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Jonathan-W - That's cool. I have no idea how to play the koto myself, but like the sound it makes. Here's some pics of the car and the countryside I drive it in....
I did saturate the colours a bit just to make it really pop. Kingfisher Blue. There's a few tiny chips in the paint, but otherwise flawless as far as I can tell. I need to wash and polish it however.
Boosted the shadows, so you can see on a hot sunny day (with clouds) on the open flat road the temp is fine. Those are rice paddies on the right if anyone is wondering.
I really love that view down the bonnet. It's like being in the Batmobile or something.
Not terribly clear, but this is a shot of the leaves on the radiator seen through the narrow slot between the condenser and the oil cooler (I think those are what they are).
I've read that there are supposed to be rubber flaps by the fans that open and close to direct air depending on the temperature. I cannot find anything like that by mine. The fan shroud (solid metal), the fans (solid plastic), and associated wiring, but no rubber flaps that I can find. Am I looking in the wrong place?
[QUOTE=Some Day, Some Day;1500886
I've read that there are supposed to be rubber flaps by the fans that open and close to direct air depending on the temperature. I cannot find anything like that by mine. The fan shroud (solid metal), the fans (solid plastic), and associated wiring, but no rubber flaps that I can find. Am I looking in the wrong place?[/QUOTE]
Not sure about a '92 but earlier models, at least, had the flaps in the shroud for the electric cooling fan. I the pic below go to item #4. The four rectangular openings are where the flaps would be.
The flaps force the fan to pull air thru the rad at low speed. Without the the flaps the air would pull thru openings. They are mounted on engine side of rad so they pull closed at low speed. They open at hi speed to allow air to pass thru the rad.
ok 168k km (104miles) and new radiator 92f 33C temp was only to the left of the middle and did go to 3/4 after 5 minutes of shut off. restarting the car temp dropped to just to the left of the middle with in a minute or two...
first check your coolant level... when I took delivery of mine I found that the coolant kept being of a low level... no drips on the driveway though...
I found that if I added coolant every day about 1/2 gallon to a gallon it would not get over the half way mark on the temp.. after a week or two of always adding coolant to where is was always full I found 3 pin holes in the top run of the radiator they were letting steam out which is why I could not see any leak on the drive way or see any dripping... prodigious over filling of the coolant system finally help me find the leak...
I am not saying yours has a leak could be something else...
I would start by looking in between the air condenser and the radiator...
also your oil pressure looks like you got the dealer upgraded sensor ...
at that engine temp mine is ah... fine to me but worries then uninformed...
also this nice XJS is in Japan... they have different emission standards... he Might have a set of thermostats that are of a temp rating that is higher than we are used to seeing.... We should look into the Japanese recommended thermostat rating... mine are stock, even though I bought the lower temp stats (I never put them in)
Okay, under the aux fan. I'll take a look and see if I can see (or feel) anything.
Thanks.
they are located below the electric fan
I pulled min apart and cleaned and repainted and checked the Flaps and re-riveted them to the fan shroud (yes, the fan shroud is really in two parts... cool huh?)
I tried to get the coolant caps off, but the side one (overflow tank/forget the exact name, sorry) just won't budge. The dealer clearly put that one on very tight indeed. The main one will twist, but I seem to get caught up in the flanges and can't actually pull it off. Odd. It wasn't a serious attempt, so I'll give it a go later, but I would imagine coolant levels are good as the shop said they'd replaced it all before delivery.
I don't think the thermostat is different for Japan. The needle should be in the middle normally, even here. Interesting about the pinholes, however. I haven't noticed any steam when opening the bonnet when the engine is hot, but it's certainly something to check.
seconded!
BEAUTIFUL!
I have not played Koto since my last class recital in Japanese music ensemble that was in 1981... man I have people I work with that were not even born...
I'll post some Pictures... we have White sand beaches... and a large Bay and very small hills north in the county lots of contrast...
my Grandmother came down from the state of Missouri (the middle of the country) and it was July we took her to the beach and when she got out of the car her EYEs got WIDE and she exclaimed "SNOW!".... we laughed and reached down and handed her a hand full of the white sand.... a sweet memory
I tried to get the coolant caps off, but the side one (overflow tank/forget the exact name, sorry) just won't budge. The dealer clearly put that one on very tight indeed. The main one will twist, but I seem to get caught up in the flanges and can't actually pull it off. Odd. It wasn't a serious attempt, so I'll give it a go later, but I would imagine coolant levels are good as the shop said they'd replaced it all before delivery.
I don't think the thermostat is different for Japan. The needle should be in the middle normally, even here. Interesting about the pinholes, however. I haven't noticed any steam when opening the bonnet when the engine is hot, but it's certainly something to check.
UK 82C US JAPAN DOWN UNDER 88C
turn counter clock wise until it stops.... press down and turn some more...
careful do not burn your self...always release the one on the expansion tank FIRST just turn it counter clock wise until it stops that will help relieve pressure.... if you have pressure you do not have a pin hole leak... the cap on the pipe on the engine should only be removed AFTER the pressure is released from the system...
