Jeep Grand Cherokee Brake Job

[stokester]

Pardon my rant.

REALLY Stellantis (AKA Chrysler MOPAR) an 11mm hex?   

The past weekend I decided to do a brake job on my wife’s 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee.  It’s got about 55k on the clock and the rear pads were getting into the “change soon” range.  I had earlier purchased sets of Akebono premium pads for both axles and had done a brake system flush earlier this year.

Deciding to do the rear first I went to remove the caliper slide pins to find they require a hex hey to remove.  Working on older BMW motorcycles I am used to working with 4-6-8 and for a few items a 10mm hex socket.  Taking a quick look I grabbed the 6 and 8mm only to find one loose and the other would not fit???  It actually uses a 7mm which I did have in the set.  Now there is not enough room to get a socketed hex on the bottom slide pin because of interference with part of the arm so I had to use an actual key.  Fortunately they are only torqued to 20 lb-ft but I like to use a torque wrench and could not on the bottom pins.

Now on to the front.  Well…. I thought the slide pins there were 10mm but noooooooooo  they are 11mm. This size is not part of any assortment of hex sockets and even HF does not list any.  The local auto parts stores, if they listed one, had to be backordered.  It appears NAPA regularly gets and carries them but they are not open on Sunday.  Amazon lists a few so I went with that.

So anyone with a fourth-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee (WK2 - non-SRT) be sure to check your slide pins before starting that brake job.

[goodfellow]

Great write up Nick and thanks for the alert. I often think the manufacturers are in cahoots with the tool companies to try and make simple repairs difficult by introducing specific fasteners that require us "uninitiated" DIYers to spend our dollars on specialty tools.

For those in similar circumstances, you can make an emergency hex socket by simply using a hex bolt of the same diameter and double nutting the shank to get leverage with a wrench or socket. The head of the hex bolt then effectively becomes your Allen/hex driver business end.

[slip knot]

I'm not sure if the manufacturers are in cahoots with the tool companies or just want you to have to go to the dealership for service. Back in the 80s when I worked for the stealership we had a new platform GM car come in for warranty work. Nobody had the tool needed for the repair, Snappy guy didn't even know what it was. The tech doing the work had to wait for a tool to come in from corporate.

I had to do a front brake job on the 2019 F250 at 50K.Had a grind on the front right. metal on metal. Had to install a $170 aftermarket rotor because nobody in this town will turn a rotor on the weekend. 

But on a brighter note all of the hardware was common usage tools. and only took @90 minutes start to finish on both front wheels.

[muddy]

Interesting. Wonder if they we're actually standard? Maybe 5/16 and 7/16?

Sent from my Twisted Mind Of The Mudman

[fatfillup]

As many tools that pass through my hands, I have only seen one or two 11 mm allen sockets.

Very uncommon size.  I think a 7/16 would have worked but it was likely metric

[john k]

When the correct Allen driver was not handy,  many times would use a Torx driver, even a worn one, drive it in.