What I did to my XJ-S today.....

[SimonR]

I thought it may be fun to have a thread that we can all add to as we attend to small jobs on our cars - a place to offer encouragement and make a note of little jobs (or big jobs!) that we're all doing. Could be interesting to see what we're all up to - Please feel free to add your own entries to this thread - I'll start off:

I picked up my new car up today and had a bit of free time this afternoon to make a start on replacing the damaged NS front bumper corner with a New Old Stock replacement which came from Black Country Jaguars in Norfolk.



The whole top part of the bumper had to come off so I've taken the opportunity to paint the underside with POR 15 and clean up all the parts that came off in the process. It was a good job I took the whole thing off as the other corner part had the beginning of corrosion around the brackets.



The POR 15 is now drying so I'll get it back together tomorrow.

[SimonR]

Job done:



Hopefully the rubber part will regain its original shape with the help of that piece of folded cardboard!

I would definitely recommend that if you have the earlier bumper, you take a look underneath the chromed bits. My old car's rear centre beam was rotting through and this new car was also not free from corrosion by any means. Some rust protection now might save a big bill in the future: I was amazed to see that NOS front bumper blades are getting on for £300 these days.

[SimonR]

(Please do feel free to add to this thread btw!)

I got the 'S back from my local garage yesterday - the diagnosis on the lack of braking action was that out of 8 pistons in the front callipers, only 4 of then were doing anything. The rears were binding a little and they free-ed them off, but I said that I wanted to tackle the front myself.

This afternoon I set about getting the driver's side calliper off, and it was all going well until I got to the lower retaining bolt - Man that was a struggle! I don't think it had moved since it was put in in the factory and it fought me the whole way - I think it's just corrosion on the shank. It's currently unscrewed from the calliper, however it hasn't withdrawn enough to actually get the calliper out - levering it out that extra few mm is a job for the weekend.

The flexible brake pipe is clamped with a pair of molegrips at the moment as it will be replaced along with the calliper seals and pistons - all the new parts are coming from here:

https://www.biggred.co.uk/.

[poprivet]

Cleaned my filthy lattice wheels. Took each one off in turn and used muc-off spray and a toothbrush to loosen the dirt then hosed them off.
muc-off works well without being too agressive which some wheel cleaners can be.

Also reduced the damping on the Spax dampers as an experiment, I'm still trying to find the ideal setting for them and tyre pressures.

[SimonR]

Those wheels can be awkward to clean, eh Pop? I was amazed to find that my car has brake dust barriers fitted (two steel discs that fit onto the hub behind the wheel). They have done a good job of keeping the front wheels clean, but I imagine they're not great for heat dissipation!

Today I spent a couple of fairly productive hours in the workshop.

First job was to get the stuck lower bolt out of the offside brake calliper (a crowbar to lever the back of the bolt while I turned it with a 3/4" socket did the job) and also remove the other brake calliper. The owner of my local garage suggested it would be prudent to get the calliper pistons moved out before undoing the brake lines so I removed the pads and operated the brakes until all 8 were extended as far as possible.

With the callipers off, it was clear that I couldn't get a single one of the pistons to move with compressed air or by levering them, so plans to rebuild them gave way to the need to purchase two new callipers.



With that job done, I set about changing the interior clock for a trip computer. A bit of a fiddly job, but satisfying:



It'll be a little while before I can test that it works:



Now it's time to order the parts I need for getting the brakes fixed.

[Lastmin]

Great update, I actually like the original old style clock set up. At least with that you don't get a reminder you are in single digits MPG !

This weekend I spent pressing the hazard button a lot as it was sticking and I also plugged in a small electric heater in the cabin for an hour or two on and off the weather has been terrible and the car under a cover and needed some circulating warm air (left window down slightly).

[SimonR]

I hope that resolved the indicator issue Lastmin!

Christmas came early this week:



Although I realised I'd bought the wrong brake fluid - I'll exchange it for DOT5.1 when I get the chance.

This afternoon, while my two-year-old slept, I managed to get one side re-built with new:

[*]Flexible brake line (from BiggRed)
[*]Locknuts and star washers
[*]Metal brake line
[*]Calliper
[*]Brake pads



Whilst doing the work I also noticed that the ABS sensor gromit wasn't correctly located - further inspection revealed that the gromit was damaged so that'll require attention in the future

The only job left on that side is to torque the calliper bolts up and lockwire them, before bleeding the brakes.

[ptjs1]

Well done Simon! The new parts look great!

You've heard my thoughts on the Teves ABS, the problems associated with it and the procedure that you MUST follow in setting it up and bleeding the system.

You talked about replacing the fluid, which is paramount; you must have clean fluid in an ageing Teves system. And you must replace the fluid carefully.

