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Sometimes it feels as if I spend as much time laying under the Car than I do driving it, as there's always something that needs doing of keeping an eye on, anyway good job I got the Cage cleaned and painted yesterday, as it has been raining and storming all day
Also ordered all the stuff I need to rebuild the Cage, except I forgot the Radius Arm Bushes! so if I ring them tomorrow, perhaps they can then add them to my order
Tomorrows job is to rebuild the Rear Calipers
Also Duke if you're out there, I think I've spotted something missing from your Shopping List 'New Rubber Seals' for between the Cage and the Fulcrum Shafts
@orangeblossom - It's been about 7 years and almost 130 pages since you have started this thread. I bet this is one of the highest viewed threads on this site. For those of us who need the short version of the story - what's the current situation of the car that started this thread? It seems like you have 2 or 3 XJS's that you're working on but I'm curious to hear where you stand on the one that started it all.
Also Duke if you're out there, I think I've spotted something missing from your Shopping List 'New Rubber Seals' for between the Cage and the Fulcrum Shafts[/QUOTE]
Do you mean these seals?
I was planning on reusing them?
Maybe that was not wise... certainly feels like it know!
Sorry but I do not think I'll be ordering new seals... takes To long.
My parts turned up on Sunday... Great... Until there were no caliper pistons - they did not even tell me they did not ship.
I found some in NZ for twice the cost... Im not wait for more seals ..... I cant do it.... I going mad!
Yes those seals bottom right of the Pic, the ones I've taken off my Car were pretty well mashed up but if yours look ok you can reuse them but I have got to fit new ones which I don't mind doing at 35p each
Good Luck and save me 2 Tickets for the Grand Unveiling of your rebuilt IRS
I'm currently working on 'Cherry Blossom' the One that Started it all and right now I'm rebuilding the IRS Cage and only had to do this as the Rotors were Shot away and so it makes sense at least to me, to rebuild the Calipers and renew the Handbrake Pads of which I have come up with a New Mod
Which is not the same design as 'Gregs' which I would add worked incredibly well on my other Car only this one is a bit easier to fit or at least I hope it is going to be, or it will be back to the drawing board for me! (and not for the first time either!) so I'll be waiting to hear what 'Greg' thinks about it when its finally revealed!
I never saw Cars as my Hobby but when you have an XJS that's unlike any other Car that I have ever owned, you either learn to fix it yourself or else pay someone Mega Bucks to go and do that for you
Though now I'm so obsessed with it that I won't let any Shop near it, as maintaining a Car like this does give me a bit of a buzz and where for reasons that can't be explained, working on the rear Suspension is one of my favorite jobs, as it looked a real 'bag of spanners' when I took it out
And hopefully looks a lot better now than it did before and if it works then that will be a bonus!
Sometimes it feels as if I spend as much time laying under the Car than I do driving it, as there's always something that needs doing of keeping an eye on,
That just falls under the heading of "Life With Old cars"
Epic Service from British Parts and Beautifully Packed as if I'd ordered something from a Top Department Store and not only that but arrived so fast, I didn't even have a chance to Track it!
What can I say but These Guys Rock! and have 'Turned Customer Service Into An Art Form'
As I left my Phone out in the Rain and Now it isn't Working!
So No Pics OMG!
So rewind to first thing this morning, when we woke to a beautiful day and as I wasn't expecting the Parts to arrive before Thursday there was plenty of other jobs to do like Cleaning the Rear Calipers so I could get them ready for Rebuilding and also Clean the Handbrake Calipers
First I soaked the Handbrake Calipers in a Tub of soluble degreaser
Then I had a good look at the Rear Calipers, that must have been replaced at sometime as from what I was able to see the pistons looked to be in good Condition, although its just a shame they didn't change the Rotors!
In any event they looked so scruffy that I decided to Clean them
Paint Stripper to Start with
Followed by another Bath in degreaser!
Followed by a Bubble Bath with the Handbrake Calipers
And though I was very Tempted to just put these back in the Cage, I decided to rebuild them with new Pistons and New Seals when the Parts arrived and all the rest of those Photos are on my Phone which got soaked in a Flash Flood Rainstorm so if I get it working I will try and put them up
Well sort of anyway! until my Phone got soaked in a Flash Downpour, where I found out the hard way that my Phone isn't Water Proof even against a couple of drops of Rain (ok more than a couple) but its only when its not working, that you start to realize just how essential a Phone is, in the day to day running of your life
Not for Social Media that I stay well away from but making calls and above all taking Photos of my Car restoration, which for reasons that I just cannot explain my Phone takes better Photos than my expensive Camera (someday and jagboi) would know the answer I'm sure
But anyway meanwhile back at my 'Crib' at 'Orange Blossom Towers' things were going better than expected although you'll have to take my word for that at the moment, as some of those photos decided that they just didn't want to down load
Which was a bit of a shame and so I will have to take them again when the Weather improves and in case I forget to mention it Stops Raining, as I've got so soaking Wet that I know how my Phone feels, so that makes two of us that doesn't like working in Rain
Though with or without Photo, the Show must go on, so even though the Calipers that I took off both looked in good condition with no perishing of the Rubbers, I decided not to gamble with what I couldn't see and as such decided to fit New Pistons and Rubbers if only to try and polish up my Caliper Rebuilding Skills (or the lack there of!)
