Hi.guys. I’m having a hell of a problem trying to bleed the front left hand brake on my xj 40. I have tried everything I know to bleed it but nothing works. Any ideas?
What is the problem, no fluid coming out, pedal won’t go hard?
No fluid comes out even if I take the bleed screw out fully and jump on the brake pedal nothing comes out.
Crack the flex hose joint, first at the outboard end, then at the inboard end.
If you get no fluid from the outboard end, but fluid comes out of the inboard end, then your problem is in the flex.
If you get fluid from both sides then your problem is probably in the caliper.
Thanks for your reply.
have cracked the pipe at the flex junction no fluid coming out of there either. Very weird.
What was the last thing you fixed before this started happening?
I just purchased the car and it was pulling badly to the right. Took off the the left hand wheel and noticed the rotor was all rusty the left hand brake was not working at all. I replaced the brake caliper fitted new pads but the caliper is not moving. No fluid is getting to the caliper.
I’m not all that conversant with the '40, but I’m sure someone else will be along shortly.
Here’s an ebook:
http://www.jag-lovers.org/ebooks/view.php?Vbook=xj40&Vsection=7
Maybe master cylinder seized due to moisture or from long period not in use.
I thought of that but fluid comes out of the other 3 calipers.
You need to keep working back along the brake line until you find fluid.
That’s what I will do tomorrow. It must be in the abs unit.
You might find that the PO did not open the bleed nipple when/if he did a brake job. Dirt can be pushed back into the ABS unit and foul the orifices.
It might clear if you can find a nice open space and give the brakes a good work out, making the ABS operate.
Thanks for the info. I will give that a go.
Found the problem, it was a blocked valve in the abs.Put in a s/h unit bought from roadbend in Perth WA. Thanks for all the advice. Barry.
When I was a warranty manager for Jaguar North America I always hammered our dealer technicians to OPEN the bleed screw when forcing the caliper piston back into place when fitting new pads. I also believe that periodically jamming on the brakes on an abandoned gravel area and making the ABS work is a good preventative maintenance technique. Many of these cars driven in no ice and snow areas never have the ABS operate and the complex valving in the ABS unit can stick due to lack of use.
I exercise mine on the track 