Eleven months later.....
I just hit 159,000 miles on the odometer this morning on the way to work. The car has continued to run well but I haven't addressed all the suspension problems. I replaced the upper front shock mounts. When it developed the really bad steering behavior I just parked it in the garage for a while. Later I discovered that the main problem had been a tread separation of the left front tire. I replaced the tire and found that it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. I've been driving the car quite a bit this year. I still love the car but I know that I'll have to seriously address the suspension soon. I'm planning on taking the car to an indie Jag repair shop in Los Gatos and having them do a detailed evaluation and estimate of needed suspension repairs. I need to make an informed decision. Updates will follow.

 

It has been a while. The pandemic has thrown all my plans off, but I've stayed healthy, working primarily on the house. I've been driving both Jags a bit just to keep the juices flowing, Mine and the cars! I've had a problem with the XJ6 where the upper radiator hose will pop off. Fortunately it was months after I returned from my trip to Washington state a couple of years back. The radiator spigot has been deteriorating over time, it lost the bead around the end that helps hold on the hose. It just kept getting shorter and popping off. It's happened three times in the last year. Luckily It happens in town and I pull over right away. let it cool re-attach it, fill with coolant and continue home. It's gotten so bad that there is barely enough to re-attach the hose to anymore. It happened again last month. It really bummed we out since the cost of a replacement radiator is quite high. My local auto parts store quoted 750.00 and even PartsGeek listed it at 400.00! I checked a large Euro wrecker in Stockton and they quoted me a price of 300.00. Besides this expense the car is due for the smog test and the CEL is lit. I was thinking that I might have to put the car on non-op to buy some time and save up some money.

I wasn't ready to give up just yet. I hadn't checked the local Pick and Pull yards. It was like a miracle. I found a 96 van de Plas sedan in the Newark lot that had a good radiator and other parts. Besides the radiator, I picked up a set of coils, a cam cover, three headlamp assemblies, and a driver's seat belt!
I had ordered a set of replacement radiator rubber bushings. I found some rubber bushings for the condenser in my parts stash and replaced those also.Those replacement rubber bushings are stiff and it took a bit of work to get everything installed. The radiator turns out to be fine, and it only cost me fifty bucks so I'm jazzed up and am going to see if I can get my car squared away for smog.

There are a couple of codes displayed: PO411 Exhaust airflow restricted
PO420 and PO 430: Exhaust catalyst.

I'm guessing that there's an issue with the air pump, valves, or solenoids not working correctly. Has any one had experience with that? Do the catalyst codes mean that the converter has packed it in? Now that I can drive the car again I would like to get it to pass smog, but I can still place it on non op if I need to. I've got another month left on the registration.

Doesn't look too good!

 

The P0411 is likely the check valve for the air injection. I can't remember the specific application but I know it's a GM valve. There are generally 2 types of GM valves, a 3/4" hose and a 5/8" hose fittings, so check what size your hose is, as I can't remember the size. I think it's 5/8", which makes it the same as a 92 Chev pickup with a 350. I see them on Rockauto.com for under $15. AC Delco number 19307616

You will need to backup the pipe that it screws into with a wrench, if you just try and unscrew the valve you'll twist off the pipe it goes into. That was the hardest part for, me, simply getting the wrenches in there to do the job.

The 0420 and 0430 codes might indicate a failed catalyist, or bad O2 sensors. If they are original, I'd replace the O2 sensors first. OEM are NTK, and they are good quality. Again, a good price on Rockauto.

 

Thanks for the response. I'll check the air pump. I imagine those oxygen sensors are pretty old, just like those radiator bushings.

