1992 Jaguar XJR-S
Discussion
craigjm said:
Speaking of LPG I've just had a quote of £1800 plus VAT from a reputable installer in South Wales will be looking into it seeing as LPG locally is 65p a litre
Interesting, I'm based in South Wales. If you want to e-mail me / PM me their details I can ask around for anyone with personal experience? That is a good price, are they planning on using one 6 pot system in batch injection, a pair of 6 pot systems, or is there now a controller than can handle 12 cylinders natively?I'll be really interested to hear your impressions if you go with LPG. I've heard or seen nothing to convince me that any installers have experience of V12 conversions, and the kits aren't geared up for it. Love to be proven wrong though.
As an update on the car, I have replaced the leaking coolant hose and tested thoroughly and the coolant system is watertight. The coolant needle has always sat above the N point but there are no signs of overheating. In in interests of not cooking it I've been over a thoroughly warmed up car with a laser thermometer and confirmed that the coolant system is working properly and there is no overheating so that is a relief. From memory my XJ12 dial did exactly the same thing.
I also worked out running costs to date. 13.78mpg, 42p a mile. This translates to £250 in super for the 600 odd miles I've done in it. I can see why the six cylinder cars were popular.
As an update on the car, I have replaced the leaking coolant hose and tested thoroughly and the coolant system is watertight. The coolant needle has always sat above the N point but there are no signs of overheating. In in interests of not cooking it I've been over a thoroughly warmed up car with a laser thermometer and confirmed that the coolant system is working properly and there is no overheating so that is a relief. From memory my XJ12 dial did exactly the same thing.
I also worked out running costs to date. 13.78mpg, 42p a mile. This translates to £250 in super for the 600 odd miles I've done in it. I can see why the six cylinder cars were popular.
LewG said:
If it makes you feel better hammering mine round town when I took it to college for the week it managed an average on the computer of 8.1mpg 
Mine has had a fair few long runs, but I can see how you could easily have it in single digits if you were using it in town. My personal weakness is winding down the windows to hear it sing in 1st and 2nd 
t" experience as you! No structural rust on this well engineered thing, solid as a rock, etc... CharlesdeGaulle said:
Seems so!! I think £35k is a bit optimistic none the less.
I'll be interested to see what it goes for. Like someone mentioned in the VR6 Corrado thread these have been tipped as a "future classic" and a sure fire investment for 10 years that I remember, and the increase in price for a nice late 6.0 coupe has in that time gone from £6k to about £11k which I find entirely underwhelming. I remain to be convinced that they are ever going to go crazy like the E-Type, rather than stay pretty flat like the series XJs.
Passed the MOT today with no advisories. I took the opportunity to get a good look underneath the car, and it really is in remarkably good order.
I then went next door to the body/paint shop to get an assessment of the work to bring it up to scratch. Once you take into account the need to paint both front wings, the scuttle panel, the bonnet, the NSR arch, the front bumper, and the rear bumper it is into full respray territory and the costs that entails. Not such good news, and I need to get off my arse and go to Nottingham to pick up the 2nd hand wing from David Marks!
I then went next door to the body/paint shop to get an assessment of the work to bring it up to scratch. Once you take into account the need to paint both front wings, the scuttle panel, the bonnet, the NSR arch, the front bumper, and the rear bumper it is into full respray territory and the costs that entails. Not such good news, and I need to get off my arse and go to Nottingham to pick up the 2nd hand wing from David Marks!
craigjm said:
How much you been quoted for a full respray
£3k - £5k from a local company with a good reputation. This involves them doing all the work as I have neither the time or space to strip it down myself. If I go ahead I'll do some shopping around, but I've seen some piss poor work in the past and am well aware that it's not something where the lowest bidder is the best choice!craigjm said:
dme123 said:
craigjm said:
How much you been quoted for a full respray
£3k - £5k from a local company with a good reputation. This involves them doing all the work as I have neither the time or space to strip it down myself. If I go ahead I'll do some shopping around, but I've seen some piss poor work in the past and am well aware that it's not something where the lowest bidder is the best choice!It's fair to say that I live in a low labour rate area ;-)
CharlesdeGaulle said:
They rarely come onto the market, but here's one, albeit mis-described. £15k, but looks good.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
I'm 99% sure that's a standard 5.3 with the bodykit. DVLA show it as a 5.3, it has the badging of the standard car, doesn't have the XJR-S quad exhausts, doesn't have the contrast stitching on the seats, has the wrong sort of wood, I'm pretty sure the dash should be black, it doesn't have the JaguarSport treadplates on the sills either.http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
In related news the car has developed some sort of exhaust related blow around cylinder 6B. Started off as a sort of ticking/fluttery sort of sound when cold that went away, then became a ticking/fluttery sort of noise but only under acceleration, and has now become a ticking noise. Pulling the lead off the plug from 6B causes the noise to go away and I'm 99.9% sure it's not valve or piston related noise. I'll try and get it up in the air tomorrow and see if the manifold is cracked or the gasket is leaking. Oddly it sounds a bit like it's coming from inside the V of the engine but I think that is just acoustics, unless anyone has a better explanation?
