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I am in the middle of replacing my front brakes and I can not for the life of me get the rotors off. I have broken two 1/2 " sockets and a 3/8" ratchet. Any advice as to getting the two bolts off that hold the caliper bracket. Any chance they are reverse threaded? I have a XKR with standard (non-Brembo brakes)
, they will not budge. Running out of 17mm sockets
I am in the middle of replacing my front brakes and I can not for the life of me get the rotors off. I have broken two 1/2 " sockets and a 3/8" ratchet. Any advice as to getting the two bolts off that hold the caliper bracket. Any chance they are reverse threaded? I have a XKR with standard (non-Brembo brakes)
, they will not budge. Running out of 17mm sockets
Is there anyway you can get enough clearance to use a large breaker bar? Or try heating it. Good luck
Here are the parts, to include vendor/stock numbers, that I used on my 2002 XKR (non-Brembo), fairly confident that this will also fit a XK8. To level set, I called a local dealer after I installed the brakes - they quoted me a price of $2300, although I would imagine closer to $3000 by the time they finished. I bet that they would not have installed Cryo rotors but rather an inferior product. Aside from some stubborn bolts, this is a very straight forward job, thanks to the prior instructions (see above). All parts came within two days.
Front:
Tire Rack
AKEBONO EURO CERAMIC PADS
1 In Stock $81.00
CENTRIC CRYO-HIGH CARBON PLAIN 125 SERIES ROTOR
2 In Stock $111.00 $222.00
Rear
Rock Auto
2002 JAGUAR XKR 4.0L V8 Supercharged
CENTRIC 10506881 (105.06881) Brake Pad $ 25.79
PAGID 355122772 Rotor $ 39.79 2 $ 79.58
Tools used: Ratchet, star key, 15mm & 17mm socket, flathead screwdriver, hammer, brake caliper clamp or c-clamp and a 2x4.
Installed Disc Italia Rotors and Pads on a 2003 Jaguar XJR 4.0 S/C(non-brembo)
Stats: Front rotors 21.5lbs(both oem and Disc Italia) 325mm
rear rotors 15lbs 305mm
1. Jack up your XJ, after securing it, remove tire exposing the brakes and rotor.
2. Remove tension spring holding the calipers in the front. I used a simple flathead screwdriver to just pop it off.
3. At the rear of the brake caliper, there are two "pillars" with black plastic caps covering them. Remove the caps, and proceed to loosen both screws, which are star orientated bolts, until they are roughly a half inch past the top of its pillar. (Note, on the rear brakes, the bottom bolt is a bit difficult to maneuver because of the brake fluid line, go slow and be careful not to strip it)
This is the torx bit(that I referred to as a star key), but the caliper pins are actually 7mm hex socket head bolts. Sometimes a torx bit can be forced in a hex head bolt, but the correct tool should be a 7mm allen key. Jaguar has been using this same 7mm socket caliper pin at least a far back as the 1995 X300, and hasn't changed through to the X350.(Note: Added detail by Stevetech)
4. After both bolts are adequately loosened, stick your flathead screwdriver in between the pad and caliper slowly pushing it open to loosen the caliper. Once complete, you should be able to remove the caliper and pads from the rotor by simply pulling it off.
5. Once the caliper and pads are off, next will be the part that holds the rotor and caliper in place. There are 2 bolts(15mm rear, 17mm front) in the same region in the rear of the rotor/caliper that are simply loosened and remove. Once you remove the final part of the caliper, the rotor simply pulls off.(NOTE: The front pair's bolts are extraordinarily tight. Use a 2x4 to apply pressure on your ratchet. Also, the rotor might be stuck on there, lightly tap the rotor with a hammer while rotating around until it loosens enough to pull of)
6. Slide the new rotor back on.
7. Re-intall the caliper part that attaches the rotor to the car. Remember, 2 bolts 15mm rear, 17mm front.
8. Remove old brake pads, and use caliper or c-clamp to push the brake cylinder back SLOWLY. Install brake pads with the pad that has the metal attachments first inside the brake cylinder. You will know how and what I mean when you remove your old pads. One additional step that a professional brake shop does is to crack open the bleeder screw at each caliper when the piston is retracted. This expells the brake fluid directly out the bleeder screw instead of pushing the old fluid backwards through the ABS junction block. I place a plastic tube on the bleeder screw and expell into a container. Done correctly, it doesn't add air into the system and, essentially, keeps the brake fluid level in the entire system at the same level. (Note: Added by Stevetech)
9. Using your star key socket and ratchet, line up the caliper and bolts in the back and tighten. Do not forget to reinstall your plastic covers, this prevents water from rusting those bolts shut. As you reinstall the caliper pins, lubricate these pins with synthetic caliper pin grease. This is a very important step! Also, these two pins should stay oriented in their original positions. (added by: Stevetech)
10. Once done, put on your tire, tighten lugnuts.
11. I chose not to bleed the brakes simply because I took it to Jaguar for a brake fluid flush. $80 is just too cheap for me to hassle with it.
Welcome to the Jaguar Forums! It's great to have you with us.
In order to offer assistance, please tell us the following:
1. The year, model and engine of your Jaguar;
2. Does the engine crank without starting, or does it not crank over at all?
3. If it cranks over, does the tachometer show approximately 200 rpm while cranking or does it show 0 rpm?
4. Which brake parts did you replace? Pads? Pad wear sensors: Rotors?
5. While you were doing the brakes, did you listen to the radio in the car?
6. Was any other work done in addition to the brake work?
Also, please visit the New Member Area - Intro a MUST and post a required introduction so we can learn something about you and your Jaguar and give you a proper welcome.
