Hello All. I am in the process of refurbishing the brakes on my XJ6. My rear calipers are frozen and I need to replace them. As per the Jaguar manual it states that to remove the calipers, I have to remove the tie-plate under the differential. Having done that, I still cannot get them out. Do I have to drop the complete rear suspension or is there something I am not doing correctly. I have tried every which way to fish them out with no luck. Has anyone out there done it who can give me some pointers? Thank you in advance for any available help.

 

I'd suggest removing the whole rear cage. It's no fun and quite undignified working up in there with low light and debris falling in your eyes whilst trying to remove and reinstall those parts. It's a lot easier to drop the complete rear IRS. The caliper bolts and ebrake are a pain to remove in the car and it will be very difficult to re-safety wire them properly in the vehicle. Also consider replacing the stub axel output flange O-rings so leaking diff oil doesn't contaminate your new brakes and replace the rotors so your pads have a good surface to wear against.

 

+ at least 1 to above answer.

I have done waaaaay too many over the years and also tried the "book" method the first time at it, HAHAHA.

Now I simply drop the cage, 4 hours tops, and as said always do the rotors/output shaft seals/inner pivot bearing "seals"/park brake caliper refurbish, and so on.

Simple old age is now screaming for all sorts of TLC in this area, and if done once, done properly, it will service you for another 20+ years, but patching, and/or shortcuts will bite you on the bum every time.

 

+2

Drop the cage and do whatever needs to be done all at once. The alá carte routine is misery.

Cheers
DD

 

Thanks for all the advice. I removed the brake pads from the rear calipers.
With the e-brake cable disconnected, the right e-brake is what is frozen. Left side is fine. As per the advice I am still going to drop the IRS and do a complete service. Seems to be faster to do than try to remove the calipers or the e-brake assembly. Our good old Jaguar designers decided that if you want to remove the e-brake assembly with the IRS in the car you would have to remove the caliper crossover brakeline, or bend it out of the way to access the bolts for the e-brake assembly. I am not about to take that chance with so little room to work. I will be dropping the IRS on Saturday and will keep you posted on my progress.

 

While in there, replace the rear brake hose! I ended up replacing the rotors, calipers, rebuilding the E brakes (lube and then adjust them out of the car to make sure the ratchet works), while replacing the calipers (at the same time. I changed the gear section to 2:88's LSD with a polished Dana 44 cover).

Dropping it down is the only way. You need 18 inches minimum with the car on wooden blocks to remove it with a floor jack and wood piece. I took off
the tires first.

I helped a friend remove his calipers and rebuild them..took as long as dropping the whole would have used up. Plus, his rebuild only lasted until he got home and a seal gave way!!! Next time he did it with rebuilt calipers and dropped the IRS.

Cleaning and painting takes longer than the R&R of the parts. When done, you will have stopped 110% of all the rear end brake problems for many years.

 

If you're dropping the cage out (strongly recommended by me too), then make sure you do all the other jobs on the calipers, like freeing off the handbrake caliper pivot pins and replacing the adjuster nuts, and so on. Also the diff oil seals will no doubt be on the way out. Carefully record position and thickness of any adjustment shims that may "fall out" whilst you're dismantling, as these determine the road wheel camber angle. This is because the drive shaft acts as the upper wishbone, and the lower one is fixed with no adjustment.

Factor in a new set of cage mounts, the old ones will be shot. And new rear discs too. You will be shocked at the decrepitude when you get the cage out.

Oh, and check out the aluminium hub trunnions with their lower bearings, the wheel bearings, and the UJs on the drive shaft.

That lot should give you many happy hours of work !! (Yes, I have done it too)