Hello my mom has a near mint 1986 xj6 with around 68k miles. The color is British racing green. It has been sitting in our garage covered for 3+ years. Ran great before it was parked. I would like to get it back on the road this year. What can I do or what should be done to it after sitting these years?

Also is this car elgiable for classic or antique insurance/plates?


Thanks alot Jordan.

 

Only picture right now

 

Beauty; thanks for posting!
I'm just getting one back after it sat for several years, in less than ideal circumstances. I will offer some amateur suggestions until someone else more knowledgable comes on.
Drain out the old gas. There is a bung at the bottom of each tank, behind the rear tire. There is a circle about 2 inches in diameter with a foam cover of sorts wedged in it. Get the foam out with a screwdriver and you will see it. the bolt in the center will drain the gas; the larger bung will let you flush any rust out better, plus allows access to the plastic screen on the fuel suction pipe. These just slip off (pull down) if they need cleaning or replacement. I replaced mine: not expensive. You will probably need two bung gaskets as well. I just poured som gas in the filler with a pan under the bung hole, and washed all the rust I could out.
Change the fuel filter. It's at the right-front corner of the spare tire well, easy to get to. Some have suggested installing an additional filter in the fuel pump suction hose, to protect it as well. Good insurance as the pump is about $200.
check the battery: clean the terminals, charge it or replace it if it won't charge. Check the oil, and coolant. Some people will change them before attempting a start; I waited until I got it to run long enough to warm them up.
Use compressed air to blow-clean around the plugs, then remove them and give each cylinder a squirt of oil. Bar the engine around a couple of turns to make certain it turns free. I used a wrench on the alternator pulley bolt and held some tension on the belt with my free hand and the engine turned very easily.
When you have the gas tanks sealed up, and you are ready to try it, put some gas in each tank. put it in gear, either reverse or drive, and hold the key to "crank" position. You should hear the fuel pump run. If you don't you need to troubleshoot the fuel pump circuits. My pump was bad, by the way.
If the pump runs, put it back in park and try it.
That's what I did.
Don't dive out on the highway first thing; remember you need to check the brakes out, and other safety systems. I ran mine several times before I got out on the street and very carefully eased about 1/2 mile down a deserted road (I live in a rural area). Your tires may be old and dry-rotted and you might risk a blowout, so be careful there also. I know the tires on mine are 12 years old. Egad...

Oh, Yea, by the way: In my state you are eligible for antique plates; check with your state DVM or DPS.
RR

Pa Registration requirements: http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms...ets/fs-ant.pdf
RR

 

Good advice from Wascator. Rusty/contaminated/stale gasoline and brake fluid are two main concerns when taking a car out of storage. Neither system tolerates long term storage very well.

I agree with giving the car a good visual inspection before driving. If everything looks good safety-wise and the fluids are topped up put a few miles on her and see how it drives and feels. If all seems well.....no major faults, noises, catastrophies....I'd recommend changing ALL fluids and filters, a thorough lube job, repack wheel bearings, etc.

Pay particular attention to fuel hoses. There's a slew of 'em. Best to put replacement high up on your "to do" list after you've determined all the fundamentals are in order.

Cheers
DD

 

Doug has helped me immensely; read everything he has posted.

Oh, yeah: post lots of photos; it costs me a lot less for me to look at what you are doing, than to work on my own car!
RR

 

Thanks for all the help so far. I am going to tackle some stuff this weekend. I would like to change the spark plugs, oil, and trans fluid. Any recommendations on what to use? I am also very curious about whether or not to use non syn, part syn , or full syn oil considering the age of the vehicle.

 

RE: Oil and oil filter
XJ Engine Oil And Filter Routine Service, Series III XJ6 XJ12 : Tech Library : The Jaguar Experience

86xj,
I recently got 6 sparks and a new set of wires from welsch on the cheap and their installation helped smooth out the idle greatly.

I will STRONGLY echo the point about ensuring the safety and basic running functions of the vehicle are good before highway or trafficked driving is a must for your own sanity, safety, and convenience. After sitting even for just a few months without even rolling motion, the tires begin to deteriate exponentially (and, dangerously, almost invisibly). Replacing all 4 at once after ensuring the basic safety of the suspension operation (both front and back) should be a priority which makes your list - it will remove old/rotten/invisibly corroding tires from your symptom list and allow you to really tell how smooth your car's movement and drive really is.

