Hello,

Recently picked up early 1975 XJ6C and right now trying to sort everything out. At first, brakes needs attention. Brake fluid reservoir had a jelly looking fluid inside, but only on top of the screen, looks like brake fluid level float and aluminum housing rusted out and disintegrated, so I need a new cap. Brake hoses from reservoir look old and leaking a little, brake master cylinder also is wet and probably needs to be rebuilt. So I need a full set. So my question is, can I "upgrade" to XJ Series 3 master cylinder / reservoir while keeping the same booster? I see Rockauto has CARDONE 132456 master cylinder with attached reservoir for sale for $82.79.
Product Detail

 

I've used a series 3 MC many times with the booster. The Series 1 booster is diffrent but 2 and 3 are identical.

The brake system on these cars deteriorates quickly as lots of moisture collects under the hood. Also change both front calipers and carefully check the 2 brake lines that cross over the front under the radiator. They often rot and develop thin spots or holes.

I hope the rear curcuit is solid as that end is expensive and more time consuming to repair.

It's easy for a novice to get in over their head and hemorrhage cash on one of these cars. They are super beautiful and can quickly motivate your occipital lobe to make your cerebral cortex to perform the fine motor skills necessary for you to grab your debit card and spend copious amount of money.... that's all fine, but do so wisely. So post some pix and check in often for options.

I doubt that MC comes as show with the reservoir and level sensor but it says it does so give it a shot. They most likely mean the MC type with with reservoir attached not that it actually has the reservoir.

 

"They are super beautiful and can quickly motivate your occipital lobe to make your cerebral cortex perform the fine motor skills necessary for you to grab your debit card and spend copious amount of money.... "

Quote of the year!

Before you spend any money I'd suggest buying brake fluid, bleeding everything out (and preferably flushing the brake lines). As ICS says, the rear is quite involved and requires dropping the entire independent rear suspension unit to access calipers and parking brake. I usually start at the back and work my way forward, as the front end is far more accessible. Once you know the rear is all buttoned up, you are finishing up the job with the far more accessible front end.

If you have fluid leaking out everywhere when you do your initial diagnosis you will be able to make decisions on whether it will be necessary to drop the rear end. You'll have to do it eventually to service anyway and IMO it is a good baseline to getting the car sorted before you do anything else....brakes, steering and good tires are the most important thing to sort out first for your safety...

If you take the IRS out it's worth dropping the tanks and cleaning out, so when you start to get the engine sorted you know you have good fuel supply...

 

Thank You, icsamerica and olivermarks. I'm waiting until the weather gets warmer that I could move other cars and toys out of the garage and I could get more space to get under the Jag to see how everything looks underneath. I'm really leaning towards Series 3 master cylinder and reservoir, engine bay will probably look much cleaner also. I hope the new reservoir will not interfere with the hood?
Another question: My oil filter is old style, canister type and the availability is kind of slim. I see later series 2 and all series 3 switched to spin on oil filter. Is it possible to replace canister type oil filter housing to the newer spin oil filter adapter? Engine blocks looks the same, so it should be possible... If so, will any series 3 filter adapters fits or there was a difference between series 2, series 3 early and series 3 late models?
Karolis D.

 

By the way, that's what I've found under the brake fluid reservoir cap.

 

on Dear!!
(';')

 

Hello again,
Just received proper license plates and now have a question about attaching the rear one. All I see is 4 empty slots. Shouldn't here be some kind of plastic inserts for the license plate screws? All I can find in parts diagrams are some kind of oblong plastic grommets? Anyone has a rear license plate off of their Ser II and could take a look for me or post a picture, please?

 

I just put short lengths of 1/4 inch vacuum tubing in the slots to hold the screws.
It works very well, holds plates securely. Cheap too.
(';')

 

When I see that photo it tells me that the braking system has been completely neglected and you would be wise to budget for a full rebuild including calipers and brake lines. Yes, a daunting prospect but your life could depend on it.