Winter is fast approaching and I am thinking about some of the maintenance projects that I would like to do on my car.

I have enjoyed driving her a lot this year, racking up over 8,000 miles of her 37,000 mile total, by far the most she have travelled in any year of her existence. As throughout her life, she has been virtually trouble free and I intend to do everything I can to keep her that way

First up I plan to address the cooling system. Never had a problem but it's definitely time to change all the hoses and flush and replace the coolant. I may take out the radiator and have it cleaned as well. Of course I will replace the thermostat too and inspect the water pump.

As I will have the fan out, I may just go ahead and replace the fan clutch. It's working fine but it's the original unit and at 19 years perhaps it would be wise to replace it?

I also can hear a slightly unusual noise coming from the front of the engine, I can't tell if it's coming from the crankshaft pulley or the a/c compressor. I think I will pull the crankshaft pulley and inspect the damper. With all that going on, I may as well replace the belts too.

I will remove the intake manifold to access all the hoses and while it's off I plan to inspect/clean the throttle body, EGR inlet etc.

Finally, I'm thinking about replacing the convertible top and tackling the project myself. It looks a bit fiddly but not overly difficult?

What maintenance plans do you all have for the winter?

Cheers,

Allan

 

Hi Allan ,

Sounds like you have a great game plan this winter to make sure your XJS is in sound running order. Makes sense to get all the items you listed handled at one time while you are there. I had to replace the A/T transmission lines on mine but lucky you, the 5 speeds do not have that issue.

Have you done any research on replacing the top material? Not sure how big a deal it is doing it yourself. Please keep us updated on this as I am sure there are a few who have thought about doing this. Seems like you can get the top material pretty responsibly and the majority of the cost to replace is in the labor.

Sounds like you were able to get out this year and put some miles on the car. You know it has been a good year when you have the time to get out and enjoy the big cat. I always feel special when I am able to take one of mine out and enjoy not only the overall experience but all the looks from everyone else. I know how excited I get when I see one on the road myself which is few and far between.

 

Sounds like you have a good plan, good luck with it.

I've been putting off taking care of an oil leak for too long. This winter, while she's up on blocks, I'll be looking at the cam cover gaskets and the half moon seals. Those are the two (actually four, I'll be doing both sides) main issues I want to address. But, once in there, and the snow is blowing outside, I'll be looking for other items that may be leaking as well. And while I'm in there who knows what kind of "mission creep" will occur.
I'm not a mechanic by any means and have very little experience (none) going this deep into a car, but the garage is heated and I'm really looking forward to doing the work. Also on my side is this forum, and no matter how dumb my questions may be, I know I'll always get a straight answer.
Wish me luck!

Bill

 

Bill,

Heh heh, I know what you mean about mission creep, that's what I'm afraid of.

Good luck to you too!!

Cheers,

Allan

 

Yes, I've been doing some research on the top. Well made tops are available in the exact factory material from Autoberry and a number of other suppliers. If I do replace mine, I will try to do it myself but it does look a bit fiddly. Luckily I live in one of the country's furniture manufacturing hotspots, so there are literally thousands of very experienced fitters/trimmers nearby with all the requisite tools and knowledge of fitting upholstery and I would think they could help with this if I get stuck?

Cheers,

Allan

 

I'm a bit jealous you guys.

The best I can do is prepare her properly for a four-month hibernation. Gotta build a bigger/warmer garage one day.

I drove mine a lot this year too, 5200 miles. I seriously have to get third car to stop this from happening (1. XJS summer, 2. Tacoma winter/as required, 3.....? It'll have to be fun to drive. The problem is, I find it very difficult to spend my fun-car money on anything but another Jaguar. Which takes me back to having to build a bigger garage....).

Any psychologists on this forum?

 

Seeing as I don't have a garage, I will probably tarp it for the winter.

 

I'm pulling my gas tank out and repairing the drip that's stinking up my trunk. Plus It's dangerous and I don't want to press my luck anymore. Bud

 

While you've got the top of the engine off, you may as well adjust your valves and replaced fuel injection hoses. I'd also replace any other rubber bits you can get your hands on.

My XJS makes its own decisions about what I work on over the winter. Last fall a rear caliper started leaking, so I took the rear end out, rebuilt the brakes and replaced differential bearings and seals.

A couple of weeks ago reverse dropped out, so I'm getting started on a transmission overhaul as this winter's project. It's always something with this car.