The good news being that I think I maybe getting better, as this time I managed to manage doing one in less than 4 Hours! a lot less as a matter of fact as this time it took me less than 30 Seconds to fit the Rubber Boot and the Piston also went in easy peasey! as I finally got the knack instead of knackered
Top Tip: That seemed to work for me was plenty of grease on the Pistons but keep the Rubber Boot grease free as much as you can, or it could start sliding all over the place when you try and put the locking circular spring 'Thingy' on by using your Thumbs to expand it as you drop it down over the Boot
Which I'm now pleased to say is easier to do than to try and explain! rather than the other way around
Caliper after Cleaning
Caliper after even more Cleaning and Painting
Plenty of Special Brake Grease on the Piston
The rest of the Photos went missing when the Phone got Wet but if you want to rebuild the Rear Calipers on an XJS here is the Full Guide to how I did this even if if seemed to take forever, as unlike now I didn't have the knack!
Meanwhile back to the Future, having replaced the Rotors I then put the Calipers on, except without the Photos the Story feels a little incomplete and its chucking it down with Rain so hard I just don't think I can take anymore and though although Rain didn't stop play, it certainly stopped the Camera, right at the Wrong Time!
If you know what I mean!
Last edited by orangeblossom; 09-30-2021 at 03:49 PM.
"It just won't stop raining but the Show must go on'
Miracles are said to take just a little bit longer, so being realistic I don't think I will get much done to day although the Weather changes so fast in the UK that I have to say you really never know, although of course I'll give it my best Shot
So in between the Raindrops that were falling on my head and on my Phone, I managed to Clean and then repaint the Rear Dampers and the Springs, which apart from anything else I took out of the Cage for a good reason
As if you ever need to Change the Shocks while the Cage is on the Car, this can be a 'Nightmare' as the Bolts that bolt them to the inside of the Cage are so hard to undo that they feel as if they had been Welded in
Where I found that even when the Cage was off the Car, I had to use a 'Rattle Gun' to undo them, so when it comes to putting them back, I will be re-bolting them with plenty of Copper Grease and Brand New Metlock Nuts, so if I have to change the Shocks at any time in the Future then it will be easier to do
With the Shocks and Springs repainted, I managed to bolt just one of them back before the Rain started again so not really as much progress as I would have liked
Right OB - We and rebuilding at the same time..... I will be at this stage by the end of today.
Keep the pictures / updates coming so I can copy...LOL.
Doing up the caliper joining bolts.... holly crap they are tight.
What torque setting did you go to?
Don't forget the torque settings... in ft/pound if possible LOL... now I am being lazy.
Good work.
I'm off to clean my springs and shocks.
GF Reckons its really not raining that hard! which is easy to say from a nice warm room with a Cup of Coffee in one hand and a Bar of Chocolate in the other while curled up on the Sofa watching TV
G.F. Says its not Raining that hard!
Where do I find these people! 'Its Chucking it down'
Bolting the Springs in The Cage, only this time with plenty of Copper Grease and New Locknuts to make it easy to undo them if I need to change the Shocks
Two down and Two more to go and its a very easy little job to do
All done and dusted in about 30 Minutes!
Changing The Brake Fluid Cage Pipe, which is always worth doing when you take the Cage out, especially if it looks as bad as this!
Changing this Pipe looks easy but it can be a bit of a 'Nightmare Job' without the right size Spanners 2 X 15mm Spanners are what you need for this and an obligatory squirt of WD but if they still refuse to undo then you'll have to give that Nut a bit of Heat, as I had to do on the other Cage that I was working on
Test Fitting the New Flexy Brake Pipe, which I will leave off until I put the Cage back to prevent the Pipe from getting damaged
Enough excitement for one day, so time to get back in the Warm
A car that divides opinion and generates controversy from day one isn’t always a likely contender for a long and successful career. In the case of the JDM Cars, however, what was originally seen by many as a poor substitute for the E-Type ended up maturing into a highly desirable range. Indeed, so well-executed were the XJS’s various updates, it managed to remain in production for an impressive 21 years, beating the E-Type’s sales record by attracting more than 115,000 customers worldwide.
At the time of its launch, of course, not everyone appreciated the XJS’s styling (particularly its trailing rear buttresses), nor the fact that the only power option was Jaguar’s less-than-frugal 5.3-liter V12 at a time when the most recent energy crisis was still fresh in everyone’s mind. But despite a slow start, Jaguar didn’t give up on the XJS; and through a long-term process of updates, the company’s sportiest model began to prosper.
Given the longevity of the XJS, we often forget that it was in danger of being dropped from the Jaguar line-up as early as the start of the ’80s, with just 1,057 cars sold worldwide in 1980 compared with 3,890 three years earlier. Instead, however, Jaguar focused on improving both the car’s design and its overall quality and reliability, as well as expanding the range to appeal to a broader spread of customers.
09-27-2021, 03:28 PM
