I have just been gifted an '85 v12 XJS under the condtion I restore it to its previous glory. Thankfully the body work is sound but it seems to suffer from many, if not all of the common faults I am rapidly learning about.


I have skimmed Palm's guide and also have the Haynes manual for it, accompanied by a wealth of enthuasiasm.

So anyway, I drained the fuel and refilled and fired her up (very) briefly. Its missing pretty badly - on cursory inspection the dizzy has a cracked cap and probably a seized advance as well as the HT leads being frazzled, all on the list then.....


Then bang - blown rad hose. Looks like a heater hose (on the drivers side firewall), not really surprising given the age of the car. So this afternoon I embarked on a program of cooling system overhaul. I pulled the rad out - complete with bird skeleton (really) and a tonne of crap and then started to replace hoses. I ran into a bit of bother on the filler rail (three small hoses, 2 side / one mid) just behind the thermostat housings - which seems to have been engineered with the soul purpose of being hideously difficult to change.


Here is the important part - To give myself some wriggle room I removed the AC compressor belt and removed what looks like a breather pipe connecting the oil filler to the left intake, it had 2 bolts on it. As I removed one of the bolts it disappeared into the darkness below - could I find it - no chance. I am pretty meticulous with this kind of thing (egg-boxes are king) and I cannot find it anywhere then it dawned on me - has it entered the water pump!? I pulled the end housing cover (with the stat in it) and had a peek - nothing - so at this stage I am stumped.


I am not really that worried about replacing the bolt my real question is what kind of damage it will do if it has miraculously made its way (via a perpendicular angle I might add) into the water pump. How tough is the impellors and where is it likely to be spat out, if at all?1 I could really do without the hassle of stripping and removing the pump body - I have only just got the bottom rad hose back on (which was also a complete pig).


Ye sage's o Jag I beseech you, what are my options?


Thanks in advance. Cheers

Chris

 

Welcome to our world.

HA, you dropped a bolt/spanner/washer, that will be restored when the engine comes out. I regularly add to my toolbox when a V12 engine is extracted, fun really.

If that bolt has entered the top facing 2" hose spigot of the water pump, BUGGA.

I would first get a "magnet on a stick" and have a go. The impellor is a cast arrangement and will explode with that in there. I doubt the bolt will be spat out, it will cause all and sundry to be spat out.

Raising the compressor to remove that cross pipe is "normal", as is raising it to remove and replace 1A and 1B spark plugs.

This is why we oldies only venture into a V12 with a "do it all, do it once, do it properly, dont go back for 10 more years". Constant "grazing" will drive you nuts and to drink, HAHA. I drink, NOW. I once grazed.

 

Further to Grant's reply, are you saying that the opening into the top of the water pump from where the cross pipe would go was open, fitted as in this photo:


If so, loosen the fan belt and see if you can spin the pump by hand. It is just as likely that the bolt has fallen into a thick bed of crud on the cross member below!

 

Grant / Greg Thanks for your input its been fantastic. Rarely is a forum so helpful, friendly and precise - hopefully i will be able to offer something constructive at some point, rather than just sponge on your expertise.

Very happy to report i span the pump by hand and butchered my mag retrival tool to great effect - i have the flange bolt back, water pump intact. Thanks for awesome advice advice chaps.

Cheers

Chris

 

Where was the bolt?

 

Unbelievably it had fallen clean down the hose spigot and bounced at 90 degrees a good four inches (out of sight and finger reach) to come to rest on the pump impellor. I bent my magnet to fit and inserted it right into the housing before really slowly turning the pump by hand - only had one shot at it before strip down, if the bolt had fallen it would have been game over.





Thankfully it worked !!! The advice on here must have saved me at least a day's full tinkering and frustration. Thanks once again

 

Nice work, Grant