Hi Guys,

Ok, so since taking delivery of my 1985 Series III, I have done the following:

1. Changed all belts (alternator, power-steering/fan, air-conditioner). This has solved the squealing and slipping of the power steering on low rpm. Belts were in a horrible condition.
2. Flushed radiator, replaced some old pipes and refilled with coolant.

On Saturday afternoon, I will do a service and change the following:

1. Filters
2. Oil
3. Spark Plugs
4. Brake Fluid

Anything else you guys can suggest as preventative maintenance?


Thank you!

 

Assuming you don't know history....

Change diff oil

Change trans oil

Repack front wheel bearings


Don't forget to lube all the gease fittings!




Cheers
DD

 

take a close look at all the electrical connections on the efi system as any of them can easily bring the car to a halt on a wet, dark night in the middle of nowhere.

in particular the ones across the top of the water rail and the group of wires that run from the right hand chassis rail up to the coil and ignition amplifier. also clean the mounting points for the amplifier as if these get corroded it can stop the car as they are an earth point.

also clean and tighten all the fuse holders in all the fuse panels. these get small amounts of corrosion and end up playing havoc with the instruments and various systems of the car.

if all this is in good order they seem to be reasonably reliable cars.

good luck,

jay

 

Thank you very much for that guys. Luckily the electrics all SEEM to be ok.

Doug, the car has a full service history, but was standing for a while. Reckon it's worth it doing the trans and diff oils anyway?

On another note, I've discovered a fuel leak dripping at the back somewhere toward the middle between the two tanks. Not sure where from, will have to lift the car and check tomorrow while I'm doing the engine service.

 

Still, Jay's advice is very good. By cleaning fuses, connections, and grounds you've solved most of the infamous "Lucas" problems before they begin!



The usual recommendation is to change trans and diff oils every 30k miles so unless the history indicates those were recetnly done, yes, I go ahead. Same with the wheel bearing repack.....which is an often neglected service.


Good. Any fuel leak obviously deserves attention

Cheers
DD

 

Oliver,

Be sure to check this thread if you haven't already gotten a copy of the service manual as they might help you pinpoint that rear fuel leak.
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...l-lines-96477/

I also suggest replacing the battery (if age is beyond ~2 years depending on operating conditions even if nothing is wrong), and a new distributer cap and rotor is not very expensive at all and often clears up the small electrical weakness upon starting that can sometimes develop slowly without the usual driver really noticing and is in the same direction as Jay and Doug's important notes about clearing the ignition electrics, fuses, contacts, and grounds to keep everything electrical on the up and up.

If it's been sitting awhile it's probably also good to inspect the condition of the inside of the fuel tanks or their contents somehow (visually, by draining using the large nut on the bottom, etc.). Not an immediate necessity but you should probably do it before it becomes a necessity and causes more damage than its worth. Discussions of inline filters in the case of lite contamination/deterioration are pretty prevalent on the forum.

If it has been in storage without even rolling or moving for a long period of time, you should also check the tires not only for visible wear and condition but also check your records or the sides of the tires to see when they were installed. Tires which have been set on too long won't look anywhere as bad as they actually are.

 

you will get a good idea of the condition of the fuel in the tanks simply by pulling off the fuel filter (located in the trunk by the spare tire in the back right side) and dumping the fuel out into a clear container. if it looks rusty and sludgy you've got problems, but nothing the guys on here can't help you fix, its a common problem on stored vehicles, sometimes you get lucky though, and if you do I'd put a fresh fuel filter back in anyways, its a good part of preventative maintenance. Also let me reiterate how important clean grounds are. You don't want electrical problems later, and you will if the grounds are neglected. don't forget the big braided ground wire underneath from the engine to the frame. it gets REAL gunky from leaking fluids and driving through rain and mud and such. If you lose connection there the shifter cable will start grounding out and get totally fried. you don't want that.

best of luck to you!

 

One of the messiest things I did to my car was to lubricate the underside moving parts.

I cut my teeth on things involving automotive maintenance in a full service station while working my way through college. Wash lube and oil change each 1000 miles was the rule of the day in the late forties, early fifties.

So, I armed myself with the box of Zerk fittings I had acquired for the project before the Jaguar. On jack stands in front and started getting fitting so accept the lube. Most put up a fight! I leaned that my hand powered grease gun had more oomph than the air boosted version from HF!! A surprise. One by one, I got them lubed.

Then, on to ramps for the rear. Same drill. Same efforts and results. And, then the I hope opening for the lower hub joint!!! Just contrary as to how I was taught to lube wheel bearings!! "Pack the bearing, filling the cavity between the bearings does little or nothing"

Tossed the old Zerks that refused to pass lube.

