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LABCOATGUY
If these XJR/X300 cars are normally driven around town and not exposed to running on the open road they will build up deposits on the exhaust valves leading to loss of compression and a rough idle There is a Jaguar service bulletin about this problem with 2 options. (1)Replace the current exhaust valves with an upgraded "cutter" valve.- (rather expensive) Or (2) take the car out on a highway and give it a good flogging.( much cheaper). About a year ago I acquired an X300 from a deceased estate. It idled very roughly and two cylinders were down in compression around 110psi when the others were 160. I gave it a hard run at the 60 mph limit for 30 miles and compression did improve on the crook cylinders to about 130. I then dosed it with about 5 times the recommended upper cylinder lubricant and gave it a real flogging through lower gears, very high RPM and much accelerating etc. (being careful not to exceed the speed limit !!!) for another 30 miles. That did the trick and all cylinders were now even around 160 with a smooth idle. The problem has not reappeared as it is mostly driven on highways. Cheers |
That is good to know but perhaps a bit worrying, seeing as this is still happening after a 1,000 journey home on American highways with an average speed of 75 MPH according to the trip computer. The previous owner had just cleaned out the injectors, so I may try something like Seafoam and give it another intense run.
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labcoatguy
Your distance done is noted. I suggest you do a compression check before you go any further. If the compressions are OK then it is time to start looking at fuel, spark etc. Cheers |
It does have an aftermarket air intake and oxygen sensors of unknown age, so I rather hope it's one of those rather than something so severe as a compression-related problem.
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A compression check is very cheap and establishes a base line for the engine condition. I suspect you could buy a compression check gauge for under $50.
I have had crook oxy sensors in XJ40 and X300 cars. They did not so much affect the smoothness of the idle. They either stopped the idle altogether particularly after a run on a highway or caused a dead cut when taking off from the idle (got tailgated once when taking off from traffic lights with a dead cut) |
1997 VDP:
(1) Diff oil changed, car looked a lot like it was getting an IV drip! Nice to get that done, and not smell too much like a salvage yard afterwards. 1/2" wobble drive extension was critical to get the fill plug off with that 1997-only fancy diff-stiffener bracket getting in the way; doing the diff oil change on the 1995 XJ6 was a lot easier :) https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...ebdcd0e60b.jpg (2) Took apart the arm-rest/cupholder to clean it, fixed a broken gear in the retract mechanism, and repainted the leather with some Coffee/SDC leather dye from SeatDoctor (deglaze with Deglazer from Fiebing, paint with dye three coats, then two coats of Resolene from Fiebings) https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...a403305547.jpg |
Fixed my power antenna so its nice now to actually have a working radio.
and also added chrome trim (well fake plastic sticky thingies) onto outer door handles. man the look of the chrome handles is one of those little things that makes a huge difference to the look. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...d02989e4bf.jpg |
so seeing as though its a long weekend decided to get another jo out of the wqway.
i have to troubleshoot why my heater is not working. so i started today by changing the thermostat. as expected that did nothing. i mean i have a nice new thermostat so not all bad. lol. pretty sure my heater motor is gone. i cannot hear or feel it trying to go. so either its the wiring/relay going to the moor or the bushes. will get to that job soon. |
Replaced platinum spark plugs with the recommended Champion RC12YC copper plugs, and the idle really settled down. Also attacked an overpainted front grille surround with some paint stripper and knives to uncover the growler badge underneath.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...f96d8f6e8c.png https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...b7606e397c.png |
The tragedy of overspray! Nice work on the growler... what were the paint guys thinking??
Also good info with respect to the plugs... might try the same thing on the Silver 1995 XJ6, which can idle a bit randomly (not enough to be mission-critical, but enough to be annoying; will be worth a whole thread post on that) -cafe |
G'day Guys,
Today I replaced three mini lamp bulbs, one in the N/S switch, the front ashtray/cigarette lighter and the background light for the gear shift quadrant. All tiny bulbs available at the local electronic parts shop. These bulbs were only 27 years old so they don't last too long! Cheers, Jeff. |
Originally Posted by watto700
(Post 2520692)
G'day Guys,
Today I replaced three mini lamp bulbs, one in the N/S switch, the front ashtray/cigarette lighter and the background light for the gear shift quadrant. All tiny bulbs available at the local electronic parts shop. These bulbs were only 27 years old so they don't last too long! Cheers, Jeff. |
Brushed and gapped the spark plugs, all good not due to be changed just yet.
