Hey Everyone....spent 9 hours last night looking thru this whole site. Got my 90 XJS at 6p and didn't go to bed until 4am doing research.

Let me apologize in advance for my rookie-type questions...some maybe too obvious for me to figure out as a new owner or just too hard...lol.

I should also mention that I promised my wife that this would be a fun toy for us to enjoy before we have kids. I need to make it fun...fast!

Hopefully you all can help me with my laundry list of to-do's:

1 - Passenger and driver door locks are stuck. Have to shimmy key for about 5 minutes before it turns once. I'm lucky if it turns again. Someone on here recommended graphite powder. Tried it and it worked a little, but still absolutely frustrating. Should I try spraying some WD40 in the key hole????

2 - Passenger side window stops about 1/8" before meeting the soft top. Driver side seals just fine. It doesn't sound like the motor is still forcing it up. It just stops as if that's supposed to be the highest it will go. Anyone experience this? Does this mean the window fell off its rails? As your can imagine, this concerns me for when we go to the beach or somewhere during the summer time (you never know in LA) or during the few days of rain we have here.

3 - Windshield wiper fluid doesn't spray from the nozzle. The blades move and I can hear the spray motor working...quiet loudly actually. I poured some window cleaner into the fluid tank and after about 2 minutes a lot of the fluid just poured out from behind the front passenger side wheel. I tried to spot where it was coming from but couldn't identify any wet spots on the hoses etc? Anyone, help?

4 - The glove box lock is very loose. I can actually turn the whole black bezel and keyhole about a quarter turn , but it remains locked. It locks and unlocks just fine, but it feels like the whole key cylinder will fall out any minute. Is there a way to tighten this?

5 - Some electrical issues: a)heated seat doesn't seem to heat. the switch does lit up when pushed (alongside the center console). b) what i believe is the lumbar support switch (located next to the heated seat switch) doesn't seem to function either. c) driver side mirror doesn't work. passenger side mirror motor works just fine.

6 - rear view mirror seems to dance around a bit. Its pretty annoying. I don't seem anywhere to tighten it. Is this normal/factory????

7 - rear compartment/box (located where rear seats would normally be) lock has the same problem as the glove box (#4). it isn't loose like the glove box but does a 360 degree turn (the black bezel and all), and becomes unlocked. is there a way to prevent this?

8 - how can i remove the instrument panel cover to clean it? The owner kept this car in his airplane hanger and it has about an inch of dust in every crevice. I'm also considering adding an elm wood cluster trim to match the rest of the interior. Not a big fan of the black factory faceplate.

9 - just under the instrument panel and above the steering wheel there is a small shelf type space that seems to be covered with some very thin, headline type material. Its pretty ratty and nasty. I'd like to change it. Has anyone does this before? I was thing to just glue two small strips of black leather to there to replace the cheap piece of material.

OKAY! Sorry for that long winded post but I'm so psyched to get this baby cleaned, functional and on the road so the wife won't be mad at me for buying a Jaguar instead of going on a cruise like we were considering!

I appreciate any help you guys can give me on these topics/issues. I'm also in LA so if anyone wants to me up and talk some shop , I'd love to.

THANKS!

 

@Albert

Welcome !

I would just ignore all the things on your list. Does the car actually run ?!

Seriously though, your list is kind of typical on this age of XJS. It's good that you are intending to fix these things and get the car back in to shape again. There is, however, another list that you should be aware of, which is a more preventive list of more serious things. Read this post...

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...87/#post178281

Also do a search on the XJS forum using the keyword "newbie" and you will find a load of info that has been given out previously.

I can say a few things on some of the items on your list, but I think the general direction should be arm yourself with good reference materials/workshop manuals, etc, and start troubleshooting by pulling things apart. There's no better way to learn the car.

