Next things to work on are some cosmetics inside and out as well as the HVAC system.
Next things to work on are some cosmetics inside and out as well as the HVAC system.
I've now owned the car 3 years. And since the tires have been sketchy and old since I bought them, I decided to buy new tires. In Seth's words if something goes wrong because of old tires "it's starting to be your fault". Yes, true.
I did pick the right day to make the slightly more than an hour drive to tire rack:
With the new tires, I was no longer scared of taking the jag on road trips, and I drove the jag about 7 hours total this weekend, much of that at 75ish on the highway. It's not fast, and not great aerodynamically, but otherwise it's a great highway cruiser.
Some items I do want to work on fixing, in no particular order:
This thread is giving me all kinds of motivation to work on my '84 XJ6. I love the color on yours, definitely stunning.
For the rattle in the rear parcel shelf - might be the air vents?
In reply to nsogiba :
Yes I think it's exactly that. The "cow bells".
Though I do not find the constant rattle to be endearing like some of the jaguar owners in that thread!
This car is one of those classic cars that looks really good at 50' away and then looks even better 5' away when you realize it's nearly perfect.
Well, I forgot to mention that tire rack found a loose hubcap due to a broken tang ok the clip. Today I fixed the clip, and reapplied the hubcap. Nice.
I think I may have fixed the heat at least for now, and the rest of the HVAC seems to be operating correctly sans refrigerant charge.
Here is the old heater valve and the box of the more recent until I replaced it with. The valve actually seems to be working now that I removed it from the car, but maybe it was jamming up?
I snagged the bracket from it to use to support the new valve. (This new part number is not jaguar, but functionally it is exactly the same and supposedly much more reliable than the jag pieces).
Fixed 2 small things tonight. Very small things maybe, but still feeling pretty good!
#1 - the speedometer also had the odometer and the trip meter. The reset button on the trip meter was not working, and the trip meter was like in between digits and not rolling over appropriately (when the tens would go from one number to the next, the hundreds digit would also often roll).
So I pulled it apart. It actually comes out of the dash super easily, push in and twist counter clockwise and it pops out. I fully expected to find some broken plastic inside, but instead all I found was that it needed some lube.
The reset mechanism threw me for a loop for a while, because I couldn't understand how it worked. Finally I figured I'd just apply more lube to see if that helped (never hurts, right?) And it did. Then I realized how the mechanism works. There is a cam on the side of each number wheel, with the high point at 0 and the low at 5. When you push the reset, the button pushes a flat bar against the cam and the cam is supposed to drive the number wheel around. So this is like the tappet driving the cam instead of the other way around! You can see how it would be very sensitive to the least bit of resistance.
Anyway, went for a short drive and the reset works beautifully now, and the numbers all appear correctly in the window instead of half and half. We will see if there is an improvement on rolling the next number wheel correctly but I think there will be.
#2 - one of the two rear license plate lights was out, causing a light on the dash (bulb out warning light). I pulled out the bad bulb and searched online for a new one. Cross references to mgb stuff. Mgb! Duh! I have a ton of mgb stuff. Looked through a big spares box I got last year and voila, there's a bulb that fits. Nice! No more dash light, all my lights appear to be functional now.
And another fix that just required a bit of additional lube - the cruise control!
This bellows is just a "press fit" on the plate that pulls the cable as well as the plate on the rear. Apparently this is a common place for vacuum to leak out. Common solution is to apply a silicone type product to make a more permanent seal.
I wasn't quite ready to try that but I did want to test the theory. So I used some grease around the inside lips of the bellows figuring it would help get an airtight seal.
After a short test drive, it seems to have worked beautifully! I am a little worried that the grease may not hold up long term in the high heat environment right over the exhaust (I could see it seeping down to the bottom when hot and leaving the top dry), but we will see.
I'm so proud of how well you are taking care of your Jaguar. Bit by bit you are solving issues that have condemned many of them to the junkyard. Doing so at a modest cost and without endless hand wringing about poor engineering and lousy quality.
I'm pretty sure you could reap a nice finical reward if you were to sell it now, but recognize it's still worth more than even that.
Well Done
In reply to frenchyd :
Thanks!
I was just thinking about how sometimes it is really rewarding to work on these small jobs. Driving the car is a joy, and fixing little things is too.
Now I just need to get the dang AC working.
In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :
Here's where I'm going to suggest a departure. Toss out that A/C compressor and buy a newer style. GM, Sanyo or something. ( Rock auto is your friend) Before you recharge it do a leak test on the rest of the system.
