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Page 11 of the Body & Paint Manual starts the description of how to remove the Secondary Bulkhead Center Panel. One of the procedures listed is:
Carry out the air conditioning (A/C) system recovery procedure. For additional information, refer to Air Conditioning (A/C) System Recovery, Evacuation andCharging (82.30.30)
I have removed the cowl vent screen & the shock braces. In reading as many of the threads as I could find re removing the Supercharger, I haven’t seen anything about AC? Any help is much appreciated.
Since I haven't gotten any responses, I thought that I should try to clarify my question.
First, what I am doing is replacing the hoses, etc. available once the SC is removed. So, I am in the process of removing the supercharger.
There are many excellent posts on the subject & I have reviewed all the ones I could find.
Some of the names in the manual appear different from the names in most of the posts (e.g., Screen Rain Shield is called Cowl Vent Screen in the manual.)
The Plastic False Bulkhead at the rear of the engine also needs to be removed. It seems to me, that this is called the Secondary Bulkhead Center Panel in the manual.
As mentioned above, the manual in describing the removal of the Secondary Bulkhead Center Panel, says that I should dink with the AC as described above.
Are the "Plastic False Bulkhead" and the "Secondary Bulkhead Center Panel" the same thing?
In removing the Supercharger is there a need to do anything with the air conditioning?
As per usual, your help is invaluable and much apprecited. Thanks, Steve
Since I haven't gotten any responses, I thought that I should try to clarify my question.
First, what I am doing is replacing the hoses, etc. available once the SC is removed. So, I am in the process of removing the supercharger.
There are many excellent posts on the subject & I have reviewed all the ones I could find.
Some of the names in the manual appear different from the names in most of the posts (e.g., Screen Rain Shield is called Cowl Vent Screen in the manual.)
The Plastic False Bulkhead at the rear of the engine also needs to be removed. It seems to me, that this is called the Secondary Bulkhead Center Panel in the manual.
As mentioned above, the manual in describing the removal of the Secondary Bulkhead Center Panel, says that I should dink with the AC as described above.
Are the "Plastic False Bulkhead" and the "Secondary Bulkhead Center Panel" the same thing?
In removing the Supercharger is there a need to do anything with the air conditioning?
As per usual, your help is invaluable and much appreciated. Thanks, Steve
Are the "Plastic False Bulkhead" and the "Secondary Bulkhead Center Panel" the same thing?
Answer: I would say yes. To remove it without damaging it, you have to remove the AC piping going into the cabin, and for that you need to evacuate the AC system first. Otherwise, you have to cut the false bulkhead in a way to remove it without removing the AC piping.
I remember that removing the false bulkhead was a bit of a nightmare because Jaguar fixed it doubly: you have a kind of nuts,that look like perforated discs that are screwed on threads coming out from behind the bulkhead.
When you remove them, you will only be able to remove the insulation of the false bulkhead. You have to remove it without damaging it (nightmare, because most likely you will tear it to pieces if you are not very cautious), and after removing it (At leas the top part), you will see that Jaguar fixed the hard plastic part of the false bulkhead again with the same special nuts.
When I did the job I fixed the plastic bulkhead and the insulation together, so that I can remove both together in the future.
I hope that my explanation is understandable...
There are some good threads with pictures in the forum concerning so called "valley hose", which is the one running underneath the supercharger, so these threads also show the removal of the supercharger, but I will see whether I have some pictures from when I did the job.
Again, Thomas, you have come to the rescue! So much appreciated; at last count, I owe you at least a dozen beers! The vicissitudes of life seem to have no end of means to prove my ignorance!
I am surprised that I saw no reference to the AC disconnection in the various threads. In fairness, there were many promising sounding links that go to another site that give a 404 error; so, it may have been covered but lost.
Now, I will explore the AC work.
Sounds like a good modification attaching the insulation to the bulkhead to ease the teardown next time. I am hopeful to live long enough to finish this project, but I will attempt to do what you did for the next guy!
As to the insulation, can it be easily replaced with new insulation? If so, would it make sense just not to worry about the old & replace with new? BTW, I can see those narley fasteners you describe. Now, to get to them!!
Hi Steve,
I, too, was able to tackle lots of jobs on the Jag only because of really helpful threads here in the forum! There are really some brilliant guys around with excellent tips!
Coming back to the bulkhead...
The AC should be emptied with a special machine, the same that is being used when you let a workshop recharge the AC. Two reasons for that: first of all, the cooling gas is bad for the environment, so just opening the valve and letting the gas discharge is environmentally very bad, and second, because in these machines the gas gets recycled and re-used, so you also reduce cost because you pay for the basic service and only the quantity of gas missing.