I took the plug out to look at it, and then put it back in again to make sure there wasn't a problem with it sealing too.
I believe the car is punishing me for unfaithful thoughts I had when looking at the red Daimler/XJ12 that featured on another thread.
Quite right about Jaguar values though. You see XJSs all over the shop, I wonder how many actually sell at the price they are advertised at, you see the same cars for sale forever. Take this nice looking late 6.0 coupe:
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C784882
That was up for £11k or so when I bought this car. Now it's open to offers and I reckon £9k might do it after all this time, an absolute bargain. Then you see others that are much the same up for £25k. Who is buying them at these exaggerated prices? Late facelift convertibles are up at absolutely crazy money.
Edited by dme123 on Tuesday 7th March 18:56
melhookv12 said:
Could be inlet manifold gaskets, do you have air injection? As the air is injected into the exhaust, if the gasket fails you essentially get exhaust leaking into the V and causing the noisa you've described.
No air injection on here (thankfully). I've been out and poking about again tonight and I can smell exhaust in the engine bay. I have a video from a couple of days ago of me provoking it into making the noise herehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWIz2gAQLog&fe...
I'm over the other side of the engine from the noise here, as I was arsing about trying to find it. Before I get told of for revving a cold engine I had been out for a drive and it was thoroughly warmed up.
melhookv12 said:
Pretty sure the v12 still has the small port in the head anyway. You see the yellow bungs, I'm fairly sure these go into the exhaust port.
Your noise does sound like an exhaust leak. Do you have a sthoscope ( spelling ) , or some things rubber hose, then you can trace to either inlet or exhaust gaskets.
I'd rather do inlets ! So be sure to correctly diagnose! Good luck, keep posted.
That certainly would explain why it sounds like it's coming from inside the V. I'll make sure I'm certain of what it is. Thanks very much for that.Your noise does sound like an exhaust leak. Do you have a sthoscope ( spelling ) , or some things rubber hose, then you can trace to either inlet or exhaust gaskets.
I'd rather do inlets ! So be sure to correctly diagnose! Good luck, keep posted.
Edited by melhookv12 on Wednesday 8th March 20:47
Being extremely short on time and space I took it to a Cardiff based Jaguar "specialist" to sort it out. He's had it a week and been fussing around thinking it's injector noise (why does it stop when you pull a lead then), but has now decided it's a dropped valve seat and said he doesn't want to touch it. I can't see how it can be a dropped valve seat if
a - it goes away when the plug lead is pulled
and
b - me driving it around quite a bit (and not exactly like Miss Lightfoot) since it started has not destroyed the engine
and
c - it's running fine and has no emissions problems
and
d - it doesn't sound like a dropped valve seat really
also
e - you can smell the leaking exhaust from under the bonnet
Anyone here agree with him or see faults in my logic?
More to the point why did they agree to look at it if they aren't competent to actually do any work! Turns out they are more of the "changing oil in diesel X Types" sort of Jaguar specialist.
I'm going to fetch it tomorrow but it looks like it might be driveway surgery to get this fixed, if I ever get the time. First thing will be to take of the inlet manifold as I'm 99% sure Mel is right about it coming from there, otherwise there are some odd acoustics going on.
a - it goes away when the plug lead is pulled
and
b - me driving it around quite a bit (and not exactly like Miss Lightfoot) since it started has not destroyed the engine
and
c - it's running fine and has no emissions problems
and
d - it doesn't sound like a dropped valve seat really
also
e - you can smell the leaking exhaust from under the bonnet
Anyone here agree with him or see faults in my logic?
More to the point why did they agree to look at it if they aren't competent to actually do any work! Turns out they are more of the "changing oil in diesel X Types" sort of Jaguar specialist.
