Jaguar Repair: 1985 Jaguar Xj6 Vanden Plas re brakes/calipers

Question
Hello
    I am trying to get the brake pads on the front as well as the rear of my Xj6. The front brake pads seem to be easily obtained however the rear pads are presenting more of a problem and Les Schwab will not repair unless they do calipers as well. Hence my problem they cannot find calipers or rebuild kits.Do you have any suggestions where I can find calipers and are calipers extremely necessary or just a good idea as Les Schwab has its policies. Thank you so much!

Answer
Hi Jonna,

Normally it is not necessary to rebuild or replace calipers just to replace the pads. However some shops make it a policy to do that on a 29 year old car even if there are no signs of leakage from the calipers. When the pads are worn and the car is old the caliper pistons are extended and most likely rusted so when the pistons are forced back into their bore to put the new pads in, they can damage the seal and cause it to leak later and usually the customer then blames the shop. Thus a liability. Jaguar caliper pistons are steel and chrome plated but the plating can be damaged and thus damage a seal. There are stainless steel pistons available but a little pricy.

The kits and the calipers are available from many jaguar parts suppliers. That is not a problem. What is a problem is that the whole rear subframe and suspension needs to come out to gain access to the calipers. If they do not have experience on the old XJ Jaguars rear calipers you would be ill advised to have them do the job, even if they are well experienced on brakes of other cars. This is a job that should only be done by an experienced Jaguar mechnic. The fronts are not a problem as they are the same design as any other car in the world.

If there are no signs of fluid leakage on the rear calipers then you can gamble and just replace the pads which can be done without rmoving the rear end. Then watch the rear calipers for signs of leakage afterward at least every couple of weeks for a while. (Watching the fluid level often will also give you a clue to check the rear calipers for leaks.) This it true of the front too. If the pads have worn down to metal then it most likely has damaged the brake disks too.

Most shops make it a policy to require all the brake system to be done at the same time due to the fact that if only one seal is leaking then all the others are close to failure too.

Howard