Hi All,

Well, after months of procrastination I decided New Years would be a good time to service the Jag ('88 xj40). Off to the local Parts Store for some oil, filters, snake oil and the like. Serviced the engine bay, cleaned the inlet manifold, new plugs and yippee.... running like a dream...

Since that task was a success I thought it was probably about time I had a look underneath as I recall from a while back that there was quite a bit of oil around the rear end which I really should give some thought to and investigate a little closer...

Off to the parts store for some diff lube... (I've had in my box of spares a new rear wheel bearing kit and output shaft bearing kit just in case I might need them one day)

And this is where the fun begins....

Parked the Cat on the lawn up on ramps, grabbed my pressure washer and started removing 26 years of built up road grime together with that oil that I mentioned... 2 hours later, a pat on the back and a nice cold ginger beer to celebrate a job well done... parked the Cat in the garage, back up on the ramps, grabbed my crawler and under I go... damn I missed a bit with the pressure wash! Oh well, maybe I could just go over it again... I'll think about that later as for now I have an oil leak to attend to....

Staring me in the face, a leaking diff pinion seal... damn! I was hoping the leak was coming from the output shaft bearings as it's an easier job rather than trying to pull the prop shaft, worrying about the pre-load torque, and besides, I really have no idea what size socket I'm going to need to fit the pinion nut...

Time for a session of Jag Forums so I can at least pretend to know what I'm doing... Ummm, that's interesting, the differential has a breather. Light Bulb moment, maybe it's blocked which is why the pinion seal was leaking. See learn something new everyday from this site.

At this point I'd already had the Jag levitating at about 4 foot from the ground in preparation to roll my sleeves up so I jumped on my crawler with torch in one hand, a screwdriver in the other. Sure enough a little black plastic cap above the oil filler plug... ooops, just popped the little black cap off for a closer inspection and a little black plug fell out.... bugger, where did that go? Ok, found it... breather is the type that is fitted from inside the diff so I better not play around with it. Back on with the cap...$hit, dropped it again. I then spend 3 hours yesterday flat on my back sticking my fingers into every crevice I could find looking for it... I give up... job for tomorrow...

I really should have stayed in bed!!! The day did start out ok. A friendly call to my Jag parts supplier who is located about 2,000kms from where I am. Where would we be without a postal service... A new pinion seal and hub nuts are on their way... I also discovered one of my wheel bearings was a bit dodgy so I might as well do those as well... and the output shaft bearings while I'm at it. I get a call back within 15 mins... new hub nuts from Jaguar are $45...each!!! You must be kidding!!! Ok, easy solution just go to my local nuts and bolts store and get some Nylocs to fit. They work just as well and are only about $8 each. Fu@k, I just emptied the diff oil into a pan and my nearest bolts and nuts place is 30km's away... back on the phone to another supplier... 2 brand spanking new nylocs are on their way...

Back to the garage... flat on my back hoping to be able to reach the diff fill plug from underneath rather than through the hole in the boot (which ISN'T in alignment with the fill plug anyway... good one Jaguar!!!) Yes, I know I should have undone that plug BEFORE I emptied the oil.. Anyway, my only 1/2" drive extension to fit the diff fill plug shears off while I'm trying to undo it... Bl00dy HeLL will my day get any better???

Now I have no way to get the fill plug out... after some head scratching I decide, right, that's it, out with the diff! It's the only way I'm going to get any decent access to the plug for repair and at least with it out I'll be able to give it a proper clean!!!

So far, I've removed the wheels, brake discs, cut all the cable ties holding the various lines in place, undone the prop shaft and cleared the jurid coupling from the pinion... I can at least see the pinion nut and seal now. The nut is a 36mm deep by the looks of it! I have every socket size but a 36mm deep! back on the phone, a new one will be $45 sir plus postage... thanks!

Time to remove the hub carriers to make way for those new bearings... Damn, I haven't got a puller! back on the phone. That will be another $100 sir... thanks, i'll think about it! It will be cheaper just to get a workshop to press them off, after all I have to cart the output shafts off to get the new bearings and collars pressed on so might as well get them to do the hub carriers as well... I hope the taxi driver won't mind me filling his boot with bit's and pieces. There's no way I'm going to walk those parts 3km's there and back.

The sun is getting lower in the sky by now so just enough time to undo one output shaft... WTF! Imperial nuts... Here I was thinking everything on the Jag was Metric...Thankfully I have a set of imperial spanners. Wish I also had an air wrench!

Ok, one shaft undone, better pull the handbrake cable out of the hub...off with the retaining clip, easy, out with the cables... Damn, Fu@k, $hit!! It would be easier jumping off the nearest cliff!!!!.....which is about 40kms from here and now with the Cat in pieces on the garage floor I haven't got anyway of getting there!!! And I am yet to find that little black plug!

