Greetings All!

My 1995 XJ6 VDP, with 55k on the ticker, has no problems whatsoever and still turns heads both on the road and in the parking lots. I drive it daily because. I am the luckiest Jaguar owner.
That is all. That's my post.

Drive your Jaguar!

Addendum to the above: I did have to replace my wiper blade recently. It was the original blade. 26 years. Not too shabby for a wiper blade. The dude at Autozone was convinced I needed 2 blades. Hehe!

 

Lately I've been thinking about just how good looking the X300 is. Style-wise, there is nothing that I don't like about how it looks. The design and proportions of the X300 are beautiful to me in all regards. It brought back and retained some traditional Jaguar styling while adding some "modern" styling features.

I look at a lot of other Jaguars (just looking, can't help it), old and new, and there are some styling points on virtually ALL of the other Jaguar models that I have some "aesthetic disagreements" with. Don't get me wrong, I may add another one someday, but when you've got the X300, you've got one of the most beautiful. Why wander when all you desire is right in front of you?

It is my opinion that Ian Callum, while having some very good ideas on how Jaguars should look, seemed to stop with the design process when he hit 80% perfect. While I love the look of the front 80% of the X351, he quit from the C-pillars on back (apologies X351 owners, just my opinion)! Geoff Lawson was the father of the X300. Sadly, his time was short.

A while back, a lady at the gas station said to me as she was pulling away, "that's the most beautiful car I've ever seen!" I agreed, with a big grin and a nod. Lucky us!

 

I take my hat off to Cinutech, as it is rare to encounter bravery like his nowadays. Even allowing yourself to think that your car has "no problems whatsoever" is bold, writing it down and posting it..... wow!
Joking aside, very well done to have such a lovely low mileage example.
I am much in agreement with what Sleekjag says, although I think you are being too kind to Ian Callum; 60% would be generous in my view.
When I acquired my X300 originally, it was new, and I still had a series 3 XJ12 for a period of overlap. Looking out of the window at them both (same colour) I found myself invariable concluding that the series 3 was marginally the more elegant looking, principally around the tail. No comparison dynamically of course or in terms of economics or build quality. With the passage of time the series 3 has begun to date a little in my eyes, in a way that the X300 hasnt.
We are indeed fortunate to have such an enduringly beautiful vehicle to obsess over, the more so as there are so few , if any, attractive let alone beautiful contemporary designs.

 

I may be more idiot than brave about my '95 VDP. As they say, love covers a multitude of sins.

I have loved every Jag I've owned. Even the '91 XJS Classic Collection which caught fire and never ran correctly after that. And the '90 Sovereign which unwound the trans as I was driving it. And the '98 XJR which decided it no longer preferred it's cam chain tensioner at that particular stop light. And the '94 XJ12 pictured below which was glorious even though it had a severe case of narcolepsy and would just shut off while I was at highway speeds, at stop signs, at idle, while rolling slowly through parking lots, and such. And I even love the '89 XJS shown below. She's not been started in 12 years, been on jack stands for 4 years, but still doesn't leak any fluids and the leather is still soft. In case you're wondering, I took the bumpers off to get her into that position. It was not the result of a spectacular drifting.

I am, at this moment, at my local Jag dealer getting new brakes on the '95 VDP. One of the sales guys has offered to buy her. I just grinned and said: "You can't afford her unless you start with 5 figures."

I'm considering an i-Pace for the business. I like the way the look. They've character and style not found in Tesla. There's also a new F-Type R sitting here. Temptation is only wrong if you give in to it. "Father forgive me for what I am thinking about doing." That's how confession works, right?

Btw, I have plans for then XJS. I just need another '95 - '97 XJR engine. You might know where this is going if you think about it! I should probably open an account just for speeding tickets.

 

And still, LOVE conquers all. So the 95 VDP should be very easy to love!
We are ready for a spectacular build thread, followed by spectacular drifting.
I am a solid 80% behind the styling of the I-Pace.

