Project Dailying a XJR for the sake of the climate - Parts Ordered

[bangernomics]

I've also noted both rear bumpstops are missing, so I'll steal the ones off the Sov as they have the same part number as far as I'm aware (I'll double check first).

£10 a ticket soon

[Guest Hooli]

£10 a ticket soon

 

 

LOL. Bumpstops should be the last thing to swap, the other jobs I need to do on the XJR need different parts to the Sov. Except the timing chain tensioners, but I'm not daft enough to swap those between motors.

[bangernomics]

Quite right re tensioners although surprised if not done. Supercharger oil next, then engine, gearbox and finally diff.

 

Then worry about the rest.

[Guest Hooli]

Quite right re tensioners although surprised if not done. Supercharger oil next, then engine, gearbox and finally diff.

 

Then worry about the rest.

 

Those are all on my list. I'll chuck it at a local specialist for the gearbox oil as I can't face doing that on axle stands. I might well get them to do the diff oil too while under there. I need to have a look at the blower oil, as I don't have an oil suction thing they might get to do that too as I suspect it's a 'suck it out' job with where the blower sits.

 

Tensioners are still the mk1s, I had a look yesterday so need doing. The two secondary tensioners which are the only ones the net seems to think fail are £180 or so the pair off Jag. Looks an easy job too, provided I don't do anything annoying like strip a thread clamping the camshaft back in.

 

Today I'll be swapping bumpstops for an easy win to start with and then investigating the pressurised fuel tank. Suspicion rests on emissions bollocks currently. The tank vents via a charcoal canister and the fumes from it are fed back into the inlet manifold when off boost. My thoughts are a dodgy valve there allowing boost back the other way. I just need to find the valve now...

[timolloyd]

I don't think so. There is nothing where the button is hidden on a X300 anyway, where would I look to make sure?

On some specs, you can slide the mirror adjusting toggle backwards, to close both mirrors. There’s no arrow or other indication to tell you it’s there, and it’s a very subtle movement. Worth a try!

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

I tell you what and I'm going to put this out there but... On the land Rover the rocker cover vent to manifold was blocked solid. Eventually it caused the breathing system to be sick found by oil oozing from the throttle body with a sticky accelerator... so there's trapped pressure from the crankcase. I wonder if because that system was faulty and pressurising the engine that it could force pressure down or even stop pressure escaping from the fuel tank all via the manifold? Is that even possible? 

[Guest Hooli]

Today I'll be swapping bumpstops for an easy win to start with

 

Yeah about that... The bolts aren't coming undone on the XJR so I've given up with that idea.

 

I then investigated the fuel system. I think I found the evap charcoal canister, but it's a right twat to get to above the exhaust. It looks quite new anyway. It might be a fuel filter of course, I couldn't find the locations in the workshop manual. So I moved to the front & went looking for the EVAP valve that controls venting of the fuel fumes into the inlet manifold.

 

Turns out it's nicely located right at the top of the bulkhead in the middle of the car, I guess so any moisture or liquid in the lines can't run into the valve. Noticing it's clipped together I opened it. It's a simple diaphragm valve that uses manifold pressure to block the return line to the tank, along with a sensor so the ECU knows it's working. It's missing from the pic but I found a ridge of gunge around about 50% of the pointy bit in the middle which seals the outlet. I've cleaned it all up & refitted it. I've not tried the car yet so I'll see what happens.

 

I also removed the second set of mats & found the original fitted Jag mats are embossed under the driver's feet.

 

 

As I was under the bonnet & removing trim panels I took this pic that makes me happier than it should

 

 

Finally as it'd started to rain I had a quick play with the factory nav. It didn't give me directions as it knows the car is on a drive not the road so it's accurate. I wonder if I can get a new DVD for it?

 

 

Time for gammon and egg now I think, that's enough effort for the morning.

[wuvvum]

I think that's the smallest sat nav display I've ever seen.

[Isaac Hunt]

Well done, be interesting to see if the de-guage of that valve does the trick.

 

I've never bothered updating factory nav's as IMHO the updates are always reasonably out of date. When the nav looses itself because the bypass you are on is shown as a field with a river running through it, I just keep on driving and eventually you get back to part of the original route. For emergencies, there is a smartarse phone.

[Guest Hooli]

I think that's the smallest sat nav display I've ever seen.

