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You think this had something to do with engine running warm???
Just took my rad out.
Holy crap! Just look at it! I did not even think it was possible to collect so much dirt and crap. The bottom left side is almost rock solid.
And here I was, looking for ways to make my kitty running cooler by changing thermostats, flushing the coolant, replacing the fans. Lesson learned: look at your radiator first!
That's fairly typical after 20 or 30 years of service. That's why I have always said the original 2 pass radiator is just fine if it's clean.
No kidding!
Given how PITA it is to do radiator job on V12, I kept delaying and delaying and delaying... Was hoping simpler/easier tasks would do the trick. Nope. Should have just bit the bullet and got it over with...
Shouldn't matter. The side with the most accumulation is the side with the engine driven fan, which is always pulling air through the rad. Other side is the electric fan that runs fairly infrequently. With less airflow, less debris is pulled in on the left side.
Shouldn't matter. The side with the most accumulation is the side with the engine driven fan, which is always pulling air through the rad. Other side is the electric fan that runs fairly infrequently. With less airflow, less debris is pulled in on the left side.
It is FACT, and discussed to almost death on here over very many years.
"New" car to you, ACTUAL service integrity, unknown, or dealer, basically the same. Dealers, and many Indies; want nothing to do with the V12, and if conned by the mighty $$ only do what is needed to get it out of the shop.
SAD, very SAD, but also FACT.
I have mentioned, as have MANY, MANY others, that when a new to me Jag arrives, radiator OUT, ALL rubber bits in the engine bay renewed, ALL fluids dropped and renewed, etc, etc, Commonly called by my kids as "Dads major, major service", and repeat in about 10 years time. NEVER failed for me, and I drive all my Jags HARD, and have done so since the first one in 1968.
Same as the Yellow engine driven fan. How many know of the cracks, but the $$ to replace, "we will wait", and then one vents its way via the bonnet, GUILTY, OOPS.
Awesome cars, most know my feelings for the REAL Jag, and the engine that drives it, but MAAAAAATE, maintain it NOW, and enjoy it as it was designed. The previous people have nearly screwed it, but you can sort it, easily and economically (in the big picture $$).
My X200 (the dark side S Type V6) has clocked 70K kms in 3 years, BUT, I also did that "Grants major" day 1 of being home with it, and it has NEVER failed me, ONCE.
Gremlins, HELL YES, its a Jaguar, but :failed to proceed in a forward direction", NEVER.
I need a drink, or 3. That radiator is things nightmares are made of.
Given how PITA it is to do radiator job on V12, I kept delaying and delaying and delaying... Was hoping simpler/easier tasks would do the trick. Nope. Should have just bit the bullet and got it over with...
We did an XJS V12 rad job out and to the shop for a medical and picked it up the next morning for a re-install. Not a big or hard job. But I did have Grant Francis on the other end of the Bat Phone whenever needed. (Lucky we have the wizard of OZ a phone call away)
Paulyling with a smile and an XJ6 escort out of town. That was my first time under a V12 bonnet apart from finding the relevant numbers to get Paul a RWC to register the "Blue Goose" in Queensland.
It is FACT, and discussed to almost death on here over very many years.
"New" car to you, ACTUAL service integrity, unknown, or dealer, basically the same. Dealers, and many Indies; want nothing to do with the V12, and if conned by the mighty $$ only do what is needed to get it out of the shop.
SAD, very SAD, but also FACT.
I have mentioned, as have MANY, MANY others, that when a new to me Jag arrives, radiator OUT, ALL rubber bits in the engine bay renewed, ALL fluids dropped and renewed, etc, etc, Commonly called by my kids as "Dads major, major service", and repeat in about 10 years time. NEVER failed for me, and I drive all my Jags HARD, and have done so since the first one in 1968.
Cheers to that, Grant.
When I buy any used car I assume that every service has been neglected and I assume that I'll have to spend some money on at least a few repairs. The cars gets the full treatment from stem to stern. All fluids, lubricants, and filters. Spark plugs. Repack wheel bearings. Etc. Along the way I always find a few things needing attention. It's a used car, after all !
One of the things that make these old Jags such good hobby cars is that virtually every fault ...and fix....is well documented. There are very clear patterns. Unless owned by a dedicated enthusiast it's virtually guaranteed that a used XJS V12 is gonna have a clogged radiator, weak fan clutch, crispy injector wiring, hard-as-stone fuel hoses, dodgy gauges, a slew of dirty grounds, incorrect thermostats, cruddy fuel sump......oh, hell, I'm preachin' to the choir here
"Do it all, do it right, do it once". How many times have we said that?
Oh yes, most used cars are passed on for a reason or more. Repairs and deferred maintenance to expected.
