Date: Thu, 03 Jul 1997

A day on my back under the MkIX - isn't Winter just great for these jobs!

First the handbrake... (for your 'I must keep this just in case' file) This beast has *never* held on it's handbrake and we're not very keen on locking up the transmission in PARK. The wretched pawl *always* locks up in the most embarrassing places (outside crowded cafe etc!). I had played with the adjustment in the main cable a few months ago - filthy hands and a bump on the head for nothing! So, buoyed up after successfully replacing the piston seals on the MkII front brakes, I whipped off the spats and wheels. Stage 1 consult manual (said to be for XK120-140-150, MkVII - MkIX, Scientific Series) - funny, picture of handbrake mechanism looks nothing like real thing... oh well, some of the parts are similar off we go - remove adjuster bolt. Fine. Poke screwdriver blade through finger trying to release lock tabs on washers under pad carrier hinge bolts. Retire to house for band-aid - don't want blood on bodywork. Out with 7/16 socket to undo pad carrier bolts - first one comes out to end of thread then stops, can;t extract any further - lots of squeaking - thinks "crossed thread?" Move to next one, maybe this one will come out. Even worse, squeak squeak - bust blood vessels turning spanner. Eventually all thread out but no more movement. Threads dry as the proverbial. Pad carriers freely hinge away from disc. Squirt WD40 into holes, gaps, everywhere! Still squeaking but a bit more free. Now have worried frown. What is problem? Closer look - scratch shoulder on sharp metal edges on spat flange on wheel arch (great Jaguar design?) ahhh - end of threads reached - smooth pin showing. Reach for 10lb Scottish persuader and that special something which will *just* fit that gap and allow me to hit this pesky bolt. One hour later pin pops out of hole - bone dry. Remove pad carrier - hinge hole corroded inside. Same found on port and starboard sides. Clean out holes, polish up pins, smear on Rocol copper slip (magic stuff!) and reassemble. Everything slips together beautifully. *Remember* make sure to push the locknut fully home into the lever arm before doing up the adjuster bolt - first time I wondered why all the cables were slacker than before! Removed all clevis pins in cable and quadrant arm - cleaned up hinges - checked cables and ferrules. *watch* for tension spring flying off into hyper space at the connector just forward of the fuel pumps! Reassemble, adjust adjuster bolts and HEY PRESTO - we have a handbrake once again... sheer luxury.

Fuel pumps - the starboard pump had been replaced a couple of years ago - a reconditioned SU job - unknown heritage but has metal pump body. Original(?) has plastic body - it cracked around inlet banjo, horrendous fuel leaks - no spares around. Replacement has securing bolt holes 90deg out of alignment with original and had non-standard fuel line connectors - replaced fuel line to tank, change outlet line to 'T' joint (don;t you just love these "simple" jobs?) Anyway, for the last year the pump clicked away happily (more quietly than the original). Last week - we died on the road - swapped to Port tank - clickety-click and we're away again. Back home, under car. Switch ignition on - Starboard pump: CLICK - just once and no more. Switched off - CLICK. On, CLICK etc etc. Removed cable and earth lead to pump. Drowned in petrol taking off fuel lines. Took pump to bench - hooked up battery - SQUIRT- petrol in eye, but only once. Removed rear cover of pump - contacts fine, springs OK but - hang on what's this? - a fine shiny pin hingeing the carrier thingy against which the pressure plunger pushes and has all those crazy springs in it, is half out. Fiddle with pliers, pin back in - battery on and clickety click, clickety click! wonderful. Hang on though, what's to stop this happening again? - no clips, no nuts, no nothing to stop the pin sliding out again. (I guess this style of pin is NOT original?) Out with soldering iron, roughen up the pin ends and... yes the solder sticks enough to leave a blob larger than the carrier holes. Let's hope it all holds together for another couple of years!

Windscreen washers - They've never worked (anyway we don't take her out in the rain!). That shiny button in the middle of the dash stayed shiny but didn't do anything! After the success with the pump and the brakes I take off the water pipe and - yes the other one is a vacuum line (which disappears into the bulkhead) from the glass jar (still with TRICO labels on). Gaze around engine bay... discovered plastic tube poking out from behind the water hoses jammed against the cam cover with a plug in the end. Discover old cracked rubber tube squashed under battery. Trace plastic pipe back to inlet manifold where it fits in above the brake servo vacuum line fitting. AND the gland nut was loose (so that's why we could never get the tuning right on the motor, and those mechanics at the garage never guessed either - called themselves Jaguar specialists as well!) Anyway, the big question is - how can I get the vacuum washer system up and running again? the gizmo inside the glass jar is obviously some fiendish vacuum driven water pump. Our manual doesn't even mention windscreen washers.

I see there is some kind of valve in the base of the pump unit but having taken off all the removeable bits I'm left with an apparently sealed unit with no way in, no threads, no screws - and when I shake it, lumps of rust and dust fall out from the vacuum end. We have a complete spare but that doesn't work either - we got it because the lid was less rusted than the original. I haven't taken off the dashboard yet, heaven knows what is behind that shiny button! Anyone help? (Apologies to non-MkIX lovers for this heap of writing but you have a day tweaking and exploring and you just get carried away!)

Channel IX

Saloons

MK VII-IX