Time to Order Rebuild Parts

Given all the effort to clean and paint the hubs and breaks calipers, I am going to buy new bearings and calipers seals. This is strongly recommended in the build manual as these parts have certainly undergone significant wear and tear. My first task was to create a list of parts which make up the suspension and brake systems and then, with this list, work out which parts are required for the AK Cobra and need replacing. For this, I went through the schematic diagrams from Just Jags UK (shown in previous posts) and compiled a spreadsheet of part names and numbers. The complete spreadsheet can be found here and a brief summary is shown below.

Part Number	Description	Quantity
CAC9938	Front Suspension - Top Ball Joint	2
JLM11860	Front Suspension - Lower Ball Joint	2
CBC2858	Front Hub - Oil seal	2
CAC4999	Front Hub - Inner Wheel Bearing	2
CAC4603	Front Hub - Outer Wheel Bearing	2
JLM12123	Front Caliper - Seal Kit	2
CCC4466	Rear Hub - Outer Seal	2
CAC6333	Rear Hub Carrier - Outer bearing	2
JLM21053	Rear Hub Carrier - Inner bearing	2
CBC1706	Rear Hub - Inner Seal	2
C2C41251	Rear Brake Disc - Pair	1
JLM20671	Rear Caliper - Seal Kit	2
JLM21919	Rear Brake - Pad Set	1
JLM2209	Rear Brake - Shoe Set	1
JLM1388	Universal Joints	4

Whilst looking through these pages it became apparent that my donor vehicle, a late 1995 Daimler 4.0, which is a very late XJ40 and appears to share some of its parts with the updated XJ (X300) chassis as well. All very confusing at first!

Whilst searching the internet I found this blog on the UK Cobra Forum from Jon, who also gives a list of parts and part number which should be replaced.

Part Number	Description	Quantity
CAC9938	Front suspension - Top ball joint	2
CAC9937c	Front suspension - Lower ball joint	2
JLM1707	Front Hub Bearing Kit	2
JLM1708	Rear Hub Bearing Kit	2
JLM2209	Handbrake Brake Shoe Set	1
JLM1388	Universal Joints	4

At first glance, Jon’s list of parts numbers appears different to mine. The difference was that I had listed each separate part required to rebuild the bearings, whilst Jon’s part numbers were for complete sets of serviceable parts for each corner e.g. races, bearings, pins, and oil seals. The other difference was that I also listed the parts to refurb the brake calipers and buy new brake rotors and pads. In the same cobra forum post, Jon goes on to suggest purchasing the brake discs and pads from a local autofactor, but suggests getting the calipers rebuilt by Ward Engineering. 

Using both lists, I began to scour the internet for stockiest. The main sites which I found and compared were Just Jags UK, SNG Barratt, John Gordon, British parts and Jaguar Classic Parts. The first thing to note is that the ‘official’ Jaguar classic parts are by far the most expensive! Secondly, it was evident that there are a range of different options for each part to purchase, from OEM to multiple aftermarket parts at different price points. These aftermarket parts are often noted by an ‘A’ or ‘*’ after the part number.

Comparing the price of the bearing kits against buying each parts separately it is no surprise that the bearing kits which AK recommended are cheaper. Comparing the price of these kits and the remaining parts, I found out that John Gordon does appear to be slightly cheaper (not inc. shipping). The other main suppliers, SNG Barratt and Just Jags UK, are both around the same price when you consider VAT. The one issue with Just Jags UK is that, at the time of writing, they didn’t seem to stock a complete range of parts required and so to cut down on shipping costs, I will disregard them for now.

AK recommends buying the parts from John Gordon, as Jon says these parts offer the best value for money. The one limitation with John Gordon is that they do not appear to sell the brake caliper rebuild kits and regardless of the order cost you always pay for shipping. Since I was placing a large order with SNG Barratt, you do get free shipping and I can order the calipers rebuild kits as well. When you factor in the free shipping this makes SNG Barratt more comparable in price. The other reason I preferred SNG Barratt, is they offer a range of aftermarket parts at different price points, with also a recommendation. As the example of the ball joints below show, the recommendation is not always the most expensive.

Selection of ball joint available from SNG Barret.

I, therefore, placed the following order with SNG Barratt. Do note that from the order below I omitted the handbrake pads, rotors, and brake discs. I will investigate other autofactors further before ordering these parts.

Part Number	Description	Quantity
CAC9938	Front suspension - Top ball joint	2
JLM11860	Front lower ball joint	2
JLM12123	Front Caliper Seal Kit	2
Jlm1707	Front Hub Bearing Kit	2
Jlm1708	Rear Hub Bearing Kit	2
JLM20671	Rear Caliper - Seal Kit	2
JLM1388	Universal Joints	4

Placing an order with SNG Barratt was painless and the parts arrived via DHL with a couple of days. Great service and the parts seem of good quality. They did, however, send two duplicate parcels and charge me twice. A few phone calls later and eventually the second shipment was returned and refunded.  

Note 1: When fitting the new ball joints I noticed that they did not come with the required pivot Nyloc nuts. More frustratingly, they are not a standard nut size, so you need to order a specific part. A quick phone call to SNG Barratt and I realized this was quoted on the bottom of the ball joint page. The required nut is stocked by SNG for a few quid, each.

Wish I had realised the special nuts are sold separately. 

In the same order, I bought some replaced bolts for the bottom ball joint, which are also a special size. The part number for these bolts is CBC1805 and are reasonably expensive for a small bolt at £1.30 each.

Special bolt for bottom ball joint.

Note 2: As has already been said in this post by Mark Gaby, none of the four of the bushes in the rear tie bar are sold separately. So whilst it is fun to burn out the bushes, do not waste time removing them for replacement. If these bushes do need replacing, instead you will need to purchase a complete new tie bar. I learned this the hard way, after many hours of online searching and talking to Jaguar parts stockists. Luckily, I was able to source a complete but used tie bar from the very helpful guys at Simple Performance. I cannot recommend these guys enough, always very friendly and helpful!!

Burning out bushing from tie bar. DO NOT DO THIS!

Note 3: Given that I had the brakes calipers apart and was planning on rebuilding them my self, I had a quick look at the option of buying replacement pistons. Unfortunately, the pistons cannot be bought separately and have to be purchased as part of the of caliper/piston kit. So I will just buy the seal rebuild kits.