 

The thing that amuses me most about it, is the cars without nav have the same headunit. Right down to having the nav button that doesn't do anything.

[Guest Hooli]

Well done, be interesting to see if the de-guage of that valve does the trick.

 

 

It didn't.

 

Reading further into it the carbon canister under the boot can get blocked & cause these issues as the breather system runs through it. Now a replacement canister is £197 from Jag & appears to only be available from them. There are guides online about cutting the end off & replacing the charcoal to cure this issue I can't see any reason not to just tip the charcoal out & then glue/tap the case back together. The emissions system shouldn't know the carbon is missing as it doesn't monitor what it's breathing.

 

That's tomorrow's plan. If it all goes wrong & breaks the car I can steal the one off the Sov & order a replacement.

[dome]

Love these cars. Good to see this one getting some love. I've yet to own something supercharged and one of these is top of the list

[Guest Hooli]

Funny that, my reasoning for getting one was almost the same. My 3rd V8 & it's got a blower, it's a keeper. The noise is amazing when you use any throttle & it just goes in a way cars this heavy really shouldn't.

[Broadsword]

Well for £2500 a fully functional and solid x308 XJR is a good deal. Extra bravery points committing to buy sight unseen, but you seem absolutely sold on V8 supercharged XJRs, so props to you. Those secondary tensioners seem to have survived intact, but look like originals. I think the second generation tensioners (more durable) were introduced late 1999. The mk3 tensioners have a metal body and last will no doubt outlive the rest of the car so are a sound investment. British parts sold them quite cheap when I got a pair. I have changed the secondary tensioners on one of these. When those old plastic tenosners are past it they crack and start falling to pieces. It is doable on a fine day DIY, but highly risky poking around in there, better left to a pro with facilities.

[Guest Hooli]

Bah @ professionals, if they can do it so can I!

I'll try that place for bits then. I've rebuild engines from bare cranks before (ok it was a bike but it's the same principle) so I'll do it fine.

[bangernomics]

Those are all on my list. I'll chuck it at a local specialist for the gearbox oil as I can't face doing that on axle stands. I might well get them to do the diff oil too while under there. I need to have a look at the blower oil, as I don't have an oil suction thing they might get to do that too as I suspect it's a 'suck it out' job with where the blower sits.

 

Tensioners are still the mk1s, I had a look yesterday so need doing. The two secondary tensioners which are the only ones the net seems to think fail are £180 or so the pair off Jag. Looks an easy job too, provided I don't do anything annoying like strip a thread clamping the camshaft back in.

 

Today I'll be swapping bumpstops for an easy win to start with and then investigating the pressurised fuel tank. Suspicion rests on emissions bollocks currently. The tank vents via a charcoal canister and the fumes from it are fed back into the inlet manifold when off boost. My thoughts are a dodgy valve there allowing boost back the other way. I just need to find the valve now...

 

Just get a really big syringe for the charger oil. A few goes usually does it.

[Guest Hooli]

Just get a really big syringe for the charger oil. A few goes usually does it.

Oh it's that easy? I'll do it myself then.

[Guest Hooli]

I have a cunning plan for the tank problem too. If I disconnect the pipe from the inlet manifold to the EVAP valve and plug it then it's impossible for boost to leak into the fuel tank. All it'll disable is a system for burning petrol fumes, which isn't needed anyway.

As the valve is buried under trim panels and can't be seen it won't be an issue if it ever becomes part of the MOT either.

[bangernomics]

Oh it's that easy? I'll do it myself then.

Think x350 was 250ml or so, every 50k miles.

[somewhatfoolish]

It didn't.

 

Reading further into it the carbon canister under the boot can get blocked & cause these issues as the breather system runs through it. Now a replacement canister is £197 from Jag & appears to only be available from them. There are guides online about cutting the end off & replacing the charcoal to cure this issue I can't see any reason not to just tip the charcoal out & then glue/tap the case back together. The emissions system shouldn't know the carbon is missing as it doesn't monitor what it's breathing.

 

That's tomorrow's plan. If it all goes wrong & breaks the car I can steal the one off the Sov & order a replacement.

Depending on the grade/type of charcoal needing replacing it could be cheap; the stuff used for aquarium filters is a few quid per kg, enough to do a evap filter would be pennies.

[richardthestag]

It didn't.

