How To Upgrade Brake On Jeep TJ

Jeep owners often choose to upgrade their wheels and go for larger sizes. Larger wheel sizes give your vehicle more traction on the road, but they can be a nightmare to control with your stock brakes.

Since larger wheels are heavier, you need more powerful brakes to control them. If you have recently upgraded your Jeep TJ wheels, you should also go for a brake upgrade. Don’t know how to upgrade the brake on Jeep TJ? Don’t worry; we got you covered!

When To Upgrade Brake On Jeep TJ?

Other than faltering stock brakes and getting beefy wheels, you can consider upgrading the brakes of your Jeep TJ for an overall performance upgrade.

Better quality brake components are an investment in your vehicle’s safety because of their increased durability, shorter stopping distance, and ability to handle high temperatures. So there’s never a wrong time to upgrade your Jeep TJ brake system. 

How Much Will It Cost To Upgrade Brake On Jeep TJ?

Upgrading the brake system involves upgrading the brake rotors and the brake pads. The rotor replacement will set you back $350-$500. The pair of brake pads will cost $150-$300. These estimates do not cover installation. We will break down the replacement procedures so that you don’t have to cough up a few hundred dollars more in mechanic fees. 

How To Upgrade Brake On Jeep TJ?

First of all, let’s start with the front brakes. You have to jack the car up and get the tire off. It would be best if you remembered to put jack stands on both sides every time you lift the front part of your vehicle. 

It’s necessary for extra protection. Also, don’t forget to block off the rear wheels to prevent your car from rolling. After removing the tire, put it under the chassis for extra protection. Once you secure the car, look for the calipers.

You can find the brake caliper inside the wheel after you remove it. Since the caliper is in the back part, you have to turn the steering wheel so the brake caliper comes out and

gives more access to the bolts and other parts in it.

Now the main steps are, firstly, you have to take the brake pads out. If you look at the caliper from the front, you’ll see that there are two bolts, one at the top and another at the down, that hold the caliper on.

You have to unscrew one of these bolts so the caliper will open up according to that. There’s a brake line that’s coming from the top. So it’s better to unscrew the lower bolt so

that the brake line will be able to move upwards.

Use a breaker bar to break the bolt loose because it’s pretty tight. Now use a ratchet to take the bolt out. Open the caliper. You’ll see the brake pads. Take out the brake pads with the

the help of a screwdriver.

Now put the caliper down and tighten it with a screw. Now, you have to replace the rotor. To do that, you have to take the whole caliper and caliper bracket off the

knuckle. You’ll see two bolts there; one ‘s in the caliper, and the other in the caliper bracket, which is mounted to the knuckle.

Under the caliper bracket bolt, there’s another bolt. You have to take both of these bolts off cause it’ll remove the whole caliper and caliper bracket. Again, use a breaker bar to loosen the bolts. 

Now use a normal ratchet to loosen and take them out carefully. Don’t unscrew the last bolt all the way. To prevent the caliper from falling down, get a rope/bungee cord or something that will hold the caliper up. 

After you have done all that, the rotor sometimes comes off by itself, but if it doesn’t come out due to rust welding, get a big hammer and start beating on it until it comes out. Put the new rotor in and lock it in place with a lug nut. 

Before you put on the brake caliper, take the two caliper bracket bolts you removed earlier. Use some thread-locking fluid in the nuts. The thread locker solution will give the brake extra protection from vibration. 

Now you put the brake caliper in place and put the bolts on again. Put the bottom bolt first, tighten it up and then do the same with the top. Take a torque wrench and torque up the bolts. 

Next up are the brake pads. To put them on, you must take out the bolt you loosened up before to hold the caliper. Pry out the old brake pad clips from inside. 

Put the new clips in their place. If your new brake pads are thicker than the old ones, you have to compress the pistons using the brake compressor tool. Now, put the brake pads on. Next up, put out the caliper guide pin, clean it off, put some silicone paste in it, then slide that back in.

Now, close the caliper. Put on its bolts and torque them too. Now the front brake is ready. 

Follow the same steps for rear brake removal and assembly. There’s one key difference, however. Unlike the front brakes, the brake line goes toward the bottom. So you must remove the top caliper bolt instead of the bottom one.

Final Words 

Learning how to upgrade the brake on Jeep TJ could be easier than you had thought before. If you follow our instructions step by step, you won’t need any professional help to get it done by yourself.