Brake service carried out

[poprivet]

Rear pads needed a change and as the old ones needed pushing back I treated myself to a 'one man bleed kit' for a few quid rather then use the old piece of tube and jam jar method.

It was about 3 or 4 years since I last bled the whole system so a flush of fluid was overdue as well. I was hoping to syphon the old fluid out of the reservoir first but the internal baffles mean it is difficult to get much out.

Bled per the manual, all went well. No nipples were siezed, no air got in and no old fluid was allowed to return back into the system. Apart from the increasing problem of draging myself under the damn car I was pleased with myself, what a shame I can't have a car lift, it would make life so much easier

[ng4xjs]

I'm so happy to have outboard brakes just makes like so much easier. I too hate getting under there these days but will have this weekend even I only to undo the sump plug. Sometimes quite difficult if tight and without the luxury of height to give a chance of better leverage.
Nick

[oldtimer]

Hi Pop,
Is this the one man "bleeding kit " a Gunsun Eezy Bleed Kit like what I has- with the spare reservoir and some air pressure from a tyre. I find it works a treat and can recommend it. Saves having to persuade " her in doors" to pump the pedal !

The only down side is that the light weight plastic supplementary reservoir falls over easily so I nail half a plastic milk bottle to a block of wood to stand it in which gives stability.

For access I acquired a four post lift some twenty years ago - I'm sure I would have stopped tinkering with motors but for the lift. The mind is willing but the body usually disagrees , I'm sure there are many out there who will understand

[ng4xjs]

I dreamed of possessing a four (even 2)lift post lift. I'm going to change my front pads this weekend. Think the discs will survive another set. MOT happy end of March and not put fuel in since lock-down so not many miles since. Really only gets used for going to the Supermarket and a small amount of work locally. In fact Shell emailed me the other day with a quite tempting discount on their V fuel which I will take advantage of.

I'll plus gas the bleed nipples before I start and use an easy bleed kit. I've come across some that just force fluid back to the reservoir with £££ consequences tempting though that is in principal. In truth I'm not getting any younger and whilst I still enjoy doing the work might choose to farm more out if I could find someone I could trust. The XJS is a rare bread and in many respects defies all logic. You really do have to understand how these machines respond to treatment.

Stay safe everyone
Nick

[PaulGover]

Nick,

...
I'll plus gas the bleed nipples before I start and use an easy bleed kit.
...

Have you successfully used an easy bleeder before? If not, I recommend reading the workshop manual carefully and do what it says.

Your car is later than mine, and may have a different brake system. Mine has a Teves system. I found using Gunson's Eezibleed, while useful, wasn't enough - it kept the reservoir full, but I had to follow the workshop manual (and use about a litre of fluid) to successfully bleed the rear brakes.

[ng4xjs]

Paul - My car still uses the Teves. It was an original Japanese spec. Maybe Jaguar were using up their parts bucket at the time. I've always found the front brakes easy enough to bleed. This time just thinking of locking my self away in my garage (remote) and getting on with it.

Nick

[ng4xjs]

All done and good. Did notice a slight paint bubble on the leading edge of the sill. Really upset but the reality is probably leave it for now as it is really just cosmetic. Sprayed some wax-oil behind. Happy days.

[Ivan90]

Hi
I have a 1989 XJS 3.6 with the Teves ABS braking system I am thinking of re newing & bleeding the system I understand the Teves can be quite temperamental to work on, with conflicting methods of carrying this out, some say with ignition on with sytem charged others with ignition off.
Therefore, some advice and guidance do's and donts would be most welcome and appreciated

Thank you
Ivan

[Ivan90]

Hi
Should have read re newing and bleeding the brake fluid
Thanks
Ivan

[ptjs1]

Ivan,

Do you still need any advice on this?

2 suggestions:

- DO NOT EVER push back the caliper pistons on a Teves ABS XJS unless you have the bleed nipple open.
- Bleed the brakes as per Teves instructions, rather than the Jaguar instructions.

Do post back if you need any help

Good luck

PAul