Best Smoker Barges 1-5 large [Vol 7]

[SpeckledJim]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

SpeckledJim said:

I'd love to, but the XJS developed a misfire tonight, so I'm sitting in the dark having hot-shivers about the prospect of spending upwards of £30 on plugs/leads/whatever...

This is supposed to happen to the Last Guy, or the Next Guy. Not the This Guy.

Woe.

Thanks for your support.

Straight on the phone this morning (like a trooper) to learn that I could have the proper NGKs for £2 each, or the sexy LPG3 plugs for £15. EACH. £15 EACH! Holy moly. I must have introduced myself as Imelda Marcos accidentally. I do that sometimes.

Anyway, £12 lighter, the problem persists.

Oh my days. £12. Gone. 12. £.

So back on the phone again (trooper style) to learn that the coil that seems to be letting itself down (not to mention its colleagues and the school) can be mine for £144. Sheeeeeeet. Or a trusty aftermarket SingaSong for £55.

Once the applause dies down, I coolly place the order, hang up, lob my hat on the stand in the corner (from my desk - that's over 4 feet away) and go for a brew to calm down.

Further updates will be provided once it arrives.

(The XJS now stands me at £1,993 all in (except tax and fuel). Things are getting serious.)

[mattman]

Bargistas!! Have a bit of a hankering to sell the 9-3 cab and replace with a 03 X350 jag xj6 3.0v6 - seen a couple around the £3000-£3500 mark - anything I should be looking for at the 100k mark?

[Justayellowbadge]

SpeckledJim said:

Thanks for your support.

Straight on the phone this morning (like a trooper) to learn that I could have the proper NGKs for £2 each, or the sexy LPG3 plugs for £15. EACH. £15 EACH! Holy moly. I must have introduced myself as Imelda Marcos accidentally. I do that sometimes.

Anyway, £12 lighter, the problem persists.

Oh my days. £12. Gone. 12. £.

So back on the phone again (trooper style) to learn that the coil that seems to be letting itself down (not to mention its colleagues and the school) can be mine for £144. Sheeeeeeet. Or a trusty aftermarket SingaSong for £55.

Once the applause dies down, I coolly place the order, hang up, lob my hat on the stand in the corner (from my desk - that's over 4 feet away) and go for a brew to calm down.

Further updates will be provided once it arrives.

(The XJS now stands me at £1,993 all in (except tax and fuel). Things are getting serious.)

Why only replace half the plugs?

[harry kular]

That green s124 has been around forever. Great interior though

[CharlesdeGaulle]

harry kular said:

That green s124 has been around forever. Great interior though

Yes, we've seen it before. The brown interior is lovely.

[V8forweekends]

mattman said:

Bargistas!! Have a bit of a hankering to sell the 9-3 cab and replace with a 03 X350 jag xj6 3.0v6 - seen a couple around the £3000-£3500 mark - anything I should be looking for at the 100k mark?

Common faults are -

Corrosion - check any edges (front door bottoms, top of boot lid - anywhere)
Air suspension - compressors tend to go £300ish.
Check all electrical stuff v.carefully - depending on model, it may have HID lights - which are £500+ each (very scarce second hand)
Suspension clonks - shock and wishbone bushes are all made of cheese and don't last - there is an unapproved (but viable) cheaper route to wishbones @£150+ each.
Transmission is a ZF unit also fitted (with some differences of course) to BMWs. It is sealed for life - but aftermarket specialists can change the oil for you (at a cost). Opinions (and experiences) differ as to how long you'll get out of one without changing the oil.
The 3 plugs on one bank of the V6 often don't get changed as you have to take the inlet manifold off to do it.

Did I mention electrics?
Also check the heating works and the split zone blows what you tell it each side.

[SpeckledJim]

Justayellowbadge said:

Why only replace half the plugs?

I'd parked it very close to my Bugatti Royale, so I could only reach one side.

[hornetrider]

SpeckledJim said:

Justayellowbadge said:

Why only replace half the plugs?

I'd parked it very close to my Bugatti Royale, so I could only reach one side.

