My sister has a Great gem for me a garaged XJS but it has been sitting for 10 yrs. I bought a battery turned accessories on and gauges won’t read.

i can hear fuel pump prime.
gauges won’t read maybe relays?
v12 fuel system very intimidating!
want to get running to take to Jag dealership for inspection, how much will that cost?
I have little to no mo ey since my bad divorce, but will have some to throw at it soon.
bought a repair manual book on amazon
any suggestions?

 

When it has been running for so long I would suggest to not trying to run until you check fuel quality (you do not want that gunked gel in your fuel lines) and few basics like changing oil, flush water. Remove spark plugs and try to turn it over by hand.
All of this you can easily do your self and have a great starting point for the service guys.
Good luck!

 

I don’t have many tools here in Desert so I was trying to just add new fuel which I did and tank seemed dry Can I add seafoam fuel additive to get it started? I put 4 gallons in.
coolant flush with water and make sure it’s not too gelled up? One source said I may have to pull water pump and then flush?

oil reads a tiny bit low but not too black or separated no water on stick just oil…

 

you would not see water on the stick sadly.
And i would not use any additives, but it is a good giveaway if the fuel smells unnaturally... smell the fuel tank and if it smells like petrol, you are likely good.
still would not risk it...
as for water flush, you can use water to flush it but then immediately put proper coolant in it.

 

Do not take it to a dealership. These cars are too old They will not have any knowledge on how to work on these cars. Whats your email? I will info dump you everything I've ever collected as far as info.

Try this: https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...H0?usp=sharing
Hopefully it works. Its a direct link to all my stuff.

 

Without the engine running only the voltmeter and fuel would show a reading. Anyhow, corroded contacts on the printed circuit board behind the cluster are known to be a problem.

You'll adjust . We all did!


Not likely that a dealership will touch it with a ten foot pole and less likely that they have anyone in the shop who knows anything about an XJS.

There's a steep learning curve with these cars but the internet support is the greatest.

To just get it running I would first remove the fuel filter and empty the contents into a clean, clear jar. What you see will dictate your next steps.

But I might as well let you have it with both barrels: it's almost certain that the car will need full overhaul of the brake, fuel, and cooling systems...due both to age and having been in dead storage for so long. And most here will tell you there's only one way to approach these tasks: do it all, do it right, do it once. Picking away one little repair at a time just prolongs the pain. You'll never be done.

A fully-sorted XJS is worth the effort, IMO. Fabulous cars. But they're "owner commitment" cars, if you know what I mean. And if you can't DIY most of the work you'll spend buckets of money at a repair shop.....after finding one willing to work on the car.

Everyone here will help but you need go into the project with eyes wide open.

Cheers
DD

 

I would also suggest to do it your own or find a friend who would love to have a project with you. Without personal connection - dealer or some mechanic will milk you for money and no guarantee they will make it work.
Might be scary at first but it is awesome hobby to learn, keep busy, entertained and incredible feeling once you accomplish that.

 

100% correct. If you will not learn to fix the car yourself, then get rid of it, because it will never be right any other way. If you do not enjoy fixing mechanical things, this is not a car for you, if you do, then as everyone above has said, the rewards are enormous.

 

and by learn he meant learn. Not give up because you never did. I fixed my first car when I was just 18, had no tools, experience just theoretical, but collected lot of advise from whoever was willing to give. Mechanics in south of Germany are very sketchy, owning a used car, let along such car, is only for the brave (and rich).
Internet and forums like this are your best friends.
Tools also are not all that expensive.You do not even need top quality, most things you can loan or buy once you need them. You might even find a buddy with a small garage or workshop to share place, costs and tools.
Good luck!

 

And read Grant's sticky ""Worksheet Paper...", above.

To quote the guy in Fast Times at Ridgemont High: "Learn it. Know it. Live it."

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...embers-235554/

 

With everything everyone has said, You already have learned many things about your XJS. They are Beautiful, but demanding, expensive, but so rewarding that once bitten, you can't leave it alone, and you must dig deeper, and deeper until you have covered just about every piece of it you can and you'll know each nut and bolt by name, figurtively speaking that is. If by now you're not totally enthused. Walk Away. Hope it helps.

Jack

 

SO true!

 

I purchased new battery and added seafoam fuel stabilizer and 4 gallons fuel. I have pressure on fuel lines before and after filter, and at fuel rail on injection system. The fuel is amber in color wondering if that matters much since I added fuel stabilizer yesterday?

I am not sure if injector system is working the gas and oil pressure gauges don’t read? The starter sounds good, we even got a backfire which seems normal. Next would be checking spark plugs.

I am head over heels for this vehicle. I actually crashed my dad’s black 1989 unibody in high school. I want this thing to run so badly!

Not gunna lie this thing is intimidating at first meet! What’s the deal with the vacuum tech?

This clip was sitting on lock not sure what for and the broken electrical wires on u bracket to right ?

This is where I had gas pumping out rapidly when I took steel line off and let fuel drain to glass jar.

Not sure what these relays are for? I looked in books shared but can’t figure this yet…?

 

My 3 cents worth.

Its been sitting for 10 or more years, WHY, the TRUTH, we will never know.
Its what is known as a Marelli car, that has its own issues, and well documented in this Forum.
Adding fuel and hitting the starter, is going to cause issues.

Spark plugs need to be changed, and gapped correctly.
HT lead, all 14 of them, need to be NEW.
Marelli Rotor and cap need replacing, with the Marelli Mod being done.
Fuel system needs to flushed, 100%, and new filter fitted.
Injectors, possibly seriously gunked up, so out, clean, NEW lower seals, and hoses. Engine fires are too common on these stored cars, and I am NOT joking.
EVERY, and I mean EVERY, electrical connector in the engine bay needs to be separated, cleaned, and reconnected, that will take about 4 days to do as it should be.
Gauges not working, could be anything, but NOT relays that I know of, BUT, your market has some seriously weird stuff compared to our "simple" cars.

I am with you, it is more than doable, but SLOWLY and SYSTEMATICALLY is the ONLY way. Flitting around all over the place will achieve nothing.
I have recommissioned a few over the years, and the last V12 took 12 months, as it had sat 15 years under an outside carport. It is till his daily driver, and last talk it is at 860000 kms.
I know you want to hear it running, we all do, but following steps quietly, slowly and patiently really is the only way.

 

I think there are good suggestions from various forum members.
It boils down to:

1) Leave the car alone, it will be beyond your resources, ability or patience to get it going.

2) Or, if you are willing to risk it give it a try. Do it in logical stages so progress can be evaluated as you go.
Provided the engine is not damaged it can run again.
There is plenty of help on this forum, we all want to see XJSs saved from death.

Over on the Jag-lovers forum there was a similar situation a few years back.
Somebody got hold of a V12 XJS which had not run for many years.
This guy dived into the engine without much thought. He fiddled around and sent lots and lots of posts asking questions. Forum members gave many answers and comments but he seemed to ignore many and charged off in all directions.
He must have spent an enormous amount of time and quite a few dollars.

Eventually forum members were not keen to spend time answering questions and giving advice.
It was a great waste of time for everybody.
On the other hand there was not a systematic work sheet for taking care of the situation.
So I spent a bit of time creating one, and had helpful feedback from other Jag-lovers forum members.
The idea is to tackle the problem logically to make best use of your time and minimise spending on parts.