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Radiator, a/c condensor and oil cooler arrangement
I have a RHD XJ6 Series 3 which has factory fit air con. Car is in Thailand, and I am told was brought in from HongKong (RHD is corect for both these markets).
I bought the car as a non-runner, having been off the road about 5 years.
The bonnet (hood) has never closed properly since I bought the car, and I have been trying to establish why. The rear edge of the bonnet (hood), where it meets the bulkhead by the windscreen (windshield), has a large gap, so the bonnet (hood) is too far forward. However, I cannot get it to move backwards far enough because it touches the pipework for the oil cooler.
I don't know if the air con condensor has been replaced and perhaps this is causing the radiator / oil cooler / condensor arrangement to be too deep for the bonnet (hood) to clear it all.
Does anyone have a photo they could post of the correct layout of these components please?
in my LHD XJ-6, the transmission oil cooler is mounted behind the lower under bumper grille, on the left side of the car as you stand in front of the car.
It is about half inch away from the back of the lower grille.
in other words, there is some clearance when the bonnet is fully and correctly closed.
Can you post a picture of how it looks in your car?
I'm away from home at present so can't take a photo just yet.
The condensor is full width (same as the radiator) and covers the top half of the radiator.
The oil cooler is quite small (and I think original as it looks like the picture in the parts book), but is just hanging loose on its pipes, not mounted on anything! I have tried to position it under the a/c condensor, but the pipework does not allow it to tuck in enough to allow closure of the bonnet. The rear of the bonnet (behind the grill) jams against the pipework.
Another clue could be that the front valance that runs across the full width of the car under the front bumper has been dinged, and pushed in. Perhaps the oil cooler should drop even lower into the bottom of the valance? Maybe the pipework might then sit below the condensor?
There is a channel in front of the AC condensor and low. The cooler and fan mount to it!
Sitting in the driver seat, either LHD or RHD car. Fan tot he left and cooler to the right.
If that mounting channel is in place, there is adequate space between them and the grill of the bonnet
Straighten or replace that channel and all should fit, bonnet included.
Wish I could help you but my car doesn't have the stock components in it.
I saw a beautifully restored Series 1 XJ6 and a XJ6C on pedestals in the Future Market mall in Rangsit when i lived in Thailand.
Those cars are what persuaded me to buy an XJ6 when i moved back to the states from Thailand.
Hope you figure out your car problems, would love to be of any help that I can. And oh make sure to get some kuaitiao khua kai for me :P
I now have a better idea of how it should be arranged, especially having just found some pitcures of the angled brackets for the mounts in a parts book.
As soon as I get back hme I will have another go at getting it all to fit propely. I think I will need to remove the front lower valance (that has been dinged) to straighten it out properly and get the cooler mountings in place as they should be again.
On the Ser III XJ6 the transmission oil cooler is inline with the lower radiator hose.
The engine oil cooler is in front of the radiator.
Tidbit:
Early Ser III XJ6s had two auxiliary electric cooling fans in front of the radiator...but no engine oil cooler. In '82 or so Jaguar added the oil cooler and ditched one of the fans.
I found a photo on my phone of how my car is at present....see attached
I tried making up a rail to support the air con condensor, which is what you can see at the base of that....I now realise this is wrong, so need to re-work it.
Main issue is the oil cooler steel pipes get trapped between the a/c condensor and the rear edge of the bonnet (hood). Should these two steel pipes run underneath the bottom edge of the condensor?
Just to close out this thread, I have at last found the time to look into the problem again.
Turns out my radiator is non-standard, and was poorly fitted. This pushed the condenser and oil cooler forward about an inch, hence why the bonnet was jamming on them.
I have now mounted it more appropriately, and am making up brackets to support the oild cooler etc properly as well. I think the reason the radiator was installed too far forward was because when the front face is in the correct position, it leaves a small gap between the rear face and the fan cowl. I will make up something to close the gap and continue with this radiator for now, as I cannot currently source a correct one for a reasonable price.
Your location does limit your options. But I've read of an after market alloy radiator designed for older Mustangs that fits. Asian made, no less!!! Search he archives here. I think t was Andrew Weinberg of Jaguar-specialties that made mention of it. posts here from time to time..
Your car went off road, it seems!!
An auxiliary fan seems missing on your car. Mine was mounted at the same level as the cooler and alongside. I think I see the wires in your picture.
But, if you can refit the stuff and get the bonnet/hood on to fir, it is a win.
Today I have been told of a local radiator specialist who can make bespoke aluminuim radiators for a reasonable price. I think I will go and see him with a picture from th parts book with added dimensions and see if he can make me up something suitable.
You are right my electric fan is missing but I have bought one locally that I should be able to fit once I make up a mounting braket or two.
I have removed that lower valance panel and straightened it up...it now needs the rust cutting out and repairing before refitting.
Carl my car must be super reliable since I have never had any radiator trouble, other than the trouble of draining flushing and refilling the darned thing.
Well I got a new radiator fabricated locally by a company that was able to do it from a drawing I provided with all the dimensions etc.
They did a very nice job of it and the cost was equivalent to about $400 US.
I had to do a little bit of fettling to the radiator shroud to fit it, but nothing major at all. Now I have all the cooling system sorted out and have sourced and fitted an electric fan too.
I haven't yet tried starting the engine as I still have the steering rack out and don't want to pump ATF all over the carport floor! Waiting for an exchange rack to arrive, having failed to re-rubber the original one myself (the kit of seals I received from a well-known supplier had the two main seals incompatible with me rack and I could not source suitable ones anywhere).
Radiator, a/c condensor and oil cooler arrangement
