Xtriple does it again... folly, folly, woe is me!

[Sir Snipes]

Pan right!

[DSdriver]

Practicing for when he puts it on ebay

[danthecapriman]

You’ve made a nice job of that headlining. My Volvo is doing exactly the same thing, the glue and old foam dries out and parts from the back board the same way. You wanna come sort mine out!?

[xtriple]

The reason for the picture being cropped like that is simple: there is a lampost immediately to the right. I could have moved to take a better picture, but Phoebe was playing in the hedge and I didn't want her to panic and move, so I stayed where I was.

 

Doing the roof lining is surprisingly easy mate, just slow and careful and it will come out a treat

 

Bit pissed off today, it's pouring with rain and I had my days 'fettlin' all planned out! Go get some screws/nuts fit new speaker grills, do the two sensors under the bonnet, take the dashboard out and sort out all the connections (apparently, they all go after a few years) and now none of the above will happen. Perhaps for the best, as I stayed up all night to watch F1 qualifying and MotoGP so I am cream crackered. I quite like snoozing on the sofa with the telly on while the rain lashes down outside (better than inside I find) and the dogs curled up and snoring (Chester, I'm looking at you!).

[richardthestag]

the oil pressure gauge. those things are notoriously shite. more often than not, any movement on the gauge is just in indicator that the gauge is working and not the actual condition of the oil pressure.

 

IIRC the circuit earths through the engine sender that caused you so much grief.

 

Try disconnecting the wire on it, and see if the gauge still maxes out? = either dead gauge or a leak to earth between the gauge and sender.

 

You could try disconnecting the wire that goes to the sender on the back of the gauge and check for similar results. however reckon that getting to the back of the gauge might be an arse of a job

 

failing that get a mechanical gauge and check oil pressure, does mean removing the sender again, hopefully not areldited in this time

[DaveDorson]

I've got such a want face for an XJS at the moment.  This didn't help.

[Guest Hooli]

You’ve made a nice job of that headlining. My Volvo is doing exactly the same thing, the glue and old foam dries out and parts from the back board the same way. You wanna come sort mine out!?

 

I was going to ask the same! My Jag has the standard* fit pins holding it all up.

[xtriple]

I've got such a want face for an XJS at the moment.  This didn't help.

You can have this one with pleasure! Its little foibles are proving less than endearing Nearly all electrical to be honest and I am working through them but, I hate electrics and don't fully understand 'magic string' anyway so struggle a bit - a personal blind spot. But then things like this small water leak: why can't it just be a normal leak that does it constantly and more so when under pressure?

 

Also, I just re-fitted the clocks after replacing various bulbs, carefully fitted the screws for the earth bar along the top of the clocks and did up the end one with the secondary earth on it (my new secondary earth as advised by everyone to fit) then got all the multi-plugs re-connected (proper faff as one of them likes falling out) and was just about to screw it back in when I thought I'd better check...

 

Start engine, indicators work, all bulbs working, all good... err, no. The gauges are reading low, just like they did before. So I faff and fiddle with every connection, clean various ones, faff some more and I am getting seriously narked when I remember that I had done up ONE earth lead, but left the other three with just the screws in, not tightened at all.

 

Oops!

 

Did them up and everything working as it should

 

Still debating about the radiator, such a small leak and I am really not sure where it's coming from, even if it is the radiator or some well-hidden pipe somewhere down the front. The system is holding pressure and doesn't seem to leak when the car is parked, just blows an eggcup full out the front of the car when you start it. You can tell it has a STRONG anti-freeze mix in it as the dumped coolant just stays there and feels oily (but tastes like anti-freeze - seriously yukk!)  I think I will get some K seal or something, just worried about blocking stuff up....

[SiC]

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for this fine machine in the end?

[DaveDorson]

I'm seriously looking to buy one after Christmas. Let me know if you still feel the same way then ????

[alcyonecorporation]

Eh? When did you get an XJ-S?

[Captain Furious]

I have always looked upon Kseal* as one of those potions I would put in an old banger to eek those last few miles out before I have it cubed.  Putting it in a Jag XJS V12 seems like putting coke in a 30 year old single malt (Not that i'm a whiskey drinker, but I am led to believe by those who are that this is heresy)

 

It is almost certainly going to at least reduce flow around the engine and at worst block a waterway.  Its just not cricket on an engine as complex as this imo.

 

*other snake oils are available which I view in exactly the same light.

