The last piece of the puzzle has fallen into place. By this time tomorrow I hope to be driving it around the block, almost exactly 3 months since the last time I tried to drive it.

The AutoCoolGuy PWM fan controller arrived this morning.


It fits well between the neck of the expansion tank and the back of the headlight 'bump'.


It's mostly wired up, I'll wire up the fail-safe/override and AC control when I charge the AC system.


All that's left is to go to the auto parts store and pick up 3 gallons of Zerex G-05. I'll start filling it up tonight while the nose is in the air and give the bubbles a chance to escape. Then tomorrow we'll start it up and see what happens.

While I make it sound like I'm almost done, we all know that's never the case. This is just the end of Phase 1. Phase 2 is already in the 'procurement' stage - I ordered 6 new shock absorbers this morning. The original ones don't have a lot of life left. I went with Bilsteins for the front and KYB out back.

 

When you have filled the system and are running the car, make sure the heater control is on Defrost. This opens the heater valve and thus helps the system to purge.
I will be very interested to hear how the fan controller performs.
It is a great day when you first drive the car after a rebuild, I can clearly remember mine from 2011!

 

I couldn't wait any longer so I cut out of work early and started working on the Jaguar. I filled and bled the cooling system, then ran it until it reached operating temp. The cooling fans ramped up and down to keep the inflow into the engine right about 165*. The nice thing about the PWM controller is that it only spins the fans as fast as they need to hold the outflow temp constant.

Feeling flush with success, I took it for a drive around the block and made it home without incident. Then I did it again for good measure and I was happy to report no issues.

Emboldened with my success and in possession of some free time while my wife ran errands, I went ahead and charged up the AC system. The cabin was cool and crisp but I need a hotter day to make sure I am happy with the performance.


I ended the evening with putting the hood back on, giving it a quick wash, then putting on a coat of carnuba wax. Here I am 1/2 way through buffing the hood.


If the weather hold together tomorrow I'm making a stop at the muffler shop to see what they can do for the exhaust. Then I am planning on driving it all day. But I bet it rains

 

That controller looks good! I may need to get myself one as well. How does the failsafe work?

 

It's more of a manual over-ride vs a fail-safe. You wire it into a switch that grounds out and it runs the fans at full RPM.

 

I put 85 miles on the girl today between visiting muffler shops, looking for a place to cut a spare set of keys, taking my wife to lunch, and just having fun. A couple of thoughts:

- The automatic climate control works surprisingly well. It was not a hot day but super humid and the inside of the car was perfectly comfortable.
- I did about 20 miles on the highway at reasonable Illinois Tollway speeds. Revs were about 3k but the engine didn't seem to mind.
- The car seems hesitant to down-shift but will do so when provoked with the stick. I need to check out the kick-down switch.
- Under very hard acceleration there is a knocking noise from the center console. I'm pretty sure the transmission mount just got moved up the list.
- It looks like the steering rack is drippy. That's a bummer.
- The driver's side window stopped working 1/2 way through my day. Is there a fuse for that?

Even with original, worn-out shocks the car still rides really nice. I can't wait to see how well it tightens up with new ones.

Thank you to everyone who helped me get to this point. The most important part of owning an old car is the community and this one is great.

 

I'm sure there is a fuse for the windows, but they stick. There are a few pages in Kirby'r book about sticking or slow windows and how to rectify them. The transmission mount is a good thing to do. It transformed my car, eliminating a bunch of squeaks and bumps. Just be cautious going in to it, there's a strong spring hidden in there.

 

It's not a fuse issue, as the passenger side windows works fine. And it's not the switch, as I swapped the driver's switch to the passenger side connector and the passenger window worked fine. Swapped the passenger switch to the driver's connector and the driver's window doesn't work.

Given the sudden change, I'm guessing the motor shot craps. I had used it 4 or 5 times today and it worked perfectly fine.

 

It may be the motor, but the mechanism can stick as well. You’ll probably need to take the door card off and have a look. Can you pull the window up by hand?

 

Turns out, the electrical connection for the motor was slight crusty. I didn't realize that until I had taken the door apart and had the motor on my workbench.

 

Between yesterday and this morning I have just shy of 100 miles on the Jaguar and she runs great. But there's still more work ahead.

The car has 'assumed the position' again but this go around it should be less than the first ~3 months.


Right-side caliper, disc, and hub are pretty crusty and the disc has ridges.


