I know you have all been waiting for the next instalment .
Perhaps it will help someone who has not done it before or remind me how it all goes back together, and others to add tips and corrections.
Jim
1 Like
great video again Jim. My only comment is on the top and bottom ball joints. i find it very difficult to determine the wear in these units once off the car and given the amount of work to get to them i would replace them as a āno brainerā
personally i would also replace the bearings but thatās just me!
IMO, the best way to BJs etc is while still on the car. Personally, I reuse old bearings for fear that new ones MIGHT be of lower qualityā¦plus you donāt have to replace the cups.
if you use genuine Timken bearing quality should not be a problem. the wear in these types of components can be minimal but when compared to new there is a marked difference. i just feel that when undertaking a restoration replacing consumable components is the most sensible approach. it gives a better starting point when returning the car into service.
As i say its just my opinion.
Happy new new to all!
Worn lower ball joints was a chronic problem with XK120/MkV/MkVII and they went through several iterations in the ball cup before settling on the final design, but I think by the XK140 era it was somewhat resolved. There is quite a lot in the forum archives about it.
I do them upside down in a bench vise, easy to measure the gap on the ball socket cap and pick the shims. I didnāt see whether you have a grease fitting there but if not certainly put one in. There is usually no need to remove the stub axle from the stub axle carrier and it is very tight so has to be done in a press anyway.
Here is a reply made to me via Youtubeā¦
Jim; Whatever you plan on doing with respect to rebuilding your Brake System, DO NOT Hone the Six Wheel Cylinders (four front, two rear)ā¦ These cylinders are aluminum and once honed, become too large to properly seal for proper braking. I found corrosion inside my wheel cylinders and opted to buy NOS new ones. I also bought all new Bleeder Valves (due to rust), Flex Hoses (of course). On the Ball Joints, while you can get new (and proper) rubber covers, it could be false economyā¦ The uppers cannot be rebuilt (replace only) and the Lowers the Ball Pin and Cup can be replaced. The proper fit is for 0.010" clearance between ball pin and cupā¦ Plasti-Gage is the only way to accurately measure this clearance.
Whatās this? Contrary opinions on the Internet? I thought there was a rule that said you canāt put stuff on the Internet if it wasnāt true. 
Ok, with the aluminum cylinders, there is honing, and then there is HOGGING. Maybe he used an 80 grit hone. I used white Scotchbrite and machine oil.
When I did mine the diameter increased about .003" and the new rubber cup skirts are about .125" oversize. You do have to put them in the right way; they donāt work all that well if you put them in backwards.
The uppers do not really have any vertical load on them, just side loading, and there is a spring inside, so you have to sort of feel if they have any wear, lumpiness, looseness, etc. Sometimes the boots are shot and the thing has got full of grit and rust, and then its obvious you need new ones.
The lowers take all the vertical loading. Sometimes a big side loading as well. 
The lower cap has a cup insert made of a bearing material and a little ring called a spigot that usually gets destroyed getting it out. Here is an example of Ferrobestos insert cups. You can see the wear pattern on the ball.
Being a 140 you probably have Morganite bronze cup inserts.
Put it together and you can measure the gap to estimate the number of shims you need. They come in various thicknesses.
I added grease fittings on mine.
Hereās more:
Hi Rob,
Interesting to note that the ball in your picture appears be bent on its shaft, it must have sustained a serious impact.
Tom Brady
Brockton, MA
52 FHC
679924
As an earlier post of mine has been referenced, Iāll add that I, too, added grease nipples to the cup bottoms. I canāt overestimate the difference it made. Before the grease mod, steering was very stiff, took some effort and was accompanied by a squealing noise like that of a rusty door hinge. Afterwards, the effort it took to steer the wheels was greatly diminished, now very smooth and no more squeaking noise.
I would add a grease fitting to the lower ball joint cup.
The original transverse leafspring Cobra has a similar cup and pin assembly for the lower bjs (with a kingpin upper), with the major difference being no shim provision for adjustment- just selective assembly. Every car Iāve come across has had a grease nipple drilling made into the underside of the cup where a Belleville washer sits - it makes a big difference!
Itās worth mentioning that when many original service manuals refer to the āinner bearingā they mean the inner track, which is pressed or drifted out from behind. Most manufacturers have two small access reliefs to allow the tip of a drift to do this. If you are refitting the old races you donāt need to do this, but everything must go back in exactly the same places. NEVER fit new races to old bearings! Personally, Iād find a supplier of Timken or SKF and fit new. Iād go to a bearing supplier, not a Jag parts desk. The part number will be on the bearing track.
Yes, in Chicago in early spring we have what is known as āpot hole seasonā, wherein ice and salt working into the macadam roads and freezing and thawing cause breakdowns in the asphalt, traffic knocks the stones loose, and pot holes open up and claim their victims, flat tires, broken alloy wheels and broken ball joints.
My car also had a fractured anti-sway bar when it came to me, so it undoubtedly saw some hard driving in its younger days.