After a long day in the garage on my own followed by another long day with the a couple of friends it finally feels like we’re getting somewhere stripping the Jag. In fact the only parts left to remove that I actually need are the front lower wishbones .. which I can’t get the pivot bolts out of at the moment – I presume they just need more ‘mechanical persuasion.’

 

In the process I’ve discovered – for the benefit of anyone reading who is considering this – that:

• Contrary to the Dax website, XJ12 XJ40s (1993 to 1995) do not come with 2.88:1 differentials. They come with 3.54:1 PL units only.
• The front brakes are different to both the earlier Series XJ12 and the XJ40 XJ6. They’re made by ATE and look a lot like the late model XJ40s except they are twin piston callipers that take a larger 298mm disc and considerably larger pads.

 

I’ve also found that getting the pivot bolts out of the front lower arms is considerably more difficult than the XJ6. Haynes tells you that you need to drop the steering rack – except on the XJ12 the front catalytic convertors are well and truly in the way of getting to half the mounting bolts. So, not needing the rack, the angle grinder came out and the steering arms got chopped off where they bolt to the rack piston ends instead.. not pretty, but functional! Still haven’t been able to beat the bolts out, though. Much like the drivers side front disc they’re well and truly stuck in there – that disc (pictured below with the puller on it) took a lot of persuasion to remove!

 

Anyway, here’s some pictures of the dirty, manky Jaguar parts..