After driving my WJ about 25 miles today, I noticed the left front caliper was overheated and seems to be sticking. I'll pull the caliper to inspect and clean, lots of meat visible on the pads. Anything specifically to look for to indicate a cause of calipers sticking/ not retracting?

 

check the caliper slide pins, clean and grease using caliper grease/

 

Also check for a stuck piston. It's common on the dual piston calipers.

 

X2 on sticky piston(s) or slides. If debris contaminates any then a stuck brake is likely. One other possibility is a failed hose to the caliper. An internal delamination failure inside the hose can act as a one way valve, sometimes restricting fluid flow-to the caliper upon brake pressure application, sometimes restricting flow-back when pressure is released. This has happened to me twice now, once on a caliper line and once in a rear brakes flex line - both were stock lines.

 

^^this also, especially if the caliper was allowed to hang from the hose during a pad change or was dropped while still attached to the hose.

 

I'll check out all of the above, though I don't see any way of inspecting for internal de-lamination of the flex line. If I pull them, they'll be getting replaced, the only question then is: Mopar OEM or aftermarket? Being it's primarily my tow rig, I prefer to have lines that are heavy duty service. Your recommendations?

 

rockauto.com ACDELCO Professional Durastop $17.09 each OR Mopar for $23

 

There is a way to test the flex lines on-vehicle for that kind of failure. With wheels up, while you are turning a suspect wheel, your helper hits and releases the brake pedal. You can detect or judge a delay in caliper application and/or return by continuing to apply turning force to the wheel throughout the pedal cycle. The effects can be gauged when comparing the actions at all four corners. Delayed caliper application or return can be caused by a delaminated flex line. Naturally, a sticky caliper is simply a sticky caliper but those are even more obvious than a flex line failure.

 

Thanks for the diagnostic sequence. I'll run each caliper through it before changing out flex lines. Dave made a good point about not allowing calipers to drop or hang on hoses, so when I remove them, I tie them up with para-cord.