The F-type is the best of the bunch, up to 90% personal approval.... But they should have hidden that front bumper beam!!

 

All: been having low-heat issues in the '95 VDP (under 60k on the clock). Since winter has decided to show up, I decided to drop her off at the local dealer for a diagnostic. Symptom: at idle I have plenty of heat. At speed, I have heat so long as I keep the blower at half-strength or less.
I've check the water pump, the auxiliary water pump, the thermostat, heater control valve, and coolant lines. All are good and functional and correctly routed.
Dealer mechanic says: Heater core.
Problem: 8 have no coolant leaks anywhere, not a single drop outside or inside. May driveway and carpets are dry.

The VDP runs/drives beautifully. I would just like more heat.

Any kind soul wish to advise me before I let someone rip out my dash?

 

If all of the components you list are working correctly, the heater core is probably a good call. It's where I would go next.

Try disconnection in the engine bay and flushing and back flushing to get a good flow. If you can't get a good flow then replacement is not a dash out job. On RHD cars it's just removal of the glovebox to access the heater core. On LHD you may have more to contend with but certainly not dash out.

 

b1mcp is almost right, on a left hand drive vehicle, Disconnect battery, remove instrument pack so you can see what you are doing. Remove four bolts, nuts and lower steering column down to the floor. remove pipework, remove heater core. I would back-front flush heater core a few times before I went the previous route. I would find another core if it won't flush.

Thank you

Larry Louton

 

I have had good success using CLR to flush heater cores. This is a product designed to clean calcium, lime and rust deposits from plumbing fixtures. In the U.S. it is available in most grocery and home stores. The label warns against using on aluminum or brass, so it is advisable to limit the time it is left in the heater core. There is certainly a risk that using this product could open a leak in your core, so use it at your own risk.

I disconnect the heater hoses and blow out the remaining coolant with compressed air (turn the compressor regulator down to 15 psi to reduce the risk of damaging the core). Then I attach sections of stock heater hose long enough to reach near the hood and tie the ends up to the hood with string or wire. I insert a funnel into one of the hoses and pour in a full bottle of CLR. Allow it to sit in the heater core for no more than 30 minutes. Then flush with water until it runs clear and no more sediment is present. Flush in both directions, then blow out with compressed air. By this method I have cleared cores that were completely blocked.

Cleaning a heater core by any method carries a risk of causing a leak or damaging the core, so use caution and be prepared to have to replace your core if anything goes wrong.

Cheers,

Don

 

I must agree the 95, 96 XJ's are the most elegant. I may be a wee bit biased.

 

How did you check the aux water pump? The propeller have a tendency to dig a hole in the base and partially destroy itself so you'll still hear the pump running but propeller will not move or move very slowly. Also make sure to check you have correctly oriented thermostat, it can go in both ways and if fitted incorrectly it will cause low heat when driving.
I'd also probably try another thermostat, I once had to go through three of them on my old XJ40 before getting one that worked(there is a forum post re this on xj40.com somewhere) and they share the same thermostat. Plus will be cheaper than getting out the heater core.
Of course it would help if you flush the system, basically drive with some sort of a cleaner for a while, then drop coolant from the bottom rad hose, put the hose back and fill in with water, start the car and wait until it gets to temp with heating on full and drop water again from the bottom rad hose. Repeat until water is comes clear. Think it took me at least 8 times before I had clean water when I flushed mine.

 

^ i agree


you can find them on ebay as MNA6710AB. you can put in a small 12V DC marine/RV pump as a cheaper alternative.

 

All:
My apology to you all for not responding more quickly. Best laid plans...as they say. I have some results to give you regarding the heater core issue and I will try to answer all the questions asked. One of which, I hope has you all falling off the couch laughing at me.

