Sold XJ6 Sport - £550 North Bristol (Page 7)

[Supernaut]

I entered the raffle for this because it was nearby.

 

If it gets raffled again, and I enter, I'm almost guaranteed to win because it's in fucking Bristol!

 

Good effort! I was following you on Glympse but went to bed before you got home.

[320touring]

Glad you made it back down chaps!

 

Good work on taking it easy, probably the right choice:)

 

Hope the skwerrr sossidge hasn't caused any upset..

[Tamworthbay]

Best collection thread in a long time.

[Guest Hooli]

To be fair to it, remember this is a 1970s engine modernised and the ZF gearbox is from the 1980s. The gearbox was used a lot on BMWs and likely to be very similar to your Mercedes. 4 speed, purely mechanical and it only locked up the Torque Converter in 4th and at speed. Modern boxes lockup at much lower gears, speeds and more far often. Thus massively reducing losses, increasing efficiency and thus MPG.

 

Annoying there were loads of 50mph limits on this journey. Which is just on the edge of the Torque Converter locking up engaging and disengaging. Noticed it sometimes did it with a this - possibly because it's mechanical and didn't like being messed around with it hovering around the engage + disengage speeds.

From memory they lock up at 52mph. You see a 2-3mpg increase on the insantanious readout when they do.

 

Hence I always used to speed slightly in 50 limits with mine.

[SiC]

Yeah that's right. On the 3.2l ZF 4HP22 box it's 49-53mph to engage and 47-51mph to disengage. I'm guessing as 50mph is in the hysteresis mid zone, that's why it thunks a bit. You can tell when it's engaged as the throttle to acceleration response is immediate. I.e. tapping the accelerator makes the car jolt. With lockup off, the torque converter softens the start of any sharp acceleration.

[dollywobbler]

I remember on the XJ-S 4.0 I was driving a couple of years ago, the gears changed smooth as anything, but the torque converter lock-up often Thunked loudly as it engaged. 

 

Forgot how lovely those dials are at night though. Marvellous!

[SiC]

 

 

Forgot how lovely those dials are at night though. Marvellous!

Anyone know what type or size the dash bulbs are? Also how many there are?

 

Quite a few (especially the odometer) bulbs are either very dim or gone out. My experience of changing them is if you only change the dead ones, the shock of removing the clocks makes the others die shortly after. Plus uneven panel illumination where one side is much brighter is an irritant.

[SiC]

Any previous owners know what has been and not been done service wise on it?

 

Wondering if it could do with a service and if so what. I.e. when was the

• oil+filer
• air filter
• fuel filter
• spark plugs
• brake fluid
• transmission fluid+filter

Last changed?

 

Can throw it at my local garage to sort all the above but no point in doing anything that has been done recently.

[Tickman]

Any previous owners know what has been and not been done service wise on it?

 

Wondering if it could do with a service and if so what. I.e. when was the

• oil+filer
• air filter
• fuel filter
• spark plugs
• brake fluid
• transmission fluid+filter

Last changed?

 

Can throw it at my local garage to sort all the above but no point in doing anything that has been done recently.

 

I will send you the list I got from Mr Pirate.

[Kiltox]

 

Anyone know what type or size the dash bulbs are? Also how many there are?

 

Quite a few (especially the odometer) bulbs are either very dim or gone out. My experience of changing them is if you only change the dead ones, the shock of removing the clocks makes the others die shortly after. Plus uneven panel illumination where one side is much brighter is an irritant.

Whip it out and see what’s in there - if it’s something weird and wonderful I know of a shop that will more than likely have them, happy to get them and post them down to you if needed

[SiC]

Right I'm converting this into a project thread as I can't be bothered to make a new thread. Mostly because I don't intend* to make this a long term keeper.

 

Snagging issues on drive home test drive:

• Wiper blade was very good at smearing the windscreen but not so good clearing.

  Fixed. Bought a new wiper blade for £4.72! The Aldiii was nearly 8 times that for two. Also forgot these have one massive wiper! No pantograph action like Mercs though.

• ABS light on.

  Didn't come on after fill-up. Very likely low battery. This age ABS systems are very sensitive to battery voltage. However the volt meter on the dash does read quite low, so I need to investigate the battery voltage after standing around a bit. Mostly because I don't want it to leave me stranded with a duff pack.

• Thudding noise when driving. More noticeable at lower speeds.

  We initially thought it maybe bushes or something. However as we got plenty of chances to listen to it, we really didn't think it sounded like it's suspension related. Exhaust system is all stiff at the back too and doesn't wobble much at all. My best guess at the moment is that it maybe an internal exhaust baffle loose. Will monitor for now.

• Droning between 50-60mph

  Not sure on this one. Didn't get any worse in the 470 odd miles, so not too worried that something is about to go. Usually these speeds point to tyre/wheel bearing noise. Google suggests it could be diff bearings and a known thing. Big job to fix, so again just will monitor for now. May get my local garage to change the diff oil and can then inspect for swarf.

