Great stuff, my 10 cents, get a box for all the old stuff you pull off, don't throw it away just yet. New part quality is sadly pretty average and having an orginal to check against is useful.

 

yes absolutely.. I'm having a little bit of regret replacing parts that probably didn't need it.. I'm more of a "if not broke, don't fix" guy but I wanted her to have a fresh start. I returned the aftermarket distributor cap (I thought it was OEM) with a genuine Lucas from Moss. It's sitting in a box.. I'm debating on just putting the original back in with a fresh gasket, and keeping the new one as a spare vs changing a part that was working fine.

 

Solid green is typically key-on "+" voltage, fused. later I'll do some perusing of the diagrams and try to come up with something

Cheers
DD

 

There a great tendency towards "While I'm at it" replacements. Sometimes this makes very good sense. Other times it's more of a 'feel good' thing, something I fully appreciate. As the years turn into decades, though, I find myself growing increasingly appreciative of saving the money

Good decision, IMO

And unless you bought the cap 20+ years ago it isn't "genuine Lucas" anyway. Lucas sold-off its automotive parts division, and rights to use the name, circa 1996-1997. The new owner (the name escapes me at the moment) is apparently just another label-engineering company, sourcing parts from around the globe and selling them as "Lucas". In my experience the quality is a bit hit-and-miss.

Cheers
DD

 

A bit fat. Correct gap is .025

The wider gap is particularly sketchy if you have Marelli ignition.

Cheers
DD

 

The Lucas story is complicated. In summary Lucas Industries merged with the US company Varity to form LucasVarity in 1996. Then TRW bought out LucasVarity in 1999. Then they decided to licence out the use of the name Lucas for automotive developmnet & supply. And now ZF Friedrichshafen own the brand name Lucas, at least in the UK. And they've licensed it out to Elta.

So "Lucas Automotive" have a website and the familiar green logo and supply a huge range of automotive parts. And whilst those parts may be of good quality(?) there is no real link to the original manufacturing and supply of Lucas components.

Paul

 

"Elta" is what I was thinking of.

Your thorough description illustrates the common situation of ever-changing corporate parentage which makes it very difficult to really know what you're buying. Revered and trusted brand names often don't mean what they used to.

Even buying Jaguar-labeled parts can be hit-n-miss nowadays.

Cheers
DD

 

thank you Doug and ptsj for your input..

had to take a little time off to focus on other things (including an xjs rehab inspired complete overhaul of the garage) but I finally got everything put back together.. I wish had better news to report but I had some issues on a test drive yesterday.

first off, this is the work that I've done so far:

- replaced spark plugs and wires to recommended OEM, gapped at .025
- replaced distributor cap and gasket
- removed air rail and replaced O-rings
- cleaned fuel injectors and replaced all hoses, seals, and filters
- replaced throttle body gasket
- replaced missing bushings with brass door hinge style (ordered custom ones from Lithuania supplier, but haven't arrived yet)
- repaired several electrical connections
- set throttle butterfly to .002" and adjusted throttle linkages to correct position with new bushings
- verified TPS functionality with multimeter, getting smooth readings when turning the capstan turntable
- removed condenser from Ign Amp

had some trouble getting her to start initially, but was able to trace that to a bad connection from Amp to Coil

after getting her started, verified that there were no fuel leaks from rail and regulators. Idle is more or less where it should be.

took it on a 5ish mile test drive, and noticed that acceleration didn't feel as strong. Engine just felt a little more sluggish from before with a slight rough idle. When I gave it the boot before, I would spin the back tires and there would be a pretty strong take off. Not able to recreate on initial test drive.

Got home and then decided to go on one more quick drive to the store. At a light the engine stalled on me after accelerating.. Safely pulled off into a parking lot and got off the main road to return home through the neighborhood. Approaching a stop sign the engine died on me. It took several attempts to get it started again. Was getting everything but the engine turning over. Eventually it started and I continued my slow drive back home. Engine died again while accelerating. Pulled off safely and waited 15 min and started it up and drove home. On the way I was very careful to not give it too much gas, coasting as much as possible. It felt like if I gave it anything it might die. When I got it to the driveway, I opened the hood and revved it from the capstan, with no observed hesitation and then a few times from the peddle with no drop in power or stall.

a few things to note:

- upon reassembly of everything, I noticed the compressor clutch was not engaged. Jumped a wire from the battery and got it to work. Not sure if related, but an electrical anomaly I need to track down.

