1983 xj6, 4.2 ltr, automatic

I picked up my 83 XJ6 about two years ago. Knowing at the time that it was going to need a head gasket. At the time I didn't have anyplace to work on the car other than to take care of some minor issues. I now have a place to work on the car so I thought I would get started on the head gasket problem.

Over the past two years the car has been driven/started rarely. Because of the known head gasket problem and some overheating, only short (round the block) trips and just starting it up and letting it heat up a bit have been the extent of it's driving. Along about last July, the car failed to start up. Figuring that it was going into the garage for work soon, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

At this point, I've been starting to dissasemble things. I've removed the radiator, because I have a new one for it. Pulled the valve covers. And removed various other parts that were in the way of removing the head. As I try to position the engine so that I can remove the cam sprockets, I can't move the engine at all. I'm using an old (broken) torque rachet to try to rotate the engine and only get movement that is tightening the crankshaft bolt, no movement of the engine at all. I've stood on the end of the rachet and can't move it. Figuring that the starter is probably stronger than I am, I charged the battery and tried to fire it round, still nothing, no rotation at all.

So now I am assuming that the engine has seized because of the rust inside the cylinders, which on a very small scale wouldn't be much of an issue, but I think its gone further than that.

I don't want to rebuild this engine, no thank you. I am also not open to the idea of swapping the 4.2 out for a small block Chevy. So I'm thinking this project is dead.

I guess what I'm looking for here is whether anyone has encountered a similar situation, and what did you do about it, if anything? Do I just sell it off to a junkyard, or for parts? Do I part it out?

Right now it is a complete car, it does have a "salvage" title, which was a surprise when I bought it. Interior is in "good" shape for its age. Exterior is pretty good as well. Some cancer under the glass, a small crease on the driver side rear door. Good glass, tires, wheels, electircal, etc. So it would be a good car if someone wanted to take it on, but I don't.

I would love to hear your ideas?

 

It could possibly be hydraulic lock from coolant getting into a cylinder, (you did mention a head gasket problem).

Best to take the head off as soon as possible.

 

Is it safe to say that you did remove the sparkplugs if there is antifreeze collected in the cylinders.

 

Scotch,

Take it from one who knows. Fixing that old straight 6 is a lot easier to do than pulling off a "quality small block conversion".

That old 6 may not be bullet proof but it will run a lot longer and smoother than a SB V8 and it's reletively easy to work on. A quality conversion that will approximate the smoothness of your current set up is a lot more expensive than you can imagine. Straight 6 to V8 somehow screws up the harmonics developed for and refined into the body/frame design of the car. Car companies spent millions refining the engine, body, frame, exhaust, sound, feel, etc. of their cars.

I have done 3 Jag to Chev conversions back in the day and the only one that gave me any satisfaction at all was a V12 to V8 conversion. What you gain in performance is somehow negated by the deminished character/feel of the final product.

 

Scotch,

Opps! I just realised I missread your post and you are not proposing a SB conversion. My bad.

So, on another tack, it sounds like you have the ability and wherewithall to sort out this engine project. Don't give up just yet, Lets get the head off and see what we got.

KBO mate.

 

Let us know about the spark plugs (were they removed), and also if the engine can rotate in the other direction. Drip some transmission fluid into each spark plug hole, and wait overnight, you may get lucky.

 

When I was young, a short time ago, someone rearended my MGB and pushed it into the car in front of me. That car was perfect one moment and junk the next. Cost to repair was more than the car was worth so it was off to the scrap heap of history literally and figuratively.

My point is, that most cars, even Jags, reach the life or death point either in an instant or gradually.

Don't be too hard on Scotch. He is going through hell no matter which way he decides to go. That MGB being the exception, I have never ever junked a car. It's an expensive policy that not all Jag owners are able to afford.

 

Unfortunately you cant start a project without a LOT of ambition. I just think that you have reached a point where you dont see the light at the end of the tunnel; you see what you are "stuck" with.

I do have some food for thought though. So if you decide to scrap the car to get it off your hands, you are most likely out more money (having bought the car in the first place), then it would take to bring the car back to life. Personally I am a pretty hard core car guy. To me they are more than just metal, they have personalities and each car has seen a unique collection of sights and stories. I would do the car, and yourself, a favor and sort out the engine. It will most likely be less then you paid for the car originally and it will be an utter joy when its done.