• Clock LCD broken.

  Rather irritating. I looked for replacement LCDs and found they were £45. So that's not happening! Might just glue a travel clock over the top. May pull apart and see if an easy fix though.

• Air-conditioning inoperable

  Something that I find really irritating. May investigate by getting an Aircon specialist to lob some dye in and find the leak. Google suggests O-rings commonly dry up on these. The installation looks pretty simple, so I may also change these and just give a regas a shot.

• Drivers window down switch broken.

  With the Aircon broken, this is extremely annoying. Luckily up switch works fine! Feels like it's broken internally. May buy a second hand set of switches. They're quite expensive on eBay though!

• Mirror control broken

  Would be fixed by replacing the switch pack with the window switches.

• Air vent flaps broken.

  A TADIS thing. Probably crappy Ford part. I did try pulling one off to look but the mounting pegs broke (see earlier). May have another go and see if something can be bodged to make them work.

I don't want to spend masses of money on this as it's not worth huge amounts and I probably won't keep it that long. Just enough to get rid of some of the niggly bits. Tbh most of the above is niggly - stuff. I mean it's a 22 year old car that's had 11 owners. Air con is probably the most annoying though.

[320touring]

Jesus son, you've fallen for it hard!!

[dome]

Stick me down for a couple of randoms when you've fixed all the faults!

[SiC]

How heavy should the steering be at low speeds? I noticed this when moving around car parks that it was heavier than I expected. Steve did point out that it could just be normal. Very unlikely to be the rack, as it's dead silent when turning the wheel.

 

A quick Google suggests even though it's hydraulic system, the assistance automatically changes. There is a relay for this "Servomatic" system under the dash that apparently can cause issues.

 

I'm also wondering if it's speed sensitive assistance. If so, I've had it on other cars where aftermarket radios (which this has} short the speed sensing line (for the auto volume) to ground. This line is usually shared, so would mean the PAS doesn't get a speed signal. Not looked in the workshop manual to check yet though. If so it's an easy fix by chopping that line on the ISO connections to the head unit.

[Split_Pin]

I am pretty fastidious when it comes to my cars but most of the issues that you mention are present across my fleet in one shape or form and I just live with them! The thump, I would just ignore that and drive it until it doesnt drive any more. That was my plan with the clutch rb on my 75.

 

You say you don't intend keeping it long, duly noted

[Wack]

This was a roffle !

 

I've entered all the crap ones , the ones I didn't want to win, even the Cannock mystery instant divorce one but this one I miss

 

If all you have in it is your ticket and a tank of fuel just drive it until you're bored of it , 6 weeks and the AC won't matter , you have a chance of a few weeks free motoring or possibly a profit , if you start fault finding you'll soon have more in it than it's worth

[Coprolalia]

I'd be interested in this when you chop it in, XJ's are an itch I want to scratch, and it's pretty much my ideal spec (if it was 4.0 it would be perfic)

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

Is 27mpg not a bit disappointing?

 

I’d get 28 out of an 8v 300e Mercedes off of the 80s!

 

I honestly reckoned this would break the 30. Even if “only just”

 

Still, who cares. Practically a free car.

 

 

The X300 is a facelifted XJ40 and shares virtually all its underlying structure with it - and is actually an older design than the W124 Mercedes 300. The XJ40 should have come out long before it did and was intended to replace the Series 2 XJ (the Series 3 was a hastily cobbled together stop-gap) -  but it was delayed until 1986 by chronic mismanagement, infighting and money shortages at BL. It is also a much heavier-built car than the W124, which affects economy and performance but probably contributes to the Jaguar's greater passenger safety in an accident than the Mercedes.

[Carlosfandango]

Right I'm converting this into a project thread as I can't be bothered to make a new thread. Mostly because I don't intend* to make this a long term keeper.

Snagging issues on drive home test drive:

• Wiper blade was very good at smearing the windscreen but not so good clearing.Fixed. Bought a new wiper blade for £4.72! The Aldiii was nearly 8 times that for two. Also forgot these have one massive wiper! No pantograph action like Mercs though.
• ABS light on.Didn't come on after fill-up. Very likely low battery. This age ABS systems are very sensitive to battery voltage. However the volt meter on the dash does read quite low, so I need to investigate the battery voltage after standing around a bit. Mostly because I don't want it to leave me stranded with a duff pack.
• Thudding noise when driving. More noticeable at lower speeds.We initially thought it maybe bushes or something. However as we got plenty of chances to listen to it, we really didn't think it sounded like it's suspension related. Exhaust system is all stiff at the back too and doesn't wobble much at all. My best guess at the moment is that it maybe an internal exhaust baffle loose. Will monitor for now.
• Droning between 50-60mphNot sure on this one. Didn't get any worse in the 470 odd miles, so not too worried that something is about to go. Usually these speeds point to tyre/wheel bearing noise. Google suggests it could be diff bearings and a known thing. Big job to fix, so again just will monitor for now. May get my local garage to change the diff oil and can then inspect for swarf.
• Clock LCD broken. Rather irritating. I looked for replacement LCDs and found they were £45. So that's not happening! Might just glue a travel clock over the top. May pull apart and see if an easy fix though.
• Air-conditioning inoperableSomething that I find really irritating. May investigate by getting an Aircon specialist to lob some dye in and find the leak. Google suggests O-rings commonly dry up on these. The installation looks pretty simple, so I may also change these and just give a regas a shot.
• Drivers window down switch broken.With the Aircon broken, this is extremely annoying. Luckily up switch works fine! Feels like it's broken internally. May buy a second hand set of switches. They're quite expensive on eBay though!
• Mirror control brokenWould be fixed by replacing the switch pack with the window switches.
• Air vent flaps broken.A TADIS thing. Probably crappy Ford part. I did try pulling one off to look but the mounting pegs broke (see earlier). May have another go and see if something can be bodged to make them work.

