Glad to hear you're doing better.

replacing the alt is indeed a pita. First you remove the alternator BELT;

then you raise the front of the car, apply safety jacks on each side of front suspension, and for extra safety, I also slide concrete blocks under the front tires and chocks under the rear tires, transmission in Park and Emergency Brake as tight as I can get it. I just don't want any risk when working under 3,800 lbs. of steel.

then you get on your back to loosen the splash guard bolts and slide the guard off, great time to clean it and repaint it, and to replace those old bolts and washers with polished stainless steel bolts and washers found at Home Depot, ACE, or Lowes in their special hardware section.

then you undo the sway bar links and swing the sway bar up up and away for clearance.
if the Links or Sway Bar bushings are gummy and disfigured, time to replace them. I used a Bungy cord to keep the sway bar away.

then you can start to find the best way to loosen the alt. mounting bolts from below and above.

John's Cars sells a GM Alternator replacement called GMalt which I installed in my car years ago thinking it would be better than the original Lucas alt. The kit comes with all needed hardware, spacers, and wiring plugs to match the XJ wiring. You can also buy the GM alternator from them which I did.
However, I haven't been happy with that GM alternator, I think the Lucas performed better, in fact I kept the Lucas and I keep planning to re-install it but never get to it, because for me it's a two day job. Having said that, maybe I got a bad GM alternator, don't know, never had it tested because it entailed removing it again.
Jaguar conversions, swaps, parts, service and advice - from John's Cars in Dallas.

I keep hearing about having to lower the rear suspension to do the Rear brakes, though I haven't done it myself, I did raise the car one time to flush the brake fluid and bleed the brakes, it was easy to work on the rear, all safety precautions and then some, I had the car resting on 4 jacks and I placed 4 concrete blocks under each tire about 1 inch from each tire bottom, so the tires would not make contact with the concrete blocks unless a jack failed. Also I have been told by a Jaguar mechanic that it s not neccessary to lower the rear cage at all. It does take contortions and lots of different tools but it is doable.

 

I tried taking the rear calipers off while the car was up on a lift with the IRS still in the car and I was unable to get it done. I gave up when I was unable to get the safety wire off of the caliper bolts. To get an idea of the limited access, imagine trying to do that through a toilet paper roll. I finally gave in and lowered the IRS and did everything. Even with the IRS out, the safety wire, caliper removal and caliper installation wasn't the 5 minute job I thought it would be.

I think I am slightly above average when it comes to doing mechanical repairs, but replacing the calipers in the car was just a little too much for me. There are, however, guys that are better mechanics (better skilled, more experienced, more patient, etc) that can do it with the IRS in the car.

 

That is awesome - I have never seen that before! I guess mine didn't get that option!

Yea, the rear calipers are tough no mater how you slice it. Check out my response to Jose above.

 

I was afraid of that. looked like quite a job. ok so another question. alternator dead... on a full charged battery, what are my chances of making a 12 mile drive ? headlights wipers radio and everything off of course. Planning to get her done today but would like to save the $80 tow fee to my buddys garage.

 

If it's a healthy battery fully charged, and the 12 miles is a straight shot with minimal stops, you can probably make it.

Still, bring a spare battery or a cell phone :-)

Cheers
DD

 

I've done it both ways. "Patience" being more important than skill when it comes to rear calipers :-).

I'll add that if the rotors/discs need replacing as well then removing the rear cage is a virtual necessity for mot DIYers. Removing the rotors requires that the lower arms be dropped wayyyyy doown. This requires the rear of the car being elevated wayyyyy high....higher than most anyone would be comfortable with using jackstands.

If you have access to a hoist it's a different matter, of course.

At the end of the day, though, I'm a "remove the rear suspension" advocate. It really isn't all that much work to drop "the cage" and it is SO much easier to do the actual repairs.

Cheers
DDs

 

"UPDATE" New Alternator all in, wasn't too bad, just a bit time consuming. She is back to rolling nicely though. Took her for a 10 mile ride, volts stayed up to good. 40 degrees with the moon roof open.... meh, it was a MUST !!

And I agree, I suppose dropping the cage is the best bet, if I'm in there anyway, new rotors would be a good idea as well as whatever else I drop get cleaned, re sleaed, lubed, painted etc. Really hate to pay a garage to do what I can do myself, but this is one I'm not looking forward to.

1 other question.. is she single track or posi rear end ?

 

It almost certainly is NOT positraction/limited slip. Prevailing wisdom is that none of the USA-market Ser III XJ6s were ever fitted with limited slip....but the (very odd) exception seems to pop up from time to time. The odd special-ordered car that didn't come thru normal channels, perhaps? I dunno.

