My problem is probably a failed caliper seal that is leaking break fluid from the rear passenger side. It is not where the caliper is connected to the break line. I have a new question to my previous post and it seems that only new posts are answered again. So if I want to rebuild my rear break calipers and leave the rear "cage" on... Must the car be on a lift with the wheels hanging or ??? And what is the time trade off if I want to do it this way verses dropping the "cage" and unhooking everything else ?? If the "cage" weighs upward of 300 lbs, why remove it and hurt my toes ?? or me ?? Is there a procedure to follow ?
I've spent seemingly hours trying to look up the correct answer and it's not there !!! I would have a better chance trying to figure out what my wife means when she says something to me !!! Still after 45 years, that's not going to happen !!! So what is next my friends.
Ken

 

I have removed calipers with the rear end both in and out. I can tell you it is much easier and quicker to remove the rear from the car, it seems difficult but is fairly easy.

1 Jack the car up and put it on suitable stands, remove the rear wheels.
2 Undo the 8 nuts that hold the mounts to the body, leave the bolts in for now.
3 Under the car remove the 4 tailshaft bolts and I wired the shaft up to keep it out of the way.
4 undo the handbrake cable and brake lines.
5 Undo the exhaust at the joint just before the cage.
6 Jack under the diff and remove the 8 bolts that hold the cage in.
7 Put the wheels back on and remove the stands, lower the car so its sitting on the ground
8 Jack up the rear of the body and rear cage will stay on the ground. (BE CAREFUL of the speedo sensor) you will need to remove this from the diff as you jack the body away.

I have done this 3-4 times now and can have the rear in and out of the car in under 20min by myself. My exhaust is under the diff now so makes it easier. It makes working on the rear end so much easier for us old blokes. If you leave the rear in the car getting at the bolts to remove the caliper you will need to book a massage afterwards.

 

I'm not trying to sound like a smartass but I really don't know how you spent hours looking for this info. I made a semi- write-up for it, should be able to locate it using any kind of "rear caliper" search term.

here is a link to that thread, most of the info you want is on the second page.
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...alipers-48471/
The car doesn't need to be UP but it has to be up, you gotta get under it obviously. Nothing has to be removed except the brake components.

 

Hoe did you get the sealing wire back in the caliper bolts with the rear in the car? I had to drop the cage to mine sealed back up.

 

I used safety wire in a tube IE loctite

 

Seems to me that everyone has some problems with the first time... I remember my first attempt to snap roll an aircraft and the first time I rolled a Huey Cobra on its back in 67 in Vietnam... I did not think the forum was the place where those of you who have "been there and done that" were going to be a little snobby to us guys who are trying something for the first time..... Anyway, I do appreciate your response as well as others. I may or may not be a little older than you (I'm in my early 70s) but I do not like to reinvent the wheel and when there seems to be a lot going on in repairing / replacing an item.... I like to find out all I can before I tackle the job as I would rather not waste my time doing something when I have no clue as to what steps are required.... Anyway, it now seems that I have the information to attempt the repair and my last request is what else should I do while the rear end is mostly off ??
Ken

 

While the rear is out/in bits check the wheel bearings and inner and outer fulcrum bearings as well as the cage mounts. There is a good chance the cage mounts will need replacing. If they do let us know as there a few tricks to getting the new ones lined up. Other than this the rear is pretty bullet proof.

 

I am sure nobody meant to sound condescending, this is a very happy place and we all help each other.

To get the rear off, raise the car 3 feet under the axle and support the cage as it can fall out on you if the mounts are shot. Remove the exhaust over-axle pipes, undo the propshaft, undo the body/cage brake flexible pipe, squeeze the handbrake arms togther and pop out the cable from the one at the end of the cable. Unbolt the raduis arm at the chassis mounting, having removed its safety strap. A cold chisel at the join between the top of the rubber bush and the cup it fits to whacked hard will pop the arm off. Unbolt the cage mounts at the long bolts that go through the chassis (2 on each mount). Lower the cage down on a trolley jack and wheel it away on the wheels!

When the rear is off it is best to do ALL of these:

• clean and rebuild/renew calipers
• clean and rebuild handbrake mechanism with new spreader forks
• grease all UJs and inner and outer fulcrums (10 nipples in all)
• change LS diff oil
• as was said above, check inner fulcrum bearings and rebuild if leaking/shot etc
• as was said, check that the cage mounts are not shot and renew if they are, ( I say use OEM Metalastic only)
• outer fulcrum bearings can be shot too, try to check for play. If they need doing post again as they are tricky to redo the first time.
• It is quite possible the chassis at the radius arm end will be rusted out. If so no alternative but to cut and weld.
• The radius arm bushes will be shot too, and the arm itself may be rusted through too. Either buy two new arms with bushes fitted, or if arm OK and you have access to presses, fit new bushes (OEM Metalastic only, IMO, or the famous Jaguar ride will be lost).

Sounds a lot of bits, but even if you bought all new bits (at least over this side) you would not spend more than 500 USD, and the rear would be perfect. I know this is a lot of cash, but not so much when you consider the rear of a 150mph car has been completely redone.