So, as mentioned, DON'T bleed the front brakes now. Wait until you've got the rears installed and ready to go first. In the meantime, (and if you've started to drain the reservoir fluid), do not turn on the car ignition! Or else be sure that you have fully disconnected the power to the ABS pump circuit. You do not want to be running the pump and trying to pressurise the accumulator if you've got fluid supply restrictions on the low pressure side!

When you've got everything assembled (without pushing any fluid back up the lines to the ABS block), you have to attend to the low-pressure side first, allowing fully clean fluid to flow from reservoir, down the LP side to the pump, then reconnect the pipe. When you're quite happy with that, go to the rear brakes. I, and others more knowledgeable than me, do not quite agree with the Jaguar-defined procedure as it doesn't optimise the pump running and the need not to overheat it. So use the Teves-defined routine (I think I've published it to you?). But remember that you're not just bleeding residual air, you're flushing clean fluid. That clean fluid has to pass from reservoir to pump, pump to accumulator, accumulator to actuator unit, reservoir (also) to actuator unit, actuator unit to valve block and valve block to rear brakes. So take your time, remember the cycles of power on / off and cool down for the pump. Have an assistant in the car, and another one controlling fluid top-up at the reservoir whilst you control things and call instructions from the rear caliper end!

Only after that, then move to the front brakes, again a 3-man job!

Do reach out if you've got any questions.

Cheers

Paul

[SimonR]

Thanks Paul - greatly appreciated.

I'm not doing anything to the rear brakes at the moment so it's just a case of using the bleed nipple on the rear to flush the fluid through.

I *Think* I understand the procedure from your previous postings in the Brakes section, however, I'll read it a couple of times and make sure I've got it right before starting work. I've been super careful not to push any fluid back away from the front callipers and will continue to do so - the new brake lines are braided so I can't clamp them, but the pistons are already al the way back as they're new callipers so all should be well. I think it's only the procedure to bleed the low pressure side that I'm concerned about as it sounds like there's the possibility of breaking something and finding that the O-Ring is No longer available. Nothing worth doing is ever simple!

[PaulGover]

... the possibility of breaking something and finding that the O-Ring is No longer available. Nothing worth doing is ever simple!

O-Rings are always available. Of course, identifying the right sort and size may be a challenge, but a web search will throw up many suppliers.

[poprivet]

Just to expand on Simons brake fluid description for anyone reading this but may not be familiar, DOT 4 and DOT 5.1 are completely compatible however they should never be mixed with DOT 5 which is silicone based.

I have no idea why such an important safety critical issue would have an almost identical identity but I'm sure it has caused problems for some.

[SimonR]

Thanks Pop - yes I had no idea that I could use DOT 5.1 in the XJS and it's basically the same as DOT 4.1 but with a higher boiling point.

I finally finished putting everything back together today - I had to order a few more nuts and washers from SNG Barratt to make a proper job of it. I nipped out in my lunch hour today (working from home has so many benefits!) and lock-wired the bolts and checked that everything was tightened up. The final job was to re-assemble the induction system.

I had been having trouble getting the sump bolt undone as it was so tight - an extension bar on the socket wrench shifted it today and I've left the oil over night to drip dry, before re-filling it tomorrow evening.

My AKM 9063 workshop manual also arrived today (I found one listed badly on eBay for £35 all-in) so that is also another step in the right direction.

The last job left to do before the car is road-worthy is flushing the brake system - I've read the advice here and it all seems OK, although I do have a few questions which I'll ask in the relevant board in a bit.

I'm really pleased that the car is back together though - a big step forward.

[ptjs1]

Good work Simon!

Be really careful with the engine sump plug. The AJ6 / AJ16 sump is really prone to cracking along the line of the sump plug. Have a close look at now to check that there isn't a hairline crack developing.

It's another reason why I don't undo the sump plug to change oil, I syphon it out of the dipstick tube instead.

Sounds like a good days work! Do reach out if you need any advice on the brakes.

Cheers

Paul

[PaulGover]

...
Be really careful with the engine sump plug. The AJ6 / AJ16 sump is really prone to cracking along the line of the sump plug. Have a close look at now to check that there isn't a hairline crack developing.
...

If it's done up that tight, there may well have been such a leak. AFAIK sump plugs should only have a fairly low torque (order of 10 ft lb), and usually rely on the copper washer for a seal - though I've no experience with the AJ series engines. If you reuse the copper washer, file or hammer it flat, and anneal it by heating it to a dull cherry red.

[SimonR]

Thanks chaps - yes I'd heard about that weakness in the sump pan, and thankfully mine is intact. I think the stiction was a result of it not having had an oil change in about 10 years! I was surprised that the washer was a mild steel one, not copper as I would expect. It was sealing OK though so I'll put it back as I found it. The only thing that wasn't ideal was that I couldn't run the engine to get the oil up to temperature before draining it, however, it's only done about 5 to 3k miles so I'm hoping there wasn't a lot of sludge in it. I'll just have to keep an eye on the new oil to see if it discolours quickly and change it again if necessary.