[Zelandeth]

Yep...the last thing you want to do with one of these engines is reduce coolant flow in any possible way...the system is at best marginal in its ability to dissipate the heat thrown at it even when in tip top shape...there were quite a few compromises made as I understand it with regards to the efficacy of the system to make it all physically fit in the engine bay.

[DodgeRover]

I would use it, what sealant did the dealers used to use when they went in to Jaguar?

[Zelandeth]

Forte Stop Leak is the only one I'd trust. Reason being that it's actually used by a bunch of manufacturers from new, including on moderns.

 

It's generally accepted among Citroen Xantia owners as a sensible preventative against the usual leak from the O-rings at the heater matrix connector, and it never seems to cause any issues longer term. Don't know how it differs from other products of its type, but is one of those "trade only" ones you have to scour eBay for usually.

 

Think it's labelled as "stop leak and cooling system conditioner" these days. It's a couple of years since I last bought any.

[richardmorris]

Forte Stop Leak is the only one I'd trust. Reason being that it's actually used by a bunch of manufacturers from new, including on moderns.

It's generally accepted among Citroen Xantia owners as a sensible preventative against the usual leak from the O-rings at the heater matrix connector, and it never seems to cause any issues longer term. Don't know how it differs from other products of its type, but is one of those "trade only" ones you have to scour eBay for usually.

Think it's labelled as "stop leak and cooling system conditioner" these days. It's a couple of years since I last bought any.

Forte stopped the heater matrix leak in my dad’s xantia from about 6 years old in 2005 to a few years ago when my brother in law sold it on this place.

[xtriple]

Lost this thread again... to answer a question asked above: I paid £3000 for it. The guy wanted £5000 but needed the cash and that was all I wanted to pay (or could afford!). I have so far spent about £300 on bits and pieces for her and I am getting there with her. Would still be soooo much easier if I could get it in the garage...

 

Re the bloody leak: I think I shall give K seal etc a miss, I 'might' get some Barrs leaks as Jaguar actually say to use TWO bottles whenever a coolant drain is performed, great that even Jaguar had so much faith  

 

One other thing I may look at is the radiator drain. It has a drain on the driver's side of the rad which is roughly where the leak is. Now, when I was doing thermostats etc I recall looking for the tap and giving it a half-hearted twist but it didn't seem to want to move easily so I left it well alone. I wonder if I did move it fractionally? Definitely worth a look before I eff up the cooling system forever!

 

Looking underneath, it seems to have had a load of work on the front suspension and looking at the front tyres, I can see why! Both inside edges of the front tyres are screwed! The steering wheel is straight, the car drives straight and true and feels to have zero play so either, this is historical (pre repairs) or the tracking is a yard out! Of course, anyone normal would have looked at the insides of the tyres before buying, but, I looked at the outsides and they were all like new and as the body (mine, not the cars) was in a bad way, I neglected the looking under the car properly bit, trusting to the MOT checker online.

[xtriple]

Just checked coolant levels (fine) and had to go to the shop so thought I'd run it round, raining quite a bit and two things of note: the wipers are quite slow and it goes sideways with very little provocation!  Scared the poop out of me! Just accelerated a tad harder than normal from a 'T' junction (turning right) and the bugger was aiming at the white BMW parked innocently on the right of the road. Snappy little bugger!

 

It does go well though, in the words of the immortal Jake Blues: 'plenty of pick-up' and it ain't even got a 'cop motor'.

[DaveDorson]

THREE GRAND FOR A V12 GT MADE BY JAGUAR?

 

The six pot ones I've been looking at are in that sort of price bracket.  I'm sorry, but to me that's bloody outstanding value.

[xtriple]

Yes indeed Mr DD, I have been looking and nice ones are going for a LOT of money, these are definitely on the up. I got this cheap because:

a, the advert was utterly terrible - 3 out of focus pictures that showed the sum of fuck all apart from it was a black XJ-S.

b, the description was two lines with no details.

c, absolutely no response to messages.

 

It was only because it was close to me I was prepared to take a chance on it, if it had been miles away, I would have swerved. When I met the bloke, he was lovely, explained everything, declared he was both skint and had lost storage so the car was outside under a cover (which he gave me). Someone else had bid more than me but didn't respond to his post-sale message so I went and kicked him in the balls (not proud #proud). I mean he and his Father before him had had the car for over 20 years and only used it in the last ten for going to shows in it, hence why it had done 2000 miles in ten years! It's always been serviced and until the last few years was always done by a couple of Jaguar specialists, then down the road to a local garage. Having been 'in the trade' I know all these people and one of them John Pine is a Jaguar nut from decades back but a bit 'rough around the edges' and Beechdown garage are a bunch of sharks that overcharge for everything even the air you breath!

