The original purpose of emergency brakes was to stop your vehicle in an emergency. Fortunately, the brakes on a Jeep Grand Cherokee rarely fail, and the emergency brakes are most commonly used to keep the vehicle from moving while parked. The most likely type of failure for emergency brakes is when the brake cable rusts and seizes after being unused for a long period.
Determine which type of emergency brakes your Jeep Grand Cherokee will need. Emergency brakes typically function by activating the regular braking system on the driving wheels. The emergency brakes for all versions of the Jeep Grand Cherokee use the disc brakes on the rear wheels.
Raise the vehicle and remove the rear wheel and tire assembly with a socket wrench. Support the brake caliper so that it does not hang by the brake hose when you unfasten both caliper bolts with a socket wrench. Remove the caliper and the rubber access plug from the back of the rear disc brake support plate.
Retract the parking brake shoes with a brake adjuster tool, if necessary. Position the tool at the top of the star wheel and rotate the wheel. Remove the brake rotor from the axle hub flange and unfasten the four axle flange nuts with a socket wrench. Remove the axle shaft from the rear differential. Detach the brake shoe return spring with needle nose pliers and then remove the brake adjuster.
Remove the hold-down clip and pin for the brake shoe by pushing the clip ends together and sliding the clip until the head of the pin clears the narrow part of notch. Remove the brake shoes from the actuator lever for the park brake.
Install the new brakes shoes by reversing the removal steps. Lubricate the brake adjuster assembly. Be sure to seat the notched ends of the brake adjuster assembly on the brake shoes and align the star wheel with the access hole in the support plate. Use a torque wrench to tighten the caliper mounting bolts to between 66 and 85 foot/pounds.