Gave the engine and exhaust a going over and found the vacuum hose from the cruise control bellows was loose, cut the end off the hose and re-installed, all good now. Took the car for a 'spirited' drive then in for the biannual Smog Check (CA). Passed with flying colors and had better emissions that the last check (Yay!) Looking forward to beer o'clock to celebrate. |
Decided to tackle my spare A-frame. Its an electrolysis rust removal, extremely effective. Removed ALL traces of rust and the frame was very rusty, we're talking scaly heavy rust 5mm thick in places taken back to bare metal pretty much with almost 0 work. After two days(change the side after a day), I've simply brushed it, wiped clean, painted with some Vactan as primer and its ready for a coat of underseal now. Its amazing how effective electricity is in removing rust, I can even see traces of original primer in places :icon_cool:
I've used graphite rods as sacrificial anodes, doesn't make a rusty soup mess like if you use some iron plates, etc and you can water your plants with the water afterwards :D https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...3d60887933.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...bb7ed15f4e.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...6b64dcbb7b.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...7837404c2d.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...2c98ff5ad1.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...74a4f44226.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...40c65f27c7.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...93226fc2e5.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...340def7d40.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...3fa06334cd.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...f7f0704c5c.jpg |
Been a busy two or three weeks:
1997 VDP Carnival Red (Ruby Twosday):
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...0f3e9c4ef4.jpg
1996 VDP Carnival Red (Ruby Monday, lives in Texas):
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...4959cc7207.jpg
Ok, thanks again to Parker, CDMA, Bob Gauff, Don B, and all of the others that make the forum so useful and... entertaining :). Back to the email saltmines for me, typing with dirty fingernails that don't show up on my Zoom calls. I hope. -Cafe |
Today I replaced the 3 power steering reservoir holder grommets (C2C-16681). The originals were cracked, broken down and causing a squeak when riding over bumps.
I also raised the reservoir a couple of millimeters so that the cooler hose so it didn't knock on the holder. Simple job but very satisfying. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...953d77f7af.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...8d11abf28c.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...aeed405337.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...5284228bc1.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...4e0df7d4e8.jpg |
sometimes I feel like that old smashed grommet in the lower part of your pic... and yes, the simple jobs are essential for balancing out the complex ones
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You sir are an automotive HERO
Originally Posted by cafe flyer
(Post 2525772)
1996 VDP Carnival Red (Ruby Monday, lives in Texas):
That is some kind of nasty mess. Glad you were able to get it all replaced, and up and running again so quickly. You are skilled. I've done some business with @valdezgregorio on eBay, also with good results. He is a member of this forum too. Great to see the fleet is surviving and thriving with your care. |
1997 VDP (red):
Manufactured some air vent clips out of metal from a cheap filing cabinet drawer... seemed a good thing to do on a cold and windy weekend here in NM. (1) Re-assemble the broken plastic bits into one complete clip (2) Spray paint the shadow of the complete clip onto the metal https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...07ba0ec2e4.jpg (3) Cut out the profile with tin snips, drill out the big gaps w 4mm bit and the little gaps w a 1.5mm bit (approx) (4) Dremel out the middle slots until they slide easily over the middle vanes; keep the first and last slots pretty tight... plastic version on the left, metal version (painted black after trimming and fitting) on the right: https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...12ea52585.jpeg (5) Drink an adult beverage and practice patience while trying to keep the vanes aligned AND fit the clip in place with needle nose pliers... seven vanes is a lot. If I ever have to do this again, I'll put a dab of grease or something on the pivots to keep them from moving too much while fitting the clip. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...aabeec693.jpeg (6) Using the needle nose pliers, bend the end of the clips over to make sure that the ends stay on, which by definition keeps all the middle slots of the clip on too. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...814d335fcb.png Polished the wood trim w the dremel, put a bit of grease on the unit's side clips and slid it back into the back of the center console. Another small task that makes me happy and it only took, oh, four hours start to finish. Seems so much simpler and faster in written form! Nice to know though that the clips are metal and not going to break via fatigue in my lifetime. -Cafe |
Took some pictures to enter it into the Greenwich Concours. Okay, it's only the Radwood Royalty section, but I did get in!
