A V12 sized gamble
Discussion
Quick update all, put the XJ into the local bodyshop on Saturday morning to have a few bits done. Had to stop myself from pointing out everything otherwise I could've emptied my bank account fairly easily!
Whilst it's there I'm aiming to have the exhaust clearance issues sorted up on a ramp in the garage next door. I've tried my best with it but you know what it's like working on your back with the car on jacks, it's not easy.
Really looking forward to getting it back, it feels like I've wasted half the summer but hopefully I'll have a much better car for it. Pictures to follow when it's back.
Whilst it's there I'm aiming to have the exhaust clearance issues sorted up on a ramp in the garage next door. I've tried my best with it but you know what it's like working on your back with the car on jacks, it's not easy.
Really looking forward to getting it back, it feels like I've wasted half the summer but hopefully I'll have a much better car for it. Pictures to follow when it's back.
Thanks, obviously where I've repaired on the rear arch is being finished, and both front arches are a little scabby but not actually rotten so I'm having those tidied and painted. The N/S rear needs welding realistically but I'll do that when winter comes, no point having a nice painted repair over a rusty inner.
The last thing to be done is a small scab just below the windscreen chrome strip. It's nowhere near as bad as some I've seen so hopefully I've caught it in time. One of those obvious places that must look 'right'. To finish and paint all of that I believe we're looking at about £350, so not too bad.
The last thing to be done is a small scab just below the windscreen chrome strip. It's nowhere near as bad as some I've seen so hopefully I've caught it in time. One of those obvious places that must look 'right'. To finish and paint all of that I believe we're looking at about £350, so not too bad.
At last the beast is back.
Out this evening for a quick jolly and pulled in to the garage(again), parked next to this fantastic Routemaster. It was absolutely immaculate and a real credit to the owners.
Seemed the perfect time for a photo opportunity
The bodywork is looking pretty good, just needs a good wash and polish now!
Out this evening for a quick jolly and pulled in to the garage(again), parked next to this fantastic Routemaster. It was absolutely immaculate and a real credit to the owners.
Seemed the perfect time for a photo opportunity
The bodywork is looking pretty good, just needs a good wash and polish now! Had a fantastic day smoking about in the Jag yesterday, used an awful lot of petrol taking mates out for a spin etc and overall got to know the car a bit better again. One thing I have noticed is that it does seem to run quite hot. My coolant level is right up where it should be, and I appreciate it was a hot day with a lot of engine to cool, but even in normal driving (60mph) for example, the gauge sits dead on normal and when sitting still idling for a few minutes moves pretty much to halfway between normal and hot. Any thoughts on this?
This is the thing XJ, it always amazes me how relatively small the radiator is. Both fans seem to be working okay, like you say I will ensure the matrix is clear and do both thermostats as a matter of cause, at the same time I could also flush the block through so that could help somewhat. The temperature falls down back to normal within a minute or two once back up to speed again with plenty of airflow so it's obviously doing its job.
I'm more used to the sort of running conditions I have with my old Land Rover, everyone complains about them running hot and yet I have never seen the temperature rise above normal even when stuck in traffic in 30 degree heat. When I had the engine to pieces I made sure to blow through every coolant gallery with the pressure washer etc, and flushed the radiator through several times. New hoses and thermostat, and it's been absolutely perfect since. It just goes to show that many classics could avoid overheating problems if the original system was maintained properly. I've lost count the number of cars I've seen overheating in the queues to get into classic shows over the past few years!
I'm more used to the sort of running conditions I have with my old Land Rover, everyone complains about them running hot and yet I have never seen the temperature rise above normal even when stuck in traffic in 30 degree heat. When I had the engine to pieces I made sure to blow through every coolant gallery with the pressure washer etc, and flushed the radiator through several times. New hoses and thermostat, and it's been absolutely perfect since. It just goes to show that many classics could avoid overheating problems if the original system was maintained properly. I've lost count the number of cars I've seen overheating in the queues to get into classic shows over the past few years!
