Good morning, Gentlemen! I have been working (on and off due to vacation) on replacing the water pump, and so far I have removed the radiator and had it re-cored, replaced the "Yellow Fan of Death", removed all belts and fan shroud. It is now time to move/lift/remove the A/C compressor so that I can remove the cross-pipe. I am replacing all the cooling hoses while I am in there, and will be cleaning out expansion/atmospheric tanks.
The issue I am having is how to remove the compressor? The ROM shows a different back on the compressor, and calls for removing the bolt holding on the union plate. Does not appear to be any such setup on my compressor. It also calls for swinging the fuel cooler out of the way, but it is rigidly plumbed to the back of the compressor, so I do not see it swinging anywhere. I have included a couple of pictures of my compressor so you can see what I am working with. Notes that I had made for myself indicate two bolts in front, two in back. The parts manual seems to show that the compressor "ends" where the two studs are welded onto the body, and there are two large nuts securing them. I am thinking that these two nuts in back come off, and two bolts in front, and hopefully can wiggle out from under fuel cooler to remove??
If someone could point me in the right direction here, my project can get back underway! The car has been off the road now for two months, and I am anxious to get it back driving!!
Thanks in advance!
Warm regards,
John


Overall look

 

The joys of one eye, and snaps, never focus good enough, so memory.

The original Black Monster had the 2 pipes/hoses attached via a pad mount arrangement, with a plate and single bolt securing them to the end of the compressor.

The fuel cooler, until I ditched them all, was mounted to the top of the B Bank air cleaner backing.

What I make of yours is someone has retro fitted something else, oops.

 

Are you sure you want to/need to remove the the compressor at all? Here's a pic from my water pump replacement a while back. The cross pipe can be removed with the compressor in place.



Anyhow, if you're sure you want to remove the compressor....

If you remove the cruise control bellows the mounting bolts at the rear of the compressor will likely become obvious....as will the hose attachment at the rear of the compressor. If the A/C system still has freon then precautions are needed before actually removing the hoses.

The front bolts are easy to see and access; they're right below the front of the compressor.

If you remove the front bolts and loosen the rear bolts (or vice versa) the compressor can be tipped fairly high for more access underneath. The A/C hoses can be left attached to the compressor. Leaving two bolts loosely in place simplifies things at reassembly time, as the compressor is a bit unwieldly when trying to line up all four bolts.

Cheers
DD

 

Thanks, Doug! At this time I only want to remove the compressor for the ease of removing the cross-pipe and changing the hoses on it. If I can remove the water pump and the cross-pipe without fooling with the compressor, that sounds fabulous! I notice in your picture that the studs for the water pump are still in position, may I assume the pump was removed with them in place (not studs removed, and then re-fitted)? At some point fairly quickly when I change the sparkplugs, this compressor issue will rear it's ugly head once more.... but I would be thrilled to proceed now without that, and get the car driving!
John

 

I never removed the studs.

Cheers
DD

 

Not necessary to touch the compressor to rempve the cross pipe and renew its hoses.
Be VERY careful that you can get a socket or screwdriver on every clip you do up on the new hoses once everything is back together. Those clis will need to be tightend after a few runs.
The worst in my experience are:
1) the short hose from the pump top to the cross pipe. I use massive T bolt clamps on these and they need regular tightening after a few runs too.
2) the inlet hose on the water pump. This is also real leaker and again, either a T bolt clamp or two Jubilee (worm drive hose) clips has worked for me.
Good luck

 

As mentioned above you can do all the work you mentioned without removing the AC compressor, Take the three bolts holding the cruise control bracket off and removing the the compressor from its bracket becomes self-evident. (It's a Jaguar, not complicated, just inconvenient - LOL)
It is important as also mentioned to make sure when you put the Jubilee/screw type clamps back on to ensure you can access the the screw once everything is reassembled. Things WILL leak a after reassembly and a little driving. You don't want to have to disassemble things just to get to the tightening screws.
Finally, with the AC compressor out of its brackets (but not unhooking anything else) you can just position it for access to replace the front spark plugs. If you haven't haven't already I recommend replacing the plug wires as well with 8mm wires (available from Rock Auto or Magnecor).

Have you checked/fully serviced your distributor centrifugal advance?

 

Checking the distributor is definitely on my priority list, Kirby Palm is adamant that this needs to be done in his Book. I will be super careful to align all clamps for ease (relative, of course!) of retightening. Spark plugs, new cap & rotor, new ignition wires all sitting on my shelf ready to go, along with fuel hoses and injector hoses. Cannot wait to get this water pump/cooling hoses project completed! Full steam ahead!!
Thanks so much for all the tips, suggestions, and encouragement!!

