The brakes on my daughter's 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee are frozen
Asked by barrette Feb 20, 2013 at 09:15 PM about the Jeep Grand Cherokee
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
When she started backing out of her parking space, she said the front brakes made a grinding sound (like metal on metal). Now it won't back up at all, and can't even be pushed backwards when in neutral. Any ideas of what the problem could be?
8 Answers
Could be a caliper locked up. Could be a foreign object between the pad and rotor. Could be a hub failure.
The hub is the device with the wheel bearings in it. It also has studs for the lug nuts and a centric ring to hold the wheel in place. Some cars also have speed sensors built into the hubs.
OK, thanks. I'm obviously not a mechanic. Should I be worried about the transmission?
A transmission won't produce a grinding sound in the front brakes. The Jeep is going to be taken somewhere, taken apart and the problem will be found. You can determine who is going to fix what at that time. Everything mentioned before the problem is found is an educated guess.
If you remove the front wheels you can see the caliper. It works in a compressing action against the brake disc. check to see if the caliper is stuck tight against the disc . If so try a bit of brute force to try and free it from the disc by pushing it back and forward or a tap with a hammer and chisel. If it starts to free it may suggest dirt accumulated in the piston. this can be reconditioned or you can buy new ones for a reasonable cost.
Thank you for your suggestion. My husband is on his way to view the brake situation right now. We'll cross our fingers that's it's something simple!
Problem solved. Caliper bolt missing. $7 bolt is all it needed! Thank you again for your suggestions!
