Hello all,

I just purchased a 1994 Jaguar XJ-6 Vanden Plus from a private party who had the car in storage for two years. The condition is in fair condition with need of TLC. The biggest problem that I'm having right now is the rear suspension. If I am not mistaking, this car is equipped with self leveling system right ? if so, would it be easy to fix ? or better off converting it to regular shocks ?
If anyone have any experiences with this, please do let me know. Also, any idea on the repair cost ?

My second problem is the A/C. The blower does work however, no cold air coming out from the vent. The owner told me to fill it with R134 but I like to know if there is any trouble shoots that I should know about before touching it. Also, I notices that the middle air vent is not blowing air as it should be... Is that a vacuum leak ? I know this is a very tipical problem for Mercedes, and hole dash needs to come of to fix this. Is this the case for Jags ?

Third problem is door handle... I notices that this is pretty typical problem for Jags... the driver outside door handle do not work so I have to open from inside. Passenger side rear door do not work at all from out or in. Anyone have DIY instructions for this ? I like to at least get the driver side fixed ASAP lol

Other problems with this car is mostly cosmetics. I am planing to get the leather re-dyed and re-do the wood work. I'm hoping I can do it myself... Anyone here did any interior restorations ? if so please let me know what works best and etc..

I am planing to take a before/after photos of the car to post so please do check it out. I have been always a Mercedes owner and this is my first Jaguar. I am very impressed with the car already even with few minor problems. Looks like I can get along with her for very long time.

I look forward to hear from you guys and Thank you for your help.

Best Regards,

rapcat

 

Make sure the A/C compressor will turn by grabbing the clutch and rotating it. Take a quick look at the lower section of the A/C condenser, in front of the radiator, to make sure it isn't smashed. Recharge w/R134 and hope for the best.

Don't worry about the center vent yet: the dash will have to come out if the vacuum servo is bad. The main concern is that the A/C evaporator is leaking, ascracks are common on '93-'94 XJ6. If you lose your refrigerant charge quickly, and don't see an obvious hose leak, that is the likely suspect. Bring it to someone with Jag experience and a leak detector, and he'll know where to look. Point is that the dash has to come out if the evaporator is bad, and you can verify function of center vent and defrost flap servos whenit's all apart.

There was a do-it-yourselfer on here a few weeks ago messing with his door handles, look for posts within the last month. The handles break often, but occasionally it is the plastic bellcrank arm on the door latch mechanism that fails. These take a fair amount more work to replace. Pull the door panels off and figure out what is broken on the affected doorsbefore you start shopping for parts.

 

Iwas notable to see ifthe A/C clutch was grabbing... When I turn the Air con ON, I did not see my RPM drop in the ideal so good chance that the compressor is not working at this time? Would filling with R134 help this situation? I am planning to takea good close look tonight but I am still hoping...

Also in regards to the suspension, I spoke to a person over at Tire Kingdom and they told me to replace a self level suspension, it would be around $1400 + labor.. Comes to around $2000 Looks like I have no choice but to convert to regular shocks. Have anyone done this job before by your self? Any DIY instructions?

Thanks for all your help!

rapcat

 

The best thing to do with the a/c is get some gauges on it and read the pressures. If you have no feron, filling it could start the compressor. If you have feron you may just need a trinary switch. Need pressure readings first.

That seems awfully step to convert the shocks, but this could also depend upon which rear shocks you have. Do you have the early or late set up? Need your VIN to determine if you have the more common XJ40 setup or the rare and expensive to fix X300 set up.

 

I do have the gauge for the A/C so I will check to see if I have any pressuretonight.

I just learned about the two types of suspension setups on 94's. The symptom isreally bad...It does not appear to besitting low butmakesnoiseandvibration on high speed. I will check the VIN and PM you. Again I thank you for your support.

Best Regards,

rapcat

 

I just checked the freon pressure and it reads I have full load of freon so that's a good news. As you said, Trinary Pressure switch might be the case I hope...

 

Compressor clutch relay fault.

 

Hi guys,

Thanks to Ken, I just learned that I have the later suspension setup, the X300 style on my car. The X300 setup no longer uses the self leveling system correct ? If so, how come it would be more expensive to fix?

I would like to check to see if the compressor clutch relay is the problem but where can I locate the relay box ? Also, is there a method to see if it is in working order ? Maybe jump cross wires ? Please let me know. If the relay is the case, any idea on how much is the replacement parts ?

Thank you guys again.

rapcat

 

Hello guys ~

It's been a wile since I have worked on the jaguar. I just ordered the shock absorbers for the rear and hopefully this will do the trick. Also, I was browsing the youtube and came across a video that caught my attention. Link below...

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=nCQsMt...;feature=email

As you may notice the thump noise coming from the rear... this was cause from the bad shock bushing. I have a feeling that this might be the case for my car. I do have the same symptom and maybe it's gonna be a cheap fix for me. Anyone had any experience with this ?? Also, if this was the case... I wonder if the shock absorber would need to be replaced as well ??

 

I finally got my rear shocks fixed and now I have no more thump noise anymore
I purchased a pair of Bilstein and drives great.

Now, I have few more things to fixed and the car would be perfect. As I mention above, the A/C has not been working since I purchased the car and I like to find out how to check to see if the compressor/clutch is in working condition?

Also, my driver door handle and passenger side rear door handle is broken. driver door opens from inside but not from outside. rear passenger side do not open at all. I think child rock is on so it would not open from inside. I took the door cards off to see if something popped off but looks like the metal piece has broken off in half. Any idea where I can find the parts inexpensively ? anyone had this problem before?

 

Ihad the headliner recovered in my 1988 Vanden Plas and it was relatively inexpensive ($400). I guess it was less expensive because they left the headliner in place, removed the old covering and recovered it. I re-dyed the leather interior and it looks new.The dye is easy to apply, usea sponge or brush and it dries really fast. Go to www.leathertech.com and you can purchase the exact color dye for your interior.

 

I know there are people that may have better ideas than me but I have 4 jags and have had front and rear door handles go bad - 6 of them so far. I first tried to find a used one and they wanted $250. I took the door handle apart and made my own piece out of steel, drilled and tapped some really small screws to hold the piece in place and after a few trial and errors I have been able to make my own pieces - for me it took a bit of time about 4 hours to take apart , make the part and put it back together. It's not a really quick job and you need to have a few "small tools and some mechanical ability... ( the end of the handle that attaches to the rod to release the latch, pot metal breaks) make a piece out of steel with the same shape and fit it so it will allow the handle to come to a full close. Gotta be an easier way - let me know if you find one. Norm

 

I may be the DIY'er JagtechOhio mentioned, I repaired all four of my door handles, I posted about this in the XJ40 thread in early May. I had broken support legs in the pot metal housings. Depending on what parts you have broken, it might help? Good Luck