Covered around 250 effortless but thirsty miles in the past five days or so, quite good going when you consider I've been away on holiday in the daily driver for two of those!
The grille badge has always looked quite tatty so I removed that this evening and refurbished it with model paints and some nail varnish. Looking much better for it:
In the next week or two I would like to get the air conditioning sorted out as it does nothing but blow warm air. I'm planning to go away for a short holiday in it in a couple of weeks, weather permitting, so air con is a must as it gets toasty in there to say the least!
The grille badge has always looked quite tatty so I removed that this evening and refurbished it with model paints and some nail varnish. Looking much better for it:
In the next week or two I would like to get the air conditioning sorted out as it does nothing but blow warm air. I'm planning to go away for a short holiday in it in a couple of weeks, weather permitting, so air con is a must as it gets toasty in there to say the least!
Edited by LewG on Monday 4th August 17:12
Of course Hooli through work I know a local air con specialist quite well so I asked him if he could update the system on it, he said it won't be a problem so there's a result. There's a few jobs that will need doing when winter arrives but for now, drive and enjoy. I should apologize to the folk in my area because I'm running the petrol stations dry by using it all the time for even the most mundane journeys!
through work I know a local air con specialist quite well so I asked him if he could update the system on it, he said it won't be a problem so there's a result. There's a few jobs that will need doing when winter arrives but for now, drive and enjoy. I should apologize to the folk in my area because I'm running the petrol stations dry by using it all the time for even the most mundane journeys! Oh dear I think I've dug myself a hole there!
Anyway good news! The Jag sailed through its MOT today, the only advisory being 'both front tyres starting to perish' so that's a good result. I now have working air con too so it's no longer like travelling in the world's fastest oven, and best of all she's wearing a PH sticker on the back, right next to the V12 badge for extra Pistonheadiness.
Going away to Wales for a roadtrip next Sunday for a few days so that should stretch her legs and empty my wallet a bit.
Anyway good news! The Jag sailed through its MOT today, the only advisory being 'both front tyres starting to perish' so that's a good result. I now have working air con too so it's no longer like travelling in the world's fastest oven, and best of all she's wearing a PH sticker on the back, right next to the V12 badge for extra Pistonheadiness.
Going away to Wales for a roadtrip next Sunday for a few days so that should stretch her legs and empty my wallet a bit.
Edited by LewG on Monday 4th August 16:58
A few pictures from yesterday. Met up with some mates and we drove to Brecon Classic Show, lovely cars, lovely weather. I covered about 380 miles and it made me realise what a great car this actually is. On the motorway it's complete effortless and you spend every minute in the outside lane. When I actually arrived in Wales I drove past Skenfrith Castle on a windy B road, giving it some welly and bravery I was surprised how well it went round for such a heavy car. Managed to get held up by an early Porsche 944 and he wasn't hanging about so it can't be all bad!
It's one of those cars petrolheads seem to appreciate everywhere, it was well received at the show and in every petrol station I walked into someone made a positive comment about it. (Yes there were many petrol stations!)
With a mate's Anglia.
The gauge reads high.
It's one of those cars petrolheads seem to appreciate everywhere, it was well received at the show and in every petrol station I walked into someone made a positive comment about it. (Yes there were many petrol stations!)
With a mate's Anglia.
The gauge reads high.
Hello all, another update.
Been farting about in the XJ-S for a few more weeks as per usual, no real work achieved just lots of petroleums used. In truth since my update about having the air conditioning converted and gassed it's evident I had a massive leak, as it only worked for a matter of hours! I took it back to the 'specialists' and they checked it over for me, claiming they couldn't see where the leak was. They'd put the dye in but no luck.
Since then I've left it alone believing it was a bit of a lost cause but with my engineering college having air conditioning equipment I decided to take it into their workshop and have another go. Firstly I cleared the system then performed a nitrogen test, listening and looking for leaks. The millibars were dropping slowly on the machine so somewhere I had a leak as suspected. Checking with the UV light it was obvious straight away after the system had been gassed properly. Lots of dye round one of the main fittings at the back of the compressor.
