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This Is Not My Parts Car But The Brakes And Calipers On 'Carmen'
The whole thing looks a bit of a mess but this is what you get if you don't use your XJS on a regular basis, which is what I didn't do with 'Carmen' my XJS Celebration Convertible but thankfully that's the only bit of rust on the whole Car
As She was Undersealed from New and as a result the rest of her is in perfect pristine condition and so there's only one thing for it and that's New Brake Pads and Calipers plus a little bit of elbow grease!
On Second thoughts make that a lot! as Yesterday, I spent 4 Hours with a FBH and a Chisel, getting the old Brake Pads out of the Calipers
These were even worse than the ones I found on 'Cherry Blossom' or any of my other XJS's but since they have all been renewed, I think its fair to say I've had the practice!
And now I've got an Impact Wrench, doing this job should now be 'a walk in the park'
What could possibly go wrong!
Fitting New Wheels On My Grey XJS-Plus A Couple Of Yard Sale Bargains
While I'm waiting for the New Calipers for 'Carmen' I thought I would fit some New Lattice Wheels to '50 Shades' my Grey XJS which I picked up a few months ago from a Scrap Yard
Although these Wheels are not Brand New in the true sense of the word, they were in amazing condition, as they had been languishing in the back of a Storage Container possibly for years, until I came across them while having a mooch round
The Tyres on them were also in very good condition and so I thought I'd put them on to see how they looked and while they were the right size, they were Goodyear instead of Pirelli, which has always been my Tyre of choice
Four Wheels and Tyres for £150 all in great Condition and seeing as it was such a nice day, we went Bargain hunting at an Auto Jumble, where I sort of thought I'd hit the Jackpot!
A Carpet for the 'Cubby Box' of an XJS together with a 'Soft Top Bag' to keep the Tonneau Cover and in case I forget to mention it an 'XJS Under-tray' £10 the lot!
The Under-Tray was a bit dirty but otherwise OK
Last edited by orangeblossom; 07-14-2018 at 06:39 PM.
'Carmen' has always been one of those Cars that I've always thought of, as much too nice to use which with the benefit of hindsight was a big mistake, as while She is a 'minter' in every sense of the word
The worst thing that you can do with these Cars, is not to use them at all, as that has to be the one sure way to make sure that something will go wrong
Which is exactly what has just happened to 'Carmen' my Celebration Convertible XJS which is now in need of a new set of Brake Pads and Calipers
Where having done this job before on all my other Cars, I found out the hard way, that there are only 3 ways of doing this job, the first one being take it to a 'Shop'
Which I have always tended to view as being a bit of a 'Cop Out' as not only can they charge the Earth for doing this kind of a job but if I let them have all the fun, then I have learned nothing and that's never been the way I like to do things
As if a Shop can do it, so can I because there's nothing I love better than a Challenge and that feeling of accomplishment when the job is done
The 2nd way of doing this would be the hard way and this is through not having the Tools to do the job
Doing it the Hard Way! Changing the Front Calipers on my Car 'Cherry Blossom' and if I remember correctly, it took 3 days to try and get those old Calipers off, where all I had to Show for it was some broken Spanners
And then I bought a piece of Kit which was a real 'Game Changer' in the shape of an Impact Wrench that works off mains power
that has to be one of the best things that I've ever had
Here it is undoing the Calipers on '50 Shades' my Grey XJS which only just took a few minutes and made a sometimes difficult job dead easy!
Having replaced the Front Calipers and Brake Pads it was time to do the Rears, which for the first time I realized just what a massive advantage an Outboard Rear Axle can be
If only I had that on all of my Cars, then life would be so simple, although it took me nearly 2 hours to put the Spring Clip back, only to find out later that like everything else in life there is a knack
So when I did the second one it only took me an hour! which was partly down to the fact that today was a really hot day and possibly one of the hottest that we have had this year
Which of course resulted in numerous Tea Breaks, which as you can imagine really slowed the job down but the main thing was I got there in the end
And am thinking of an Outboard Axle for 'The Ice Princess' if I have to drop the Cage in order to remove that Broken Bleed Nipple, though as of now my focus is getting 'Carmen' rolling once again
Which I could have done in only an hour, had She not been fitted with an in-tank Fuel Pump, which as I may have mentioned previously is 'The job from hell' as the Fuel Tank has to come out and even worse on a Convertible
As in order to get the Fuel Tank out, you also have to take out the Hydraulic Soft Top Motor and in my case all the Trim and other bits and pieces, all of which tend to make it a total PIA Job!