Are the spring clips on the calipers the same front and rear?
Going to change my pads and find that whoever did the rears last didn't replace the clips and used some kind of unorthodox spring wire method of preventing rattle.
Anyone on this thread with an XJR or XKR and Brembo brakes:
I still have a brand new set of slotted front rotors that I can't use. I bought them before realizing the rotors on my '03 XKR are even larger (because of the handling package) anyway I waited too long to return them. They must go - no use to me. PM me if interested and I'll cut you a good price. Thanks.
Great Post!
I did a brake job about 4 Months ago and had the same problem with one caliper bolt. I used Blaster, heat and a six foot lever and remove only the bolt head. Finally remove the bolt by sawing across it. I would suggest if you run into a similar problem, abandon all other methods and go for the saw! The saw method takes about 15 minutes. I bought the electric saw from Harbor freight for about $15.00. The rear inboard brakes calipers were removed by rotating them out and over the rear axel. I did not replace the disks. That Job ran about $400.00.
I'm in process of replacing pads on my 98 xk8 and discovered the proper hex key to remove the caliper is 9/32". The 7 mm is too small.
Problem! My auto zone brake pad material is too thick, 17/32" vs a more normal 14/32". Even with removing the sheet metal backing plates on the pads, the caliper will not go back on. I removed the slight ridge on the rotor and retracted the puck with a large c-clamp. Still no fit unless I hammer it over the rotor. Not going to do that. What's the next step? Try a different pad?
I'm in process of replacing pads on my 98 xk8 and discovered the proper hex key to remove the caliper is 9/32". The 7 mm is too small.
Problem! My auto zone brake pad material is too thick, 17/32" vs a more normal 14/32". Even with removing the sheet metal backing plates on the pads, the caliper will not go back on. I removed the slight ridge on the rotor and retracted the puck with a large c-clamp. Still no fit unless I hammer it over the rotor. Not going to do that. What's the next step? Try a different pad?
Just came across this same issue in another thread (with AutoZone pads). Take a look at this post (#7 in the thread):
i just finished a self-congratulatory Anchor Steam beer after successfully replacing the pads and rotors on my '02 XKR, and have a few observations about the process.
1). At least on my car, the caliper pin bolts have the 7mm allen heads, not the torx as some cars are described as having. Be sure to double check this before applying any muscle. Ruining the bolt head by using the wrong tool could make this job very nasty.
2) Buy two cans of CRC Freeze-Off. it's superior to most other penetrants. Applied to the 17mm caliper bolt head and surrounding area it does a very good job of both penetrating and freezing. The freeze action will help loosen the threads, where regular penetrating products often fail. You do have to use a lot of it, and give the bolt head a few straight on whacks with a 4 lb mini sledge between sprays. Don't use this product without good ventilation. The fumes will kill a cockroach, and we know how tough they are , rumored to withstand small atomic bombs, etc.
3) The CRC Freeze-Off is also invaluable in getting a stubborn rotor to come loose. Just stray it liberally at the base of all the studs, and the rotor comes off A LOT easier, and that's with the stock (original looking) rotors, which were not budging without the Freeze-Off. The Brembo rotors would benefit just as much, as I'm reading they are even harder to remove.
i used the ebc red stuff pads, as I'm very familiar with that compound having used them on numerous vintage Shelby's and other vintage high performance Fords. Low dust, excellent bite that doesn't need an extensive warm up to be effective. Also very easy on rotors, imho.
Very helpful tutorial, thank you for sharing it!
I just replaced pads and rotors on my 2004 XK8 yesterday, and this info helped quite a bit...wasn't TOO bad, rotors thankfully weren't welded on and came off very easy. I've done a lot of brake jobs over the years on various vehicles, but this one took the longest of any of them, due to the caliper bolts.
Whomever it was that decided the brake line placement on the calipers, should be drawn and quartered.....and all four pieces shot. Then hanged. Getting to the rear left side lower caliper bolt was an exercise in patience with a hex bit, due to the angle of the dangerously close brake line.
I would recommend having a long 7mm hex key on hand, in addition to the 7mm hex bit.
And, I'm not sure if this was addressed in the preceding 5 pages but the bleeder valve takes a 9mm wrench or socket. I strongly advise cracking it and snugging it back down while the caliper is still bolted down; you can do it when the caliper is off, but trying to crack a tough bleeder valve while holding the caliper in your hand AND minding the brake line..I did it, but it would have been much easier to do it before caliper removal.
Great thread! Lots of useful info, may take some time to find it.
I am going to change pads and rotors on my X308 XJR (supercharged) and I have a couple of questions:
1. Are the front pads the same for the 305 and 325 discs?
My XJR has 325 front rotors (JLM20617). Everywhere I look it shows JLM 21917 as brake pads (which are the same as for the 305mm rotors).
Is this correct?
(If so, does that make sense? What is the point of larger rotors if the pads are the same?)
2. Is it correct that the bushing kits front and back are the same?
The front kits (JLM 2194) refer to the same OEM parts as the rear kits (JLM 12124).
This could make sense as the guiding pins are also identical (C2C27279)
3. Are the housing clips front and rear identical?
Front code JLM2196, rear JLM12122
4. Are there alternatives to the fixing bolts (17mm front - JZB100010, 15mm rear - JZB100060)?
I have great difficulty finding them here in Spain under these codes though they seem pretty generic.
5. Is it necessary/recommended to change bleeder screws?
I have great difficulty finding them here. But I am not really sure if it is relevant to have them at all.
(screw + cap, front: JLM2192 + JLM2193, back: JLM12120, 12121).
07-01-2017, 09:17 AM