Back in the day, bug screens were popular. Attached in front to the radiator. From time to time. un hook them and wash 'em off.,
Dirt track racers use a more vigorous method at times. Light chains dangling in front of the radiator to beat off the clay *****.
Circa 1958, I built a T Ford speedster, mostly from cast off stuff. It's radiator was squashed from the top. Only the tank. A friendly craftsman heated and blew out the solder to free the top part. Dolly and hammered the brass back in shoe and neatly resoldered.
To the point. A PO had pinched off a tube at the bottom tank. Not unusual in earlier days. Still functional but ugly. I spray canned some screen in black and covered it,
Looked good. And, CA's Imperial valley well populated with bugs. Easier to clean the screen than the fins and tubes of the radiator.
It is FACT, and discussed to almost death on here over very many years.
"New" car to you, ACTUAL service integrity, unknown, or dealer, basically the same. Dealers, and many Indies; want nothing to do with the V12, and if conned by the mighty $$ only do what is needed to get it out of the shop.
SAD, very SAD, but also FACT.
I have mentioned, as have MANY, MANY others, that when a new to me Jag arrives, radiator OUT, ALL rubber bits in the engine bay renewed, ALL fluids dropped and renewed, etc, etc, Commonly called by my kids as "Dads major, major service", and repeat in about 10 years time. NEVER failed for me, and I drive all my Jags HARD, and have done so since the first one in 1968.
Same as the Yellow engine driven fan. How many know of the cracks, but the $$ to replace, "we will wait", and then one vents its way via the bonnet, GUILTY, OOPS.
Awesome cars, most know my feelings for the REAL Jag, and the engine that drives it, but MAAAAAATE, maintain it NOW, and enjoy it as it was designed. The previous people have nearly screwed it, but you can sort it, easily and economically (in the big picture $$).
My X200 (the dark side S Type V6) has clocked 70K kms in 3 years, BUT, I also did that "Grants major" day 1 of being home with it, and it has NEVER failed me, ONCE.
Gremlins, HELL YES, its a Jaguar, but :failed to proceed in a forward direction", NEVER.
I need a drink, or 3. That radiator is things nightmares are made of.
I do the same and always have with any used car I bought in the past, be it Jag, or some other American car. and as with Grant, has always done me well, as an example, I bought a 1998 Dodge Caravan mini van, it had over 100 thousand when I bought it, with care and maintenance, it lasted until over 300 thousand.
It is FACT, and discussed to almost death on here over very many years.
"New" car to you, ACTUAL service integrity, unknown, or dealer, basically the same. Dealers, and many Indies; want nothing to do with the V12, and if conned by the mighty $$ only do what is needed to get it out of the shop.
SAD, very SAD, but also FACT.
I need a drink, or 3. That radiator is things nightmares are made of.
I must apologize. When I pulled the rad out and saw its condition, my heart dropped... I felt sorry and sad, too. But I intend to do right by my car.
For a little over a year of owning it, I have been trying to sort things out. Slowly, yes. But sometimes "the other work" takes priority, as I am still a weekend mechanic (and not very expereinced one )
I was embarrassed to post the picture. But I decided to post anyway. I think it serves as a perfect example of the need to heed gurus' advises. (Gurus, you know who you are.) They know what they are talking about. Listen to them, and do as they say. There is no other way!
For a little over a year of owning it, I have been trying to sort things out. Slowly, yes. But sometimes "the other work" takes priority, as I am still a weekend mechanic (and not very expereinced one )
And a V12 Jag can be a bit daunting....until you realize it really isn't. When you work slowly and methodically, and accept that there isn't a fast way to get anything done, it all becomes so much easier .
Slowly sorting as time and budget allows is the usual situation and there's nothing wrong with that. But, if you dive into xxx-system, it's best to just do it all and be done with it in one fell swoop. Alá carte just prolongs the misery.
I was embarrassed to post the picture.
Nonsense.
But I decided to post anyway. I think it serves as a perfect example of the need to heed gurus' advises. (Gurus, you know who you are.) They know what they are talking about. Listen to them, and do as they say. There is no other way!
Anyone who is a guru today was once a newbie....learning from the school of hard knocks
1. Please don't come here.
2. $_$ ca-ching! $_$
3. We know what we are doing and know all problems
1. Is common here in Germany
2. Seems common in America
3. Is so rare, you end up doing it yourself
A friend once took his not so nee X350 to Jaguar. He had a knocking in the front right of the car. Sounds like a ball joint dead or a worn bushing. Jaguar replaced every little part of the front axle: still knocked. Turned out to be 2 loose screws for the crash box. A COMMON fault. He paid something like €8500 für the work and parts despite only needing 2 bolts tightend.