Schaefft's Bargain Barge Extravaganza - Oldsmobile Resurrection

[320touring]

58 minutes ago, Schaefft said:

Is there a way to hold the gearbox in 1st gear? I don't even know if all XJRs have LSDs (and whether this one is still intact).

No idea rear gearboxes.

 

Think the xjrs were all open diff, Jaguar thought a slipper was not for their customers.

 

Worth a look up though - I honestly don't know.

[Schaefft]

More tinkering in the freezing darkness today. A trip to GSF around the corner was in order to pick up a new wiper blade and air filter for a whopping 11 quid.

The filter wasn't particularly old but looked like it got wet at some point so might as well:

I also had a look at the coolant sensor. For whatever reason it dropped out of the reservoir. No clue how it didn't leak all the coolant out as I'm fairly certain that's what happened when I removed my spare originally (maybe I'm wrong) but it certainly was pretty mangled and needed replacing:

New sensor got rid of the coolant warning light so I'm happy, another job done. Next up was the flaky window switch. This was a fun* one. I've had my spare door card from the 4.0 Sport but knew that the switch bezel was wood grain on that and beige plastic on the XJR. The XJR also had an upgraded Alpine speaker and different, non-removable speaker grille. Wanting to do things right (keep everything as is but new switch with woodgrain) chaos ensued:

In the end it turned out that the beige in the XJR is a different beige to the Sport so I ended up reusing everything from the XJR aside from the switch pack anyway, but not before taking everything apart way further than really needed.

It's all back in one piece now, I'll give the passenger side the same woodgrain the next time I get a chance, interior will get a proper clean eventually as well. Feels good to get a few easy jobs out of the way, hopefully more to come!

[Schaefft]

Drove the XJR over to the inlaws after work. After warming it up I wanted to do a pull on the motorway to help me figure out whether it's a little low on power. It rewarded me by stalling the engine while in the right lane! Fortunately I was able to coast off the motorway while cranking the engine over without much luck. Pulling the MAF connector got it going again so I'm going out on a limb and say that the crank or cam position sensor, maf or something else important is on its way out (which hopefully might cause it feeling a little low on power as well). I just plugged it back in and it's starting fine so will have to investigate further! No CEL either naturally.

[straightSix]

The x300 xjr all have an LSD. The later v8 cars had open diffs. 

Crank position sensor is a common fail, usually results in long cranking times. Same with can position sensor failure, although that's less common. Mafs are hard to come by for these as well I'm afraid although can't remember if a workaround had been found.

It's worth checking the throttle position with your scanner. Quite often the cable stretches so you don't get the full 100%

Also I don't think you can hold it in 1st with the auto box!

[Schaefft]

5 minutes ago, straightSix said:

The x300 xjr all have an LSD. The later v8 cars had open diffs. 

Crank position sensor is a common fail, usually results in long cranking times. Same with can position sensor failure, although that's less common. Mafs are hard to come by for these as well I'm afraid although can't remember if a workaround had been found.

It's worth checking the throttle position with your scanner. Quite often the cable stretches so you don't get the full 100%

Also I don't think you can hold it in 1st with the auto box!

I'm not sure if I have a scanner that's able to read this one, if you got any recommendations for X300 diagnostics please let me know! I got Forscan for OBD2 Fords but not sure if a UK market X300 is too early for that.

And yeah, haven't gotten there yet but will check the cable/linkage. If you check my recent posts on the manual 3.2 it wasn't the cable that was stretched but the arm actuating the throttle valve being totally bent out of shape. No clue how someone managed to do that.

Good to know on the LSDs as well. Crazy there's no 1st gear option in an XJR, hate the same thing about my Mark VIIIs.

[straightSix]

Also just to add, depending what you're used to they don't feel particularly fast! Especially the auto. My manual is brisk but it does feel quite relentless.

Another thing some people do is upgrade the supercharger cooling pump to a Mercedes unit as the supercharger can get quite hot and limit performance 

[straightSix]

Just now, Schaefft said:

I'm not sure if I have a scanner that's able to read this one, if you got any recommendations for X300 diagnostics please let me know! I got Forscan for OBD2 Fords but not sure if a UK market X300 is too early for that.