I don't want to spend masses of money on this as it's not worth huge amounts and I probably won't keep it that long. Just enough to get rid of some of the niggly bits. Tbh most of the above is niggly - stuff. I mean it's a 22 year old car that's had 11 owners. Air con is probably the most annoying though.

 

Flippin loving this. Maybe we should do a joint "mine is shiter than your's" thread?

Well done, it looks like a cracker.

 

CFD

[Guest Hooli]

Drone could be a rear wheel bearing. When mine needed one I didn't seem to come from anywhere it was just a drone. I got the hub off and let a garage with a press do the bearing.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

I just knew when Sic won this it would end up having a ton of money thrown at it!!

 

 

 

Sent from my F3211 using Tapatalk

[SiC]

I just knew when Sic won this it would end up having a ton of money thrown at it!!

 

 

 

Sent from my F3211 using Tapatalk

I'm desperately trying to avoid doing that! It already owes me over £450 in collection costs + insurance + one month tax.

 

Apart from that, expenditure so far has been a £4.72 wiper blade and a £30 switch pack to replace the drivers side window switches.

[Fat_Pirate]

I had a specialist check the aircon on it last year, the condenser, pump and pipe between them all leak - receiver/drier will also be toast.  It didn't have the drone (but then I always drive at 90 70), and I changed the diff oil to keep it that way - as already suggested, maybe a wheel bearing on it's way out.  All the window/mirror controls worked too, might be worth taking the door trim off to ensure the multiplug is secure (I had it apart a few times upgrading the audio).

[SiC]

Cool thats great to know. So its more than just a pipe that is leaking?

 

Not sure if its a wheel bearing as it didn't get any worse. I'll get my garage to have a look at it maybe.

 

Window switches work, except the down on the drivers side. The switch itself feels like its collapsed internally. You can get it to go down if you fiddle with it enough. Up seems fine, but I rather not try too often and have it completely break with no way of getting it back up again! Switch pack isn't cheap, cheap, but not too ridiculously priced. I believe/hope the wood trim can be swapped off the existing pack too, so it still matches.

 

Also replacing the switch pack solves the broken mirror control without too much faff/bodging too.

[Guest Hooli]

My wheel bearing droned the same for months till I tracked it down. Even with the wheel jacked up and spun it was difficult to track down.

Easy enough to check, it won't cost a penny to find out.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

I'm desperately trying to avoid doing that! It already owes me over £450 in collection costs + insurance + one month tax.

 

Apart from that, expenditure so far has been a £4.72 wiper blade and a £30 switch pack to replace the drivers side window switches.

Being a roffle car means there's scope to drop a further £500 and still be able to cash out without losing anything......

 

Curious do these have 3 3 point belts or is the centre a lap belt? Was the one thing on the XM that made the Mrs a bit uncomfortable (3 kids)

 

Sent from my F3211 using Tapatalk

[Tickman]

Being a roffle car means there's scope to drop a further £500 and still be able to cash out without losing anything......

 

Curious do these have 3 3 point belts or is the centre a lap belt? Was the one thing on the XM that made the Mrs a bit uncomfortable (3 kids)

 

Sent from my F3211 using Tapatalk

Centre lap belt in this one.

[SiC]

Steve just sent me this, I was driving at the time so couldn't take the picture.

 

How you know when you are most definitely in Scotland.

 

[They_all_do_that_sir]

Centre lap belt in this one.

Suddenly these are even more interesting.....

 

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[barefoot]

Re ABS fault.

 

My XJ-8 shows a 'stability control fail' message every 43 start ups.

The next time it starts, it shows an ABS fault, the following time it is fine, and stays fine for the next 41 starts, 

I understand this is an ABS ring on one of the back wheels, I have not looked because it doesn't bother me.

 

It also has three, three point belts in the back seats.

 

And definitely doesn't clonk when the TCC clutch locks up.

 

Does anyone have an info sheet thing, like the one above for the five speed box?

 

Ta