Haven't been on here for a while as I've not had an X300 that I've done anything with or to,plus I have an XJ40 which is currently going through a mid-life crisis...maybe vicariously. Anyway this one is back in the UK after a long sabbatical in the Isle of Man. I'm not sure which way to go with this yet,might depends on how much she wants to 'give'. I picked her up yesterday and drove her the 10 or so miles back home,with a quick detour to my very understanding local garage for a quick check to see what she might need for an Mot. Very little as it turns out but we'll come back to that later.
The drive home was uneventful apart form the very obvious knocking coming from the front on both sides. Neither windows on the passenger side work,nor do either of the seat electrics,boot only opens from inside the car or with the key,seatbelt light stays on,the right indicator flashes at twice the speed of normal,battery was flat and didn't start after the run home,oil pressure switch works when it feels like it along with the radio aerial,the exhaust has a large blow and the headlining is sagging...oh and did I mention the ABS light was on and the handbrake doesn't work.?
So there you have it,another well looked after 1995 3.2 X300...and there's some lacquer peel. Sounds right up my street. So here's some photos to be going on with and then I shall put up some updates. Apparently (and I could be wrong) but the Isle of Man doesn't have a periodic road worthiness test for privately owned cars....who'd have thought.!

Tis one of the better colours me thinks.




Again,my opinion, but the 'Sport' interior is one of the best looking.


Can't see it but there's a chunk missing out of the bolster.


I could be wrong but that belt looks tad short in width.


Home made isolator/bushes ?

 

Looks like your going to be busy for a few weeks, keep us updated.

 

Hope the Rio Man doesn't has any rust under. Strange that private cars on Isle of Man are free from the annual MOT tests which would have prompted the owner to fix the handbrakes, lights, safety belt and a blowing exhaust. And wonder how these were tolerated for long, or the Rio Man has been left unused for a long time? The interior looks pretty clean, though.

 

My thoughts also. I even checked the Isle of Man equivalent of the DVLA and it is true. I have had her up on a ramp and there is are no area that require welding for the Mot but there are a few 'fruity' ares that I will wire-brush back and underseal. I believe the car was not the main daily driver and hadn't been left standing for to long.

 

Welcome back twack,

I understand the MOT is quite thorough and can be a real bear to get through. Especially with a car of this age and pedigree. Most states in the USA don't require anything close to a MOT. Arizona literally requires nothing as far as roadworthiness in most cases. My car is in what I would describe as good condition mechanically, but I would hate to see a MOT inspection on it! Same time, the car runs, drives and handles very well.

Many of your issues that you know of so far are easy and inexpensive fixes. Its rust and suspension wear I believe that would ruin a good MOT and cause costs to rise. Good luck with it!.

 

So after having a battery boost at the garage to jump start her the ABS light removed itself on the way home,fingers crossed it was a voltage issue,the battery is now off and enjoying a few days of trickle charging. I systematically checked all the fuses and replaced three and added a couple that were missing. End result so far is that the passenger side windows now work along with the passenger seat electrics. Turns out the handbrake does work but is very high. So far so good but the indicator will take some further investigation as the bulb was good along with the module (swapped it to the other side and problem did not move) so possible a dodgy earth...although there is a slim chance that after the battery being off and put back on with charge it may remedy itself...stranger things have happened. All that aside,the front shock bushes arrived so I thought I would get those sorted sooner rather than later. Easy enough ish. The passenger side has the coolant reservoir in the way so I unbolted it and held it out of the way with a bungee,undid the top nut of the shock and then jacked the car up to release it. Took a bit of elbow grease to compress the shock absorber and was slightly fiddly to hold the pressure and remove the old bushes and spacers/washers....actually there was no top bush left. Put back together with new bushes (Did this twice as I got the bush in the wrong place first time round. Lower the car back down and tighten the top nut. Sorted. Rinse and repeat for the other side.

First time I removed the coolant reservoir completely,took a short cut second time.


Touch of rust treatment


At least this side had some bush left.



Out with the old,in with the new.

Weather permitting I shall put the battery back on tomorrow and see what's next.

 

I love to see neglected cars being fettled back to life. Well done sir. Keep it up.

 

Well that was pleasant. It was a bit of a list but here's how it panned out. The quick flashing indicator turned out to be a bad connection close to where the window washer reservoir is,this was found after we were scratching out heads because there was no earth coming through.That was a big thank you to Mark at the garage who also plated up the exhaust and blobbed some weld in one of the joints. I managed to find most of the seatbelt stalk pieces so I was able to glue it back together so it worked. Mark had also tested the wiring to the screen wash pump,which was not working and found there was power. I removed the pump and put 12v direct to it and it worked fine so I just cleaned up two connector in the loom and it fired straight back up. The handbrake was adjusted up on the cable underneath where it spits to both rear brakes. Not that it came into the test but if you leave the radio switched on it works all the time,sweet. The only issue left to resolve is the fans running all the time,unlike my XJ40 at least they turn off when the ignition is off. A radiator fan switch sorted the 40's issue but I'm going for the relay under the left front first and if that doesn't work then the fan switch...all fuses are good. Now I've just got to wait for DVLA to send me the correct forms for me to fill in so I can get registered.Oh yes and the radiator isolator bushes.

 

So I found a pair of radiator bushes/isolator mounts,which was nice. Let's face it I could have used a couple of sponges and it would have been better than what was on there. Simple process if you can get the torx head bolts out,which I did (bar one that had already been ground off) but it did take a while and a few good soaks of penetrating oil. Once the mounting plate was off I gave it a clean/scrub/wire wheel on drill and then sprayed it with some Hammerite 'smooth which I had left over...personally I prefer the paint version but this was surplus. Left to dry overnight and put back together the next day with the new isolators. The old torx bolts were in poor condition so I replaced them with a set of Landrover P38 rear seat bolts....they were almost an exact match,bizarrely. So with that done and a little time to spare I had a quick go round the engine area with some WD40 and a cloth. Here's a few visual of the whole process.

In the beginning.


Previous improvisation which is better than nothing.


Cursory clean off.


Had to use a couple of spacers on the passenger side to get the mounting plate to retain the bush. Possibly the bottom ones are perished causing a drop...job for another day.

So with a little time spare and the rain holding off I managed to do a bit of cleaning. Here's a before and after.


Untouched.


Still untouched.


Inlet manifolds and the exhaust manifold cover on the other side will need a little finessing


A little bit of love.

The only downside to the last few days was that I replaced the fan relay (the one behind the bumper) and the fans continued to remain on...next I shall try the temperature sensor/switch on the base of the rad..Always positive...the more things that don't resolve it the closer I get to the one that does.

 

The fans being on continuously at low speed is what is supposed to happen. I know it seems odd, but if you have a search through the forum, there are various threads describing their operation, and a simple mod which causes them only to come on when the aircon compressor clutch is engaged, or of course, when the coolant temperature requires it.

 

Well that's good news,thank you. I've never noticed it before on any of the others. I think I've only noticed it now because when I first got the XJ40 it's fans would come on at temperature and stay on forever and ever and ever...I believe it why,possibly, there was a battery isolator switch installed. It turned out to be a faulty radiator fan switch...I guess now I'm a bit more aware of the fans than I was before...Thanks again,it will save me some head scratching.