Ok, bad case of "while we are at its" going. Long story short, 1985 VDP, rear cage is out, drive shaft has been completely rebuilt, modified and lightened. (Shot internals). Rear brakes need redoing.

Have done some searching on subject, I know a lot of people rebuild their own calipers but....

If I don't want to rebuild the calipers, what is the current opinion on best place to source new rears. Seems to be a lot of options from sub $100 rebuilds on the general auto parts sites to $150-$200 each reman and new from the specialty jaguar sites and $300 each for genuine Jag from Gaudin. Planning on keeping the car for a long time and driving a fair amount (not exactly a daily driver but definitely in the rotation)

This current take down is wayyyyy over budget and was not started with the intention of rebuilding rear end, we started chasing a noise on hard take off which I am hoping goes away with the driveshaft rebuild. That being said, the rear brakes needed doing so we just kept going.

No issues or leaks with the current calipers, on a normal car I would just throw pads and rotors on and call it a day. Not a normal car as we know. So the new calipers are strictly preventative move.

Not opposed with going all the way to the genuine Jag parts just don't want to spend over what is reasonably necessary.

Thoughts?

 

Mark:


Tis a conundrum, indeed.


1. A thorough fix of the brakes will never be easier. Needed???


2. Unless the rotors are scored or distorted, no real need to swap them. A deglaze with emery paper is more than enough.


3. Not hard to slip out the pistons, clean the bores and pistons and reseal them.
If no corrosion is present all will be just fine.


4. Quality rebuilds are available. ANG, Coventry West, etc. Also Johnscars of Dallas/Fort Worth, noted more for lump kits, also has parts. Same for Jaguar-Specialties, Circa San Jose, Ca.


I got mine from Rock Auto. Competitive price and no core required. The latter
was why I chose them. so far, just fine.


Caveat, do the hand brake pads as well.


Lighten the drive shaft????


But, once done, done... As good as it gets.


Carl

 

Quite a project, are they not???


But, definitely both challenging and entertaining.
Carl

 

Lol, thought that may catch someone's eye. Yea, brought it in to Drivelines Inc. They are local and do nothing but driveshafts. Mostly do a lot of hot rod work here in so cal. I have used them quite a bit, they simplified, lightened and balanced a shaft on our 1975 Spitfire which will now run the freeway at 85mph with nary a vibration. Any Spitfire owners will attest how rare it is you can do that today.

I didn't get a chance to talk thru the final rebuild yet, but he gave me three options, first just rebuild the internals which he said were completely gone for about $350. Second, replace all the u joints, which it didn't really need which brought cost up to $425. Though he warned me that because of the design, he could only spin and balance unloaded. His 3rd option was if he redid one of the yoke tubes (guess it has two and he said we could run with one) he could much more accurately straighten and balance the unit, it would be smaller in many of tight clearance places and the whole unit would be significantly lighter. I should prob ask him what kind of weight savings we got.

I went with number 3 obviously. $533 including tax. Prob shave at least 2 sec on my 0-60... Lol j/k. Just hope the noise goes away! So far nothing else in rear is suspect. We already checked all the shields and exhaust movement which was my initial thought.

 

Boy Howdy do I speak "While I'm At It!" FLUENTLY!
While we were at Other things, my rear calipers spontaneously leaked out all the fluid in the system! I was NOT pleased to find that. They had not given a Moment's trouble or warning to that point. Nothing in the rear end had been on the schedule, but obviously that all changed.

So, If your calipers are original with your car, I would Strongly recommend changing them for new, as rebuilding is said not to be an amateur friendly job.

Mine came from Rock Auto, but they sent calipers for XJS, completely unusable to us, so we had to order more, causing further delays. We only use Rock Auto if we Absolutely Positively can't find it anywhere else, and then only with great caution.
(';')

 

Thanks!

Did you consider something like this which is listed as new not reman
SNG Barratt - The Ultimate Jaguar Parts Specialist
Seems to come with pins and lines as well

Or this which is a reman but hopefully either xks.com rebuilds them or at least has confidence in the rebuilder:
GR-67032027R - R/B Caliper, RH Rear, XJ-6, XJ-12, XJ-S $150.Core Charge

Or even:
CALIPER for 1985 Jaguar XJ6|AAU3378

Which looks like a dealer NOS?
Lots of price points, just not sure which way to go.

 

SNG Barret has been good to deal with when we bought parts from them. Husband does parts procurement here and Rock Auto had Beck Arnley, a Well known Old Line brand, for a good price, so he bought them there. New pins were included.