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...3d711fb332.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...6d0a0eddc4.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...bf2eff3135.jpg |
glad the growler is not covered with paint anymore - will help on the concours I am sure :)
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The car looks perfect. You’re making me want to get my bumpers re-painted and get the nicks and dents fixed.
It deserves a trophy |
Fitted new boot badges today!
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...abf52b6bf1.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...3948d47d56.jpg These are getting rarer and the Executive badge is no longer available, only the inserts show up on ebay occasionally. As mine was pitted, I've ordered a complete Sovereign badge, removed the Sov insert and stuck Executive one in there :) Removing old badges is relatively easy but removing old tape is not. I've used a plastic scrapper and lots of IPA alcohol. Took ~30minutes to get to clean paint. |
Not quite today, but I proudly exhibited it as the only Jaguar to make an appearance at Radwood Greenwich on Saturday.
https://forums.finalgear.com/attachm...3-jpg.3565248/ It also caught the eye of automotive commentator Mike Spinelli. |
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...4a0f58fe8d.jpg
Finally, the upgraded head unit is installed! Bought it over a year ago. Sony MEX-5300. Works great! Single disc CD. So the 6CD-stacker is retired too (although was still working). Wired to the factory trunk amp using the Sony's low-level outputs. Adjustable lighting matches perfectly. Last year I removed the blue covers on the A/C temperature bulbs to get a bright incandescent display, and covered the broken clock. I finally have a new clock too! It is pretty exciting to have a new piece of TECH in the car. I have played my first bluetooth digital music through it via my phone (Rush: Clockwork Angels). The old head unit froze up for the final time last month. No functions at all. I could force it on with a cassette tape, but it would spit that out after a few minutes. It never came back to life again like it had many times before. But it did 27 years of service, half of it with me. So now it goes into the car stereo "Hall of Fame." |
Diff Oil Change.
When I first bought my car it had over 140,000 miles on it and occasionally after I drove it I thought I could smell the distinctive aroma of very hot diff oil so thought that I'd investigate and in any case change the oil. Up with the car and out with the fill plug and then the drain plug and maybe a little less than half the fill quantity came out and it was black. Oh dear, I thought that it wouldn't be long before I would be having diff problems. Anyhow I refilled it and drove it for years until yesterday, another 80,000+ miles, with no running problems and nothing but but a little oil dampness around one of the output shafts. Lucky from what I've heard. So yesterday I did a diff refill and the oil that came out was a dark translucent colour, but not black, and there was very little metal sludge on the magnet on the drain plug, again lucky. After reading some horror stories about cars needing a diff rebuild or at least an output shaft replacement after a lot less mileage than my car has I consider myself very lucky in that regard. Cheers, Jeff. |
ok so this is not exactly a WHAT I DID TO MY CAR TODAY, per se, but a culmintion of what i have done to my kitty in recent times.
