Hello! This is my first forum post, and I will definitely be spending some time on this site for the summer since I am unsure as to what I need to do to get this thing back on the road. The car seems to have a lot of tiny issues, and a few big ones, and I tried looking through the forums for certain keywords, but didn't really have any luck. The car has not been serviced since 92 and has not been on the road since 93. Pretty much no rust, so I am going to assume it was stored inside. I bought it from someone who thought it would be easy to fix, and he didn't have much luck since he "was not a mechanic". Apparently spark plugs, oil, and the fuel filter has been changed but I will be doing these again just incase. Since he only had it for a couple weeks, his name was never on the title, so technically this car was a one-owner vehicle. Below are some of the problems I am currently facing.

The car stalls out when giving it any more than about 10% throttle, but under 10% the car starts to rev up. After it stalls out, I get an oil light. I am assuming this has something to do with the air/fuel mix.
The gauge cluster is out, but I read somewhere that if its a fuse issue the reverse lights would also be out, which they are, so I will definitely be getting a new fuse for that soon.
The park brake light is on while the car is running, no matter the position, and the brake does not lock when pulling up, just kind of slowly falls back down, and the button has absolutely no play at all, it is completely pushed when brake is at the top, and completely out when the brake is at the bottom.
The battery is slowly dying, I bought a charger and unplug the battery whenever I am not currently working on the car, I assume it is a short somewhere, and until the car is running smooth, it is in the back of my concerns list.

Besides listed above, which I would consider the bigger issues, one of the windshield wipers does not work and the other goes extremely slow, and there is a gap somewhere from the exterior to the interior on the drivers side, and water gets into the car when washed.

One other issue I am running into is the person I bought it from also had a XJ12 and XJS workshop manual, and some of the information conflicts with what is on the car, mostly fuse amps and such. I try to follow the manual instead of what is on the panels on the car, and am unsure if this is the correct way to go about it.

Any information regarding the car in general or information regarding my issues is greatly appreciated. I will also attach some photos some time tomorrow. Sorry if I am not too familiar with some of the more basic things, I bought this car as a project I could work on with my father, and have not been around cars long enough to know my way around a car that is pretty out of my timeline. Looking forward to hearing from all of you!

 

Almost everything you need to fix the issues you have is in this book at the link below.
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/XJS_help.pdf

I suggest downloading it and reading it cover to cover. Well worth the time.

Trust the fuse labeling on the panels in your car. Jaguar made running changes all the time, and the manuals didn't keep up.

Jon

 

Hi,
Welcome to the forum and congrats on your purchase! The link below lists an exhaustive list of 'to do' items for a previously unloved XJS.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...embers-235554/

Others with far more experience than me will chime in. Beyond the issues you mention, attention to the cooling system (V12's will run hot given any encouragement i.e. neglected cooling system), and replacement of fuel hoses (crack and engine fires) should be high on your priority list. Your Dad is handy with a wrench? A V12 XJS is not for the faint hearted nor for those on a tight budget. You will find the forum members here to be absolutely the best and very sharing of their accumulated wisdom.
Good luck!

Quentin

 

Welcome to the Forums.

There are a few stickies at the top of this section that will help.

20 years dormant, it will have issues, then the "fiddle factor" from the PO, all mean LOTS of very methodical investigations. Simply throwing parts at it will NOT fix it.

They are simple cars, and simple systems, only made complicated by over thinking, and not being methodical/systematic.

 

My first question would be, what fuel are you starting the car on? I can not imagine it is fuel from the 90's, but if it is you're doing well just getting it to fire up.

 

Quote:

This is my first forum post, and I will definitely be spending some time on this site for the summer since I am unsure as to what I need to do to get this thing back on the road.

Quote:

The car has not been serviced since 92 and has not been on the road since 93

Back on the road? Or back on the road and reliable?

I'll assume the later.

I'll also assume that you really like the car and are dedicated to making things right.

There are different approaches to tackling a project like this. Personally, I'd dive right into overhauling all the major sub-systems. Fuel, ignition, cooling, brakes, suspension. In each system do it all, do it once, do it right. Then move on to the next system. If you take the alá carte path....picking away at each system here and there....you'll be coming back to the same areas over and over again.

Cheers
DD

 

Same advice as ever - just because it 'runs' does not mean it is useable - don't believe all the YouTube 'will it run' nonsense - most of it is precisely that and although many get things running they do untold damage in the process, parts are becoming harder and harder to find for older Jaguars.

Follow the guides in the stickies or your XJS relationship will not be a good one, it is great that you want to contribute to the survival of one of these cars but go in with eyes open, correcting years of neglect takes time and money, lots of both but once done 99% of issues on old Jaguars are caused by the owners and poor maintenance regimes. These are a high maintenance car - think of them as you would your spouse - cheap out and they can be really vindictive and will remind you at every opportunity.

At the very minimum every system needs a thorough inspection, cooling, brakes and fuel system should be overhauled regardless and every single fluid replaced, as per previous advice and the forum stickies.

 

On the hand brake, see this video:

 

My opinion, abort mission! The amount of blood, sweat, and tears, and money, it hardly seems worth it. With so many years of neglect you’ll have to replace just about everything on this car and it ain’t cheap. Now when it comes to the rust if you see a little assume that there is a lot more hidden. Better to find something with a little service history and in better shape that needs a refreshing than a total rehab in my opinion.

 

We each have our own motivations for why we display various degrees of insanity - if everyone were the same there would be no antique or historic machinery in preservation. I guess this is the difference between an enthusiast and a mere driver - you do need to be a little nuts but that has its own rewards, depends whether you measure those rewards in monetary terms - unfortunately many do precisely that. The challenges are all part of the fun for me at any rate, overcoming challenges is rewarding too ...

This is why I said eyes open, not trying to scare off, not at all, I wouldn't recommend any old Jaguars to those not prepared to get stuck in. Tthe skills to maintain one of these cars need to be learned, most shops these days cannot be trusted with them, refurbing one is the ideal way to learn those skills, this way we also preserve the knowledge.

Those that think a service history means anything, that cannot do diagnosis without a computer, or that rely on others to solve problems really should veer off classic Jaguar ownership. The Jaguar XJS's on the market that have not been subjected to poor maintenance are on the shelf with the hens teeth and rocking horse droppings, the prices of them tanked and those that really couldn't afford to run them bought them, and even if they didn't these cars don't respond well to being a garage queen.

Ain't no such thing as a cheap Jaguar .... especially those getting on in years.

 

Good video for explaining the handbrake operation. But, FTR, the XJS handbrake is not the "fly off" type !

With a fly-off handbrake you pull the lever up and push the button to set the brake. To release, simply lift the handle slightly....and the handbrake "flies off" :-)

Cheers
DD

 

Oh yeah!!
But when you DRIVE a Classic Jag, you know which car in the parking area is yours without Dowsing with your key fob to see which one of the Soulless Myriad answers.
(';')