Having ALOT of trouble trying to get it running
 

Hi there, about one year ago my grandfather was at the junkyard and saw a beautiful 1986 XJS 5.3 V12, and I know its from the junkyard but he knows the owner and he got it for a REALLY GOOD price.

There is nothing apparently missing, aside from the windshield wiper system, and there seems to be some custom electrical wireing, besides that the car looks pretty nice.

Now to get to our problem. The inspection sticker is from 2005 and it looks like it has been sitting for a long time. Also, when I got it, it had no keys, so it hasnt been driven for a while. I found an old registration in the glove box but I was unsuccessfull in tracking down the owner, so I dont really know how it ended up in the junkyard.

We first started by trying to jump it, the power ran everything, but wouldnt crank. I then went and bought a brand new 1000 cold cranking amp Duralast battery, and then tried jumping it with my tow truck. Still not enough power. I then put my pickup on it too. Then it cranked. I had my 01 F350 tow truck and my 04 F150 pickup and a new battery and it cranked. I tried this for about 3 days and on the 3rd day it FINALLY started. It caughed and blew smoke, but it ran. I let it idle, but i put it in drive and it stalled. I decided to call it a day and went back tommrow. The next day it wouldnt start. Cranked but no start.

I tried it for few weeks here and there and it started again, with my tow truck and pickup on it again. This time it ran pretty decent, smoked a little but ran. I remember the low oil pressure light was on but there was oil in it (it was on the first time too). Also there was gas collecting in the left side of the engine. I didnt try moving it because it was getting late and I decided to wait untill tommrow. The next day it wouldnt start. haha again.

Then my grandfather decided to find someone to work on it. He found two guys that said they could get it running, but they were very wrong. They actually really screwed it up for us. They got it running and then it pulled the same stunt as before, wouldnt run the next day. They changed the oil and the fuel return for the drivers side and cranked and cranked, but wouldnt start.

They tried for weeks but couldnt get it going right, and then it actually caught fire! Luckily my neighbor was home and he went running over with a fire extinguisher and put it out. No damage seemed to be done, but it never cranked the same again. It was the end of the summer by then so me and my grandfather decided to move it into his garage and wait untill next year.

Ive been looking at it all winter and I hate to see it sit there. My grandfather usto have an 89 xj6, but he sold 15 years ago, and he always talks about how great it was, and I would LOVE to get this thing running "decent" for him so he has somthing to enjoy. My dad knows a saab mechanic that says he could give it a try, but i fear to bring it there because we dont really have alot of money to put into it.

If anyone has any ideas on how I could get this thing running get back to me...

@Nick

Sorrry the hear about your troubles. I can't offer any useful advice apart from if you really, really want the car to go, you're probably going to have to find a good independant Jaguar mechanic and pump some cash into it.

I did the same thing, ie bought a really cheap car and was hoping I'd get lucky, but I didn't and had to spend a lot of money at a specialist getting it running properly.

My first thought is that you have old, contaminated fuel. Remove the fuel filter and shake the contents out into a clean container.....you might see a very big clue.

The fuel leak is probably a split hose. Better jump on that. Lots of Jags have burned down due to old fuel hoses. You got lucky this time !

Cheers
DD

I too bought a car out of a junk yard for 400 bucks and had similar problems. My 89 was doing exactly what yours was doing. I put brand new spark plugs, wires, a new distributor cap and rotor on as well as new fuel and fuel filter and that cleared up the majority of the problems. I also pumped clean fuel through the fuel rail to make sure it was all cleared. I'd make sure that nothing is blocking the air boxes and filters, like a dead animal or nest of some sort. Mine had a mouse nest in the left airbox.

When you do eventually get it running you'll still have a bit of work before you can take on the road but its all worth it.

My Mother's 88 is extremely cold natured when you first try to start it. I usually hafta hold down the accelerator part way or all the way down until the car starts. Then it takes off like a champ. Also with the amount of current that you are running through the car (two trucks and a 1000 amp battery) I would check all of the ignition system (battery terminals, starter connections, solenoid, etc ) for loose connections or bad grounds. The battery you do have should be enough to start the car by itself.