 

I haven't done any updates in a long time. After I replaced the radiator the car kind of sat as it needed to be smogged for the 2021 registration. I paid the fees to avoid a penalty. Besides the CEL, it still needs the front suspension rebuild. I've been busy with many other projects and I thought that I might just sell the XJ and reduce my Jag load. This was after I tried to sell the XJS. The XJS garnered no interest and I ended up deciding to keep it. My XJ got a couple of inquiries. I thought that I'd try to get the CEL taken care of and it might make it more attractive to a potential buyer. I found a hose that I'd forgotten to attach on the airbox. I started driving the car and the CEL went off on it's own. I checked it with my own code reader and it was clear. I took it to a smog shop and it passed! Jubilation followed. I was driving it around a bit and the CEL came back on, oh well, at least it's going to get it's tags. I was wondering why I should sell it so cheap if it's just got it's tags, I've got two years to work and sort it out. So I decided to keep it also. I took it out and the transmission started acting weird, it turns out that a transmission cooler line sprung a leak and fluid was gushing out. I was only a half mile from home, I added fluid and then drove home, that was over a month ago. Man did that make a mess under the hood and worse, in my driveway!

I was quite disgusted and just ignored the car for awhile. A couple of days ago I decided to fix it. I cut the retaining collars off the rubber portion with a Dremel tool, leaving the steel pipes intact, and replaced the rubber lines with regular transmission cooler line. Don't use fuel line! It will degrade quickly and your work will be for naught. Buttoned up, refilled with fluid, and a twenty mile test drive revealed no problems. I'm feeling really jazzed about the car now! More repairs will follow.

 

When I bought the car the cup holder was still working, but it broke a while back. I decided to fix it using the super glue/ baking powder method. I built up the broken hinge pin pocket and it worked. Let's see how long it will last. No more enormous cups in the holder!

 

The end of the line.
I always knew that this day was going to come, and it finally did. I knew that I just had too many cars to deal with, and I was running out of time. energy, money, space, and maybe even patience. I had offered up both my XJ6 and XJS for sale on this forum and the Antique Automobile Club of America. AACA forum. I hadn't received any real interest on either, despite many months of listing. I decided that I needed to clear out at least one parking spot so I got aggressive on selling the XJ6. I had even considered donating it to a charity, but I really could use even a little money from it. The Calif Air Resources Board buyback would give me 1,000 dollars, but it had to fail a smog test. The CEL was on, but I didn't want to have to pay another 89 bucks for the test. I did consider putting it out on CL. I've sold lot's of cars and stuff, there but didn't really feel like dealing with potential buyers. I was not going to smog it for sale, that was kind of the whole point. I'd let it go cheap, but I knew that stating that in the ad would be problematic for many potential buyers. I'd considered selling it directly to a scrapyard like I did with my ailing Explorer. I didn't think that I'd get too much for it.

Ultimately I went with an internet buyer CarVio. It was very easy. Fill out some info on the condition of the car and they would make a prompt offer. If I accepted I'd send some photos of the car, and proof that I was the legal owner. They would pick up the car and give me my check within two days. It was just that easy. They maintained constant contact and kept me informed on how the process was proceeding. The tow driver showed up two days after I submitted all info. My check was for 1,175.00. Truthfully I would have let it go to an in person buyer for less. But I avoided all that hassle, and didn't need to do a smog check.

I would rather have sold the car to an enthusiast, as the car was beautiful, ran well, and was in great shape, and would only need a little attention to be a great collector car. Unfortunately, there just weren't any buyers. I'd had the car for years, and had a lot of fun with it initially, but had lost interest as of late. A bit sad, but now I will have more room and energy to deal with my other cars. Officially this thread has ended.




Yeah, I did end up buying something else!

 

Sorry you had to finally part with it. I saw it for sale and hated to watch it go unsold, especially for such low money and being a decent example. Hard to believe no one took you up on it. Value per dollar was way up there! I secretly wanted it but....

Despite the final necessity, I hate having to send an old car away. It is hard to do when you have so much history with it.

The car will probably end up on a used car lot for $3000. Someone out there should be in for a treat, and hopefully a new Jag fan will be born!

 

Thanks for the message. I do get a bit attached to things over time, but you do have to decide when to cut your losses. It seems like one of the resources that I needed to free up was space. I'll still be on the forum as I still have the XJS.

 

Once you get over that hump you can refocus on your current plans. See you in XJS.

By the way, that tow driver is wrong to hook the car from the front. Jaguar says never to do that, only hook from the rear so the rear wheels are off the ground. Thats the practice for all rear wheel drive vehicles I believe. Of course if he put the six on the flatbed it would take up the whole length! Surprising he got both the stubbies on there. Now he's probably over weight too!