Ok I got the Porterfield R4S front pads changed today. My car has 3400 miles. I didnt like the amount of dust from the OEM.

AP1750 FRONT 380MM
AP1753 REAR 376MM

So here how I did it.

1/ Remove wheel, clean wheel and caliper. Turn sheering wheel to expose the caliper for easy access.
2/ Tie the caliper with wire to the upper A suspension arm.
3/ Undo 15 bolts and swing the caliper out, protect with a rag.
4/ I did not remove the springs on the caliper bracket no need and I'm told they are a PITA to put back
5/ Now push the pistons back in with the old pads in place. They move fairly easy. Standard compress tool no use with these calipers.
6/ Remove the outside pad first with a flat head screw driver.
7/ Remove the inside pad and with a small flat head screw driver pry off the wear sensor from the bottom edge (drivers side only USA). Clean caliper, grease the back of the new pads with anti squeal grease. Note the OEM ones are really greased up!! and there was chunks of grease and brake pad dust yucky mess!!
8/ Compare your new pads with the old ones to make sure they are an exact match
9/ Replace the piston side pad first. Reconnect the sensor it just pushes in. Use a flat head screw driver to compress the spring (top & bottom) see photo first gap on the left below where I have the red wire tired.
10/ Install outside pad use flat head screw driver again to compress the spring and a couple of flat bits of wood between to hold the pads in place and push the pad clips into the holes.
11/ Put caliper on disc, replace both 15mm bolts torque to 115Nm/85ft lbs

Done 40min a side first will take the longest so start on the near side. i.e side with no sensor.

 

Thanks Simon.
I didn't know you could replace the pads by undoing the 15 mm caliper bracket bolts, I have always undone and removed the 9 mm hex caliper slide pins instead. The trouble with that method is that you have to remove the anti-rattle clips, and they are the world's biggest PITA to get back on again, I have literally spent hours on that fiddly job!
So really helpful to learn that I can replace the pads without having to faff about with those clips.
Also looking forward to a write up on the rear pad replacement as I am fairly sure that is going to be much harder than the front pads.

 

115 Nm

 

How to install performance brake for Jaguar XJL V8 5.0 supercharg | eBay

 

Awesome, thanks for the write up and leading the way on this swap, I imagine many more will follow your lead.

After you have some time with them, please share your experience with the pads in terms of initial bite, brake power, fade, and of course how much less dust they generate.

 

Used Simons procedure to install front Porterfield brake pads on my V6S today. Started on the passenger side and it went very smoothly - took about 1 hour. The driver side was a different story. Could not get the two 15mm bolts to break loose for the longest time. Finally got medieval on them and they got removed. Removing the old pads was a breeze but removing the wear sensor did not go well - I broke it. A $60 part. Got a replacement and proceeded to install the pads. The tabs on the pads refused to slide into the slots in the caliper until I realized that the two halves of the caliper that form the pad tab slots are very stoutly spring loaded and the spring(s) were not allowing the tabs to fit unless I forced the slot open with a flat blade screw driver. Once I figured this out the rest went smoothly. Don't know why it was so easy on the passenger side. Anyway it took 2.5 hours (not including trip to dealer to buy the sensor) for the driver side. Test drove the car and everything seemed ok. Will report back after I get some miles on them.

BTW if your brake fluid reservoir is filled to the max line prior to replacing the pads make sure you check the fluid level after pad replacement to make sure its not too full. Pushing the pistons back into the calipers forces fluid back to the reservoir. Mine was overfilled after doing the pads and I needed to remove some.

 

Why I don't like this method. Having done a hundred disc pad replacements and half that many rotor replacents on many different cars, I have always found that the caliper pins that the caliper slides on need to be cleaned and lubrcated with molybdenum grease. This can only be done by taking the caliper off. It is true that the Jaguar anti rattle springs are a pain but like everything else, practice makes perfect.

 

I've done the front pads on the 380 mm front brakes a few times now, and I can give the following hints and tips:
1. Much easier to do it by removing the two 9 mm hex calliper slide pins than by removing the 15 mm calliper bracket/holder bolts. However 9 mm hex drivers are not common and are hardly ever included in sets of drivers, but you can get one for not many $ on the Bay of Fleas. The slide pins are under black plastic circular plugs which pull out fairly easily. The second method removes the whole thing from the hub including the calliper holder, but then the pads are a PITA to remove and refit new ones due to the calliper holder getting in the way of the calliper and pads.
2. The first method means you need to remove the anti-rattle clip which most find is a compete PITA to refit. The "trick" is to get the clip partly on so that the two ends or "feet" are sitting in their correct places (but not yet fully home) - this takes a bit of pressure/pulling on them, usually means two hands are needed - then grab a large flat blade screwdriver, insert it into the middle of the bottom edge of the clip, and lever the clip "in and down", all the while holding the two "feet" in so they don't pop out. I have not yet been able to do this on my own, I have had to use a helper to hold the feet in while I levered away. Also watch out for the little metal clips on the ends of the feet moving, easy enough to reposition, and the two little metal "shims" that sit on the calliper just under the tabs on the clip, they tend to fall out fairly easily, but again easy to refit.
3. As Buckingham says, you should lightly regrease the calliper pins before you replace them. Just a thin coat of grease, and it must be heat tolerant and rubber friendly grease, I use specific ceramic based brake part lube.
4. Watch out for bent and/or squashed mounting clips on the new pads, and straighten them up as needed. Compare with the old removed pads to see how they should sit.

