Having seen what Jig Jag did, I also decide to install some Footwell Lighting.



Footwell Lighting, installed in my XJS which hides a little Secret!

Sometime ago I bought a USB Light from 'The Pound Shop' but never thought of using it in the Car.

In the Photo above its just tucked under the Seat but since it comes with quite a long Wire, it also makes a great Cabin Light if you need to find stuff in the Car.

Or heaven forbid, you've broken down and need some sort of Light to work on the engine.

For Power I plugged it into the AUX on my Stereo, as a Normal USB Cigar Lighter Socket, didn't provide enough Power to light it up.



This Light only Cost £1 from 'The Pound Shop'
Power for this was provided by the Aux Socket on my Stereo.



Also doubles as a Light for finding Stuff in the dark.

 

Having just fitted Electric Fans from an XJ40, I 'Jury Rigged them' just to try them out.

My Verdict was that they were disappointing, as well as being just so wrong on many different levels.

For Starters they made my XJS sound like a demented Sewing Machine and as such were just so noisy, that I couldn't hack it anymore.

As for keeping the Engine Cool they couldn't do that either as although they held the Temperature on the Normal midway point of the Temperature Gauge.

My Grey XJS always runs a lot Cooler than that and so in order to cut a long Story short, I simply didn't trust them and so they had to come out,

to be replaced by a Mechanical Fan.

So how much hassle was it, to take out the Electric Fans and then replace them with a Mechanical one.

For reasons that cannot be explained, you cannot buy the White Nylon Fans anymore and so your only Alternative, is to fit a Black Fan.

Unless of course you want to make your own! but more of that later............

First the Electric ones had to come out, which involved the removal of the Top closing panel, as well as the smaller hoses that are connected to the pipes on top.

I've done this job so many times, that it was a 'Walk in the Park' although I don't remember saying that the first time!



Removing the Closing Panel was dead easy, although I don't remember saying that the first time!



Not Wanted on Voyage! I was really glad to see the back of those Electric Fans.



Having Cleaned and Repainted the Fan Shroud last Year, it was just a case of dropping it in, note the use of a Towel to protect the Rad.

All I need now is a Fan, except before I got to that, Water was coming out from under the Car.



Help I've got a leak!
But where's it coming from?


I'm 99.9% sure that it is a leak from one of the Hoses on the Header Tank but first I need to make some Brackets in order to hold the Radiator Shroud in at the Bottom.

In order to do that, all I did was to buy a couple of Angle Brackets and Drill a couple of holes.



In order to hold the Radiator Shroud in at the bottom, I just bought a couple of Brackets and then drilled a couple of holes and bolted them on.



Brackets to hold the bottom of the Radiator Fan Shroud,
Just a Couple of Store Bought brackets, that needed an extra hole to bolt them on.
How easy was that!

 

Sometimes you just have to make it happen and today was one of those days, as a Shop I'm friendly with have one of those Kit Cars they were planning to tear down.

Which happens to be fitted with a Jaguar V12 and bolted on the end of this was one of those elusive White Jaguar Deep Dish Fans.

Of exactly the right diameter to fit a Pre-Facelift XJS V12 which at the time of writing are as rare as 'Rocking Horse Teeth'

And though it had my name on it, I wanted it right now as my Cars been off the road for long enough.

So sometimes the thing you need to do is to give those 'Jaguar Gods' a really good kick up the backside and not take no or maybe for an answer.

At which point I made a Phone Call and having done so got in the Car and drove down to the Shop, as although they were officially closed.

Some of the guys are always there doing Stuff for themselves, where having arrived they pointed me in the direction of the Spanners and just left me to get on with it.

The Rad was already out of the Car and so with nothing to get in the way, it was just a matter of getting the Fan off.

And having had the practice, it didn't take me long to collect my 'booty' and be on my way home, after having already agreed a price with the Boss Man.

Or one of my best mates as I now call him, who also gave me the washers that they use to bolt them on.

So having got back, I got on with the Car while the GF was doing her best to keep me fed and watered, as I was so obsessed with this I didn't want to stop.

Putting the Fan back on was not so simple, as in order to get those Fan nuts on, you have to slacken the drive wheel pulley, in order to turn the boss.

Fortunately I had already slacked them off and Copper Greased them last year, so because of that it wasn't quite as bad as I know it could have been.

That bit took about an hour and then it was 'plain sailing' after that and just a matter of refitting the Closing Panel the Water Pipes as well as the Earth Wires.

Then having done a very rough adjustment of the Fan Cowl as the light was already Starting to Fade, I spun the Fan around by hand to make sure that She Cleared.

And then with no more left to do, it was time for me to Start Her up!

As I gently slid the key into the ignition, my heart was almost beating out of my Chest, as I wondered if I had forgotten anything.

So having primed the System and heard the Fuel Pump run, as soon as the Brake Pump Cut out, I turned the Key right over and away She went OMG!

I only let her run for a Couple of minutes, which didn't give her any time for the Revs to drop from 1100 rpm.

But Compared to the Electric Fans which I'd just taken out, the Silence was just absolutely deafening!

So quiet so smooth and just so Jaguar, as She was purring like a little kitten.

I would have let her run for longer but it was getting dark and its not over yet, as Tomorrow the position of the Shroud needs 'Tweaking' the Brakes also need Bleeding.

And I've also got to find that Water leak, plus fitting a New Battery as well as a host of other jobs.

So while I'm not quite there yet, I'm getting very close.

Check out the little Video I made.

 

Nearly there now, just in time for your summer.

 

Hi Warrjon

Which Two Weeks of Summer, were you referring to, if it lasts that long (Lol)

 

Having just fitted a Re-Cored Rad, together with Electric Fans which I took out again, the very last thing that I wanted to see was water dripping

out from under the Car.