 

Reading further into it the carbon canister under the boot can get blocked & cause these issues as the breather system runs through it. Now a replacement canister is £197 from Jag & appears to only be available from them. There are guides online about cutting the end off & replacing the charcoal to cure this issue I can't see any reason not to just tip the charcoal out & then glue/tap the case back together. The emissions system shouldn't know the carbon is missing as it doesn't monitor what it's breathing.

 

That's tomorrow's plan. If it all goes wrong & breaks the car I can steal the one off the Sov & order a replacement.

 

Faced with an expensive bill I will always see if I can pull the broken unit apart and fix it. fuck all to loose because if I balls it up I am back at square one anyway.

 

and those chain tenshuners look like the plastic ones, it is the top ones/secondary that cause very expensive ftp. plenty of online instruction to replace with something less likely to split. IIRC it was about £250 in bits to do the job.

 

sng barrett was useful for part supply as they clearly advertise JLR, OEM and cheapo in their listings

[Guest Hooli]

I've fixed the tank issue!

 

I disconnected the line from the inlet manifold to the valve under the bonnet to ensure that wasn't leaking boost back into the tank, this didn't fix it. TBH I wasn't surprised as if the tank breathers were ok then the pressure wouldn't have built up and stayed in the tank anyway, but it was easy to do so worth a try. You can see the old drill bit I cut down to seal the pipe to the manifold here.

 

 

Then I got the car in the air & started following the system through underneath. Someone on FB had the right idea for where the issue was. The plastic valve that controls the flow to the canister from the tank is faulty. I took it off & blew through it, it flows fine towards the tank so you don't get a vacuum as fuel is used but trying to blow from the tank was almost impossible, meaning a lot of pressure builds up in the tank before any air can flow.

 

The valve.

 

 

Back in situ with the disconnected tank vent just visible.

 

 

I've disconnected the tank vent hose from so the tank is venting direct to the atmosphere like cars of old. This has cured the issue. I'm in two minds as to leaving it or bypassing the valve with bit of hose. I can't see the point of the valve as the small hose that comes off it just vents to air too. So it can only be to hold a slight pressure in the tank, which seems pointless to me.

Oh & the reason for the pressure in the tank? hot fuel coming back down the return line heating everything up so the fuel & air in the tank expands.

[Guest Hooli]

Oh & next weekend's plan is bleed the brakes as they feel a bit soft, the fluid looks clean but I suspect it's original. I just need to buy an easy-bleed thing first.

[Broadsword]

Progress on this is pretty rapid. Well done!

[chadders]

You don't hang around do you.

 

At this rate it'll be totally rebuilt before the end of the month.

[Guest Hooli]

Progress on this is pretty rapid. Well done!

 

I couldn't be doing with the tank pressure, there was so much of it the tank would have split eventually. Besides if I get stuck into a new car it's all part of bonding with it. If I ignore it for months stuff never gets done as I'm used to it lol.

 

Besides what better way to spend ya birthday weekend?

 

The to-do list isn't too bad at this stage -

 

Scrub it's belly, rust-killer & new underseal

Bleed the brakes to change the fluid. I'll check the sliding caliper pins etc at the same time

Change all the oils

Find the rattle, it's suspension somewhere. Rear I think, but damned if I can see it

Change the secondary timing chain tensioners

Give it a damn good wash, wax & interior clean

 

The gearbox fluid and probably the diff I get the local specialist to do. I'm not buggering about with gearbox fluid on the drive so they might as well do the diff oil while under there. I'll ask them if they can spot the rattle too.

 

Unimportant list

 

Remove the random power cable poking out the dash on the driver's side

Paint the word 'supercharged' black or red on the inlet manifold so it stands out

[Broadsword]

Also once again I have front heated screen envy. Does it work on this one? Although following on from what people were talking about electric folding mirrors with the mystery button, mine has it. Neat feature with ridiculous implementation of the button!

 

EDIT: Red, definitely red on the words supercharged!

[mrbenn]

Good work on the tank venting issue! Looks like a cracking motor.

[Guest Hooli]

Also once again I have front heated screen envy. Does it work on this one?

 

No idea, it's not been cold enough to try it.

 

As to the mirrors, I've not tried the suggestion up the thread to see if I have them or not yet.

[Isaac Hunt]

Excellent fault finding.

 

That return system must dump some fuel back into the tank for thermal expansion to fill the void from the fuel used which is surprising given these use a fair bit of the pony juice.