Where are the brake bleeder valves on the XK? Can I bleed my calipers without removing the wheels? I can on my Corvette Z06, makes it a breeze at the track or on a lift in a garage not having to remove the tires/wheels.

Thanks

Tom

 

Tom

I have not had the wheels off my '08 yet, but, judging from the '05 experiences and from other cars, I would say that the bleeding valves are on the inside of the calipers, usually on top. Since I do not have a lift at home, I always jack up the car and remove the tires. Have the wife pump the brakes while I do the bleeding. Bleeding four wheels may take me about 20 minutes of pumping, plus the jacking and tire removal/installation times. Whole process maybe 1.5 hours.

A useful tip; the master cylinder contains a fair amount of fluid that may take a fair amount of pumping and effort to pass all through the system. To shorten that time, I usually use a needle with a suction bulb to pull most of the oil out of the master cylinder before I begin the pumping. Leave just enough to cover the bottom outlets, fill it with fresh oil and begin pumping.

Generally start with the furthest wheel (rear, passenger side).

If you have a lift, you might be able to get to your bleeding screws without taking the wheels off. Probably not, since the calipers and the top mounted valves may come very close to the inside of the wheels. Make sure you have a rubber fuel line for draining the old fluid into a container.

And, be careful not to drip brake fluid on your paint job. If you accidentally drip it, wash it ASAP with water.

Albert

 

Thanks for the great response, my buddy not only has a 4 post lift but a "power bleeder" so I'll dump in my liter of ATE SuperBlue DOT4 Racing Fluid pressurize the container and open each valve (as you suggested).

We can bleed the fluid on our Z06's in a few minutes w/o removing the wheels as the calipers have the bleeders on the top of the caliper accessible from the front through the wheel. It's a sweet set up - kudo's to GM. Especially for us track dogs.

So i don't see any challenges with the Jag.

Cheers

Tom