This in my new toy/project. It's a 1990 with 112,000kms. My daughter and I drove 15hrs round trip to bring it home.
The last owner said it had been in "storage" for the last 4-5 years.
The list of problems is slowly growing, but it was to be expected from a 23 year old car.
So far:
Tires or is that tyres, badly weather cracked.
Clear coat rubbed off the tops of all panels
No code for radio
Brakes all the way around.
Driver window sticks in track and passenger window
Incorrect battery.
Most interior lights dead (have fixed the Fiberoptic light source)

I'm sure there will be more, much ,much more

 

Congrats! I'm also a relatively new XJS owner, and finding tons of things to fix is the easiest thing you can expect on these cars, apparently.

If you haven't already, check the welcome sticky here for a link to Kirby Palm's book, it's been extremely helpful to me so far in understanding some of the "quirks".

 

Congrats!! At least the tires will be an easy fix! The brakes - eh, do them right this time and you'll probably never have to mess with them again.

 

Congrats from a fellow Canuck XJS owner, I've had an '89 for a year and half, car was a good runner when I bought it, and even better now. When you get her rolling, you will l-o-v-e the handling and ride.....and you probably won't find the top-end speed unless you have better roads and more nerve than me. -I backed off at 245 kmh, with still 1000 rpm left on the tach.

 

Thanks guys, I am super stoked to get working on it , and driving it. I have check out Kirby Palm's book , wow, were to begin!
About the tires, are guys going to lower and wider on the original rims, like 60s instead of the 75s?
My thought is, it may look a little better with a lower slightly wider tire, with out changing the rims.
I test drove one of these 20 years before kids, but didn't have the time or resources to take care of it, so I never bought. But now, I have a little more of each.

 

15" rims are very hard to find good tires for. The car calls for a "T" rated tire I believe. You can find tires in the correct size but they will scream for their lives and try to tear themselves off the wheel when even mildly pushed around a turn.I upgraded to a 17" wheel and never looked back. Better handling, more tire choices and the tires are less money than 15's.

Just my opinion of course.
Have fun, Rob

 

Speaking of larger wheels, I believe most of the 16" wheels used on the XJ sedans through 1997 will fit on your car as well. They are inexpensive, readily available used, and come in a variety of styles. You are also guaranteed the quality of the OE Jaguar wheels. Again, this will provide many more tire choices and better responsiveness than the 15" wheel/tire combos.

 

The originals should be 215 /70 /15 not 75's. I just put 225/ 60/ 15's on my 86 and they look/work/feel/perform great. No screaming or tearing here.

 

Thanks for the tire/wheel info. I do like the sound of 17" wheels....maybe next year. For now I'm going to try the 60s
Thanks again all.

 

Hi all!
I recently bought a 1987 jaguar XJS. The car was just fine when I bought it. So I took it to my mechanic for a simple tune-up - but he totally screwed it up and caused further problems. I am now at my second mechanic, who supposedly fixed the problem, but no. Here it is: The auxiliary fan is not working and the car gets overheated within just a few miles of driving it. PLEASE HELP.

 

I suppose that if one only drove posted speed limits then there would be no issues with just running any decent 15" tire. But right or wrong I consider speed limits a "suggestion" and I tend to push my Jag pretty hard. I am basing my opinion on tire performance on 2 cars, a 88 and a 90, both coupes, and 2 specific corners that I take on my daily commute as well as 1 straight section of road where I frequently top 100-125 ish. I have had 3 different sets of tires on the 15"s, all name brand.Turn #1 is a 90 degree r/h turn with a posted speed limit of 35mph. On 15"s tire squeal is heard at about 40-45ish, in 17's I can take the same corner at 50-55 before issues arise. turn # 2 is an offramp posted 45mph. 15"s will squeal after 55ish, 17"are closer to 70ish. On the high speed straight over 95 and the car starts to get loose and you really need to pay very close attention to what the car is doing with 15's. 17's and the car feels stable up to about 120. I understand that most drivers won't drive like I do and tire performance isn't an issue.

 

Congrats's on the new car, I'm a new owner also. Had to laugh with the drivers window sticking, mine does the same thing, I have noticed that all the rubbers are rock solid and need replacing, well that,ll be done when the car gets re-sprayed as like yours the clear coat is flaking off in parts.
Ive got a to do list on mine, lots of little things that need attention before I would be really happy with it. I have no doubt that your car would be looking at the sort of same issues as mine.
Have Fun.

 

Thanks for the insult. Since you've no particular knowledge of how I drive or where I drive or what type tires or what type suspension set-up is on my car or anyone elses on here for that matter. It is your opinion but since you used MY quote I'll take it as a personal dig.

 

JTsmks, Oddrods didn't insult you as far as I can see. He only stated his opinion about tires which may be helpful and which was the original threads intent. Peace.
RagJag

 

I really think in a way he did...at least that's my take on it. I wish Gunner all the best in his adventure in XJS ownership, here to help in any way I can....15" tires and all!

 

It all depends what kind of experience you are expecting from your car. An XJS is not meant to be a sports car, it is a touring car. By putting larger wheels on, you are losing a lot of the sidewall and this will result in a harsher ride.

If you value handling over ride quality then larger wheels might be your thing. Personally I think the car should be the way it was intended - as a touring car with a luxury ride.

It all comes down to personal preference.

 

I assure you that NO insult was meant to anyone! The point I was trying to get across, apparently not too well, was that if you are the type of driver that pushes your cars limits 15" wheels aren't all that great for a car of this weight on a stock set up suspension. It has been my experience you will quickly exceed the wheel/tires comfort zone if you drive in a spirited fashion. This is based on MY experiences only. I was hoping that others would chime in as well. I meant no offence/ disrespect to anyone, I promise.


Rob

 

It's horses for courses for sure but I like FastKat's suggestion of 16" wheels. Jag used these as standard on the V12 for the last 3 years of production so you should easily be able to find them and they are a direct fit. You can find 225/55 16 tires from just about every producer and in virtually any speed rating.

With the right air pressure I think this combo provides a good compromise for ride, handling and looks.

Cheers,

Allan

 

Thanks for the plug Allan! I figured it would be a good compromise. I tried two different 17" wheels on my SIII XJ6 (one from the 1995-97 XJR, and one from an XK8) and they just didn't look right to me - I want something more period-specific. With that being said, I have my eyes on a set of 16" wheels. Excellent high-performance 225/55-16 150+ mph summer tires can be had from BFGoodrich, Bridgestone, Yokohama, Continental, etc for about $115 per tire shipped or less. That size will give you a significantly reduced sidewall when compared to stock - you're going down in tire diameter by about 1" and increasing your wheel diameter by 1", which means you'll have 1" less sidewall radius.

One thing about squealing around turns - nothing will make your tires squeal worse than a bad alignment or worn out suspension parts. Although I firmly believe that a 15" wheel with tall tires has its performance limitations, I'd look equally as hard at the condition of the suspension components (ball joints, tie rod ends, upper & lower A-arm bushings, steering rack bushings) and the alignment.

 

Having trouble with battery keeping a charge. told something is draining, not a bad alternator. ANY thoughts?