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Dang…what kind of road conditions causes rust like that? The only time I’ve ever seen that kind of rust was when we lived in Rochester, NY from 1976 through 1983. They used huge amounts of salt on the roads then. I had my beloved Datsun 240z turn into a pile of rust dust. But, I’ve not seen a car rust like that just from rain. We lived in the Portland, OR area for 7 years. We had constant rain for 9 months each year, but they didn’t salt roads, so cars didn’t rust.
My ‘15 XKR previously resided in the Naples, Fl area. Before buying it, I examined the undercarriage with it on a lift, and found no signs of rust anywhere.
Well I am in the U.K, notorious for lots of rain and also when the cold comes copious amounts of road salt every day and night. If there is more than 20mm of snow on the roads god help us as evertyhing closes and a national emergency is called and every gritting truck is out in force spraying that crap everywhere.
Well I am in the U.K, notorious for lots of rain and also when the cold comes copious amounts of road salt every day and night. If there is more than 20mm of snow on the roads god help us as evertyhing closes and a national emergency is called and every gritting truck is out in force spraying that crap everywhere.
Since there are indications that the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic is starting to do bad things, you may someday be deluged with actual cold and snow, just like it was between 1200 and 1800 AD.
Hopefully I will be doing the subframe this weekend. I have been busy making my press tools out of 100% solid pla+. These things are solid and with the metal plate from my sub bush remover set in the press should be fine for pressing the new ones in. With the frame holes cleaned out and greased they should go in easily when pressed in. They are solid and will take the pressure.
Last edited by unklebuck; Oct 28, 2024 at 03:32 PM.
Sorry no photos was on my back all day under the car!!.
Today I had to remove the backbox which was easier than I thought it would be, it has had some welds done to it before , really bad welds to the casing so that needs to be replaced.
My main task was to check all teh bolts and see if they would undo and not snap or jam.
The first one was therear bolt of the k frame on the drivers side, I took my time back and fore slowly undoing it however it got to a point it stuck a little and then the welded nut to a plate thats internal came loose from teh body and it was spinning. There is a small hole there and i could see the smae hole in the plate pass as it turned. Using a small rod i stopped it spinning, re tightened it down then got a drill, drilled 5 mm hole each side through the body into the plate and put in some rivets. then undid the bolt and all was good. With the bolt out i cleaned it all up with the grinder wheel and greased it and put it back in for now. This was repeated on the other side before moving onto the subframe bolts
The rear front subframe bolts were not coming out easily and once again i took my time back and for until it came out, cleaned them up, greased and replaced on both sides.
The rear subframe boltswere like new and a quick release and they wound out easily.
I did the other k frame bolts as well and now all is ready for tomorrow morning and removing the subframe.
I will grab some pics in the morning ready to post..
Well today was the day!!!! I had already undone each bolt the day before, cleaned them , greased them and refitted them. Everything came off ok, the k frame was a heavy frame though!!. Most of the cars life was in Scotland so it's understandable why the frame looks like crap. Most parts on there are new so they will swap over. I have to split the back of the diff to undo the clips on the half shafts internally so they slide out. I will order new ones and a new diff rear and shaft seals monday New frame all prepped ready for tomorrow, get it all swapped over.
quick question for @Cambo or any other well versed jag person.
I looked on Jpart to see if there is a gasket for the diff as i have to open it up to take the saft c-clips off the half shafts internally to take them out.
Does anyone know what the part number for the rear removable plate gasket is? or whare to get one? I am not having much luke, the other option is to make one the old fashioned way.
Any help gratefully recieved.
Well today was the day!!!! I had already undone each bolt the day before, cleaned them , greased them and refitted them. Everything came off ok, the k frame was a heavy frame though!!. Most of the cars life was in Scotland so it's understandable why the frame looks like crap. Most parts on there are new so they will swap over. I have to split the back of the diff to undo the clips on the half shafts internally so they slide out. I will order new ones and a new diff rear and shaft seals monday New frame all prepped ready for tomorrow, get it all swapped over.