 

Perhaps not the best choice of words when tackling a cooling system project

Cheers
DD

 

Since you are so deep into the engine I would suggest a few more fixes to enhance your drivability and reliability.
1. Replace T-stats
2. Replace distributor vacuum advance (make sure to reset the pickup gap if you take it out. The star wheel and the contact point cannot touch. Gap .006-.008 (a piece of printer paper folded over two or three times).
3. Clean and pressure test all injectors for good spray pattern
4. Replace fuel filter. Clean sump tank. Clean sock filter. Open access to main fuel tank. Use a magnet to pick up rust debris in the tank.

Once you have finished those issues you should probably consider:
bleed and replace brake fluid
replace all flexible hose brake lines
repack front wheel bearings, the rear ones if you are really feeling adventurous
new front shocks
replace rubber fuel lines (feed and return) that go over the rear suspension cage. They get brittle and leak with age. The feed line side is under 40 psi so you'll empty your tank pretty fast.
replace (or eliminate) catalytic converters.. I went from two per side to a single Cat
Eliminate resonators. Improves engine breathing. Slightly louder but not obnoxious.
Replace rear differential fluid.

 

Brad
Good list, but at least on my car, the starwheel gap is not adjustable.
I do disagree with repzlcing any of the exhaust silencers, whether in the tunnel or under the car before the axle. I have tried it and to me, it makes the car too noisy.
Each to his own, obviously, but that would not be a priority, as the other items you mention certainly are.

 

Greg,
It's true that without the resonators it is slightly louder. It has a low growl at idle but I personally like it. As you said to each his own.
My '87, and the '86 I am working on right now, did not require any pickup unit air gap adjustment either but the Chilton's manual mentioned it so
I listed it as well. The important thing is that the star wheel not come in contact with the pickup point.

I certainly appreciate all the guidance you, Doug, and others have given to me over the years. I feel very confident around the motor on many topics these days.
One thing I have learned is that you don't want to skimp when working on these. Better to do a complete job than minimize the effort.

 

Yup.

Whatever system you're working on....fuel, brakes, cooling, steering etc....."Do it all, do it right, do it once". And then you can forget about it for years

Cheers
DD

 

Thanks for all the tips! I am definitely replacing T-stats now while I am changing all the cooling hoses.

 

Good morning, everyone! I am happy to report that yesterday I was able to remove the old water pump from the engine. Everything went fairly smoothly, and I was able to remove the crosspipe without messing with the compressor. Two long bolts under the outlet pipe on the water pump were stuck pretty good, but with some coaching and encouragement from Greg and Grant and others, I was able to remove both bolts after two days of heating and rattle-gun persuasion. I have to say I was extremely concerned that the bolts would snap off, but slow and steady once again prevailed!! My plan at this point is to remove the T-stats and flush out the block while the water pump is off. Then onwards to replacing all the cooling hoses, new thermostats, cleaning out the header and overflow tanks (changing to clear reinforced hose while I am at it), modify banjo bolt, then re-assembly. I am incredibly grateful to everyone who has contributed to this project going smoothly! I can honestly say that without the kind assistance and encouragement from the members here, I would not be able to own this fantastic V12 XJS!! I will keep you posted as I go!
John in Florida

Water pump removed!! No project can withstand continued, determined effort!

 

Told ya, SIMPLE CARS.

WELL DONE.

Dont forget the AntiSeize on ANY bolt you refit. You may never go back there, but then again Murphy is always hanging around.

 

I got my first Jag in '97 and knew absolutely nothing about them. Only the knowledge and helpfulness of others kept me going in the early days.

I work on many different cars and visit many different car discussion sites. The Jaguar internet community is among the best you'll find. IMO this is a significant reason they're such great hobby cars.

Good work on the water pump !

Cheers
DD

 

John
Concerning Grant's point about anti-seize: I suggest that you use anti-seize on the barrel of the bolts (put it on the bolt not down the hole) but not on the threaded part of the bolt. Use a drop of Loctite on the threads. The bolts jam because the barrel part gets corroded into the aluminium of the block. If you can find it, then nickelslip anti-seize is far more durable than the copper variety.

 

Excellent point about the anti-seize and Loctite! I was guessing that the barrel of the bolts was creating issues, as I really had to pry the last two long ones out (after the threads had released). I will plan accordingly when re-installing bolts. My confidence level has gone up a few notches now that I am successfully this far into the project! The phosphoric acid that I ordered should be here today, so I can soak the cross-pipe a bit and clean it up...

 

Anything I should be doing to clean up the female side of the threads that are in the engine? The deep ones would be hard to get at, of course... I am thinking to purchase a 5/16" x 18 bolt about 5 inches long, then use a cutoff wheel to "slot" the bolt on two sides, and use it as a thread chaser......