Hello OB

I know this goes against what is said above a bit, but just be careful with that rattle gun. As you have no feel of what is going on, they can still shear off the studs, or take the thread out with the bolt. Sometimes it is better to see if you can start it with a breaker bar, as you have more feel of what is going on. As soon as you know they are undoing correctly, then use the impact.

At work, playing with pressure vessels (cooling units) any of the workers get caught using the rattle gun before they know the plugs (bolts) are free, they face a very unhappy engineer as the cost to repair a buggered thread is huge.

Cheers
Steve

 

Hi Bez

Either way this is going to be a tough call, so I would rather take the Cage out first before deciding which way I should go but although there is always a First Time, I have not Broken a Bolt with the Rattle Wrench yet

But did Break one on the Trailing Arm with a Breaker Bar, where it felt like the Bolt was coming undone, although it was really just twisting itself to destruction, although I did try the Rattle Wrench first but that wouldn't shift it

Which was really the only time the Rattle Wrench ever failed to do the job, even though I was able to tighten and un-tighten that bolt multiple times before resorting to the Breaker Bar, which ended up breaking it off

So because of the past successes I've had with the Rattle Wrench, that's the one that my money is on at the moment

Video of my Mains Powered 'Rattle Gun' in Action removing some impossible to undo Caliper Bolts that a Spanner and a Scaffolding Pole couldn't Shift!

 

After my little experiment at replacing the Rear Rotors in a way a 'Shop' might do it by dropping the Rear Wishbones and pulling out the Driveshafts
which may have been successful if it were not for the Rust Bug that we have in the UK

It was time to put it all back together before dropping the Cage which in any event was always coming out, for a number of very good reasons which included removing a broken Brake Bleed Nipple at the rear, which was almost impossible to remove in any other way

And believe me when I tell you that I tried very nearly almost everything

Apart from that I needed to replace the Flexy Brake Pipe at the rear and may end up replacing the rest of the Metal Brake Pipe with a Copper type one and then replace the rear Calipers as well as the Rotors

All of which is easier to do with the Cage out, or at least it is so I've been told, where the only thing that's been holding me up is the Weather, where it's been Raining almost every day

But Not Today! so time to try and make a bit more progress!

Where the very first job was to Jack the back of the Car up another 4 inches, which may or may not be enough, we will have to see



Jacking the Rear of the Car up another 4ins which will hopefully give enough space to get the Cage out

After that I reconnected the Wishbones and the Springs 'Well sort of anyway' as trying to put the Pins back, would have been quite a difficult job, so I just put a couple of Temporary rod in, as later on they would have to come out again anyway



Putting in some Temporary Pins to reconnect the Wishbones to the Hub Carriers, which in any event would have to come out again later

Then right after doing that, I put back the Cover Plate on the Cage under the Diff, so that I would have something to Jack on



I needed to put the Cover Plate back on the Diff to have something to Jack on, although when we get to that I am intending to spread the load with a square of wood or something like that

And Now there's only one thing left for me to do and that's to drop the Cage and take it out!

All I need is some good luck and one more day of Sunshine!

So here is hoping

 

Although I had lots of offers of help, this was a job that I wanted to do on my own as that was the only way that I could see how hard this job could be, as some say that it can be quite horrendous and as such was really not something for the feint hearted

So one way or another, I was now about to find out

Where to my complete surprise, it wasn't so much a 'Walk In The Park' but almost a 'Non Event' and as for me I'm still in shock at just how easy this was and a bit of a breeze when compared to something like changing the Spark Plugs!

The biggest hold up that I had was down to the bad Weather, as its not exactly the sort of job that anyone would want to do in the pouring rain, except today was perfect!

Sunny and Warm and almost 'T' Shirt Weather and so I thought that there would never ever be a better time to do that job than now, as if I could get the Cage out then the pressure would be off and I could get on with replacing the Rotors and the Calipers when time allowed

The only problem being that I had to feel my way, as I had never done this job before and not only didn't know what to do but didn't really have a clue how I should go about it, so I guess that you could say I had to 'wing it'

Although I had my Car on the Lift, I still had to jack the back of the Car high up into the Air, which in this case was a scary 16 inches from the Trailing Arm Stub to the Runway of the Car Lifter

Which then left 'The Ice Princess' at such an insane angle, that I though She might roll of the end of the Ramp, except that couldn't happen as I'd put some massive chocs behind the Wheels, although that didn't do much to help me calm my nerves

Where at one stage I was feeling quite visibly sick!



