I was visiting my great aunt a few weeks ago, and she was talking about selling her Jag in the near future to make room for a new Mercedes convertible. She's bought the Jag when it was 2 years old, and now that she's driving less and less, she's looking to downsize her number of cars. She's a bit of a car lover. Right now she has 4. About 5 years ago, she sold her '76 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow to my Mom. She still has a '57 MG-A as well. So I'm thinking about taking it off her hands...

I glanced over her Jaguar quick a couple weeks ago, which has 53,000 miles on the odometer. It's Diamond Blue with Isis Blue leather interior. The wheels and paint are absolutely immaculate. The car doesn't have a spot of rust on it, and the only thing I saw that may need attention is a short few seconds of oil burning smoke when the car starts. I'm guessing oil seepage through the valve guides? She and her husband maintain their vehicles very well and keep meticulous records.

The car had the hydraulic suspension standard, I haven't checked to see if it's still installed and functioning properly. I didn't remember the car sagging at all though.

She called up today after I told her I wanted to be the first one to see the car before she sells it. She warned me that it uses a lot of oil. I'm to ask what kind of consumption she's talking about about. She doesn't drive it often, maybe once a week.

What kind of oil usage is acceptable? How many quarts per # of miles, or how many quarts over # of months if the car isn't driven often. Could changing to a different oil and driving the car daily bring the oil consumption down at all? What type and weight oil would be best for this situation and climate (New England)?

Any things to look for?

Thanks,
Nick

 

Hi Nick,
A lot of the Xj6's have the "puff of smoke" at cold startup (mine does!) - afaik this is because it's a slant 6 and if the valve seals/guides are a little bit worn, the oil dribbles down into the cylinders - no big deal, but occasionally embarrassing!!
My 94 has 178000 km on it, so about 110k miles. I use about a quart of Castrol GTX 20-50 every couple of months but not that all is burning off, I have a bit of a leak (somewhere) too. I'll fix it one day, but for now, no biggie.

Good luck with it if you end up buying it - how much does she want for it?

 

Good to know Lawrence, Thanks! We haven't gotten into numbers, but she casually mentioned somewhere between one and two grand. The main thing is she needs a garage space for the Mercedes convertible she's buying this week.

 

between one and two grand, no prob!

Nick - Clean cars can always be fixed - if you're rust-free, you're 98% there!

I've had mine for 9 months now, all the major XJ40 quirks have been sorted out (handles, blowers, maintenance catch ups ..still have to get the damn A/C working though ..but you know that story so far ..refrigerant leak still to be attended to!!)

Get it, what the hell!

 

Thanks. I'll take pictures tomorrow when I look it over much closer.

 

So went to see the car today. Drives amazing! Perfectly smooth ride. Car still has hydraulic suspension system, it has never been touched.

The only work they've done has been complete break job, costing $800. All records.

The car needs a windshield washer nozzle and antenna mast. Has a tiny rust bubble on the rear right D pillar near the chrome trim.

Wheels are perfect, tires are new. Slight puff of smoke, only lasts about 5-10 seconds. No smoke when driving. Transmission shifts well no issues.

Oil pressure on start up jumps up 3/4 on the gauge. After warming up, idling in park, right in the middle on the gauge.

Sunroof, windows, seats all work. Has 5 disc changer. No VCM codes I could pull up pressing the button. (I did it while the engine was running, can't remember if that matters with code retrieval). Air Conditioning works perfectly. Blower fans blow fine on high, both blowers should be functioning fine. All doors lock fine, and the automatic seat belts do too.

Pulled up the carpet in the trunk. It smelt a tiny tiny bit damp, but no rust or anything there. The chassis is very solid as well. All jack point plugs are there too.

Forgot to take pictures, snapped one in the car before I left.

 

Well sounds like it needs minimal work and low miles is a bonus for sure - I don't know if you have to be talked into it, but if you're serious about getting one then this one would be hard to beat, local car, full history, good test drive etc, doesn't get much better than that!

You have to check the codes with the ignition on but without the engine running. If the engine is running it doesn't show codes.

all the best and good luck with it!

 

Nick:
Very nice looking car for a good price - and you know the car's history. Take care of it and you could conceivably drive this car for the next 10 years!

Good luck and thanks for sharing your process with us!
Scott

 

So I'm going to be picking up the car tomorrow. So excited

I guess I'm going to be a full-time member here after all.

Thanks for the help and I look forward to posting some real pictures.

-Nick

 

Good for you Nick!

Welcome aboard!!

 

Picture Time

 

So I have a few things to attend do, most of them very minor. I have to sort through the 20-30 receipts from the local Jaguar dealer and independent shops for various repairs.

Of the receipts, a few large ones stand out. A $2,648.05 bill which notes "car running poor - feels like it is missing. Renew exhaust and inlet valves." Two exhaust valves and one intake valve was replaced. New head gasket, head bolts.