 

It needs using more than anything else, and new tyres, and new discs and pads (I think) and a petrol tanker moored outside - it is effin' thirsty needs more fuel now and it's only done about 15 miles, just running it outside repeatedly seems to have done about a tenners worth of fuel!

[Guest Hooli]

THREE GRAND FOR A V12 GT MADE BY JAGUAR?

 

The six pot ones I've been looking at are in that sort of price bracket.  I'm sorry, but to me that's bloody outstanding value.

 

That indeed! I was expecting another zero on the end!

[MorrisItalSLX]

a, the advert was utterly terrible - 3 out of focus pictures that showed the sum of fuck all apart from it was a black XJ-S.

b, the description was two lines with no details.

c, absolutely no response to messages.

 

Don’t you love adverts like that!

 

Those are the exact same circumstances that allowed me to buy my XJ6 for less than half it’s true value.

 

Word of warning, I have had my Jag for just over 2 years and I have spent a small fortune on the sod. Why? Because I have grown so attached to it that I stop myself!

[xtriple]

I have been doing the unthinkable today... actually using it! Been swanning around Torquay complete wiv mutts, Chester in the passenger seat head out of the window, Phoebe on the back seat, laying out in comfort. It is a most pleasant thing to drive! So much nicer than with a headlining resting on yer swede ad ow that the gauges work, paranoia has set in and an eye has been permanently glued to the gauges for any change. Temp sits just below 'normal' and seems to be rock steady there, oil pressure is still way too high - 80psi hot at idle so it looks like the gauge is fubar and the voltmeter sits just over the midway point, it should be a tad higher than that but at least it's in the right sort of area whereas before, it was down the bottom in the 'discharge' section even though a separate voltmeter showed 14.4 volts into the battery.

 

Things of note:

 

It has a very good immobiliser with a stupid key thing you have to press to a section on the centre console, it is a fussy bastard and you seem to have a leeway of about 0.5 degrees between working and not. Annoying! But, I guess it means it won't be so easy to steal...

 

The new stainless steel exhaust is far too quiet and also has a 'raspy' sort of resonance at about 1500 rpm, but it's nice so I guess it's livable with. There is a slight pulse from one of the brakes, I 'think' (hope would be a better word) it's one of the fronts, can't so much feel it through the pedal as just a sensation while braking. New discs and pads are not expensive (relative to Bentley prices!) so may be on the agenda.

 

I am pretty sure the fuel gauge is working correctly, this makes me sad   as it means it really is a dyspeptic sod and is going to hurt in garage visits.

 

It gets LOTS of attention, as much, if not more than the Bentley. But, the attention this gets is positive (whereas with the Bentley it seemed to be as likely to get spat on than admired) and lots of people like it, which is nice Also, it's a quick old lump, never seems to rev (in top by 20mph when burbling but eager to change down if the slightest pressure is applied to the expensive pedal) and the gearbox is super-smooth and responsive. Probably the nicest gearbox I've had the pleasure of using in years - better than the Mercs which is far too eager to be in a low gear and less jerky than the Bentleys in the low gears. The engine itself seems to have plenty of poke and is very willing to get up and go but it gathers speed at quite a rate so not wise to use it too much in the centre of Torquay!

 

The stereo! This is the original 'Jaguar' badged Clarion unit, tape and radio only. I have fitted new speakers in the front doors and faffed with the cassette player and it sounds... really good! Even the aerial works properly - only rises when the radio is on if cassette is selected after 10 or so seconds, the aerial goes back down. Turned on the rear speakers this afternoon and made Phoebe jump as her bum was pressed against the passenger's side rear speaker, I think she thought she was doing musical farts.... 

 

So, most of the things I have done to her have worked nicely and made a hell of a difference, brakes need sorting (fussy old twat!) and so does the air-con. Sadly, this is not a case of 'just needs a re-gas mate' as it needs a new clutch for the compressor. New compressor fitted (with receipt) but old clutch which failed shortly after. Fan belt now removed for the minute.

 

I could really get to like this car, it feels old but modern (er, really?) and has that old leather and wood smell, the steering wheel is far too large but the steering itself is nice, and you sit very low in it which is comfortable to be in... not so good for an aged cripple to get into or, more importantly, out of!

