When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Dropped off two rear and one front exhaust manifold to the local machinist to make sure the block interface is flat and clean. Enjoying hearing from my parents that they LOVE the red 1996 VDP, keep it in a garage, and don't drive it in the rain; it will last longer with them than with me, methinks. High temp crack repair on both red and silver jag exh manifolds holding up just fine for now.
Got an estimate on repainting the 1995 silver XJ6... probably $5k, worth 2x the car, but it may happen sometime this winter, if I can get the front end suspension bushings replaced and eliminate the devilish thunk.
Day dreaming about building a google sheet for the 1995-1997 XJ6 so that newbies can look at the "do this" checklist, and have links to salient posts from the wonderful folks here next to each item...
but too busy enjoying the summer and riding my bicycles, including the one built in Leeds in 1972 by a wonderful man named Bob Jackson and repainted three years ago by a man named Joe Bell:
Maybe one day I'll drive to the local bike meet with the Bob Jackson on a restored XJ6...
Again, appreciate the moderators responding and the posters sharing frustrations and victories!
I’ve been having a problem with the front passenger door lock in that when the door was opened the puddle lamp would flicker and the associated relay would chatter until the door was closed or another door was opened. I suspected a dodgy ‘door open’ switch, which is a micro switch and is part of the door lock itself. Not easy to get at as in some cars which have that switch in the door frame.
I removed the door lock which is an exercise in reverse three dimensional mechanical origami and my big hands certainly don’t make it a simple job. The micro switch is easily accessible but is a sealed unit and unable to be opened and have the contacts cleaned. I drenched the thing in contact cleaner and worked it open and shut numerous times and after testing it I thought I’d fixed it.
I had, but only temporarily as a few months later it was malfunctioning again. I sourced another door lock on eBay and thought that I’d just change the whole thing over.
Before removing my existing lock I removed the door lining and plugged my new lock into the harness and it tested OK for all functions. I removed my faulty lock and thought that I’d change over the actuating rods onto my new lock and install it in place of the faulty one. However I couldn’t get one of the actuating rods free from my old lock without the possibility of breaking it leaving me with two useless locks.
As I mentioned the micro switch comes away from the lock mechanism easily but it’s wires feed to a multi-pin plug. Well I eventually figured how to release the two pins from the multiplug and swapped the micro from the new lock into my old lock. I plugged it all together and it tested perfectly now I just had to wrestle the lock back into place and put the rest of the door together. Easy really.
Having experienced this same problem some years back with my right hand rear door, your experiences are spot on Jeff.
Initially the relay "chatter" was remedied with fitment of a solid state relay, however light operation remained intermittent.
After going through the described door look assembly saga I decided a more long term solution was required, fearing the same problem eventually on other doors.
My solution was to recourse to the fitment of a more common place door jab switch which I fitted to both rear doors, luckily the front doors remain trouble free to date.
I have since had no further issues with the rear door switches, picture of installation is attached.
I had a failed fog light bulb on the left side, made sense to change them both out just in case.
Put the car on jack stands and removed the plastic undertray. It had take a few scrapes but was all there., although I need to replace some of the screw rivets as some were worn away or cross threaded.
I have been looking into a leak around the differential pinion seal. From what I can tell it seems to be a very slow leak, but it's collecting all the dust and dirt it can.
I have seen similar pinion seal issues on the forum and although I did clean out the differential breather when I changed the oil last month (it didn't look too messy), I decided to go back to the breather and clean it through with a small wire bottle cleaner and brake cleaner. The drive train is silent so I'm not concerned about worn bearings.
I'm now monitonig for any additional weeping/leaks.
Today I am looking at resolving the weeping power steering reservoir pipes. I think I'm going to have to change the pipes eventually, but for today I am going to trim the pipes to the reservoir by about an inch clean it all up and check for leaks over the next few weeks.
What did I do today? DROVE IT! After five months (!) of legal limbo, I finally got plates, registration and title. Over the weekend, I putted about the neighborhood and got new tires put on today. Safety inspection and oil change are next, then we can hit the open road and blow out the cobwebs!
She was grumpy after her long slumber, and rewarded me with an intermittent ABS light. Not to worry, the tire shop seems to have "fixed" the issue in the process of removing and replacing the wheels. So that was probably just a wobbly connection, as suggested by a few posts here.
(I'll spare you the full licensing saga. Executive summary: Two states, two sets of inheritance laws, two sets of motor vehicle laws, two licensing authorities whose "30 day" turnaround times run 6-8 weeks due to COVID.)
Just changed the upper rear exhaust mount rubbers. These are a real pain to get to as they are up above the rear subframe high in the arch.
I had the parts for nearly six months and was putting if off, but today, I got in there and stuck it out.
The old ones looked like the originals and the exhaust mount pin holes hadn't been round for a long time causing squeaks over almost every bump.
My hands and arms are sore as hell as there is virtually no room to remove the angled brackets. All in all around 3 hours of masochism.
Definitely beer o'clock.
Last edited by Nobeel Masri; 09-02-2021 at 05:32 PM.
I recently repaired the PCV hose(s) and oil catch can assembly to fix a leak, it looked like the clamps had been tightened too much on the catch can causing one of the outlet tubes to go out of round, causing the leak. I was able to soften it with some heat and bring it back to shape then re-assemble being carful not to over tighten the clamps.
It took a few weeks, but he car gave me a nice surprise today, when it updated the LTFT's to zero.
I know that the trims vary and expect it to change, but feeling very pleased to see it's where it should be.
I guess the lesson today is not to overtighten the hose clamps.
(1) Finished polishing the other two dimple wheels - needed a few months between the first two and the last two to forget how much work it is
(2) Bled all four brakes, nice clean brake fluid now in the lines and the reservoir
(3) Working through the recent ABS light triage... one more sensor to clean, then I get to see if I need to pull the board and check the solder
Have decided at some point this winter to drop the front suspension and renew all the rubber things as per this - the engine just runs so well, I think the car deserves it. If I am brave, I might throw in the exhaust manifold replacement in at the same time. Working on parts collection, almost there
-Cafe
Last edited by cafe flyer; 11-02-2021 at 04:02 PM.
Slogging away on a treadmill trying to get my fitness back I simply admired mine through the window of the gym. I also gave some serious thought to buying the X350 I have been following on the net. Decisions, decisions, decisions 🤨
ABS light has gone away!! Checked the resistance on each sensor from the plug that goes into the board, all within spec, and I did need to pull the board and resolder the connection. Took the girls to school and back this morning, and the light has stayed dark.
Fascinating to think that this was about two hours of work, cost me nothing but time, and would literally have been impossible for me to figure out without the forums... in particular, that you can remove the board easily by unscrewing the two torx bolts that you can't see, only feel with your hands.
Just a heartfelt thank you to the posters and moderators who make owning these cars possible for normal people like me. As a friend of mine has on his t-shirt, "I am the warranty"
I love those wheels, Id like to put the job on my ever-increasing list as well. Do you have a link or any advice on the process for us. Thanks in advance
The write-up is spot on: no shortcuts, just hard labor and proper sequence. In particular, if you see a scratch from the prior grit and you cannot sand it away, it will show up in the final polish. First wheel took four hours... got the last wheel down to about 2.5 hours as I got better at the process.
Nice thing about the pic is that you can't see the defects Much better than piecemeal yellowed clear coat, though.
08-05-2021, 10:17 AM
Admired it
