hi all,

I am super stuck trying to get this job done. I read the service manual, watched a few videos, and read the threads here. My idea of the process is-

1. Loosen lug nuts on the wheels
2. Jack the car and place jack stands
3. Remove the wheel
4. Remove the wire guard
5. Unscrew the 9mm pins (x2) that hold the caliper to the mount
6. Remove calipers
7. Remove brake pads, the one behind the rotor has sensor cable, replace that
8. Remove mount
9. Remove rotor

I am stuck at step #6. The caliper is super stuck to the pads and won't budge. Now, I did yank the parking brake release under the cup holders (or so I hope). That didn't work. And then I disconnected the battery. That didn't work either. For now, I sprayed some WD-40 very carefully along where the caliper meets the brake pads.

Questions-

1. Is there some parking brake release maneuver?
2. Do I have to remove the spring?
3. Do I have to remove the bolt holding up the hose?

what's this? parking brake release?

does this bold need to come off?

this spring is super tight, cannot perform #1 or #2



Thanks a lot!

 

I see you have a 2010 XKR.
I am no expert on the XK or XKR having never owned one but I have owned a 2010 XFS and a 2010 XFR and currently a 2014 F-Type and I have replaced the brake pads and rotors both front and rear multiple times on all of them and never once have I had a problem pulling the calipers off the rotors.
AFAIK the brakes on the 2010 XKR are identical to those on the 2010 XFR.
The main thing with the rears is to make sure the handbrake/parking brake/emergency brake is disengaged (not on), if it is on there is no way to get the calipers off but if not on it should be fairly easy.
As long as the handbrake is turned off you don't need to undo any of the bolts or cables you have pictured.
Put the caliper bolts back in and the wheels back on, put the car back on the ground, start the car up, and pump the brakes a few times.
Then apply and disengage the handbrake a few times, leaving it off/disengaged the last time.
Then go though steps 1 to 5 again, and then attempt to pull the rear calipers off.
If the rotors are quite worn the pads (still inside the caliper) can "catch" on the "lip(s)" on the outer edge of the rotor and be hard to get off but if you wiggle the caliper and pull really hard it will eventually budge.
Also the cord/lever under the cupholders releases the parking pawl in the gearbox (ie takes the car out of Park) and doesn't effect the handbrake at all.

 

Is there a substantial lip on the outer edge of the rotor due to wear? If that's the case, you will need to (other than what has been stated above), remove the brake master cylinder cap and pry the caliper away from the outer brake pad, in order to collapse the caliper piston a bit to release the residual clamping force. Then also pry a bit more to allow clearance to the wear lip on the rotor.

 

I just did the rears on my XK, as others have said, release the parking brake. That spring in the diagram is pointing to the parking brake mechanism, you shouldn't need to remove it. Also, the release in the cup holder is not the parking brake release... it puts the car in neutral if you can't turn the car on.

 

More importantly, do not ENGAGE the parking brake. Semantics, I know, but it's best to not just release because there is a small chance that the compounds could keep a 'grab' on the friction surface if the wheel is not rotated sufficiently.

 

I notice that there are some posts about the XE and other newer cars that have the following procedure :

Parking service mode: Engine off Hold parking brake button down for 2 secs. Release. Hold gas pedal down for 2 secs then release. Ignition on and off within 2 secs. Voila. Brake service mode displayed on dashboard..

Anyone want to give it a try on the XK?

 

Many people use SDD to put it into service mode. I find it much easier to just not put the brake on in the first place.

 

oh wow wow!

First of all, thanks a lot everyone here! The parking brake was a huge issue and nuance that I completely missed. Importantly, I didn't know how to disengage once the car was up on jack stands. I followed the advice here and put the wheels back on, reconnected battery and started up the car. Drove around a bit and reparked with parking brake OFF. That lil switch has such huge implications!

After that, the calipers just slid off. Had to pry them with a screw driver but not as impossible as it was with the parking brake engaged.

And I discovered that driver side brake wear sensor was missing and passenger side probably doesn't work and that's why the car didn't tell me that it needed brakes. Also the dealership didn't tell me that I needed brakes until too late and parts taking forever to arrive. Anyhow, I got rotors from AutoZone that are smaller but I found rotors from O'Reilly that may fit perfectly. I actually ordered EBC RedShift brake kits for front and rear -- they're taking forever to get here. Projected end of Oct or could be Nov!

Thank you all for helping me out - really appreciate it!