How to Install Brake Pads on a 2004 Jeep Cherokee

The Jeep Cherokee braking system consists of a disc brake and rear drum brake setup. The Cherokee used this configuration for the duration of the production run. Like all disc brakes, the Cherokee's disc brakes use a set of replaceable pads on the front end. The abrasive materials in the brake pads can vary by brand and there are several grades of pads available to fill your needs. With different driving styles, one may work better than another for you. Talk to an associate at an auto-parts store for help in making a choice.

Instructions

1

Loosen the front lug nuts on your Jeep with a lug wrench but do not remove them yet. Raise the front of the Jeep with a jack and support it with a set of jack stands under the axle housing. Remove the lug nuts and pull the wheels off the Jeep.

2

Install one lug nut on one wheel stud by hand to hold the rotor in place when you remove the brake caliper. Locate the two slide pins on the brake caliper. They thread in from the rear of the caliper. Remove them with a socket and ratchet and set them aside.

3

Lift the brake caliper off the rotor and turn it so the open end is facing you. Support the caliper and do not let it hang against the rubber brake hose or damage will occur to the hose. Pull the outboard pad out of the caliper and discard it. Push the inboard pad toward the center of the caliper, snapping the retaining springs out of the caliper piston and then lift it out of the caliper.

4

Place a large C-Clamp on the caliper with the fixed portion of the clamp on the caliper body and the screw end in the caliper piston. Carefully turn the C-clamp, forcing the piston into the bore. When the piston is flush with the body of the caliper, remove the clamp.

5

Place the new inboard pad into the caliper with the springs on the back of it facing the caliper piston. Push the pad back and snap it into the piston. Drop the new outboard pad into the front of the caliper, sliding the spring clips over the two milled surfaces on the caliper body.

6

Turn the caliper over and set it in place on the rotor and caliper mounting bracket. Insert the two slide pins from the rear of the caliper and tighten them with a socket and ratchet. Tighten them until they are snug; do not over-tighten them or you will never get them out next time you need to replace the pads.

7

Move to the opposite side of the Jeep and repeat the steps to replace the pads on that side. Remove the lug nut that is holding the rotor on, then install the wheels and lug nuts on the Jeep. Tighten the lug nuts with a lug wrench as much as possible for now.

8

Raise the front of the Jeep off the jack stands with a jack, remove the stands from under the Jeep, then lower the Jeep to the ground. Tighten the lug nuts now that the weight is on the wheels, then slowly pump the brake pedal to seat the brake pads to the rotor.