Another was for $1968.32, at 47k miles, (June 2002) detailing the replacement of drive belt set, renew throttle potentiometer, factory recommended "B" service, repack front wheel bearings, replace leaking power steering hose.

A/C was converted to R-134a in 2003 with 49k miles.

New pads and rotors at all four wheels, and new transmission fluid and filter changed in 2011 at 55k miles.

 

Nick:
Holy cow. Not only is it a nice looking car, but most of the XJ40 'biggie' repairs seem to have been done! Amazing find, really. Well done.
Scott

 

So we had torrential rain today. I could hear a bit of water sloshing when I turned the blower fans on. I made a left turn out of a parking lot and had about 2 cupfuls of water dump onto the passenger side floor. Made a right hand turn and my shoes were soaked. Maybe clogged drains in the drain trough behind the wiper?

Radio works fine on FM mode, and CD changer accesses discs, but has quite a bit of static when playing. I'm thinking the changer cable has corrosion on it in the trunk? The trunk did smell a bit musty, and I'm thinking moisture could easily foul the pins on the connector. I'll have to take a look. I'll be putting my JVC in, anyway...

The most bothersome problem is the driver's side automatic seat belt. It was working fine during the test drive, but was disconnected when I got in the car to drive it home. The hook for the diagonal belt is stuck in the "seatbelt secured" position (at the back of the door. While driving, about every 5 seconds or so, it clicks and tries to move a bit, this is irritating hearing the clicking and movement from the belt tugging a little as you drive. The passenger's side belt works flawlessly, moving back and forth with door opening/closing and the ignition switch. I'll have to investigate it further. Maybe a micro-switch or something..

Needs a new antenna mast, it only raises about a foot or so with the radio on.

I love the car though, it drives impeccably! The cabin is a bit cozier than I thought it would be, but it's no problem at all.

I have the original manual which includes the Jaguar Security System Booklet, How would I confirm the car has the system installed? If it is, what remote would I need to get (non with car). I did get 2 master keys and the valet key, though.

Thanks!

-Nick

 

 

Update:

Just did a quick check of the drain lines from the evaporator box. The driver's side tube had all kinds of black globs of gunk in it. The black rubber fittings were also clogged with gunk. And, the nipple on the bottom of the evaporator housing was clogged to. Drained almost a quart of water out of just the driver's side. I pulled the carpet back on the passenger's side, and saw the same gunk in that tube. Going to clean it all out tomorrow. My little positive moment ended when the light bulb in my drop light exploded, luckily I didn't get any glass in my eyes.

I look forward to driving the car without getting my shoes drenches in ice cold water!

Ordered a new antenna mast and rubber grommet. One thing at a time...

-Nick

 

Hey Nick, hope the work is coming along well!

On my car, the alarm system has a switch inside and at the back of the centre arm rest. There are two positions, partially and fully armed. It's a noisy sucker when it goes off!! I'm guessing if you have the Jag system then you'd have the switch?

I had to reprogram my (factory) remote after fitting a new door handle. The system has a learning mode (there's stuff in the archives about how to) and I believe you can get an aftermarket unit that allows programming to match the car. Maybe Jag remotes show up on eBay?

If you do have a security system fitted and plan to get a remote, I'd have a good read through the archived posts on remote programming here and maybe on jaglovers too.

Hope your feet have dried out btw!

 

Nick,
Your Sovereign is absolutely beautiful. It conceivably can last more than 10 years with regular use, if not as your daily driver.

As for water in the trunk, I just discovered what I think was causing that in my '91. The water drain in the fuel filler housing has only a nipple, which is attached to a hose inside the trunk. In my case, the hose came off the nipple, thus was draining into the trunk, instead of to the ground.

Good luck

Ray

 

Thanks for the reply!

The car has been great. So far, I've replaced: spark plugs, distributor cap & rotor (plug wires are on order), Oil Change with Jaguar filter and drain washer, Differential Oil Change with Royal Purple oil, and Greased Axle U-Joints.

I just got back from a road trip to New York, about 700 miles round trip. The car was flawless the whole way.

There are a couple small things I'll need to address. The plastic coolant expansion tank is seeping very slightly at the seam. Also, I'll need to bring the car into the dealer to check the automatic seat belts, which are under lifetime warranty.

Other than that, small stuff. Windshield washer jets are missing. A washer cover was missing. Windshield has fine scratches where the wiper wipes, causing glare at night. Might need to polish it. Ordered new wheel emblems and a new center cap.

So far, so good!

Thanks,
Nick

 

Have you successfully polished windshields before?

Even the newer used models have reached an age where an otherwise good windshield is pitted enough to cause glare. Knowing how it's done would be great.