I would have posted here last when i upgraded to LED headlight units. so i have recently repaired my heater pump, i have installed a really nice android based head unit, with bluetooth obdII, reverse camera, DAB+, 4G (with sim card for internet access), TPMS, all the fancy bells and whistles. and then probably done a few other little bits and pieces too. will upload some pics later on today or tommorrow after a wash. NOW THIS PART IS A TODAY oh the funniest thing tho, ever since i first got my kitty, the headlining trim piece (small one toward the back) of the sunroof has been missing leaving exposed some of the roof. it has always been unsightly as you could imagine. now the other day when i was forced to brake hard i noticed the noise of something banging around a bit. could not find what it was and had no idea. now yesterday when i went around a corner and over a speedbump i heard another bang, and it sounded like it came from behind me, so for some reason i reached up into the gap in the headlining from where the missing trim piece was and felt around a bit. and then i felt something.... something hard and covered in soft material..... so when i got home i had a good feel and bamn.... there was the missing sunroof trim piece..... just floating around inside the roof..... took it out... put it back in place and now the interior looks a million times better just from that one piece. question isa tho does it secure in place or does it just kin of sit there? cus it doesn't feel secured to me but moves properly when sunroof is opened and closed. |
Originally Posted by watto700
(Post 2538072)
Diff Oil Change.
When I first bought my car it had over 140,000 miles on it and occasionally after I drove it I thought I could smell the distinctive aroma of very hot diff oil so thought that I'd investigate and in any case change the oil. Up with the car and out with the fill plug and then the drain plug and maybe a little less than half the fill quantity came out and it was black. Oh dear, I thought that it wouldn't be long before I would be having diff problems. Anyhow I refilled it and drove it for years until yesterday, another 80,000+ miles, with no running problems and nothing but but a little oil dampness around one of the output shafts. Lucky from what I've heard. So yesterday I did a diff refill and the oil that came out was a dark translucent colour, but not black, and there was very little metal sludge on the magnet on the drain plug, again lucky. After reading some horror stories about cars needing a diff rebuild or at least an output shaft replacement after a lot less mileage than my car has I consider myself very lucky in that regard. Cheers, Jeff. Weight and brand of Diff oil ? |
G'day Parker,
I used an Australian brand which satisfies the Jaguar spec, this stuff below. It comes in a 1 litre squeeze pack with a screw on fitting and a piece of clear delivery hose, I needed to use a longer piece of hose. Cheers, Jeff. https://www.nulon.com.au/products/ge...fferential-oil |
Cleaning the screen on the filler / breather plug is important to not letting the differential pressurize when it warms up
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Originally Posted by Spud Maat
(Post 2557263)
ok so this is not exactly a WHAT I DID TO MY CAR TODAY, per se, but a culmintion of what i have done to my kitty in recent times.
I would have posted here last when i upgraded to LED headlight units. so i have recently repaired my heater pump, i have installed a really nice android based head unit, with bluetooth obdII, reverse camera, DAB+, 4G (with sim card for internet access), TPMS, all the fancy bells and whistles. and then probably done a few other little bits and pieces too. will upload some pics later on today or tommorrow after a wash. NOW THIS PART IS A TODAY oh the funniest thing tho, ever since i first got my kitty, the headlining trim piece (small one toward the back) of the sunroof has been missing leaving exposed some of the roof. it has always been unsightly as you could imagine. now the other day when i was forced to brake hard i noticed the noise of something banging around a bit. could not find what it was and had no idea. now yesterday when i went around a corner and over a speedbump i heard another bang, and it sounded like it came from behind me, so for some reason i reached up into the gap in the headlining from where the missing trim piece was and felt around a bit. and then i felt something.... something hard and covered in soft material..... so when i got home i had a good feel and bamn.... there was the missing sunroof trim piece..... just floating around inside the roof..... took it out... put it back in place and now the interior looks a million times better just from that one piece. question isa tho does it secure in place or does it just kin of sit there? cus it doesn't feel secured to me but moves properly when sunroof is opened and closed. |
Originally Posted by cdma
(Post 2557599)
It moves to allow you to access the sunroof. It will pop in place and if you need to get to the roof just push it back and it will disengage. Need to make sure you get it in the right place because the roof will not open until it is.
