Schaefft's Bargain Barge Extravaganza - XJR6 fixed, MG ZT gets TLC

[Schaefft]

Oh, and can you believe it - I did end up getting a refund from Jaguar radio guy. He didn't want me to give his address to send it back either so I now have a decent radio without a code. I guess it would now actually makes sense to fork out the 100 quid for the repair service and get that code.

[Split_Pin]

If that's David Mobile MGRover mechanics he's always recommended throughout the FB Groups.

[Schaefft]

38 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

If that's David Mobile MGRover mechanics he's always recommended throughout the FB Groups.

It was indeed!

[Schaefft]

MOT day for the XJR, would it pass without prior prepwork (aside from the hours of sorting out it's running issues)? Well, unsurprisingly a stop to the local petrol station was in order first...

I haven't driven the Jag on the road since replacing the MAF so I was somewhat cautious about booting it to the MOT station (24 miles just to get there). It did arrive without issues fortunately, the car reminding me how surprisingly comfortable the XJR suspension setup actually is across some of these windy country lanes.

And believe it or not, it did make it through the test, again! Although it didn't have much time to break considering its been off the road for almost the entire time. 114 miles between tests might be a new record.😂

Scaryoldcortina was also able to resolve a mystery that came with the car, the purpose of this bottle I previously ignored, still plumbed into the vacuum system:

Read the label and its pretty clear, one previous owner thought a lead additive might be benefitial for the AJ16S powered Jag (which runs unleaded). Why I don't know, it's clearly been in there for ages. Could be helpful with the addition of the LPG system, preventing damage to the valve seats? Who knows! It's gone now, one potential vacuum leak less.

The Jag also made the trip back home, a wopping 50 miles in total. Listing to Nik Kershaw through the surprisingly good Alpine stereo made the journey quite enjoyable. With my newfound trust in this old banger I'm actually contemplating whether to keep it for a little while longer (despite needing the space...). It needs rear subframe bushes as they cause knocking (unlikely to happen) and a gearbox mount (easy), plus rear brake hoses eventually as they haven't been replaced in a long time, so they are getting a little crusty. I think it could still run better as well so I'm inclined to keep digging deeper. I'll see how I feel about all of that in a few days with so much other work still left to do on other cars. For now I'm just glad to keep this 233k mile XJR on the road for a bit longer.

[Six-cylinder]

I had to have the subframe bushes done on one of my past 4.0 Sovereigns, what a difference it made.

[Schaefft]

Back to the MG ZTT. Now that the timing belt is done sorting out the exhaust properly was the next most important job. The mid section got replaced but the clamp for it fell apart removing it so it was always slightly leaky. Up on the ramps it goes:

Wrong clamp:

Correct clamp:

I then faffed around for an hour trying to make sure that the exhaust isn't hanging too low. It's a pretty strange setup Rover has gone for. You see the two hangers right at the front in the photo above. There isnt a single hanger beyond them all the way to the backbox which is held on by a metal strap (which itself hangs from two rubber hangers). There's nothing holding the exhaust up for most of its length as far as I can tell. It clearly worked from the factory but I certainly couldn't make it work so I added an extra strap that holds it at the perfect height now.

I then moved on to "while I'm in there" and decided to remove the rusty tow ball as this MG will realistically never tow anything in its life again:

Doing things properly the wiring had to go as well, which meant disassembling half the cargo area:

Begone! If someone needs a Rover 75/MG ZTT towball assembly, let me know...

I replaced all broken clips and reassembled everything. We now have a ZT that looks and sounds well!

It still needs a wheel alignment and new tires ideally. I also think the electric motor for the intake runner valve adjustment might need rebuilding as it feels a bit weak for 190hp. I have to add up what I've got into it so far though, if I'm taking things too far I might not be able to recoup what I've got into it. It's already a pretty well sorted ZTT in a desireable spec though, hopefully someone will be interested once its up for sale!

[320touring]

@Schaefft that bottle is for lube for the LPG system. Because the fuel is dryer.

 

I'm of the mindset it's like those little nets full of lead shot you got to put in your tank when unleaded came in. An effective way to part fool and funds.

[Schaefft]

8 minutes ago, 320touring said:

@Schaefft that bottle is for lube for the LPG system. Because the fuel is dryer.

 

I'm of the mindset it's like those little nets full of lead shot you got to put in your tank when unleaded came in. An effective way to part fool and funds.

I was wondering whether it was needed for the LPG system. I don't think it normally is though, unless this particular system or the engine has a specific need for extra valve lubrication. It clearly ran out a while ago.

[Schaefft]

I was planning to use the nice weather to move on to British banger #3 today and replace the front strut on the L322. Things started off well with the battery being flat (and my battery jumper still being dead, Black Friday can't come soon enough!).

New strut and bolts ready to be installed:

I then wanted to take the wheel off, only to not find the wheel lock key where I usually leave it. 2 hours of searching pretty much everywhere it could possibly be resulted in nothing, it simply has disappeared. If this isn't anticlimactic I don't know what is.

Fortunately I was able to figure out what key I need. There are 20 different types for this specific lock nut/bolt. A seller in ebay had photos of all of them so plenty of comparing and a bit of Photoshop later...

It's the type C key. At least it matches with the photo of the lock bolt I have taken, verified via another listing for a similar key matching the first one. 35 quid for it is pretty outragous but cheaper than what Land Rover would have charged (half an hour of labor and a new set of wheel locks...). Let's hope its here soon then...

Meanwhile, have a photo of the Lexus from today. It's still waiting for it's turn. I don't want to drive it as long as the alternator isn't sorted, especially now that I constantly have to rely on the headlights. I've managed to find all the parts I need to rebuild it based on a photo I've taken the last time I did this (in 2018). I'll order them once I have confirmed what exact alternator is in there, they should all be the same but you never know.

Also bonus E38:

[24vdiamond]

Don't think the valve master stuff has any lead as that would kill the catalytic converter, cracking looking jag, wish I was brave enough to own one 😁

[wesacosa]

Did you see this one before? He advertised it a while ago but seems to still have it and wants £450

 

[Schaefft]

17 minutes ago, wesacosa said:

Did you see this one before? He advertised it a while ago but seems to still have it and wants £450

 

Last time I talked to him he wanted 550 after someone showed up and didn't want it. The problem is that he's in Saffron Walden in Essex, which is quite far from here.

[wesacosa]

7 minutes ago, Schaefft said:

Last time I talked to him he wanted 550 after someone showed up and didn't want it. The problem is that he's in Saffron Walden in Essex, which is quite far from here.

yeah guess that does push the limits of the pre - booked MOT! Someone seems to have shown interest on Facebook (hence him saying it's still for sale) so hopefully it gets saved