Hi all,

I have owned my XJR for 8 years.

I have just pulled it out of storage after 3 years.

It's covered 175K miles, with full Jaguar service history.

I am in the UK and we have a yearly safety check (MOT). The last MOT required welding on the passengers side suspension top mount.

I inspected the car yesterday on the ramp and although there is a lot of surface rust, the screw driver didn't penetrate much other than the seals, near the front wheels... however there does seem to be some issues where the front lower suspension mounts (please see pics).

Also, when I put the Jag away 3 years ago the gearbox was working fine... when I took it out of storage the J Gate was stuck and I received a trans over heat message. After lots of fiddling we managed to get the jag in neutral, any thoughts?

Finally, also, when I started the jag it ran but managed to pump most of it's fuel out at the back. I have inspected the fuel lines and they look shot... How hard are they to replace?

Any thoughts on rust repair, trans and fuel pipes is most appreciated!! Would like to get her back on the road as she is part of the family.

 

There are plenty of rust inhibitor's out there...dips, sprays and such that will clean up a lot of that. Wire brush as much as possible and then apply the inhibitor.

As for the trans issue, I'll bet its one or both cables. You'll need to try to get some lithium grease spray in the cable sheath and work it in. May as well spray the linkages to. Be sure to check your fluid levels.




The fuel lines shouldn't be to horrible, depending on where the breaks are. To save some money, I'd go to a salvage yard and ask them for there most recent recovery and take the lines off that. This way when you take them off, you'll know how they came out to put them in. If there the rubber lines, just replace with new.

If its your fuel tank area...

 

If you're looking to save the car, concentrate work on the body shell first, and work your way out to the suspension assemblies.

That last photo looks most trouble. Looks like you'll need some welding just there. I'd attempt that removing the subframe using an engine support beam, quite cheap from eBay.

*** But DON'T do any welding if you've got any problems with your fuel lines leaking!***

Keep a close eye on corrosion around the subframe vee mounts. I would actually remove them whilst the engine is being supported. Even if there's no corrosion, I would sand the area and paint with por15. Maybe change the mounts seeing as you're down there. Might improve the ride.

I've done that kind of work on my Jag that had done a similar number of miles. A large pot of por15 helps a great deal - decant it into a few smaller cans to stop it from going off.

Good luck!