Project Domes shonky autos - Grand Cherokee departs, Kangoo titivation and 911 dug out.

[dome]

It seems the Accord was jealous of the Jags shiny calipers. 

I stuck it in for an MOT this week. It was on a covid one til December but I didn't want to be rolling around under it in the middle of winter.

I stuck it in yesterday and... Fail. Rear caliper. The one I'd had problems with before but though was currd.  

A new one was under £50 from the local factors so that was a no brainer.

Dead easy to swap, the banjo bolt on the caliper came out no bother. Much better than the traditional hoses like the Jag has. 

Back in and bled up and she's good for another year. No advisories either!

I'm going to celebrate by fitting an aux in adapter to it so I can listen to my dab radio?

 

[dome]

Few updates on the Jag front.

Brake lines are all cut, flared and in place. Not finalized yet. Fronts are ready but the front to rear line runs alongside the fuel flow and return lines. I'll tidy it up when I run the fuel lines.

I've decided to go cupronickel with them, it'll match the brake lines I've fitred and means I can use the existing clamps. I had thought about running rubber the full length but decided against it. 

I'll need to join them to the existing hard lines with rubber hose. I've also had to order a new fuel filter with push on fittings instead of the screw on type it should have. @SRi05 that means there's a fuel filter here for you if you want it?

Onto the caliper rebuilds. This is tricky, having never done one before.  I managed to tear one of the rubber boots on a front one but here's one front with new piston, seals and rubber boot. 

Onto the rears. 

Piston pressed out

Cleaned up and new seal installed

Boot stretched over the piston.

And this is the tricky bit. You have to install get the lip of the seal into the caliper but you can't fit the piston afterwards. So I held the piston just inside the caliper and massaged the seal into the groove. Not easy.

And there we go

 

 

[The Moog]

How were the bores in the calipers?

[dome]

27 minutes ago, The Moog said:

How were the bores in the calipers?

I cleaned them up, they seemed fine but I didn't sand them or anything.  First time I've done this but the pistons don't actually touch the bores do they? 

[billy_bunter]

as long as its a super smooth finish all the way round the bore. Should be fine. If it is not smooth the imperfections (rust) picks up the seal. With the pressures involved it does not have to be much of an imperfection.  I used to feel them with a finger. Same for the pistons.

[dome]

Ah, ok. Here's the one I've still to do. The bore is smooth. All the rest were the same. 

[billy_bunter]

I would be tempted to remove the "cloudyness" on the metal with some very fine emery/sandpaper. BUT that is not vital to brake function the seal will still work move properly in that bore.  Opinions may differ on that as more people give feedback.

Getting really anal could be useful to have compressed air and test the piston movement. Obvs have to turn the pressure of the air down so you do not create a dent in the garage door

 

[SRi05]

20 hours ago, dome said:

Few updates on the Jag front.

Brake lines are all cut, flared and in place. Not finalized yet. Fronts are ready but the front to rear line runs alongside the fuel flow and return lines. I'll tidy it up when I run the fuel lines.

I've decided to go cupronickel with them, it'll match the brake lines I've fitred and means I can use the existing clamps. I had thought about running rubber the full length but decided against it. 

I'll need to join them to the existing hard lines with rubber hose. I've also had to order a new fuel filter with push on fittings instead of the screw on type it should have. @SRi05 that means there's a fuel filter here for you if you want it?

Onto the caliper rebuilds. This is tricky, having never done one before.  I managed to tear one of the rubber boots on a front one but here's one front with new piston, seals and rubber boot. 

Onto the rears. 

Piston pressed out

Cleaned up and new seal installed

Boot stretched over the piston.

And this is the tricky bit. You have to install get the lip of the seal into the caliper but you can't fit the piston afterwards. So I held the piston just inside the caliper and massaged the seal into the groove. Not easy.

And there we go

 

 

I'll swap you for the CD changer 🤓

[Broadsword]

Very impressive work on the XJ40. Will be exciting to see it back on the road!

[Angrydicky]

Yeah, people commonly think that pitting or corrosion in a caliper bore renders it scrap but that's not the case, providing there's no raised rust and it's all clean any pitting doesn't matter as it's the piston and seal that are the working surfaces.

Interesting to see the calipers on that Jag are ATE. They look very similar to BMW E30.

[dome]

3 hours ago, SRi05 said:

I'll swap you for the CD changer 🤓

Deal!

[jaypee]

Good stuff man, she's getting there! 

[sierraman]

Car mechanics did a XJ40 project in the early 2000’s. I’ll see if I can find any copies in the loft. 

[dome]

I had a weekend off doing this as I had other stuff on and fancied a break from rolling about under cars.

It must've helped as when I saw the forecast for the coming weekend here I decided to take Tuesday off as I had some holidays to use up.

So, where were we up?

All 4 calipers were now rebuilt with new pistons and seals

New dizzy cap, rotor arm and leads were fitted

Thermostat was changed and cooling system was flushed out.

Kunifer fuel line had arrived

New rubber hoses and a new filter were here.

I also had a catering size bottle of Vactan and wasn't afraid to use it...