As with anything Jaguar flavoured nothing's that easy to get to, fortunately in this case I only had to remove the cruise control bellow and bracket to remove the fittings. Both O-rings were gone so with those replaced, we tried again. A keeper plate is used with one central bolt, causing the plate to bow out at the edges. Sure enough, it leaked. I turned the plate round and tried the same so the bow was facing the opposite way. It worked! I could still hear a fizzing which then turned out to be the sensor seal below both main fittings. What a headache! Sadly I didn't have the correct O-ring for this and so had to call it a day.
Popped to an engineering supplies shop on the way back to my hotel and managed to get some O rings matched to mine as a pattern for £1. Result! Got another workshop session tomorrow morning for a couple of hours so hopefully I'll get it sorted.
The best bit is all this gassing etc. is free so I'm keen to get it sorted rather than pay someone for the privilege. Shows that sometimes if you want a job done properly, do it yourself!
Been farting about in the XJ-S for a few more weeks as per usual, no real work achieved just lots of petroleums used. In truth since my update about having the air conditioning converted and gassed it's evident I had a massive leak, as it only worked for a matter of hours! I took it back to the 'specialists' and they checked it over for me, claiming they couldn't see where the leak was. They'd put the dye in but no luck.
Since then I've left it alone believing it was a bit of a lost cause but with my engineering college having air conditioning equipment I decided to take it into their workshop and have another go. Firstly I cleared the system then performed a nitrogen test, listening and looking for leaks. The millibars were dropping slowly on the machine so somewhere I had a leak as suspected. Checking with the UV light it was obvious straight away after the system had been gassed properly. Lots of dye round one of the main fittings at the back of the compressor.
As with anything Jaguar flavoured nothing's that easy to get to, fortunately in this case I only had to remove the cruise control bellow and bracket to remove the fittings. Both O-rings were gone so with those replaced, we tried again. A keeper plate is used with one central bolt, causing the plate to bow out at the edges. Sure enough, it leaked. I turned the plate round and tried the same so the bow was facing the opposite way. It worked! I could still hear a fizzing which then turned out to be the sensor seal below both main fittings. What a headache! Sadly I didn't have the correct O-ring for this and so had to call it a day.
Popped to an engineering supplies shop on the way back to my hotel and managed to get some O rings matched to mine as a pattern for £1. Result! Got another workshop session tomorrow morning for a couple of hours so hopefully I'll get it sorted.
The best bit is all this gassing etc. is free so I'm keen to get it sorted rather than pay someone for the privilege. Shows that sometimes if you want a job done properly, do it yourself!
That's not what you need Kamil!
Overall it's been a pretty poor day on the old beast. All new seals installed in the back of the compressor, completed another nitrogen and vacuum test. Right, let's gas her up. It was holding beautifully. I started it up and tried it out, no issues to be found, blowing lovely and cold! Turn it off and suddenly I can hear a horrible hissing, only to find the main plate rear seal had blown in the compressor. Game over! Is the air con really that much of an arse to sort out with these bloody things?
To add insult to injury I managed to drop a socket beneath the engine. Put it up on the college ramp for a look only to find worse news. For a few weeks there's been a quiet creaking noise from the back of the car when setting off. It soon became fairly obvious as I found two of the four rear subframe mounts had failed and split in two, with another about to go :O Yes, the new ones I fitted as part of the rear end rebuild! These came from a reputable Jaguar parts dealer off of eBay (I know I should've known better...) so I was expecting a little more than that! Still, my fault for being a tight arse and buying the cheaper part. New genuine Jaguar ones on order along with a selection of other bits. Feeling a bit disheartened with XJ-S ownership today!
Overall it's been a pretty poor day on the old beast. All new seals installed in the back of the compressor, completed another nitrogen and vacuum test. Right, let's gas her up. It was holding beautifully. I started it up and tried it out, no issues to be found, blowing lovely and cold! Turn it off and suddenly I can hear a horrible hissing, only to find the main plate rear seal had blown in the compressor. Game over! Is the air con really that much of an arse to sort out with these bloody things?
