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Unless there are some internal ones lol (of course it is a Jag so you never know smh). Let's say, everyone from the radiator to the firewall that hold antifreeze lol 😁
Yep, when I did mine I noticed that hose was definitely starting to deteriorate too, and had a small split starting. I'm thinking it's probably because that one and the water rail one (on a 4.0 at least) are right up close to the engine and getting more heat. I could be wrong though
Unless there are some internal ones lol (of course it is a Jag so you never know smh). Let's say, everyone from the radiator to the firewall that hold antifreeze lol 😁
First REALL bath in like 12yrs - from what I understand... She sat in a back yard, uncovered uncared for for a loooooong time... Still lots of little bits and pieces to give attention to!
I really want to thank you all!!!
New seats and interior... She's riding low. New rear shocks and struts on the horizon
I'm changing the sparkplugs. Quite a daunting task. I read Doug D's advice before I started on Friday. Since then I spent a total of four hours and will be ready to install the new plugs and button everything back up again. Hopefully, I didn't damage any wire, connector, or hose while I was doing this job. Every plug was badly fouled. I'm tracking my time and documenting the procedure on my blog. It is a difficult task but it does no good to rage at the machine, it is what it is. Will report on my success later.
Last edited by Rivguy; Sep 8, 2019 at 03:51 AM.
Reason: typo
I was logging my time not only to satisfy my curiosity, but to answer the question that others may have. The question being, how long does the job take?
It took me a bit over thirteen hours. I'm not a professional mechanic and I have a good selection of tools. I did it over several days. The first day, Friday night, I only spent an hour removing the throttle spool, coil, cruise control servo, and the "Y" breather line. Saturday was a busy day, I spent five hours, I unplugged the plug wires and removed the distributor cap. I was careful to label each wire and where it went. Then I loosened and raised the a/c compressor, sprayed penetrating fluid on each plug base, and removed each plug. On Sunday I spent six and a half hours. I gapped and replaced each plug. After I removed the tower base ( I finally got to use my Crow's foot wrench set! ) and modified the mounting of the base, the only plugs that were hard to reach were the two plugs located under the compressor. Then I reassembled everything. I was careful as possible, but I broke a tiny wire connector from the ignition amplifier. There are many fragile wires, hoses, and brittle plastic connectors that are quite vulnerable. I fixed that by splicing in a new section of wire. On Monday, another hour was spent checking everything before I decided to try starting the car.
I wish that I could report that the motor triumphantly roared to life, but I can't. It started, but was running rough and smoking. It died and I went back checking my work. First I added a couple of gallons of fresh fuel. It wasn't going to be that easy! I rechecked the plug connections and firing order. I pulled a plug and saw that it was starting to foul. It fired up again sounding really rough and smoking. I held it to 3,000 rpms for a little over a minute when it died, abruptly this time. I pushed the car back into the garage,
The car had always been easy to start. I had done a Mickey Mouse repair to the front suspension and the car had sat for a couple of months. I decided that I would help it start by "priming" the motor by turning the key on, counting to five then turning it off, I did that five times before I tried to start it. A very bad idea, It did the same thing it did Today. Rough running, smoking exhaust, and then dying. I figured that I had fouled the plugs badly, I had! That's why I decided to change them out. I"m back to square one, having to diagnose the problems. I just read Grant's very helpful checklist. Oh Well, Tomorrows another Day!
I am posting info and photos about the process over several weeks. Gotta have content! Grant's advice was a very methodical approach to troubleshooting a non starting V12. It'a sticky in the beginning of the XJS forum. I'm referring to it now, since my car doesn't want to start and run. The other advice is not to fight the car. The motor was not designed to be easy to work on. For example: Several components will have to be removed to access the spark plugs which are buried in the valley. The throttle tower, the coil, the distributor cap and wires, the cruise control servo, and the a/c compressor will have to be disconnected and propped up with pieces of 2x4 lumber. If you refer to Kirby's book, which I did, you'll find other info, insights and advice. Good Luck!
I took the easiest bit of Grant's advice. I disconnected the condensor on the coil. The car fired fight up it sounded like it was firing on all cylinders. I reved it up some, but was frantically trying to back it out of the garage so that the smoky exhaust fumes wouldn't get in the house. I managed to take the finicky parking brake off and moved it about five feet back. It was running and revving pretty good and I wanted to get it out into the driveway, but my XJ6 was sitting there under a cover. I removed the cover and parked the XJ6 a couple of houses down. The XJS was still idling smoothly but a bit smokey. I tried to back it the rest of the way out and it stalled and wouldn't restart. I checked the spark at the plugs and it was okay. I tried opening the throttle fully with the key on but didn't hear a click from the injectors. When I crank it, it sounds like it needs fuel. More troubleshooting tomorrow.
I prepared it and garage for hibernation. I have three weeks remaining on the road and the weather is miserable. I hope i can have a few more days to enjoy. Then it goes away until April.
Installed Olds Aurora bullet side view mirrors, Rearview homelink mirror with integral camera. Found 18" wheels that have the right offset.
Removed the CD player and powdercoated the rusty battery box. Replaced all of the dried out speakers. That will hold me for a while.
Installed Olds Aurora bullet side view mirrors, Rearview homelink mirror with integral camera. Found 18" wheels that have the right offset.
Removed the CD player and powdercoated the rusty battery box. Replaced all of the dried out speakers. That will hold me for a while.
Swapped an existing aftermarket Alpine radio for another aftermarket Clarion radio with Bluetooth! What a rats nest of wires someone left under there. Still haven't figured out the antenna that someone swapped in, which doesn't work either, but the wires were cut and I have to figure out what went where. At least I can get one classic rock and one country channel on it with it down lol 😁. Also now along with the ability for CDs, I can now stream all the music I want!
Installed Olds Aurora bullet side view mirrors, Rearview homelink mirror with integral camera. Found 18" wheels that have the right offset.
Removed the CD player and powdercoated the rusty battery box. Replaced all of the dried out speakers. That will hold me for a while.
Ill have to do that! stay tuned.
I did find a fast and safe way to remove the JAG windshield mount to swap out to the more standard GM peice.
Use a good weller or alt 240 watt soldering iron. Put the tip on the mount and heat it up. While doing so, have a small vice grip attached to the disc. Put a little force on the pliar. As soon as the adhesive gets hot enough , it will release. This keeps you from doing any overheating of the glass and no guesswork, hammers or razor blades.
Last edited by lasstss; Sep 13, 2019 at 11:23 PM.
Reason: added info
Ill have to do that! stay tuned.
I did find a fast and safe way to remove the JAG windshield mount to swap out to the more standard GM peice.
Use a good weller or alt 240 watt soldering iron. Put the tip on the mount and heat it up. While doing so, have a small vice grip attached to the disc. Put a little force on the pliar. As soon as the adhesive gets hot enough , it will release. This keeps you from doing any overheating of the glass and no guesswork, hammers or razor blades.
