I am servicing the engine breather assembly today and this is what I found.

Does it look normal for 30 years of no servicing? I had never done this before in 30 years of ownership.

I ordered new gaskets, copper washers, and acorn nuts, the screen mesh is good but I also found a new one on eBay.

I learned that everybody removes the screen mesh and the air pump system, but not me, my car still has them. That is what that bracket is for.

the orifice tube will be removed and cleaned next, it is a p.i.t.a. to remove, so one step at a time.

 

Looks about what I'd expect. The little breather tower that is on the plate that covers the hole cruds up quite badly. There's no need to replace the gauze screen, as cellulose thinners will clean it up quite nicely.

 

thanks Fraser, I have all the parts submerged in degreaser and they are cleaning up nicely.

there are casting burrs inside the aluminium elbow which I want to flatten / polish off. Seems like a lot of oil crud gets caught there.

I can now see the British Leyland logo and the part number inside the elbow.

Curiously the elbow in the 3.8 S type engine is polished aluminium, but in the XJ it is painted black.

 

IMO it looks surprisingly non-sludgy ! That's good!




I've not heard that, personally.

However, until '82 or so the breather used two mesh screens, one of them being basket shaped and located in the dome section of the casting. It is common to toss that one over the hedge.

Cheers
DD

 

yeahh Doug, that was the fashion in Nashville in the 1990s, remove the air pump system including the air rail on the head, and remove the breather screen. More power they said. I never did.

Well I cleaned all the parts good, unfortunately the bendable clamp broke, it was rusty at the bend tab and that's where it broke.

 

parts cleaned.

check the weld in one of the bracket Spacers! must have been in a hurry.

 

Questions for Fraser & Doug because I cannot remember now:

1) the screen is "shaped-formed" with a section formed or pushed outwards from a flat plane.

does the outwards area go towards the engine or towards the vent elbow?

2) the illustration below shows a shaped gasket, Number 3, between parts number 1 and number 2 that conforms to the screen's frame. The gaskets I ordered are like the second Number 3 between parts number 2 and number 4.

Nobody had Gasket number 3. Does it matter?
Thanks.

 

Hi Jose -

I just did this very operation a few weeks ago. A couple things I found.

- I replaced tabbed clamp with a new hose clamp. Some people mentioned hose clamps are too wide, but all of mine fit my "new" rubber boot. So either my clamp was thin enough or the new boots being produced have a wider groove.

- When replacing the air pump bracket, I thought it a good idea to copper washer before and after the bracket, but this made the number of threads extending for the nut very few. So I instead used one copper washer under the nut and put some rtv on other side of the bracket. There was not a copper washer on both sides of the bracket when I removed, but just seems like there should have been.

- Yes, getting that long tube to the intake is fiddly, but I did it and also replaced the hose at the end that connects it to intake.

- Is your a 3.4 or 4.2? You tag says 84 and the parts look like newer, but your parts diagram in post above is for the 3.4. I attached 4.2 below. From this, the two paper gaskets are the same and from the shading on the drawing, the concave portion of the mesh screen goes toward the engine. I too forgot to pay attention when I disassembled

Get rid of that air pump junk.. makes it so much easier to work around the engine bay !!

Randy

 

Thanks Randy,

yes mine is a 4.2 and the illustration I have no clue where I got it. You might be right it is for an older engine.

I agree about the air pump bracket, the copper washers in mine were under the two bracket spacers, kind of stuck there! There were no washers at the two acorn nuts over the bracket. Had to pry the copper washers off of the housing after I removed it.

my rubber boot has the narrow clamp guide, so I either get a newer boot or try to find a thin clamp. i have clamps of the wide type, but I may have a thin one removed from the 3.8 engine in my S type.

those bendable clamps are also located at the cowl drain hoses, same size.

If the Delco air pump seizes, ( I have had one pump seize already), I plan to remove the entire air pump / rail system.