Limited slip was standard issue on XJSs, though, and some of those differentials (direct swap) have migrated into XJ6s over the years.

Cheers
DD

 

Thanx I thought not as well. Headed back to her tomorrow to touch up the clear coat, and swap both drivers side headlights, high beam is burned out low is pretty dim. Snagged a new set tonight and well as a power source plug for my GPS since I can't seem to fix the damn cigarette lighters lol. checked fuses and all seemed fine but easy enough to wire a plug anyway.

 

almost forgot, any advice on gas ? is 87 octane fine ? any real benefit to 91 (93 seems harder to find around here) ?

 

Unless you're getting some pinging 87 should be fine.

Cheers
DD

 

To clarify, did you locate the dedicated cigarette lighter fuse?

Cheers
DD

 

Well... Hard to say really, took that side cover off and checked all inline fuses I could get my hands on, all seemed fine. But I can't be positive any were the cigarette lighter. Also BOTH cigarette lighters don't work.

 

The ciggy lighter fuse is in the console.

Remove the right side console cheek panel (that's the panel with the footwell vent) and reach into the console in the area forward of the RH ashtray. Root around a bit...eventually you'll find it. It's an inline fuse

Cheers
DD

 

Ok.... is it possible that every damn relay is blown ?? lol. here is the scoop, neither cigarette lighter works, no horn, wipers stop wherever you turn em off, no cruise control, and I replaced my high beam (driver's side) bulb thinking it was blown, BUT. low beams, perfect, both outers light up, turn on high beam, BOTH low and high on drivers side go out, BOTH high and low on passenger side light up. (idiot light on the dash is always on telling me bulb failure). I'm a tad frustrated =/ I found a few realys and they certainly look nasty (metal outside casing a bit rusty). worth trying to replace em all ? and which ones and where ?

any insight would be awesome. would love my GPS working, wipers to lay at bottom, horn to honk, and maybe even cruise control (although I'm not sure that would be a relay) All fuses I've checked seem fine, except the blinker fuse one of the "feet" is broken that hold in the fuse and make connection. may bypass it with a fusable link instead.


Thanx again all ~

 

oh and my power door locks don't work either =]

 

.... UPDATE !! Doug I missed that post, went out to check that cigarette lighter fuse, found it, and it was blown, replaced and both are working great now !!! TYVM you are the man ! Ok that being said.... now tell me how to fix my horn, wipers, headlight, and cruise control. LOL '=] I'm guessing horn and wipers are both a realy issue and maybe headlight wiring ? CC I have no clue.

 

...oh 1 last thing. Fuel tank 1 (drivers side) works fine, but when I hit the button for tank 2 (passenger side) the gauge drops to empty FAST ! is that the crossover switch or sending unit ? only ran it about 5 miles on tank 2, ran fine, but I switched it back. added 5 gallons to tank 2 with the same result.

 

Here's some reading for you

Cruise Control
(pre-1992 XJS has the same cruise control as your Ser III XJ6)

Fuel Tank Switchover Checklist, Series III XJ6

Headlamp Circuit Checklist

Horn Circuit Checklist


Locks: as often as not removing the door trims and lubricating the linkages brings everything back to life

Wipers not parking: more often than not it's the switch in the steering column. Less often the "park switch" on the wiper motor itself

Cheers
DD

 

every headlight (low and high) has a fuse, located in a small 5-fuse fusebox next to the coolant reservoir/tank, the fuses are probably corroded. Remove each fuse and clean the contact areas and the brass fuse holders using a carboard nail file. The 5th fuse is for the auxiliary radiator fan.

the horn has an inline fuse mounted over the battery, very obvious to see in a wiring harness running right above the battery. Fuse is in the plastic fuse-holder. 35 amp.

the wiper switch wears out inside its housing, at the brass contacts, it can be dismantled and fixed, or buy a new one. Easy to check: remove the upper and lower black plastic covers behind the steering wheel to have access behind the wiper switch;
Run the engine and turn the wipers ON, wiggle the wires coming out of the switch's housing and chances are they will Park. If yes, it's the wiper switch needing a rebuild.

Cruise: could be the rubber "accordion" located in front of the brakes' master cylinder, driver's side. Check for cracks, seal any cracked area with black silicone (flexible) caulking. If the accordion is fine, could be the Neutral Safety Switch in front of the shifter out of adjustment. If not the NSS, there is a black Ground wire that comes out of the Turn Signals/Cruise/Flash switch opposite the wiper switch. Follow the wire over the steering column and make sure it is connected to another black wire from the wiper switch. Both the Cruise Switch and the Wiper Stalk Switch symptoms could be related to this ground wire.