We *Personally* have not had good experience with XKs Unlimited. They sent wrong parts more than once and their return policy is, um, Difficult, so we just "ate" the wrong parts and got correct ones somewhere else.

I know nothing about this company. NOS could be good or bad depending on storage conditions.

I will say though, because of the work involved in changing rear calipers, I wouldn't use anything but New (not remanufactured), because so many rebuilders *in OUR experience at least* do less than stellar work and failure rate is high. I'm sure there are exceptions, but I don't know any.
(';')

 

Easy one...Rockauto.com. I maintain 5 family cars all with over 100k miles and Rockauto has only let me down once. I have actually purchased both front and rear calipers from rockauto for my older Jag coupe and I was very satisfied with the quality of the items I purchased.

 

Elinor, I found rebuilding the originals an easy job (compared to some of the six piston bike ones I have dealt wit).And definitely an amateur brake rebuilder. Mine were in a fairly bad state when they were removed.

Been back on the road 17 months and 15000 miles since with no drama.
Done spirited track sessions and some of Queensland's best winding downhill roads without a thought about the brakes.

 

So much for those who "know." I stand corrected.
Nice scenery, Clarke.
(';')

 

Yup !!!


I am a 'fixer" over a replacer by nature. But at times. the latter is attractive.


I've rebuilt master cylinders and wheel cylinders in older critters. More successes than failures.


But for, "a legal jargon, when my Jaguar's rear calipers started their drips, I would have prepared to rebuild. But, the access was the for. Once and for all the goal.


And, after shopping, Rock Autos no core and Beck Arnley looked great. Done!!!
So far, so good.


But, OTH, Clarke's success at a far lesser cost point to my fix it choice....


I have a big store credit with Rock Auto. That starter debacle. Use????


Agree, that scenery is something. Much like our mountain roads in NORCAL.


Started to do the Malaria road once. I was in Winters on a business trip. Time caused me to defer....


I was invited to a car show in winters a bit ago. shows not my thing, but tempted.
other stuff got in the way...


Carl


.

 

The location of these calipers is a big factor in making your decision, as they are so inaccessible, so once fitted, you don't want to have to get in there again, or, indeed, have to drop the subframe too soon after a rebuild. For the front calipers, being easy to get at, the decision will likely be different.

If it were me, I would go for quality rebuilt items, or even new if you can afford it. Make sure, especially, that the handbrake mechanism is mostly all-new and well lubricated. When I had a rear caliper piston seize up and heat the whole shebang up so hot I needed a new diff seal, I replaced with rebuilt calipers from a local supplier that were a good price. That was an unforgettable experience, with the pedal going to the floor and white smoke billowing out of the rear wheel arches !! Despite this, we manage to complete our journey after a cool-off period and finish our holiday. We just needed to top up the fluid reservoir every 100 miles !!

 

Mark:


The drive shaft thing. A one piece in lieu of the stock unit with the center joint?
A part of my Johnscars kit for the lump was a one piece shaft. works just fine.


Another lister has old unit, in good condition, as a spare.


Fraser:


Exactly., Access was the deciding factor....


Carl

 

No, still has the joint. What the shop told me that did the work is that these cars have a tube in tube design. That was what was eliminated - guess it took about 5 lbs off the weight and makes it possible to more accurately balance it.

 

skinny'd on down now. I think 5 lbs savings is probably conservative.

 

I know that story, only the ending was worse. Ball of fire under the right fuel tank. Hense "Miss Fireball"

The pedal was going to the floor with about 3km of steep desent to go(me just thinking old car with brake fade on a 20 km decent), only when we stopped at a red light in town did I notice the black cloud coming from the rear of my car.



I just did that same road twice last weekend, much nicer driving experience with a solid pedal.

 

Mark:


Interesting. Ford used a tube within a tube at one time. Flexible bond between the two.


Smooth and quiet was the goal in both cases, I surmise.


Yours now simpler. Simple is at times best. but, still complex.
but, it works, can't beat that...


Carl.

 

I have also read that every pound of weight saved in the rotating driveline = 10 lbs of carry weight. So shaving 5 lbs off the shaft should be same as if I lost 50lbs on a diet!! which aint going to happen!

 

Mark:


Yes, but in context. Centrifugal force and dead weight. Control issues, definitely.
The live balance vs static balance thing. Physics that are on the outlying edge of my understanding.


225-50? Nope, many issues to resolve. Ward robe not the least. Ain't gonna happen. I might manage 25!!


Carl