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Ah Hah! I see what you mean now and I have to say that I think it's a really great idea!
It's just a question of finding the right size piece of Tube to try it out and I may well have just what we need in the Shed
(as in buried somewhere in the Shed)
As I remember it was one of those Tubular Rails that you have in a Wardrobe for hanging Clothes and with any luck could be exactly what we are looking for, although the Weather is holding up progress on the Car, as the Sun is so Searing Hot, its much too Hot to even go outside
At least until about 4o/c when the Sun has gone down, as this is the Hottest Summer that I have ever known in my life!
Paul
My problem with a low stud is that once the tube has the wheel off the ground, the wheel will rotate as its CoG will be far higher than the attachment point.
I wish I could draw like you though!
I understand what you mean. It's not a problem as you just roll the wheel up, pivoted on the tube, until all the studs and holes align, and then just slide it forward the few inches to engage on the studs. If the tube is robust (as it will be!), it's only balancing on that tube for a second (supported on the stud at one end and the axle stand at the other. as you slide it forward.
The advantage is that it doesn't have to be the bottom stud or the top hole. You just pick the hole and then a stud that happen to align horizontally, put the axle stand at the other end, then just turn the wheel to align the other studs and holes. It's probably simpler to try in practice than for me to explain badly!
And tks, but I'm not in Keith Helfet's or Patrick Head's class when it comes to design drawing!!
But Even So She Just Came Up With A Really Brilliant Idea!
Dare I Say Even Better Than The Scaffolding Pole Mk1V
She was reading about de-cluttering, in one of those Magazines and the next thing you know I'm off to the Skip/Dumpster with a Trailer Load of what She calls Junk, except I call it Treasure and so brought some of it home
Including a Shopping Trolley, that She was sick of the Sight off but I decided to keep it, as I thought it would be useful for moving Car Batteries around and I was right on that one, cause it was
So while I'm doing Sketches that would put Rembrandt to shame, searching in vane to try and come up with a nice device to put the Wheels on, the GF said why don't you use my Old Shopping Trolley
'You mean the one you wanted me to take down to the Skip?'
No Answer from the GF that told me that I must have struck a Nerve!
Yass! at last I've got her! I thought as I was doing imaginary Hand Stands on the Lawn
But even so the more I thought about it, the more I started Thinking that this might Actually Work
And so there was really only one way to find out!
It just Worked so incredibly well that it could have been made for the Job!
(1) Get one of the Studs at 12o'c and then do the same with one of the Holes in the Wheel
(2) Make sure you can see the Grease Cap, through the Big Hole in the Middle, then Wheel the Trolley forward and the Wheel then goes Straight on!
It Felt Like I Was Being Punished For Something That I Hadn't Done!
When Near Enough Is Not Enough And Near Enough Won't Do!
Putting the Blame on the Weather really seems like a Cop Out to me, except that the Sun was so Searing Hot that you couldn't even go outside and had to Start very early before the Sun Came up and then after just a few hours of Work on the Brakes of my XJS call it a day until the Sun went down
Or else you could easily run the Risk of being burnt to a Crisp, no matter how much Sun protection cream you had put on, where at times the Sun was so Bright, that you could hardly see what you were doing
With the benefit of Hindsight, maybe I should have left the Car until another day but I was so obsessed with getting this Car up and running, that it was really hard to Walk away
Where having sorted out the Rear Brakes that included the Hand Brake, at that point I was thinking that the Job was done, except it wasn't Safe to go back in the Water, where to my dismay, I found I had a problem with the Front Brakes as well
Where my only option was to strip the whole lot down to find out what was wrong and what was wrong was a pair of Sticking front Calipers, where it took around 4 Hours with a Hammer and Chisel, just to get the Brake Pads out of the Calipers
This was a bit of a Nightmare Job, although much worse was to come, as the Pistons in the Calipers were Stuck and wouldn't move!
The only way around it, as far as I could see was to try and leaver the Caliper Pistons back by using a Hammer together with a Flat Bladed Chisel and then insert those Spacers that you can see in the Photo above
Seeing that this seemed to work and thinking that I'd got the Caliper Pistons moving again, I put the Wheel back on and Called it a day, except it seems I'd spoke too soon, as the following day the Wheel refused to move, which this time seemed to be down to Stuck Brake Pads
Looking at the State of these, maybe it just wasn't so Surprising, except perhaps my Biggest Mistake was to try and Clean them up, so I could re-use them, when I should have thrown these away and then replaced them with New ones
Which in point of fact was what I ended up doing, except that once again I was unable to get those Brake Pads out because once again those Caliper Pistons were Stuck and wouldn't move! and so I had to Strip the whole lot down again
Where I have to hold my hands up and accept the fact that I bodged it, which was difficult to do for a bit of a Perfectionist like me, when I should have followed the Forum Maxim of do it once and do it right and so I definitely won't be making that mistake again
So after taking a detour on the Road to Hell and Back, I'm very pleased to say there was Good News!