IF however you absolutely have no desire to bring the car back to life, then please part it, or sell it to someone else as a project. I understand that projects go sour due to time/money constraints, but dont kill the car over it.

 

On the theme of trying to give you 'positive' suggestions, remove the plugs and try again.

Or the starter dog could be stuck in, so you are going against that as well. Remove starter.

Drop the oil, have a look at it, remove sump, have a look at the crank.

If you still can't turn it over, then you will have to remove the head and then follow static setting of the engine when putting it back together.

Or, go down the other road and drop in another 4.2 engine. There must be quite a few rusty but mechanically good XJ6's around that you could pick up for a song. Then you would have a complete spares car to play with.

If you part it out yourself, you will get your money back, but you will have a lot of work to do. If stuff is in pairs, then try to sell it in pairs first, a lot of people make the mistake of selling one of a pair and then get stuck with the unsold other bit.

And as your user name suggests, have plenty of reinforcements on hand for those head scratching moments.

 

"Or, go down the other road and drop in another 4.2 engine. There must be quite a few rusty but mechanically good XJ6's around that you could pick up for a song. Then you would have a complete spares car to play with."

There has to be some other car around there to get an engine from. If you don't want another whole car around for parts, call some local junkyards and ask if they have an engine. Do some bargaining, and try to get it for bottom dollar, as there is not much demand for these engines when a whole car is around 1000.

If you do part it, I would suggest a timeframe, and get all the sellable stuff sold within your timeframe, then take the shell to a local metal recycling yard. Separate the cast iron engine block, steel, aluminum head and wheels, heater core, radiator, and copper wiring harnesses for maximum dollar. Then sell as scrap metal. Or, some junk man will haul it off and give you less money so he can profit off the scrap.

It would be hard for me to part a car, I also feel the soul and history of a car. I like to see them returned to glory if possible.

 

Settle down Espresso. Lets not drive Scotch off the air till we figure out what he finds and what he is going to do about it.

I always try to learn a bit from the experience of others and this one is interesting.

 

OK, first of all, thank you for all the input, I do appreciate it. I admit that when I bought this car, yes, I knew it needed work, and was willing to put in the work for what I knew. I don't want to junk this car, it is in too good of condition to send to the scrap yard. However, I screwed up. I let this car sit too long to be able to correct the issues it had then without them becomming worse, and more issues arrising. I admit that. For the situation now, I run a business, have a family, and way too many pulls on my time and energy. Not to mention a 16 year old that is absolutly in love with the car. I will most likely buy another one which I can make road worthy in a much simpler fashion.

I don't have alot of money in this car, so let me throw this out there. If anyone wants to show up with a truck, I will give them the car and all the part with it. IF they promise to rebuild it. That simple, if you want it, and will rebuild it, its yours. I live in Sonoma, CA (707) 938-4699. Call me. You have to post the progress on this forum. I would love to see this car back on the road and although I wish I could be the one to make that happen, its not going to work that way. I have rebuilt a few cars in my lifetime, I know what it takes. Two years ago, I was there for this car. Everything changes everyday. Including Jaguars.

A few specific responses:
Tarheel-- Your right. I've done some SB conversions as well. Only one worked out really well.

esspresso-- I can appreciate your concern. I don't like having to "give up" on a project. I am a firm believer in the fact that you can bring most of them back, and have done it a few times. My daily driver is an '86 300zx, which also needs to get some attention in the garage, but is running strong. It was not pretty when the truck dropped it off. I am not being unrealistic, just facing reality, and my own limitations.

to those who asked: Yes, took the spark plugs out, haven't taken the starter out though. I know the starter works, but it can't turn the engine. I have sprayed some liquid wrench and WD40 into the cylinders, but still nothing.

Alex-- thanks for the input. And a fellow Seattlite (I grew up there, in Burien). You are the closest to respond to this. I can't imagine what a tow truck would be, but probably not feasable. The offer is open.

Moving forward from here, I will continue to work on this project, for the time being. I'll pull the starter, and probably the head, to see what it is. We'll see how far I actually get. I don't expect good results. Rust in an engine is tolerable to a certain extent, but once it gets to the degree of freezing the engine, it's pretty hard to not rebuild or replace the engine to make it work well in the long run. I am of the school that says "keep it original", I like that in vehicles. Especially ones like this jaguar.