Finally, in case you have not heard of it, download the Great K Palm's book about the XJS from the jaglovers site.

Welcome to the forum

Greg

 

Add a new brake hose to your "while I'm at it" list.

When removing the exhaust pay particular attention to how the pipes are snaked through the cage. First time I did the drop-the-cage routine I wasted a lot of time on reinstalling the pipes. It was probably just me having a dumb-*** moment but, still, I thought I mention it


The rear suspension assembly is very unbalanced fore-aft. Be aware of that when lowering it down.

Cheers
DD

 

Idk if you were addressing me or not, but I bothered to put "not trying to sound like a smartass" for a reason. I was just surprised you didn't find it.

If you take the exhaust out your life will be 5x easier, I didn't want to buy the gaskets for it.

 

Thanks to all... Since I'm getting serious about this, I am installing a 2 post lift after Turkey day. All the grand kids will be here and we will have 12 in the house... Hopefully I'll have another 20 or so if the Lord allows. Anyway. I just got my rebuild parts for the Calipers. Since I did not get rid of all of my "stuff" when we moved to Wild and Wonderful WV, I still have my blast cabinet and will renew all I can when the rear is off. I have read of others rerouting their exhausts to simplify putting everything back together... Guess I could buy a small arc welder ?? How will I know if the radius arm bushes are shot ?? I'm only at 52k miles but might as well prepare for another 50 while exposed ?? I tried to add a few photos to my post yesterday but they were rejected ??. And again, I do have an extra "parts car" within a few hundred vins and will be parting out extras... Need anything ?? I'll put you down... Not my intention to gouge anyone as I only have about 1k in the car including picking up and transporting back to WV......
Thanks again and appreciate your putting me on the right track.....
Ken

 

I fixed the exhaust issue my pipes now run under the diff, this is ok if you do not lower the car my car is stock ride height and I have about 150mm ground clearance. Makes it easy to drop the exhaust 4 bolts and both sides are off.

Radius arm bushes these can be a PITA to remove I ended up having to cut the rubber to release the radius arm from the mount then an angle grinder to to cut the bush inner from the RA mount (VERY CAREFULLY) they were a little rusted together. And I live in a hot climate no salt on the roads here.

If you have it apart a set of 4 bushes will cost you under $100. Well worth doing if they are suspect or do not come off easily.

 

52k miles doesnt matter, rubber is damaged from oxidation (age) just as much ,if not more than from being stressed.


exhaust is up to you, i scrape on places around town as it is, so i'd never consider running under the rear suspension

 

Where the exhaust runs under the diff is between the back wheels so to scrape you will need a bump that is narrower than the wheel track. As both back wheels travel up the ground clearance stays the same.

 

assuming every bump or entryway is straight and I am going straight into it, usually entries are turned into and I encounter a few angled speed bumps around here.

 

Angled speed bumps and steep diveways will scrape the nose and floor pan between the wheels very unlikely it will scrape the exhaust under the diff unless (as we have here) you have a speed bump that is narrow than the car.

I have a drive way that scrapes the front bar if I turn directly into it but I have not scraped the under diff exhaust.

 

Everyone has been a great help here... Thank you all very much. Will be tackling this project in December (after I get my fill of all the Turkey leftovers)... and also after I install the lift that will be coming in next week.... Plan to photograph and document each step for future postings. Hopefully all the responses will help me cut down on mis steps !! and mistakes !!
Ken

 

Ken,
I'm getting ready to do the same job on my 91 in December.
I've already got the car in the air on ramps and have removed the exhaust which also needs to be replaced (more on that in anothe post). My job will include most/all of the items listed in Gregs post on items to do when the IRS is removed.

I'll also post pictures and commentary on the site here for anyone interested and like you I'll accept any and all help/advise offered.

Good luck, Enjoy the time with family, I'll be following your project with great interest.

 

So my winter project looks like it's going to be replacing the rear disks, which means lowering the rear cage. This brings me to a question:

What's the minimum height I need to lift Morris to be able to remove the cage out the back? I'm lifting Morris up in the air the American way: cinder blocks! Going to be dancing with carjack as it goes up, I'm just wondering how high it needs to be to comfortably take out the cage.

Also, should I lift the entire cat, or can I get away with just the rear? I guess this might depend on how high I need to lift it.

 

I have actually done this in pre-ramp days:

• Loosen rear wheel nuts, leave wheels on,
• Jack up the rear of the car under the axle cage with a big trolley jack. Chock the front wheels solidly.
• get the bumper about 4 feet up.
• Put your props/blocks/stands under the rear jacking points just forward of the radius arm mounts
• Support the axle still with the jack and other devices to stop lateral and fore and aft movement when it is undone
  
• undo everything (brake flex, propshaft, exhaust, radius arms at body end, handbrake cable)
• take off one rear wheel and undo the cage mount bolts that go through the chassis, 2 per mount
• replace rear wheel, repeat other side
• Carefully let down the cage on the wheels and wheel it away for rebuild.

Greg