As I eventually managed to fix my Car and stopped it making Gouges in the Grass and how I managed to do this will all be revealed in my next post, together with an update on the Gadget that I used to lift those heavy tyres up so that I could put those Front Wheels on
You can't use the Pole in the Hole for these, as the Grease Caps are in the way, though what I use instead is even better!
Given the age of the vehicle, and condition of the calipers, it may be best to replace them as a pair with new pads. If the brake fluid has deteriorated to the point of being mostly water, the caliper piston bores are most likely corroded with the pistons having significant rust.
Have you loosened the bleed screws to see if that helps the pistons to retract?
Alex, you have indeed been To Hell and Back!
I am so sorry you're having this much trouble.
Not being an especially patient person, I would have Chucked those calipers for new ones at the slightest hint of the trouble you're having. And, as suggested just above, I would have popped for new pads as well and changed out the lot all at once.
In my world Time = Money even though this isn't what I do for a living. But my Sanity is worth SO much more to me than what you're going through just to get this car ready for sale, I'm afraid I would be to the point of stuffing a rag in the gas tank and lighting it off. It might have got me into trouble with the Powers The Be, but it would be such a cathartic experience that it might be worth the fines.
(';')
It was really no big deal I've had the same thing happen on my other Car so all I really had to do was to pull it all apart then put it back together with New Brake Pads that I had bought for my XJS V12 that fortunately uses the same Brake Pads!
As for the Stuck Calipers, I opened the Bleed Nipples as you should always do, to prevent any Crud from being pushed the wrong way up the System then tapped in a Flat Bladed Chisel to push the Caliper Pistons back in the Calipers
Where working them back and forth a few times after coating the Caliper Pistons with some Red Caliper Grease, I put in the New Brake Pads and once having Bled the Brakes
Got ready for a Test drive around the Garden of 'Orange Blossom Towers'
Although before I did that I had to put that Heavy Wheel back on, which you can't do with the Pole in the Hole as the Grease Caps are right in the way and so I had to do that with my New Device (more about that later)
Though you are bound to get a few problems when you own a Classic Car, that is all part and parcel of owning an XJS that I love to work on every bit as much as driving her!
Owning a Classic car of Any sort, but especially a Jaguar, is Job Security:
there will Always be something to Repair, Adjust, Replace or Modify as long as you own the car.
I'm relearning that the hard way right now as one of my blowers (the one over driver's feet of course) is making a Horrible noise and blowing the 50A fuse!
(';')
All Jags of that era have the same setup I understand.
This is the THIRD time I have been here (only second time for Nix) so I'm pretty familiar with what's required.
Too busy with "other" things to tackle it ATM, and to be honest I'm somewhat disheartened, as I took special care when I refurbished the system in 2015 when I didn't think I would have to touch it ever again.
As mentioned previously, Job Security!
(';')
For many and various reasons, things didn't exactly get of to a very auspicious start, with Start being the operative word as when your XJS won't Start then you could have a problem on your hands, as the list of things that could go wrong just seem to go on for ever!
So if you're thinking of buying an XJS or any other Classic Car for that matter, then you need to be prepared to have some interesting times in front of you, as when my XJS wouldn't Start then if you are not very Careful, you can feel a sense of Panic, starting to set in
Especially if like me, you don't know where to Start or what to do!
Except of Course that failures not an option and in this respect you need to get the Mindset, that you are going to Fix your Car no matter what it takes
Where as for me I would rather Walk on Broken Glass than have to admit to anyone let alone myself, that I've tried and that I've failed and simply cannot do it, as if I did that with anything let alone a Car, then I don't really feel that I could ever live with myself
So having checked through every single thing I could think of including all the Fuses and the Relays, I eventually got lucky and got my Car to run and although that was quite 'A Hard Paper Round' as we say in the UK, the sense of achievement that you feel is simply quite amazing!
And seems to make the Slings and Arrows that you had to go through to go through feel all the more Worthwhile
So having got her Started, I still wasn't out of the Wood, as the Wheels had seized up Solid and the Brakes just wouldn't work, so basically I had to take everything to bits and having found out what was wrong, then had to put the whole lot back together and what a really Fun Afternoon that was!
And so now it was time for the Test Drive that I had been so looking forward to, except before I got to that there was just one more of those very heavy Wheels to go back on, where my 'Pole in the Hole' device just wasn't going to work, because with the Front Wheels the Grease Cap gets right in the way!
