I recently bought a 1991 xj6, I paid 1100 Canadian for it. I brought it for a after sale inspection and I was told it isn't safe to drive, the water pump needs replacing all the hoses. The back brakes are seized, the mounting rack is broken. I don't know what to do. Should I scrap it? Try and part it out? I bought it from a guy who told me there was only a leak in the water pump. Should I try and get my money back? I just I don't know.

 

Unless you plan on performing the repair and service work yourself, a refund seems in order, especially if the seller misrepresented the condition of the vehicle.

You may want to search through the XJ40 (XJ81) forum to determine the items you may need to repair or replace to make the vehicle roadworthy.

 

Hettle,

I've moved your question from General Tech Help to XJ40 forum which covers the 1986 -1994 XJ6. This is the place to post questions about your model.

The issues you've found aren't unusual on a twenty six year old Jaguar but will take time and money to repair. If it's your time then the final cost will be parts only but if you have to pay for expertise, it will get VERY expensive. In parts alone, it could easily exceed the figure you paid for the vehicle.

I'd suggest either getting rid of it (refund from the seller for misrepresentation if possible but scrap if not) OR learn how to repair it. Paying a specialist just doesn't make economic sense.

Members here have the knowledge and experience to help you. More than likely it is nowhere near as bad as you may think. If you're going to go ahead with repairs then some detailed posts with photos to get opinions and advice is the way to start before throwing any money at it.

Graham

 

It really depends on what you Can do, and what you would Have done by others. Changing brake calipers, rotor and pads all around isn't too expensive done yourself, water pump is a pain but not impossible. Hoses .... there's a lot of them, but there is a kit available which contains all of them so you could go till you run out. I am not sure what mount rack- do you mean steering rack? That's easy! Just have it aligned when you're done. Is the car in decent shape " otherwise?"

 

As far as the back brakes are concerned, there could be a few reasons as to why a mechanic would call them seized.

It could be the caliper piston has seized in the bore, warranting caliper replacement. It could also be the slide pins or pads themselves getting hung up from corrosion and sticking, which only requires simple disassembly and cleaning/re lubricating.
Could also be the handbrake cables, or part of the mechanism found underneath the brake rotors.
I found with XJ40s that have the LSD option, the rear wheels have slightly more resistance to turn when on hoist for inspection than other vehicles. For a mechanic that is not familiar with Jags, that resistance could be mistaken for seized or seizing brakes.

My opinion as a professional mechanic, further diagnosis needs to be done. Just my 2 cents

 

They said that it was the caliper pistons.

I have been lucky enough that the guy who sold me the car is extremely kind. He is giving me my money back and letting me keep the car! I got very lucky.

Once I get the car back to my house im going to look into what is wrong with it more and decide if im going to part it out or try and do the repairs myself. If i was to part it out are there any specific sites or resources that would help with that?

 

Sounds like a good deal from where I'm sitting. I got mine for free, however it needed an engine.

I hope decide to/are able to fix it, as I hate seeing these cars go to waste, but if it comes down to parting I out, the classifieds here are a good place to start. Where abouts are you?

 

Sounds like the seller was as surprised as you to find out about all the problems. Many owners of these cars feel they're in good condition and consider them roadworthy just by the fact that they're still on the road after all these years. Lots of little problems can be hiding, we've all seen them!

It was generous of him to let you keep the car after the refund. If I were in your shoes, and if it's in good overall condition (no major rust, body, paint or interior damage, and strong engine and transmission), I would be inclined to take the project on and reap the fruits of your hard work.

A couple important questions that I can't assume. Is this your first car? Is it your only vehicle? Will it be a project for you or are you looking for a cheap car to get on the road and "drive it into the ground"? What are your intentions?

Nick

 

Yeah he had no idea of the other stuff that was wrong, he was quite surprised. I dont really want to part it out but I think it is the best decision financially and time wise. There is a bit of rust underneath the car but the interior is mint and the engine and transmission are good from what I can tell. I will be getting another car, probably not a jaguar, haha.

Im located in British Columbia in Canada.

I'm mostly just upset it didnt work out, ive wanted a jaguar since ive been 12 years old and i thought this was a good deal, but i guess there were to many hidden issues. Which is surprising because it felt like it drove perfectly fine. Oh well, you win some you lose some, at least if i part it out i can gain some more mechanical knowledge about jaguars.

Thanks for the replys

 

Hi Hettle,

I've been following your story and it certainly is intriguing. Before you decide to part the car out, there are some things to consider. One is that because the engines and transmissions have been nearly bullet-proof, the demand for used ones is very low. A major Jaguar parts dealer in Florida told me he couldn't give away XJ40 engines and transmissions. Good interiors do have value, as do lots of smaller trim bits and other parts that are no longer available from Jaguar. Body panels have some value, but mostly to owners who want to restore their own cars since insurance companies are more likely to total an XJ40 that has incurred any significant body damage. It takes a long time to part out a car and find buyers for as many of the parts as you can, and you're still likely to be stuck with the entire monocoque and many other parts for which you won't find any buyers.

All that to say, since the car was free, there may be at least three better options: sell the car to a salvage yard and make a tidy, easy profit; sell the car to someone who understands its current condition and who wants to fix it up and drive it; or invest the necessary time and money to make it roadworthy so you can either sell it at a higher price or drive it yourself.

We have some knowledgeable forum members in BC, so if it were possible to meet up with one to seek his or her opinion on the car's potential, that might help you make the most educated decision. You could even offer a consulting fee to help cover time and fuel.

Cheers,

Don

 

Hello,

I'm very grateful for everyone responses as i'm not as mechanically inclined as everyone here.

I got a 1 hour inspection done by a local European mechanic place. The inspection was an hour long. They told me all of this was wrong with the car.