This is what tends to happen if you don't use your XJS on a regular basis but then of course you have the fun of putting you 'Cat' back together, as well or even better than She was before
Now that Job is out of the way the next one is the Fuel Pump
Last edited by orangeblossom; 07-18-2018 at 06:18 PM.
Cleaning Carmen's Fuel Tank Before Replacing The Fuel Pump
Replacing an In-Tank Fuel Pump on an XJS is something I`ve always regarded as being the job from hell, as in order to get to the Fuel Pump, you have to pull out the Fuel Tank, or at least pull it back as much as you need
The only problem being that the Tank is behind a Steel Baffle, which is firmly held in place by lots of hard to get to bolts that can be quite hard to undo
Even worse on the Convertible, as the Hydraulic Pump will also have to be moved right out of the way together with almost every piece of Trim, including the Gas Struts in my case, as I wanted to take the Tank right out of the Car
And though I`ve done this job before, it just doesn`t get any easier the second time around, which was only just a coup!e of years ago
The reason I wanted the Tank right out was because I had a feeling that there might be some rust in there caused by the ethanol that they put in the Fuel, which could well be helping to shorten the life of the Fuel pump
And it looks like I could have been right!
If that's the state of the Fuel Pump the Fuel Tank could well be the same
Not looking very good, with lots of surface rust from what I can see and so I decided to clean it by using OXY Plus which is quite amazing stuff and seems to bring most metal up looking like new!
Supporting the Tank before filling with Oxy Plus
Inlet and Outlet Pipes on the XJS Fuel Tank
The Inlet and Outlet Pipes on the Tank were first blocked up with pieces of Sponge (not Jam Sponge obvs!) and then sealed up with Polythene which was held in place with hose clips
Then I filled the Tank with Water and then added a half a Tub of OXY Plus
Never one to shy away from a Photo op, a Cat who seems to have adopted us
I'm ready for my Close Up!
He/She must be after a deal with a Pet Food Company
Having finally got my OXY Plus back from the Cat that had been guarding it, my first impression seems to be that it is working well and so I'll leave it marinating until the New Fuel Pump arrives sometime next week
Last edited by orangeblossom; 07-26-2018 at 09:58 AM.
Now is the right time to use some POR15 tank sealer. Not kidding. Tank is out, been cleaned. The POR15 sealer will prevent the tank from ever rusting again. It costs a few bob but will save you quite a few problems in the future.
Btw., it isn't the ethanol that makes the tank rust. Ethanol actually is quite a good protectant. It is the water in the fuel the ethanol is mixed with. Even if you buy ethanol-free fuel (I can buy our Super Plus with 105 RON which has 0.00% ethanol) the tank will rust, because the modern fuel isn't as stabile as it could be. This draws water, even on it's way to the garage... Then in the ground. People blame ethanol, because it is a newer thing and something new is always to blame
My XJ8 had ran on ethanol for 3 years (sometimes E10, sometimes E85, sometimes an E50 blend, depending on my mood) and the tank was spotless inside. Before that, we had E5, so with 5% ethanol. And again, the tank was spotless. Heck, it stood 21 months with a half full tank of E10 never driven, neglected, and the tank was fine.
Jaguar also skimped out on a simple thibg: tank lining/coating inside the tank. Had that been in there, it wouldn't rust. It was available then but we all know, Jaguar was cash strapped for decades...
Ethanol is hydrosopic. We have had quite a few cases here in Aus where a poor unsuspecting motorist has filled up with E10 then top up with unleaded and end up with water in the fuel injectors and a large repair bill.
Now is the right time to use some POR15 tank sealer. Not kidding. Tank is out, been cleaned. The POR15 sealer will prevent the tank from ever rusting again. It costs a few bob but will save you quite a few problems in the future.