And yeah, haven't gotten there yet but will check the cable/linkage. If you check my recent posts on the manual 3.2 it wasn't the cable that was stretched but the arm actuating the throttle valve being totally bent out of shape. No clue how someone managed to do that.

Good to know on the LSDs as well. Crazy there's no 1st gear option in an XJR, hate the same thing about my Mark VIIIs.

I was lucky and my OBD scanner can read the stuff I've needed. @Broadsword managed to bag himself the proper Jag kit but it's rocking horse shit 

Fuck knows how someone managed to bend that!

Yeah it's a bit annoying. I remember nearly cooking the brakes on my xj40 down a steep hill because I couldn't hold it in first 

[Broadsword]

14 hours ago, Schaefft said:

Drove the XJR over to the inlaws after work. After warming it up I wanted to do a pull on the motorway to help me figure out whether it's a little low on power. It rewarded me by stalling the engine while in the right lane! Fortunately I was able to coast off the motorway while cranking the engine over without much luck. Pulling the MAF connector got it going again so I'm going out on a limb and say that the crank or cam position sensor, maf or something else important is on its way out (which hopefully might cause it feeling a little low on power as well). I just plugged it back in and it's starting fine so will have to investigate further! No CEL either naturally.

I would suggest the following workflow for running issues.

1. Replace the crank position sensor for a brand new one. They fail regularly and leave you stranded. 5 min job to replace and worth keeping a spare in the glovebox.

2. Get a cheap code scanner with live data readout. 9/10 you will get fuel trims, throttle position and MAF data from this along with some codes.

3. Other sensors do fail, but it is harder to work out which. MAF failure gives unpredictable results, usually very rough running. Getting a replacement is a challenge. I would start with a specialist like Autoreserve for that.

4. Read your spark plugs to get a feel for operation of the oxygen sensors. If, for example, you have one bank of sooty plugs, it is an easy diagnosis of a bad O2 sensor. Reading the fuel trims also gives some indications, but intake/exhaust air leaks throw off the trims.

5. Oft forgotten is the fuel pressure regulator. 9/10 cars are still running the original and I've heard people fitting a new one getting massive improvements in performance.

6. Fuel pumps and fuel hoses in the tank. There are two fuel pumps, one comes on at a certain load, the other runs constantly. You might have a weak pump. You can test this by jumping the relay of the second pump to run both continuously and see how the car responds to that. Sometime (this happened to me), the rubber fuel line going form the pump to the hard line out of the tank perishes and fuel pressure is lost that way.

7. Slack in throttle cable can lead to loss of performance. The cable is adjusted in two spots though and isn't totally trivial to adjust.

8. Coil packs fail and brand-new units are not up to spec. The best thing to have is a good known used set or NOS (very rare now).

10. The ECU coolant temperature sensor can fail, giving very rough running. Very cheap and easy to replace.

11. Cam position sensors fail, but this is quite rare. I have a video on my YouTube channel on fitting it.

12. Throttle position sensors fail very occasionally. Hard to get a new replacement. Used throttle bodies are out there, but you need a Jag diagnostic unit to reset the TPS.

13. It is not uncommon for the pre-cats to collapse. This will give an exhaust restriction and loss of power. Sometimes the material just seems to vanish, and the oxygen sensors get destroyed in the process.

14. If you replace all the coils, oxygen sensors, filters, MAF, fuel pressure regulator, fuel pumps, in-tank rubber hoses, coolant ECU sensor, check for leaks in intake system (check all rubber hoses carefully as they do split), and inspect the exhaust carefully you tend to get a reliable running engine with a mountain of torque. Few people go all the way.

The auto box does make what is a powerful car seem not amazingly fast, but really the issue is that most of these no longer run right due to deferred maintenance. Sorted manual cars can be very fast indeed. The X308 XJR is in a different league though. It is just relentless.

[Schaefft]

Great breakdown of work @Broadsword, really appreciating it. Had no idea about the fuel pressure regulator being such a common failure point on these. Either the 3.2 or XJR will benefit from this!