Where in order to overcome this I used a Shopping Trolley that the GF wanted me to throw in the Dumpster/Skip except I decided to keep it, as I had a feeling that it was going to come in very useful one day!
And that is exactly what it did!
The Pole in the Hole is just the thing for doing the Rear Wheels but not for the Front ones as the Grease Cap gets in the way and so for those I had the very thing which was a Shopping Trolley, that the GF wanted me to throw in the Dumpster/Skip
Perfect! and just what I needed to put on those Heavy Front Wheels!
So easy doing it this way!
Set the one of the Hub Studs to 12o/c and then do exactly the same with the Wheel after you have Rolled it on the Trolley and then once you have done that you simply Wheel it in!
Having got the Wheel lined up as best as you can, then let the Wheel lean forward and use your Trolley Jack to get the Height
Once you can see the Grease Cap in the back of the Hole you're almost there!
Just Jack it up a bit higher so the Wheel is hanging on the inch of Hub that should be sticking through, then make some final adjustments so that you can see all the Studs and then once having done so 'Push it On!' by using the side of your knee at the base and your hands at the Top
After inserting a Couple of Wheel Nuts just to keep her in Place then you can put the rest of the Wheel Nuts on ready for Snugging up before you finally Torque them down with your Torque Wrench
Getting ready to Snug up the Wheel Nuts using my Impact Wrench before I finally Torque them down with my Torque Wrench
It's MoT time on Fri, and even though my local guy well understands that XJSs have typically more front wheel bearing freeplay than modern cars, he always mentions it to me. So I decided to slightly nip up the bearings just a tad tonight in preparation and keep him happy. So, of course, out came the threaded rod to assist in wheel fitment! (Apols, I should have video'd it!) A quick pivot up on the rod and then I fitted the other 4 nuts. Fingers crossed for Friday!
I got a pair from Dave Roche many years ago. He was a good guy from whom I used to buy my X308 gearbox filter & fluid kits some years ago. He may even still remember me!
He sells the threaded rods in pairs and it seems he still has them. However, my revised technique of fitting only one rod whilst the wheel is on the ground and then rolling the wheel up pivoted on the rod, to fit the 4 wheel nuts seems a better approach ,as you don't have to put any tension on the rods which you would if you were trying to fit 2 rods to the studs whilst the wheel was on the ground. The rods really need to go perfectly straight to the studs to avoid binding as you turn them on.
So maybe buy a pair and then, if my approach works for you, sell one to Alex!
Which One Is Best For Refitting Those Heavy Jaguar Wheels?
Being that those Jaguar Wheels are incredibly Heavy to Lift, you really need to be Careful that you don't injure yourself by putting your Back Out of even worse if you either can't or don't know how to do so
And so in my case I'll say Yes! to both of those!
Where to that end, I came up with a very Simple 'Pole in the Hole' device, that makes lifting up and putting on those Heavy Wheels a Breeze, which if you want you can read about, earlier in this Thread
Putting on the Rear Wheels with a Simple 'Pole in the Hole' a 2ft Long Scaffold Pole that goes right through the Center of the Wheel into the Hub, supported by an Axle Stand, so all you have to do in line it up and Slide it on!
Except of course that Life is never that Simple, not in my case anyway, for while the 'Pole in the Hole' works Amazingly well for putting on the Rear Wheels, it doesn't really work for doing the Front Wheels, at which point I decided to see if I could do this by using an unmodified 'Shopping Trolley'
And if that sounds as Crazy to you as it did to me, in the Interests of Research I just had to find out, where the finding of this were described earlier on in this Thread, although to save you the Trouble of doing so, even if I say so myself, the results were also Amazing and beyond my expectations
Roll the Wheel onto the Shopping Trolley, Line it up and push it on!
Simple and Effective, it doesn't get much easier than that!
Although On second thoughts maybe it does! as Paul (ptjs) came up with another idea that could be even better!
