Hi all! I recently acquired a 93 XJ6. I picked it up on a whim while searching for a car for my 20 yo daughter to drive after she wrecked her (my?) neon. Following the accident I thought it a good idea to get her a sturdy car and the Jag fits the bill.

Anyway...

It's a 93 model that an older fellow was selling after he had some health issues. Kind of sad because he was coming along nicely with it but was stuck in the project phase where he wouldn't be able to get his money out of it without dumping a little more $$ in her.

The interior was coming along with new upholstery, carpet and headliner but the wood is not in the greatest shape. Perfect dash though and the cruise, AC, and power windows are functioning plus it has the original radio with the code card.

He became discouraged after the door handles stopped working and put her up for sale.

130,000 miles and the engine seems strong and she idles fine and the trans shifts fine. No leaks for now!

But I've noticed a few problems:

1- It doesn't run hot. In fact the temp gauge stays on the "N" even when it's been in the mid 80's F and going up hill, idling etc. But 2 mornings in a row it refused to reach operating temp when the ambient temp was 55 F. It never moved out of the blue area of the gauge unless I was stopped and it quickly dropped back to cold once I got underway. This was during the entire course of a 100 + mile trip! I'm guessing the gauge is correct because the amount of warmth coming from the vents seems to correspond with the gauge. My guess is that it's missing the T-stat but that raises some more questions like WHY was it left out!

2- I didn't notice any front end noise when I test drove it, nor did it act up at all for the 60 odd mile drive home but following 400 miles or so trip (And a few rough railroad crossings) it developed a clunk. No clicking/clunking on turns and she tracks well and feels as tight, in fact tighter, than one would expect from a car of this age. I'm hoping it's something like shock mounts or sway bar end links but I'll have to take a peek.

3- The brake light comes on when the brake is pressed. The brakes feel OK, maybe a little mushy like they need to be bled or something but they don't feel bad enough to warrant a red light on the dash. I read that the pad wear indicators can get wonky so perhaps I'll check it out when I look at the front end.

Thankfully the front doors were pretty easy to sort so here's hoping it's a good omen!

Sorry for the long post but any input would be most welcome. I plan on looking into these things in the AM so I'll report what I find.

Thanks,
Jon

 

Welcome, I am not expert but I do have same ride as yours
Tem gauge at mine stays in the middle no matter what
Beware A/C , I have spent quite amount of money and time to figure out what's wrong with that demonic thing but it's working fine now lol

For Brake light ABS sensor could be a culprit mine was replaced and the problem solved

You may also see a coolant light below right side of the gauge , I know my coolant level is OK but still that friggin' light occasionally comes on lol

Don't be shy post any question you wanna know about your car and sometimes devil is in details

 

Hi Jon, and welcome!
#2 - Definitely have the front end inspected and fix whatever needs be. You may find it to be as simple as worn bushings, which is typical on this car.
#3 - My hunch is a tired brake accumulator sphere. My '91 is doing the same thing, and I know I have to replace it. As it progresses, you may even notice the brake light coming on when the relay clicks (I'm guessing a brake relay) from under the dash. Do not pay, however, the 2-3 hundred dollars some places are asking. There's an equivalent GM part for nearer a hundred that can be purchased from Amazon. Do a little research to find it...
cheers!
Scott+

 

I am curious about what the easy fix was for the front door handles? Mine seem to sometimes require full movement of the outside handle to open the door and even then, it can take a little wiggling before it releases. Opens easily with inside handle. Kind of strange how both sides started doing this at almost the same time after almost 20 years of working fine. Any suggestions? I assumed that I was going to have to go through taking all the door panel off to get to mechanism and then have to adjust it. Just have never had to take the door panels off and really dread doing that if I don't have to.

 

Thanks for the input guys! I just need to get off my **** and into the garage today...

@cuengineer, You are going to have to remove the interior panels but it's not really that bad. Just proceed SLOWLY and finesse, finesse, finesse. You can't be ham fisted or you'll screw stuff up.

1 pull the little cover under the inside door handle and remove the screw hidden there.

2 pull the door handle surround.

3 remove the wood. It slides out towards the front of the car. Carefully pull the front of the wood towards you and gently slide/wiggle it towards the front of the car.

4 remove the rubber grommet near the front of the panel. The one that leads to the AC ducts in the dash. Hidden screw in there

5 pop the little push connector near the front of the upper door panel. You can see the head of it with the door open.

6 CAREFULLY slide the top part of the panel up while wiggling it. It'll come free.

7 remove the phillips screws under the arm rest I think there are 3. Then pull the arm rest free.