As part of getting my recently stored car back to performance, I also ended up replacing the Fuel pressure Regulator, Fuel Filter, Coolant Temp. Sensor, Air Filter, and cleaned the AFM to great increases in performance (at rather modest prices with little hard labor in the driveway). Doing those things, even just preventatively isn't a terrible idea and has served me well in a similar circumstance.

Also, be sure to either have the installed battery fully recharged or just go get a new battery. A poor ignition due to weak battery current can often produce many symptoms which can be falsely attributed to more severe problems and be infuriating to diagnose. Making sure your battery has plenty of juice coming to the ignition system will provide a certain platform from which to diagnose any more present or future problems.

Best of luck and post back with any future problems. If I can't help, i can learn.

 

I used NGK plugs, mostly because they are the first ones I found at the local parts stores. Several do not even carry Champions any more. We use a lot of them at work for industrial engines, though. I saw a couple of recommendations here and there for using NGK plugs on Jaguars and they seem to be OK on mine. As for oil: I used Pennzoil 10W-40. I may run it a while and go to synthetic, but frankly I think that, for lightly used older cars, it is overkill and mostly wasted expense. If synnthetic makes you feel better, go for it. I do use it in a couple of my cars; for one it is the OEM recommended oil.
A good thing to replace is the rubber brake hoses. They are not expensive and this is a good safety item. I flushed out my old brake fluid and removed and cleaned out the reservoir on the master cylinder. Be careful with brake fluid because it will ruin the paint on the fender and/or under the bonnet, or wherever it is spilled; it is also poison as it is a similar chemical to antifreeze. Don't let your pets get anywhere near it. I tend to get it all over myself and I hate it.
Another good item to replace on an old car is the pressure hose in the power steering system (Rolls-Royce emphasizes it is a power assisted steering system). It gets rotten and first thing you know, it will embarrass you by bursting in public, and can burn the car down by spraying power steering fluid onto the hot exhaust. Check the hose clamps on the cooling system hoses as these often get loose and no one notices. I was surprised how loose several of those on my car were.
Jaguars (well, these XJ-6s) have a pressurized fuel hose, just in front of the battery, where it connects to the metal fuel header with a hose clamp. This hose can get damaged by a loose battery (keep the battery fastened down correctly!) and it can let go, spraying gasoline all about the bonnet, and poof! bar-b-qued Jaguar. Replace this hose, plus the hoses to each injector, when they are old (as ours are now). Be sure you use hose intended for pressurized fuel injection, not vacuum hose or other unsuitable hose. Replace rusty clamps, also: again, with clamps intended for fuel injection. You don't ever want any leaking fuel. Fire.
Check the air filter: mice build nests in the intake sometimes, and you don't need more trouble caused by your engine eating whatever trash they have drug in there. Be sure there are no flammables around the exhaust manifold or exhaust system, like mice nests, grass, or anything that might burn. If you are lucky and get it to run, you don't want it to immediately catch fire and burn up! Get a fire extinguisher if you can!
You don't have to do all of these tasks immediately, but these are good tasks to work on as you are getting her back up to snuff. Remember you want it not just to run (although that's quite a thrill!) but to run right and be safe and reliable so it will start when you are finished showing it off to your friends or picking up ice cream at the local drive-in.
Best to you!

 

I have an 87 XJ6 that I am going through right now with 64K. Mine is running, but I'm bringing it more up to date. It's amazing to me how dirty it was under the hood. I'm removing 26 years of filth, grime dust, etc.- as well as some mice damage. The previous owner of my car was a CEO of a large corporation so I guess he didn't have the time to look under the hood much. LOL. He claimed that he loved the car, but as I am going through it more and more I am starting to think he just loved the LOOK of the car.
I just removed the plugs over the weekend, 2 of which were nearly rusted in place. It made a big difference. I replaced them with bosch plugs. I am planning to do the fuel filter soon, as it sounds like the fuel is struggling while going through it.


Best of luck on your project and have fun. It looks like a great car and I like the color.
-Mike

 

I changed the plugs, fuel filter, drained the gas, and what not. I tried to start it today and it would crank but not fire. I don't think it's getting fuel. I took a plug out and it was dry. Any suggestions?