S2 IRS rebuild

[Hotrod]

Hi, I am looking to have my IRS fully rebuilt and a 3.07 crown wheel and pinion fitted. I will be removing it myself. I see that Exeter engineering and Rushton engineering both offer similarly priced deals on ebay. Any views one way or the other on these guys. Alan Slawson estimate a little more and 2-3 months to do. Any other suggestions?

All advice gratefully received.

[mgcjag]

Anyone thats anygood...any trade...will have 8-12 weeks of work pre booked.....you definatly wont go wrong with Alan

[Hotrod]

Many thanks Steve. Alan certainly seems to be highly rated on the forum.
Rod

[abowie]

If you are capable of removing the IRS yourself then you are capable of doing 90% of the work yourself and saving yourself a fortune. I would estimate a £5000 bill for a fully rebuilt IRS.

Strip it down. Send the diff off to Alan S. £1000.

While you're waiting, strip everything else.

Get the frame sandblasted and powder coated. Get the driveshafts sandblasted and paint them yourself. Plate all the nuts and bolts.

Do the brakes, the shocks, the bearings, the trailing arms and the uni joints yourself.

While you're there do the uni joints on the tailshaft as well. And consider fitting a remote brake bleeder (£100 from Rob Beere).

£500 in parts and maybe £100 in plating and powder coating. Hell, let's make it £1000.

It's not rocket science, and if you're not sure there are plenty of YouTube videos to help you.

Send me the £3000 you have saved.

Seriously. Rebuilding an IRS is easy, and it's FUN.

[mgcjag]

Yes have to agree with the above...its a good diy job....Steve

[Gfhug]

Steve, does that mean Andrew will have to share the £3000 saving with you, now?

[mgcjag]

No Geoff...he can have it all.....im very generous

[tim wood]

Make your own remote bleeder from bits of spare brake tubing . Save the £100 and send it to me.

As with my earlier post I’m changing my diff ratio ( actually Alan is doing the technical bit) I’m doing the easy stuff.

Tim

[tim wood]

Make your own remote bleeder from bits of spare brake tubing . Save the £100 and send it to me.

As with my earlier post I’m changing my diff ratio ( actually Alan is doing the technical bit) I’m doing the easy stuff.

IRS = FUN ? It’s bloody heavy dirty work.



Tim
[

[Hotrod]

This is where I start to get scared Andrew.

Having read all the debate about bearing end float and other issues it all seemed a pretty complicated job for a keen diy mechanic with more enthusiasm than knowledge...saving even a £1k is well worth it, a 'free' set of decent wires starts entering my mind but that's before I've started.

Rod

[mgcjag]

Hi Rod.....im talking an absolute novice through the same job on a Realm C type build...all the same parts but not in a cage.....he,s installing the completed rebuilt parts today. ......it is a very straight forward job......sounds complicated when you read it in the service manual untill it sinks in..........take plenty of photos and start a thread here you will be talked through it.....i can also pm you my phone number for a watsapp chat as you work through it..Steve

[288gto]

If you dismantle it yourself, make sure you don’t lose the shims under the lower fulcrum shaft brackets and note where they went. These govern the relationship of the diff, brackets and cage when you come to slide the pivot bolts back in. If you are getting the cage powder coated, make sure these holes are properly bunged up or masked off.
As regards shims, also make a note of the camber shims under the inboard UJs. You can set the camber reasonably accurately off the car with a setting link and the shocks disconnected.
I used non locking nuts for all the set up as it makes it easier to disassemble to add or subtract shims.
Use a length of 15mm copper pipe to line up the lower arms, bearings, washers and seals and follow it through with the actual pivot bolt.
Make sure you put the top shock bolts in the right way round otherwise you won’t be able to get the back ones out once the IRS is back in the car. (See Steve’s post below)

As a half way rebuild I got the diff rebuilt and the hubs but rebuilt everything else myself. Alan will do this if you ask him.
Take Steve up on his very kind offer and you will be fine, it’s always easier to talk someone through it.

I also made a small dolly with wheels for the whole assembly to sit on that a jack would slide under to lift it up into the car. Pic below.

Steve, now I know you offer 24hr technical support, when I can’t sleep and something E type related is playing on my mind can I phone you at 3 in the morning? Angus’s phone is always turned off for some reason.

[Gfhug]

Steve, now I know you offer 24hr technical support, when I can’t sleep and something E type related is playing on my mind can I phone you at 3 in the morning? Angus’s phone is always turned off for some reason.

Steve, quick! Add his phone number to the “unwanted” list on your phone

[mgcjag]

Hi Simon...yes call me anytime im sure you wont get much sleep tonight now that i tell you i think you have your top shock bolts the wrong way around in your photo.....on a 2+2 you definatly cant get the front ones out...you possibly can on a non 2+2....Steve

[288gto]

Hi Simon...yes call me anytime im sure you wont get much sleep tonight now that i tell you i think you have your top shock bolts the wrong way around in your photo.....on a 2+2 you definatly cant get the front ones out...you possibly can on a non 2+2....Steve

I know that’s why I mentioned putting them in the right way round. I discovered the hard way.

[mgcjag]

There you go Rod...just showes how quick you can get replies on the forum....

[mach2andy]

Hi Rod
I've attached a couple of photos of the arrangement I used to reinstall my IRS. I bought the 600 kg motorcycle lift [which is very useful in itself] secondhand on Gumtree for £50 and this would be very useful to remove your IRS. It's design means that the IRS sits on a very stable platform. I don't know if all motorcycle lifts are the same, but this one has castoring wheels at on end, and rollers at the other which makes moving it laterally a little awkward. To overcome this issue, I put the lift on top of a trolley with fully castoring wheels and it worked a treat, and made reinstallation very easy. I had NOS subframe mounting bushes, which I think made reinstallation a breeze as I know others have struggled with aftermarket bushes.
I don't know if any one else has mentioned this but be careful not to disturb the water throwers C20813. They're a PITA to refit.

[Gfhug]

Rod, I'm not a million miles away from you (less than 10 actually), so if you decide to do the work yourself I'd be happy to drop round (well not closer than 2 metres ) and share my experiences of rebuilding the IRS.
As everyone has said it isn't difficult, a bit of a lump to manoeuvre and refit but doable and you now know who to contact for the diff rebuild.
PM if interested.

Geoff

[Hotrod]

Many thanks for all your helpful replies one and all. I hope to remove the irs next weekend. I will see how that goes and how brave I’m feeling after that! I will update you afterwards.

I’ve read some of the threads about the mounting brackets. Any clues about where to find nos other than eBay?

Rod

[mgcjag]

Iv used the oem mounts from SNGB...they are from the same supplier as the Jaguar ones listed but not in Jaguar packaging....but they are exactly the same mount........do not go for the aftermarket option....inspect yours when removed...u may be able to re use......note there are packing shims....Steve