New owner, XJS V12. Hello.

[Lastmin]

Hi all,

Just joined up having put a deposit on a 1986 XJS coupe with the 5.3 collect it tomorrow.

Car needs some tlc and recommissioning as although its been taxed/mot its had very very little use in the last 10+ years.

Assuming i get home in one piece the immediate plan is;

Mouldy roof lining and interior clean 1st on the list

The engine has a high idle circa 2000rpm when in gear, in neutral it hunts 1500-2000 so some engine issues to address immediately will start doing some research into the common issues.

Then just a case of living with it and priorities the jobs (there will be quite a few of them),

Based in Manchester, first Jag

[ptjs1]

Hi lloyd.j651,

Welcome to the JEC and to Jaguar ownership! Great idea to start with a classic V12 XJS!

Would be great to see some pics when the car arrives. Initial thoughts on your description:

- the headlining will almost definitely need replacing. The foam backing and attachment to the board deteriorates cauisng the sagging and realistically it can almost never be recovered and it's much more cost-effective to replace the whole item.

The high idle and surging smacks of an air leak somewhere. There are a couple of small key vacuum hoses that may be the cause.

As regards the deterioration of items, you might want to give serious consideration to going through a full refurbishment of the cooling and fuel systems.

Unless changed recently, the fuel hoses will all have deteriorated and the introduction of ethanol in petrol will exacerbate the effect. The injection wiring harness sits in centre of the engine V and will almost definitely have become hardened and brittle. All of this means that you have the potential for a serious engine bay leak and fire.

The cooling system is critical on the V12. The one thing you must never do on this engine is let it overheat. I would go through the whole system, hoses, radiator and thermostats.

As one experienced Jagaur aficianado says, Do it All, Do it Once.

Post back here when the car arrives. There's plenty of good advice available!

Cheers

Paul

[davidr]

Hello and welcome! I hope your enjoy your new purchase.
I agree with Paul about your headlining - you can give cleaning it a go but I wouldn't be surprised if that accelerates it becoming detached and drooping down.
Your high idle does sound like its getting too much air - it will be worth checking if the extra air valve is sticking? This is mounted towards the rear of the left hand coolant rail. It is a sliding valve operated by a wax bulb that expands as the coolant heats up and closes. Its job is to pass air around the closed throttles and to set idle speed. Look in the August 2018 magazine for an explanation of what the EAV does. (You can access old magazines in the Members Area of the website)
Hope that helps
David

[steve_m]

Congratulations on your acquisition.
Having owned 5 XJSs (4 of them of the V12 variety) I cannot emphasise enough the need, once it is road legal, to drive it like you stole it.
They do not appreciate being pampered.
Obviously wash it from time to time, clean off the bugs/pedestrians/cyclists from the windscreen, but keep it on the road.

[Lastmin]

Hi,

Thanks for the warm welcome.

Its home. The high idle meant i had to drive around the issue a little as under braking i'm fighting the engine as it wants to keep going but a gentle knock into neutral approaching lights etc was a quick fix. Rather sit at lights at 2000rpm in neutral than burn up the brakes/fluid and find myself with no brakes half way home and deploying into the nearest hedge/field as way of coming to a stop.

I filled her up with petrol (I've decided its a her, no idea why) this will be the first of many forecourt visits. I've had a tuned 5.7 V8 LS1 engine car before so low mpg is just one of those things i'm not going to get upset about I've already promised myself to never ever ever press the average mpg button on the dash.

On the motorway she was lovely cruising along nicely and getting plenty of looks along the way.

Thanks for all your tips, the coolant leak appears to be the wing mounted expansion tank, will order one and two new caps and see if that sorts the leak. Coolant looks nice and fresh anyway, no doubt due to the need to top up regular.

The headlining is RIP but to complicate matters a little it has a factory fit sunroof which judging from how many sunroof headliners are available it maybe a rare option? It maybe the sunroof model has different setup headliner wise than the usual board system.

hmm what else, the drivers door thinks its taking part in a limbo competition and is trying to see how low it can go, the hinges looked to have dropped a good half inch maybe more so a good lift and slam is in order i'm already assuming that fix is going to be a fiddly and surprisingly expensive one.

If i write a list it doesn't look too bad.

Engine - high idle then hunts around
Cooling system - puddle on floor issue
Interior - mould issue
Body - spots of light rust cosmetic really
Door - dropped
Electrical - the passenger wing mirror doesn't adjust, few interior bulbs out and the the bigger issue the engine coolant temp guage point blank refuses to accept the engine is warm. The entire way home is was sat at the bottom refusing to budge. Hopefully its a sensor issues and not something the dash needs taking apart for.

Now I've written a list it actually does look quite bad.

On the upside the wife and son (9 year old) like it so any project with family approval makes life easier and hiding the repair bills less of an undertaking.

Cheers

john

[davidr]

John - chin up! It's not that bad!
High idle - as we've already discussed, likely to be an air leak or a stuck auxiliary air valve.
Coolant leak - rusted out expansion tank is a known issue. Hopefully the replacement will fix it
Headlining - you are right in that cars with a sunroof are trimmed differently. Are you sure it's a factory sunroof because there weren't many? Good news is that sunroof cars are far less prone to the headlining dropping as the sunroof holds it up. There are specialist cleaners that are good on mildew stains so it may be rescued.
Rust spots - if they're just cosmetic then perhaps put them down the list while you deal with the other issues?
Door drop - will be due to wear in the hinge. Either try to get some replacements (not easy) or have yours drilled out and bushed
Door mirrors - likely to be poor contacts. Take the mirror off (2 large Phillips screws) and try cleaning the contacts.
Temperature gauge - likely to be the sender. Cheap and simple to change so worth a try. Note there are 2, one for the dash and the other for the engine ecu so get the right one!
Hope that helps!

[Lastmin]

Thanks for that, I've spoken to Jag Breakers in Bolton (thankfully only 10 minutes away) and sorting some bits out with them now.

The electric sunroof has the button to operate in the centre console between the window switches and is an OE switch so i just assumed is a factory sunroof no idea if it was a rare option or something thats fitted retro at the dealers maybe? Any way to tell?

[ptjs1]

John,

On the face of it, I would guess that's a rare factory-fit sunroof option. I've not heard of a dealer at that time, cutting the roof on an XJS to fit a sunroof. If you post some pics of the roof and switch, we could probably confirm.

You could also apply to Jaguar Heritage to get a Build certificate for your car, which should also detail the factory extras with which it was built.

Good luck

Paul

[Lastmin]

Few sunroof pics.

[Lastmin]

Control is middle switch

[Lastmin]

Headliner pic

[Lastmin]

The glass has manufacturer mark Sekurt and some numbers.

[ptjs1]

That glass mark is probably "Sekurit" who make a lot of the original automotive glass.

The interior switch looks original. One of our members - BrakeBuster - has an XJS with an original sunroof. If he sees this thread, he can probably confirm its provenance. Having said that, the headliner does look like it's past it's best!

Paul

[Lastmin]

Ohh yes the headliner is very sad indeed. Long past saving.

It was doing enquires into getting a replacement when i realised sunroof models are not exactly easy to find so will have to have one made I guess.

Thanks for the tip about BrakeBuster much appreciated. Once V5 lands back I'll contact Jag Heritage and swop £50 for its birth certificate.

[davidr]

I'm afraid BrakeBuster is no longer a member but I am in touch with him and I think he does occasionally look at these pages. I'll see if he can help
Vince - if you see this give me a bell!