My 88 XJ40 had numerous hydraulic leaks, most annoying the hydraulic booster leak soaking the driver's side carpet. At 220,000 miles I was not about to spend big bucks on the hydraulic system's parts.

I had looked into a kit, three metal parts and instructions were US $295.-. I passed on such a fine opportunity.

All the metal and hosing pieces needed were in my scrap pile. A few hours of drilling and fitting. A used vacuum booster from an older xj12 courtesy of ebay $75.- including shipping. And a vacuum check valve for $ 6.-. Yanked out all the hydraulic stuff, eventually will pull the hard plumbing as well.

The vacuum booster system has been installed for over two weeks, works just fine, no more gooey leaks, I had been using transmission fluid for the past 6 years, self leveling stuff was removed then.

 

**UPDATE**

I decided to take the car to an actual shop who works of Jags. It is going up on Tuesday. There were wires that shouldn't be going to the crank sensor and at this point I am completely frustrated. Its very apparent that the last couple owners had no right owning this car and there has been a lot of backyard engineering. I also think that once its road worthy, I might list it for sale and get out of it before anything else creeps up. Its a beautiful car but I can just sense hidden gremlins ready to rear their ugly head once I start to drive it. I could be wrong, but I have never been so annoyed with a car in my life. Once I get the word from the shop of the cars overall condition and what issues it has, that will help in my final decision. If its minor issues that I just couldn't figure out and they give the car a thumbs up, I'll hold onto it. If they say don't bother with it, then that will be the last straw. Cosmetics I can work with but mechanicals on a car I don't know how to work on is something I may not want to deal with. I think there is a reason why I've stayed with BMW's for so long.

 

JT, I can empathize with your frustration, most of us here can. Most mechanics will say don't bother, as they did with me and that rotted subframe in which, when I bought it the guy said it was a bad ball joint. I had to get someone to do that job for me, including pulling it out of another car a the junk yard. Point is you have a 89 XJ6, its a well built car and worth the aggravation. You still care for the car or you wouldn't even bother taking it to a shop. I say press on, this is a isolated incident of this magnitude. It just happens to be you dealing with it. You have several people here rooting for you my friend.

 

You are correct, I do want to get this car back on the road. I hate to see a car of this stature go to garbage because if owners lack on care. Also should I decide to sell it, I really want the car to be in good order so the next person has something decent. If I didn't then all I am doing it passing it from one bad owner to the next backyard mechanic that will ruin it.

Hopefully this will not cost me an arm and a leg. At $98.00 an hour, I told him to evaluate the car and let me know what it immediately needs and what can be put off or maybe something I can take care of myself. At least I know what I have.

Here are a coupe pics

 

Its a beauty!

What is the status?

 

I got word today. The Throttle Position Sensor was stuck wide open and the Coolant Temp Sensor was also bad, which I knew about. $450 later I should be up and running. They are going to give the car a once over as well and an oil change since its there. We'll see what else they find. At least now I will be able to drive it.

Things are looking up again... lets hope.

 

I had a feeling you were not going to walk away. Kudos to you.

 

Gus, I have to give a lot of credit to the members of this forum, you are the ones who kept me wanting to continue this journey. I buy and sell cars for a living and once in a while I buy something like this as a little project for myself to buy, fix up, enjoy for a while and eventually sell down the road for hopefully a profit. Some I wind up holding onto with no intentions to sell - My 80 Formula I have owned since High School and my 77 BMW are two that can not be bought.

The business side of me says I should have abandoned this thing a long time ago, as well as at least a dozen people I know who said "Jaguars like those are junk, don't bother" - Yet I wanted to save it anyway.

Being one who always goes against the grain and can see the beauty in a pile of parts (or a neglected Cat) I took on this thing with much confusion and frustration. At some point you have to let the experts take over and diagnosis the issues. I think in the long run, I will save money since I suspected the crank sensor and didn't realize the TPS was stuck wide open.

I should be getting the car back next week right before Christmas. Then its time to straighten up the interior issues. It is going to my interior guy to get the headliner done. The passenger vanity mirror is broken off and the center wood trim by the shifter needs replacement. I have been looking on eBay for suitable replacements. I also found a set of XJS basketweave type wheels in our storage trailer. Once everything else is taken care of I might have to mount them up.

With my wife driving the 740il on a daily basis I need something to drive daily besides my truck. This might be the ticket. With the amount of work and annoyance with this project, I am going to have to get some enjoyment out of it for a while.

Again, thank you all for your advice and help. It has brought me closer to finishing this car.

 

**Update - XMAS**

I should be getting the car back on Tuesday. I spoke with the shop on Thursday and the parts just came in. I'll post more when I get the car back.

Merry Christmas to all.

 

Looking forward to a new years update

 

Have you got anymore info on this I just hit this problem myself, just some basics info on the conversion you pulled off would be great.

