I’m working my way through flushing both front and rear brake systems on my 1994 (1993.5) XJS.
New 4-pot calipers and Mintex pads from SNG-Barratt. As you know, Front - conventional, Rear - dynamic. Followed the suggestions for Ignition on and slow bleed for the rears, with a rest period to avoid overheating the pump. So far, so good, with the exception that the Brake and ABS lights will illuminate for 1 second or so with a strong push on the brake pedal. Operates properly on start-up with the each warning light on, then extinguishing appropriately during self-check routine. A road test reveals good braking with no “pull” or other unusual event. My thought is the Accumulator capsule’s pre-charge is low, or non-existent. I ordered a new Ball with the GM / Saab / codes from a Jag supplier and it came with a new O-Ring. The procedure with the accompanying instruction sheet seems to mirror the Supplement (manual) procedure to pump the brake pedal “as much as 20 times until a hard pedal is felt” to discharge the ABS pressure. Then disconnect the battery and remove the accumulator ball and re-fit with a new O-Ring. Any recommendations to perform this safely and effectively? i.e., use a strap wrench instead of a Torx /Hex Key to loosen the capsule (ball)? Need to bleed the low pressure side hose from the Master Cylinder to the ABS block…how to perform correctly? Source or dimension for the l.p.hose O-Ring? Sorry for the length of this post, but I’m a bit unsure of myself when messing about under the bonnet of the Jag and I want to make sure I “do no harm”.
If you wait overnight to remove the accumulator, then, one-tow applications of the pedal (engine and ignition off) – this will be sufficient to ensure that there will be no pressure and only very few milliliters of brake fluid will come out.
If not, you probably will have to stomp on the brake-pedal at least 2-3 dozen times to bleed the pressure.
Removing the old ball will be fun. I could not do it on the car and had to remove the whole pump assembly and used a wise to support it – you’ll see that the little rubber thingies on which the pump is mounted will be fighting you, regardless whether you use allen or strap wrench.
If you are not touching anything else, replacing the accumulator only doesn’t require bleeding the brakes, but it probably won’t hurt anything to do it again.
Good luck.
Thank You,Steve for your reply. Especially helpful is the hint regarding the rubber mounts. I’m going to have another look at this. Perhaps there is a way to temporarily install some wooden wedges to relieve the pressure against the rubber mounts and aid in rotating the capsule.
Might be a silly question but you are only referencing replacing the ‘O’ ring, I assume you are replacing the ball as well?
Robin, Thank you for replying.
I ordered a new (Accumulator) Ball with the GM / Saab / codes from a Jag supplier and it came with a new O-Ring.
If I have to disturb the low pressure pump inlet hose, I’ll have to replace that O-Ring as well. I’m currently trying to find a source of Metric EPDM O-rings.
I just successfully replaced my accumulator ball. I wedged shims around the brake pump so it couldn’t move (with plenty of padding to protect it) then with a healthy does of PB B’laster, a belt wrench, and a hex key I eventually got mine off. It was on there really tight but as long as the pump assembly is well supported I found I could apply great force and nothing seemed in danger of breaking. The lights don’t flash on me anymore and the new ball does the trick!!
Is there any good reason this thing needs to be really tight? It’s sealed with an O-ring, is it not? When replacing would it be OK to just snug it up a little bit to make it easier to replace next time?
Kirbert1, dmaggs, Robin_O_Connor, sbobev…Thank you all for joining the discussion. I received my new Accumulator Ball in the mail. Well wrapped and appears to be new in package, including a new O-Ring… I’m still trying to source a metric O-ring kit so that I have an assortment available in case I have to bleed the low pressure side hose to the pump. I found a source called ALLORINGS, a partner of Marco Rubber and Plastics. They have yet to respond to my RFQ. My homework / research determined that I need to use an EPDM O-Ring for any application subjected to brake fluid / glycol. Since weather has turned cold here in the Northeast U.S., I’ve had to focus on other fleet winterization duties as well a getting the home prepped for winter and get the snowblower(s) out of storage. Just about caught up with that stuff, so I can re-direct my attention to wrestling with the ABS accumulator ball. I also know that I can get a new (BLUE) multi-function switch from my favorite eBay supplier, so I’m wondering if it’s wise to have that on hand and just change it out as well whilst working the issue. The Teves Bleed procedure must be followed exactly, so I’m hoping to just have one more go at this. Fortunately, I can heat my garage and I have a local retired Jaguar mechanic acting as my mentor. The local Jaguar dealership is “no help” since their techs have rarely seen a Jag older than MY2000 and don’t have the old diagnostic equipment to connect to OBD1 / ABS. I didn’t realize the challenges when I first bought this (93.5) XJS Coupe, and glad I found a 4.0 AJ6 instead of the V-12. Not that there’s anything wrong at all with owning a 6.0, but rather that I’m in over my head enough with this one! I keep doing my research and reading through Kirby Palm’s Help Book to expand my understanding.Thanks again to all of you for reading my (too long) posts and providing your comments!
Dana
No good reason that I can see. The accumulator ball I took off (the one that I commented was so tight) looked to me to be original so I’m guessing that nearly 30 years of sitting on there got it stuck on really good. But once I cracked it loose as described above it spun freely and the o-ring in place looked not half bad and was not cracking or falling apart.
