Jaguar E-Type Rear Sub Frame Service

You may have read our blog on converting the standard Jaguar 4 speed gearbox to a 5 speed Getrag unit on this 3.8 FHC in January 2012. We are now completing the overhaul of the drive train and rear brakes by rebuilding the diff and servicing of the components in the rear sub frame.

This is a necessary job as the differential has sprung a leak and fluid is finding its way down over the inboard brakes. As you can imagine this is not helping the E-Type stop and renders the hand brake almost useless.

Jaguar E-Type Rear Sub Frame Service Before,

Since the car left us she has covered about 500 miles so her visit also gives us a good opportunity to check all of the work we did at the front end of the car. We have checked to make sure all of the pipes and hoses are tight and leak free and checked to make sure that the new gearbox is not fowling on the body as it is a much tighter fit than the old one.

The rear suspension, diff, brakes and axles on an E-Type are enclosed in a sub frame, which, when in production would be built up away from the production line and bolted place as a complete unit. This is a great idea when you are building a car from scratch on a production line but it presents certain space issues when you are trying to service it. Given the amount of work required in this one space we have decided to remove the whole unit, which takes about 45 minutes and then do all of the jobs at waist height on the bench.

The first job is to remove the rear shock absorbers so that you can get good access to the inboard brakes and diff beyond. The discs are then dismantled so that the callipers can be thoroughly cleaned of differential oil before moving onto the main event!

With the brakes and shocks removed getting into the diff is a far easier task. Replacing the seals on the drive and prop shafts doesn’t take a huge amount of time and when complete gets a fresh supply of differential oil. Whilst it is all out the whole sub frame unit is cleaning off with brake cleaner, rubbed down with emery cloth and given a fresh coat of paint before the sub frame is reassembled.

You work your way from the inside out, first replacing the brake callipers (with new discs and pads) after which the shock absorbers and springs can be added. We replaced the rubber mounts at this stage, because for the few pounds that the extra parts cost at this moment a huge amount of labour is saved in the future.

Whilst the rear sub frame was removed we took a couple of hours to give the underside of the car a good clean, removing damaged under seal and treating some surface rust that was lurking between the body and sub frame. The main section of this E-Types floor is body coloured, but the rear arches were finished in a fresh coat of black under seal as before.

The whole job, including painting the underside took about 8 hours. With it all re-installed we just need to give the brakes a bleed and fit a new hand brake cable.

This job has massively improved the cars braking capability, given the body some extra protection and looks a good deal better than it did when it arrived. A good job all round.

Jaguar E-Type Rear Sub Frame Service Finished,

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