Consisting of a Hollow Rod that you Poke through the Wheel, that again is described in more detail, earlier on in this Thread including Photos to show you how it works
But as I hadn't got this Special Gadget I thought I'd have a go at making one, as that seemed to be the only way to compare the pair of them, in order to see which one of these works best
In order to try and make one, I cut an 18 inch Length of 1/2 in Copper Water Pipe, that was a Perfect size to go through one of the Wheel Nut Holes in the Wheel and also over the Threaded Stud that sticks out of the Hub
Stronger Tube would have been better, although since I didn't have any of that, I had to make do with some Copper (Water barrel Copper Pipe)
Since the Weight of the Wheel wouldn't be on for long, when doing this near the ground, I think I could have probably got away with that, except that as the Planets were starting to align, no doubt with some Help from 'The Jaguar Gods' I found a length of Stainless Steel Tube, that would slide inside
Cutting it just an inch Shorter, as while the Copper Pipe would Slide over the Threaded part of the Stud, the Stainless Steel Tube that I slid inside the Copper Tube was to Narrow, although it served the purpose of adding extra reinforcement to the Copper Pipe
The Stainless Steel Tube Slides inside the Copper Tube for extra reinforcement
Stainless Steel Tube inside the Copper Tube
Tube goes through one of the Wheel Nut Holes and then over the Stud
All you have to do now is to Rotate the Wheel to line up the rest of the Studs then Simply Push it on!
This was a Genius idea of Paul's that also features an internal Thread to Screw onto the Studs, although with the one that I made up, I didn't really feel that it was needed, as long as you held the end of the Tube to prevent it Sliding off the Threaded Stud
So having made a 'Mock Up' the question is which one do I like Best?
Given the Choice I would rather go for the Shopping Trolley
Because it's very easy to use and there is no heavy lifting whatsoever and although it doesn't show it in the Photos, the Handle of the Trolley telescopes down and then folds forward, making a very compact Square about 12ins X 12ins and about 3ins High, which can easily be stored in the Boot/Trunk
Where the USP of this device is that you can also use it for Shopping!
As we live in one of those 15 Minute Towns, where you have to Park quite far away and then Walk to the Shops, where more often than not I'll buy something from a Thrift Store/Charity Shop, that I will have to Carry all the Way back to the Car
And so for my money it has to be The (Dual Purpose) Shopping Trolley idea that is the Winner for me!
Having gone for a Short Test Drive round 'Orange Blossom Towers' I may as well Fess Up and tell you that I've Fallen in Love with this Car 'All Over Again!' which came as a Surprise to me, as I am not really a Luxury kind of a person
I'm a 'you can only eat one meal and only sleep in one bed kind of a guy'
Where my only weakness, if you can call it such, is having a nice Car to drive and for my own money they don't get much nicer than an XJS which is really the only Car, that Ticks all the Boxes for me
Its a bit of a Cult Car and if Steve Mc Queen were alive to day, then I'm sure that he would have had one, where the only go faster stripes you are ever going to need are Secretly Secreted beneath that very long Bonnet/Hood
On a Car so long that you need a packed Lunch to walk round it, where for reasons that were never made clear my MOT Tester opens the Bonnet/Hood and then stares in wonderment at what lies beneath, like he's heard someone saying 'Something really Wicked is about to come your way'
Then when you finally turn the Key you get that Whirring Turbine Sound, like some ethereal monster is just about to leap out and then grab you by the throat, that makes it not so much a Car but more of an experience that never fails to fill me with excitement and joy every time
Although the Car that I have fallen in love with all over again has a slightly different set of parameters to contend with, as the moment you open the door of my XJS Celebration Convertible, instead of looking exciting and unpredictable She just wants to pull you in and give you a great big Hug!
Then when you push the button on the Harmon Kardon Sound System, then that is the moment that She has won you over and you have been seduced and are totally lost and if you happen to be listening to Shirley Bassey singing 'Diamonds are for Ever' or 'Gold Finger'
Trust me when I tell you that this isn't helping matters, on a Car so easy to fall in love with such as this, as from the Wood and Leather Steering Wheel to those Sumptuous Conolly Hide Leather Seats, you are literally swamped in Luxury from the very moment you slide in
I'm even starting to doubt myself that I was planning to sell her, so we will have to see!
And then I almost forgot about the Stuck Calipers!
But Tomorrow is another day, so I will do my best to fix them then.......
She's the Ultimate Seductress, The 'Swankiest Car On The Planet' with an Engine that on Start Up sounds like you've just dropped a lighted Match into a Bucket of Petrol!
Walnut, Wood and Leather, everywhere you look and as I may have mentioned a 'Sound System' to die for!
You don't have to say a Word, turn up at a Top Restaurant driving one of these and everyone knows you've made it! and that you could even give Croesus, a run for his money! (if only that were true!)
Where that Black Cherry Jam Color, set off against the Cream Leather, looks not only reassuringly expensive but also amazing!
How could you not fall in love with a Car like this!
I'll tell you what, I'm going to put some New Tyres on, get her Taxed Insured and MOT'd and then drive her round for a bit, at least until somebody makes me an offer, that I cannot refuse
But first I have to fix those blinking Calipers! though we've had literally days and days of unbroken Sunshine where its been too Hot to go outside, let alone work on a Car!
06-16-2023, 06:44 AM