Looks like Jag used the O’Reilly method from Fawlty Towers - "a lick o' paint"
Busy day today, split the half shafts off the diff. We opened it up to check all the internals were okay and there was no damage. Then I cleaned up both mating services of the previous gasket that had been applied. It look like the oil in the diff was the original and it was really due a change. I have on order coming tomorrow. Some Castrol transmax diff 75w140 oil for the diff. With the mating services cleaned up, I temporarily bolted it back together gently and then blasted the diff casing clean of all rust and then gave it a couple of coats of hammerite. K-frame also was blasted clean and that was also given a coat of black hammerite as was the exhaust bracket and the anti roll bar. Plan for tomorrow now is to attach the new subframe which has already got the electronic parking brake mechanism attached to the car so we can line it up centrally to the holes. This makes it a lighter fit. Then we'll attach the diff and then we'll insert the half shafts with the hubs on and bolt up the control arms refit the shocks and various other brackets. Once that's done, refill the diff with oil. Put the rear silencer on and that should be that. Fingers crossed. As you can see in the photos it was a good job that I got a replacement subframe as the rot had really taken hold on this Frame. Also, the front bushings on the rear sub frame were completely gone. This explains the issues I've been having with four-wheel alignment and the car randomly wandering on occasions. At least now this should resolve it. Once this is done, I found a specialist not far from me that has a full Hunter system and they're also able to do the subframe alignment as well.
Last edited by unklebuck; Nov 4, 2024 at 10:38 AM.
Early start today, got the subframe on first as this made aligning the holes easier, then the 3 connectors were linked up. The diff was mounted next and bolted into place looking really good in its new coating and re-sealed again then the K-frame.
With the Diff in place the left side hub which still had the control arms and the half shaft attached, some diff grease on the c-clip to keep it in place and it was slid into the diff, the control arms pushed into place and loosely bolted, the same on the other side.
The weather decided to change and it was getting a little dark so Rain stopped play as it were.
Jobs left to do...
Re-fill the diff oil.
Middle cross bracket to re-fit under exhaust
Attach discs and calipers, bleed brakes
Lift hub to driveing position then torque all teh control arm bolts.
Re-fit the silencer and heat shield
Put the wheels on
I have found a Hunter alignment place not far from me and they will also check the subframe alignment before doing the 4 wheel alignment.
Then...MOT time!!.
last MOT advisories.....
Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):
o/s front tyre worn inner edge
Rear Sub-frame corroded but not seriously weakened (5.3.3 (b) (i))
Nearside Rear Upper Suspension arm pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement (5.3.4 (a) (i))
I am pleased to say that its finished, today the diff was re-filled and the control arms were put into ride height position and torqued down. Brakes bled, silencer and heatsheiold re-fitted etc.
Hooked up the SDD laptop and checked it all over all was good.
The car feels much more planted on the rear end already, it needs the 4 wheel alignment done next with two new front tyres but thats it.
I will check the oil seals again tomorrow and the diff to make sure there are no leaks.
This is the first time I have ever done anything like this and I am glad I did ( saved a lot of money!) but a good learning process as well.
Would have preffered to have done this in the summer with the longer and warmer days however, its ready for the mot on the 22nd!
I am pleased to say that its finished, today the diff was re-filled and the control arms were put into ride height position and torqued down. Brakes bled, silencer and heatsheiold re-fitted etc.
Hooked up the SDD laptop and checked it all over all was good.
The car feels much more planted on the rear end already, it needs the 4 wheel alignment done next with two new front tyres but thats it.
I will check the oil seals again tomorrow and the diff to make sure there are no leaks.
This is the first time I have ever done anything like this and I am glad I did ( saved a lot of money!) but a good learning process as well.
Would have preffered to have done this in the summer with the longer and warmer days however, its ready for the mot on the 22nd!
Fantastic job well done . I am in the UK too and it's not the best time of year for these jobs so feeling it for you . I did my diff oil today and the garage floor was pretty cold . I suspect it would not fail on the original subframe but I get completely why you wanted to fit the much better one . What are you going to do with the original?
The old subframe was no good, it has corroded to badly bu some of the welds, holes had appeared in the frame also. I had considered getting it blasted and powder coated previously however, when the replacement frame was cheaper than that it was a no brainer.
Becuase of teh damage to the old frame it was useless and yesterday the passing scrap guys took it for me.
Hopefully I will be doing the subframe this weekend. I have been busy making my press tools out of 100% solid pla+. These things are solid and with the metal plate from my sub bush remover set in the press should be fine for pressing the new ones in. With the frame holes cleaned out and greased they should go in easily when pressed in. They are solid and will take the pressure.
Thanks for sharing your experience here. Since I will soon be doing this work myself (XK 4.2, 2006), it would be great if you could provide the STL files for the press tools?