So, before we fit shiny new parts lets start getting things a bit more respectable looking.

The first thing I wanted to clean up was the suspension arms and subframe. Basically anything I could get access to while the car was on axle stands. I'll delve further underneath post MOT.
Everything was solid but there was a lot of surface rust. Time to break out the wire brush attachment for the death wheel.

Here's how it all looked before. Not great. 

And after wire wheel, Vactan and a first coat of paint.

 
I also cleaned, Vactaned and painted the metal clips which hold the front and rear lines in place. Note my bench* grinder*

Next up was the fuel lines. I'd went for 5/16 kunifer pipe-this is the correct size to fit 8mm fuel hose too. Only trouble is the hard lines on the feed side were larger. I had to get some 10mm diameter rubber hose and a couple of step down unions, one at the tank end and one at the engine end. A bit of a faff but now done.

Here they are trial fitted. 

And done with the clips installed. Yes, I know they're not straight. Fuck trying to straighten them any more though!

Hardest bit was the fuel and brake line clip on the inside of the trans tunnel. Trying to get 2 fuel lines and a brake line located into the rubber grommets and then the clip put years on me. I took me over an hour but I got it and the rest of the lines in place. 

I could also get the brakes back together.

 

Lunchtime today and I decided to get this finished off. Firstly, underneath the back end and tighten up all the brake unions. I could then flare the pipe and fit it to the master cylinder.

What, me? Forget to put the union on before flaring? Never...

Zip tie is handy to stop the union sliding it's way down the pipe.

 

I could then see if we could get a brake pedal...

I used my pressure bleeding tool and gave it a crack. Worked round all 4 finishing here and I have a pedal!

I'll give it another bleed up as it's still a bit spongey but that was a relief.

I then stuck the battery back on it and cycled the ignition a few times to build up fuel pressure-sure enough a loose union cause a leak. Nipped this up and fired her up and she's sounding good

 

Oh and I managed to get the rear seats cleaned and condinitioned. They came up well

[juular]

Looking good.

Was just browsing flaring tools. Which one did you go for?

[dome]

2 hours ago, juular said:

Looking good.

Was just browsing flaring tools. Which one did you go for?

I went for a cheapy Draper one that did the job. I needed male and female flares and most of the ones recommended earlier in this thread didn't seem to do that. 

https://www.halfords.com/tools/hand-tools/all-hand-tools/laser-10-piece-flaring-tool-kit-121882.html

 

[dome]

Hoverjag seen here wearing it's grill for the first time in 20 years.

You'll also notice the oil leak, the reason it'd been taken off the road in the first place. The oil cooler had failed and  been replaced by a length of looped hose by the previous owner. One of the jubilee clips wasn't right so I nipped it up. We'll see if that fixes it.

I've also purchased another grill so I can paint the inner section body colour, a la what@SRi05  did to his. If I don't like it I'll have the silver one. 

It got another bleed and the pedal seems ok. A bit more fettling and the wheels can go back on and maybe a short test drive.

[big_al_granvia]

splendid work sir

[juular]

Your oil cooler issue is the same problem I'm trying to fix with the pipe flaring tool. If the jubilee clips aren't up to it these style ones have more even clamping force and might be a cheap fix.

https://www.hoseshop.net/stainles-steel-hose-clamps/stainless-steel-heavy-duty-hoseclamp

 

[dome]

11 minutes ago, juular said:

Your oil cooler issue is the same problem I'm trying to fix with the pipe flaring tool. If the jubilee clips aren't up to it these style ones have more even clamping force and might be a cheap fix.

https://www.hoseshop.net/stainles-steel-hose-clamps/stainless-steel-heavy-duty-hoseclamp

 

I thought about flaring the fuel pipes but the hose was a good fit and that was exactly the type of hose clip I used! I've got a good supplier close by (Clarik) so can soon pick some up to fit the oil cooler pipes if need be. 

[dome]

Bit more fettling today-rotted out exhaust clamps replaced and I finished securing the fuel and brake lines. 

Quick pic of each corner

More underseal/painting will follow but I don't want the tester to think I'm trying to hide anything.

I could then stick the wheels back on and give it a quick run to the end of the road. 

Brakes feel good and it drove smoothly which was a relief 😃

MOT booked for next week, stay tuned!

[The Moog]

Looking good

[hairnet]

thought only the 2.9 had the four lamp front

or do i need to go and buy more nerd?

hubcaps = base?

[Fraz]

6 hours ago, hairnet said:

 

hubcaps = base?

Hubcaps = awesomeness

[dome]

I dropped this off for an MOT last night at my local station as I was in the office today.

Frankly, anything could happen. It's not been driven more than a mile nor has it ran for more than about 15 minutes. Who knows what would happen when it sat in a testing station for an hour running.

Anyway, it appears that what happens is that it passes

 

I'll send my girlfriend round to pick up the keys (and pay for it) and we can try an exploratory drive tonight!

[juular]

Result. Happy days. 

[320touring]

Congratulations !

[Broadsword]

Congratulations on the MOT. I'm seriously impressed with your work here. Drive and enjoy it for a bit!

[SRi05]

[cort16]

Excellent , well done .