Hi, and thanks in advance for the help that I am sure I will get from this forum!

I am the new owner of my first Jag, a Series III XJ6 in need of some engine help, fuel tank cleaning, etc. I have one of the fuel tanks out, giving my back yard the distinct smell of old stinky gas. The other tank will be out in by the weekend, and off to the radiator shop for a boil. A zillion hoses to clean or replace. The head is coming off to search for the reason an intake valve refuses to close all the way, and a general search is on to find out why the coolant has a bit of oil in it. No doubt that the AC is empty as well, and the oil drain plug seems to have been replaced by some kind of rubber plug. 50/50 that I wind up rebuilding the whole engine, but I am trying to be optimistic.......

I keep wondering what I was thinking when I hauled this thing home, then I go out and look at it for a minute, and it's all OK. It really is a beautiful car, and I can't wait to actually drive it!

 

Welcome to the forum, Machine guy. Lots of good info here. Maybe visit the off-topics or something to speed your post-count along to double figures and you'll be well on your way!

 

Welcome to the forum,

Sounds like you may have quite a bit of work on, Good Luck and keep us posted.

 

Welcome aboard.

An old Ser III is worth the effort. It's *still* one of the best looking cars on the road and driving one is a dream. A well sorted out Ser III has a unique feel that you'll never have in any other car.


Cheers
DD

 

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I will remember them while wrestling with some of the more unique elements of my car!

 

What year is the car ? Jaguar made a modification to the engine in the early 80s to prevent block cracking. If there are narrow slots between the bores you are OK. You'll see clearly enough when the head comes off. It sounds as though you have a bent valve, due to it being a bit lazy in coming back up on the compression stroke. I had this problem, due, I think to overskimming of the head in the past. The valves are bigger diameter than the ones in the Series 1 & 2 saloons, being put in when the engines went to fuel injection in 1979. The engines are thus less tolerant of lazy valves, which tend to occur when the car has been standing a long time, as in my case.

There can be an awful lot to do on these cars. Believe me, I know, having had one for 14 years, 1988-2002 ! A lot is just wear and tear, but bodywork is usually inevitable. Autotransmission is normally OK though, being a Borg Warner 66, and also the differential is pretty well bulletproof. Those were the two things I never had to touch on mine. Had to fix almost everything else, though, over the years. All the mechanical work is DIYable for a competent home mechanic.

As Doug says, still the best looking Jaguar on the road, a real elegant cat, with ride to match.

 

Hey there Machineguy and welcome to the forum, good to have you here.

You got some great guys on side already....good luck

You might find the off topic good for fun, maybe check out the mug shot thread and add yours?
Some really good guys and great techs, top vendors offering good pricing levels and great service, and more to come....all good

In the meantime I've upgraded you manually to full forum access so you can better view the site

 

Fraser, thanks, I was thinking along those lines, good to have some confirmation. The car is an 85 and I am a bit worried about the oil in the coolant, but a number of things could be going on to cause that. The car has less than 75k miles on it, so I am hoping for a generally easy revival. The rust only amounts to a bit behind the rear wheel inside the well, which will be an easy fix while I have the gas tanks out, and a bit of bubbling under the windshield.

Jim, thanks for the upgrade!

 

Machine Guy
Welcome to the forum glad to see your saving a cat. Good Luck

 

Hello and welcome to jaguarforums.com.

Oh one other thing you need to put your car details in your signature. I am speaking of the Year, Make & Model. Without it you may not get the input you are looking for.

Please take a moment and read the information provided to you explaining the rules. Be patient and enjoy the site.