Howdy,

I gave been lurking on the forums for a while. I was in the market for an XJR but came across a decent looking s-type r for a fair price on ebay (car was local) and picked it up for 5100. It has 103,000 miles.

Seller stated that the car had no issues but when I checked out the car I found that the A/C didn't work (someone stated on another thread, "Want to buy an S type R, please advise", that AC was a key point), the airbag light was on, and I could smell coolant under the engine.

Seller said airbag light was common, he would recharge the ac before I picked it up to see if that solved the issue, and that he just replaced the coolant expansion (after noticing "a very small leak"). He also showed me the old tank...it was sitting in the dumpster next to the car. It looked like it had melted, see pics below.







What kind of repair costs am I looking at for this ac issue?
One last bit, when revving the engine in park, the limiter kicks in around 4200 rpms and the car starts to rock side to side. It has been a long time since I have had an engine with a good amount of power, but is that normal?

Here are some other pics of the car, otherwise very pretty....

 

I don't think it melted. I think someone tried glue/weld to try to fix it. Then gave up and bought the new one, which is likely fine.

a/c is likely to be DCCV (and then, maybe, its module) - not a big issue to fix

airbag faults often give flash codes and those can be looked up to find what's wrong. The light is meant to be on (but no flashes) for some conditions - have a look at the handbook.

 

+1 on the patch up attempt, it looks like some effort has been made to seal up the bottom connection also which is a QD connection, so you should make sure that's not leaking. Get the AC pressures checked and post the results.

 

[QUOTE=JagV8;1201495]I don't think it melted. I think someone tried glue/weld to try to fix it. Then gave up and bought the new one, which is likely fine.
QUOTE]




Jag, that attempted repair made me laugh. It looks like a first grader trying to build a car out of cardboard and sticks. Funny stuff. I guess like all first graders, the guy got a trophy for a good try.

 

Yes.

 

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If you opt not to replace leaper there are other options.

 

My head aches after looking at that repair!

 

The limiter rpm and rocking when bouncing off said limiter are normal...

 

Look at the underside of the A/C compressor. If it's greenish/yellow it's leaking and needs to be changed. Fairly common at those miles. The parts are not expensive but if you can't DIY the car will be expensive to own.

If you can DIY we can get you thru all the problems. The good thing is the engine and transmission are pretty solid but make sure you get the transmission serviced if it has not been done. They are NOT sealed for life!

Make sure it will shift at redline too. The early R's (mainly 2003 but has been reported on 2004 too).
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Looks like the exact same wheels as mine! What size are they my friend, do you know? Having LIMP MODE issue, possibly due to incorrect rears.