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Now we have the Cameras and Reporters out, covering the 'Clean up Operation' where from what I've seen and heard, I don't think any Sandbags came in contact with the water.
Perhaps they could clean up the reporters instead...?
Put back about six inches of snow and I was either delivering takeout
or running stages in that stuff depending on the day of the week.
Telling people that their food would take three hours to get there
due to demand for delivery services never seemed to get them to
come and pickup their food.
Datsun 510 + snows all around + lsd = never stuck.
XJSs are not brilliant on ice or hard snow, but I feel that snow tyres are not nearly as good as chains or socks. Chains are the best thing. They are just magic, though you need to practise putting them on a few times first. Chains on the rear, and socks n the front. Or, indeed, socks all round, which are much easier to put on. They work well enough on the drive wheels on snow, although not quite as well as chains, and not near;#ly as well on ice. I once drove my Vauxhall Viva straight through and out of 2 foot of snow just using chains on the back, drive, wheels.
Greg
Never used chains, but I sure would like studs to be legal again.
How I Converted a Standard 3Ton Trolley Jack into a Low Profile 3Ton Trolley Jack
One of the more accepted ways of Jacking up the Front of an XJS is by Jacking her up underneath the Front Beam.
By using a 3Ton Trolley Jack and preferably a Low Profile one, or you may have to run her up on some planks to give you enough clearance to get it underneath.
The only problem being Low Profile Jacks of any type can be quite a bit more expensive and in any event you may well have a Standard Profile Trolley Jack in your Garage or Shop.
The Advantage though with the Standard design, is that it some of them have much longer bodies than the Low Profile type.
The disadvantage being that they can be higher even before they start lifting, so it would be nice to have the best of both worlds.
Without the need to go out and buy a New Low Profile Jack.
Which is just what I did but may not have needed to do.
My Standard 3Ton Trolley Jack, which had a nice long body but was a bit too high to get underneath, especially after putting some protection on the Cup to prevent those 'Claws' digging into and damaging the Beam.
All Trolley Jacks tend to vary in size but the highest part of the profile on the side of my Standard Trolley Jack was 6 inches.
And the height from the ground, right to the Top of the Claws on the Lifting Cup was 5 3/4 inches. (which in my case was a bit too high)
So in order to overcome this, I then went out and bought a Low Profile 3Ton Trolley Jack, which as I remember was quite a bit more expensive than my Standard one.
My Low Profile Trolley Jack.
The Highest Part of the Side Profile on the Body was 6inches (The same as on my Standard 3Ton Trolley Jack!)
But the Height from the Floor to the Top of the Lifting Cup was only 4 inches. which was 1 3/4 Lower Than my Standard 3Ton Trolley Jack.
There is quite a Big Difference in height between the Two as you can see 1 3/4 inches difference in this case.
Even more of a difference with the Standard Trolley Jack as you need to put some protection on the Top of the Cup, to prevent those Claws from digging in and damaging the Front Beam of your XJS.
So bear that in mind the next time that you go to a Shop to get your Wheel Changed.
With the benefit of Hindsight, I didn't really need to go out and buy that Low Profile Jack after all (even though its handy to have a Second one)
As I discovered something that was so Stupidly Simple and So Blindingly Obvious, that I just can't help kicking myself for not thinking of it before!
When I suddenly realized that on my 3Ton Standard Trolley Jack the Lifting Cup 'Lifts Off!'
This is True of many (But not 'all' Standard 3Ton Trolley Jacks) so check that first if you want to buy one.
My Standard 3Ton Trolley Jack with the Lifting Cup Removed, which was 5 3/4 inches high from the ground to the Top of the Lifting Cup but with the Lifting Cup removed now only measures 4 3/4 high (An all important One Inch difference in Height)
Not much difference now! between my Standard Jack and my Low Profile Jack.
Plus the Extra Length of the Standard Jack is something I've found useful.
You can even (On some but not 'all') Low Profile Jacks, also remove the Lifting Cup to go even Lower if you need to.
With the Lifting Cup removed on my Low Profile Jack, I can reduce the height from 4in to 3 1/2in if I need to. (Useful for some Jobs)
If you are Buying a Jack for the First Time for an XJS, whether Low Profile or Standard.
Always at the very least ask if you can Slide it underneath your XJS before you buy it, or it could be a very expensive mistake if it won't fit.
Also always protect the Front Beam with a Piece of Plywood or Padding, so that you don't damage it, when you are lifting the Car as you also want to avoid any metal to metal contact.
Important info: never just put the jack under the cross beam... It willcause damage. Spread the weight with a lump of wood or so.
Just noticed, you wrote that I can provide pictures of a bent subframe
Whoops. Hope it isn't too late for me. I just used wood to stop the trolley jack denting the frame but perhaps I should use a longer beam of wood too distribute the weight?
You've got some nice kit there, my Axle Stands look rubbish next to yours!
Has your Jack got a Rubber Pad and does the Pad lift out like it does on mine?
A 6in length of 1/2 Plywood will help to spread the load and avoid any dents in the beam and doesn't split like a normal piece of Wood does.
Now you've got that brilliant Jack, there is almost nothing that you won't be able to do.
Mate I don't think my pad comes off. I tried but no go. It is made out of cast metal.
I still have to drive her up on some wooden sleepers to make clearance those as that bloody plastic fender thing on the bottom still gets in the way. It still does the trick though.
