Today, removed the cam cover to refinish it. Changed spark plugs. In the process of cleaning the cover, currently soaking in Dawn. I can see the grease floating off. Glad I did this, three of the six plug holes had oil in them, leaking past the rubber seals. Nice the coils have already been replaced, no Lucas stuff.
Does anyone know if the underside of the cam cover was painted gold? It could just be oil that has burnt onto the magnesium cover.
Thanks

 

Mine definitely were just alloy so probably just burnt oil.

 

My new a/c fan relay turned up from Canadia in 4 days. Something to do when the weather warms a bit

 

Finished the mounting plates for the front fog lights and got them on the car and wired.
Waiting for a dry night to make sure the aiming and alignment is correct, then moving on to full shocks replacement.

 

That's great. Glad you changed it up. Really is original.

 

Pmarcian, what color is your XJS? Is that Dorchester Grey? Very nice shade.

 

Looks like Jade Green to me, but still a lovely looking car.

Gee.

 

Not Dorchester Grey, that wasn't an XJS colour by then. Looks like either Mica Jade Green or Mica Steel Grey?

Paul

 

Cobalt blue

 

Over mistral grey

 

Jade Green Mica.

 

So what shocks are folks on this site recommending? I like Koni’s from my other cars, but Gaz seems to be popular for XJS?

 

+1 for Gaz

Paul

 

I’ve gone with the GAZ, but I didn’t get the height-adjustment style on the rears. They are all ride-adjustable though, which was a big factor for me.
I purchased mine through Moss Motors, they had them in stock and were competitively priced. I paid about $730 total, which includes shipping and a rear shock mounting hardware kit.
All six are still wrapped in their boxes so I can’t give you a review yet.

Simply Performance offers a GAZ & Eibach suspension kit if you need/want springs as well. It’s a bit more at £952 plus shipping, but has all six springs (obviously) and the rear GAZ are the height-adjustable version, which are universally a bit pricier.

 

I fitted spax in 1997 and apart from fit new bushes have never needed to touch them.
Having adjustable just puts a premium on the price with little or no use. . By me anyway

​​​

 

Today, I installed a clever little gadget that I bought a few weeks ago. I've actually fitted it to my Range Rover and I have another one that will get fitted to my XJS Convertible tomorrow.

It comprises a bluetooth battery voltage monitor that is linked to an app on my phone.

Installation is simple, just connecting to the +ve and -ve battery terminals, download the app, start the app and away you go.

It constantly monitors the voltage of the battery and has some clever app features such as reading the cranking voltage when you turn the engine over, tests for charging efficiency and you can set alerts so it will alert you if the voltage drops to a defined percentage. It stores the voltage monitoring readings over 15 days. The cranking voltage feature is good for seeing if you have a defective battery that drops out on cranking and the charging test is good for checking your alternator. You can also personalise the bluetooth id on the app, which is useful if you have them fitted to more than one car.

I installed it today on my Range Rover which I had left disconnected from the charger for some weeks, so it didn't surprise me that it only just had 12 volts. Some pics below from the app today.

I love the fact that I can sit in the house and check the voltage without going outside and also knowing that I can be sure the car will start! Or if I forget to connect the battery conditioner, it will alert me indoors if the voltage drops too low, according tom the parameters I set. I can get a connection close to the car if indoors, or about 30ft if outside. It take a tiny current draw so won't cause a problem itself.

Lots of similar devices on the market. I fished around and paid £15 each for them. My favourite gadget of today!

Paul






Leads long enough to attach to quite large batteries



Battery voltage quite low on first installation






Cranking voltage drop from 12.03v to 9,43v



Charging test at 2500rpm with headlights on. Abnormal message relates to the low base voltage in the battery on initial startup




Battery voltage 30 secs after turning off engine. Dropped down then recovered a few 10ths of a volt






Battery voltage soon after connecting battery conditioner after engine turned off



Voltage can be charted over various periods up to 15 days




Alerts can be set on your phone to warn you of battery state

 

Ptjs1, do you have a link to where you bought them?
Thx.
Jon

 

Jon,

I did a bit of research on them, found a number of products on Amazon, checked some reviews and recommendations and then found this model at a discounted price here:

Bluetooth 4.0 Mobile App 12V Battery Volt Meter Monitor / Tester (wiredcampers.co.uk)

Hope that helps

Paul

 

That's a good price. In the US, that brand is about double that.

 

Two rounds of buffer-applied compounding/wipe down followed by a hand-applied wax coat.

I’m tired and she’s shiny.