8 CAREFULLY, GENTLY pop the push connectors along the bottom of the lower door panel. I have a little plastic pry tool I use but you could use a screwdriver. Just wrap it with tape so it won't gouge anything. There are probably 6 or so push connectors along the bottom and front/rear edges of the panels.

9 unplug the connectors that lead to the wiring in the door panels.

10 Marvel at how well built the door panels are

Once in there you'll have to move the clear plastic sheet out of the way in order to examine the lock mechanism. Pull the outside door handle up while looking at the mechanism and you'll see a rod that runs from the handle to a white plastic assembly near the latch mechanism. There will be threads on the bottom of the rod.

Check out the white plastic part that the threaded lower part of the rod "screws" into. You'll notice a second plastic square part that slides out of the plastic part the rod is attached to. If the door were closed it would be oriented towards the front of the car.

There is a little latch that can be depressed (Kind of like on an electrical connector) and the "square" can be wiggled out. This is a kind of "collar" that will allow the threaded rod to be adjusted without turning it.

After some fidgeting you should be able to get the door handle adjusted so it functions properly. Once the rod "length" is established the square part can be pressed into place and "lock" around the threaded rod.

I hope this makes some sense. If you decide to work on it it should make sense once you get in there. Maybe... It really wasn't that difficult but I do have some experience fooling with interior parts.

Just remember to take it easy and BACK OFF if something doesn't feel right. Hopefully your solution is the same as mine!

Good luck! It would also be a good time to change the speakers in the doors while your in there!

 

Thanks Hoff70 for the detailed explanation. I had read up on taking the door panels off in the FSM, but your explanation fills in some of the questions that I wondered about after reading the FSM. I always hate taking apart interior parts that I have never taken apart because there is usually something hidden that has a unique way to attach -- which leads to the need for patience, particularly the first time.

It is a pretty Saturday so looks like a good day to work on this! Hopefully, it will go smoothly.

 

Thanks, Hoff70, I've copied your post#5 to a clean locked post and added it to the HOW TO section.

 

Hello Steven,

I know this is off-topic but if you are in France can you recommend a source or sources for French car parts? I have the following cars: a '76 Renault 12, a '79 Peugeot 604, a '70 Citroen DS21 and a 1980 Renault 5.

I used to have a '95 XJ6 but I just sold it. Great car by the way. I am in the US.

Thanks,

Carl

 

Carl,
PM sent

 

Hoff70, your explanation of the process of taking the door panels off was MUCH better than the FSM and helped a bunch. Got that off without messing up the wood veneer so will not have to replace it like the FSM says to do (and which I think is a ridiculous thing to say in FSM). However, I see the square plastic piece that looks like an electrical connection that you mention, but I haven't been able to adjust it any. Could you elaborate on how to release it? Not sure if mine is just stuck or if there is some secret that I am not seeing in there since it is hard to get to or even see good. Also, the rod from the outside handle seems mighty hard to move down even by pushing it directly by hand while the handle doesn't seem to do anything but take up free play. Any suggestions there? I will also try to get some pics to add to your description since the FSM doesn't have any good ones or sketches showing all of this. Especially since it uses terms for the parts without explaining what is what. Typical interior work issues -- they always try my patience.

 

Wow. I hope my description was accurate!

I now wish I had taken pictures...

The plastic "collar" is a bit hard to describe but I'll give it another go. Look closely at the white plastic part that the threaded rod goes into. On mine there was a little "tang" on the square part that inserts into the main part. I managed to press the tang with one finger (its towards the front of the car) while applying pressure to the back of the part with another finger. Once the tang unlocked and it slid out of the "square hole" a bit (towards the front of the car) I pulled it out further with some needle nose pliers. I didn't remove it completely, just enough to release its grip on the threaded rod is enough.

When you get to that point you can fidget with the lock mechanism. Use a round rod to simulate the bolt (on the body of the car) engaging in the door portion of the lock mechanism and "latch" "unlatch" it a few times to get a feel for what's happening inside the door. Just don't close the door with it "latched"!

Hope this helps, and take some pics while you're in there! Worth a thousand words ya know

 

@cuengineer - if you've still got it apart please take some pics as hoff70 says.
We could paste them into his narrative to make a really good HOW-TO.

 

Thanks for the post that got the "door panel removal" instructions. I have the same car as "hoff70" ('93 XJ6) and think I might now be able to get a look inside there. Maybe I can even get my neighborhood mechanic to consent to an inside the door project with a "map".