Theres nothing original about the exhaust anymore, it's been replaced from the head all the way to the back so I've got no clue whether the O2 sensors are even there (I sure hope they are, the car wouldn't run as well as it does). I'll see if I can continue to observe the Jag's behavior for a little while to replicate the problem, I'll order a crank position sensor in any case though, hopefully that'll make a difference. Lhe1640aa should be the part number, autodoc's selection of brands isn't great but maybe NGK has some minimal quality control with their sensor suppliers. Good opportunity to throw an Andy bracket on it while in there. Oddly enough the coolant warning light popped on again despite replacing the sensor, not sure if that might be related. Seems like an on and off thing.

In other news, a collection of the latest fleet member is now scheduled for tomorrow, look out for a collection thread very soon, I'm excited about this one!

[Broadsword]

Aaaah, was this the car with the tubular headers? I'm quite jealous of that. X300s can just about pass an emissions test with only the underfloor cats present, if everything else is dialled in nice. I suspect you have no pre-cats on yours if you have the headers. With some luck the O2 sensors are incorporated into that new exhaust, so that it can run properly.

The coolant level sensor falls out of the bottom of the reservoir and once that happens for the first time, it is a faff to get a replacement to seat again and stay put. I suspect your issue is something to do with that. The fuel pressur regulator doesn't fail as such, but it dfinitely can cause running issues. I had one where the regulator was full of rust, but the car was still running fine, just felt a little slow. I suspect few people think to change the part.

I forgot to mention the check engine light on these in case you were wondering. This is another Jag special. On a UK car the check engine light NEVER turns on in the event of a fault. You could have every sensor broken or disconnected or indeed the whole engine removed from the car and it wouldn't throw a CEL. Even with a wet ECU, which is common on these, you will have a bunch of other problems, but not CEL.  Quality with a K.

On a unrelated note, are all our nice XJRs now woth 50p following the Jaguar marketing "event"?

Fitment of the "Andy Bracket" is a complete no-brainer if it isn't already on there.

[DVee8]

19 hours ago, Schaefft said:

I'm not sure if I have a scanner that's able to read this one, if you got any recommendations for X300 diagnostics please let me know! I got Forscan for OBD2 Fords but not sure if a UK market X300 is too early for that.

And yeah, haven't gotten there yet but will check the cable/linkage. If you check my recent posts on the manual 3.2 it wasn't the cable that was stretched but the arm actuating the throttle valve being totally bent out of shape. No clue how someone managed to do that.

Good to know on the LSDs as well. Crazy there's no 1st gear option in an XJR, hate the same thing about my Mark VIIIs.

I have 3 or 4 code readers and also Carly,  if any of them will talk to the jag. I don't know but you are welcome to try.

[Schaefft]

34 minutes ago, DVee8 said:

I have 3 or 4 code readers and also Carly,  if any of them will talk to the jag. I don't know but you are welcome to try.

I've got my icarsoft Mercedes reader that also does basic OBD2 ECU codes, as well as a generic bluetooth OBD2 reader. I'll see if I can get anything out of the error memory with those.

@Broadsword Thats the one, no downpipe cats on this one anymore.

[320touring]

My generic OBD2 setup would talk to the XJR, it's one of these

 

[Schaefft]

The XJR wasn't the only recent purchase that has happened over the last few weeks. As this thread shows I've always been interested in the more unusual stuff, and I'm probably not the only person looking at increasingly unusual cars after having owned so many others. I've been curious about Renault's avantgarde flagship of the early 2000s for a little while, especially after having owned its direct predecessor (the V6 Safrane) and the V6 XM before. Both of these cars are a generation older though when it was really the late 90s and early 2000s when French manufacturers, especially Renault, were starting to launch more stylish, unmistakably French cars again, particular when it came to their most prestigous models.