First of all, winter is still here and I am over it.
From there, I move onto my heater core. I decided I was unwilling to cast $1750 at my local dealer tech (who is a genius with the old Jags, btw) before I knew with certainty the heater core was toast. So, I took the advice one of you kindly offered and reverse flushed the core. My process was this:
I bought a coolant flush/fill kit at Autozone ($6.99 USD).
I occluded the flow from the lower coolant hose to the accessory water pump, and the 2 lines in front of the heater control valve. I used the clamps shown (Harbor Freight Tools, $7.99 USD, buy these, you will love them. I bought 2 sets.)

I then connected a garden hose to the purge fitting on my hot water heater.
I disconnected the lower 2 hoses on the heater control valve, inserted and clamped in place (using the clamps in the kit) the flush/fill adapter to the return side of the heater core coolant line (rubber hose).
I opened the purge valve on my hot water heater and went back to the car. I caught sight of the tail end of dirty water exiting the incoming line of the heater core. I became excited.
I let the entire contents of my hot water heater flush through the heater core. Huge waste of water, but much cheaper than $1750.
I frequently checked inside the car for leaks. There were none.
I buttoned it all back in place and fired up the beast. A few minutes later, I had so much heat in the cabin I had to turn the blower down. Since then, I have lots of cabin heat and more cash in my pocket.

To the wise person who suggested a reverse flush, I am grateful. Should we ever meet, Steaks and bourbon on me!

Now then, one of you wanted to know how I tested my bits and pieces for being in good order. I started with the hoses. They are all still supple with no dry spots or cracking. My Cat is low mileage and mostly garage kept so the rubbers are still in good order, as best I can determine. True, age has hit them and they probably should be replaced. May I remind you it is winter? Unless one breaks they can wait for warmer days!
I simply replaced the thermostat. That was easy. I am fairly certain is was factory original, much like the aforementioned windscreen wiper blade. Not bad for 26 years old.

Now then, get your beers in hand, ready to belly laugh at me.

One of you asked how I tested the accessory water pump. Well....
remember that flush/fill kit? Remember I occluded the hoses in between the radiator and the acc. water pump and the heater control valve?

Turns out, if you connect a piece of rubber hose to that pump (after the clamp) and stick the free end of that hose into a bucket full of water, then start the car, and wait for the pump to kick on, if you look at the open end of the accessory water pump, it knows when you do that because right then, you get hit in the face with a rather powerful blast do extremely cold water. Why was it cold, you ask? Well, remember how I ran all the hot water from my water heater through the core? Yes, well, when I filled the bucket at the sink, there was not yet any hot water. Thus, cold water in the bucket was pumped through the piece of hose and directly into my face. Did I mention it's winter?

You may now clean up the spilled beer.

This weekend, I am replacing the shocks (all 4) and the front wheel bearings. A close friend is helping me. I'm a bit lame from an injury. The shocks because they still have the Jaguar assembly line stickers on them and the front wheel bearings because it's time. The grease today is much better than in 1994 when she was assembled. Abundance of caution, so to say.

Thanks for all the good advice!

 

Hi cinutechs,

Thank you for your success report! You will help other owners for years to come. And thanks for the laughs at your expense!

The large images are still down at Jag-Lovers, but the thumbnails and descriptions at the links below may be helpful for your wheel bearing job. The most important thing of all is the adjustment once you have it all back together. Various references provide contradictory instructions, so over the years I developed a routine that works well for me and may work for you also. The car in the photos is an XJ40, but the process is identical on the X300 (the bearing and seal part numbers are all the same). And don't forget new oil seals.

Front Wheel Bearings - Part 1 of 4
Front Wheel Bearings - Part 2 of 4
Front Wheel Bearings - Part 3 of 4
Front Wheel Bearings - Part 4 of 4

Choose a grease with a high liquefaction temperature. I'm a big fan of the green Lucas Oil X-TRA Heavy Duty Grease available at many auto parts stores, which resists melting at up to 560°F.

The seal & bearing drivers shown in the photos are from the Harbor Freight kit, which is inexpensive and well worth the investment.

(Typical disclaimers, no affilication, etc.)

Cheers,

Don