At first it seemed to be coming from the Bottom Hose, which I had just replaced with a New one but having re-tightened the Brand New Hose Clip

that I had just put on.

It didn't seem to be making any difference, then after driving myself crazy trying to find the cause, it turned out to be a problem with the Header

Tank.

Or to put it bluntly, a bodge up on my part, that came back to bite me on the backside!

in the form of a Rusty Hose Clip, that I should have changed.



The only hose Clip I never changed was the one that let me down and Started leaking!

Getting that Header Tank out of the Car was harder than putting the Fan on!

Finally got it sorted out with a New Tube and Hose Clips.



Finally Sorted with a New Tube and Hose Clips

Bolting it back inside the Car was a Total PIA, unless your Arms are long enough to hold a Spanner each side of the Wing (Fender)

Then some Final adjustments to the Fan Shroud.



Using Clamps to pull the Fan Shroud into place before finally tightening up.

Those two little jobs took me all day and would have cost a fortune at a Shop.


Are you sure you still want an XJS?


Course you do!

 

When I got my reserve tank replaced, I'm glad it didn't cost a fortune. Probably the equivalent of only a couple of hundred quid. There's no way I could manage all that in a day....

 

Why hold a spanner each side of the wing? The water bottle has 3 studs which are welded/pressed on!?

 

Actually, Daim, on my car at least, one of the fixings is a nut and bolt going through the inner wing.
Greg

 

Hi Someday

My Original OEM Header Tank was still in good condition, so I just cleaned and repainted it before I put it back.

But had it needed replacing, I would probably have done so with a New Aluminum one, which you can buy for under £50 that looks almost the same.

Or if I was in the money then get a Custom one made from Stainless Steel, which could be for around the figure of £200 that you mentioned.

 

Hi Daim

Are you Sure about that?

My Header Tank is an Original OEM one, the same as Greg used to have, with Two Threaded Studs on the back at one end and a hole for a 'Bolt' at the other.

 

Mine was leaking - it had been repaired, but the repair wasn't holding. Easiest just to replace.

 

Hi Someday

Sometimes Time is Money, so I guess you did the right thing but as Shop charges in the UK can be anything from £40-£60 an Hour, I have to do

everything myself even though I knew nothing before I joined this Forum.

Not that I would ever let a Garage near Her anyway, even if they offered to do the Job for Free!

 

Ha - I'm self-employed. Time is always money.... (so the equation is usually "can I make more money by doing paid work for the time it would take to repair this?")
Actually I have no idea what my go-to shop charges for labour. It's more a set fee for a specific job (invoices make no mention of hourly charges).
I would love to be able to do more work myself though - not to save money, but just for the satisfaction. Because when it actually works out, it feels really good. And you're that much less afraid....

 

Hi Someday

Plus One on that!

When I first got an XJS I really hated having to work on it, as its not exactly entry level for a home Mechanic and just looking under that bonnet

used to really freak me out.

But having tackled lots of jobs and got a good result, its only difficult the first time round, like for example replacing the Radiator and the Shroud

and Fan.

Jobs like that can take a day or maybe even two, in Total contrast to my Merc where I also had to take the Fan out, which took all of Ten

Minutes! Just two clips and one bolt!

Though now I quite enjoy it as that sense of satisfaction is quite priceless if hard won.

 

On the Jalopnik list of most complicatedcars to work on, it is second, with the old S600 Pullmann Benz with hydraulic everything being more complicated.

Over Time I workedup frommodest, simple I4 rwd cars with a solid rear axle and 5 speed manual to a more and more complicated piece of kit. Mechanically, the V12 is less complicated than the Jaguar AJV8, as the V8 has more of everything compared to the V12. But access to the parts takes longer on the V12...

Now the but side... When the V12 is done, and the XJ-S can drive again, it'll be more pleasing to seewhat you've achieved. Satisfaction is greater when you do it yourself. You can monitor the work quality. In a workshop you don't know exactly what is going on under the covers you don't remove yourself

 

Do you know why the electric fans are noisy and the BIG white one is not?
I learned...about that just recently...
if you look at your electric fan all nice and even blades all around...
now look at the white fan... the blade arrangement looks almost wrong and uneven...
it is this un-uniformness that removes the constant pulse beat from the blades that made the electric fans sound loud and like a sewing machine...

 

Lottsa interesting stuff.


1. leaking steel header tank. DIY fix within reach. Dependent on tools available.


A. JB epoxy patch.
B. Body filler patch, also a form of epoxy.
C. Brazing
D. Solder.


In one way or another on various critters and fluid containers, I been there, doe that.


Circa 1958, I was driving my company car, a 57 Chevrolet bare bones stick shift six between El Centro and Brawley California. The engine suddenly quit ! I coasted to the shoulder. No start. A view of the instruments revealed fuel tank on empty!!! I thought that could not be. But considered my propensity of "running pout of gas"!!!


A tow truck pulled in behind me. From a collision shop that I did business with!!! Yahoo, no cell phones then or road service....


He put the Chevvy on the hook. Pre flat bed days as well. In to their shop. Boss and a couple of guys quickly found a hole in the tank!!! Roads hazard!!! A splotch of fast dry
"Bondo". We went to lunch. My treat. Came back and the other guys had dumped in some gas and the tank was leak free and the happy six running.


Not a business thing, just good folks giving a hand....


Carl

 

Hi Jonathan

The Noise is not the Only problem with the Electric Fans, when they were running in Cool down mode to neutralize the Heat Soak, they ran the Battery Down.

Which was something that I was quite paranoid about.

Being Stranded miles from home with a Flat Battery, so I'm glad to see the back of them.

The Mechanical Fan is Simple in comparison.

 

Hi Carl

Its Amazing what can be achieved with simple stuff like that.