I'm going to fetch it tomorrow but it looks like it might be driveway surgery to get this fixed, if I ever get the time. First thing will be to take of the inlet manifold as I'm 99% sure Mel is right about it coming from there, otherwise there are some odd acoustics going on.
Edited by dme123 on Thursday 16th March 18:25
CharlesdeGaulle said:
There are lots of unique bits on yours, and this is the wrong engine, but any parts from this needed?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jaguar-XJS-4-0-Celebrati...
sMAAOSwol5Yw8PW
I'll be interested to see where that ends up, I think the late 4.0 cars are a usable daily driver myself. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jaguar-XJS-4-0-Celebrati...
sMAAOSwol5Yw8PWTell you something that has struck me; one of the reasons the XJR-S looks so much better than the standard car is because it doesn't have a pin stripe. They really do look crap, and the early cars didn't have them. Part of the Geoff Lawson school of "add tat" design that manifested itself in rubbing strips and other such crap details on the 90s/00s models?
Started getting the inlets off today. Not particularly difficult but I started late and the light was fading so I'll finish it tomorrow.
The bodger has been here before, as witnessed by half the injector plugs already being broken around the clips and the three missing serrated Jaguar washers having been replaced with conventional springy locking washers around the blowing cylinder. None of the nuts on the inlet manifold were not particularly tight either.
Only bits remaining to be disconnected are the fuel lines and then myself and an able helper will lift of the inlets, airboxes, and fuel rails all in one. I'll also add "replace injector connectors" to the non urgent list of jobs. I've spoken to a chap who has done this by poking the pins out of the broken connectors to put back into new ones and it was a fiddly three hour job.
The bodger has been here before, as witnessed by half the injector plugs already being broken around the clips and the three missing serrated Jaguar washers having been replaced with conventional springy locking washers around the blowing cylinder. None of the nuts on the inlet manifold were not particularly tight either.
Only bits remaining to be disconnected are the fuel lines and then myself and an able helper will lift of the inlets, airboxes, and fuel rails all in one. I'll also add "replace injector connectors" to the non urgent list of jobs. I've spoken to a chap who has done this by poking the pins out of the broken connectors to put back into new ones and it was a fiddly three hour job.
Job done!
Thank you very much Mr. Hooker, you were absolutely correct and it was blowing at the inlet manifold from the air injection port to the exhaust valve, it was obvious once the gasket was off. The whole job was really very straightforward if time consuming simply because there are so many bolts and so on compared to a smaller engine. So much for the dropped valve one Jaguar "specialist" diagnosed and the other two mechanics too scared to even touch it.
I took the opportunity to replace the throttle shaft bushing things on both inlets, changed it from 88C thermostats to 82C thermostats as recommended by fellow XJR-S owners, and remove the slack in the cruise control linkage.
It sounds as it should again now, and the temperature needle is now only very slightly above the middle of the dial rather than worryingly close to the 3rd dash.
One lesson (re)learned: take off the petrol cap otherwise there is enough pressure to ensure a steady drip drip drip of fuel from the disconnected fuel supply.
I've run it up to temperature and it's cooling down now ready for a coolant level check. I'll take it for a 2 hour trip and then check the torque on the inlet manifold bolts and then do the same in a little while as it is a thick gasket and looks like it might settle a fair bit.
Thank you very much Mr. Hooker, you were absolutely correct and it was blowing at the inlet manifold from the air injection port to the exhaust valve, it was obvious once the gasket was off. The whole job was really very straightforward if time consuming simply because there are so many bolts and so on compared to a smaller engine. So much for the dropped valve one Jaguar "specialist" diagnosed and the other two mechanics too scared to even touch it.
I took the opportunity to replace the throttle shaft bushing things on both inlets, changed it from 88C thermostats to 82C thermostats as recommended by fellow XJR-S owners, and remove the slack in the cruise control linkage.
It sounds as it should again now, and the temperature needle is now only very slightly above the middle of the dial rather than worryingly close to the 3rd dash.
One lesson (re)learned: take off the petrol cap otherwise there is enough pressure to ensure a steady drip drip drip of fuel from the disconnected fuel supply.
I've run it up to temperature and it's cooling down now ready for a coolant level check. I'll take it for a 2 hour trip and then check the torque on the inlet manifold bolts and then do the same in a little while as it is a thick gasket and looks like it might settle a fair bit.
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