OMG! Whatever you do please don't fall off the end of the Car Lift!

By now Paranoia was starting to really set in and to make matter worse, apart from just two I'd removed all the nuts and the bolts that were holding the Cage at which point I had visions of the whole lot crashing down and so the sooner I got that Cage out of there the better



'I needed 16 inches of clearance from the Trailing Arm Stub to the Ramp, to have any chance of getting the Cage out, which then had 'The Ice Princess' tilted at a really insane angle!



A couple of Tyres to break the fall, just in case the Cage came tumbling down, I'd never done this job before and didn't know what might happen

After I pulled out the last two bolts there was no going back, as all I could do was to lower the Jack very slowly and hope for the best, not forgetting to try and invoke some help from 'The Jaguar Gods'



Cage coming down! OMG I thought what happens now



Slowly but surely down and down She comes and the reason the Cage is leaning back is that I've heard that the Cage is Front Heavy on the Propshaft end and so to allow for this, I made sure that the Jack was well forward of the centre point of balance



OMG! I've got the Cage out!

Could it really be that easy Yass it was!

Now where did I put that Mobile Crane? (which the GF has Christened 'The Lemon' ) because at first She thought I'd gone and bought a load of rubbish but has since changed her mind



My Mobile Crane 'The Lemon' really comes in handy for doing jobs like this and picked up the IRS as if it was a feather!



Another Shot of 'The Lemon' another Scrap Yard Bargain!



That's it all done and dusted! and now that the pressure's off, I can replace the Rotors and the Calipers when time allows, which may or may not be as easy as taking out the Cage

But how hard was it really?

Well really taking out the Cage was not much more than a bit of a 'Walk in the Park' and as for me I am still recovering from the Shock of how easy it was, where starting from scratch the hardest part was taking off the Muffler/Exhaust Pipes and also disconnecting the Hand Brake Cable

Which is really easy, once you've got the knack and taking the actual Cage out today only took me about 3 hours

I can't deny the Car Lift came in handy but with knowledge gained from doing the job, I could have probably also done it without although I wouldn't really want to as I feel that using a Car Lift is much Safer

Though what would have really Speeded the job up, would have been by using a different type of Car Lift, either a Mid Riser Scissor Lift or a 2 post Lift, as the Runways of my Car Lift sometimes got in the way of what I was doing but I am not complaining as I am lucky enough to have that



How She ever past an MOT with Rotors looking like that, I will never know!

My biggest regret was Selling 'Fern' my Green XJS as if I knew then what I know now, She'd still be on the road as She too had worn out Rotors and I think I could have fixed her

 

Great thread. I would say the didnt even look at those brakes lol.

 

Well done OB!

 

Nice job
Now the fun stuff starts!

 

OB,

Congrats! Well done!

I can vouch for the fact that removing the cage is easier than cleaning it of wax and underseal when in situ!

Paul

 

Hi Rescue 119

Maybe be those Rotors were within the limit when she was tested but if they were to wear a little bit more, then that round strip of metal falls off and clatters round the drive shaft, where it makes a noise just like a 'Ringing Telephone'

That's what happened with 'Fern' my Green XJS and that was why I sold her because I didn't know how to fix her and was quoted an eye watering sum of to have the job done by a Shop

 

Removing the IRS Cage on my 1990 XJS V12 'The Ice Princess' was very easy, where the only snags encountered were a Broken Bolt in the Trailing Arm Stub, which I will have to drill out and a Rusty Brake Pipe, where I ended up cutting the Flexy Pipe which I was also intending to replace anyway

Other than that, the whole thing was pretty straight forward, except for the 'Fear Factor' of how to go about it or what was going to happen, as I had never done this Job before, where having to Jack Up 'The Ice Princess' at such a very steep angle, really had my heart beating out of my Chest

But now that I have done this once, it should be even easier if I have to do this again, which I think I will have to as the Rotors on my other Car are almost just as bad, so this really is one of those times when I wish I had a Second Car Lift

Where a 2 Post one or Middle Scissor Riser, would have given me better access to the Running Gear, as sometimes on the Lift I have the Skids got in the way although I think a Lift with Skids is maybe a little bit Safer to work under, as you can add some Pit Props as a bit of an extra 'Fail Safe'

But in any even the Car Lift I have did a really excellent Job, so I was pleased

Though having got the Cage out, as 'Paddy' said in his Comment, this is where the real work begins, where to make matters worse all of the Bolts seem to have got the 'Rust Bug' that we have in the UK, so I am under no illusion that it won't be easy and so I am going to take it a step at a time

