2000 Jaguar XJ8

[PhilA]

This is not Barry Boys.

[hairnet]

mountney too 70s for barry

[PhilA]

Traced recent "passenger belt pretensioner short circuit" fault that cropped up a while back to the SRS module itself. 

Irreparable fault in the microcontroller itself resulting in the complaint of short and open circuit simultaneously. New one from a junkyard was ordered. It arrived in so I decided to swap it. 

Cue the always fun task of removing the radio, because the SRS module is bolted to the transmission tunnel underneath it. 

Managed to fit the new one and get it bolted down and connected up. Reattached the battery and plugged in the scanner. 

Restraint system test: pass. That's good. 

No more airbag light. Much better.

[uk_senator]

On 02/02/2025 at 13:51, PhilA said:

With the lid removed, the view inside wasn't pleasant. 

Pump and acceleration splash plate removed, a poke at the swirl pot showed reason for the pump's failure.

Rust flakes and refinery sand. Nasty. Scrubbed the loose stuff off the inside of the tank and flushed it out.

Phil

 

That is a mad amount of shite in your tank.. My tank was literally spotless inside when the pumps seized in my 99 XJR after lockdown, it was like brand new, so I`m stunned at the absolute state of yours..😳
Is it something to do with the state of American petrol stations underground tanks? Because that aint usual in the UK!

[PhilA]

5 hours ago, uk_senator said:

That is a mad amount of shite in your tank.. My tank was literally spotless inside when the pumps seized in my 99 XJR after lockdown, it was like brand new, so I`m stunned at the absolute state of yours..😳
Is it something to do with the state of American petrol stations underground tanks? Because that aint usual in the UK!

American fuel isn't great. E10 has such a wild blend of additional chemicals to boost the octane rating and then do all the other things they need, it all ends up very hygroscopic. With the high heat and high humidity here, any slight leak of the system allows that moisture in and it is captured by the fuel. A lot of that trash is not rust, it was varnish where the chemicals in the fuel turned to solids and adhered to the inside. 

The conditions, on the whole, that fuel here has to tolerate are significantly more varied and typically more extreme, so more extras are added to try stabilize it. Those are usually very volatile, having a shelf life of a few months at best, meaning that the fuel will go stale in about 4-6 months depending on the blend and the time of year.

So yeah, it's common to have tanks that look like that here.

[uk_senator]

43 minutes ago, PhilA said:

American fuel isn't great. E10 has such a wild blend of additional chemicals to boost the octane rating and then do all the other things they need, it all ends up very hygroscopic. With the high heat and high humidity here, any slight leak of the system allows that moisture in and it is captured by the fuel. A lot of that trash is not rust, it was varnish where the chemicals in the fuel turned to solids and adhered to the inside. 

The conditions, on the whole, that fuel here has to tolerate are significantly more varied and typically more extreme, so more extras are added to try stabilize it. Those are usually very volatile, having a shelf life of a few months at best, meaning that the fuel will go stale in about 4-6 months depending on the blend and the time of year.

So yeah, it's common to have tanks that look like that here.

Well the tanks are galvanised, so none of that should be rust in theory. Crazy.. I used to only use ethanol free super unleaded in mine, which may go some way to explain the difference, that said, the last top up I did before lockdown was normal (probably E5) unleaded, for a reason I cant remember now.. I only put a gallon or 2 in, with the intention of using it & refilling it with Super again next time I used it, but then it sat for 18 months because of lockdown, & when I went to start it, both fuel pumps were seized.. Go figure.. 

I only use no/low ethanol Super unleaded in all my cars now because of the ethanol issues, either because it improves the drive for some of them, or, because some sit around for months doing nothing & have fuel systems/carbs that weren't designed for high ethanol.

[PhilA]

6 minutes ago, uk_senator said:

Well the tanks are galvanised, so none of that should be rust in theory. Crazy.. I used to only use ethanol free super unleaded in mine, which may go some way to explain the difference, that said, the last top up I did before lockdown was normal (probably E5) unleaded, for a reason I cant remember now.. I only put a gallon or 2 in, with the intention of using it & tofilling it up with Super again next time I used it, but then it sat for 18 months because of lockdown, & when I went to start it, both fuel pumps were seized.. Go figure.. 

I only use no/low ethanol Super unleaded in all my cars now because of the ethanol issues, either because it improves the drive for some of them, or, because some sit around for months doing nothing & have fuel systems/carbs that weren't designed for high ethanol.