 

ArmyJag, From your other post, looks like the hydraulic booster seal is toast. Mine was toast.

As for the mod, I got all the info from Jaglovers, where several folks were kind enough to post lots of photos. I essentially followed the clues in those postings and photos.

The trickiest was to find flat head IIRC 8mm bolts to mount the adapter plate for the booster onto the pedal housing. Other than that it is essentially a 1/8" thick or better steel plate, or 1/4" Aluminium. Drill 8 holes in the proper geometry, be sure to countersink properly for the flat head bolts. Be aware that the thicker the adapter the harder it will be to adjust the brake light switch. It will tend to stay ON, keeping brake lights illuminated.

Some effort is needed for poking a hole in the intake manifold for a vacuum source. Get a new vacuum check valve. And of course a jaguar vacuum booster.

It took me about a day of low level effort to git'er done.

So, dig around on Jaglovers search and photo sections for xj6/40 forums, tons of great photos.

OTOH if you are not really interested in the scrounging, drillin fitting business, there is a fellow selling the kit for $295.-. At least that is waht he quoted me via email. A web search for xj6 brake conversion will turn up several of his web addresses.

Good luck.

 

UPDATE PLEASE JT

 

Does anyone have a good picture of the Jaguar booster used with this conversion? Will another one work? I have read that someone has used a GM booster, but which booster is not specified...

 

**UPDATE** - IT'S ALIVE!

I finally got the car back from the Mayo Auto Service in Red Bank NJ. It starts right up and idles well. Since I don't have the car registered yet, I haven't had a chance to drive it. I plan on putting a dealer plate on it tomorrow and taking it for a spin. They also checked out the rest of the car to see what else it may need.

Here is the Note and Recommendations list:

1. Missing Left Rear Tailpipe
2. Loose Exhaust Shields
3. Front Left Wheel Bearing Loose
4. Power Steering Fluid Cap is Broken
5. Anti Lock Failer Light is On (I believe its a broken wire on the sensor)
6. Fuel Neck is Broken
7. Transmission Nuetral Switch out of adjustment

So for now the towel is rolled up and back in the linen closet. Lets see where this goes from here.

Again, I can't thank you all enough for the help you have given me.

Here is a picture of the ol' girl on the trailer heading home

 

Looks like a short and achievable repair list. Kudos to you JT!

 

Good news JT, looks like it has now come down to a short weekend project.

BTW, point 2, I have had for 8 years, they rattle a bit over cobbles, but have not fallen off yet.

 

I am not too concerned with the remaining issues:


- Missing Left Rear Tailpipe - I already made an appointment with Meineke to repair this for next week

- Loose Exhaust Shields - No big deal. I'll have the muffler shop take a look if they can do an easy fix

Front Left Wheel Bearing Loose - I plan on replacing them next week

Power Steering Fluid Cap is Broken - Another easy fix. I have to take a trip to the local junk yard and see if I can find one.

Anti Lock Failure Light is On (I believe its a broken wire on the sensor)
Fuel Neck is Broken - Replace the sensor

Transmission Neutral Switch out of adjustment - Not touching it. I like the fact that you can't just hop in the car and start it unless you move the shifter a 1/2 inch down. Anti theft.

I also have an interior guy who is going to do the headliner for me at the end of the week. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter.

 

After owning this car for I'd guess 9 months, I finally got to drive it for the first time today. I only went 5 miles round trip but at least I got to drive it. Everyone is right, it is a fantastic riding car. The first couple miles I wasn't sure if I liked it as it wasn't as tight driving as my BMW's but once I got accustomed to it I like the way it goes down the road. I did find another issue that I know I need to fix fast as its 37 degrees today. I put the heater fan on and nothing came out. I clicked it to high and the fuse popped. I was thinking perhaps the motors are frozen from sitting over a year and a half since the last time it was one the road? Any suggestions?

 

**UPDATE**

I realized today I have owned this car for just about a year (March 2010) and this has been a long frustrating project. With all the insane snow and nasty weather the last month +, the car was buried under mass amounts of snow or snow piled in front of it I should say. I haven't had a chance to do anything to it

This past weekend was in the 40's and I was able to bring it to my upholstery guy to get the headliner replaced. This was about 14 miles from my shop thru back roads with varying road conditions, twistys, and a mix of speed limits. I have to say that these XJ40's are a wonder driving car. I really got an appreciation after this little ride. I am one step closer to putting it on the road.

And an interesting note, the blower motor for the heat wound up kicking on by itself with a little noise (maybe needs some WD40) but the heater kicked on. With this said, I have to figure out which fuse popped because it is not the heating system.

Stay tuned, new pictures coming soon!

PS - Does anyone have a good shifter console wood insert? Mine is completely cracked and flaking.