I used to have smell of fuel in my boot. That is now gone, I believe the source was leaky steel fuel line just outside the RH fuel line grommet in the boot.
I have washed my boot and removed all carpets. It still has a *warm engine* smell, but quite weak. But when I take the car for a drive, it gets worse, and clothing placed in the boot ends up smelling. Not the sharp fuel smell, but the unburned-fuel-and-no-cat-combustion smell.
Wifee and I are planning a vacation trip in the car, and it would be annoying not to be able to use the boot for its purpose.

I believe my boot is tight and all rubber plugs are in place.
My boot seal is not perfect. I have moved the joint to be at the middle top instead of at the catch as the ends does not grip properly and the ends therefore was getting loose all the time. It also as a 3-4 cm *bite*, where most of the seal is missing. That is now placed along LH edge along the buttress.

Any my experience with this ? Where should I focus ? Should there be some kind of ventilation of the boot ?

 

Leo, my suggestions are as follows:
Put the join back by the catch. There is a low pressure area behind the rear screen and it may be sucking exhaust fumes in from there. Check the exhaust pipe joins to the tunnel silencers, and also check that the S shaped exhaust trims are so placed that S is horizontal with the end pointing outboard, not downwards. these trims were deliberately made this shape to direct the exhaust fumes out into the slipstream, after exhaust fumes were found coming into the cabin in testing. I am assuming your over-axle pipes are sound and the fittings to them from the under floor silencers are tight?

 

Thanks Greg

i will move my joint and look for a replacement sealing profile.
My exhaust is as far as I know tight. I only have rear mufflers. Over axle tubes look ok, but they have not been pulled in my ownership. The under floor mufflers were leaking and is replaced by SP muffler delete pipes. No cats either, so my exhaust system is quite simple.
The chromed s-shaped finishers is mounted correctly: flat and outwards. I know the reason for their shape from XJ6 series 1, they started out with straight pipes and problems like mine...

 

Hi Leo,

I used to get an exhaust like smell in my car. The boot lid on mine sat too high to make a good joint with rubber seal. Adjusting the catch to pull the lid down firmer on the seal seems to have cured the problem. So, as Greg suggests make sure the boot seal is as good as you can get it.

Good luck,
LeeP

 

Thanks, it seems pointers go in same direction..
I will find me a replacement for the damaged seal profile I have now

Leo

 

Leo
for example:
Jaguar Partno_BD21528/1*_BOOT LID SEAL MK10 420G XJS XJ6 XJ_David Manners Group with Alts
Greg

 

My current profile is most likely not the one mounted in 1977. It has a 12mm diameter balloon, offset to the outside. The side of the balloon is more or less flush with the mounting u-profile part.

Same as below except mine is not symmetrical.

Could somebody give me an idea of dimensions of the original profile ?

 

Ordering the correct profile seems to be the way to go

Jaguar Partno_BD21528/1*_BOOT LID SEAL MK10 420G XJS XJ6 XJ_David Manners Group with Alts

 

So I changed my seal, and the boot does now seem to actually be sealed, but it's also harder to close now....
I glued the ends together with cyanoacrylate to do it properly.

There is still some smell of varm rust protection products, but that is probably just what it is. There are several (original) holes in the chassis rails with black goo creaping out, and the chassis does probably get heated by the rear mufflers. Are these supposed to be plugged or closed with tape ? I plan to try with aluminium tape, that must be air and smell tight



Profile on 5mm squared paper:

 

Leo
The rustproofing smell will go as the last 10% of the rustproofer carrier gradually evaporates off. I would leave it alone for a few months.

 

The rustproofing is not new, so maybe that is not what causes the smell then. The smell is a like a mix of warm wax and asphalt...

 

That is the rustproofer, for sure. The hot weather does it!