Question 1

I am trying to figure out if my front wheel bearings are good or not. They feel tight with no movement in any axis and they rotate smoothly. There is a subtle rotational noise. I put a stethoscope on the bearing housing and it was quiet. The u-joints are nice and tight.

Question 2

When I took off the caliper, I noticed two shiny spots where the brakes sit. There is a bit of a notch there. Should I grind it out?

Any thoughts?

 

For #2, fill with weld and grind it flat. Buy pads with abutment clips. I think they help to keep this from happening.

 

Are you getting a strange noise in the front to lead you to suspect the bearings? From what you say, they should be fine. The shiny spots are normal. The caliper and pads "float" with the rotor on the caliper bolt/pins, so it is just contact wear. If you have warped rotors, there will be excessive movement in the caliper, which will lead to more wear where the pads contact the bracket.

 

The shiny spots are normal, but grooves are not. The pads will not "float" properly on the knuckle ears if they're present, and can cause abnormal and premature pad wear.

 

Could you explain 'abutment clips'? I am not familiar with this.

 

I agree with Tbone, if the grooves are too deep, it will cause problems. Abutment clips are metal shims that install over the caliper bracket where the pads make contact. When I worked for Advance Auto, they usually came in the more expensive sets of pads. Some vehicles you could just get them as a separate kit. Just have to go to your local parts store and get them to look up the kit. If they don't have a separate kit, look at the different brands of pads that they offer for your jeep.

 

The type for the XJ pads go over the end of the pad backing plate, on the end that has a "c" opening. They come in packs of different thicknesses/gauges. Use the thickest one that will allow free movement of the pad on the knuckles. I just installed a set of Centric semi-metallic pads from Rockauto, and the clips were included.

Like in this pic:

 

Thanks, I got some yesterday and installed them today.

Before installing, I filed to smooth the notched area. It wasn't very deep.