The correct grade of fuel here (93) is not available in E0 form. Only 87 (and sometimes 90) are and that's not enough to stop it heavily backing off the ignition at WOT and high RPM.

So, ethanol fuels it is

[PhilA]

Well, that's not good. That'll be why the door stopped locking open and went bang. 

Broke out the welding machine. 

Welded up the latch, door and pillar where it had all cracked

Reassembled it all. Now it does door things again.

[Lord Sterling]

1 hour ago, PhilA said:

Well, that's not good. That'll be why the door stopped locking open and went bang. 

Broke out the welding machine. 

Welded up the latch, door and pillar where it had all cracked

Reassembled it all. Now it does door things again.

Had this happen on my old red XJ8 on the drivers door. When I first got it, it clicked so loudly it sounded like a shot gun. So one day I decided to tackle it and ended up removing it because the metal in the door had been torn by the check strap. I removed the check strap and left it in the boot. The door was nicer and more silent to open and close, but with no check strap, a tiny breeze or slight undulating of a parking space was see the door close too easily.

The check strap on my current blue XJ8 seems attached and doesn't make any silly clapping noises.

[PhilA]

It's a poor design in as far as the check strap fully catches the door as it's thrown wide open, well before the hinge stops. That causes the metal to be flexed repeatedly in normal use. Then, the entire force of that hefty spring is against two 10mm nuts when you go to close the door. 

It's a poor design, doomed to fail by metal fatigue. 

Phil

[PhilA]

Irritatingly the other day I found a high curb with the screenwash bottle. 

Not the best sensor. Either way, the deluge indicated I needed to have braked sooner than I did. 

Looking underneath and yes, it doesn't look too happy. 

I tried spreading some sealant on it, which resulted in a similarly bad leak. Pulled all that off and this weekend was less lazy about the repair. 

Jacked the car up and pulled the tank out.

Cleaned up, sanded down where the plastic had turned to powder. You can see the impact having changed the opacity of the plastic where it was stressed and ultimately cracked. 

Dried it all out, and applied some rubberized putty goop. That's curing now, hopefully it'll work. A replacement tank is $100+ and I don't really want to fork out for one being as how vulnerable they are. 

 

Phil

[hairnet]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/402559998566

saw one here but wondered why the pic had it where the wing was - that was a later one

this one came up but its usa

any good?

[Surface Rust]

19 hours ago, PhilA said:

Irritatingly the other day I found a high curb with the screenwash bottle. 

Not the best sensor. Either way, the deluge indicated I needed to have braked sooner than I did. 

Looking underneath and yes, it doesn't look too happy. 

I tried spreading some sealant on it, which resulted in a similarly bad leak. Pulled all that off and this weekend was less lazy about the repair. 

Jacked the car up and pulled the tank out.

Cleaned up, sanded down where the plastic had turned to powder. You can see the impact having changed the opacity of the plastic where it was stressed and ultimately cracked. 

Dried it all out, and applied some rubberized putty goop. That's curing now, hopefully it'll work. A replacement tank is $100+ and I don't really want to fork out for one being as how vulnerable they are. 

 

Phil

It is meant to have an undertray covering it? You could always mount a bit of ally plate on those two tabs to give it a little protection.

[PhilA]

It is, but that was long gone before I even got the car.

Doubt it would offer much protection.

[PhilA]

Beach Boys on the radio, so the windows down, sunroof open. 

Jaaaaaaaag.

Nice evening. Went for a drive to nowhere in particular.

[Morris 63]

Surely Chuck Berry and No Particular  Place to Go? 😄

[hairnet]

11 hours ago, PhilA said:

Beach Boys on the radio, so the windows down, sunroof open. 

Jaaaaaaaag.

Nice evening. Went for a drive to nowhere in particular.

can ya surf off the gulf coast?

[PhilA]

22 minutes ago, hairnet said:

can ya surf off the gulf coast?

No, this isnt Cal-I-For-Ny-Ae.

[hairnet]

1 hour ago, PhilA said:

No, this isnt Cal-I-For-Ny-Ae.

phew

 

[PhilA]

Well, that's promising. 

 

The water is still all down in the hole.

[PhilA]

Chocolate malt. 

Ideal after a warm day.

I'm glad the aircon works.

[Morris 63]

Chocolate melt, more like!