Hi all,
After many months I'm finally starting to reassemble my IRS! Feels so good working on the XJS again & seeing shiny bits go on:



My plan is to fit the handbrake calipers before installing the cage back onto the diff. I have some 'refurbished' calipers to go on & new Ferodo pads, brass forks, etc.

But being aware that they have self adjusters in them that I admit I don't fully understand how they work...Is there a specific setup procedure I should follow to set them up 'for the first time'? Do you manually actuate the caliper levers once the pads are installed to ratchet them against the disk or similar?

I'm trying to do everything right first time & really avoid the point of the cage being back in the car only to realise i've done something wrong that is then impossible to access.

 

I have found that when they are way out of adjustment because of a recent rebuild, the self-adjustment really doesn’t work very well.. Since you have it apart, save yourself some time and help the ratchet mechanism along first…. You’ll see they have what looks like a flat headed screw in the side, and through the slot there is a cotter pin. Take the cotter pin out and tighten that thing up a bit, but not all the way. Alternatively, with the hand brake calipers not installed, you can spin one side which tightens them up on the same screw thing. Either way you won’t waste so much time trying to exercise the levers. After reinstalling the assembly in the car, if you find the handbrake will not self adjust… one side might be moving a great deal, and the other not at all. Wedge a piece of wood so the side that is moving stops moving, which will exercise the one which wasn’t moving. That will take up a ton of slack too, then they will start moving in tandem again. Not required if you get them “close” before the first install. Good luck, have fun.

-John