Where did you get the bushes?
Thanks in advance and best regards
I got the replacement bushes from ashwood here in the UK, if you call and speak to the owner Niall and tell him what you need he will help you, tell him Simon referred you to him.
I don't mind sharing the stl files at all, I will check with the admins if they can host them on the website or not. If not i can put them on wetransfer for free and you can download them. If they can be on the website that means they can be used by all the members.
You will need to print them at 100% solid infil and use a hyper tough filament, also have a metal disc on top of them for the press to push down on so the load spreads over the print rather than just the centre. Make sure the bores for the bushes in the frame are cleaned out fully and have a small smear of grease to help them press in smoothly. This helps prevent any issues using them as there is less resistance.
I assume you are going to replace the rear diff seals also, with the diff off remove the rear plate and check the internals for wear etc, Give it all a clean and then clean the mating suraces of all the old mating gasket. I got some hot water and put the gasket tube in to soak for a while as it makes it easier to squeeze it out into the channel before you fit the back plate back on. The tourqe settings are in the service manual.
Also when you push the shafts back in make sure that the round clips are hanging down with the seperation at the top of the shaft, this prevents them fron catching when you insert it and damaging things.a bit of grease there wont hurt.
Other things to note, if the points where you bolt the subframe are loose inside or rotate like mine did but you should still get them out, with everything off, spray some wd40 in the bolt hole to make is easier to put the bolt back in, tighten the bolt up, you will see a small hole there you can put something in to stop it spinning. With it tightened drill a small home I drilled a hole for a 5mm rivet, and then press a rivet in. There is a captive nut welded to a plate in there, then i did one on the opposite side also.
This meant that when I re-fit the subframe everything was locked in place.I also greased up the new subframe bolts before i put it back.
As you can see i cleaned the rear diff with a knotted wire brush on a 4" grinder and put rust prevention on and a coat of protective paint.
I got the replacement bushes from ashwood here in the UK, if you call and speak to the owner Niall and tell him what you need he will help you, tell him Simon referred you to him.
I don't mind sharing the stl files at all, I will check with the admins if they can host them on the website or not. If not i can put them on wetransfer for free and you can download them. If they can be on the website that means they can be used by all the members.
You will need to print them at 100% solid infil and use a hyper tough filament, also have a metal disc on top of them for the press to push down on so the load spreads over the print rather than just the centre. Make sure the bores for the bushes in the frame are cleaned out fully and have a small smear of grease to help them press in smoothly. This helps prevent any issues using them as there is less resistance.
I assume you are going to replace the rear diff seals also, with the diff off remove the rear plate and check the internals for wear etc, Give it all a clean and then clean the mating suraces of all the old mating gasket. I got some hot water and put the gasket tube in to soak for a while as it makes it easier to squeeze it out into the channel before you fit the back plate back on. The tourqe settings are in the service manual.
Also when you push the shafts back in make sure that the round clips are hanging down with the seperation at the top of the shaft, this prevents them fron catching when you insert it and damaging things.a bit of grease there wont hurt.
Other things to note, if the points where you bolt the subframe are loose inside or rotate like mine did but you should still get them out, with everything off, spray some wd40 in the bolt hole to make is easier to put the bolt back in, tighten the bolt up, you will see a small hole there you can put something in to stop it spinning. With it tightened drill a small home I drilled a hole for a 5mm rivet, and then press a rivet in. There is a captive nut welded to a plate in there, then i did one on the opposite side also.
This meant that when I re-fit the subframe everything was locked in place.I also greased up the new subframe bolts before i put it back.
As you can see i cleaned the rear diff with a knotted wire brush on a 4" grinder and put rust prevention on and a coat of protective paint.
Thank you very much, Simon, for the detailed information and everything that needs to be done during the overhaul. I have already written to Niall (with a reference to you) and will see when I get a response.
It would definitely be super helpful if you could find a way to share the STL files with us. Best regards, Dennis
Hopefully I will be doing the subframe this weekend. I have been busy making my press tools out of 100% solid pla+. These things are solid and with the metal plate from my sub bush remover set in the press should be fine for pressing the new ones in. With the frame holes cleaned out and greased they should go in easily when pressed in. They are solid and will take the pressure.
Hi Simon,
Great write up on your project. It great to see your sharing with the forum and I had an idea. Would you be willing to share the press tools, I guess it wouldn't be to expensive to ship them and forum members cold prepay/reimburse you for the shipping?
