Although I'm a long way from Starting this Job, I really want to try and Scope Out any potential problems that I may encounter

So my next question is:

Does it do any harm to have the rear end of the Car 'Jacked' up in the air for a long time?

Could Oil seep out and damage one of the other Components on the front of the Engine?

 

Nothing can happen mate. That is why you have oil seals... You can of course also put the front on ramps, if it helps easy your mind.

 

No different to parking it on a hill.

 

I will have to study this some more but I do have a question. Are the bolts or nuts for the IRS welded to the body or frame so that when the IRS is replaced it goes exactly where it was before?

 

Mounts bolt through rail, can only end up in one position.

 

 

Ok. I am concerned, probably rightly, that I know what I am doing. so to drop the rear end, other than undoing the pipes and various hoses, and the trailing arm. Are these the 4 bolts that I should remove to drop the IRS?

Thanks for the help to a moderately skilled mechanic.

 

NO they are not. Look at the top of the bracket where it is attached to the actual car, NOT where the bracket is attached to the axle cage (which is what your photo shows). Each bracket has TWO long bolts that go through the chassis of the actual car. There are 8 in all, four each side, 2 on each bracket, (two brackets each side).

 

OK, so they are not to ones that go through the rubber bumpers. Do you have a picture of the correct bolts?

 

Four nuts hold the IRS onto the mounts and, yes, remove them to drop the IRS.

Or you could leave the IRS attached to the mounts and then remove the mounts from the body of the car. No advantage in doing so and is more difficult, IMO.

The mounts are #6 in the illustration and the nuts you'd remove are #11

https://www.jaguarclassicparts.com/u...-mounting-rear

Cheers
DD

 

Excellent -- thanks those are the bolts that I show in my pictures that go through the rubber mounts and IRS cage. So I can move forward now feel9ing a bit better.

 

I got the cage off,removed the handbrakes and found that one pad was completely missing and the one handbrake rusted a lot, i got the calipers off and removed the bolts from the discs. And loosened the discs. Now how do I get the disks off? Do I need to disassemble other parts of the IRS to get clearance to remove the discs?

 

Since the calipers are off, are the lower control arms still attached? If so you have two options:

1. Lift the differential and allow the arms to droop enough to clear the disks and then slide the disks off the stub axles.
2. Remove the lower control arms. Be aware of all the washers and seals that will fall out in the process.

This assumes the main calipers are off, not just the handbrake calipers.

 

Here is a view of the current state. The brakes are all removed and the disks are loose but cannot get past the "H" arm. What next?

 

Undo the shock/spring assembly, your choice of the top bolts or bottom shaft; then lift the remaining cage/differential assembly and the arms will swing down enough to allow you to remove the disks. The arms will need to be nearly vertical to clear.

 

How do I remove the bottom shaft and which way would be easier when I try to put it back together? Also, I cannot imagine doing all that I have done with the IRS attached to the car.

Bill

 

To remove the lower shock/spring shaft undo the nut on one side and then just tap it out. Nothing should be holding it in place, it should pull out once the nut/washer on one side is removed.

No, none of this is intended to be done in the car. Once you've done it a few times you can have the IRS out in 45 min to a hour and then it's much easier to work on when it's on a bench in front of you.

Or do you mean the lower wishbone? Similar sort of thing, remove the nut on one side and the shaft can be driven through. In that case, there are a number of spacers,seals and bearings in there on each side that have to go back together in the right order and be kept clean. Not difficult, but fiddly work to get it all lined up. I put a coat of grease on things to hold them in place and then the shaft can be worked through all the components. If you don't have the manual, you really should!

 

Yes, that will allow you to swing down the lower wishbone so the disc can clear. Note the order of the washers and spacer. Also, the rod must be tapped out FROM the rear TO the front, it will not come out rearwards because of the strengthener plate between the hub and the wishbone, 27 in this diagram (which does NOT show the shock absorber pin. For this see the second diagram. 27 is drilled only to let the threaded part of the shock rod (9 in the second diagram) through.

 

The IRS is out of the car and the bolts holding the shaft to the brake plate have been removed. I am trying to push the rod, 9 in the lower diagram, through from the side with the strengthener plate 27 in the upper diagram and the rod is now through and even with the plate but it will not go any further since there is nothing to push on, 9 in the lower diagram below. I am considering getting a rod the dame diameter as the shaft, 9, and using that try to push the rod further out from the rear to the front of the car. Any thoughts on that. I assume that the rod is rusted and I will need to replace the rod,rubber bushings, etc.

Thoughts? It seems that I am trying to fix one thing and the process keeps taking me deeper, lol. Eventually I will get to putting it all back together.

 

Using a push rod of some description is what I always do. Sometimes grabbing the nut on the other side with vice grips and pulling while twisting gets it to move too.