[Guest Hooli]

Brakes wise if it's the same underneath as a Xj40 & X308 (which I suspect it is) it's probably just the pins the calipers slide on all gummed up. That's the job I did on mine when I first got it to cure a brake judder, it almost made a big improvement to MPGs even though it didn't feel like it was holding back before.

[SiC]

Lost this thread again... to answer a question asked above: I paid £3000 for it. The guy wanted £5000 but needed the cash and that was all I wanted to pay (or could afford!). I have so far spent about £300 on bits and pieces for her and I am getting there with her. Would still be soooo much easier if I could get it in the garage...

 

Holy smokes! You are the real life Mike Brewer.

 

Want to swap for a 2008 Audi TT coupé?

 

Far more economical, probably quicker but nowhere near as nice sounding. Also bit of a feminine car like an MX5 is. On that basis I can understand if you say no.

[xtriple]

Riding around in Jaguar based splendour has made me reminisce somewhat. I met up with Mark at the park and he was surprised at the XJ-S as, although he knew I'd bought a Jaguar, he thought it was a big saloon. I don't know why it's taken me so long to get a Jaguar as I was utterly addicted to them for decades but the Mercs happened. Don't get me wrong, I do love Mercs but they feel very different to our dear old British bruisers

 

My first one was a 1964 'S' type 3,8 manual. This was when I was 15 and the car cost me £50! Bear in mind, the car was then only ten years old and already a worthless old banger! I never did drive it with any degree of legality but I did drive it quite a bit, it was a wonderful old heap with 4 bald tyres, a blowing exhaust and rampant rust underneath though the pale blue bodywork was remarkably good. Dark blue leather was nice as well and apart from the bald tyres, rust, exhaust, the wire wheels with worn out splines its galloping desire to use the world's supply of 20/50 on a daily basis, it was a good car. I got home from school one day and there it was, gone! My beloved Mother had sold it. Worse she kept the cash she got for it for 'driveway rent'. No wonder I was never that fond of the old dear.

 

The second one was my 1965 MK X 4.2 auto (FJU 99C) I had that car for nearly a decade and it was on the road all the time apart from one year when it got pretty comprehensively restored - it needed it as the rear suspension was falling out and the sills, which looked fine, were rotten, which explains why the scar across my forehead exists after the damn thing fell on my head! It was a really reliable car and did galactic mileage in my care and even after it lost 1st gear it carried on for another year or two using 'D2' on the selector.

 

While I had the MK X I lived in a place called Shepshed and 50 yards up the road was a garage/showroom that had been a Jaguar dealer before BL took them over. They had declined to have anything to do with BL but still dealt with Jaguars. I got on really well with the head mechanic there and on my days off, used to help out doing the running around, usually in a selection of series one XJ 6s. They had a really nice pale yellow series one 2.8 manual with red leather and I drove that car miles, it was a cracker and went well though I was under instructions to 'cane the arse off it' as otherwise, they burn out pistons if burbled and then caned down the motorway.

 

In about 1981 I bought a Squadron blue XJ 4.2 (that's how it was badged) a series two car but really, a series two and threequarters car! Apart from the bodywork and the fuel injection, it was all Series three which caused endless problems when it needed spares - it took H A Fox 5 attempts to get the correct water pump for it as it was an S3 part on an S2 car. Bloody BL sticking any old bits on their heaps! It was a 'T' reg car and came from the Ford main dealers in Plymouth where it had been traded in for a Granada. I loved that car with a passion, my first car bought on finance and only a couple of years old, I felt like 'Billy Big Bollocks' with that car! It was really reliable as well, granted the water pump went and one of the tanks played up but other than that, it was spot on.

 

I traded it in for a white 1980 XJ-S V12. It was coming up to 4 years old, came from H A Fox (the Jaguar main dealers in Plymouth) and even though it was a pre H.E. and therefore the worst car Jaguar ever built, I never had a single problem with it, other than the rear seat area filling up with water (rear screen seals TADTS) and a flat battery once in the snow and the fact it would really have liked to dissolve back to ferrous oxide rather than remain shiny steel, it was great. Fuel consumption was entirely bloody awful and it cost about a tenner a day in petrol and a tenner a day back then was a lot of fuel! Incidentally, I didn't go to the garage for fuel every day, that's just what it averaged out at.

 

More if anyone cares

[yellowperil]

More, please.

[Stevebrookman]

More please!

[stonedagain]

More please!

[MorrisItalSLX]

More please!

 

With pictures if you have them please mister!