Made a huge mistake while turning the engine by hand to set the distributor position. Had a helper use the end of a inspection mirror to mark the travel of the top of the cylinder while I turned the engine by hand under the car. Passed TDC and marked the pulley, about a 1/4 way back up to get the final marking for TDC and my helper informed me the inspection mirror was jammed......

Any ideas on how to get it out and how f'd I am? I'm guessing if by some miracle it comes out that the cylinder is scored and the engine is a goner. Not sure what to do now after all the time and money poured in here, feeling sick!

Cheers

 

Assuming the real engine and not the 1/2 size thing, BEER, lots of BEER. Wont remove the offender, but you will feel better, eventually.

Again, assuming the rod is steel???, and has gone down the plug hole????
Send your helper for more beer, and get a small magnet on a stick, looks like a ballpoint pen, with a STRONG magnet at the tip, and extends about 12" or so. CAREFULLY, go searching, and even more carefully retrieve the rod.
I suggest rotating the engine so the piston goes DOWN SLIGHTLY, thus allow the rod to be un-jammed, if it is in fact jammed.

Damage, NAH, not a chance.
I dont know why you have appeared to rotate that engine backwards, IF I have read the scribe correctly??. That is a recipe for snapping the $600 timing chain plastic boomerang, and about 12 hours (if the Jag Gods are with you) to fit said boomerang.

 

FORGOT, Old age does that.

It is a V12. thanks Greg for the phone call.

If the above does not work, then the cylinder head will need to come off, and that requires the engine to come out, yeh, I know some claim no, but I have never succeeded, maybe the Gods hate me.

THEN.

You will be messing with that el-cheapo Boomerang to remove said cylinder head.

I feel for I really do.
That magnet on a stick has saved my rear end many times, so take your time, persist, and usually it ends well.

More beer, lots more.

 

Thanks for the reply Grant. I don’t think I described it correctly. The inspection mirror is sticking out of the plug hole and is the rod I am referring to. Not the engine rod. I can grab it. While rotating the engine clockwise, the mirror got jammed against the piston/cylinder wall and the spark plug hole. I’ve tried tugging on it but it is very solid.

I believe that my helper was holding the rod/mirror crooked, thus when the piston was rising it jammed the mirror against the plug hole.

 

AHA, the mud clears a tad.

Soooo, on clockwise rotation to find TDC, the helper had an oops moment, and the rising piston jammed the thing, got it.

ONLY way forward I can honestly mention, AND against all that I know of these engines:

SLOWLY, and read that word a hundred times, rotate that engine backwards NO MORE than 3mm at the front pulley.

IF, again IF, you are lucky and careful, that will be enough to free up the piston grip on the mirror stem, and should not do damage to the Boomerang.

It will only require the smallest lowering of the piston the let that rod loose, so think, take your time, and I see no issues.

Brute force, and silly sudden rotation of the engine will hurt many things.

Try with 1mm rotation, you may be blessed.

 

Grant, it's too bad you don't know anything about these engines.
(';')

 

Thank you Elinor.

I am writing all this down, before the Grey Stuff ceases to be friendly.

Still assessing the V12 into the X or S Type, and no matter how I hold the tape measure "It wont bloody fit".

Manage,ent )ypu know who I mean) says "get another XJS".

HAHAHA says I. It took me 4 hours to change oil and filter on the X the other day. Last year, 40 minutes tops. So an XJS, needing HEAPS of refreshing is out of the discussion now, sadly.

BUT

While there is the NEW breed playing, I have something to do, and sometimes laugh at, life's good.

 

I know you probably have heard this a thousands time but once again, thanks for all you do Grant, both on the forums and your documents. Truly very helpful and humorous among all the monotony and seriousness out there.

I'll give rotating the engine back a tad to free it. Supposing it works and no 'crunch' is heard, a compression test should let me know if any damage has occurred?

Will probably skip the beer and go straight to the clear stuff before giving it a try.

 

It’s out! And without rotating the engine backwards.





Might use a dowel next time.

Thanks again Grant.

 

🤩🤩🤩🤩 panic over. So glad you managed to sort things out.

Rob.

 

Well done.

SIMPLE cars these V12's, only complicated by sober humans.

That engine will be just fine, move on, and when its running, do an Elinor, "kiss the Redline, regularly", they LUV it.

 

Well done - I love a story with a happy ending.

Now go and hang it on the trophy wall along with all the rounded nuts that have had to be filed away to nothing to remove!

Cheers,
LeeP

 

I was feeling nauseous on your behalf........
well done!