XJ-S Off Roader Conversion
Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 10:57 am
It’s been two and a half years now since my XJS was last used. With a lack of time and other priorities I had decided to mothball it for a few months, those months turned to years somehow and I had noticed that it was deteriorating by not being used. I had insured it every year in hope of using it and when the renewal notice dropped on my mat I decided that it was time to start a recommissioning procedure in preparation for a fresh MOT.
During the time off road, I had worked my way down the right hand side from front to rear tackling some of the rust, especially in the door and both wings. The boot carpeting was still stripped out and all the spaghetti of wiring and tubing needed poking back in place after all the nooks and crannies were treated with Waxoyl.
While it was in bits, I decided to re route the water drain tubes away from the original positions in the rear wings to try to stop rain water gathering in there. With everything back and the carpeting cleaned and glued in place it looked a lot different. By the way, the carpet wheel cover isn't XJS, its from an XJ40 in matching carpet which in my opinion looks better.
The brake discs had developed some surface rust so access was obtained to the wheels on the side I could get to, discs rubbed clean and the underside given a check over, some under seal needed touching up so I did all that I could get to. As the car was parked tight to the passenger side against the wall, the car would need turning around before I could access that side. The petrol tank had been drained as much as possible but you can never get it all out, while in the boot with the carpet out I had taken the opportunity to empty the sump tank getting about another half-gallon out, the petrol certainly smelt strange, it had gone off over time.
With some fresh unleaded petrol in the tank and a fully charged battery it was time to start the engine, it fired first time which was pleasing although straight away I could tell it wasn’t firing on all cylinders, it ran and idled, but with an odd beat. It ran well enough to reverse out of the garage, turn around and reverse back in giving me access to the other side.
I had been hoping that the misfire would correct itself but it hadn’t so all six spark plugs were inspected. Nothing untoward, all dry and gaps correct. Fired the engine but still the same misfire, so using insulated tongs, each ignition lead was removed in turn, the outer 4 each caused a rough note but the 2 centre ones made no difference, that explains why the plugs were dry, the 2 centre injectors had failed for some reason, likely gummed up and seized. It’s fairly easy to find companies who service and ultrasonically clean injectors but it was worth a go at reviving them myself so I removed the failed injectors and sprayed some Wynns carburettor cleaner I found in my garage into them and left soaking overnight.
In the morning, I inspected the injectors and using a 12V battery flicked pulses of power across the injectors, both clicked nicely, I had read somewhere that this often worked. A few jolts of 12V being a bit longer duration that they would normally get. I moved the two next outer injectors to the centre and refitted the cleaned ones where they had come from. My logic here was that after altering the positions of the faulty ones, if a fault remained, I would be able to eliminate either wiring or injectors.
The engine fired straight up and immediately sounded better. Pulling each plug lead in turn confirmed that it was indeed now firing on all 6 cylinders. Whether the cleaning or 12V pulses did the trick I don’t know but either way they now work. I have no doubt that a professional service on them would be of benefit, but I will see how things go.
I checked all the electrical and lighting operations and was pleased to find everything working as it should. Although there are electronic systems on these cars, they are much simpler then newer models are and I have always felt comfortable tracing any faults with little more then a multimeter and an analytical mind.
The front left hand side was then jacked up to visually check over everything I could get at. There was some minor rust showing in the usual panels, not bad enough to worry about immediately but needing doing at some point in the future. Luckily all the structural and load bearing areas were solid. Things were starting to look more promising.
The left hand side rear axle bump stop had partially come away from its backing and needed replacing,luckily I had a spare lurking in a box of spare parts as the other side had failed some time back and I had bought two then. The securing nuts were seized and rusted of course, but after some drilling they gave way.
I also noticed two of the exhaust joints were blowing slightly and the over axle pipe on the left was slightly too low, catching the universal joint cover now and then, so it needed removing and realigning. The 3 bolt joint just before the cage on the left hand side came apart without too much trouble and coating the sealing ring with fire gum I took care to line everything up on tightening. It does now fit better and has raised the over axle pipe to give more clearance. The joint on the right hand side just before the final box was quite a loose fit, it did seal but I will have to keep an eye on it.
Lots more work was carried out underneath the car to attend to surface rust, check all the rubber boots and generally fettle everything. It is amazing how all these little jobs can take so much time to attend to, but it is worth it to maintain everything as they should be. It also means you get to know your car better,
The front wheel bearings had a little too much play in them so they were inspected, greased and adjusted. The club magazine has covered how to adjust these bearings in great detail and I recommend anyone who needs to check theirs to find the article.
I printed off a full service check list from the workshop manual and methodically worked through it, the list acting as a reminder. This was a good idea as I would have forgotten something otherwise.
The car has a Foxguard security system which remotely locks and arms the alarm but it wasn’t working. The battery in the fob was at least 12 years old and still giving 10.1 Volts but that wasn't enough. A simple battery replacement and with a full 12.7 Volts it all worked again.
The cabin wasn't in too bad condition, the car had been stored in the dry, so there was no mould or damp so a good general clean and leather feed soon had it looking good again
MOT day arrived, a gloriously sunny and warm day for March, the car started on the button and looked great as it was rolled out of the dark garage into the bright morning sunlight. The MOT station in the village is only a mile away and all too soon we were there. I've always used the same family run village garage but last year there was a change of ownership so the car is unknown to them, however once booked in, I walked home to await the news. I always leave it there for them to do the work whenever it is most convenient, I know that garages are always busy with unexpected problems and phone calls to handle so if there is anything I can do to make life easier for them I will.
Nearly five hours later of pacing up and down chewing my fingernails the phone rang. It is strange that in just that brief moment its almost like you don't want to know the news, its bound to be bad, expensive and time consuming. However Chris, the mechanic said “All passed, no problems at all, isn't it clean underneath?” I walked back to collect it, Chris commented that he hadn't MOT'd an XJS in years, hardly see them at all any more.
I enjoyed the short drive home, my emotions combining a mixture of elation, relief and pride in that I had done my bit in keeping one of these wonderful cars on the road for at least another year.
So it has a fresh MOT, but of course there is still much to do, The Teves ABS brake booster accumulator needs a re charge, The sphere is initially charged with Nitrogen to 84 Bar which is a considerable pressure. It is said that they lose about 10% every year. As the pressure drops, the brake booster pump can be heard working more often and longer. The pump motor isn't continuously rated and is an extremely expensive part to replace, so it is worth looking after. New spheres are available, but they can be recharged at much less then half the cost.
Other jobs on the list for the future include replacing the worn drivers top door hinge, a full fluids service, more permanent paint repair work, leather refurbishment, fuel injector ultrasonic clean and much more. For now though I am just looking forward to just being able to drive it again.
Thanks for taking the time to read,
Pop