Getting to be about time to do it again!!!

Oh, the Zerk on the front hubs is a curious thing....

Carl

 

Hi Guys,

Thanks again for all the tips. So yesterday, I did the following:
1. Oil Change + Filters
2. New Spark Plugs
3. New brake fluid
4. Fixed leaking pipe at fuel pump

When I started her up again (not sure if this is coincidence), the accelerator seems a bit sticky i.e sometimes it gets stuck at a high idle (1500rpm). If I pull the accelerator back with my toe or by hand idle drops to 800 again... Strange.

I'm going to try cleaning the throttle body and lubing the accelerator cable and assembly. Any other ideas?

Thanks guys.

 

Probably coincidental as I don't see anything in your "done list" that looks even remotely related to the throttle cable. Still, though, backtrack over your previous work just to be sure. Perhaps the cable got knocked about somehow.

It isn't unusual for these cables to become sticky over the years. I remember having to replace mine and, when done, I felt like I was driving a different car....the pedal movement was so smooth and easy!

The cable has a nylon inner casing that can deteriorate....often helped along the path of demise by poor engine grounding. If the main ground connection is weak the the throttle cable actually becomes a ground cable and gets rather hot. The same has been known to happen to transmission shift cables.

So......on general principle check/clean/tighten the main ground strap. It's under the car, right side, near where the engine and transmission join together.

Cleaning the throttle body is a good idea as well. It's an often neglected service. Doing so may well fix your problem. Make sure the throttle blade has the correct .002" gap before buttoning everything back up.

Cheers

DD

 

Filling the cavity in the hubs has long been discussed, as you know, Carl.

Over the years I've seen recomendations that A) the hub cavity be filled with grease B) that a small amount of grease be used in the cavity C) no grease be used in the cavity!

The grease fitting on the front hub invites us to add grease...but how much? Since Jaguar put tiny bleed holes in the bearing dust caps you can pump grease into the hub until it comes out of the holes. Sorta like an "on-car" bearing repack. However, I've read nothing in the manuals confirming that's what Jaguar intended us to do.

Cheers
DD

 

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the responses. Well I cleaned the throttle as well well as lubed up the cable and connections and took the jag for a bit of a run. The sticking accelerator problem seems to have disappeared.

What has reappeared however is the fuel leak I thought I fixed. The leak is coming from the center-rear of the car (sort of in the middle of the two rear wheels). But get this... It only leaks (fast drip) when the engine is cold. When up to temperature it stops leaking. Weird huh? Pressure related?

Also, not sure if this is related, I had about 1/8 of fuel in the left tank, this has now become empty and if I'm not mistaken (if the gauge is to be believed) has moved to the right tank... Or leaked out, but I was using the right tank while observing the dripping. Do these tanks flow into one another or are they not supposed to do this?

Any ideas?

 

The fuel leak is a bit of a mystery.

Sometimes a rubber hose will leak slightly but heat will cause the hose to swell....and the leak disappears. But I can't really think of a heat source in the area you describe. A similar situation in the engine bay would be different.

Might simply take a bit more digging to find the leak. Bear in mind that the area of the drip might be some distance from the source of the leak, as liquids sometime travel a circuitous route before dripping.

The tank do not flow into each other...not by design, st least.

A changeover valve in the trunk determines which tank fuel is drawn *from*. Two return valves (located in the left and right rear wheel wells) control the flow of returning fuel so that unused fuel get returned to the same tank it was drawn from. If there's a problem with the return valves fuel can be drawn drawn from one tank but returned to the opposite tank. Over a period of time this can actually cause the receiver tank to overflow.

Sometimes the return valves mechanically fail or stick. Often they can be brought back to life with a good cleaning.

Other times there's an electrical fault. In that case, this might help:
Fuel Tank Switchover Checklist, Series III XJ6

Cheers
DD

 

Is there a diagram for the location of grease fittings on a 1982 XJS?

 

I usually replace brake hoses unless its clear they have done recently. They sometimes look OK but have usually aged and become brittle. Then I do caliper refurb/replace early in schedule depending on $ and time. I like to know where I am at with brakes.

 

No doubt there is, somewhere.

But they're not hard to find even without a diagram.

- Upper ball joints (front suspension)
- Lower ball joints (front suspension)
- Left and right front wheel hub
- Bottom of rear wheel hub, left and right
- Two fittings at the lower control arm inboard end (rear suspension, left and right)
- Four axle shaft u-joints
- Two propellor shaft/driveshaft u-joints


Ball joints and u-joints, if previously replaced, might not have grease fittings.

Opinions vary on pumping grease into the front hubs. If you decide to do so make sure to use wheel bearing grease.

Cheers
DD