Let’s Ramble Some More.Part 3.

Brakes, 3rd Edition, December 2006 It seems like I was writing about the brakes… or shall I say… lack of brakes on my old ’69 E, All That Jazz. This problem has been driving me and all my friends within earshot absolutely and totally bonkers. When last I wrote, I think that I had just received my newly rebuilt by White Post, previously newly installed on the E, then re-tested on the E, then newly removed from the E, and then returned to White Post for testing… slave cylinder. If you don’t follow that, I imagine that it has to be my fault… I think I’m losing it over these brakes… or again… lack of brakes. Anyway, by this time, my friend Scott Young is starting to suspect that the front calipers may have a problem, so he has me order parts so that we can rebuild them... boy is he ever going to catch on that I don’t have a clue about brakes.

So then I purchased rebuild kits as well as new pistons from Welsh… whom I may say, are way LESS expensive than the guys out in California. Of course, since Jaguar does not recommend separating the two clam shells of a brake caliper… and NEVER did provide replacement O rings, you have to find SUITABLE replacements, and purchase the two oddly shaped O’ rings for each of the calipers. Talk about aftermarket… I can’t even imagine what new calipers could cost. But honestly, after having participated in this particular repair… after a fashion… I don’t have a clue how anyone could clean and rebuild the calipers without separating the two clam shells. Of course, since I really don’t have a clue as how to rebuild brakes, I took the problem calipers over to Scott. He let me help. He would dismantle the offending caliper… then I would clean and dry the parts… then he would re-assemble the calipers with the new rubbers, new pistons… and new O’ rings. And, just so you know, Scott congratulated me on purchasing the new pistons, the old ones were really pitted, and one set of the old rubber seals was coming apart… so maybe the guys at White Post didn’t fully pull the wool over my eyes, even though they did leave a spring clip out of the slave assembly. So anyway, then I bring home the newly rebuilt calipers and a few days later, I re-install them to the E. Right off, when I started bleeding the front calipers, I thought something was wrong… I kept finding spots of brake fluid under the calipers. I bled the brakes several times, but still could not get even as much pedal, as I was getting before the rebuild of the front calipers. Finally, I discovered that the O’ rings which allow brake fluid to get from one clam shell’s piston to the other clam shell piston are apparently not thick enough… or something like that. After sharing these observations with Scott Young, his latest suggestion has been that I try to find new clam shell O’ rings from a different vendor. So, I ordered another set from both the guys in California… and, since Welsh has no such part… what so ever. And, just because I still had a few dollars left on my credit card limit, I ordered a similar set of O’ rings from Terry’s. The doorbell just rang, and low and behold, UPS just delivered the O’ rings from Terry’s… tah daaaa.

I’m back, but Little Cindy now wants me to come to dinner, (we’re having chili without beans… this time)… so we will have to pick up this conversation again tomorrow… or the day after… which ever comes first. My thought is that if these O’ rings aren’t any thicker than the ones Scott already installed within the clamshells of the calipers, I’ll have to have a machine shop mill caliper faces with the indention, in order shorten the throw on those two faces. Like…I really need to invest more money in this old E so I can drive her… without fear... but I really want to… drive Jazz that is… not Cindy around the bend… and that is the truth. But… just now, I don’t want to be late for dinner, or my Little Cindy may share my chili with Joe Bob… you know… the damn dog. Anyway, later… Heck… I just measured both O’ ring samples, the ones from XK’s and the ones from Terry’s. XK’s hit the micrometer at .081”, and Terry’s at .080”. But wait… I just discovered that both O’ ring samples are in bags… both 002” thick… so make that .079” and .078” respectively on the O’ rings. Time to regroup, call the mentor… and decide the next course of action. God, I really want to drive this car. Ok, so I called HE who now knows way more than he wants to about this particular E. Since I’ve already removed the calipers from Jazz’s front end… again… Scott suggests that we bring the calipers, both sets of new O’ rings, and the micrometer, and confirm that the O’ rings are the blame, or not, and if so, are they not thick enough, and if not, try to find someone to mill the indented clam shell sides, so that they can compress the rings to stop the hemorrhaging of brake fluid. Enough about brakes. Let’s cover something more fun. I’ve got it, let me tell you about the cooling system rebuild… no let me tell you about the crack in the windshield… better yet, I could write about my combination new/old exhaust system… or let’s talk about fixing the speedometer… the ignition switch… replacing the coil and condenser. Surely, this can’t be real… no wonder I haven’t driven this car any more than I have. What am I, nuts? And yet… I still have to tell you about the gas tank replacement… meeting Mike Webb… whom I encountered over the web, at Jag Lovers.com… not only a new member to the Club, but now a new member to the Club Board… the bonnet that WOULD NOT OPEN, and of course, replacing the windshield wiper mechanism in the E… broken long before Son Travis and his pal Larry Panther delivered her to me from Florida… none of these are particularly pretty pictures, but. damn… this car has run me… and all my new… and potential… best friends… through our paces. In all actuality, probably everybody in this club wishes me… and Jazz would just go away… like way out of state… NO… FURTHER… Like… WAY, WAY… out of state... like several states over. I’ve whined enough… but me and Jazz, we’ll be back so she can punish me some more… in public. This girl really likes to ride on a tow truck. She kind of reminds me of a dog riding with it’s head out the window of a moving car. She must really like the view from up there.

Roger Hanes