Since the rear brakes are inboard I doubt brake dust guards would do much. Good looking project, good luck with her.

 

This is the OE: https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...178704&jsn=374
$22 CDN.

 

Ok cool

 

It fits. So now it begins lol

 

Found some documentation in the glove box. Orginal owners maintenance records. Up til 1996 it was regularly maintained at the dealership. The OG also was a member of that club and went to a yearly rally. Maybe when I get the car up and running I can go to it if it still happens and see if I can find some people who know this Jag. And the original merchandise catalog lol. To Jaguar owners with Falcons on their arms haha.

I have the battery on a charger and it seems to be gaining life so we shall see tomorrow

 

Great thread. Please keep it up.

 

Ordered a pair. For now a baseball bat will do lol.

 

I was looking up a spec and in the results it came up as 3 5.3 engines. 5.3i, 5.31 cat, and 5.31 HE. Was there a reason for this?

I assume I have the HE because it's an 88 but maybe I'm wrong?

 

Yes, it's an HE.

 

These three options are not the whole story. The XJS was originally launched with the 5.3 litre fuel injection engine. It had the so-called "flat-head" cylinder head. This same engine was in the E Type and early models of the saloon, but with carburettors. The XJS was the first jaguar to have a fuel injected V12. It was powerful but used very large amounts of fuel, especially in traffic.

In about 1982/83 this same basic engine was produced with a new cylinder head designed by a Swiss engine combustion specialist called Michael May and called the HE cylinder head by Jaguar, HE meaning High Efficiency. This cylinder head gave a bit more power, but very much better part-throttle fuel economy. This is what is referred to as the HE engine.
Slightly confusingly, this 1982/3 relaunched version of the XJS was called the XJS HE. When launched, the XJS with the HE engine was fitted with catalytic converters for certain markets, but not for others. The USA cars for example had catalysts, but UK cars did not. So some HE cars had catalytic converters and some did not.
From later on, about 1989 or 1990 I think, all HE engined XJSs regardless of markets had catalysts.
Sometime in the late 1980s Jaguar stopped using the HE description on the V12 XJS and just called it the XJS V12. But the engine in the car remained the same HE version.
From about 1992 or maybe a year later (do not know the actual date), the 5.3 litre HE engine was expanded in capacity to 6.0 litres, but the cylinder head design remained the same apart from some mods to give the desired combustion ratio. So 6 litre engined XJSs have an HE-headed engine but just a bit larger in capacity.

 

Merci beaucoup Greg.

I cant find any pictures online of the ignition switch and the meaning of the 0 to 3. I assume 0 is off, 1 is accessory, 2 is on/run, and 3 is start.

 

I have read an older document on here about flushing the coolant out. It's for an 85. Is the procedure the same?
Just realized it was an article about bleeding the coolant system not flushing it out.

For flushing do I just pull the bottom hose off the radiator then flush with water until I'm satisfied. I guess I cant do the bleeding until I get engine running?

It's funny how there is a lot of documentation on how to do basically everything but little photos to go with them.

 

Correct.

 

You may have a drain tap on the bottom RHS of the rad. If not, pull the bottom hose. Then remove the radtop panel and extract the radiator, it is bound to have the fins clogged for the bottom third of its depth. Then look at the rad interior as far as you can to see if the inside looks silted up. If it does new rad or recore. Then buy a hose set from a specialist (eg Mavid Manners), not that dear, and renew all 14 hoses - which is a rite of passage for new v12 owners, along with the plug change and dizzy lube! Also fit new thermostats and coolant caps and that is that.

If you need specific photos, just ask on here and someone will have what you need.

 

I take it you mean lube the distributor shaft? Just watched a video. The engine designer needs a slap lol.

 

Didnt have time to do anything except readjust the rear truck latch so the trunk closes and locks properly. The little victories lol

 

So I took that rear piece of the trunk lid. The rust didnt make it to the main boot. Just some little surface rust. So I'll just need to pick up that peice at some point. Down the road.

It was a pain to take off. So many little nutz everywhere.




Is it strange I kinda like it without that peice on there?

 

Battery is at 50% + capacity and climbing. Hopefully from now til tomorrow it will get above 75% so I can at least turn the key and see what has power and what doesnt. Would like to check the windows lol.

 

Decided to look more closely at the tires. Rear 2 are Yokohama 195 / 60 r15, front 2 are P600 225 /60 and the spare is also a P600 235 /60. Lol. The P600 tires on the front still look decent and the spare looks brand new. I'll look closer at the build dates on the P600 whem the time comes but they have to be over 5 years old at least.

 

When it comes to Jaguar,,, bran (spank'n) new batteries help and go a long way at ONE less thing to worry about... Jus my (limited) experience. Spring for one! Pinch on evvvverything else.