Rear Brakes Removal & Clutch Flex Hose

Alberto · Post by **Alberto** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 3:19 am

This is for a 1965 OTS. Need a little help on two issues:

Rear Brake Calipers
I have recently rebuilt the front brake calipers and replaced the flex hose. I would like to do the same to the rear. Is it possible to remove just the rear calipers or at least just the rear piston/cylinders without needing to remove the entire IRS cradle?

Clutch Hose
On a separate subject, I would like to replace the clutch flex hose. I wonder if someone can help me with a question on originality. XKS Unlimited sells a clutch flex hose with a spiral wire around it (http://xks.com/i-7084424-06-7001-clutch ... -v-12.html), it's one of those that has a wire spiral around it to keep the hose from kinking when bent. The only other version they seem to sell is a stainless steel wrapped version, clearly not original.

However, when I look at the Parts Catalog, the diagram seems to show a regular hose without the spiral wire. Can someone please confirm that the clutch flex hose is the traditional type, that is, without the wire shown in the XKS unlimited version? It appears that SNG Barratt sells the hose without the wire surround.

Thanks in advance.

Alberto

abowie · Post by **abowie** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 8:07 am

The first line in the service manual in regard to removing the rear calipers reads "the rear suspension unit must be removed in order to withdraw the rear calipers."
As far as I know the original clutch hoses were just black rubber. While not strictly original the modern braided hoses last forever.

christopher storey · Post by **christopher storey** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 1:38 pm

You can usually remove the Dunlop calipers without removing the cage, but it does in my experience vary from individual car to individual car as to whether there is sufficient clearance between cage and body to get the calipers through. In any case, it is a very awkward job and it is nearly always far quicker, and certainly more convenient , to remove the complete cage. This operation is nothing like as daunting as it seems to be, and can usually be done single handed in about 2 hours provided you have a set of chassis stands to raise the rear of the car, and a decent trolley jack . Having said it can be done single handed, it is safer , and therefore preferable even though not essential to have a helper to steady the cage for the 2 or 3 minutes it takes to lower it away

The original hoses are black rubber without wire

Alberto · Post by **Alberto** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 3:02 am

Thank you Christopher.

Car is already on four stands, while I address a number of issues related to teh car not being used, but I am fairly intimidated by taking the rear cage out and would most likely have to do it by myself. Now that you've stated that it is possible, I'll take a look at taking the calipers out. Hopefully my car will be one of those where it can be done.

I'm having a hell of a time putting the shims in while I reinstall the front calipers. It seems like you need 5 hands and 50 fingers to present the caliper, insert the bolt, make sure the dust shield is in the right place and put the shims in. I tried for a good 45 minutes and wasn't able to do it. I can't imagine doing it 5 or 6 times while you get the clearance just right. Clearly I am missing the secret method. Any suggestions?

abowie · Post by **abowie** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 5:18 am

Christopher is correct; taking the IRS out is really pretty simple. Like a lot of things though the hard part is getting the courage up to start the job.
You really can do it by yourself once you know how. For a first timer having an assistant who has done it before helps. It's all about balance and careful positioning and doing it all in a controlled fashion.
The caliper bolts are inboard of the discs and are often lock wired in place. While there are holes in the discs that will let you access the bolt heads the access isn't good. It's a lot easier having removed the half shafts and the discs with the IRS off. I can't imagine that trying to get the caliper bolts back in with the IRS in place is particularly easy, and there are centering shims there too..
WRT shims; once you know how many you need super glue them in place.

Moeregaard · Post by **Moeregaard** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 12:54 pm

I was never able to remove the rear calipers with the IRS in situ. Dropping the entire assembly presents an opportunity to give everything else a once-over, and you'll probably find other stuff that requires attention. The worst part of the entire process is detaching the radius arms from the tapered mounts on the body.

If your car is on jack stands placed under the body at the rear bulkhead, it's worth mentioning that you should have a trolley jack under the IRS at all times. Allowing the weight of the IRS to hang on the Metalastik mounts can cause the rubber to de-bond from the mounts, with predictable results.

Alberto · Post by **Alberto** » Fri Oct 17, 2014 1:07 am

Well, I may be out of luck if this is the case. The car has been on stands for going on 4 weeks. I'll have to check them. I presume the de-bonding is visible?

At this point I've had the car for something like a month or more and have driven it exactly three times, two of which were cut short because of a sticking front caliper (the only one that wasn't was the test drive at the dealer, of course).

Part of why it's taken so long has been the "while I'm here" and "while I'm at it" in doing the front brakes (rebuild calipers, new brake pads, new ball joint boots, new brake hoses, flush and bleed the clutch and brakes, new tires, grease the fittings, etc. etc.), so I will tackle the rear brakes on another occasion in case I have to take the IRS off and in so doing not be able to drive it for another month.

KingRichard · Post by **KingRichard** » Fri Oct 17, 2014 5:44 am

I agree, it is very doable by yourself. Two persons are very handy for balancing the cage, but with care I did it last summer fully by my own when I rebuild the diff.

Richard

Moeregaard · Post by **Moeregaard** » Fri Oct 17, 2014 12:55 pm

Alberto wrote:Well, I may be out of luck if this is the case. The car has been on stands for going on 4 weeks. I'll have to check them. I presume the de-bonding is visible?

Alberto, there have been some instances of very old mounts failing when the IRS assembly was allowed to hang from them. I have not seen this personally, but I can only imagine the potential cost--in damage and personal injury--if this were to happen. For this reason I felt it was worth mentioning.

Removing the IRS without a helper is very doable, as Richard says, but keep in mind that the assembly is nose-heavy and will roll forward if the jack pad is located under the final drive's drain plug, and the first thing to hit the pavement will be the input flange. I like to perform this operation with a second jack placed under the flange, and lower the whole mess a little at a time by alternating between jacks. Better yet, just enlist a helper.

Alberto · Post by **Alberto** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 3:21 am

Well, I spent some time today studying the rear brake caliper area. It looks to me like you could take them out without removing the IRS. That said, it would be a MAJOR pain in the arse (by the way, is arse a cuss word in England?).

From a time stand point, it seems like a toss up to me whether to take the IRS out or tackle the brake calipers in-situ, but I will probably opt to take the IRS out as my patience would be severely tested (and I don't have much to being with) if I tried to take just the calipers out. Even just trying to bleed the rear brakes with everything assembled is a major pain, imagining trying to get the caliper shims into place while working under the car with the IRS in place (after experiencing shimming the front brakes) gives me a headache just thinking about it. For now I'll just bleed the rears and drive the car for a while.

Thanks for all the help.

Gfhug · Post by **Gfhug** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 3:16 pm

Alberto wrote: (by the way, is arse a cuss word in England?).

Not a word you would use in polite circles, like being invited to garden party at Buckingham Palace. But amongst E Type drivers, especially those who have to work on their cars, then it'll be word used in anger, except maybe not when the good lady asks why there's so much strong language.

Alberto · Post by **Alberto** » Sun Oct 19, 2014 5:46 am

In that case, I will refrain from using it in front of the Queen, should the occasion ever present itself.

daykrolik · Post by **daykrolik** » Wed Oct 22, 2014 1:24 am

It may vary car to car, but I just finished the process of removing the IRS on my '67 OTS and then, because of faulty replacement brake cylinders, replacing the cylinders (but not the calipers) after the IRS was re-installed.
Although it was not too difficult to remove the IRS without assistance, I very strongly suggest a helper for the re-installation.

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Rear Brakes Removal & Clutch Flex Hose

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