So when @blackbart advertised his Renault VelSatis that wasn't just the top of the range Initiale but also equipped with Nissan's venerable VQ V6 (here in the UK so well know as being the 350Z's powerplant, but also featuring in the very popular Infiniti G35, Altima, Maxima and many other Nissans and Infinitis in the US market) I just couldn't resist despite not being able to pick it up anytime soon. Once again the spirit of Autoshite showed and @grogee and @Cluffy were happy to deal with the collection, which turned out to be a bit of a undertaking considering the amount of parts that came with the car:

Two weeks later and the car is now home. My initial thoughts: I'm glad to have pulled the trigger on this one. It was kinda hard for me to imagine how it might drive without having been exposed to many french cars of this era. I'm glad to report that it does have the attributes that make an executive car a real executive car: A general feeling of solidity and mostly good quality, very low noise levels even at high speeds, a reasonably comfortable ride and a certain feeling of calmness that you really want to have in a car made for wafting. Naturally its an old Renault so it has its problems, the clearcoat peel is a little more advanced than I had hoped (and there is no cheap solution for fixing that) and the gearbox at the very least needs a service. I'm hoping that the VelSatis community in the UK is still decent enough to get the few bugs the car has sorted though. Really looking forward to driving it more.

Also, first fix during my ownership, get rid of these ugly hand-cut door edge guards. Looks much better already:

[Schaefft]

And yes, I've found the drug trafficking accessory storage cubby behind the wood trim! There's a surprising number of storage cubbies all over the car, I guess "space" really was the big theme here.

I like the fact that all Velsatis came with soft close for the tailgate, were Renault the first to turn the emblem into a door opener?

Worth bragging about apparently:

[High Jetter]

58 minutes ago, Schaefft said:

were Renault the first to turn the emblem into a door opener?

I think not, something 50s or 60s? Did the Corsair have a badge you moved to open the boot, like the Cortina bonnet?

[Schaefft]

I'm not sure, I didn't even think about cars of that age.

Today was the first time in a long time where my gf's work schedule, lack of immediate responsibilities, the weather and my mood all came together to allow me to make some actual progress on one of the cars currently not on the road. The W140 is still on jackstands, last time I worked on it 3 months ago we had the issue of the Lemforder upper control arms actually not being built to spec, causing excessive clearance between bracket and bushings:

I managed to find some suitable shims online, they aren't supposed to be there but if a reputable* manufacturer like Maserati can use shims to align their control arms, why couldn't I? Some light fabrication on my workbench bin got them into the right shape to be fitted:

And fitted below. I still dont think that the controlarm is held in place as firmly as it should be to do what its supposed to do (I'd expect the bushes to be under some real tension when tilting the arm) but I'm not gonna mess around with them for any longer.

Also note my expertly crafted brakeline, which had been replaced previously hence the extra fitting. I then wanted to fit the new brake disc only to notice that its apparently for a '95+ W140. The earlier ones had two extrusions on the hub despite there being a bolt to mount the disc. I don't see a single reason for them to be there considering Mercedes got rid of them so I ground them flush:

New disc, brake caliper and wiring for the ABS and pad wear sensors installed. New pads, everything greased. I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, just need to order some brake wear sensors and a few clips to wrap this side up.

Filling up the brake fluid reservoir had to be more awkward than necessary, the bolt holding down the wiper cowl seized up so I had chop it off:

Mercedes' upright hinging bonnets sure come in handy in situations like this:

I still need to do the final reassembly of suspension bits and brakes on the other side. Finding all the bolts after such a long time apart drags things out a bit but I'm hoping to have the big Merc back on the ground again soon and maybe even ready for an MOT.

[Schaefft]

Had a look at the paperwork of the Velsatis. There's isn't much aside from a few MOTs but it came with the book pack.

In the owner's manual we find this gem:

Renault in a nutshell?

Meanwhile, I'm in the process of ordering the optional wood/leather steering wheel you could specify when ordering the Initiale. We'll go from this (excuse the piston heads image):

To this (hopefully without the dash swap):

If anyone has any leads on a tan interior (the one above) or the burgundy variety below, please let me know. Especially the latter seems very rare.

The black interior in mine is in good shape, either of the two above would make the interior feel a little more special though.

The brochure mentions green and blue as well. I haven't found a single photo showing either so possibly another option that never made it into production?

[lexi]

Mine had the wooden wheel.  Best engine that V6.  In 4 years I only did routine servicing,  doing the spark plugs and the rear springs were about as deep as I got. Only thing slightly disappointing was the ride.  When I went back to a C5 with spheres, it was much more forgiving of the bad roads.  