- upon original disassembly of the distributor, I unwittingly messed with the adjustor screw when I was trying to get it out. It wasn't much but definitely noticed the position changed. I took a photo of everything before, and was able to reinstall in the same location, but I have a feeling that the timing might need to be verified and adjusted.

- cruise control bellow is currently not mounted and disconnected as I search for the missing mounting hardware.

I'm going to get a timing light today and probably put a new fuel filter in, and look for signs of a vacuum leak somewhere.

EDIT: Forgot to mention blowers were not working upon reassembly as well.. AC system worked fine before..

 

so the more I dig, the more I'm leaning towards something in the vacuum system..

the previous owner looks like he made a few modifications:

-heater core bypassed
-running iridium plugs gapped to .040 or greater
-throttle linkages were shortened, putting the capstan rotation just before WOT switch engagement
-vacuum lines appear to not be routed incorrectly

something I didn't notice before, until I went to reassemble the throttle linkages.. I had to lengthen them quite a bit to get them to their home location.. I'm wondering if this is why I got such a surge of power on take off.

not entirely sure about the vacuum just yet but something seems off there.. I'm going to be studying the diagrams and cross referencing with any photos or videos I can find.. I was pretty careful to put everything back the way it came off, taking photos along the way, but something doesn't seem right there..

one of the ports at rear of A bank manifold have been plugged, along with one of the lines from the T coming off.. the distributor advance is going directly to the port on the bottom of the throttle body, which seems wrong from the diagrams under the hood.

fuel consumption seems abnormally high in the time since I've refueled..

line coming off T from rear of manifold. other line is going to the blue valve that connects to the wot switch

port closest to engine bay plugged

this was before I touched anything


I bought a timing light, and will be addressing that shortly, weather permitting. everything seems to be getting spark, according to my inline light.

 

I'm still running through diagnostics / parts replacement.

Engine runs pretty good but I did stall again a few nights ago on acceleration. Will be taking sump out today and looking at the filter, replacing 02 sensors, and running through some more wiring stuff. This and the other forum has a lot of great posts to reference, so I will try not to be redundant and ask questions that have likely already been asked but I have one question that I haven't been able to find an answer To:

at some point, my xjs had a single coil installed, but the secondary is still wired and connected. what is the risk here? is there any reason not to remove it?

 

well, i’m sitting on the side of the road..

car ran beautifully for about 20 miles and then died, going around 35 mph.

got it to start a few times, but died as soon as i let off the gas.

let it sit for a while and still nothing..

verified pump is coming on with ignition via iphone. neighbor is on the way to turn key while i check for spark.

i disconnected secondary ignition coil. going to try and wire that back and see what happens.

 

wired secondary coil back in and she started right up.. ordering new single coil, ignition module, fuel pump, and sock filter.

 

gogobrent,

You also need to verify that the pump runs when the engine is cranking, rather than just when you turn on the ignition. The control of the pump when cranking is determined also by the CPS functioning (a common failure issue).

Good luck

Paul

 

fuel pump is running during crank.

gleaned surge tank and replaced hose filter yesterday as well as replaced eye terminals and connections from the auxillary ignition coil to the primary.

she ran great on my 10 mile town drive.

i’m still a bit miffed on the primary coil not able to start the car after a stall. it’s the DAC6093.. ohm reading is around .9

i suppose the coil could be bad? for now i’m running it as a primary and not a single. i’m looking at options there

 

Renew the coils.

 

her first roadtrip



chasing the sun with the top down in West Texas

 

Idly curious: Where in west Texas? I ask because once upon a time, I used to drive mine between Midland and Pecos, and I had the only XJS most had ever seen...

 

this was on a recent road trip outside of Marfa, TX. It certainly garners some attention.