Does anyone have any tips for removing the handbrake cable out the back of the hub? Haynes says to pry them out but they just won't budge...

 

No, sorry. But am much amused by your write up, describing why I could never attempt such a thing myself, and why you are a better man than I!

I hope somebody will chime in. Thanks for sharing, and let us know how you get on!

cheers,
Scott

 

Guess what.... I found the little black plug!!!... wedged between the bottom of the diff and the cross member.

Still no luck on removing the handbrake cables from the hub though so I've cheated a little by leaving them in and just disconnecting the cable joiner (towards the diff pinion behind the front cross member). Now I can remove the hub carriers as they're no longer 'tied' together like shoelaces in a new pair of shoes.

All set now to drop the diff. Just have to go for a wander to the hardware store so I can make up a timber plate to fit on my jack so that it's supported as it floats gently to the floor. I haven't got the luxury of having a proper transmission jack for the purpose and I'm not fit enough to try bench pressing in out! wish me luck...

 

I have been in this spot before,TRUE GRIT!Good luck,keep us posted!

Jim

 

Thanks for the encouragement...

Day 3... I managed to order the 36mm deep socket and 3 Jaw/5 ton/180mm Puller from a local parts store for $100 all up. They arrived today so I went for a wander into town to pick them up along with a few other little bits 'n pieces. (saved some $'s by not getting them from the other place). I also touched base with a local mechanic who is happy to press my new bearings on/in for me when I have them ready to go.

Get to the store and discovered they ordered in the wrong socket, a standard 36mm instead of a 36mm deep. Not a problem but it cost me another $7 and I managed to get delivery thrown in so I won't have to walk into town again tomorrow.

On the way out of the store, a brand spanking new 2000kg low profile trolley jack for $188 caught my eye. It has a working height to 495mm... Perfect!!! Just the right height for where my diff is sitting in the cat at the moment so I wouldn't have to play silly buggers lowering and raising the chassis for reach and clearances and it sure would beat the little 1200kg rated trolley jack and various size timber blocks I've been struggling with for ages now.

Hey, I remembered they're offering 20% discount to auto club members this month! So another $150 off my plastic and they'll deliver it with the socket tomorrow! I've had a win and I won't need to make a timber support either so I figure money well spent.

So, I'm now at home relaxing with the rain tumbling down. I've separated the hub carriers from the half shafts... the puller worked a treat! All that's left to do now is disconnect the fuel pump and move it and the fuel line out of the way and fingers crossed by this time tomorrow I should be at the half way point!

Refitting is now the reverse of removal - I HOPE NOT!

 

Jagfix38

Hope all is going well. I remembered a photo series on a different site that a gentleman had done last spring. I've included the links, he does great work from the looks of the gallery. He even address the handbrake!

Sorry I didn't see this sooner, here are the links

Differential removal: (four parts)
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page

Differential rebuild: (four parts)
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page


You may have to join to see the photo galleries, it's a free site. This guy also has the bearing rebuild gallery as well as many others, just click on the link to view his photo album. Credit to Don B of Tennessee. I think his MY is either '93 or '94.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for that info Rob, I'm pretty much up to speed with it all now.

Day 4

New Jack and 36mm deep socket arrived. Horay! Socket fits the pinion nut like a glove and the larger jack makes life so much easier.

Disconnected the fuel pump and fed it out of the way. Jack under the centre of the diff cross member, remove the control arm bolts (needed to undo the top ones mounted to the chassis as the lower ones can't be removed with the assembly in the car, undo the bolt at the lower end of the shocks and 3 bolts from the from lower mount. I didn't undo all four as I was just able to swing the lower mount aside for clearance.

Lower the diff slowly, stop mid way, check for any hang ups... yep... the exhaust mounts are attached to the top of the pinion flange crossmember so I just undid these rather than try stripping most of the exhaust system... lower the diff to the floor...easy as a hot knife through butter!

I then had another go at removing the handbrake cable from the hubs.... success!!! Pry them out is correct but I had to be brutal about it, but not too much as it's easy to damage the alloy. I discovered that they have a hidden retaining clip which pops out with the help of leverage from a screwdriver.

Dragged it out onto the lawn, gave it a really good pressure wash... managed to get clear access to the diff fill plug. A bit of elbow grease and out it came. Put the breather cap back on and undid the half shafts and removed them ready for new bearings and seals to get pressed on tomorrow.

Overall, a productive day all round...

 

Well I've forgotten how many days I've been working on this now... it seems like forever and I've only just picked up my hubs, half shafts and output shafts from the machine shop with new bearings and uni joints installed.