As I am a bit mad and have also retrofitted ACs to some of my cars, some years ago I was fed up with going to workshops for discharging and recharging the ACs, so I bought a used machine to do the job myself..
There is no need to glue the insulation to the plastic bulkhead, I just attached both together with the "outer" row of fasteners, which fasteners I replaced with big washers and normal nuts, which makes a future removal even easier.
I have found some pictures, and I also now remembered how I did it exactly...
In the picture above you can see the connection points to the heating matrix on the left (I always use some rubber plugs to avoid dirt to enter these tubes) and the connection points of the AC more on the right, also plugged.
You can also see that only the top part of the insulation is missing. As I had discovered that the plastic part does not go all the way down the metal bulkhead, I cut the insulation material along a line that gave me access to the hidden fasteners and so was able to remove the plastic without destroying all of the insulation, thus making the removal easier.
Here's a picture the shows the cutting line on the drivers side:
I found access to the AC equipment; now, just need to get the technique down. At first, I was intimidated by the process; however, on a relative basis, it seems pretty simple.
The pictures are excellent & will go a long way in helping me accomplish the task.
Hi Thomas,
That is very interesting about the secondary bulkhead. I had quite a problem removing mine to change the supercharger. The RHD arrangement is different, as the heater pipes travel across the front of the secondary bulkhead to the left side of the car. The heater pipes must be removed from the bulkhead connectors to give the secondary bulkhead enough room to be removed. The first time I tried to remove the secondary bulkhead without disconnecting the heater pipes. The result was that I fractured the plastic "Y-connectors" that connected the heating pipes to the rear air conditioning system. I had to put straight pipes on until I was able to buy the Y-connectors. The good news is that I did not have to involve the air conditioning piping as the secondary bulkhead is positioned above them on RHD cars, I think.
Note to OP: The tool that removes the spring clamps remotely is essential for this job. Remote spring hose clamp tool
Very true regarding the hose clamp tool and thanks for mentioning it, it is essential for removing quite a few hoses on the car, including the heater hoses also on LHD cars.
I second that thanks, Pete; thanks! I had seen that tool in a previous post; may have been one of yours. I also saw a set of what looks like thin metal hooks that are used to help remove hoses.
I'm not there yet, but how does the air intake manifold elbow (The long oval tube-like part, prominent in the valley between the halves of the SC) disconnect? Even before disconnecting all of the wires to get a better view, I can see what looks like a traditional metal hose clamp. Is loosening that clamp all that has to be done to remove it. Seems too easy? Would you remove it before or after the plastic bulkhead
BTW, I think Thomas understood that I was talking about having my intimidation of evacuating the AC assuaged. I still see the task ahead as very challenging. Mercifully, I don't have to hurry.
Without you fellows helping me, there is NO WAY that I would even think of tackling this. I really love this car & would like to keep her in spite of friends and family suggesting that I should get rid of her because this is taking so much time away from other things. They just don't understand the satisfaction that this brings. Besides, if I couldn't do the work, there is no way that I could cope with the current status of dealers and repair shops in our area. I'd rather ride Shank's mare!
A little more research on the threads indicates that the intake elbow is removed with the throttle body & separated after the removal, Will continue to folow the steps until I get to that removal process.
A little more research on the threads indicates that the intake elbow is removed with the throttle body & separated after the removal, Will continue to folow the steps until I get to that removal process.
Hi Steve,
The factory manual, which is downloadable from the sticky posts at the top of the forum, is a very good guide to doing any maintenance. The whole process of supercharger removal and replacement is documented. You may have to jump around the pages as some parts of the job are in different places. There are other really good guides for doing the valley hoses on this forum. One is called "And into the valley they ride". You should be able to find it by searching the forum. On jaghelp.com there is an article on S-Type R supercharger removal that is almost the same as the XJ process.
Pete M
Last edited by Pete M; Mar 16, 2024 at 02:07 PM.
Reason: tidying up
Thanks so much, Pete! I have been to the post re "into the valley" numerous times; so many times, I'll soon need a new pair of climbing shoes! I will follow-up on all of your suggestions. There is a nice table of sequential steps in one of the posts; however, to your point, it does not include all of the steps as the online manual does (e.g., The steps in removing the bulkhead: In the manual it says to 11. Detach & reposition the brake booster vacuum pipe...) I haven' found that much detail in the posts. I find printing the appropriate pages helpful.
One of the steps for Left-hand drive vehicles in the manual is #12: "Detach the fuel filter supply & return lines.".
I see no sign of anything remotely resembling such a thing! There are 2 capped columnar pipes where, I think, the filter should be.
Did some cars come without the aforementioned oil filter?
Secondary Bulkhead Center Panel Removal