- Water pump leak ( I already knew this ).
- All coolant hoses need to be replaced ( Seems a little extreme).
- Radiator has a small leak.
- The pistons inside the breaks are seized, I don't really know what that entails but driving it doesnt feel like anything is holding the car back or that the breaks are sticking?
- Centering sleeve, king pin bearing as well as 4 other bearings, he said he could take the wheel and move it back and forth 2 inches?
- Inter Mediate Muffler?
- Sub Frame mounts broken.

He gave me an estimate of 5000CAD$ to fix all of this, as well as deeming the car unsafe to drive. (I drove it for 2 weeks prior to this and never had any issue or felt any weird bumps or anything, everything felt fine.)

Is there any way for me to double check that all of this is actually wrong with the car? I'm a teenager so I think they may have been exaggerating the extent of the repairs needed.

Also do I need a special jack to jack the car up? They weigh quite a bit so im a little skeptical getting under there and looking at things.

Thank you!
Mathew

Edit:

I forgot to mention that I got my money back from the person I bought it from. He was extremely nice and told me to do whatever I want with the car. We made a deal where if I decide to part it out i would give him 25% of the profit from it, as i didnt feel right taking my money and the car. But he said to wait before i part it and do some research and see if its worth fixing, he even phoned the mechanic place and asked them "what the hell?" as he had not had any of these issues reported to him a few months prior when he went for a checkup. They seemed to beat around the bush with him and say that the rubber worn, etc. He thinks they are trying to take advantage of my lack of knowledge.

 

I'm also in BC, Victoria to be exact. As BC is rather large, what city are you near?

 

I'm on the island as well a little more north.

 

Just dismount the rear calipers and recon them with new seals and boots, you may need to clean the piston surface if there is any bld up of crud. Sticking caliper pins are another reason for binding. The rack mounts are integral and cannot be easily renewed. Water pump is easy to replace. Keep it and enjoy the Jaguar.

 

First off, multiple postings, not necessary please, makes it hard to follow the thread.

However, I'm guessing this is the XJ40 you recently bought.

Did the European place put all this in writing and a quote?
Or just a conversation?

Secondly, get a second opinion. Don't say anything about taking it elsewhere and they said this and that, just let them look over it and compare the results with the last one.

Thirdly, looking at the list, there is nothing really, barring the sub-frame mounts that a beginner couldn't handle with care and guidance.

As I said in your Introduction post, welcome to the learning curve that is Jaguars. Get ready to throw your spanners across the garage.

Water pump - easy enough to do

Coolant hoses - easy

Radiator - replace with good used off ebay or similar - easy

Brake pistons - caliper strip out/clean/polish/new seals/possible new pistons if needed - easy enough - but do with care.
(The other tell-tale sign of sticky calipers is the car will pull to one side when you brake - one caliper works better than the other)

Centering sleeve, king pin bearing as well as 4 other bearings, he said he could take the wheel and move it back and forth 2 inches?
I would want to see physical evidence of this first, that's a lot of movement. However, again, a bit in-depth but do-able with care and patience.

Intermediate muffler - part of the exhaust - easy

Sub Frame mounts - need to see them.
I would suspect that your car would be floating in space, and you would certainly hear a knocking if it were as bad as they say.

So, you need a 3 tonne trolley jack, two 3 tonne axle stands, two wheel chocks, a good set of spanners, a good 6 point socket set, some overalls, a place out of the wind and rain to do the work, a work light, plenty of coffee, an internet connection to come back to this forum and use the knowledge.

Use the money you got back to buy the parts required and any tools you need.

Now your lessons begin.

You cannot own a car like these and not expect to spend money on them. And the best way to keep it on the road is to DIY.
That engine and tranny will go for years barring a major mechanical failure, so the rest is just normal wear and tear.

Seeing as you are in BC, I suspect the winter is coming soon, so you will have time enough to do all this before the better weather comes again.

 

Hi Mathew,

I have merged your new thread with your old one so we can see all the posts related to the same car together in one place. As Steve mentioned, it becomes very confusing when posts related to the same car and issues appear in different threads, so please keep all of your posts in this thread for now.

Given that you are young and do not have much experience with automotive repairs, it would be great if you could find an experienced member of this forum close enough to meet with you and give you an honest evaluation of the issues and help you make a prioritized list of what absolutely must be done to make the vehicle safe, and what repairs can wait until you have the time and money to address them.

What you have learned already is that if you are dependent on professional mechanics, you will never be able to justify the expense of the repairs. The great news is that Jaguars are, overall, excellent cars to work on yourself and in the process to learn a great deal about repairing and maintaining autos in general.

We're here to help, but a good, unbiased expert opinion would help you know what must be addressed first for your own safety.

Cheers,

Don

 

If you plan on looking under the car, DO NOT go underneath with the vehicle only supported on the floor or trolley jack. You must support it on jack stands.

 

Hello,
Sorry about making multiple posts I wasn't sure if I was supposed to make a new one or not.

I think the best financial option for me is to part the car out. I'm going to double check all of the stuff the mechanic said was wrong myself with some information I got from a member here. If it's actually as bad as the mechanic made it seem. If it is then I'll part it out. And the shop quoted me 5000 dollars to get it road worthy.

Thanks,
Mathew

 

Mathew, I agree with the other comments on this, I have had a rear wheel bearing go bad on a ‘40 and it showed itself by changing direction of the car depending on either throttle on or off. If you want to make motoring less expensive then the only way to go is DIY. And this is one of the best places to be the, other site would be Jaglovers.org. As has been mentioned purchase a good set of axle stands and trolley jack and a box of disposable gloves, you WILL get dirty
Remember, the only stupid question is the one that isn’t asked.

 

I've decided i'm going to part it out, or try and sell it as a project. I don't have the time or money to try and fix it right now.