Shoe Shopping and other bits...

Before my lovely wife thinks I've taken a sudden and unlikely interest in buying items of clothing, I am of course talking about brake shoes.The brakes from my donor xj40 are the earlier 'Girling' type. The various Jaguar parts suppliers show the part number to be JLM800, I went to my usual supplier only to be told they were obsolete and there was no alternative. A quick search online found a supplier selling JLM800 but when they arrived they were clearly wrong and a bit of research showed the ones sent were for the later ATE type brakes. I did eventually trace a set of JLM800 from a supplier near me and went to check they were the correct ones which they were.

Later - ATE Brake Shoe

Earlier - Girling Brake Shoe

Top Tip - Keep all the old donor parts, even the bits you know you'll have to replace, such as the shoes. You never know when you might need a reference.

Brake Shoes Fitted

I've fitted the shoes to the hubs, partly to double check that I do have all the right bits and partly because I wanted to do something while waiting for the kit. The task is fairly straightforward if a bit fiddly. I need to adjust these up to fit the brake disc before the job is complete.

Looking from the top at the adjuster

Pressing the Cup onto the U/J

The other job I managed to start was the assembly of the new U/Js in readiness for the replacement drive shafts from AK. I found that using a hydraulic press made the job much easier although you do have take care not to push the cup too deep onto the spider. Keep turning the spider as you press the cup into place as this ensures that the rollers are all in position. 

First half of the job done

I did pack the bearings with grease before I started in order to keep the rollers in place. I'll probably top this off with a grease gun once I finish the other half.