How to Repair the Brakes on a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee

When the brakes on the 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee begin to wear down past the wear indicators, the brake pads will need to be replaced. The 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee comes equipped with both front and rear brake pads. Whenever you press the brake pedal down, the caliper cylinder on each wheel hub pushes the brake pads to both sides of the brake rotors to stop the Jeep. If the brake pads wear down past the wear indicators, the worn pads can damage the rotors and the rotors will need turning or replacement.

Instructions

1

Park the 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee in a safe work area and raise the hood.

2

Remove the lid that covers the brake fluid container located below the brake master cylinder. Insert the basting syringe into the brake fluid and pull out a syringe full of the brake fluid. Set the syringe in a safe place.

3

Loosen the lug nuts on the front driver side tire with the tire tool. Move to the passenger front of the Jeep and loosen the lug nuts on the wheel.

4

Slide the hydraulic floor jack under the front of the Jeep and jack it up. Place a safety jack stand under the jacking points on both sides of the Jeep. The jacking points are located under the vehicle near the back side of both front wheels. Lower the floor jack so the Jeep comes to rest securely on top of the stands. Leave the jack under the jeep.

5

Finish loosening and removing the lug nuts from the driver side front wheel and remove the wheel. Move to the front passenger side and finish loosening and removing the lug nuts. Remove the wheel.

6

Move back to the front driver side of the Jeep and locate the brake caliper. The caliper is the component attached to the top of the brake rotor. Slide the flat part of the screwdriver into the top of the caliper near the outer brake pad. Pry the outer brake pad towards the engine to compress the caliper cylinder enough to loosen the caliper from the rotor.

7

Loosen and remove the two mounting bolts from the upper and lower portions of the back side of the caliper. Use a 1/2-inch drive ratchet and a socket to remove these two mounting bolts.

8

Tap the top and bottom of the caliper upward until the caliper comes loose from the brake rotor. Then, slide the caliper off of the rotor and hang the caliper on the nearest part of the suspension with a bungee cord.

9

Remove the inner brake pad from the inside the caliper. Position the c-clamp inside of the brake caliper so that the threaded rod of the c-clamp is facing the caliper cylinder. Compress the outer brake pad against the caliper cylinder with the c-clamp until the cylinder is completely inside of the caliper housing.

10

Remove the c-clamp from the inside of the caliper. Then, remove the outer brake pad, and any shims or other brake pad accessories from the caliper. Insert the new brake pads into the caliper along with any new accessories that come with the new brake pad kit.

11

Position the brake caliper onto the brake rotor. Screw the two rear mounting bolts back in the rear of the caliper. Tighten the rear caliper bolts down with the 1/2 inch drive torque wrench and a socket to 32 foot-pounds.

12

Put the front driver side wheel back onto the hub and screw the lug nuts on. Tighten the lug nuts down hand tight. Then, follow the same instructions above for replacing the brake pads on the other three wheel hubs. When you have finished replacing the brakes on all four axles, you can jack the Jeep back up and remove the safety stands.

13

Slowly squirt the brake fluid back into the brake fluid container and put the lid back on top of the container. Make sure that the lid is secure on the brake fluid container. Close the hood.

14

Start your 2005 Jeep Cherokee up and pump the brake pedal in and out at least five or six times. This will position the new brake pads to the required distance from the sides of the rotors on all four axles. Turn the engine off.