I'm no newbe to changing out brake pads, but after reading the factory manual on the replacement of the Rear pads, there's talk about re-calirating the electric parking brake using the Jaguar tool/diagnostic equipment. So this makes me wonder if someone without the equipment can recalibrate it after a pad change or not.

Any insight to what I can do without the equipment mentioned in the manual? Thank you.

 

Just replaced my wife's XK8 rear brakes! Haven't done my 2007 XK yet but understand it can be done without Jag computer by carefully removing E Brake cable; after reassembling just follow Owners Manual instructions for resetting the E brake (ie. turn on ignition, depress brake pedal and pull up E brake control).
Remember that to depress the calibers requires turning them anticlockwise!
I bought a tool from Harbor Freight that does this, not used it yet! Why this is the latest thing for rear brakes is beyond me! I have been retracting calipers for nearly 50 years with a good old C clamp............
I've sent this because no else gave you an answer!

Hope it helps, Adrian

 

Britannia............good reply from someone only seven yrs older than me.

I've seen this "rotate the inners of the caliper" before, and I believe it was on a RX-7, so that part isn't new to me. Just need a tool with two dogs the right distance apart or the like. I vaguely remember using a pair of needle nose pliers and inserting the tips into the holes and turning the pliers. Something like that.

I've looked at the front and rear pads and estimate they are about half done. And that is just a guess til I buy a new set and compare the thickness b/t the two. The manual gave me a figure of how thin the pads can get but that figure seems waaaaaay to small

 

Done the rear brakes on my 07, re-calibration is easy, just follow the steps mentioned above-After retracting the caliper pistons (rented my tool from autozone, if you use a credit card you get a full refund) and re-installing the pads turn on the ignition and engage (pull up) the electronic brake and release (push down) 5-6 times just to be sure while pumping the brakes. You actually can feel the brake pedal re-adjust.

 

Ok. Seems I read too much when reading the factory manual. At the beginning it said to release the parking brake tension and referred me to another chapter called Parking Brake Cable Tension Release, which has a couple of electronic boxes ....pulling fuses......pulling connectors off the parking brake computer etc and going thru a song and dance to recalibrate the parking brake.

I already figured out how to release the tension/parking brake prior to reading this in the manual but after reading the chapter I came to the conclusion I needed to to use these same elect/tools to recalibrate the parking brake. Not so it would seem.

Seems to be straight forward then with no odd ball tools needed other than the tool to rotate the guts of the caliper inward.

Thanks to the both of you.

 

I agree the OEM min pad thicknesses are way too small IMHO. Anything less than 1/8" makes me nervous...................better safe than sorry.

Adrian

 

Wheels are off my 2007 XKR and I've been at it for a couple of hours. Went to Freight and Harbor and bought the piston compression kit, but have seen two threads on rotating the pistons: this one with a CCW recommendation and the other with a CW recommendation. Briefly tried clock wise and was unable to move it, so will try CCW tomorrow (the kit has a tool for each direction).

Another question I had was whether I need to disconnect the handbrake cable? I've pushed the handbrake button down and it has released the tension in the cable, but do I still need to remove the cable?

 

I have just completed changing the brake components on my 2008 and here are some of the issues I found on the rear.

You will need one of the tool sets to reset the puck. The tool applies pressure while rotating the piston in a clockwise direction. The handbrake setup is a course screw that is rotated when the hand brake is applied. It will cause the piston to be adjusted out to allow the brake cable to apply the brakes. Inside the piston is a spring loaded assembly that also is used to adjust the location of the piston in the bore to adjust for wear. I purchased one of the tool sets for $40.00 at HF and it was well worth it.

The second area are the hat retainers. They can be pried out or you can carefully remove them by using a screwdriver and twisting them off. To put them back on, use a deep socket to set them and them tap them in the reset of the way.