Hi everyone, I’m in the process of upgrading 2001 XKR – I’ve now moved onto the wheels and brakes. I’ve just had a nice set of refurbished 20” Detroit rims fitted – done yesterday, really happy with them. I now want to upgrade the standard brakes to Brembos – I’ve bought a set of calipers (2 x Front, 2 x back) from eBay – see pics – I plan to refurb them inc painting, new bleed nipples and new brake lines. I was told these were from an XJR of the same era and will fit my XKR no problem – the calipers include carriers so they should fit easily. I’ve got a few questions though if anyone can help?

1. Is there a way of confirming these are the correct calipers? They look like the set provided as optional upgrade to my MYXKR (gun metal grey with white ‘Jaguar’ writing) – I can see the following numbers on the calipers – 20 7679 00 (front) and 6971 00 (rear) – do these mean anything to anyone? Distance from hole to hole on the carrier is 9cm
2. The previous owner has broken the ‘bridge pipe’ used to connect the 2 halves of the calipers – does anyone know where I can source a replacement? Looking on eBay there is a bridge pipe for an Audi RS4 which has the same dimensions but it’s not cheap at £36
3. Brake lines – any recommendations on brands? I see Goodridge seems to be popular. Although I do recall seeing some comments about possible issues with the rear banjo fittings?
Thanks in advance!

OrangeXKR,

Brembo’s were standard on my 2003 4.2 XKR and, from the images of the front left Caliper, appear to be a later version? These are for the 355mm diameter rotor disk.

1. I can Confirm that 9cm bolt pitch is correct but I can’t find any part numbers on my Calipers for comparison?

2. The Bridge pipe is probably specialised with better heat resistant properties and greater wall thickness than standard brake lines. Perhaps Steel? You will need to determine sizes from the damaged one but I don’t see why these can’t be made at home – with the right bend and form tools.

3. I used Cupro Nickel (Kunifer) Brake Pipe for the Front-to-Rear lines and Goodridge for the flexible pipes. All sourced from a well know auction site! Easy fit and without issue. Sometimes the new Banjo bolt has different thread or too much thread and bottoms out before it seals. In such case, will need to use the existing bolt with the new copper compression washers.

Hi, thanks for the reply. I've been doing some research and the Brembo part numbers from the rear calipers match those found on the 'Silverstone' calipers which ties in. Not sure about the front part codes - it appears Brembo used the same caliper for BMW e46 'GT upgrade' as well as some Lamborghinis - I believe it's the carrier that's unique to the make/model as the ones I purchased came from an XJR from the same period as my XKR I should be fine. The cross over or bridge link is 3/16" brake pipe with 'bubble' flare end (thanks to lots of Google-ing!) - I don't have the tools for making this but it's not expensive to source an alternative so I'll do that. I'll go for the Goodridge brake hoses as recommended, thanks.

The set you have is the "older" model that comes with a threaded bracket. It should allow you to re-use the bolts you already have. The X308 XJR is the car that has compatible Brembo calipers and is unfortunately fairly rare.

Centric also offers a set of brake lines for XKR/Brembo setup. Fairly inexpensive in the US, check Rockauto. Reading about the goodridge line ends details gave me a headache. None of my emails to Goodridge were returned...

Bubble flaring and brake line bending tools should probably be part of your toolset. It's pretty inexpensive, and a great skill to learn.

FWIW, you can find a number of cheap caliper decals on eBay, from the usual "Brembo" in the proper lettering all the way to the multi-colored Jaguar R as pictured above. In theory, an additional layer of paint is not recommended as it is another barrier to cooling, but I assume this is pretty moot on a street car.

For rotors, it seems a number of cheaper options have appeared over the years. Again Rockauto in the US lists several options.

Best of luck, keep us posted.

OrangeMan,

Why not take all your stuff to a good Jaguar repair Guy,,,One that knows something about Brembo's and have him do the job...This is to important to screw-up......
or let it be...........

Billy Clyde @ Cinco Ranch

Hi yeah I'm going to get the brakes fitted by the garage that I normally go to - Jag specialist near me - but just wanted to try and check I'd bought the correct calipers really as they were an ebay purchase - but looks fine

You won't regret fitting them. They work great and look well too.
Good luck!

Hi all - little update on the Brembo project....

I finally managed to get some time to have a good look at the calipers and clean them up - the bad news is one of the pad plate/shims is bent due to corrosion behind the plate/shim - see pics - I believe this is relatively common. I've spoken to 3 brake caliper refurbish companies in the UK (BCS, Biggred & Brake Caliper Solutions) - I got mixed responses but it looks like they can be repaired. Question is - has anyone suffered a similar issue? Has anyone managed to source replacement pad plates/shims? Any recommendations on refurbishment companies in the UK?

Thanks in advance

They are expensive but I’ve heard BCS is excellent. They also do brake work on a number of exotic cars.