Vehicle: 1994, XJ12, Base Model (I believe), 102K miles

After getting the few little mechanical chores done satisfactorily I drove from my home here in Seattle to Olympia to just see how everything looked. Once on I-5 (interstate highway) I set the cruise control at 66 and sat back to just enjoy the ride. It's about 65 miles so I figured an hour down and then an hour back. I happened to hit the traffic just right. Both down and back I didn't need to touch either the gas or the brakes. The ride was superb. I have been on this stretch of road many times and so know where bad spots are and what lanes to use to avoid them. In the XJ12 I chose purposely to drive through the rough spots to see how the ride would be. It was, as hoped, far, far better. And where I usually get some irritated backside after an hour or so in a car seat, this time I was totally comfortable. Was it the car, the seats, the tunes coming out of the CD changer in the boot, the thrill of being in a very cool car? Don't know, but I do know the normal pain I get in my right buttock dow to top of my hamstring was absent, and thats good enough for me.

I did find some more work to do. The heat control seemed to have no effect. The A/C works great, but just no heat. And with the A/C off, even with the fan set on high, no air comes from the center vents. I am guessing the gadget that controls cooling water flow through the heater core is somehow foobart.

There is a ticking sound like hydraulic lifters. It is especially noticeable at low speeds and idle, but even at 66 mph it was there.

On the drivers side it sounds like the airvent has a small leak so I was accompanied by a small faint whistling sound mostly noticeable when the stereo changed between songs and CDs. I do want to solve this. If anyone had a suggestion I would appreciate it.

This morning went to the same petrol station where I filled up before leaving last night and found the 134 miles (214 km) used 7.89 gallons (29.9 l) of gas. Works out to just shy of 17 mpg (7.16 km/l). Can someone tell me if this seems within reasonable limits? Would love to hear it should be better. I will be using this vehicle later this summer for a few thousand mile road trip and is there is an easy way to get a few more miles per gallon I will be all over that. Does anyone have thoughts on the true necessity of using Premium grade fuel? Here in Seattle its about $.30+ more per gallon ($3.71 for regular vs. $4.05 for premium). If the engine really requires it I don't mind paying the money. But I know a lot of people use premium fuel even in cars that don't require it.

Working on getting the musty smell out of the car. Sprayed about a half can of lysol disinfectant spray into the air intakes while the fan was on high. That has helped some. Cleaning the carpet and mats are next.

Robert Booth
Seattle, Washington
oddjobbob@gmail.com

 

Robert:
Welcome to the forum and congrats on the car. I know nothing about the 12 cylinder models, although I cannot imagine the HVAC system is that different. It's common weaknesses and faults are well documented. Do a little digging and I'm sure you'll come up with answers. But what I can corroborate is the excellence and the stateliness of the drive. At the end of the day, driving down the road, this cabin is a nice place to be. I can't say that about my Dodge minivan.
cheers,
Scott

 

Hi Robert and welcome to the forum.

I remember when I took my XJ6 up Route 60 for the first time, I couldn't believe the ride experience.

I'm in serious like with your powerplant and haven't even seen it.



As far as your lifter noise, I would get this addressed ASAP. I have buddies that swear by MMO but I'm not going to tell you to put it in your oil.

I will tell you to go to these links and ask the guys there.

Jag-Lovers

JagFORUM - the world's No 1 online club for Jaguar enthusiasts

V12-ENGINE enthusiast's Forum from Jag-lovers - the world's No 1

Jaguar Clubs of North America

Jaguar Clubs of North America

 

hahaha... about an hour after writing that post I remembered my experience a dozen or so years ago with a circa 1964 Atomic 4 engine in a 1964 Islander 29 sailboat and the improvements wrought by using MMO. Using a suction device I use in my sailboat i got a quart out of the XJ12 and added half a quart of MMO and a half quart of Lucas oil treatment.
Thank you for the links, as well. I will go there as well for more info.

Must be true, what they say, great minds think alike.

Thanks again.

reb

 

That's a scary thought ... heh-heh

My mom's car, a 1st Gen Honda Civic V-Tech, had been sitting around a while so I gave it the recommended MMO amount when I did the oil change. I even put a little bit in the fuel tank.

I can say this ... the engine passed with flying colors today when I took it in for the mandatory Pennsylvania Emissions test today.

Also, here is a link to the XJ12 1994 Elec Guide

http://tinyurl.com/42qwnqt




Good Luck, Bubba

 

Nice choice, I wish you a good luck with your XJ12 . I always love V12 engines more than others .

 

Welcome to the forum. You'll find the central vents in the dash are dedicated to A/C. No warm air comes out of them.

 

Yep. I took a few minutes to read the owners manual and found that out last night. Thank you for the reply.
Take Care.
reb