I would second that I love POR15 products used them extensively when I renovated my XJS
Ethanol is hydrosopic. We have had quite a few cases here in Aus where a poor unsuspecting motorist has filled up with E10 then top up with unleaded and end up with water in the fuel injectors and a large repair bill.
I don't see how that should be a problem ?
You have E10 in the tank, water is absorbed by the ethanol. You then add fuel without ethanol causing the ethanol percentage to go down, but the absolute amount of ethanol will remain unchanged, and the same absolute amount of water can still be absorbed.
Or does ethanol loose it hydroscopic capability, when the percentage of ethanol becomes too low ???
Cleaning Carmen's Fuel Tank (Results of the first clean)
After leaving the Fuel Tank over night filled with OXY Plus, I thought I would drain the water out to check on the results and have to say I was quite amazed how well the OXY Plus had done the job
After 24hours of leaving the Tank full of OXY Plus, the activation had died down and the water inside was now clear enough to see what looked like the start of some pleasing results
Time to drain the Tank off and take a look inside
That water looked so rusty that it hopefully took a lot of it out of the tank
The OXY Plus had got most of the rust out and only left some residual rust on the surface
All the loose rust had completely dissolved so now I decided to refill the tank to give it an addition soak overnight
As well as the OXY Cleaner, this time I also added a kilo of washing soda
Bubbling up and hopefully dissolving rust that may have been left behind from the first clean, where tomorrow I will drain it off to check out the results
I'm undergoing the same process. Using muriatic acid instead of Oxy. I already have the POR15 kit and will use it after the initial soaking of muriatic acid is done. Let tank soak in it last night. Results?
^ Before M. Acid bath.
^ Post-bath. Soaked for about 8 hours.
It's not clean enough to seal yet, but that's what the kit from POR15 is for. There is a bottle of etch, then cleaner, then dry it out thoroughly and seal.
It's the RH tank of my '82 XJ6. The LH was just as bad, but it actually was leaking considerably, so I replaced it with a new Spectra tank. I *think* I can rehab this RH tank.
It's the RH tank of my '82 XJ6. The LH was just as bad, but it actually was leaking considerably, so I replaced it with a new Spectra tank. I *think* I can rehab this RH tank.
Or try Hydrochloric Acid. Same thing. Used for treating pools. Actually it is quite nasty stuff. Use Nitrile gloves when handling. Maybe a respirator. Amazing what the US allows that the (smarter) Europeans outlawed years ago; like dye in food.
You should be able to buy it off ebay, or from other pool treating companies. Google popped up Bonnyman's Hyd Acid or try the phosphoric acid based Rust Off
Last edited by moronthethrottle; 07-27-2018 at 03:35 PM.
Or try Hydrochloric Acid. Same thing. Used for treating pools. Actually it is quite nasty stuff. Use Nitrile gloves when handling. Maybe a respirator. Amazing what the US allows that the (smarter) Europeans outlawed years ago; like dye in food.
You should be able to buy it off ebay, or from other pool treating companies. Google popped up Bonnyman's Hyd Acid or try the phosphoric acid based Rust Off
Hi I found some but it does look nasty stuff, so if the washing soda doesn't do the job, I'd rather try some vinegar
Very nasty indeed. Vinegar is also a form of acid, which, the thing with these acids is that they have to be rinsed out very thoroughly when done soaking or it will continue to eat the metal away.
Not sure how bad yours is, but I got the POR15 kit mainly to seal the tank from future rust and potential leaks. Carmen would be a prime candidate for that, as she likes to sit, much as mine has for the last 20+ years.
Although, I will be using mine a DD, I would rather spend $100 today and prevent having to go through all this again, or have to spend $300 for another new tank.
By the way, thanks for all your info in this detailed thread; have been following it for a long time. XJS was the first Jag I ever sat in back in 1990 when I was a big eyed 15 year old punk. Pooped myself when the salesman at the lot gave me the keys and told me I could start it up. That red beauty had just been sold the day before for $60,000. I already was a Jag nut by that age. That experience put me way over the top!
07-13-2018, 12:35 AM
