Hello everyone, I'm Tara.

I just joined the forums, because I sorta ended up with a few Jags which with any luck won't be completely hopeless.

About a year ago I noticed a blue '84 XJ6 4.2 sitting about a mile from my house. I wasn't particularly interested in it until I noticed it was RHD, and the price was only a little bit more than scrap value.

The deal got even sweeter when not far away I stumbled across a parts car for significantly less than scrap value. It's the same year, the body is toast and it's of course left hand drive, but it's a VDP so it's got some extra goodies.

The body on the RHD car has a few rust issues, but I've seen far worse rust on newer cars, so at the moment I'm just going to ignore that and concentrate on seeing how it is mechanically.

My classic car owning experience and mechanical knowledge comes from growing up around air cooled VW's, and then later I owned Citroen DS's , and Saab 99/900 series cars and other oddities. Currently my collection of running/restored cars includes a Saab 900 turbo, VW Westfalia Camper, renault 17 Gordini and '86 Citroen 2cv, a few MG's well as some older Saabs and about 4 Citroen DS's. So I'm not really a stranger to problem cars and I've got plenty of storage space for parts and a decent garage to work in (though not a lift)

The Jag, though, might be more than I can handle, even though in design it seems pretty straightforward.

So it's the RHD car that is the one I intend to restore. The thing that put it off the road allegedly was rusty gas tanks, but I also think the previous owner may have been fibbing a bit about the last time it was run (he said a few years, for all I know he meant 10 years).

So far, with a strong battery, all I get it a nice click from the starter, but it doesn't turn the engine. It does however, make the ground cable get a bit warm, and the lights dim significantly when you try to do this. I've cleaned off all the contacts but haven't yet done the engine/transmission to body cable and any connections on the starter itself.

I'm mostly concerned about the engine being stuck, and wether or not that's a dealbreaker for wether or not I fix it up. At the moment the starter won't budge it a bit, though about a year ago when I bought it I could've sworn that eventhough it clicked, it still made it turn a teensy bit. I can't turn the engine by hand, but I have yet to try a large socket on the pulley nut which I guess I have to remove some stuff to get at.

Looking at how hard it is to get to the starter motor, I'm leaning on the hope that unsticking it by soaking it in marvel mystery oil will free it up at least to the point where the starter will work.. I've been reading some threads here for suggestions. I've never had to free up a stuck engine so this is all new to me. It seems like there's no point in removing the starter until you get it so that the engine turns freely by hand anyway, right?

The parts car came with no keys so I haven't tried to do anything about making that car turn over (though one would think it would be easy enough to jump the solenoid since it's all right there in the engine compartment). I wasn't going to do anything to that one except strip it down and in the process learn how they're put together. So if it really comes down to it and that engine is ok and the other one isn't, well, I dont' mind doing a motor swap.

In all reality the car I have may be too rough for most people wouldn't bother with, but at this point I don't have too much invested in them, and being RHD it would be a shame to junk it. My own time I don't really factor in because I enjoy doing it, but of course if I had to pay a mechanic I guess I'd be quickly underwater.

Anyway, thanks in advance for any help. I'm going to use this thread to chronicle whatever progress I make on it, and to make sure I'm doing everything the best way I can.

 

The starter circuit sounds Ok so I suspect a dead starter (drawing tons of amps) or (as you are fearing) a seized engine.....which would obviously overload the starter as well

Very difficult to get a socket and breaker bar on the crankshaft nut to turn the engine by hand. You might have to remove the fan shroud, as you surmised


Good used motors are probably still out there. Not great....any of them will have plenty of miles..... but good enough.





Mechanicals are often not too bad on these cars, assuming DIY labor, selective use of used parts, repair rather than replacing when possible, etc. But paint, chrome, wood, leather, and rust repair can run up a huge huge bill. If that stuff is important to you you're much better off, financially, buying a car that is already in top cosmetic condition

Cheers
DD

 

Actually, it's the rust repair, paint and upholstery that I'm pretty good at so those are the things I'll be saving on. I'd rather do bodywork on a Jag than say on a Pinto.

If this motor is trashed, at least I have the other one and maybe that will be more hopeful, you never know. Let me see if I can turn the engine first. Though I guess replacing the starter is always better than replacing the engine, but damn, on the RHD car there's a lot of stuff down there in the way of the starter (like I don't even see how you get at it from underneath). Is it possible to just unbolt the starter and slide it off the flywheel and try it and see if it engages and turns, or is that a bad idea?

Still, going to just go the penetrating oil route now, regardless, just to be on the safe side. I've been reading some articles about it, and it seems hopeful if it's not rusty in there, which I don't see how that would've happened, it's not like it got water in there.

Other than the crankshaft pulley bolt, is there another place where one could turn the engine? Sadly it's an automatic transmission car so i can't bump it in gear or any of that.

 

hi,
one thing to keep in mind above everything else is that these cars weigh around 3,800 pounds. Safety when working under these cars is a concern you should always keep in mind.

Never use the tire jack to work under the car, they can fail and the weight of the car can crush you.

Get the Factory Service Manual and the Parts Manual which you can download in this forum free.

Go to post No. 4 at the XJ-6 / XJ-12 HOW TO quick links (in the main XJ-6 Series 3 page).

the numbers of each post are at the top right of each post. You can download section by section of the Factory Service Manual.

 

As I recall my 4.2 and reading other's posts, the starter is down low on the right rear part of the engine. Some work topside needed and a lot down under. Mind Jose's comments as to safety.


A fairly standard architecture on this starter. Big and heavy, though!!!
Two bolts secure it to the flywheel housing. then, the cable from the solenoid to the post on the fire wall. and, lastly, a smaller wire from the relay on the firewall to the solenoid.


Were I to tackle that job. I'd remove the battery for access and safety. Disconnect the cable at the fire wall. Disconnect the small wire at the relay. Then, dive.


I recall a post elsewhere. A neophyte enlisted a fellow neophyte. One guy topside ands the other under. A rope harness was fashioned to support the weight of the starter during the removal and install process.


I did my Jeep a couple ago. Similar architecture. But, thankfully, a much lighter starter. My shoulders are not what they once were.


On aa recent travail on my Jaguar. The ACDelco was more than I could support and yet get the two bolts in place. Son did it. Younger, 6'5"' 230# and strong.


Carl

 

Ah well, being that this is a right hand drive car, the battery is on the left and the brake booster and goodies are on the right. So it's a bit harder to get to possibly.. Anyway, My next route is that I'm going to try the marvel mystery oil route to free up the engine a bit. There's some hope though, since the starter currently seems to move the engine a teensy bit. I put a mark on the pulley and it's moved like 5 mm...

 

Yeah, the brake booster on a RHD car does impede access. never did a RHD car. So, on balance, from under seems the best approach.


CAVEAT: keep pouring volts to the starter and it's cable and things can fry!!! Don't ask!!!


Carl