[Schaefft]

9 hours ago, lexi said:

Mine had the wooden wheel.  Best engine that V6.  In 4 years I only did routine servicing,  doing the spark plugs and the rear springs were about as deep as I got. Only thing slightly disappointing was the ride.  When I went back to a C5 with spheres, it was much more forgiving of the bad roads.  

I've driven both a C5 and C6, neither felt all that smooth on harsh roads. The suspension on them is soft but some of the terrible coarse road surfaces and potholes are still not filtered out all that well. I felt the same about the XM, the Cadillac, my Lincoln, you name it. They can deal with speed bumps but not what you actually encounter on broken low speed roads regularly. I think only much more recent luxury cars really manage to do a good job at dealing with that kind of stuff. The crumbling road surface leading out of the estate here is the perfect testbed for suspensions.😂

[Schaefft]

Dropped the Maserati off for it's MOT and collected the bimmer. Or was it shady back alley deals happening here?

[2flags]

This really could be the start of a Jason Statham movie.

'Man drives a Masarati into a quiet secluded industrial estate. He opens the boot, retrieves a bag. He walks over to the office, dropping an envelope through the door. He walks to a waiting BMW and drives off.'

[jmsguzzi]

If you need any help with the Renault then T W & S Barker on Railway Street are great, the owner dailies a 3.0 Diesel Vel Satis and knows his stuff, they're real enthusiasts.

I take all my cars there!

[Schaefft]

1 hour ago, jmsguzzi said:

If you need any help with the Renault then T W & S Barker on Railway Street are great, the owner dailies a 3.0 Diesel Vel Satis and knows his stuff, they're real enthusiasts.

I take all my cars there!

Oh wow, I had no idea. I should definitely check them out then, excellent tip right there!

[BorniteIdentity]

I absolutely loved the AS Vel Satian. It largely worked thanks to a big spend from previous owners, although quickly shit itself on the next owner after me and then exploded completely afterwards. 

This one was the wrong car for me at the wrong time, but looking forward to seeing how you get on with it. 

[hairnet]

On 02/12/2024 at 19:29, Schaefft said:

Dropped the Maserati off for it's MOT and collected the bimmer. Or was it shady back alley deals happening here?

 

7 hours ago, 2flags said:

This really could be the start of a Jason Statham movie.

 

uk version of teh beginning of ronin (without the guns)

[dean36014]

I still regret selling the autoshite vel satis. It was so comfy and relaxing to drive. I did the Cam belt on it which wasn't as bad as I was expecting.  I am rather glad it didn't go up in flames on me though as I always parked it reversed up to the bay window on my house. I'd have another in a flash if I could afford to run one.

[horriblemercedes]

19 hours ago, 2flags said:

This really could be the start of a Jason Statham movie.

'Man drives a Masarati into a quiet secluded industrial estate. He opens the boot, retrieves a bag. He walks over to the office, dropping an envelope through the door. He walks to a waiting BMW and drives off.'

You need to see New Town Killers with Dougray Scott

 

I mean, he's in it. You don't have to watch it with him

[Schaefft]

As we get closer to finally signing the paperwork for the house I'm hoping that the VelSatis will come in handy for hauling stuff from one place to the other. Until then however it seems like the Maserati will have to be the center of attention as Scaryoldcortina made a grim discovery while on the lift:

As you can tell the drive to the MOT garage was enough for the lower balljoint to try and escape the confines of the hubcarrier (the nut is still on and now stuck inside the hubcarrier). The entire steel sleeve it's sitting in is trying to pull out of the aluminium carrier. The control arm needed rebuilding anyway (which won't be cheap as the lower balljoint of course isnt bolt-on for whatever reason, unlike the top one). I'm not sure if that sleeve can get reliably pressed back into the hubcarrier either. I've called Stu the Maserati specialist who confirmed that this is quite common, I'm just glad that I didn't lose a wheel on my drive down. I might have contributed to its demise somewhat while working on this corner but it's just one more example of the fine engineering you get for buying Italian.

[MAF260]

I'm not sure if you should be considered lucky or unlucky with this happening. Hopefully Stu can sort you with a solution for not too much pain.