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"Cleaning the screen on the filler / breather plug is important to not letting the differential pressurize when it warms up"
Reply to Parker. Yup, I did all that. Cheers, Jeff. |
G'day Spud,
The rear sunroof trim panel is actually a drain to catch any sunroof leaks from the rear of the outer panel and direct it to the drain tubes. There are four drain tubes, two at the front of the roof mechanism and two at the rear. The rear trim panel rides on a drain channel support fitting, one at each side, which is connected to the tilt/slide mechanism and it should slide backwards and forwards with the sunroof as it operates. Unfortunately the channel supports are weak and break and are as rare as rocking horse sh!t. The relevant P/Ns for the drain supports are RHS HNB1774RA and LHS HNB1775AA but good luck finding any. If you open the sunroof to the tilt position you can then grab the rear of the main trim panel and give it a sharp tug backwards and remove it, it is only spring clipped into position. You will then have access to the metal sunroof panel, it is held on with 6 torx bolts, three eacch side. With the inner and outer panels removed you can now see how the whole thing operates. There are a couple of forum members who are 3D printing various sunroof bits and if you do a ‘sunroof’ forum search you will find a mine of information and some relevant TSBs and lots of discussion on how this contraption is supposed to work and how to fix it. Cheers, Jeff. |
Originally Posted by watto700
(Post 2557628)
G'day Spud,
The rear sunroof trim panel is actually a drain to catch any sunroof leaks from the rear of the outer panel and direct it to the drain tubes. There are four drain tubes, two at the front of the roof mechanism and two at the rear. The rear trim panel rides on a drain channel support fitting, one at each side, which is connected to the tilt/slide mechanism and it should slide backwards and forwards with the sunroof as it operates. Unfortunately the channel supports are weak and break and are as rare as rocking horse sh!t. The relevant P/Ns for the drain supports are RHS HNB1774RA and LHS HNB1775AA but good luck finding any. If you open the sunroof to the tilt position you can then grab the rear of the main trim panel and give it a sharp tug backwards and remove it, it is only spring clipped into position. You will then have access to the metal sunroof panel, it is held on with 6 torx bolts, three eacch side. With the inner and outer panels removed you can now see how the whole thing operates. There are a couple of forum members who are 3D printing various sunroof bits and if you do a ‘sunroof’ forum search you will find a mine of information and some relevant TSBs and lots of discussion on how this contraption is supposed to work and how to fix it. Cheers, Jeff. will look at it at some point but in no hurry on this one. atm it is operating correctly so all is good atleast for now. |
Fitted a proper OEM valve cover gasket and applied anaerobic gasket maker to everything. FINALLY, no oil leaks on top! We'll see how long this lasts.
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changed the 02 sensors today.
what a right royal pain in the ASS. i went and bought a 17mm crows foot to help with getting them but it was not enough room to get the crows foot on easily. but my god running the wires round the back of the engine is an absolute nightmare. job that i would have liked to take half an hour ended up taking me like 3 hours of fart assing around |
Attached is photo of my solution to the location of the 02 sensor connectors.
They are attached to a bracket on the master cylinder, the connector labelled A is for Bank A cylinders 1-2-3 so of course the other is for Bank B, cylinders 4-5-6. Just as a matter of interest it was not a 3 hour job to relocate them and I have completed a complete change of sensors in under an hour using a normal open end spanner. I can sense you love working on Jaguars - John Herbert (1996 XJR ) https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...6c45229308.jpg |
I had seen a mention of a plug relocation.
In hindsight this would have been a very good idea. that looks like a really smart idea. Oh well, its done for now and i will bear this in mind for next time the job comes up. is that your transmission dipstick on the drivers side? why is that there? I really do love working on the kitty, the problem is just how long some jobs seem to take. maybe one day I will get everything done but it seems the to-do list grows longer before I can get it shorter. I really need more time to allocate to working on it. I would love to say its a nice relaxing hobby but damn it gets frustrating from time to time It is a really good hobby that brings me a lot of joy everytime I complete a job, and everytime I get in and drive the girl. |
Vehicle is an XJR ( Supercharged) hence fitted with a GM 4L80-E transmission and dipstick is on the right side. The V12 X300 is also fitted with the same transmission, primarily to cope with the increased torque these two engines produce.
John Herbert ( 1996 XJR ) |
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