Back again for more help.... car is on a lift. since I have the trw kit, I would have to remove that to take the exhaust off ?? or cut the pipes near the rear muffler. The screws on the clips don't want to move.

So I am trying to go against the grain and remove the inboard calipers just be removing the tie plate but I cannot seem to get to the rwo screws that bolt on the calipers to the disc !! A previous response to me was that the left (drivers) side was a straightforward removal. Well I must be going backwards !! I've removed the two brake lines at the top and have pulled the pads.

So I wonder where to go from here (to my bar perhaps)... Did not think I was too old for this, but maybe at 72+ I should only rebuild a rocking chair !

I have been going back and forth from working on taking parts off of my "parts car" and trying to remove the calipers... Open to further instruction and suggestions.

Thanks,
Ken in WV

 

I am not sure from your post what you are trying to do, but if you are changing the inboard calipers, then dropping the entire axle cage out of the car is in my experience by far the easiest and best way to do it.

greg

 

TOTALLY AGREE WITH GREGG. oops caps, I did the whole job in situ to discover I couldn't do it and be confident that it was safe, and the handbrake can also be a nightmare to get back on the callipers, anyway after 2 weeks of fiddling I had to remove the whole thing, but be prepared for other work you will discover needs doing,

 

I agree. My whole cage is sitting in the garage, with the hand brake and calipers off. I'm actually ATTEMPTING to change the discs, as they are very old, very thin, and the hand brake was apparently stuck and was eating into the right disc. As a matter of fact, one half of the right hand brake was getting cut into itself, but not too bad.






Where I am running into trouble is actually removing the discs. I thought they would be free when I removed the calipers and the shaft that goes to the wheels, but nope! It seems that I also need to remove the lower (and only) swing arm to which the two (on each side) shocks are connected to. I thought that maybe I could just swing the arms down, but it would be just as much work, so at the moment that lower arms are disconnected from the differential area (my GAWD, that's a long bolt thing connecting those!) and the shocks are still in place. It looks like I have to put the whole rear cage on a cinder block or something to I can re-assemble the shocks and lower arms.





If any of you have any better ideas, or if I am on the right track, let me know. The whole process has been slow, mostly as it's been freezing cold here and partly because I'm meticulously cleaning everything as I remove it.

 

Greg is right dropping the rear is the way to go. I have the TWR kit, I replaced the whole exhaust and had the shop install a flange so I can drop the rear section without removing the rear bar. What you could do if you intend to keep the original exhaust is cut it off and then have the shop weld flanges so you can drop it easily.

 

OK..... Everyone has convinced me... Guess I am too hard headed to begin with.... Besides the hand brake, what brake fluid feed lines do I have to disconnect ?? Just the two at each caliper or should they also be disconnected at where they are on the underside of the body ??

 

Just disconnect the flexible where it joins the cage.

It is best to replace that flexible when you reinstall, as they tend to fail internally and block the rears on.

The discs will come off once the driveshafts are disconnected and the calipers removed, just give them a clout with a hammer!

If you have undone and removed the inner fulcrums, then it is a very good idea to rebuild the bearings carefully, rather than re-use the bits originally there, particularly the rubber seals. In future, FYI, it is easiest to undo the shockers at their bottom mountings if you need to drop the lower arm further down.

While it is all off, if funds allow, renew the radius arm bushes (and the arms themselves if at all rusty), check the springs and shockers are ok, as well as renewing the brake discs, and rebuild/replace the calipers if at all past it. Carefully grease everything before remounting as it is easier to get the grease round when the bearings, UJs etc are not loaded. Once done you will get at least 10 years of use as long as you grease the joints regularly - 10 in all!

There is a hole with a small steek bung in it near the top of the aluminium hubs. I can gauarantee this will never have been opened since the car left the factory. Prize this out and pump in a load of grease - with luck some will find its way to the rear hub bearings.

Good luck
Greg

 

I have just completed this job. On my 89, I also didn't realize the speed sensor was in the diff, and hopefully didn't damage the wiring. I had to get the whole cage up high enough, so that when I disconnected the shocks, the lower arm could be pushed down far enough that the caliper would clear in coming off. This is my third time doing this job, and it seems it gets bigger every time I do it. (3 different Jags). I hope I never have to do it again is all I have to say. Then again, should I run into a diff out of a 6 cylinder XJS, maybe I will..........

