Binding brake calliper?
 

I noticed my front NS brake calliper binding a little today, not enough to cause the car to steer to the left or anything as dramatic as that: the only symptom is a very gentle grinding until the brake is applied, at which point the grinding sound and sensation becomes much stronger. The binding seems to have caused premature and accelerated wear of the brake pad.

How easy a job is it to repair a seized calliper?

Over the years some of mine had what I called a "lazy caliper", and some serious new fluid and a good sensible flush sorted them all.

Mind you, most of this was with the "older" fixed calipers.

The X300 has the sliding pin calipers, with the piston/s on one side only, and that car had issues in the early days, and the rather sad, dried lube on those pins caused some lazy retracting issues, so a good clean of the 4 pins, suitable smear of good quality Hi-Temp grease on them, sorted that little one.

Same with both the S Types, very gooey pins, now cleaned and no issues at all.

The brake fluid is the main culprit in my experience. It never gets changed as a service item, and only refreshed when something goes wrong.

Andy what is the meaning of NS on your NS caliper brake ?

HAH, a terminology from the Pre Computer days.

NS is Near Side, as in Nearest to the kerb, and then that depends on where the steering wheel is located, and the side of the road driven on.

OS, is Off Side, as in farthest from the curb.

In this case, and being the UK, the NS is the Left side, and OS, is the Right side.

Its a British thing.

If I'm ordering refurbed calipers....

SNG Barratt - The Ultimate Jaguar Parts Specialist
SNG Barratt - The Ultimate Jaguar Parts Specialist

Do I need any other parts?!

The image is just that.

The small rubber thingy would be the cap for the bleed nipple, but the large rubber band looking thing, NO idea.

If it were mine:

New brake hoses.
Pads, MAYBE.
Brake fluid.

Whilst you are that far into it, check the disc rotors, and since they are CHEAP (down here they are), 2 new ones may not be foolish.

on binding, overhaul either by cleaning or replacing the caliper piston and or cylinder, if they are not used often and no change of brake fluid on a regular basis can cause rust to build up inside the cylinder and piston, replacing of rubber seal is essential too. it is an easy fix

Hi Andy,

Welcome to the Jaguar Forums!

I note from one of your other posts that your car is a 1996 XJR. It's a great idea to add this info to your signature line so other members don't have to go looking for it (most won't bother).

A great place to view parts diagrams for your car is jaguarclassicparts.com, the parts service of the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust. Here's an example diagram:
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...220d7fb9bb.jpg
The diagram is from this page:

Brake Disc and Caliper-Front - Parts For XJ Series from (V)720125 to (V)812255 (X300) | Jaguar Heritage Parts UK


As you can see, the rubber ring shown in the photo at SNG Barratt is the seal for the piston. You will also need the rubber piston gaiter or boot, which is the larger ring in the pair marked Part 5.

You may also want to consider replacing the guide pins (Part 4) and guide pin bushings and sealing plugs (Part 3). Just as cool mentioned about the pistons corroding, the guide pins also sometimes corrode and bind.

However, before you order rebuilt calipers, you may want to do a careful inspection of your caliper. It may simply need a good cleaning and new seals. Unless there is any rust pitting on the piston or guide pins, or obvious wear in the cylinder, you may be able to just clean everything, and replace the rubber piston seal and boot.

Removing the caliper is simple - just disconnect the hydraulic hose (place a bucket to catch brake fluid that will escape); then remove the two guide pins (I think they take a metric Allen or hex wrench, maybe 6mm?). Once you reinstall the cleaned or rebuilt caliper, you'll need to bleed the air from the system, but I would also recommend that you do a full flush of your brake fluid, which absorbs water over time and promotes corrosion. I think Jaguar recommends a flush every 2 years.

P.S. In addition to jaguarclassicparts.com, you can download the Jaguar Electronic Parts Catalog (EPC) and Jaguar Technician Information System (JTIS) from this forum, which contain a wealth of information on your car.

Also, since we're a friendly group, please visit the https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/n...-intro-must-5/ and post an introduction so we can learn something about you and your Jaguar and give you a proper welcome.

Cheers,

Don