That's good, but I'm afraid it doesn't ensure that the radiator is clog-free 30 years down the road



Walk away for a few days. You'll come back with a fresh outlook.

As mentioned, we've all been there. When I bought my XJS is took a 6 months of evenings and weekends to touch "all the usual" bases....but even then I took a few days off here and there. When I was done I had a car that took me on countless 600- mile weekend jaunts with no problems at all. You can have the same!

Bringing a old XJS up-to-snuff isn't "Auto 101". It's "Advanced Hobby Car 404"... with double class credit. Anyone taking on an XJS is damn near heroic in my book. When you're done you'll be rightfully proud of your accomplishment and gain a lot of well-deserved satisfaction. The car will repay you in more than equal measure. A sorted XJS is nothing less than a dream to drive. XJSs, even though elderly by today's standards, have a feel that you just don't find in other cars.

Everyone here is rooting for you !

Cheers
DD

 

Went and picked up the car and moved it over to my neighborhood. Temperature was fine, about one full bar width below the N ....but now the speedometer didn't work and the brake light came on intermittently. Tach, Fuel, volt, and oil pressure gauges working fine.

Years ago I installed in-line Tebfa coolant filters to be able to check on the "health" of the coolant. I'll check for any residue in the filter screens soon.

 

Steady, lad, steady. If the rad has not been taken out and cleaned, ever, that is your problem. Brad, rule 1 of XJS cooling is to remove the rad and clean out all the rubbish from the stack of radiators and condensers and coolers.


You absolutely MUST do this. I attach a photo of the rad of a 30,000 mile 1983 car. This is something the spirit of the vehicle has been silently crying out for you to do!
Greg

 

The radiator and A/C condenser have been thoroughly cleaned twice fully ensuring there is no airflow obstruction over the radiator. The first time had a fair amount of leaf and debris wedged in there. As soon as that was done the temp reading on the car lowered for the upper half of the N to below the N on the gauge. The second time next to nothing was in there. The car has less than 1000 miles on it since the last cleaning.

 

Brad
Your previous post appeared to say that the rad had never been out since the car was new. I must have misunderstood you.

 

Just going to throw an anecdote out.

After installing a new new electric fan in my 86 in place of the primary fan I was thrilled with the rock-steady temp gauge! It gave me joy to glance at it there, just touching the bottom of the N.

on my next drive it crept up a little. Reached the middle of the N in stop and go traffic. No problem! It's Normal!

That evening on the drive home it went over the top of the N. I pulled over. Frustrated. No issues I can find, I started suspecting a water pump issue and other random possibilities.

My temp sending unit had gone bad. Laser thermometer confirmed it was normal when reading hot. The timing of this failure is no random thing. The Jaguar gods are easily bored, and must be entertained from time to time.

 

Yep,

And ET is still looking for a reliable XJ-S to take him "home", good luck ET.

Air in the system, always does that, then burps itself, mostly, and all sweet.

The speedo is probably oil seeped into the transducer. Usually respond to a good solvent clean, sometimes, nope.

Low mileage cars are "cool", and give us all the "warm and fuzzies", but the catch up maintenance list is always longer than a regularly used car, no matter the brand.

Like Doug, mine took 3 months, and was the daily driver during that time, but once sorted and caught up, as reliable as any car on the Aussie roads.

 

Yep my car has been Perth to Brisbane to Melbourne, longest trip 6000km no reliability issues. I mostly use mine for long distance trips now as I don't work full time any more, but while I was in Sydney it was my daily driver.

 

She got a bath and some soothing words this evening. Then we went for a drive. Speedo still not working but suspect that a loose wire/connection or fuse will take care of that. Temp gauge showed no issues. Stayed below bottom of the N for the entire time, over 50 minutes of running.

Its going to take a bit to track down some of these electrical issues. Mirrors, door locks, blower fan. Fuel odor when opening the trunk is a concern. Everything is connected tight as a drum. Don't think it is the insulation pad since the odor was not nearly as prevalent when the entire fuel tank system and hoses were out but the trunk was also venting through the filler neck opening as well. Still it is a possibility.

Idle speed is a bit high. Will attempt to adjust at the AAV tomorrow evening. IIRC it should be at 750 rpm in P at fully warmed up. In D is should be about 600 rpm at a stop.

 

Step 1 completed, car drives for an hour uninterrupted.

The fuel odour is a mongrel, and mine always had it. New tank, and anything else that could be replaced, etc. Filter relocated to the engine bay. Eventually washed the boot with hot soapy water, and hosed it out, then NEW carpets etc, and all good. I had shampooed the old carpet many times, and good for 3 days or so, then the smell returned.

The rest are probably just loose connectors etc, as you said.

Like Warren, mine did 2 25000kms trips in my ownership, and not a hiccup. They are that good, trust us.

 

Mine also has a slight fuel odor in the boot, with all the fuel bits there and old without replacing everything I live with it. It could be as simple as the gasket around the neck of the swirl pot.

