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2001 TJ rear break squeak, abrupt breaking

Hi all,

I have a 2001 TJ Sport in good condition. About 6-8 weeks ago it rained very heavily for several days in the area I live. I don't have a garage so the car was exposed to this constant rain the whole time.

Since then, on days when it is wet outside (rain, drizzle or just generally damp with dew in the morning) I find that my rear breaks squeak very loudly. Also, when I move at slow speed (in a parking lot or something) and lightly engage the breaks the rear breaks will "snap" into action and suddenly lock up my rear wheels.

This only happens on wet days and the rear breaks return to normal after driving for 10+ minutes and engaging the breaks a few times. After that the breaks behave normally. I've tried breaking at high speeds, slow speeds, etc. and all is well. The sudden rear break "snap" action also does not happen consistently. It seems to happen mostly on dewy/drizzly days, not rainy days.

I should also note that it generally rains a lot here in winter (south coast of BC) so I'm not sure if the heavy rain in particular is related to this.

Does anyone have an idea of what the problem could be? I've read a few messages about people having break squeak on wet days, but how about the breaks working so abruptly? It seems pretty weird.

- Frank

Reply to
FW
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This brake problem is gernerally associated with water in the brakes. I would not be concerned about it. If you are worried about it inspect the rear brakes or have a shop do it. Many tire shops do a free brake inspection.

HTH

Carl

Reply to
Carl S

Most likely the rear shoes are taking on moisture which makes them grab until dried. It could also be a film of rust from the moisture. Its' been a long time since I've seen it, but shoes that have soaked up brake fluid were also notorious for this. The latter means a careful check for a leak, even a small one. It will likely be the wheel cylinder and you will see fluid when you pull the rubber cover on the end back. Only sure cure for anything other than rust is to replace the shoes. That's cheap and reasonably simple. If it is rust and the shoes are good, the only solution I know of is to move somewhere that doesn't promote rust so well.

Reply to
Will Honea

Brake worms. We seem them a lot here during the rainy season. Try sprinkling some Diazanon around the tires while it's parked overnight.

Reply to
Richard J Kinch

That's normal for my ZJ. On those days I just drag my brakes a little to warm them up and dry them off. After that the sudden-stop feature goes away.

Reply to
DougW

Since I had the rear disks installed on my 98 TJ I have the same thing on wet mornings. Could be heavy dew, light rain, even thick fog and its enough moisture to set them off. Believe me, the whole area knows when I drive the Jeep to work on those mornings as I have 2 stop signs and one slow turn - by the time I have gone thru the three of those (6 blocks maybe) there is no more squeaking for the rest of the commute to work. If its a heavy rain, no squeaking. Go figure.

I am not sure on the grabbing - I have not had this happen that I recall, on the other hand, I dont have factory disks either.

-jenn

Reply to
jbjeep

Reply to
Will Honea

Reply to
L.W. (Bill) Hughes III

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