Ownership Verified: Keep it in the Family -- 1995 Jaguar XJR

[CraigB]

I felt like I was channeling you

Now I just need to find a place for the X300 XJ12 he has for sale...

Watch yourself, it's a slippery slope. :lol:

 

[Labcoatguy]

Now I just need to find a place for the X300 XJ12 he has for sale...

Go on.....

 

[Der Stig]

So in classic Jag tradition, I take it to the shop to fix some niggles (the broken passenger rear interior door handle that IceBone discovered, swapping a black front bumper on, flushing the brake fluid, and doing the update to timing chain tensioner from the parts car). It didn't survive the drive home :lol:

The timing chain tensioner seal gave up the ghost after maintaining errr...autobahn speeds for half an hour on the drive home. So back to the shop she went. Just in time for me to make a trip down to San Marcos for a friend's wedding. I took the fun way there and back on country roads and she was flawless. Got my average fuel economy up to 18.1 MPG!

Of course, when I got her home she was filthy, so I treated her to a car wash with Nabster , thomas, Crazyjeeper. After eating dinner, she rewarded me by bucking violently when I went for third gear. A restart cleared the problem until I got on the highway, when at 70, the motor would hesitate for a moment. I pulled off immediately and restarted with no further drama...

https://imgflip.com/memegenerator

 

[argatoga]

Having stolen and joy ridden it, I have to say I'm still completely jealous despite the problems. She may be high maintenance, but worth every penny.

 

[Der Stig]

Yup, I still love this silly car.

Got some plans for 2019, namely refreshing suspension (thinking about going with H&R lowering springs, but I’m conflitced as I love the stock ride). Also the wheels are out of round, so I’m keeping my eyes peeled for a set of Asteroids to throw on with some fresh rubber while I get the original monoblocks refinished.

 

[argatoga]

Up until earlier this month my car was lowered, I'd advice against it. It looks cool until you descend into a parking garage and smash up the underside.

 

[Der Stig]

@Nabster and I gave the Jaaag a bath yesterday. Looks way better.

Sadly, she’s taken up smoking a bit and the front suspension needs to be redone. Still casually looking for cooling fan alternatives as mine are making more banshee and grumbling noises.

 

[Labcoatguy]

Is that other person still selling that XJ12? I wonder how easy it would be to swap the manual into that.

 

[loose_unit]

What about a supercharged LS swap

 

[Der Stig]

Is that other person still selling that XJ12? I wonder how easy it would be to swap the manual into that.

Gone already, sadly.

@loose_unit

 

[argatoga]

Is that other person still selling that XJ12? I wonder how easy it would be to swap the manual into that.

This has been listed for months.

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/d/federal-way-1996-jaguar-xj12-x305-lwb/6840566264.html

 

[ScarFace88]

I wonder if the cooling system is better than my GTO's...

 

[Spectre]

I wonder if the cooling system is better than my GTO's...

With the exception of the current condition of the fans, it absolutely is. For starters, the radiator has more surface area than yours even though it's only cooling 4.0L. The Jag engineers got tired of all the complaints of crap cooling systems in the early 80s and began overbuilding, something that would last until at least the X308 days.

 

[Der Stig]

Well sadly the Jaaag has spent most of 2019 just sitting as it started running poorly (black smoke). I noticed the the intake plenum had moved about an inch and half back, surely inducing unmetered air to wreak havoc on the car running nicely.

We found that the intake plenum on my XJR had come unseated due to a missing bolt and a bad bushing. @Nabster (mainly), @Spectre, @Crazyjeeper and I managed to fix that, but now the throttle is sticking and it’s idling high. The throttle cable is fine, so we are hoping that reseting the TPS will do the trick.

Removed the intake piece above the intercooler, that rear portion should be snug against the back of the intercooler.


You can see where the bushing has popped out here.


The offending bush


@Nabster realized that a dime was the perfect size. Punched a hole it and applied Loctite


Faffing




Back together, but now broken in a new way!

 

[Der Stig]

Finally gave up earlier this month and dropped at a retired Jag mechanics place. We were hoping it was the TPS, but a reset yielded no change. Current theory is the IACV is acting up.

I also am thinking hard about selling it...

 

[Der Stig]

Here's what a $280 towel looks like. Remember kids, keep track of how many towels you stuff in your car's intake.

Car runs nicely now. I forgot how much I love the way this moves down the road. Still planning to sell, but I'll keep doing small jobs on it to make it nicer. Like fixing the clock back light that decided to start flashing like a rave party on the way home.

A Jag XJR corners flat, hauls like a train, and falls apart like a 4th marriage.

 

[ScarFace88]

Oops.

 

[Labcoatguy]

What. That backlight's been fixed. Well now we know how long the fix lasts.

 

[Der Stig]

What. That backlight's been fixed. Well now we know how long the fix lasts.

I know, some percussive maintenance on the side of center console seemed to do the trick.