Hi all. My son recently inherited an 89 XJS coupe for his first car. It's already in seemingly good running condition and we want to make it our quarantine project to fix it up. I've never worked much on cars before and this forum has already been great. Our first order of business was to get the fuel, oil, and temp gauges working. From reading other posts I think the cause might be corroded connections on the instrument console multi plug, since the car had been sitting by the ocean for years.

I've been writing a list of everything else wrong and wanted some advise on things I should prioritize or suggestions of other things to out look for.

High priority items are:

• Replacing the fuel injector lines (they look hard)
• Leaking power steering fluid (could be a broken hose clamp... Might be something worse)
• Reverse lights not working

lower priority items:

• Paint / exterior rust spots
• Washer fluid reservoir leak
• Antenna broken, won't fully retract
• Fog lights don't work
• Interior paneling needs to be replaced
• Potentially a lot of other hoses need replacing

Any suggestions on where to start and what else to look for? We're excited to have something to work on together and my main priority is to just make sure it's as safe as can be, but would love to put the right amount of time and effort so that we can literally get the most milage from this!

Thanks and you'll probably be seeing a lot of questions from me!
-Josh

 

Start from the bottom and work your way up. No sense getting an engine running well if the brakes/drivetrain/suspension etc are garbage.

Save paint and body work for last. That way when you are working on it in case you bump something spill something etc it wont be a big deal. You are gonna get grease erc on stuff no matter how safe you are.

Welcome to the club. This forum is great!

 

You can safely assume all rubber and all wires/connections need to at least be looked at, chances are your bushings are shot, many of the elec connectors in the engine will need a toothbrush and a can of cleaner, same with instrument panel.

Add addition ground wires to instrument cluster - theres a metal bar at the back, and one off the alternator to the body.

Running a few cycles of Techron fuel cleaner and changing out filters would be prudent.

If servicing injector hoses do yourself a favour and have them sent off to be cleaned and flow tested, the tiny basket filter inside gets clogged and never serviced. My injectors got 12% flow increase from a cleaning. Might be best to do ALL fuel lines for safety reasons. A spool of fuel hose is pretty cheap. Coolant (rubber again) hose kits are easy to find to.

I'd suggest a professional rad flush to the amount of sludge that builds up is incredible. Being an 89 I assume its a Marelli car? Check to see which fuel map is selected you'll want to use the highest octane/setting.

 

Josh, like you I am a newbie to auto repair and have been working on an ‘89 convertible during the Coronavirus lockdown. This forum has been a great resource for advice and help. As well, you should check out the “Living With A Classic” channel on YouTube as he posts many how-to videos on XJS maintenance projects.

I recently replaced the rubber fuel lines and had the injectors refurbished as Vancouver suggests. My car was sluggish and I wanted to prevent a potential engine fire. I was originally going to try to do most of this myself, but was concerned about potentially damaging expensive parts in the process. I ended up shopping the injectors and old fuel lines to JaguarFuelInjectorService.com in Florida. He did a great job and provided invaluable advice in how to remove and reinstall the parts.

As long as you have the fuel rail and injectors out, I would replace the spark plugs and leads as well. My old plugs were quite dirty.



Old vs new plugs

 

The guy in Florida did mine, of course I could do locally but I prefer to keep the money in 'our' community, was abit more due to my CAD to USD exchange rate but he took the best of my bag of injectors and sorted out 12 for refurb, huge boost in responsiveness. Everyone forgets about that little filter basket it ends up being the bottlebeck, that and the swirl tank filter.

 

Hello Josh

Welcome to the club. I would go opposite to Rescue and get the engine ticking first - or at least get the spark plugs out and check the compression. (I would disconnect the fuel pump before hand)
If the compression is even through out the 12 cylinders, then you are on the way.
If you have uneven compression, then its time for more thinking

Any photo's

Cheers
Steve

 

I notice you haven't listed going over the cooling system. You mention hoses, and the 13 hose kit is not super expensive, but take the opportunity to do the radiator, fan (if white/yellow), and thermostats... That and a good flush.

 

my experience with vehicles that have been close to the oceans , can be a real RUST problem!
the breeze/ humidity at times can roll in off the Salt water and get into many cracks and crevices!