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1994 vanden plas: brake job questions ?? tips ??

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illegallawyer

Freshman Member
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1994 Jaguar - 4 Door - XJ6 Vanden Plas - 4.0 liter 6 cyl.
(97,000 plus miles):

Needs pads! how to do it? I have changed pads on Toyotas and fords but not this car. Any tips???

2. Bulb light out indicator is on, but I can find no bulbs out. What needs to be checked?

3. Turn signal inidcator on right side blinks rapidly, but the bulbs are working. What needs to be checked?

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Re: Vander plas is freaking me out!

What year and model are you refering to?
 
Re: Vander plas is freaking me out!

OK!
1. You could need pads.
2. Make sure that all the lights are good. Including the foglights (front and rear), truck light, license plate lights etc...
3. ?
4. When you shut the car down, wait a couple of seconds and turn the key on, but don't start the car. Press the VCM button on the computer and let us know what code you get.
 
Re: Vander plas is freaking me out!

Thanks you guys. I will do that this weekend. Unhooking the battery for two minutes fixed several lights on the dash (I pray that lasts). The bulbs are still out somehwere (or at least crusted/rusted). I believe the brake pads are the issue on the brake lights - lucky me! That beats fixing any other part in that system.

Is it an easy fix for the pads?
 
Re: Vander plas is freaking me out!

Most of the stuff you mention is an easy fix.
1. Could be pads -- could be accumulator. Easy way to check the accumulator is to run the car, then shut it off. Pump the pedal and count how many pumps it takes before it gets hard. Anything less than 12-15 means the accumulator is going/gone. It is an easy replacement. When you lift the bonnet, it is the black ball about the size of a softball near the fire wall. If it is pads, then pads are and easy change as well. Get to the caliper, open the bleed valve, push the old pads apart so that the pistons move back to accommodate the new thicker pads. Put in the new pads and re-assemble. THREE words of caution here. 1. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES push the old pads/pistons back with out opening the bleed valve. If you push old fluid back into the ABS valve you may have created more problems than you care to think about. 2. If you change the pads and you get a shimmy when you hit the pedal, you may need to replace the rotors as well. In fact, I replace the rotors as a matter of procedure anyway. They are only $40 a rotor and there is not enough metal on them to turn them down and finally, 3. Flush the entire brake fluid from the car. USE ONLY DOT 4 fluid. Start at the furthest point. You will see an amber fluid come out at first. Bleed until it gets clear and all the air is out. Do this on all 4 wheels.
Number 2 and 3 are the same problem. The Bulb Failure module is sending phony signals back to the computer. This is primarily on your directional which is why the blinker runs fast and the directionals still work. You need to go through the entire car and clean the base of the bulbs. I usually use a light sand paper and just take off a layer of corrosion. I then use a wire brush on the socket. Many owners of these cars recommend using ONLY the European style silver base bulbs. I am not sure if it matters. Once all the bulbs and sockets are clean, the problem should go away.
4. The check engine light usually means it is the O2 sensor. It is about a $45-$50 dollar sensor off the exhaust manifold that goes bad over a period of time. It is no big deal, but it should be replaced as it DOES effect the running of the car as the computer uses this sensor to measure the mixture of Oxygen in the exhaust to regulate the combustion.

ALL of the problems you a having are normal in an 11 year old car and none are serious.

Take a weekend and fix them one by one.

Cheers
 
Re: Vanden plas is freaking me out!

How hard is the break job on an XJ-40 I could get the little clip off, but I could not figure out how to remove the calipers and pads. Is there a web page with drawings? or can it be described in writing easily enough?
 
Re: Vanden plas is freaking me out!

The level of difficulty is all relative -- isn't it? First off, in order to do ANY mechanical work on this car, you need to have metric tools. The whole car is metric. The next thing you need to do is go down to your local auto parts store and buy a Haynes manual for the '88 - '94 XJ40. It is full of directions, pictures and tips on how to do this. The next tool you need is a set of sturdy 3000+ pounds jackstands. You can not work on these cars off of regualar jacks -- they are too heavy. Once you have done that, you take a socket (I believe 17MM) and use it to remove the two bolts on the back side of the caliper holding it on. It will then swing up on the rubber brake line. Be sure not to stress the brake line.

Webserve
 
Re: Vanden plas is freaking me out!

The breaks were easy, but the wear sensor was worn out and has a break in the lead wire. Not surprisingly the pad warning still shows despite 8 new pads around the vehicle. How can one trick the sensor?
 
Re: Vanden plas is freaking me out!

Greetings,
You have two brake sensors on the wheels of the '94 XJ40. One in front and one in the rear. There are two things you can do to fix the warning. The "Proper" way is to spend the $10 per broken sensor and replace it. On the '94 pads you can do this.
What the rest of us do is simply wire the ends of the leads coming from the car side to the sensor so the computer thinks the sensor is still working. The "sensor" is not really a sensor at all but simply a piece of wire embedded in plastic. As the plastic wears down, it eventually wears out the wire and the wire breaks -- sending a warning to the dash. Re-connect the wire ends to each other and the warning goes away.

Webserve
 
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