As long as you do not have fuel leaking, I would concentrate on getting all the other bugs sorted then come back to the fuel odor.

 

Thanks, what is the swirl pot?

Definitely has NO leaks. I have checked religiously.

Speedo started working magically tonite. Drove well for about 30-40 minutes. Lordy the motor puts out a lot of heat.

Next electrical gremlin to address is the outside mirrors and then the door locks. They should operate in tandem from either the outside key or the inside lever. They are well lubricated.

 

Warrjon,

what is the swirl pot?

Where is the speedo transducer? Is it accessible to clean as it was suggested?

Mirrors are not working? I'll get a test light on the connectors to verify that power is getting to the control switch and mirrors. They were working before I began the gas tank project. hmmm.....
Where else do I need to check?

Are the door locks on the same power circuit? They are not working either and they were before.

Detailing continues. She got a thorough rub down with leather conditioner today. I'll continue doing that weekly for a bit to ensure the suppleness of the leather. Off to a meeting but will be coming back for a test drive later this evening.

 

Brad
The swirl pot is the sump tank.
Your speedo transducer may be on the side of the gearbox, or, if you have a later car (your date is near the changeover) in the diff and boot. This pic shows the gearbox transducer. It goes into the LHS (US driver's side) of the gearbox, towards the rear. It generates a signal in proportion to the speed which goes to the speedo.
The doors and mirrors are both on fuse number 8 in the main fusebox, so worth looking there first.
Greg

 

Ahh,.....thanks. I'll check it all out.

 

Brad,

Do not get discouraged, just take your time and go slow and you will have a reliable car to enjoy, and the compliments from people will swell your head. First year I bought mine, I drove it for 4 months and then garaged it for the year. removed the interior and checked the electrics there, did have a couple of wires slightly nibbled on by a mouse, but not completely thru the insulation. But I did tape them and also cleaned all connections, then put it all back together for some driving when spring arrived,

After 3 break downs the following year, I said that's it, and garaged it and went thru All electrics under the hood/bonnet from bulk head forward as well as pulling the rad, a/c condenser and oil cooler. The wireing I strpped the insulation and check every inch(cm for you foreigners LOL). cleaned all connectors and replace the ones that I had doubts about or knew were loose. luckily my wiring was in good shape and had only a couple of places that the insulation was cracked but taping took care of that. I also had to replace a few parts, I decided at that time since I was doing it to to it right, replaced ALL rubber fuel lines under the hood and in the trunk, new cooling lines and vacuum line. I worked many night on it, and 3 years later I am sure of it running right and being dependable. And I am on a Veterans Disability, so if I can do it, you can do it

I have some pictures of the work in my photo album area of my profile

 

The motor is running beautifully. rock solid and smooth. She'll get her first real stretch of highway this evening.

Working on mirrors and door locks. Hope it's just a fuse or loose wire.

Picked up a rental A/C evac pump and gauge set from a local auto parts store. Plan to evac the system later tonite. No 134 Freon in there now. Just need to make sure any iar and moisture is completely out of the lines before I recharge the system.

Fan blower is not working either. Hoping that's just a fuse as well. Not sure where to even begin to check on that one.

 

Checking fuses is always a good place to start. Blowers have separate fuses BTW.

Fan Blower - are both not working or just one? There is a relay and darlington transistor on the blower that controls the speed of the blowers, if the transistor has failed then the blower will work on full speed only.

Mirrors could be the plug in the drivers door, these are not very good and if the cable ties holding the plugs together are missing then the connectors will almost certainly come apart.

 

I've got nothing from the blower motor. Nothing on low, normal, high or defrost.

Mirrors and door locks are still dead. I have the mirror connectors zip tied together to ensure tightness.

Fuel odor still in trunk. All gaskets on tank and sump tank were replaced and really sealed with the locking ring. Same with clamps on the filler neck rubber connector. I'm stumped. Everything is tight, nothing leaks and still the odor is there. Electric fuel pump and fuel fumes do cause a bit of worry.

Checked fuses on passenger side fuse "box." There are 5 in a row, all are good. Are the rest the red, black and blue square fuses tucked in all around that side?
I did notice a white 2 port plug, two yellow wires go to one side, a blue and white wire to the other, that is not connected to anything. Could not find anything it would possibly connect to. Ideas???
BTW...pulled the glove box out to re-glue the black felt lining. What a pain in the butt.

Car is running terrific. Starts right up. Strong, smooth. I did adjust the AAV screw about 1/8 turn clockwise to adjust idle. Idle came down from 1000 rpm to just under 900 rpm and is at about 675 rpm from 800 rpm in D. Obviously no A/C load on the car. Would like to get down to about 750 rpm but don't want to get it too low in D. IIRC that should be around 600 rpm. Another 1/8 turn might get it very close.

Did not get a chance to evac the A/C lines this evening. Virginia heat and humidity did me in after the other work. Will address tomorrow.

Would love to get the mirrors, locks and blower motor working. Car would be nearly perfect again at that point.

 

fans won't run until temp sensor allows it so check you are getting heat through to heater core also.