS, so if there's air up near the solenoid I'm thinking that's why it's acting up.

At any rate, I'll try a manual bleed once more (ABS light wasn't lit up), and keep my fingers crossed.

Everything was tight, and they worked fine before I installed new brake lines and introduced air into the system...so the only two things it could be were a shimmying rotor, or air.

Then again, I did jack up the suspension to install my springs by putting the jack under the rotor...DOH! Hopefully that's not what did it. Anyway...wish me luck!

Oh, it's a 2001, 65k miles.

Click to expand...

you may warped the sheet outa the rotor by jacking it up ON the rotor.

When you say "grabbing" do you mean a pulsating pedal when applied?

xL8 APEKSx said:

Cool, thanks guys!

The car has ABS, so if there's air up near the solenoid I'm thinking that's why it's acting up.

At any rate, I'll try a manual bleed once more (ABS light wasn't lit up), and keep my fingers crossed.

Everything was tight, and they worked fine before I installed new brake lines and introduced air into the system...so the only two things it could be were a shimmying rotor, or air.

Then again, I did jack up the suspension to install my springs by putting the jack under the rotor...DOH! Hopefully that's not what did it. Anyway...wish me luck!

Oh, it's a 2001, 65k miles.

Click to expand...

Why in the #$&* would you do that?!?!?!?!?!

I was gonna say that perhaps you have a worn piston in the caliper untill i saw the milage...that most likely won't happen under normal conditions. If your all city driving 50 mph to 0 a million times a day, that would be considered slightly more than average conditions and could wear said piston.
It also depends on the what you mean by "grabby" as previously stated. It it's pulsating, it could be a warped rotor or other similar problem. It could also be that your caliper is bent out of place from where it should be from jacking on it (sounds bad on so many levels :gag: )
Those are just a few possible things that I can think of from my limited experience but in any case, it more than likely isn't air in the lines. That would have the opposite effect and cause your breaks to feel "splashy" or "loose" where you would be applying the pedal harder or further to the floor to achieve the same stopping action. I hope you have enjoyed this edition of how to be manly by Mr. Manly. And remember, Be manly and good day...:lecture:


BTW, what did cause you to jack up on your caliper? the vehicle already would have to be in the air to get a jack under there (in which case, there are far more desirable places to jack on ) and the tire would have to be off? I can't really wrap my mind around that one?

I too would like to know what you were thinking picking up a jeep by it's rotor?

Not to kick him while he is down...but..its obvious...he wasn't thinking, at least not logically.
Swap rotors and see if the prob. changes sides.

No, the rotor wasn't bent....for those who were wondering. And it wasn't the weight of the car...it was on stands. I just had to compress the spring so the other side would droop more to get the other spring in.

Anywho...this car is possessed. The problem on the front end diminished inexplicably, and then the REAR brakes were acting up. Turns out the rear right drum was locking up, the adjuster wheel mechanism was rusted solid. Kyung helped me pull it apart and spotted the problem. All seems OK so far, after a short shakedown run.

It's very true what they say about red Jeeps. And coupled with the fact my Jeep lived on salted roads until just a few months ago, means that ANY 1-hour job ends up taking 10 hours after battling all the rust. ARRRGH!

Dude I hear ya! My formerly pristine '91 XJ spent 5 years with me in Michigan on salted roads. I lifted it after I got back to Washington state and it took me ten times as long and multiple broken bolts. Now I have worked on just about everything under there but every once in a while I get to duel with the rust once again. I think it's a conspiracy in Detroit...everybody has a new car out there. Later.