My wife was given by her sister a 2005 XK8 convertible with 30,000 miles. (WISH SHE HAD MORE SISTERS) It has original coolant and brake fluid as far as I know. Coolant should not be a problem to change. The brakes I know could be a different story.
My question is, does the XK 8 have what I believe is called an open system where changing brake fluid is straight forward like with old systems? Any advice or warnings would be appreciated.

Jack

 

Yes no problem but you need a pump to push the new through. Even at 25 psi it comes through quite slow. they say to start with the shortest pipe.
Its not open in the old way as it has Anti lock brakes ..that thing with all the pipes LHS behind the headlight.

 

Thanks Pistnbroke,
It is my understanding that there are anti lock braking systems that are ( closed ) and those that are called (open) system.
Some you can pull fluid through with vacuum pump. Some have to be pushed through.

Jack

 

My friend used my pump on his 2004 jag and it pissed through.
Interesting that at present 200 people have read this with no input . So how many have bled there brakes or work on there cars ? If they rely on dealers they must be millionaires or broke

 

I replaced all my brake fluid on my 98 XK8 using a reasonably cheap pressure kit with no issues. I'm not entirely sure of any difference between your later car and mine but pushing the fluid through made it so much easier than the old fashioned pump pedal, open, hold, close, release method that always seems to give problems

The other advantage is that you can do it yourself.

 

Thanks Pistnbroke, I'm certainly no millionaire and have to do it myself.. I normally change brake fluid in my other cars using a vacuum pump at each wheel. Seems that if you can push it through with a pump you could pull it through with vacuum which is easy for one person.

Jack

 

Thanks Redjags,
Hope someone chimes in and tells me I can use the vacuum pump that I already have. They are not perfect but well on non ABS systems. I guess I could just give it a try and see what happens.

Jack

 

Jack, I've used vacuum before on a couple of old British cars but found it less than satisfactory. The vacuum seems to pull air past the threads and into the bleed screw. I could never really tell if it was air from the system or from outside. Pumping ensures that even if there is space around the bleed screw, the fluid and any bubbles get expelled. I really didn't pay a lot for the pressure pump and fittings, and my vacuum system will be used for something else along the way. It's way cheaper than passing the job on to a dealer or independent.

 

Wayne and I bled the old brake fluid in my wife's 2006 XK8 last summer after we installed a pair of his custom front shock mounts. We did it the old-fashioned way with me in the drivers seat pumping the brake pedal while he handled the bleed screw wrench at each wheel. We captured the old brake fluid in an empty two-liter Coke bottle. It takes a bit of time and it requires two people, but if you do it properly there is no chance of allowing any air to enter the system....

 

Well, I'm thinking getting a pressure bleeder might be the way to go. Anyone know which adaptor fits the XK8 reservoir?

 

Most kits come with a common selection. Fortunately our cars actually fit that bill. Surprisingly there's no Jaguar specific cap size. It may well be Ford sized.

 

Thanks

 

Hi guys.
I am also about to do this brakefluid change on my X100(XKR)
Bought ATE Typ 200 Racing fluid (DOT4) which I am also using for my old Mercedes. - 1L
My question: 1L brake fluid going to be enough to bleed all 4 brake lines?

 

When I replace the fluid, I 'suck' the fluid from the reservoir first, (as much as I can get) refill and then go to the calipers, one-by-one.

A fluid vacuum works fine.

 

And what was the actual amount last time when you bleeded your whole brake system? For my R129 benz 1Liter is totally fine BUT for the XK8 brake system I don't find any info how much BRAKE FLUID the system actually contains...

 

I forget how much fluid we were allocated when Jaguar paid for the maintenance. (once a year or 10K miles up to 40K miles)
I am thinking we got a 500ml Super DOT 4 tin to replace brake fluid.

 

Hopefully this is non-controversial: Notes for my 2002 XK8 Convertible.

Short version: I use Bosch EI6 - Change every two years per Jaguar service interval. Requires ~ 2 quarts.

Here's why I use the Bosch fluid:
From the manual: Jaguar Super DOT 4 (ESA-M6C25-A).
The brake hydraulic fluid in the master cylinder and brake operating system uses non-mineral polyglycol based brake fluid
with a minimum standard of JAGUAR SUPER DOT 4. ONLY FLUID OF THIS TYPE AND STANDARD MAY BE USED.


Regarding "Super DOT 4":
Unfortunately "Super" can be a marketing word (i.e. not all Super DOT 4 are equal)
Sometimes "Super" refers to boiling point, sometimes viscosity. Jaguar intended the low viscosity version for the ABS
ISO 4925 Class 6 viscosity is the viscosity requirement (i.e. max 750 mm2/s @ -40F)




DOT Fluid Specs



Brake Fluid Data



About bleeding: I use a pressure bleeder. In the past (on different vehicles) I've had problems with vacuums, problems with speed bleeders. The pressure system works great! I use gravity bleed on E-Types and XJ-S.

I do not use the pressure system to pull in new fluid from the pressure bleeder. I simply refill when the reservoir gets low. I do this to avoid any possibility of fluid splash / spray.

I empty the reservoir with a turkey baster, than fill with fresh fluid, then pressurize the system to ~6-8 psi

The bleed sequence is reverse of expected: Front Left first - see picture.


Reverse sequence?




Brake Fluid


Pressure bleeder



Showing bleed cap (can't find model #) it fits X350 and X400 also.



Catching the Old fluid

I needed 1.8 quarts to be totally convinced everything was changed. Call it 2 quarts. I think 1 quart might be not quite enough.
Bleed screw torques:
Front 4-6N M 50 in-lbs
Rear 8-11 NM 80 in-lbs

I'm sure there's traces of old fluid with my method, especially in the ABS system. Maybe the old mixes with the new while normal driving and is factored into the 2 year fluid change interval?

HTH, Dave

 

I do think over 2 litres is excessive - I'd have thought half that was still more than enough, but no harm in it for peace of mind.