 

i seem to be having a problem getting the hand brake to disconnect at the fitting... How to disconnect ??? Also the brake line... Where best to disconnect ??? and there seems to be a curly line from the trunk that goes to the rear end... WTF is that and how do I disconnect so the rear end will drop... thanks

 

The handbrake cable pops out of the actuating arm. Pull the arms together and the cable will be loose enough to come out of the far side arm end.

Disconnect the brake line at the flexible join to the cage. Replace this line when you reassemble.

The curly line from the boot is the speedo sensor wire (protected by the outer curly line) that goes into the diff at the back top of the diff. There is a small fixing to undo and it pulls out. Do not loose the shims though, as they control the space between the sensor and the crownwheel teeth it is reading.

Greg

 

Gregg,
Was not a problem in disconnecting the far side of the brake line... Having a problem with the near side. It is in a clamp and does not seem to want to come loose. Unable to push it through or get the pin out of the clamp.
I disconnected the curly wires to each of the wheel "hubs" and I though those were the speed sensors.... Not so...
As for the brake lines, it just seems they do not want to come apart at the point just above the brake line where they are bolted to the frame. Thought there might be a "trick" to get them loose...... Thanks for your continued assistance. The nuts and bolts on the exhaust clamps were a RPIA to remove!! ken

 

I may have misled you by accident. See below in Blue

greg

 

If its a 1989 it will not have OB brakes unless it's been modified.

You need to slacken the handbrake cable there are 2 nuts on the cable under the carpet just behind the handbrake handle inside the car these need to be loosened and the cable slackened so you can get the cable out of the brake.

 

I hope you haven't pulled the long bolt yet... If the lower suspension arm is lowered enough, by releasing the shocks, the rotors will come off. I literally just finished this job, and even though I started to remove the long bolt(s) you mention, it wasn't required. As a matter of fact, before I realized that I didn't need to remove the "long bolts" I only created more work by doing so. If the shocks are taken loose, the lower suspension arm will lower enough to allow the rotor to come off. (and go back on)

 

No, not your fault at all.... Yes, I have inboard brakes and finally got the cage out today !!! yea !!! thanks to you who helped and worked with me on this.... I was reluctant to take it out but now see that it could not have been done otherwise. The only item that I cut was the short brake line hose from the cage to the chassis and that will be easy to replace... Oh, and yes I did cut the exhaust pipe on a straight segment behind the rear muffler. I don't think this rear end has ever been out before !! and I would rather hope it will out last me !! No rust anywhere to be seen so I am lucky there. The radius arms look good and the mounts as well without rust. After I plug a few holes, would there be anything wrong with a good power wash ?? Then lots of WD 40. Will rebuild the calipers.... and grease as well as replace worn bolts.. and.??

 

I used a pressure washer on my 71 XKE, and ruined the bearings in the hubs somehow. I wanted it to look new looking through the wheels. I wound up both hubs rebuilt. Expensive cleaning. On my 89 XJS, I just put up with the grease, made it all functional, and put it back together. I did find the best hand cleaner by accident (frustration), WD40! I kept a can close by, and it worked great for the first round of hand cleaning, and then used regular hand cleaner to finish up. Is my diff assembly new looking? No. But it is in great working condition now.

 

Just finished my driver's rear caliper last night. Not that difficult. Didn't drop the cage. Lift, Snap On tools, and, someone who owns all this stuff. We worked together and replaced the caliper in 3 hours. It took about 45 minutes for us to muscle the parking brake cable back into the slot. Other than that, not much went wrong. Didn't look like the caliper would come out, but wiggling it around in there, it finally popped out. Easier going back in. I read all the info I could, I decided to go with the very simple one paragraph instructions by Dick Maury, that I found on line.

 

I rebuilt my rear brake calipers and removed nothing except a few clips to loosen the brake line and the u joint covers.

The caliper bolts are accessed through the rotors and the parking brake has to be disassembled before you can get the caliper out, it will then just barely scrap past the exhaust.

Aligned the holes to put the caliper back on and assembling the hand brake with the caliper in place are both a pain though