As long as it does the Business when its under that's the main thing, I'm even thinking of getting out the grinder and shaving a bit off the sides of my Old Trolley Jack, as like yours it sometimes catches as I'm pushing it underneath.
But its still too Wet outside to play around with it at the moment.
To-day I managed to pick up a very interesting little Gadget, which I got for one third off the price because it didn't have a box or any instructions.
It seems to be something for Testing the Battery and or the Alternator, which I thought would be useful, as I am switching over to e-fans (electric fans)
So I was hoping it might be useful for seeing if the Battery and or the Alternator, can keep up with the Current drain from the Fans.
Not being an Auto Electrician, I have no idea how to use it or what I could use it for.
Any help with how to use this or what I can use it for would be appreciated.
Clamp it on the battery and it will light one of the bottom 3 lights to indicate the charge level. Leave it on and start the car and one of the 3 top lights will indicate the voltage output range of your alternator. I use a volt meter when I start the engine if I suspect an alternator problem. I purchased an electronic battery charger that tells me the %age of charge in the battery and then will start the charging cycle. I use that once a week to keep the battery up when I'm not driving my cat. It will work as a battery maintaince charger if I just leave it on.
With a gap in the Wintery Weather, to-day was a very nice day, not too Cold and lots of lovely Sunshine, so work could now continue with the installation of the New Rear Brake Pads that I bought for 'Cherry Blossom'
The old pads were in such a state, they really had to go, which also gave me a check the rear Calipers.
After 16 year of Standing the Old Pads had to go, which also gave me a chance to check the Rear Calipers.
Even during daylight it can be quite hard to see what you're doing unless you've got one of these, a 'Headlight' from the pound shop (for only £1)
Absolutely Amazing! and excellent quality too.
Who needs Carrots to see in the dark, when you've got one of these!
Absolutely Amazing! Only £1 from the Pound Shop.
It makes it so much easier when you can see what you're doing.
Take a look at the New Rear Brake Pads and compare them to the ones that I took out.
These are a slightly different design that doesn't have a slot.
Not the ones I wanted but they were what I got, as the Company I bought them off were using 'Generic Photos'
But as it was so much hassle to have to send them back, I put it down to experience and decided to keep them.
Although there was a more important difference, as they wouldn't fit into the Calipers 'Out of the Box'
Its quite hard to tell from the Photo but the New Rear Brake Pads were almost 1mm longer.
While I probably could have got them in with a bit of a tap with a hammer, I didn't want to roll the dice just in case they decided to Jam when they were in use.
So I skimmed a bit off with the Sander, after which they were a perfect fit and also bought a new fitting kit to go with them.
Out of the Box, the New Pads were a really tight fit and so not for the first time, I skimmed a bit off with the Sander.
That's the way to do it!
After I skimmed a bit off the edge of the metal backing pad, they went in dead easy, complete with a New Fitting Kit.
The Light to take the Photo, was from the £1 headlight from the Pound Shop.
Next Job: Bleed the Rear Brakes.....To be continued......
Last edited by orangeblossom; 01-20-2017 at 12:40 PM.
Slick. I have one of those head band LED lamps. I gave a pair to my son and his SO. They use theirs at their mountain home to get about away from he structures.
Feed the goats, etc.
I have a plethora of jack stands. Some far better than others. I prefer the ramps when ever possible. I trust the front cross member of my XJ as sturdy enough to use the trolley on. I've two. One little guy, will work, but slow. Another mush larger, easy.
I was wondering if I should also switch all the lights on etc, when its connected to the battery.
Would that be able to tell me anything useful?
Heh OB. Ron has pretty much summed it up mate for the operation of it.
Throwing all your lights on and maybe turning on your A/C compressor will just put more load on your system however your charging volts should still remain the same (if your alternator or more so, you regulator is doing its job with change in load).
I guess you could do it as a stress test but I would use your tool like a multimeter and that is, if I suspect my battery or my alternator I would measure voltage across the battery ect. Handy to keep in your garage.
The beauty of your little tool is it tells you what a good voltage is etc. Nice gadget at the right price by the sound of it!
This Is How I Bled All The Brakes Single Handed With Just A Piece Of Polythene Tube!
This is how I Bled the Brakes Single Handed, with nothing more than just a piece of Polythene Tube.
The one thing you need to remember is to have the Polythene Tube about 3ft away from the Wheel (in a 'U' Shape) but make sure that the part of the Tube on the outside Leg of the ('U' Shape) is pointing UP HILL.
With the rest of the Surplus Tubing, kept well away from the Car (so that it cannot squirt any Brake Fluid all over the Car)
All the Magic Happens in the 'U' Shape you Form in the Tube because Two Things are happening Simultaneously.
(1) The Air is trying to get out as you Pump the Pedal, which is easy as the bubbles such as there may be just float upwards.
(2) At the Same time Gravity is pushing the Brake Fluid back down Towards the Caliper, which Automatically Prevents any Air getting into the Caliper around the Threads of The Bleed Nipple (WHY?) Because while the Brake Fluid is Trying to Leak out of the Threads round The Bleed Nipple, AIR CANNOT GET IN. (The Brake Fluid ALWAYS WINS!)
01-14-2017, 04:26 PM
I can provide pictures of a bent subframe 