 

I don't recall when Jaguar made the switch away from the rubber injection hoses as the "ignition source" for the XJS, but in '94 the lines were made out of metal so at least I don't have those to worry about. The '94 does have the Marelli and Catalytic Converter combination to start Jaguar bonfires. I'll be looking over the cap/rotor/plugs/wires just on general principle.
The valves may be beyond my limited ability at this point. I think I'll be operating at the edge of my competence with just what I've got planned. Oh, and the rubber that I run into.....that's part of the mission creep!

Thanks for the input twerth, I do appreciate it!

Bill

 

Hi guys,
When dickc and mkii250 mentioned either not having a garage or needing a bigger one I thought I would share my current solution. I'm getting into several big projects on my 91 XJ-S this winter and like a lot of us I need more room. Someone once asked me why do you have 2 Jaguars? My answer, because that's all that will fit in the garage...
Take a look at the attached pictures, I added a "temporary" garage addition out back just for the XJ-S. I'm fortunate that I don't have a Home Owner's Assoc. or picky neighbors to deal with and my wife just shakes her head...
I'm also fortunate that we don't get "real" winter's here in NC. Maybe a little snow and sometimes an ice storm, otherwise temps are managable with a good forced air heater.
Projects for this year:
1. New exhaust, I bought this car almost a year ago and have discovered that at some point in it's past it must have had the Marelli ignition failure, the cats on the right side are melted inside. I've already begun this work and have some pictures and learnings I'll pass along in a future post.
2. Replacing the rear inboard brakes, actually the scope creep has already begun on this one, I'm now planning to drop the rear cage and go through the whole thing, there are several leaks that need to be addressed.
3. Replace or rebuild the steering gear which is leaking pretty badly from the left side boot.
4. Changing the transmission fluid and filter along with rebuilding the rear transmission mount. Actually I've just finished this job, it turned out well, more to follow on that.

In the pictures you'll see I have the car off the ground on home made ramps. They raise the car about 14" off the ground, plenty of room for me to get under it on my creeper. The blocks are not your run of the mill "cinder" blocks, these are actually commercial grade concrete blocks that weigh over 40 lbs each. They are very strong. The ramps I made are long so that the car goes up very easily (about 11% grade) the car almost idles up the ramps. Then I can remove them to get them out of the weather. The back of the tent roles down and zips closed.

 

Those ramps are fantastic!

 

Dave,

Really like the ramps too!! Nice one

Gotta love the NC winters

Cheers,

Allan

 

Good you've got good, strong blocks....you can get killed with plain old cinder blocks!

 

As long as you're setting the cinder blocks so that the walls are vertical, those blocks will be more than capable at holding up a car. Some people make the mistake of using the flat sides as the horizontal sides, that's the mistake. When using cinder blocks (aka CMU) you shouldn't be able to see the holes.

 

I agree, the ends with the holes are load bearing the sides are not. These blocks are actually heavy commercial concrete not cinder. the walls are are almost 2 inches thick. regular cinder blocks are maybe 1 inch thick. Also the way I put it together, the wood on top ties them all together, and helps distribute the load.

The height is just right for me to lay on my creeper and reach up to the car.

 

Nice set up Dave, thanks for the photos. I had a garage like that but it blew away (I'd left the door open and the wind got in. There were no cars in it at the time).

 

Planning on replacing the radius arm bushes. Hate these Californian winters, we sometimes get clouds in the sky and reduce the sun. :-)

 

One thing on installing the top - I can't recall exactly what the details are, but apparently there is something of a trick to actually getting the new roof to be properly stretched over the frame. The XJS roof has the same fastening system as a VW roof BUT they allow far less of the cord/cable to DO the fastening. The result is that my installer mentioned that it takes two people to stretch it properly tight. AND they recommended not putting the roof down for two weeks after installation to allow the farbric to stretch and mold properly onto the frame. Plus of course using actual OEM Jaguar (still available from dealers) seals - not universal fit ones - when putting the window back in. Hope this helps.....

 

Thanks Gina,

Yes I have read very similar advice from others who have replaced the top. Keeping the top up won't be a problem since it will be winter

However, I may have to put that project on hold as I have just acquired a 1995 XJ6 Vanden Plas. Cosmetically it is very nice but electrically and mechanically it is a mess and needs a proper sorting. So now I will have to divide my attentions