1. I'd try WD40, no harm in trying. Perhaps the car has remote locking and was usually locked and unlocked that way, but the fob has got lost. Most convertible owners I know (myself included) don't bother to lock their cars. I would rather someone opened my door, had a rummage around to find there's nothing worth stealing inside the car and leave, rather than slashing my roof to do the same thing

2. If it's going up and down it's on its tracks. Likely it needs adjusted. I haven't done this, maybe others will chime in, but I imagine it's going to be take the door trim off, read the manual and fiddle with something. (Even if you get the window to fully close against the roof, there's a good chance you'll still have some rain coming in anyway)

3. Pipe and or reservoir cracked or pipe came off the tank. Get a torch, get your hands dirty and get under the car to see where it's leaking from

4. Probably involves taking the back off the glove box door..... again, inspection after disassembling with the manual will likely allow you to work out whats going wrong, same for 7.

5a) They don't ever get very hot. Do you have any heat from either the seat base or the seat back ? If only one, then it's the heat pad that's failed. If neither are working, start troubleshooting using the electrical diagrams... check the fuses, check the wiring, etc, etc

5b) My facelift car has these weird bladder things inside the seat that are the lumbar supports. They are inflated by a pump, and deflated by a valve. When you press the lumber switch, do you hear anything ? ie pump running, and/or air escaping ? If the pump can be heard to be running, take the seat back off and inspect. The usual failure is either the bladder itself is leaking (some owners have patched it using a bicycle puncture repair kit) or the tubing from the pump to the bladder has gone brittle and cracked open (mine had)

5c) Wiring inside the door.... standard electrical troubleshooting required, ie check fuses, check for power at the mirror, etc, etc

6) My 92 car has a kind of ball and socket arrangement. It can become pretty loose. I wouldn't like to say on an open forum that I used superglue to stop mine moving.... for fear of being laughed at :-)

8) 2 or 3 screws hold the cluster in with a plastic surround. Again, get the manual and learn how to take it apart. While you are in there you may want to read up on other posts about bad grounds on the cluster circuit board

9) Sure.... modify as you see fit. I learned a long time ago that I was never going to be able to go to concourse competitions with my XJS, and I am never likely to sell it, so I like to modify it when and where I see fit. Post before and after pics on here to help others who may want to do the same mod.

I've had my XJS now for 3 years and I wouldn't part with it for anything. I learn things about it every time I go near it (usually because something else breaks) but I still think I know less than 10% of how the thing actually works. This is part of the XJS experience for me... it's kind of always a mystery

 

Rear view mirror shouldn't be loose, my '85 is tight as a drum. Probably no adjustment, might be easier to just buy a replacement at a yard or ebay.

Most of the other stuff I can't help you with because I have an '85 coupe, but the window tracks shouldn't be too difficult to adjust. I doubt there's really anything wrong / broken there.

The door mirror switches are a common failure item, google "bernard embden jaguar" and "ed sowell jaguar" - these are two guys who photo-documented every turn of a wrench on their XJ-Ss, both over periodsof 20-30 years of ownership. Not only are their sites invaluable, they have lots of pics. One of these two guys had a photo-essay on rebuilding that door mirror switch (it doesn't seem easy, though, I'm praying mine holds out).

I, too, hate that little piece of fabric - can't clean it, can't work behind the cluster without ruining it. Very finicky. The same stuff is also inside the rear armrest / speaker pockets. Impossible to clean without making it look worse. I wrapped masking tape around my hand and used it like a lint brush.

If this is everything wrong with your car, you got a great car! 90% of them don't even run!

 

Thanks for all the input! I'll post images and comments for the repairs I make. Heck, i should post pic soy the new wooden shift knob that I just put in today. Instantly adds a luxurious feel.

 

Awesome, thanks.


I'm going to replace it with a piece of leather...will let you know how it goes.

 

Thanks for all the advice Sarc....and yes it does run, quite well actually (knock on wood).

Really, wow! I also noticed that none of the half dozen Jags I looked into had alarms. I'm having a Sytek G20 installed today.

Nothing happens when i press the switch. I guess i can live without this. I'd just like to get everything functioning as best as I can.

Yeah, mine has the ball and socket too. That is the part that dances around when I'm driving. I tighten the screw behind the screw that holds the ball in the socket but didn't help.