So yes, I'm pleading leaniency (sp), I don't want to scrap this car. Although the salvage title may lead me to part it out for six months or so. I would rather that someone takes me up on the offer to show up with a truck to take it back to their garage and put the work into it that I can't.

Thanks again for all the input. I do appreicate it.

 

Well done Scotch,

Do keep us posted on what you find and the final disposition of your car.

KBO mate.

 

Nice one scotch....keep this thread alive and keep us posted please!

 

Scotch

I did a search on car-part.com for XJ6 engines by location. It looks like you can pick one up for about $1,000 and up. The search was for zip code 94545, since that is what I remembered when I went to college in the Bay Area. You can do some searches based on what your desired criteria is. I noticed there is a mix of short blocks and complete engines available.

Good luck,

Mike

http://www.car-part.com

 

Currently the oil looks like someone threw up in it. All milky and cloudy. Typical for water mixed with oil. I didn't find any large "chunks" for lack of a better word. The top of the engine, cam shafts to be specific, have a coating of rust in most places. That rust would probably be cleaned off the important surfaces after a few revolutions of the engine after a quick going over with a wire brush. I have to assume that the cylinders and pistons are looking similar. All the valve stems are either under pressure from the cam or at rest, where they are supposed to be, so I'm not thinking there is a big issue there, other than I'm sure some rust has creaped in there as well. I did notice that one of the tapet guides is chipped and I found the piece that chipped off, so it's not floating around in the engine.

Since I've owned this car it has run relatively well. I tried to be good about running it for a short while to keep the fluids circulated. Being that I knew it needed a head gasket, I never ran it for more than a very short time, not wanting to make the head gasket problem worse before I could get to it. That was a bit of a hassle in that the battery would die even if I left it for a day or so without running it. But that is something I have known about these cars, so I dealt with it and just charged the battery when I needed to run it.

Along about July of this year, I realized that the car hadn't been started in awhile (10 days to two weeks), and it wouldn't turn over and I haven't been able to run it since then. Prior to that, with a charged battery, the car would start up relatively easily for a car that wasn't running on a regular basis (daily).

I'm not thinking that it has any sort of vapor lock because that would at least give a little bit when I tried to turn it over, this engine does not budge at all, no movement in either direction. I'm assuming because I haven't looked it up yet, that the crank bolt is at about 80 ft/lb, and the only movement I get is to either tighted the bolt, or loosen it going the other direction, and it does break loose. The crankshaft isn't moving.

 

Scotch I would come and take your car off your hands in a heartbeat, but unfortunately I have to finish my XJ6 project car first. Its just about ready to head off to paint!

Seriously though I wish you the best of luck!!

If you do decide to part it out, let me know! Im still in the market for new seats!

Best of luck,

 

I used to know a guy that rebuilt old MGs and Mercedes. His theory should apply to all cars.

If he purchased a car with a siezed motor he would fill every cylinder full of kerosone. He would do this for days till the motor would be free. Then he would replace all the rings and etc and rebuild the motor. Could be an option though as stated you do need to take the starter out before jumping ahead.

The simplest solution is normally the right one.

 

A few years back, a mechanic good friend of mine, just gave me for free an 86 XJS he had parked at his shop for long time. He said the engine was frozen solid... that it would not even turn with two batteries connected.
I got it home and found out the whole engine was full to the top with oil... there were over 30 quarts of engine oil in there, no kidding, I was running all over the garage looking for containers and pans!
After I cleaned the mess of oil... I filled it in with new oil, and it started. :-)
Lots of smoke, and some tapping noise, but... car running!
Yes, it probably had a bent valve... engine trying to compress water? what about oil?
So I kept it in the garage for a year waiting for a better time to start a new project, doing small fixes and so.
One day another friend told me he would like to get the car and fix it, so I gave it to him the same way I got it, for free.
Now I have a mechanic friend, to which I clear his parking lot of a broken car, a good friend that enjoyed rebuilding the car, and another XJS saved from the junk yard.

C'mon guys! Go save the car. Remember you do not need a Jaguar, but the Jaguar needs you.

And yes, I second ATF Dextron into the cylinders thru the spark plug holes. That will lose the rings.

PS: Does anybody want like 30 quarts of used engine oil??? lol lol