I never noticed steam... I finally notice 2mm streams of coolant squirting through the electric fan when the fan was not running... notice one first then I noticed 2 I found the third on the disassembly of the coolant system on and my vapor tubes were Swiss cheese on the ends. I had to use a water and steam proof high temp epoxy putty to repair them... and nicely painted...
Last edited by Jonathan-W; Jul 20, 2016 at 12:17 PM.
Thanks - I'll use that to check when the car's back from the garage.
Re the beach: Ha. I don't know much about Missouri, but I know if your grandmother was from Montana she probably would expect snow in July.... Pity sand doesn't make very good *****....
The garage says the radiator is chock full of muck (internally) and needs to be replaced, so I'm in contact with Wizard to ask about their shipping rates for their aluminium ones - even with shipping it'll be cheaper than buying a normal one in Japan.
The oil issue I mentioned on another thread appears to be due to a leaking oil pump, but the transmission will have to come out and be checked to be certain. However, there doesn't appear to be any contamination of the tranny oil with coolant, so that's a minor relief. I'm still looking at many thousands in repair costs. If it fixes the issues, it's money well spent.
Thanks to all the advice here, I was at least able to discuss the issues with some degree of knowledge, which was helpful.
In about 63, we lived in Mill Valley, California. My mom came to see us.
We took her on tours. Including Ocean Beach in nearby SF. As a Texas lady, an ocean was something to behold. Same for German born wife.
Both gals enthralled. Off with their shoes and waded in he light surf.
I kept a watchful eye on them and the kids...
Add some water to beach sands, it makes great missles. As good or better than mere snow.
Sure is a nice looking car and countryside as well.
The garage says the radiator is chock full of muck (internally) and needs to be replaced, so I'm in contact with Wizard to ask about their shipping rates for their aluminium ones - even with shipping it'll be cheaper than buying a normal one in Japan.
Very sensible, and no surprises about the state of the rad. Never believe that the temp gauge going up to 3/4 is in any way normal. Wizard very good choice indeed. Ensure you tell them what sort of tranny cooler fitting your current rad has (screw-on I think) and also whether you need a temp sensor hole in the LHS tank (no I think). They will probably supply a threaded bung to seal it anyway. IMPORTANT: the garage MUST flush out the engine with loads of high pressure water before they fit the new rad. Also, they MUST fit new thermostats and new hoses. Full hose kits are available from David Manners and others, in the UK for about 80 UKP. The Manners kits are very good quality, I have one fitted. If the rad is that clogged, so will everything else be.
Originally Posted by Some Day, Some Day
The oil issue I mentioned on another thread appears to be due to a leaking oil pump, but the transmission will have to come out and be checked to be certain. However, there doesn't appear to be any contamination of the tranny oil with coolant, so that's a minor relief. I'm still looking at many thousands in repair costs. If it fixes the issues, it's money well spent
The GM400 box is, by automatic gearbox standards, very straightforward. It should not cost a fortune to completely rebuild it (500 UKP in the UK).
I am glad you are getting somewhere with the car. It will be terrific when done, believe me.
Greg
Remove the metal tank on the LH side of the engine bay, 3 nuts on the wheel side, and have it flushed out. It does NOT drain when the cooling system is drained, and it fills with mud.
The atmospheric tank INSIDE the LH wheel aperture AFT of that wheel. A metal panel needs to be removed for access, is also full of mud, quaranteed. The hose that travels from the metal tank to that plastic atmospheric tank is probably buggered also.
Make 100% sure that they flush the heater core, BOTH WAYS, or the mud sitting in there will clog the new system in 30 seconds.
Last edited by Grant Francis; Jul 26, 2016 at 02:03 AM.
As Wizard's rad is custom-made for the XJS, I presume they know what sort of tranny cooler goes on. I've told them the year as well, so I hope they know what they're doing.
The garage did talk about flushing the engine, but I may have misunderstood - he gave me the impression that they would flush it once the new rad was on. As this seems like an excellent way to ruin the new rad, I presume I misunderstood. Definitely something to check, I'd say....
I asked about replacing the hoses, and he said he'll check them, and replace those that need it. I didn't ask about the thermostat - I've just ordered a black fan from Manners, and should have added a thermostat as well. They've already shipped the fan. Should I get the 82C V12 replacement one or the 88C XJ40 XJS OEM one? Manners only has the hose kit up to VIN144523 it seems.
500 quid? I wish.... I was quoted something rather substantially north of that. Very substantially north. Vastly further north. But yes, it is only a standard GM, so shouldn't be too hard. That's not to say that there won't be a "Luxury European Premium" tacked on....
I'll get onto the garage about the exact details, once I've had time to translate them so I know exactly what to specify (though the guy probably has a fair idea). It'll be a while before the rad gets here, anyway.