Which I think is the way to go, with the onset of Winter, as well as dozens of other Jobs that I have been neglecting, due to my addiction to both fixing and driving my XJS where on reflection taking out the Cage was really Fun! as well as being very Satisfying

And so now that the Cage is out and 'The Ice Princess' has been lowered back down on the Lift, the pressure has now been lifted and I will be taking my time for as long as its going to take to Replace the Calipers and the Rotors

Except of course I couldn't resist just doing a little bit more and thought that I would have a go at undoing one of the Drive Shafts and then taking out the Old Rotor, although things didn't exactly go to plan, as the Nuts on the Drive Shaft were Solid with Rust

Where in order to try and undo them, I used my Impact Wrench, which worked like a Charm and Whizzed those Rusty Nuts off, in just a Couple of Seconds! have a look at the Video, which I can honestly promise you had not been set up, as those Nuts came off so quickly, that even I was surprised

Or maybe totally 'Gob Smacked' would be a better description! as I've only ever found one Nut that Wrench would not undo, which unfortunately snapped off, when I tried to undo it with a 3ft Breaker Bar

Anyway lest I digress, let's get back to the Plot, as having undone the Bolts on one of the Drive Shafts, I hit a Brick wall, or should that be a 'Catch 22' Situation, as I couldn't take off the Old Rotor, without removing the Caliper and I couldn't remove the Caliper without removing the Rotor

Where unless of course I am doing this wrong (in which case by all means please jump in and tell me) it sort of looks as if they sort of have to come off together and the Caliper Nuts look sort of hard to get to, although in time no doubt I'll figure it out

Anyway here is the Video of my Impact Wrench undoing the Rusty Nuts on one of the Drive Shafts



Photo of the Drive Shaft Nut about to be undone with my Impact Wrench





Undoing the Drive Shaft



Drive Shaft undone but I can't remove the Old Rotor, unless I remove the Caliper, so this is a bit of a Puzzle I'll have to sort out

 

Great job. Still looks scary to me..... Are you planning on stripping the whole cage and painting etc?
I would not be able to resist now that its out. I would be hoping its a only once type of job.

 

OB
Congratulations! The bottom caliper bolt has to be accessed from underneath the lower suspension arm, between it and the diff, with an open ender pointing upwards to the lower caliper bolt. At least mine, with a Dana diff does.

 

Hi Greg

Cheers!

Although I can see the Caliper Bolts, which have been 'wired up' they do look a bit rusty and so this is a one shot job, where rounding off the heads of those Bolts would be a real disaster, where unfortunately the Rotors do not have an access hole to get a Socket in

But since I can't remove the Rotors unless I remove the Calipers or remove the Calipers unless I remove the Rotors, I will have to give it a try and see what happens

Thanks for your help

 

OB
See if you can tear off the wire with some long-nosed pliers etc etc. Usually you can OK. Those bolts are pretty robust, as long as you have the exact correct spanner, you should be OK.

 

Hi Duke

Since I've got till next Summer to do this, I will probably pull it apart and make it look better than it does now but why did they use those very shallow Bolt Heads on top of the Cage instead of recessing the holes to use normal size ones?

As I feel sure that they could be very interesting to try and undo

 

OB,

I can't remember the caliper bolts being a problem when I did this, and believe me I'm no mechanic, a total amateur having a go!
As has been said, clean off the bolt heads of any rust and debris and the correct snug fitting spanner should do the trick.
Best of luck.
Oh and again you probably know this but keep a record of where those shims go between the driveshaft and the disc so they can go back the same way

 

Hi Greg

I think I can get the Wire off ok, just wondering if you might happen to know the correct size of Spanner or even if its Imperial or Metric?

Cheers

Alex

 

Hi Paddy

Cheers! and thanks for the warning about not losing the Shims!

When you did this Job yourself, did you take off the big metal shroud (The bit with the four bolts in the top) or should I just leave it in place?

Couldn't get anywhere near it today, it just wouldn't stop raining!

Thanks for your help and advice

Alex

 

Hi Paul (ptjs)

Since you were doing some work on the bottom Cover Plate, are those two big bolts near the base just bolts or a shaft that can be knocked through when one of those nuts are undone?

Do you think it might be easier if I took off the big metal shroud?

'I think I may have to ask 'Santa' for some of those wire twirling pliers!'

 

Imperial, that is for sure. From memory, 5/8ths, but could be a size up to 11/16ths. But if the spanner seems a bit loose on the bolt, find something that is better.