If it needs work there are 2 bolts in the engine compartment that need to come out. Then with a little exploring under the dash you can pull the rest of the system out.
Well, I put the car up on the lift a while ago to look at what felt like a sticky front caliper issue.
While I was in there I decided it was time to replace the front upper and lower ball joints, and one of the boots on the steering rack was torn too.
They seemed to be working fine but the boots were blown out.
Fixed.
Unfortunately the car was on the lift way longer than I wanted it to be because I first looked at the driver's side. So I replaced the brake pads but the caliper was fine. I ordered the ball joints and waited.
Then I got the ball joints and buttoned up the driver side, then moved to the passenger side. After replacing the ball joints and starting to replace the brake pads, I found the caliper sticking issue I started this whole repair for anyway. Doh. So order two refurb calipers and wait some more.
Then finally the driver side caliper I replaced didn't seem to be working. It took a lot of futzing before I realized that the hole under the bleeder wasn't functioning as a hole anymore, so I had to really jam my pic tool into it to get it to open up. Nice refurb job. Oh well.
Here I am diagnosing the refub caliper.
Anyway, back in the road now for autumn driving season!!
Been just driving the jag this spring, having fun. Here are some things that need fixing, and also an exciting rolling stock update:
1. Passenger door doesn't seem to lock, either with power or with the handle. Handle moves, but springs right back to unlocked position.
2. Need to fix cruise again. I think I'll just buy a new bellows.
3. Cigarette lighter has no power. Don't use it much but being able to run a phone charger would be nice.
4. Heater core is definitely leaking. I get fog on the inside of the glass when running defog. Booooooooo. I have been noticing this a while but hoping it was some other fluke. I don't think it is.
5. AC still doesn't work because I still haven't tried to fix it.
6. Gas tanks leak between each other. Not quickly, but if I fill one tank when the other is empty and let the car sit for a few days, when I come back both will be half full. Not really an issue per day, but the switching valve before the pump is clearly not sealing fully.
7. Differential input seal is leaking more than I'd like. Another fix that will take a frustrating amount of time.
Oh, and this happened:
In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :
Nice. It'll look good on the basket weaves.
Indy - Guy said:In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :
Nice. It'll look good on the basket weaves.
Yes I sure hope so! And I might add some gold paint too...
Also add to the list slightly sticky throttle cable to look into.
In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :
Maroon + Gold = 
So it's been too long since I updated this thread but mostly this summer and fall I've just been driving the jag. I've put more miles on it this year than any year so far (which still isn't many).
However, one day I got in to go for a drive and the brake pedal went much futher down that normal. Uh oh.
turns out my diff input seal leak was also a rear caliper leak. Grrrrr. If you look carefully you can see the drip on the bottom of the caliper.
So I learned that you can do calipers without dropping the rear subframe. Also, I was given the confidence to try the diff seal by some very smart car friends. First I made 3 pinch marks to mark the location of the nut.
then I added a homemade flange holding tool:
Replaced the seal
All done:
The parking brake pads had also delaminated from their backing plates, so I replaced them at the same time. Not sure how they weren't a bigger issue rattling around in there loose like that...
In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :
Glad to see this one again.
Not wearing the new shoes yet? š
In reply to Indy - Guy :
I'm just slow in getting it posted. While I had the car on the lift for the rear end, I went ahead and had the tires swapped to my new wheels.
I also purchased some paint to match my pinstripe.
then I enlisted some child labor
after they were clean I masked them off
and they were looking fly
I got some green hubcaps and completed the look
I love the new look. And what is crazy is that other people seem to as well. I am getting a lot more random parking lot comments about the car.
even in the below parking lot, I had 2 separate high school kids and one guy about my age come over to me and tell me how much they liked my car.
my son, however, was much more interested in the lambo.
I did have one funny story over the summer. There was a local community party, and tons of people so parking nearby was very difficult. Normally we would have just walked over, but I heard there was also a car show. So I drove the jag, and the guy checking cars into the show at the edge of the parking lot just waved me in.
so I got into the show and also got rockstar parking for the event. Win win!
In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :
Wheels turned out great!
Nice choice on the wheel color. Have you figured out the heat situation? Mine works ('84 S3), but can be marginal. These are excellent cars that can be temperamental, but worth it.
nsogiba said:Nice choice on the wheel color. Have you figured out the heat situation? Mine works ('84 S3), but can be marginal. These are excellent cars that can be temperamental, but worth it.
No, but I plan to dig into the heater core this winter. Maybe I can figure out the problem with the cigarette lighter not having power at the same time.
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