With the new one I of course used a new o-ring and then hand-tightened the ball into place, no tools needed/used. I can’t think why more than “hand torque” would be required. If anything, it might just risk breaking and/or cracking some other old but functional system part. The brakes pressurized perfectly when I turned the ignition on (with the new ball the pump took 63 seconds to turn off the first time). And now the pump doesn’t come on with every tap on the brakes and there’s no delay in braking action at all, and like I said no lights flashing on the dash!
Heat and experienced help on hand both sound like winners to me! I suppose you could start replacing more pieces but I decided just to focus on what was obviously at fault in my car (the ball alone) to start off. BTW, no bleeding of any kind was required after changing the ball and I’ve had no brake issues since the change.
I’ll second Dougs remark regarding no need to bleed the brakes after a replacement sphere.
I need to replace my accumulator on my 94. Thanks Doug for tips on removal. Where is the best place to get the accumulator? I understand they are expensive???
Thanks.
Richard
The accumulator ball is Jaguar part JLM1907. Those run north of $400 on eBay but do seem to be available. A great amount of research led me to conclude that replacement balls made by a German company HYDAC are also acceptable. It seems that a number of Buicks and other GM cars (and some Fords too) of the era used the same or a similar part. I put a HYDAC ball on my 89 XJS that was listed as being for Thunderbird specifically. The new ball is slightly larger volume but this simply means it stores up pressure that can last for an extra kick or two on the brakes beyond what the stock ball would. But because the new ball is bigger it needs more room. My car could fit it without any mods but I have never been under the hood of a post facelift XJS so I can’t say for sure if it has similar tolerance (like an inch of clear space above the top edge of the current ball).
I just replaced my abs accumunlator ball this week. I’m also getting the brake/abs lights on the dash with moderate braking. I found a guy that sells them on Ebay for $280. new they are from Germany. I had a spare that I want to try first to see if it would fix the problem and the whole process took couple of minutes. I used the allen head on top of the ball on use a short piece of pipe over the rackett handle to get more leverage, had a friend hold the pump and with little effort it pop loose, screw the other one on and my friend afain held the pump tighten it to 25ft pds torque. I read somewhere that is the correct torque for them. It did not solve my brake/abs light issue so will be ordering a new one. Once you install the new one and after starting the car for the first time check your brake fluid reservoir.
Thank You dmaggs and azblind for your latest posts. The assistance and participation on this Forum is remarkable. Seems we all share a love for these cars. I’m gaining in confidence as a result of the friendly advice received here. I did purchase my new Accumulator Ball (sphere) JLM 1907 from the supplier on eBay. It was a bit over $400.00. It arrived quickly and well packaged. I chose this particular supplier because of my confidence gained through earlier purchases for my MGBs and Triumph TR7. This is NOT intended to be an advert or endorsement, just felt I should share a positive experience in acquiring the parts I need to keep my classics in good order. I will be happy to share the info on this supplier, if all of you agree that it’s proper and conforms to the guidelines of this Forum. If any of you are traveling through New Hampshire, it would be a privilege and an honor to meet you.
Dana
I did this job in the last year myself on the same age of car but have been traveling for work and missed this thread. The only tricky part for me was breaking the seal on the accumulator. I guess mine was the original too so had been on there for 23 years. I also used some wooden blocks wedged in with appropriate padding to protect and hold the pump steady.
For the record the repair manual says to torque up to 40-46nm or 30-34ft-lb for putting the new ball back on.
Also, too late for you now but Jaguar Classic parts have these in stock at £188 GBP. Are shipping rates to the states so high that it puts USA customers off buying direct from Jaguar?
James…thanks for the response. I sourced my new Accumulator sphere from a stateside vendor since I had enjoyed a good experience with them previously. I’m not sure how it would work out with using a UK based vendor. However, I believe there’s a delay in these parts coming into the country, resulting in a delay while the federales inspect the package at the border. Some such nonsense.
I had trouble breaking the seal as well. Probably due to the thing taking a “seat”. Not sure if it was “stiction” at the O-ring or the dis-simllar metals involved. In the end, the job got done and no longer have the problem with the ABS / Brake warning lights briefly illuminating.
I was really careful whilst unscrewing the Sphere, with plenty of paper towels strategically placed about to prevent brake fluid from messing up the engine space. I carefully turned it anti-clockwise a bit at a time. Sure enough, I got to one point where the fluid rally pissed a stream. I re-set and built a cardboard barrier around the damned thing, then reached in from the top and carefully jiggled it to relieve the pressure. All of this after first following the instructions to pump the brake peddle (like mad) at least 20 times. The motto “if it can go wrong, it will go wrong” applied.
Once the ignition is turned now to position II, the pump barely kicks in, the lights sequentially extinguish, and upon robust application of the brake pedal… Voila! no lights!. I am going to bleed both front and rear, one more time to appease my Anal Retentive Urges. After that, I’m going to address the task of re-adjusting the Emergency Brake. The Manual states that I should have no more than three to four clicks to apply the E-Brake. Right now, I can move the lever almost into the rear seat area with out much of a result… These cars sure do require a lot of maintenance intervention.I always keep a cold beer on hand to celebrate any successful evolution.
I don’t doubt it. What I wonder is why? I wouldn’t think it’d need to be anywhere near that tight. If there’s an O-ring involved, it’ll seal by the time it’s hand tight. The only other reason for tightness would be to keep it from wiggling loose. If I had designed it, there’d be safety wire – this is a braking system, after all.