Looking into this XJS, it's the year and color combination that I've been drooling over for the past 20 years. I've never ventured into the Jaguar world before, what questions or concerns should I investigate if I proceed with looking into this further? Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

First thing is it a V12 or a 6 ? The 6 is very long-lived and so is the V12, but the latter needs more maintenance attention. If this is skipped by owners that have little money, then it will be down to you to sort things out to acheive reliability. Tyoicakl thing is to not bother replacing the sparkplugs under the aircon compressor sitting in the V of the 12. Check for invoices and service bills, there needs to be some to show how seriously the owners have done their duties to the car.

Apart from the above, body rust is probably the thing to look for, as these cars were never very well protected until the re-hash of around 1994. In particular the rear suspension radius arms can rot out, but are easy and fairly cheap to replace. I am not sure if a 1991 has the outboard or inboard brakes, the latter are a pain to fix as you can't get at them easily.

Others more familiar with these cars will help, but essentially the car is based on the XJ saloon of 1968, and was updated as the saloon was updated, so, for instance, it will have the later front suspension ball joints of the XJ40 and various other improvements. The cars are known to leak water in from the front screen somewhere, this needs checking.

 

If you go to the "Quick Link" sticky you'll find a buyer's guide that might answer some of your questions

Cheers
DD

 

Welcome aboard clarku best of luck with your search.

@ Fraser, that has to be one of the best typo's I've seen for a while. LOL

 

tyr thsi four sicze

 

it looks sweet, I can't give much advice as I am in the same boat as you......
except the one I am looking at is a 94 hardtop with 50 on the ody.......
dealer asking 9950........I told 'em it was too high.....but I'll still check it out.....
you sure you want a soft top that far north??

good luck!

 

After the kick @$$ winter we had, we're embracing spring and summer this year with a convertible. It will only used as a 3rd car in spring through early fall....although, the coupes are awfully sweet. Keep an eye on craigs list on your hunt for a coupe, I came across quite a few nice ones that weren't listed anywhere else.

 

I went to the ad and checked it out.....nice looking color combo. The seller mentioned the ABS light coming on........

We own a '91 XJS V12, and it had a similar problem with the ABS. The light would come on when the brake was applied, then shut off. It turned out to be the brake accumulator. This is the black bottle mounted on the brake fluid pump located just in front of the right bonnet latch. It is charged with nitrogen to assist the rear brakes and acts as the booster. If there is insufficient boost it triggers the warning light......It may be the problem.

I replaced it with a new one, and all was fixed. I saved some money by getting one from local GM dealer. It's GM Part# 25528382, which is also the same part used on some late 80's GM cars. They show up occasionally on ebay as well.

We've had a few quirks with ours, and have fixed up most issues but expect to tinker on occasion to fix some common gremlins as you may read about in "The XJS Book". Keep in mind the '91's have the Marelli ignition system, which is a dual bank system(1 coil per 6 cyl). Important reading in the book related to fires in the catalytic converters. Not to scare you.....just to keep you aware. FYI, the issue is that if you loose one bank on a Marelli system, you loose power but it continues to dump fuel into that bank via the injector system. The downpipes and the front cats are shaped like a sink trap. Unburned fuel can build up and......well, you know. If you ever loose power it is a sure sign of trouble. Shut down and call a flat-bed.

Rich

 

That looks good. I may need one (GM Part# 25528382) and the Jag dealer just rolled his eyes about the "Old" car.

XJSPaul
'94 V12 Convertible

 

BTW for the XJS 88 to 94 with this Teves ABS system, it's jaguar part# JLM1907. I see them sell for anywhere from $190-$230 USD. XK's and SNG are up there too if I recall.

I just checked gmpartsdirect.com where I get parts on occasion, and their price for the 25528382 is $126.28, list $247.60. Just be aware that their shipping costs are high, so if you have several things to get it helps.

Pics below are the old one from the '91, and the box the new one came in. I hear you can recharge them with nitrogen if you have the special fittings, but it's likely a PITA task.

Rich