Hey Guys, I just bought my first Jag an 86 XJ6 VDP, and although there are a lot of great things about her, she's overheating.

I replaced the thermostat yesterday and then brought her to the old mechanic to have a coolant flush today. He remembered the car and said he told the previous owner the fan clutch was the problem and he chose to leave it sitting there instead of fixing it. The mechanic wanted $600 for it, since he said the fan clutch cost $500. Yet I found it for under $50 here: Torqflo/Fan Clutch (922665) | 1986 Jaguar XJ6VDP 6 Cylinders 3 4.2L FI | AutoZone.com

Is the fan clutch a difficult job to do? Are there instructions anywhere for it? And is there any reason I shouldn't use the generic autozone part?

Any help is appreciated, I'd like to get this problem taken care of actually take this car on a nice long drive.

Thanks
Domenic

 

From this post: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ing-fan-61524/

It looks like its just four bolts and some wiggling to bring her out.

I hope thats the case.

 

You're getting taken to the cleaners if you pay $500 for the part itself. Personally, I shy away from AutoZone/Advance/Trak Auto type parts, they tend to be rather low quality. I just installed the this one on my 87, space is tight, a little fiddly but not too bad to do.

Coventry West, Inc. - Online Store

Edit: I wound up taking the fan off the clutch in order to get them out, they don't fit out together with the shroud in place and iirc removing the shroud seemed like the more difficult path.

 

Not carved in granite but according to my notes a Hayden 2705 or 2765 will work, as well as a NAPA 271305 and Imperial 215018.

Buy a few extra nuts and keep them topside while you work. You'll find out why.

Oh, and you can't fully remove one nut at a time. Not enough room. A few turns, then move on to the next, then the next.

Removethe shroud from its mounting brackets. It can stay in the car but it'll go easier if it isn't bolted down

Cheers
DD

 

Great, thanks guys. I ordred one online today but it shouldn't ship for a few days, so now that I know that NAPA sells one I'm going to call around and see if I can pick one up after work.

Hopefully this can be nice simple job.

 

Also check to see that there is a thermostat installed as some owners think removing the thermostat will cure overheating issues. The XK engine does not like to be overheated, so be sure to perform a thorough check of all components so the motor can run as cool as possible. U.S. specification vehicles have a thermostat that opens around 87 C, which is designed to meet emissions regulations, but this is at the upper end of the design parameters for the motor.

 

I actually just replaced the thermostat, despite the overheating I think the thermostat was stuck open because it took a while to warm up. It's warming up quicker now, its just staying hot. But as soon as this fan clutch is comes hopefully these problems will be solved.

 

I did my fan clutch for a similar reason, doesn't completely overheat just runs at a higher temp than I like, clutch didn't make much of a difference. One issue with these cars is clogged radiators, partly due to rust/dirty coolant, partly do to the idiocy of having their dealers use Barrs stop leak as yearly "preventative maintenance". A new thermostat was put in mine a year and a half ago, shortly before I got it but I'm replacing it again, this time with an 180 degree thermostat. I also snagged a radiator out of a car at my local junkyard and took it to a radiator shop where it was acid dipped over a weekend and then flow and pressure tested. They did that for $57, the radiator was $43 from the yard.

How badly does it overheat or does it just run too hot? Do you have flow from the water pump?

 

I'd say it gets to about 110 C at most, I'm doing the fan clutch since the mechanic recommended it, but I've also thought it could be the radiator (from reading the boards) but the clutch seems like an easier job. So I figure I'll attack the small stuff first before I pull the radiator off. If I need to do that, there's a junk yard around here with a 1990 XJ6 that I might look at and see if I can get the radiator and take it to a shop to clean and test.

I assume I have flow from the water pump but I guess I don't really know. I know the the top and bottom hoses coming off the radiator get hot so I assume coolant flow is not a problem.

 

1990 XJ6 is a totally different car. Don't think that the radiator will fit. The radiators used in the Series 3 are easily stripped down and re-cored by and good radiator shop. I had mine re-cored with a better core and it keeps the car right at 90c even in 100+ temperatures.

 

My 84 suffered some pretty serious overheating issues about 2 years ago. Luckily I cut it off and towed it before any serious damage was done.
From reading your posts, I'm douptfull the fan clutch will solve the issue fully. If the car is still overheating, or not cooling, at road speeds, the clutch will have little effect. At speeds it merely turns in the wind, slipping if you will, and not pushing air through the radiator. It's main function is to pull air through the radiator when the car is nearly stationary or slowly moving.
Do you know if the auxillary fan is working correctly? You should be able to hear it running, even after the car is turned off, provided the engine temp is above 95...

Otherwise, I'd bet on a radiator that needs cleaning or replacing...
A recore is an option, but normally when stock the radiators have three rows of narrow fins, and a recore requires two rows of fatter fins... Which gives a little less area for cooling.. So I'd be more likely to consider looking for a good used cleanable radiator, or a new one... The years compatable to your car are the 80-87....

