Had a guy tell me my 82 is known for fires?
 

I live in a housing addition and have a few "professionals" show up once in awhile when they see me working on something in my driveway. He said these Jags sure look good but they are known for fires. I showed him the fuel injection rubber lines at the rail and said this is probably why. I also said that an improperly maintained old car of any model could cause a fire.

The commentator must be thinking of the XJS or earlier sedans with the V12. The I6 is not known for fires. The V12 on the other hand, has the distributor low in the valley of the V surrounded by no less than 14 pieces of hose and 30 clamps. Time and extreme heat cycling tends to cause the rubber to degrade and fuel leaks occur...if enough fuel collects in the V it's easily ignited by the nearby sparking distributor or a degraded ignition lead. It's questionable design at best because other Marques had better designs. In the mid 70's (About the same time the XJS came out) Mercedes and Porsche used all steel fuel lines on their CIS injection systems, no clamps or rubber anywhere. GM had a fuel injected Olds 350 and a FI option for it's 425CI motor... that system used the exact same injectors as the XJS but with an elaborate machined and welded fuel rail that used Oring injector interfaces. Later V12's used a machined fuel rail with O-rings and no hoses or clamps but by that time it was too late, the V12 was already branded a troublesome design and the fuel rail design and subsequent fires contributed to the V12's poor reputation. The Jag I6 also used a clamped injector with a short hose, however the lower heat profile and locations of the distributor and ignition leads relative to the fuel rail, seldom leads to a fire.

It's the XJS model with the V12 that is notorious for fires.

I suppose some XJ6s have gone up in flames due to leaky hoses as well. But, as you say, any car with elderly fuel hoses is at risk.

As for the professionals, well, some pros know about Jags and others don't. Those who don't generally just pass along the age-old urban legends.

I always found it amusing how ordinary repairs are viewed, Jaguar vs. other cars. If, let's say, the starter goes on the fritz on a 25 year old Chevy it is shrugged off as a perfectly unremarkable occurrence. If the starter goes on the fritz on a 25 year old Jag, you'll hear all about how horrible Jags are, how the electrical systems are junk, worst cars ever built, you need to install a V8 engine, and so forth.

You'll get used to it :)

Cheers
DD

Yup.


1. One guy tells another a short story. He in turn tells it again. the story continues ad infinitum. You think the story is the same as the forst telling, at any time during the journey???


2. A few months ago, I was fit with starter issues on my lump. One of the mail carriers is a friendly sort. We chat a bit at times. "Those Jaguars are known for trouble", He opined. "Nice cars, but I prefer Cadillacs". My response, "It is the starters on the Cadillac engine that is the trouble". Laughter shared.


Actually, it turned out to be a combination of issues. Some GM and some Jaguar. All a function of age...


It is fine, now.... I think????


Carl

I blame ethanol. ;)

Atta boy ! :)


Cheers
DD

If I had a dollar for every time a passerby felt the urge to inform me that all Jags are unreliable and likely to catch fire or self destruct at any moment, I'd be well on my way to buying another one.

My favourite recent event was in the parking lot of our local Beemer specialist. As we got out the car, a customer made the typical 'gee what a surprise- a Jag that can pass anything except a garage'. SWMBO beat me to the punch and said 'Oh no, this car never breaks. I'm here having my X3 fixed. Again'.
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