You can see the grooves worn in the disc better form this angle.


Left side caliper before disassembly, cleaning, and finishing.

 

I split the front caliper and - I need more brake cleaner.

I like to remove the pistons by putting the caliper half in the bench vice, gripping the top lip with a pair of vice grips, and leveraging the vice grips up with a pry bar. A little wiggle helps the piston come free.


It's easy enough to pop out all the caliper pistons.


There was some pretty gross sludge in the cylinder bores.


I'll be able to clean up the bores nicely since they're aluminum, but the pistons are toast and I need to pick up some new ones. And a case of brake cleaner fluid.

 

I got that far with my brakes last summer and then ordered a full set of reman calipers from RockAuto. They are fantastic value.

 

I know. It's almost cheaper to buy the rebuilt calipers than it is to buy new pistons and a rebuild kit.
Except I was planning on sand-blasting and powder-coating the calipers so I'd never have to worry about the finish on them again - until I realized they're hidden behind a wheel with pretty thick basket-weave and I would be the only one who would ever see them.

Decisions...

 

But you'll know they are there....!

Go on, you know the answer really!

Cheers

Paul

 

Rebuilds, every time!

 

Whenever someone asks me if they should do A or B, I always ask why not both? So I took my own advice. I'm going to order a set of rebuilt calipers to get me back on the road, AND I'm going to eat the core charges and sand-blast/powder-coat/rebuild the ones I have as spares. It sounds like a nice project for the Chicago winter when I'm not driving her anyway.

 

I've been staying busy while I wait on parts to come. Tonight I had to fix the drain on my air compressor because I have a lot of sand-blasting to do in the next few days. I started with the dust cap on the left front wheel. It was looking a bit tired when I took off the wheel hub.


After a trip through the sand blaster and a few coats of satin black. I didn't want to powder-coat this as I was worried about the interference fit to the hub.


The hubs looked pretty crusty too. I realize this is all vanity type stuff but I really hate when I pull the wheels off and see stuff like this. I'm the only person who will ever see it, but knowing it's there bothers me.


After a trip through the sand blaster and a couple coats of paint. I still have to drive out the old races for the new wheel bearings.


So I know this is going to cause some controversy, but another thing I can't stand is rusty brake rotors. When the hats and the edges are rusty it just looks like something that has not been taken care of. So I cleaned up my new Brembo rotors and spray-painted the hats and edges with regular Rustoleum Gloss Black. Yes, the braking surface has paint on it but that will be gone by the time I get to the end of my block. The paint on the hat and edges will keep the metal from rusting.

And I used regular paint on the part of the brake that gets the hottest. If you're thinking 'won't it peel/flake-off?' the answer is no. I have been doing this for years on bigger/heavier cars like my Suburban, Sequoia, and even my XKR without issues.


I also disassembled the transmission mount tonight. The top spring isolator was completely missing. The bottom was still intact and very pliable. The center damper was mostly gone and what was left crumbled as soon as I touched it. I'm replacing all that with poly.

 

My goal is to have the car back on the road in time for this Sunday morning's Coffee & Classics. I think I can do it.

Tonight I threw the transmission mount in the sand blaster. Here's what it looked like just off the car.


And here it is after sand-blasting and hitting it with some paint.


I also got the transmission filter replaced and was able to remove the right side caliper, rotor, and hub. Both new front shock absorbers are in and I'm hoping to finish the front end tomorrow.

 

I'm going to make my self-imposed deadline for Sunday's Coffee and Classics, but it's only because I deferred the rear shock replacement until this winter when I drop the cage for a full rear-end rebuild. The pin that holds the bottom of the shocks wasn't budging, and rather than force the issue and mushroom the end of the pin I'll just wait until I have time to do it all correctly.

RockAuto has the wrong part numbers for the front wheel seals, but I was able to find the correct seal for my car at a O'reilly's a few towns over. Tonight I was able to put the front hubs back together and replace all the front brake components - calipers, rotors, hardware, hoses, pads. I talked my wife into helping me bleed the brakes and it only took about 15 minutes before I was bubble-free at all 4 calipers. I know some people here prefer the gravity bleed method but the note that came with the rebuilt calipers specifically said not to. Your car your decision. I'm a big fan of pressure bleeding or the old "down-down, up-up" method with a helper.

I'm hoping the rain holds off tomorrow so I can get it out of the garage and have some fun. Next up is the stereo.