While you have your fan off the clutch, look at it closely for cracks... A broken fan is fairly common, and does a wonder on a bonnet...

Replacing the water pump is also probably not a bad idea on your car... All of these cars are now in the 20 year plus category, so all the "wear" parts need to be looked at... You'll see that when you have the fan off, you are only three hoses and 9 bolts away from pulling the waterpump... If you decide to replace it, keep track of the lengths of the bolts as they come out.. There are three different lengths, plus a couple of nuts...

When I did my cooling system, I was pretty fed up with the high temps, so I did it all at one time.. waterpump, thermostat, fan, fan clutch, hoses, belts, etc.... It cost a little more, but it all needed to be done and made sense as I didn't have to rework anything...

Good Luck with your project..
David Boger
Everyday XJ

 

Well the NAPA part number was a little off (that was for a 70's) but this one should work NAPA AUTO PARTS - I'm picking it up afterwork and I'll let you guys know how it goes. Thanks for all the help!

 

David is right about the fan. My aunt had one go when the cars were still fairly new and it did wonders for the hood, hoses, and a bunch of other things under the hood. Lucky for her it was when the car was still under warranty.
Like David I took the safer route and once I saw my car overheating I changed everything. More work and more expense but beats finding out something is old/past its prime in 100 degree weather in traffic. Besides my wife would not be amused if I had to run the heater in the summer to keep the car from overheating or got stuck on the side of the road. Seriously, it is much cheaper to take precautions now than to blow up an engine.
When I had my radiator re-cored I think a 4 row core put back in. Was heavier but seems to do the trick even on the hotest days and worse traffic. With the difficulty of lining everything up I wanted to only do it once so went with a re-core.
Make sure your thermostat has the correct pintle or the system may not bleed properly.

 

So my order was delayed and my clutch should be coming in tomorrow. So tonight I just took the fan and clutch off in preparation. The fan itself looks ok, I don't see any cracks in it.

I'm going to do the clutch tomorrow, and then I'm going to take a look at the auxiliary fan. I don't think it runs, but I need to check that when I have the car running again.

As far as the radiator and water pump go, you guys really have me thinking about them now. If the fan(s) themselves don't solve this then I'll move on to one of those. I don't really need this car right now so I'm ok taking this slow. I found the car initially because I was looking at inexpensive cars. So I'm trying to not spend to much money initially, but I might find myself replacing those soon.

I'll keep you posted, thanks.

 

You also have me questioning my thermostat, it didn't look exactly like the one I pulled out, but I don't know which one would of been correct. I'm going to NAPA tomorrow anyways, maybe I'll get another thermostat well I'm there just in case.

 

Auxillary Fan:... The easiest way to test it is to apply 12V from an external source directly to the wiring leads. They are easy to spot, and that will rule out a bad fan..
If it works with an external lead, it can get a little tricky... There is a fuse in the auxillary box, under the bonnet, on the left side, next to the headlamp relay, check that first...
Next suspect is the red relay on the radiator support....
Most common fault that I've found is a diode that is acutally inside the wiring harness... It's a fairly short harness, and easy to get at, so substitution has worked best for me...

Thermostat:.... Be sure you get a Waxstat thermo.. either 82 or 88 degree is fine... It has to have the little breather hole at the top....
See photo here: (my site, but not an ad for sale, I'm out of stock)
Thermostat 82 degree Waxstat GTS101

Some of the aftermarkets have a plunger that don't go as deep....

Cheers
David
Everyday XJ

 

As I remember it, the thermostat has an extension piece that closes off the by-pass passage as it opens. If one without this is fitted, the coolant takes the easy way back to the pump via the bypass, and the car will not get cooled efficiently.

 

I can't find a waxstat thermostat anywhere besides everydayxj, how about these Your Parts Search Returned 3 Part(s)

Do you think any of those would work?

 

Out of the three, The Quinton Hazel would be the best bet...

But, a lot of the sites that offer blowout pricing on their parts, often have stuff that just isn't correct....
Check out places like Coventry West in Atlanta... They do Jaguar and Land Rover, that's it... And also rebuild parts on site.
Here is their thermo, which is likely a Waxstat...
Coventry West - Online Parts Catalog

Then there is also Motorcars LTD... Which is (was?) a sponsor here for a long while... Great outfit to deal with...
Here is there thermo..
Thermostat - GTS271

Scores of other Jaguar only dealers... SNG Barratt, Welsh, Jagbits, XK's .... Gotta keep these guys around... And they are pricess when it comes to Jag Parts....

But, if you don't see what you need with them... Send me an email off list... I'll find a Waxstat for you...

Cheers,
David
Everyday XJ

 

Right!