To add insult to injury I managed to drop a socket beneath the engine. Put it up on the college ramp for a look only to find worse news. For a few weeks there's been a quiet creaking noise from the back of the car when setting off. It soon became fairly obvious as I found two of the four rear subframe mounts had failed and split in two, with another about to go :O Yes, the new ones I fitted as part of the rear end rebuild! These came from a reputable Jaguar parts dealer off of eBay (I know I should've known better...) so I was expecting a little more than that! Still, my fault for being a tight arse and buying the cheaper part. New genuine Jaguar ones on order along with a selection of other bits. Feeling a bit disheartened with XJ-S ownership today!
Cheers for that Dr G, never a truer word spoken. As you say so many of them are nothing more than drivers but that's about it. Spoils the whole feel and point of the car, driving a tired one on crappy bushes etc is bad enough. It'll be much more complete when absolutely everything works. Just bought her some more goodies to further improve things. New genuine rear subframe mounts, a seal kit for the air con compressor (fingers crossed it sorts it!) and a new rear transmission spring and bush. Started to look at the electric aerial today... as that doesn't work either! Found a blown fuse so I replaced that thinking easy fix, still no joy! I'll have to take the whole assembly out and have a good look, I can see and hear the relay clicking in so who knows.
Edited by LewG on Sunday 21st September 16:50
Thanks chaps.
Anyway, last Friday I changed the 'old' new rear subframe bushes, as you can see the state of them after only 3 months was fairly shocking:
Last night in preparation for a Terraclean on Monday I set about changing the plugs, rotor arm, cap and leads.
Started at 8pm and by 10pm had them all out, bit of a nightmare but not as bad as anticipated!
I need to give all the plug recesses a good vacuuming as there's a lot of crap in there, worried about any going down into the bores. Then get cracking with refitting it all. That's this afternoon's job.
Anyway, last Friday I changed the 'old' new rear subframe bushes, as you can see the state of them after only 3 months was fairly shocking:
Last night in preparation for a Terraclean on Monday I set about changing the plugs, rotor arm, cap and leads.
Started at 8pm and by 10pm had them all out, bit of a nightmare but not as bad as anticipated!
I need to give all the plug recesses a good vacuuming as there's a lot of crap in there, worried about any going down into the bores. Then get cracking with refitting it all. That's this afternoon's job.
Thanks! Ifor you're pretty much on the right lines. I wince at the amount of money I've piled into it already and that's being able to do a bit to it myself! Paying someone else to do all the work would be enough to justify robbing banks. Almost tempting seeing as I have the gear to do it .
Wst glad you saw it at last. You weren't the chap standing near the lights next to Pizza Express? Saw someone having a good look!
Recent work I've completed includes sorting the transmission tail mount, it's basically a big over-complicated spring/bush setup and all in all, a bit of a pain in the arse to do.
In all its Jaguar complicated glory. When I got it to pieces I found it didn't have a centre rubber bush in at all. Basically it stops the mount from bottoming out when loaded up by the gearbox and provides a bit of resistance to lateral movement. I put a new one on and replaced the spring along with its lower rubber cup that it sits in.
I've removed the electric aerial for now and blanked it off with a rubber grommet. Having taken the aerial to pieces the problem was relatively obvious. From what I can see water has made its way through the aerial grommet and down into the small printed circuit board in there, rotting some of the components out. I tested the aerial motor itself by putting 12v across it and it's fine. The original telescopic part was stuck solid but I managed to get a replacement kindly given to me by Lewis (AceOfHearts) on here, so that works fine now. Before I go any further and buy a second hand one or replacement I've given the board to my stepgrandad for a look, as he's a bit of a wizard with that sort of thing and has worked in the electronics industry with old fashioned defence and industrial type stuff for years.
Obviously I serviced the ignition bits, as far as I could tell the vacuum advance was sticky inside the distributor so plenty of working it and PTFE spray soon had it good again. The timing was a couple of degrees retarded so I just advanced it a touch. On these the timing pointer is right underneath the crankshaft pulley so the only way to see with the light is to put your head under the front of the car. Trust me a V12 crank pulley spinning at 3000rpm inches from your face is relatively terrifying!