[SpeckledJim]

mattman said:

Bargistas!! Have a bit of a hankering to sell the 9-3 cab and replace with a 03 X350 jag xj6 3.0v6 - seen a couple around the £3000-£3500 mark - anything I should be looking for at the 100k mark?

If the suspension warning light comes on, don't panic, it's probably a lazy compressor failing the race against the clock to build the requisite pressure rather than an air spring (good news) and you can refurbish a compressor with a £30 kit from ebay instead of buying a £400 new one (even better news).

[jonnydm]

mattman said:

Bargistas!! Have a bit of a hankering to sell the 9-3 cab and replace with a 03 X350 jag xj6 3.0v6 - seen a couple around the £3000-£3500 mark - anything I should be looking for at the 100k mark?

It not being the V8 mainly.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

hornetrider said:

SpeckledJim said:

Justayellowbadge said:

Why only replace half the plugs?

I'd parked it very close to my Bugatti Royale, so I could only reach one side.

SpeckledJim is on fire!

[wibblebrain]

I like the look of this Saab 9000. I know from experience that those seats would be the comfiest you've ever sat in!.

Edited by wibblebrain on Friday 5th September 15:14

[hornetrider]

wibblebrain said:

I like the look of this Saab 9000. I know from experience that those seats would be the comfiest you've ever sat in!.

Wow.



A mate of mine's Dad used to have one of these when we were teenagers - he was a doctor. Awesome thing.

[S3_Graham]

wibblebrain said:

I like the look of this Saab 9000. I know from experience that those seats would be the comfiest you've ever sat in!.

Edited by wibblebrain on Friday 5th September 15:14

my uncle just scrapped his as it need a few hundred quids worth of welding. sad times.

[Baryonyx]

wibblebrain said:

I like the look of this Saab 9000. I know from experience that those seats would be the comfiest you've ever sat in!.

Edited by wibblebrain on Friday 5th September 15:14

Superb car, and in a good spec. They rarely come up in this sort of shape these days.

[wibblebrain]

S3_Graham said:

my uncle just scrapped his as it need a few hundred quids worth of welding. sad times.

If it was closer to me I'd be going to have a look at this. I like the fact that it's manual too.

[Motorrad]

That Saab is great, still a car I'd love to own. Makes me wonder what the hell I'm doing driving a dis-easel.

[slippery]

Another 9000 fan here.

[Geekman]

mattman said:

Bargistas!! Have a bit of a hankering to sell the 9-3 cab and replace with a 03 X350 jag xj6 3.0v6 - seen a couple around the £3000-£3500 mark - anything I should be looking for at the 100k mark?

I've had one for quite a while now. Most of the trouble spots have been mentioned but it's also worth remembering the following:

Air suspension compressors are indeed more prone to failure than the air struts, but the struts can and do fail and are nearly £900 for the part alone from Jaguar (cheaper methods are available but it's always going to hurt the wallet). Listen out for hissing noises from the struts and repeated clonking noises when going over rough surfaces at low speed.

The gearbox is supposedly sealed for life and needs no oil changes. I got my gearbox oil changed along with the pan/filter for £405 at TL Jaguar at around 130k, it made the changes a lot smoother and it's on 150k now with no problems. There's quite a few people who've had gearbox failure so I'd budget for an oil change if it hasn't had one.

The fan resistor is a common failure which results in the AC fan not spinning at all. The part is only around £80 but not easy to DIY so budget a couple of hours labour into that.

There's a lot of debate on V6 vs V8 - IMO there's two stand out engines from the lineup, the 3.0 V6 for reliability and efficiency, and the 4.2 S/C V8 for epic noise and performance. The other choices have always seemed a bit pointless to me, specifically the 3.5 V8 which seems to offer nothing over the V6.

They're not cheap to run, but absolutely fantastic cars for the money. 35MPG is easy on a run with the V6, provided you stick to the speed limit, although I'd never buy an X350 for economy!

[tobinen]

Geekman said:

I got my gearbox oil changed along with the pan/filter for £405 at TL Jaguar at around 130k,

That seems like a shed load of cash. Is it an involved job? My 210 was £180 at an indy as a comparison.