I've been tearing my hair out getting the pinion nut off the pinion to replace the seal.. finally figured it out but now have to wait for a new nut and seal to arrive in the post as it seems that my nut was damaged (it won't thread all the way back on. Maybe they are a single use item?) and the seal I had was the wrong one. For future reference I would do the pinion seal on the car rather than with the diff out as it's a pita getting leverage and stopping the flange from spinning in the process.

Ok... A few quick questions for the tech's:

Bare in mind that they have already been removed from the Cat so removal and re-installation shouldn't be factored in.

How long should it take to bang out all four half shaft uni joints and press new ones in?

How long should it take to remove the old bearings from the rear hubs and press new ones in ready for re-installation?

I've just spent well over an hour debating this with the (unreasonable?) mechanic at the shop. I've never utilised his services before and I probably never will again in the future after today's efforts! What's that saying about masked men on a highway?

Anyway, fingers crossed I'll have it all reassembled and back on terra firma with the rear wheels rolling smoothly again early next week if all goes well from here.

 

Can't say about Universal joints as never done them.

Rear hubs 30 mins per hub would be more than enough. The bearings are not really a press fit in the hub. It's a few years since I've done this but from memory you just lever off the ABS ring and then the rest of it more or less falls to pieces. This leaves the inner bearing race front and back in the hub that just needs to be tapped out with a drift as per any normal front hub bearing.

Fitting is the reverse - tap in the inner races, fit the bearing and spacer and then the ABS ring. This can just be pulled on using the drive shaft and nut through the whole set-up. I have an old drive shaft end that I keep just for this purpose.

 

Thanks for that Info Brendan, 1/2 an hour for each hub is what I was thinking. I can't imagine each uni joint would be more than 30 mins, 2hrs for all four which would work out to 3 hours total. Have no idea how this mechanic calculated 6 hrs!

To top it off I've discovered that he didn't even grease the uni joints after he installed them. Never again...

 

You have a future as a writer

The universal joints are usually handled by using a c-clamp and a socket as a receiver for the bearing cups. I have heard that they are the same as used on a Chevy prop shaft, and that is how they are done on a GM product.

Still a little unclear ... did you drop the rear irs subframe with the differential?

 

Yes, removed the whole rear IRS and diff assembly as one from the rear. I did remove the wheels and hubs before I lowered it and slid it out. Jacked up high enough (about 500mm) the whole assembly simply rolled out the back on a jack.

I've commenced the reassembly. Output shafts and half shafts are in. Now wating on the post for the new pinion seal and nut. I've learn't that the nut is a single use item so a new one was $18 from a Jag Parts supplier in Melbourne. Lets hope I re-torque it correctly so that I won't ever have to do this job again in my lifetime. It also pays to punch alignment and left/right marks in everything to make reassembly a little easier. I used acrylic paint but it tends to rub off as you're working and cleaning up parts.

It's not really difficult, it's just difficult because I've been lacking some basic workshop items like a good workbench, a strong vice, a shop press and an alternative transport option to pick up those little extras that you discover are needed along the way.

And it's damn hot here at the moment!

 

The Diff is done...and so am I! Never again (hopefully). Now running smoothly, as quiet as a mouse but not without all manner of headaches in the process.

Best I just leave it at that.

 

Nice one JF........really cool story to share, the only thing missing is pics?

Glad all is once again as it should be

 

can't help on this matter either, but I do admire your tenacity.
This is the kind of work I would love to carry out only........ I don't have a garage or carport or shed or anything. All my repairs are done in the driveway
Fantastic read and very colorful imagery. Good luck getting it all back together.

 

Yes, I realised pics were missing when I put on the pinion nut... they sure would have come in handy to gauge where the the nut should have finished up.

I suspect I might have overtightened it a little too much so I'll go back under over the weekend and loosen it off a tad to prevent early bearing failure. Yes, I'll take my puller under with me as it's not as simple as just backing off the nut. I also have to pull back the flange as well. It's an extremely snug fit on the pinion shaft.

I did paint on alignment marks when I un-assembled the nut and flange for the new seal but not knowing that I wouldn't be able to reuse the old one the marks virtually became useless.

Jaguar wanted $140 for a new nut but I had one couriered to my place from a nearby bolts and nuts place for $8 plus $8 for the courier. Ok, it's not original but a nyloc replacement. I'm hopeful it does the trick and holds up. For the record there are two different size nuts depending on what Diff you have. I've got the powerlock one so the thread is 24mm fine metric. The non power lock diffs have a smaller thread. Not sure what size though.

Went for another (short) drive this afternoon and it's still as quiet as a mouse back there! The difference between before and after is incredible!