The Terraclean went really well. I would recommend it to anyone and although I was very much dubious at first I'm convinced it's worked, it definitely has more poke further down the rev range and can spin the wheels far too easily if you boot it off the line! In the wet you have to be so, so careful.
Whilst at the Terraclean they mentioned that my fuel rail pressure was low, and suspected the pump was on its way out. I took this with a pinch of salt but bought an equivalent replacement anyway and kept it in the boot. Sure enough, on the return journey from the Pistonheads Sunday Service at Gaydon last weekend it started to stutter off the line right in the middle of Milton Keynes. Thankfully I made it home by which time the pump was making some odd noises, so that confirmed they were right all along. Replaced the pump and fuel filter which was well overdue, as when I tipped it out the fuel came out a nice shade of black. It's been absolutely spot on since.
In all honesty I have been toying with the idea of selling the car. I'm wanting other toys (still British and V powered) at the moment and don't really have the funds, but I won't disclose what that is yet. I'm at a junction as to whether to carry on getting it about spot on and spend way in excess of its actual value, or say there you go, I've had the car I've always wanted and enjoyed it very much, but it's time to move on.
My head says it should go, heart says otherwise. This winter my plan was to completely refurbish the front subframe much in the same way as the rear, new bushes, springs, bearings, shocks etc.
I'd also like to have the bonnet off, rad out and do all of the engine belts, whilst I'm there I'd like to sort some leaking pipes. Not sure if they're power steering or for the trans cooler as I only looked under there briefly.
It's one of those cars that has its foibles, you get in it every day and slowly but surely the little creaks, rattles and other niggles annoy you. Leave it a week and go for a quick spin and suddenly the smile is back. I'm away at college at the moment hence the run on Sunday afternoon. Both windows open with the pedal to the metal between a block of flats. Now that was a noise I won't forget in a hurry!
.Wst glad you saw it at last. You weren't the chap standing near the lights next to Pizza Express? Saw someone having a good look!
Recent work I've completed includes sorting the transmission tail mount, it's basically a big over-complicated spring/bush setup and all in all, a bit of a pain in the arse to do.
In all its Jaguar complicated glory. When I got it to pieces I found it didn't have a centre rubber bush in at all. Basically it stops the mount from bottoming out when loaded up by the gearbox and provides a bit of resistance to lateral movement. I put a new one on and replaced the spring along with its lower rubber cup that it sits in.
I've removed the electric aerial for now and blanked it off with a rubber grommet. Having taken the aerial to pieces the problem was relatively obvious. From what I can see water has made its way through the aerial grommet and down into the small printed circuit board in there, rotting some of the components out. I tested the aerial motor itself by putting 12v across it and it's fine. The original telescopic part was stuck solid but I managed to get a replacement kindly given to me by Lewis (AceOfHearts) on here, so that works fine now. Before I go any further and buy a second hand one or replacement I've given the board to my stepgrandad for a look, as he's a bit of a wizard with that sort of thing and has worked in the electronics industry with old fashioned defence and industrial type stuff for years.
Obviously I serviced the ignition bits, as far as I could tell the vacuum advance was sticky inside the distributor so plenty of working it and PTFE spray soon had it good again. The timing was a couple of degrees retarded so I just advanced it a touch. On these the timing pointer is right underneath the crankshaft pulley so the only way to see with the light is to put your head under the front of the car. Trust me a V12 crank pulley spinning at 3000rpm inches from your face is relatively terrifying!
The Terraclean went really well. I would recommend it to anyone and although I was very much dubious at first I'm convinced it's worked, it definitely has more poke further down the rev range and can spin the wheels far too easily if you boot it off the line! In the wet you have to be so, so careful.