 

I position the clips then wrap a stiff wire around them to hold the in position and prevent them from flying off. Then it's a simple matter to snap the ends and then the middle in.

 

Sorry u had so many problems but just to re iterate.

1/ The 15mm bolts are tight 85ft lbs so the regular 3/8 drive ratchet will not do it. I used a 1/2 ratchet with a 3/8 conversion and a short peace of pipe as an adjustable extension, then it was a breeze
2/ Yes the bar spring does need to be compressed with a flat head screw driver. Per my pic you can see the spring (flat with a slight bend) and the gap (the gap without wire i.e. outer most gap) where the flat head screw driver goes. In the picture the screw driver turned clockwise would compress that spring. Do one side at a time unless u have a helper. Its not difficult.
3/ As I said GENTLY leaver the sensor off from the bottom with a SMALL flat head screw driver NO excuse for braking these. I would put it back on AFTER you have replaced the caliper on the wheel hub.

Remember if something seems difficult stop what your doing and think about it. You are doing something wrong this is a fairly easy job.

 

Simon thanks for the analysis.

Looking back the reason the 15 mm bolts were so hard the break loose was they had a lot of some kind of orange sealant or marking paint on the threads. It acted like locktite. I ended up using a heat gun and a breaker bar to break them free.

The spring compression thing was just something I figured out after a bit of a struggle. I was just being really dumb.

The sensor was pried off with a screwdriver just like I did with the rear one. The place it broke was on the inside walls of the channel at the end of the sensor that grips the pad backer. I didn't know I broke it until I went to snap it back on the pad in the caliper - it wouldn't lock in place.

I have been wrenching on my motorcycles and then cars since I was about 12 years old so I have been around the block.

 

I have broken that front pad wear sensor clip three times now, once each on all three of my Jags, no matter how careful I am it breaks in the same place RGPV6S mentions. It seems the clip on the end goes brittle with age and heat cycles and you only have to sneeze on it to break it.
All three times I didn't bother buying a new one, instead I zip tied the cable out of the way up in the wheel well.

 

If the dealer didn't have a new one thats exactly what I was going to do.

 

Yup I had that orange lock-tight on my bolts and the sensor plastic probably gets very brital with the heating/cooling. The back 15mm did seem to be less tight than the fronts but that could just be my imagination.

 

My experience with the front brakes showed that it was nearly impossible to get the new pads back on and mounted with the spring in place. How I did it:
1. Followed the above procedure for disassembly, then removed the spring.
2. Followed the above procedure for reassembly up to the point where I got the pads back into the caliper.
3. If you replaced your front rotors, re-mounted the rotor using two of the wheel lug nuts to temporarily hold it in place
4. Worked the caliper with the new pads back onto the new rotor and bolted it back in place with the 15mm bolts. Easier to get the spring on when the caliper is stationary.
5. Placed the spring on the caliper with the two outside prongs in the right spots, but the two inside prongs just outside of the slot they belong in.
6. Used a large flat screwdriver to pry the inside prongs up and into the correct position. May take a few tries but it will eventually go it. Try not to let the screwdriver slip and mess up that beautiful red paint!

 

Tried to put on my new Porterfield pads today. 9mm hex? WTH. Got one coming from Amazon.
The spring was fighting me until I did it exactly as described just above by tkwesa.
I put the outer tabs in, inner tabs just outside their spots, left hand palm against the cover plate and lifted the spring into place right in the middle, between the two inner tabs. Easy as cake.

 

Rookie mistake with the 9 mm hex, heaps of posts around here explaining the need for a 9 mm hex driver!
Same here with the anti-rattle clip (spring). But you need to use a big boofy flat blade screwdriver otherwise it's a right royal PITA.

 

Guilty as charged, owned the R for two weeks.
No worries, gave me an opportunity to remove the wheel locks and clean one wheel with Tuff Stuff.
Big boofy flat blades are on hand. We're in winterization season and I've been changing lower end gear oil like crazy.
On a side note, I checked my old Sears torque wrench against my bosses Matco.
I have a new DeWalt kit coming from HD. https://www.dewalt.com/products/hand...-kit/dwmt82839
We have this Red tool - Yellow tool thing going so any opportunity to for me to show up to work with a new Yellow tool is fun.

 

Reading some posts saying that a dealer quoted up to $2,000 for front brake job on Jag F-type R - I was quoted $3,071 by Jaguar Newport Beach in CA !!

 

That is insane. I have a 2016R and replaced the pads and rotors in a few hours and total parts were $600. And that was upgrading all 4 rotors and all pads as well. Pretty straight forward.