Whilst at the Terraclean they mentioned that my fuel rail pressure was low, and suspected the pump was on its way out. I took this with a pinch of salt but bought an equivalent replacement anyway and kept it in the boot. Sure enough, on the return journey from the Pistonheads Sunday Service at Gaydon last weekend it started to stutter off the line right in the middle of Milton Keynes. Thankfully I made it home by which time the pump was making some odd noises, so that confirmed they were right all along. Replaced the pump and fuel filter which was well overdue, as when I tipped it out the fuel came out a nice shade of black. It's been absolutely spot on since.
In all honesty I have been toying with the idea of selling the car. I'm wanting other toys (still British and V powered) at the moment and don't really have the funds, but I won't disclose what that is yet. I'm at a junction as to whether to carry on getting it about spot on and spend way in excess of its actual value, or say there you go, I've had the car I've always wanted and enjoyed it very much, but it's time to move on.
My head says it should go, heart says otherwise. This winter my plan was to completely refurbish the front subframe much in the same way as the rear, new bushes, springs, bearings, shocks etc.
I'd also like to have the bonnet off, rad out and do all of the engine belts, whilst I'm there I'd like to sort some leaking pipes. Not sure if they're power steering or for the trans cooler as I only looked under there briefly.
It's one of those cars that has its foibles, you get in it every day and slowly but surely the little creaks, rattles and other niggles annoy you. Leave it a week and go for a quick spin and suddenly the smile is back. I'm away at college at the moment hence the run on Sunday afternoon. Both windows open with the pedal to the metal between a block of flats. Now that was a noise I won't forget in a hurry!
Edited by LewG on Tuesday 11th November 00:12
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuIsdNwkXUQ
Fairly boring little video of what it's like. You can hear the whine of 1st gear at 2 minutes in, you know I've got my toe down at about 2:03 because you see the bonnet rise!
Fairly boring little video of what it's like. You can hear the whine of 1st gear at 2 minutes in, you know I've got my toe down at about 2:03 because you see the bonnet rise!
Cheers, much appreciated! Yes sorry about that, that road's only a 30mph limit and they speed trap regularly so it's only wise to give it the beans when you've got a clear view!
Unfortunately yes that is the wipers in the parked position. As the windscreen is so small and curved it doesn't allow them to sweep right down without going off the edge of the glass. A bit pathetic really, although if you put the wipers on intermittent and shut them off when they reach the other side of the screen often they'll just stay there rather than returning. Result
The indicator stalk is much like the one in my old Land Rover, you have to be careful with it otherwise it feels like it may fall off. BL's finest quality right there!
Honestly the lack of road noise is something I don't really notice until I get back in my modern daily, which seems pretty unrefined in comparison. If you sit at 60-70mph it's hard to hear any engine noise whatsoever. To me that is the character of the car down to a tee, zip across to the south of France in complete comfort and opulence with your lady friend in tow wearing some fur. When I bought the exhaust I was tempted to leave out the centre silencers as apparently they sap power and make it almost too quiet. Glad I left them in really as from the outside it still gives a lovely refined rumble without intruding into the cabin.
If I get the chance I'll get some videos of it on maximum attack from the outside in the next few weeks.
Unfortunately yes that is the wipers in the parked position. As the windscreen is so small and curved it doesn't allow them to sweep right down without going off the edge of the glass. A bit pathetic really, although if you put the wipers on intermittent and shut them off when they reach the other side of the screen often they'll just stay there rather than returning. Result
The indicator stalk is much like the one in my old Land Rover, you have to be careful with it otherwise it feels like it may fall off. BL's finest quality right there!
Honestly the lack of road noise is something I don't really notice until I get back in my modern daily, which seems pretty unrefined in comparison. If you sit at 60-70mph it's hard to hear any engine noise whatsoever. To me that is the character of the car down to a tee, zip across to the south of France in complete comfort and opulence with your lady friend in tow wearing some fur
. When I bought the exhaust I was tempted to leave out the centre silencers as apparently they sap power and make it almost too quiet. Glad I left them in really as from the outside it still gives a lovely refined rumble without intruding into the cabin. If I get the chance I'll get some videos of it on maximum attack from the outside in the next few weeks.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff