XJS Help
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Nick BebbingtonEXPERIENCE
IN A
BOOK
Help For The Jaguar XJ-S Owner
by
Kirby Palm
Updated: May 21, 2009
EXPERIENCE IN A BOOK
Help for the Jaguar XJ- S owner
by Kirby Palm
Compiled by an XJ-S owner, Experience in a Book is a unique type of automotive resource providing the sort of how-to
information not found in either owner’s handbooks or repair manuals. The information provided includes maintenance
tips, common problems, suggested modifications, and some sources for parts. The book is not intended to replace a
repair manual, but rather to complement it.
This is not a small pamphlet; the book is 739 pages when printed with a 10-point proportionally-spaced font, and
includes quite a few illustrations and schematics. It grows as more information becomes available.
Experience in a Book may be downloaded, free of charge, from the World Wide Web at:
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/
Yes, you read right: This whole thing is free. If you have a computer, internet access, and a printer, all it costs you is the
effort to log on and download plus the paper and ink to print. There are no catches; this is a hobby, not a profit-making
enterprise.
This book -- along with a great deal of other Jaguar-related stuff -- is also available on the Nine Lives CD-ROM. There
are links to online ordering from the URL provided above, or you can order it directly from:
Coltrane Productions
PO Box 932
Morgantown, WV 26507
The cost is $2 plus shipping, and shipping is $0.97 in the US, $1.20 to Canada, $1.66 to Mexico, or $3.40 to the rest
of the world.
Experience in a Book is a work in progress and is revised when new information becomes available. If you have learned
something about your XJ-S that the rest of us should know, please visit:
http://www.jag-lovers.org
and log on to the xj-s@jag-lovers.org or v12-engine@jag-lovers.org e-mail discussion lists and post your discoveries
there. Most of the contents of this book came from these discussions.
CONTENTS
THE JAGUAR XJS.......................................................................................................................................................1
SHOPPING FOR A USED XJS..................................................................................................................................13
GENERAL...................................................................................................................................................................15
Repair Manuals...................................................................................................................16
ENGINE.......................................................................................................................................................................32
Leaks..................................................................................................................................39
PCV System.........................................................................................................51
Fault Diagnosis...................................................................................................................53
ENGINE WORK..............................................................................................................................58
Top.......................................................................................................................59
Front.....................................................................................................................89
Bottom.................................................................................................................97
Performance Upgrades......................................................................................................103
Intake Upgrades.................................................................................................107
Other Modifications..........................................................................................................113
IGNITION SYSTEM......................................................................................................................118
Lucas Ignition (up to 1989)...............................................................................................126
Vacuum Advance...............................................................................................131
Centrifugal Advance...........................................................................................137
Lucas Opus Mark 2 (pre-1982)..........................................................................147
Lucas Constant Energy Ignition (1982-89).........................................................153
Marelli...............................................................................................................................159
XJRS................................................................................................................................172
Distributorless Ignition......................................................................................................173
COOLING SYSTEM......................................................................................................................173
Overheating -- Causes.......................................................................................................178
Fans..................................................................................................................................214
Post-Shutdown Cooling....................................................................................................228
FUEL SYSTEM..............................................................................................................................232
Fuel Fires..........................................................................................................................232
Fuel Odors........................................................................................................................234
Fuel Lines.........................................................................................................................238
Fuel Tank and Filler..........................................................................................................244
Hess & Eisenhardt Convertible...........................................................................249
Surge Tank and Fuel Pickup -- Pre-1992..........................................................................250
Fuel Pump.........................................................................................................................254
1992-on Fuel System........................................................................................................257
Vapor Recovery System....................................................................................................259
Hess & Eisenhardt Convertible...........................................................................263
Throttle Linkage, Idle Speed Adjustment..........................................................................264
Electronic Fuel Injection...................................................................................................273
D-Jetronic...........................................................................................................284
Cold Start Injectors..............................................................................286
Digital P..............................................................................................................289
Cold Start Injectors..............................................................................306
Early 3.6 AJ6 Engines.........................................................................................307
XJRS..................................................................................................................307
Fault Codes.......................................................................................................................307
Passing Emissions Tests....................................................................................................309
Fuel System Upgrades.......................................................................................................310
AIR INJECTION............................................................................................................................312
i
EXHAUST SYSTEM.....................................................................................................................315
DRIVETRAIN............................................................................................................................................................324
BORG-WARNER MODEL 12.......................................................................................................324
GM400............................................................................................................................................325
ALTERNATIVE TRANSMISSIONS............................................................................................339
TRANSMISSION MOUNT...........................................................................................................342
Borg-Warner.....................................................................................................................344
GM400.............................................................................................................................344
DRIVESHAFT................................................................................................................................348
FINAL DRIVE................................................................................................................................349
SUSPENSION & STEERING...................................................................................................................................354
Front Suspension...............................................................................................................362
Steering.............................................................................................................................373
Rear Suspension................................................................................................................384
Rear Swingarm Outer Pivot................................................................................390
Wheels and Tires...............................................................................................................403
BRAKES....................................................................................................................................................................418
Master Cylinder/Reservoir/Booster...................................................................................433
Front Brakes.....................................................................................................................435
Inboard Rear Brakes.........................................................................................................437
Handbrake..........................................................................................................447
TWR Rear Brakes..............................................................................................451
Outboard Rear Brakes.......................................................................................................452
Handbrake..........................................................................................................452
ABS Brakes......................................................................................................................453
Teves Mk III ABS system..................................................................................455
Teves Mk IV ABS System.................................................................................461
ABS System Removal.........................................................................................462
BODY.........................................................................................................................................................................464
Water Leaks......................................................................................................................466
Hess & Eisenhardt Convertible.............................................................484
INTERIOR.................................................................................................................................................................485
CLIMATE CONTROL.............................................................................................................................................493
Common Features.............................................................................................................493
Compressor & Freon Circuit...............................................................................499
R-12 Substitutes.................................................................................................517
Delanair MkII (up to 1987)...............................................................................................530
Delanair MkIII (1987-On).................................................................................................544
ELECTRICAL...........................................................................................................................................................551
Relays...............................................................................................................................562
Starting Circuit..................................................................................................................566
Starter...............................................................................................................................569
Alternator..........................................................................................................................572
Installing a GM Alternator..................................................................................576
Battery..............................................................................................................................584
Fuses and Fuse Blocks......................................................................................................587
Instrument Panel...............................................................................................................590
Instruments and Gauges......................................................................................591
Hess & Eisenhardt Convertible.............................................................595
Warning Lights...................................................................................................596
Trip Computer..................................................................................................................601
Windows...........................................................................................................................603
ii
Mirrors..............................................................................................................................613
Locks................................................................................................................................615
Windshield Wipers............................................................................................................617
Lucas Solenoid-Park...........................................................................................622
Lucas Reverse-Park............................................................................................625
Electrolux...........................................................................................................629
Windshield and Headlight Washers...................................................................................629
Light Bulbs.......................................................................................................................632
Headlights.........................................................................................................................639
Four Round Headlights -- US through 1991.......................................................649
Cibies with two H1 bulbs -- non-US through 1980.............................................652
Cibies with one H4 bulb -- non-US 1981-91.......................................................653
DOT-approved Carello -- US 1992-on...............................................................655
E-code Carello -- non-US 1991-on.....................................................................656
Fog/Driving Lights............................................................................................................661
Horn.................................................................................................................................663
Radio................................................................................................................................664
Antenna.............................................................................................................................667
Miscellaneous Interior Stuff..............................................................................................670
Cruise Control...................................................................................................................671
STORAGE..................................................................................................................................................................682
MODIFICATIONS....................................................................................................................................................684
WEIGHT REDUCTION/RELOCATION.......................................................................................684
COLD WEATHER.........................................................................................................................685
LPG.................................................................................................................................................686
WHERE TO FIND HELP, PARTS, ETC................................................................................................................690
NEW PARTS..................................................................................................................................692
USED/REBUILT PARTS...............................................................................................................697
SPECIALTIES................................................................................................................................698
Interiors............................................................................................................................698
Body.................................................................................................................................701
Restoration/Rebuilding......................................................................................................703
Exhaust.............................................................................................................................705
Electrical...........................................................................................................................705
Steering/Suspension/Final Drive........................................................................................708
Wheels..............................................................................................................................709
Miscellaneous....................................................................................................................710
PERFORMANCE/MODIFICATION.............................................................................................713
ACCESSORIES..............................................................................................................................721
PUBLICATIONS & PERIODICALS.............................................................................................722
MODELS........................................................................................................................................724
INTERNET SOURCES..................................................................................................................725
CLUBS........................................................................................................................................................................730
HERITAGE CERTIFICATE....................................................................................................................................731
The door locks are electric, so they are discussed under Electrical. However, the handles themselves are discussed
under Body.
Cover design: Glen MacDonald
iii
I live in the US. This book has been distributed worldwide, and upon rereading and editing I constantly notice
comments I have made that have a distinctly US bias, like how such-and-such part can be found at the local Walmart. I
have made the decision that I will leave the book this way, rather than trying to qualify each of these instances for all the
people in various parts of the globe. Those in other countries will know better than I how the advice given will apply in
their area.
The XJ-S is sold in countries where they drive on the wrong side of the road, so there are left hand drive (LHD) and
right hand drive (RHD) models. To minimize confusion, in this book the location of an item will nearly always be
described as being on the left side or right side of the car -- meaning left or right as viewed sitting in the car facing
forward. The terms “driver’s side” or “passenger’s side” will only be used to describe the location of items that switch
sides between LHD and RHD models, such as steering column, pedals, glovebox, fuseboxes, etc.
Please note that I have made the decision not to cover the six-cylinder AJ6/AJ16 engines in this book in any detail (there
are a few minor exceptions). Since it is the same engine that is in the XJ40/X300, it shouldn’t be too much trouble to
find information on this engine elsewhere. The parts of this book covering non-engine items should still be of some
value to owners of AJ6/AJ16-powered XJ-S’s.
I also make no effort to cover features unique to the XJ12. Owners of such cars would probably be well advised to
acquire both this book and Jim Isbell’s book on the XJ6 (see http://www.jag-lovers.org) and use the parts of each that
apply. There will still be some shortcomings -- neither will properly cover the carburetor setup on the early XJ12, for
example -- but the owner is still likely to benefit greatly from both books.
DISCLAIMER
My own car is a 1983 XJ-S H.E.. Understandably, this book is likely to be more complete and accurate for similar
vintage cars than for the early (B-W tranny, non-H.E.) cars or the newer (ABS, revised bodywork, 6.0 liter) cars. It also
cannot be expected to accurately cover the differences of cars sold in countries other than the US.
While most of the information (both from my own experience and that sent in from others) has been verified on my car,
obviously I cannot be responsible for the applicability to other XJ-S’s. I am not associated with Jaguar, and have no
means for verifying configurations of other cars. Therefore, the XJ-S owner should take advice accordingly and
determine for himself if it applies to his car and will serve his purposes.
It should also be understood that an owner performing even minor work on his own car can affect his warranty. If there
is any doubt whether or not the item in question is covered under warranty, the owner is advised to take it to his dealer
prior to doing any work himself. If the owner is told by the dealer that the item is not covered, then the owner can make
his own informed decision how to proceed.
Finally, an owner making changes to his car is responsible for making sure he is not violating emissions laws or safety or
other regulations applicable where he lives and drives. There have been a few comments made in this book about
regulations in various areas, but they are to be taken as general info, not legal advice.
iv
IS THIS A REFERENCE BOOK?
Many XJ-S owners may consider this book reference material, and don’t bother to look at it until they need to work on
something or spend some money on the car. Unfortunately, sometimes the money spent could have been saved if they
had read about how to avoid problems in the first place! And, yes, sometimes the money saved can amount to
thousands of dollars; both the Lucas and later Marelli ignition systems have faults that can cost you an engine or even
the entire car in very short order.
Hey, it’s up to you; it’s your car, your time, and your money. However, I highly recommend you read this book!
Jaguars are not drive-it-and-forget-it cars; they demand a certain amount of awareness on the part of the owner, and
reading this book cover-to-cover will go a long way toward making the owner aware of his car -- and possibly save him
loads of $$$ in the future, as well as making Jaguar ownership a more pleasant experience.
If you cannot be convinced, at a minimum please read about the following topics:
• Ordering manuals and catalogs starting on page 16.
• Hot shutdowns on page 34.
• Centrifugal advance mechanism seizure (pre-Marelli ignition) beginning on page 137.
• Reread the discussion of centrifugal advance mechanism seizure beginning on page 137.
• If you still haven’t overhauled the distributor by this point, reread the discussion of centrifugal advance mechanism
seizure again. In fact, keep rereading it until that distributor has been overhauled. Am I getting through yet?
• Relocation of ignition amp (pre-1983 models), page 148.
• Catalytic convertor meltdowns on page 161 (Marelli ignition cars; if you have a car with Marelli ignition, do not fail
to read this section!).
• Shortcomings of the cooling system, recommendations, and “How hot is too hot?”, starting on page 173.
• Advice on using cooling system sealers on page 189.
• Fan cracking on page 214.
• Engine fires on page 232.
• Fuel sump pickup problems on page 251.
• Fuel pump power supply concerns on page 255.
• Soft shifts on page 337.
• Replacing the steering rack bushings on page 375.
• ABS brake testing (on cars so equipped) on page 454.
• Radius arm mount rust problems on page 464.
• Brake fluid level switch problems on page 596.
• Saving the stereo from water damage on page 665.
v
THE JAGUAR XJ-S
WHAT’S IN A NAME?: First and foremost, it’s high time to quit abusing the name “Jaguar”. It does not rhyme with
“quagmire”! According to Jim Isbell: “At a recent Jag Club meeting they showed a video of the history of Jaguar from
the Swallow to the present. I was most interested to see how the owners and perpetrators of the Jaguar company
pronounced it. There were several old voice interviews and I listened very carefully every time one of them spoke. The
pronunciation I got from those interviews was: Jag-u-wer. I think the people who invented it must know how to
pronounce it.”
The name of the car that this book addresses is the “XJ-S” -- or, at least that was the name. Up until 1982 the dash
actually had its own part number, since the four characters on the back end of the car were four separate pieces; through
the rest of the 80’s, the four characters on the back of the car were a single badge, but the hyphen was still apparent.
Since the badge on the car itself has to be considered the ultimate authority, up until 1991 anyone referring to the car as
an “XJS” was in error. This was a very common error, since XJ6 and XJ12 do not have dashes in the names and it was
commonly assumed that this was normal Jaguar naming convention. Unfortunately for anyone trying to keep such
things straight, even the folks at Jaguar were guilty of this error, as evidenced in several of their brochures and manuals.
According to Paul Skilleter’s book “Jaguar XJS: A Collector’s Guide”, when the bodywork was revised for the 1991
model year the name of the car was officially changed to “XJS” to emphasize the change.
I will also mention what a “Daimler” is. Daimler was a British automobile company that was bought out by Jaguar in
1960. However, Gottlieb Daimler also founded a German automobile company that merged with Benz & Cie. in 1926
forming Daimler-Benz AG (later DaimlerChrysler, still later Daimler AG). The Mercedes manufacturer registered the
name Daimler in the US, so Jaguar cannot use the name in the US even though the former British company by that name
belongs to them. Daimler-Benz always called its cars Mercedes (after somebody’s girlfriend many decades ago), so
there are no cars known as Daimlers sold in the US.
While the British Daimlers were originally a distinct line of automobiles, eventually they became variations on Jaguars.
Regarding the cars covered by this book, the Jaguar XJ12 was also sold as the Daimler Double Six in some countries,
with detail differences including a distinctive fluted grille.
S TYPE: From “Great Marques - Jaguar” by Chris Harvey:
The S type saloon
There was a considerable demand for a more luxurious version of the compact saloon,
and Lyons decided to combine the major improvements of the Mark X with the established
features of the Mark 2, once the Daimler had been launched. The result was the Jaguar S
type saloon introduced in 3.4-litre and 3.8 litre forms in September 1963. These cars were
similar to the Mark 2 in most dimensions and running gear, except that they had the new
independent rear suspension.
The S type (no hyphen) and most other lines of Jaguar saloon were discontinued when the XJ6 was introduced in 1968.
In a shameless attempt to capitalize on William Lyons’ glory of years past, Ford/Jaguar introduced a new S-type (with
hyphen) in 1998. David Berman says, “The S-TYPE is related to the Lincoln LS6/8. This is known as the DEW98
platform.”
So why is all this discussion in a book on the XJ-S? Because some people insist on referring to the XJ-S as an “S-type”.
Makes sense; the rolling phallic symbol known as the E-type in Europe and elsewhere was marketed as the XKE or XK-
E in the US, so it naturally follows that Jaguar’s marketing department must be similarly misguided regarding the XJ-S.
Connoisseurs of the E-type sometimes get huffy if you are so base as to refer to their cars as XKE’s, so people may
actually think they are using the more proper term for the XJ-S when they call it an S-type.
1
So, how common is this error? Believe it or not, it spread to the marketing department at Jaguar again! The 1981 XJ -S
sales brochure said:
Jaguars have always been distinguished by a special grace of form and a rare poise in
motion. Yet even among the legendary Jaguars of the past, this new S-type stands out.
The XJ-S does what Jaguars have always done -- only better. It is quick and responsive,
stable at speed, silent in motion and notably luxurious.
Despite the disinformation tactics of those goobers, it’s really not proper to refer to an XJ-S as an S-type; the mid-60’s
car was an upscale compact saloon, and even the 1998 knockoff appears to follow along that same theme. The XJ-S is
clearly in an entirely different class.
VIN NUMBER DECODING: There are two different VIN numbering schemes for the Jaguar XJ-S. All cars have a
VIN number stamped into the sheet metal dead center in front of the hood seal, and this VIN corresponds to the scheme
described below, based on input from Richard Mansell, William Noorloos, and Paul Skilleter’s book.
Position 1-3 denotes manufacturer
SAJ = Jaguar
Position 4 denotes marque
J=Jaguar
D=Daimler
5th is model
N=XJ-S
S=XJR-S
T=Special edition
6th is class
A=baseline
J=Japan
K=Japan with airbag
L=Canada
M=Canada with airbag
V=USA spec with manual belts
W=USA spec with driver airbag
Y=USA spec with passive belts.
7th is body type
C=Cabriolet
D=Convertible
E=Coupe
F=2+2 Convertible
2
8th is engine type
B=3.6 4VB
C=3.6 4VC or 3.6 4Y
D=3.6 4VD or 4.0 4Y
E=3.6 4VE
K=5.3 F
S=6.0
V=5.3 A
W=5.3 B
X=5.3 C
Y=5.3 D
Z=5.3 E
9th is Transmission and steering
3=Auto RHD
4=Auto LHD
7=manual RHD
8=manual LHD
10th is model or year change
A=XJ-S original spec
B=HE coupe
C=AJ6 coupe and convertible
D=V12 convertible
E=facelift (1992-)
except for USA, Canada and Korea where from 1981 the 10th letter indicates year of build starting with
B=1981. Skip the letter I, so J=1988.
11th is emission control equipment
(up to 1987: manufacturing plant, C=Browns Lane)
12th-17th are the vehicle’s unique number.
Andrew Stott says, “My car is UK spec, pre-HE, made in 1979, D-Jetronic. The VIN is JNAEW1AC101185. One
confusing thing is that the character in the VIN that denotes the transmission and steering is a '1' and according to the
books it should be a '7' as it is a manual RHD car. In Skilleter's XJ-S Collectors Guide, he gives details of the last
production XJ-S manual. It was made in 1979 and had a VIN of JNAEW1AC1018xx; this would suggest that the '1' in
the transmission character position is valid for a RHD manual car.”
Now, if you have a US-spec car, there is a tag within the left edge of the windshield that carries a totally different VIN
number. This VIN corresponds to the following scheme, from the “MOTOR import car crash estimating guide” for the
US:
1st-3rd Position - Manufacturers Code
SAJ=Jaguar, United Kingdom
3
4th Position - Model Line
A=XJ6
A=Vanden Plas
C=Sovereign
F=XJ6
H=XJ6, Sovereign
K=Vanden Plas
M=Majestic
M=XJ12
N=XJ-S/XJSC
P=XJR/Sport
S=Jagsport
T=Rouge/Classic
5th Position - Class/Restraint
A=Passive Seat Belt (87-89)
T=Driver Air Bag w/Passive belt
V=Active Seat Belt
W=Driver Air Bag (90-95)
X=Driver & Pass Airbag
Y=N. American Spec (83-87)
Y=Passive Seat Belt (89-93)
6th Position - Body Style
1=4 door sedan
2=2+2 Convertible
3=2 door Cabriolet
4=Convertible
5=2 door coupe
7th Position - Engine Code
0=5.3l 12 cyl, Calif.
1=4.0l 6 cyl, Supercharged
2=4.2l 6 cyl, Calif.
3=4.2l 6 cyl
3=6.0l
5=3.6l 6 cyl low compression
6=3.6l 6 cyl high compression
7=4.0l 6 cyl
8=5.3l 12 cyl
9=4.0l 6 cyl
8th Position - Transmission & Steering
4=Automatic (LHS)
8=Manual (LHS)
9th Position - Check Digit
4
10th Position - MODEL YEAR
D=1983
E=1984
F=1985
G=1986
H=1987
J=1988
K=1989
L=1990
M=1991
N=1992
P=1993
R=1994
S=1995
11th Position - Assembly Plant
C=Browns Lane, England
12th-17th Position - Production Sequence Number
Alex Dorne had a US-spec car shipped to Sweden, and reports that the process included removing the VIN tag at the
left side of the windshield -- possibly to avoid confusion between this VIN and the one under the hood. He was allowed
to keep the windshield tag. Also, the VIN under the hood also appears on the aluminum panel inside the trunk, just to
the right of the latch. He postulates that this may have been stamped as part of the Swedish import procedures as well.
ACTIVE SEAT BELTS? They don’t look very active. Peter Cohen clarifies: “It means that if you are not "active" and
"actively" fasten your seat belt, it ain't gonna be fastened. As opposed to "Passive" seat belts that are motor mouse
driven.”
WHAT’S IN A YEAR?: Now that you have deciphered your VIN and know for sure what year your XJ-S is, do you
really know what year your XJ-S is? If you live in the US, perhaps you’ve noticed that each model year seems to appear
several months before the year itself, which certainly makes it doubtful that the car was actually built in the year it’s
purported to be. Apparently, the “model year” is a term that varies from country to country, and -- of course -- the US
has the least rational definition. Peter Cohen says, “For those interested in trivia, here's how it works: In the US a given
model year can only be manufactured to be offered for sale on a single January 1st. That's the only rule. This can result
in the following (more or less true) example: A certain 1996 model of vehicle began manufacture in December 1994,
was put on sale 2 January 1995 and continued to be sold as a 1996 model until September 1996 (although legally they
could have been sold until 31 December 1996). This is not to say that one that remained unsold on 1 January 1997
would have become a 1997. It is the date that it is intended to be sold as a "current" model that the regulation applies
to. So, that's what happens when marketing types run amok.
“I find it particularly galling when you go to buy a used car. You will be asked the same price for a 4 year old car as for
a 5 year old car. You don't know what you are buying unless and until you remember to check the manufacture date,
and even then it probably won't help your bargaining position.
“On US spec vehicles, the certification label should say something like "This vehicle meets all US specifications...in
effect for model year 19xx." IMHO, that is what year a US spec car is, regardless of the manufacture date or what's on
the title.
“When you get outside of the US, "year" becomes too simplified of a question. I don't think that non-North American
spec cars come labelled with month/year of manufacture. In England, cars are referred to by their registration letter,
which changes on 1 August each year. So a leftover model becomes next years' car by virtue or having the newer
5
registration letter.”
John Littler adds, “In Oz, date of manufacture is required on the ADR compliance plate. We have a nice simple system
where a car made in ’88 is an ’88 model.”
Unfortunately, this MY hogwash can’t help but cause some inconsistencies in this book. For example, one person’s
quote might describe a fix on his ’88 when somewhere else it’s made clear that the problem shouldn’t even exist past
1987. There is simply no way to correct such things in everyone’s direct quotes, although whereever possible attempts
are made to clarify which configuration a quote is intended to reflect. In general, if this book states that something
applied to a particular range of model years, please allow about one year of leeway before deciding whether or not it
applies to your car.
XJ12 STYLES: For the benefit of those XJ12 owners who read this book, I am including some info on the various
different cars that have all been called an XJ12. The following is courtesy of B.J. Kroppe: “XJ12s were made in Series
III body style until 1992 (yes, alongside XJ40 6-cylinder models). XJ12s in XJ40 body style were made for one year.
Whether it was only one-half of a year or a full year, it was 1994. XJ12s in X300 body style were made from 1995 -
1997, when the V12 engine was retired from production.
Series I XJ12 5.3l 1972 - 1974
Series II XJ12 5.3l 1974 - 1979
Series III XJ12 5.3l 1979 - 1992
XJ40 XJ12 6.0l 1993.25 - 1995
X300 XJ12 6.0l 1995 - 1997
XJ-S 6.0l 1993.5 - 1997
“Note there were no XJ40 5.3l cars produced.”
Steve Lipscombe explains why the Series III XJ12 continued long after the XJ40 was introduced: “The first XJ40 was
certainly designed with a narrow engine bay to prevent the British Leyland management forcing the Rover V8 unit on
them. Later, when privately owned, they redesigned the bay to take the V12. This was before the Ford takeover and
the X300.”
CABRIOLET: David L. French, a US owner, describes the Cabriolet: “It has the body profile of the convertible that
was made later but has a 3-piece removable hardtop. T-tops up front and a fully removable hardtop on the rear. Totally
factory made.”
Since the Cabriolet lacks the buttresses of the coupe, it stands to reason that the body isn’t as stiff in that area. Jaguar
apparently addressed that problem by adding “ladders” underneath the rear suspension. Julian Mullaney reports: “The
ladder brace was fitted to Cabrios from the factory. Quite crude looking. You can easily spot it on a cabrio just looking
from the side. I think it connects the chassis with steel bars fore and aft of the diff. It passes under the diff. The ladder
frame does not connect to the subframe, it is definitely a chassis stiffener.”
The Cabriolet was apparently offered in 1986-87-88 model years. David King says, “There were at least 1900
Cabriolets shipped to the US and all were V12s even though it looks as if in the rest of the world the AJ6 was the more
common engine for the Cabrio. There were a total of 5014 Cabriolets built during their production run: 5013 Jaguars
and a one-off Daimler.”
HESS & EISENHARDT CONVERTIBLE: The XJ-S was designed in an era that never expected to see a convertible
again; they were expected to be outlawed for safety reasons. For many years, the only way to get an XJ-S convertible
was to hire one of many aftermarket customizing outfits to cut the roof off your coupe. By the mid-80’s the expected
ban on convertibles had failed to materialize and convertibles were making a comeback, so Jaguar responded by
contracting with Hess & Eisenhardt in Cincinnati, Ohio to make convertibles from coupes to be sold as new cars at the
Jaguar dealerships. After two years, the response had been so good that Jaguar began making its own convertibles at
6
the factory, and continued until the end of XJ-S production.
Mike Cogswell elaborates: “The H&E's were built in '87 and '88 (my '88 is one of the last, possibly the last). The H&E
is easily spotted by:
1. The small oval Hess & Eisenhardt badge on each side behind the front wheel well.
2. The top folds down flat, the later factory convertible tops are pretty high when folded.
3. The H&E has four window rocker switches. Early ones are separate, later ones in a single gang of
four.
4. The factory convertible has a small, ugly <grin> hump in the sheet metal on the side right behind the
doors. This covers the tops of the rear quarter windows, which don't fully retract.
“There are many other differences, but those are some of the most obvious.”
David Johnson adds, “The top also looks better than the regular convertible because it is fabric, not a plastic.” This may
be true for only some of the H&E tops, though. Another owner says, “I figure they had the tops made in California by
Robbins.”
Supposedly the building the H&E’s were made in burned down, but H&E is still in business making limousines and other
things.
Of course, the nickname H&E is only too likely to cause confusion with the H.E. used to describe the V12 engine with
the Michael May-designed heads.
If you own an H&E or would like to know more about them, Johnson is the guy to talk to. He operates an e-mail
discussion list dedicated to the H&E and serves as a clearinghouse for available information. His phone number is +1
303-708-1850, you can send him e-mail at david@davemjohnson.com, or you can visit his web site at
http://www.davemjohnson.com/.
LISTER: Lister is the name of an outfit that became famous for building racing “specials” powered by Jaguar XK
engines in the late 50’s. Brian Lister withdrew from the racing scene in 1959 when one of his drivers was killed in a
Formula 2 race, but the Lister name reappeared in the mid 80’s in a modified form of the XJ-S. Peter Cohen describes a
1988 Lister XJ-S he looked at: “The car had a V12 with a 5 speed manual gearbox, as well as all trim in body color (no
chrome, no stainless, no black rubber or vinyl), as well as suspension modifications. The car also has some "ground
effects" type body cladding.”
Brian Schreurs refers to a Road & Track article on the Lister: “It states that US versions got no engine upgrades, but
outside-US versions were tweaked considerably. It received a 5-speed from Getrag, the same used in BMW's 7-series at
that time, and also significant improvements to handling at no cost in ride.”
Of course, when Jaguar started offering its own JaguarSport models, the market for such aftermarket modifications
dropped. For the 90’s, Lister was building a fire-breathing monster called the Storm powered by a highly souped up 7+
litre Jaguar V12, and was competing in the major endurance races against Vipers and the like.
TWR: Stands for Tom Walkinshaw Racing, an organization with considerable success racing Jaguars in Europe.
Walkinshaw’s team won the James Hardie 1000 in Australia (better known as the Bathurst 1000) in 1985 in an XJ-S,
after an ignominious effort in 1984 in which the engine stalled on the starting grid and the car was creamed by a Camaro
coming from behind.
TWR modified customers’ XJ-S’s for street use until the formation of JaguarSport -- see below.
1988 LE MANS: Jaguar won the 24 hours of Le Mans! Brian Schreurs says, “The original XJR-S of 1988 was
considered the 'Le Mans Celebration' model. The first 100 were grey in color, had special badging, and a build number
plate. Otherwise they were built to the same specs as any other XJR-S.”
7
John Goodman elaborates: “Early '88, all tungsten grey, 15" speedline "bottletop" alloys and body spoiler kit, slight
suspension upgrade. A limited edition to commemorate Le Mans races.”
JAGUARSPORT: John Goodman: “It was set up in the late eighties, a joint venture between Jaguar and TWR Group,
sadly disbanded in '93-'94, all the tech people now work for Aston Martin. Remember, in the late eighties Jaguar was on
a high, winning race cars and everyone hyped up over the XJ220 (till they found out it had a poxy V6!). Obviously
Jaguar wanted to promote their racing pedigree... Enter Tom Walkinshaw who had been modifying Jaguars to special
order.
“Standard XJ-S's and XJ40's were taken from the Coventry production line and modified at the new JaguarSport plant in
Bloxham (near Banbury in the Cotswold hills England). This is the same plant that assembled the XJ220 and race cars.
This plant now makes the Aston Martin DB7.
“The very low volume production run of JaguarSport 6.0L engines were expensive to produce. Jaguar upped the cc of
the last of the standard Jaguar XJ-S's and XJ12's with a different uprated 6.0L engine and 4 speed autos, this is
reportedly not the same 6.0L as the JaguarSport unit; I do not know the difference, output is similar at 335 bhp, but
retains Marelli ign.
“The JaguarSport XJ40's '88-'92 (both 3.6 and 4.0L models were made, no US versions) were more heavily modified,
special cams and cyl heads.”
Richard Mansell adds: “The first JaguarSport cars were modified at Kidlington, the home of the TWR Jaguar racing
team. JaguarSport moved to Bloxham a year or two later. Cars to be modified were delivered there minus bumpers but
trimmed to JaguarSport spec.
“Owners with standard cars could have them modified to JaguarSport spec under the FAB scheme (Fitted At
Bloxham).”
Nathaniel Musselman says, “I tried to call JagSport in UK, but the number is answered as Aston Martin.”
XJR-S: Richard Mansell: “Some of the many mods included on the original XJR-S's were: 11% stiffer front springs,
20% less compliant rear radius arm bushes, specially valved Bilstein shocks. They were shod with 15" x 7.5" Speedline
wheels. Later on the wheels were widened by 0.5" and different tyres specified. Various suspension mods were made
along the way too. The original paint colours available were - Signal Red, Regency Red, Black, Solent Blue, Silver
Frost and Brooklands Green. The only other colour mentioned for the early cars is Tungsten Grey which was used on
the first 100 XJR-S's sold as Le Mans specials.
“In theory a real XJR-S will have the letter S as the 6th character of the VIN.”
John Goodman: “The Le Mans model changed or rebadged to the XJR-S in '88 until October '89 when the XJR-S was
more heavily modified with uprated engine (6.0L), autobox, all new uprated suspension, and similar "bottletop" wheels
but 8" wide and 16" diameter. Except for the spare which is still 15" with a temporary speed limited tyre!! Could be
because the 245/55 tyres don't fit the wheel well in the trunk; more likely it is because the wheels have different offsets
and different size tyres (225/50 front), so you would need two spares! Or risk mismatched wheels; at least with this it
has a bright orange label on it clearly showing the speed restriction and a warning to change as soon as possible.
“Surprisingly there is no rear anti-roll bar fitted, do not know about the '92's. I do know that TWR spent a lot of time
perfecting the setup for its intended market, i.e. it must retain its Jaguar qualities and handle better, it was never meant to
be a track car. The Lister modified cars were more for the race track feel. Similarly the Sportspack equipped 3.6
manual was designed for another market, it had to feel like it was sporty even if the ride was uncharacteristic for a Jag.
“The XJR-S continued in the new body shape with even more revisions until the introduction of the last of the
"standard" XJS's with the 6.0L/4 speed auto. A dark blue was introduced for the '92 cars and a nice metallic silver/pink,
but you could probably have any Jaguar colour off the production line.
“The genuine JaguarSport XJR-S 6.0 may be identified by the red "JaguarSport V12" badge on the inlet manifolds at a
8
quick glance. Officially these came out in Sept '89. I think all 6.0L engine numbers must start with 8W01****** (mine
does anyway)
“The '88 XJR-S and Sept '88 limited edition Celebration model XJR-S were all standard 5.3. However, TWR converted
a few cars to special order before it changed over to JaguarSport. Some were just cosmetic with standard engines and
some had various engine mods up to 7.2L but the most common was 6.1L and apparently more V12 saloons were
converted than XJ-S's.
“As TWR rebuilt customers' own cars/engines (not necessarily new ones either) then I would guess that the engine no.
relates to the original 5.3 that the car started with. But, I believe there should be a bronze identification plate
somewhere on the engine indicating a genuine TWR engine.
“Should you be lucky enough to actually have an early pre production XJR-S 6.0 it could be some sort of hybrid, may
not have all the mods.
“First look in the boot, the ECU is very obviously different, for a start it's mounted on the left of the fuel tank. There are
two injector power resistors on the L/H inner front wing instead of the usual one of the standard V12 and the air boxes
are also totally different from the standard car, everything else looks the same.
“On the road they are magic! Not harsh, but very good handling. The GM 400 auto box has modified shift speeds and
are quicker in changing, and less reluctant to kick-down into 1st. The steering racks have reduced assistance and appear
to turn faster. The suspension/spring set up is unique to the 6.0L, not the same as the sport spec. option.
“The '92 cars had more power than the pre-facelifted version, went from 318 to 338 BHP with cat exhausts. The BHP
increase is quite small but the engine has a lot more torque.
“US spec: Only 50 coupes and 50 convertibles imported '93 -'94, all were red or black.... So are very rare. Easily
identified by special steering wheel and JaguarSport logo on the seat headrests. Special 6.0L engine (338 bhp) with
Zytek ignition/injection and sequential injection, special reprogrammed GM400 shift speeds, special springs/ bilsteins
(not the same as the sport spec option on the standard cars), 8" wide special alloys with different offsets for front and
rear and an odd mix of rubber, 245/55 rear 225/50, front revalved power steering rack 30% stiffer, twin in tank fuel
pumps. Also, revised more efficient electric cooling fan, revised ducted cold air intakes for the manifolds and a few
other bits! It's not just plastic body mouldings and badges as you thought!!!
“You can order the XJR-S product support manual publication no S-80, unfortunately only available in the USA.
Around $25, but it looks like a dealer service manual.
“The only downside to these cars are the special ECU and distributor. Very expensive and the average Jag dealer knows
little about them! They can be repaired however if sent to the Zytek factory here in the UK. All the other engine
sensors are std. XJS. JaguarSport parts are easily available, I have had no difficulty.”
“Any Jag dealer should be able to give you a print out of all the JaguarSport parts (a few hundred). Apart from the
engines, revised GM400 shift settings, injection/ignition, suspension, bodykit and minor interior changes the rest of the
parts are the same.
“JaguarSport has been disbanded, I have horrendous trouble trying to get technical information for my F.I. problem
(minor problem). However, I have had no trouble in the availability of "JaguarSport" parts.
“US dealers did have, may still have, a technical help hotline to Jaguar UK for all XJR-S queries.”
Goodman adds that “There are full parts lists for all JaguarSport bits on the XJR-S web pages.”
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/xjrs/index.htm
SPORTSPACK: John Goodman: “The SportsPack has nothing to do with JaguarSport. In fact I believe it is standard
on most of the 3.6L coupe XJ-S's (not sure on US cars) and an option on the V12 and 3.6 convertible. Jaguar assumed
the 3.6 5 speed would appeal to the sporty driver! Basically it is harsher springs and dampers, rack bushes and a sporty
steering wheel; I think the cross spoke alloys with 235/60 tyres were part of the package at first but were later offered
9
separately. Ride is quite knobbly; it does not include the re-valved steering rack of the XJR-S 6.0L, which has yet again
different springs/ bilsteins (which also appears lower) and has a far smoother ride than a V12 with the SportsPack
option.”
Richard Mansell: “It was introduced by Jaguar as standard on the 3.6 in Sep 1987 and comprised of 43% uprated front
springs, 3% uprated rear springs, uprated Boge shocks all round, increased diameter front anti-roll bar, rear anti-roll bar
re-introduced, reduced assistance power steering, stiffer rack bushes and Pirelli P600 235/60 VR tyres on the lattice
wheels.
“The SportsPack, a variation of the one on the 3.6, was introduced on the V12 in Dec 1989. Judging by the parts
manual the front suspension is different, I guess because of the extra weight of the V12. The rear springs and shocks are
the same as the 3.6. The rear radius arm and anti roll bar is from the 3.6.
“The sports suspension became available in the US in Feb 1993.
“The later 5 volume workshop manual has a table of shift points for the standard gearbox and one for the SportsPack
gearbox.”
“The twin coachlines along the side of the car were two tone as part of the SportsPack although from VIN 144700 (3.6)
and VIN 148782 (V12) this became standard.
“The sports seats were originally only available as part of the SportsPack.”
1990 LE MANS: Jaguar won again! Mansell: “The second Le Mans Special Edition was introduced at the
Birmingham (UK) Motor show in September 1990 to celebrate the TWR XJR-12 win. Based on a standard car, the 280
models built had quad headlights, 16" lattice wheels, sports suspension, full Autolux leather interior, high-contrast
walnut veneer, a four spoke leather steering wheel and Wilton carpets. The stainless steel sill plates had a 'Le Mans V12'
motif along with the limited edition serial number.
North America did not receive the Le Mans but had their own Classic Collection instead. Along with unique paint
colours, magnolia leather with contrasting piping, leather gearshift knob, charcoal toned leather steering wheel they also
had gold boot and bonnet badges.”
Goodman: “Just a standard XJ-S with SportsPack and spoilers.”
Brian Schreurs says, “There were 280 built for the world. No breakdown on Federal vs. ROW.”
1990 ROUGE EDITION: Brian Schreurs says, “It is a special trim package; no structural changes.”
CALIFORNIA, 1991: Peter Cohen says, “Here in California, there were no 1991 XJ-S’s. The dealers sold 1990
models all through 1991, until the 1992 model came out. I thought that was just the way it was until 1994 when I came
across an actual 1991 Federal model. Now I realize that there are 1991 XJ-S’s all over, just not in California.”
1993, US MARKET: Enrico Campelli says, “For 1993 the standard XJ-S V12 was dropped for USA market and was
only available as XJR-S version, coupè or convertible. 50 coupè and 50 convertible were produced, finished only either
in Signal Red or Jet Black.”
Charlie Randle disagrees. “The US 1993 year XJR-S series were manufactured in a limited edition of 50 Convertibles
and 50 Coupes featuring a serialized plaque on the Dash. The 6.0 engine had the Zytek Engine Management system and
the old 3 speed slushamatic transmission. However, the colors were not limited to black and red. I have seen a Silver
coupe and a Silver convertible here in North Florida, both of which seemed to cycle through the dealer's used car lot
fairly often as the Zytek system was hard to maintain and a frequent problem according to the dealer.”
Steve Gallant cleared up the discrepancy by reporting that, in addition to the 100 red and black cars, there were 4 silver
10
“press” cars (three coupes and one convertible). “Believed to be not part of the 100 since they do not have the silver ID
plate on the console.” He adds: “Red cars have a cream leather interior, black and silver have a black leather (charcoal)
interior. The '94 and later Jaguar 6.0L XJS' have nothing to do with these cars”
Jaguar offered the 4.0 XJ-S in the US in 1993 while the V12 engine was being reworked.
INSIGNIA EDITION: Brian Schreurs says, “Insignia was a limited edition special order. The differences were:
The wood veneer in any colour.
The leather colour any which you wanted.
Piping on the seats.
Insignia Alloy wheels.
Boot fabric was different, thick flannel.”
John Goodman adds, “Not sure about the numbers produced but certainly not more than 100-200, documented
information is very scarce. Mechanically a standard XJS, but with the option at the time to choose a wide range of wild
pearlescent non-standard body colours and customised interior colours/fabrics, including I believe the option of different
wood veneers or grey stained (like the XJ sports sedans). UK market had the quad headlights as well.
“Basically, whatever the customer wanted Jaguar would try to do it! Some colours were quite tame, some wild! All the
mechanical bits are standard so no maintenance worries. May have the option of the sports suspension kit as well;
depends, I think, on country.”
Richard Mansell: “The Insignia options were available by special order from October 1992 and it basically allowed you
to personalise your car with a range of different finishes. The Jaguar sales catalogue from around that period says:
"Like all Jaguars, the latest XJ-S models provide a comprehensive wealth of equipment and appointments as
part of their standard specification; there is no question of providing just a basic car and then charging extra
for virtually every desirable refinement. As a result, the list of items shown here as being optional at extra cost
is quite small. Nevertheless, there is one important development which must be mentioned. This is 'Insignia',
a service carried out by the craftsman of Jaguar Special Vehicle Operations. Under this service they offer:
Stunning, exclusive paint colours
Soft, semi-aniline all-leather interiors, uniquely styled and trimmed in a range of special colours
A choice of natural or tinted wood veneers to compliment and enhance the chosen paint and trim colours"
Mansell mentions that Jaguar Special Vehicle Operations “built the Daimler DS420 Limousine and other specials.”
WEIRD CONVERSIONS: Lots of Jaguars end up converted or modified, especially in the early years when
convertibles weren’t available from the factory. If you have something you can’t identify, Peter Cohen suggests: “The
answer should lie on your doorpost. US federal law requires that a company that modifies a vehicle (such as a
motorhome or convertible conversion) affix a label to the vehicle that says something to the effect of:
"Modified by:___________ Date:_____________
This vehicle conforms to all applicable motor vehicle safety standards in effect on date of manufacture shown
above"
or something like that.
“This should tell you who did the conversion, and, if you are lucky, it will tell you where they are located.”
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PRODUCTION NUMBERS: John Ratcliff provided these numbers from “a 60-page supplement to the June 95 edition
of Classic and Sports Car, called ‘60 Years of Jaguar - A Celebration’.”
XJ12 1972-73 3228
XJ12 SII 1973-79 16,010
XJ Coupe (5.3) 1975-77 1855
XJ-S 1975-81 14,890
XJ12 SIII 1979-92 15,918
XJ-S H.E. 1981-91 46,895
XJ-S Cabriolet 1983-88 1143 (3.6)
3864 (5.3)
XJ-S 3.6 coupe 1983-91 9979
XJ-S V12 convertible 1987-91 12,771
XJR-S 1988-93 n/a
XJS (4.0, 5.3, 6.0) 1991- n/a
V12 saloon (XJ40) 1993-94 n/a
XJ6/XJ12 (facelift) 1994- n/a
HORSEPOWER: Brian Schreurs: “According to my library, these are the various horsepower/torque ratings:
British-spec pre-HE 5.3L V12: 285@5500/294@3500
Federal-spec pre-HE 5.3L V12: 244@5250/269@4500
British-spec 5.3L V12 HE: 299@5500/318@3000
Federal-spec 5.3L V12 HE: 262@5000/290@3000
British-spec 3.6L 6-cyl: 225@5300/240@4000
British-spec AJ6 4.0L 6-cl: 223@4750/277@3650 (to summer 1994)
Federal-spec AJ6 4.0L 6-cyl: 219@4750/273@3650 (to summer 1994)
British-spec AJ16 4.0L 6-cyl: 241@4700/282@4000 (to present)
Federal-spec AJ16 4.0L 6-cyl: 237@4700/282@4000 (to present)
(no difference in market noted) 6.0L V12: 308@5350/355@2850
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SHOPPING FOR A USED XJ-S
If you are considering the purchase of a used XJ-S, there is one very important thing to do: Insist upon having a
compression check performed -- by an independent mechanic, if possible. On a V12, one or two bad cylinders can easily
go unnoticed on a test drive if you aren’t familiar with how the Jaguar should drive.
If any cylinders read lower than the rest by more than 10% or so, be aware that an engine overhaul will cost thousands.
You will probably decide to pass on the car unless it is really cheap and you plan on engine work anyway.
Note that it is unusually difficult to pull the spark plugs on this car, so a compression check will involve a couple hours
labor on the part of your mechanic. Money well spent.
Mike McGaw suggests that, if the car has ABS brakes, special attention be paid to their condition. Apparently some
owners, upon learning how much it will cost them to repair their ABS brakes, decide that the solution is to disconnect
the warning indicators and sell the car. This is liable to lead to a very expensive and a very dangerous situation indeed.
There is a diagnosic process described under "Accumulator Testing" on page 457 that is easily performed and will go a
long way toward instilling confidence in the condition in the system.
One other noteworthy comment regards mileage. If properly maintained, the Jaguar can easily pass 200,000 miles
before any major renovation is needed. So, the prospective Jaguar buyer would be well advised to pay a little less
attention to what the odometer says and a little more attention to the completeness of the maintenance records.
As far as everything else on the car is concerned, it’s pretty much the same as buying any other car. Bodywork and
repainting are always expensive, and are more so on a Jaguar. Rust is always a call for concern. Apparent bodges or
slipshod repairs are signs of trouble.
If you’re really a careful shopper, read this entire book first. It will give you a really good idea what pitfalls to look for
in a used car.
Don Marlin notes that you can check out the Kelley Blue Book WWW page at:
http://www.kbb.com/
Or, of course, you could actually buy a Kelley Blue Book. There is another similar product by the National Automobile
Dealers Association (NADA). Both come in both a consumer and a dealer version.
Mike Wilson adds another source of value estimation:
CPI Value Guide
P.O. Box 3190
Laurel, MD. 20709
1-800-972-5312
RELIABILITY CONCERNS: Is the Jaguar XJ-S a reliable automobile? I think that, based on a review of any of the
available statistics, the short answer would have to be no. However, the real reasons for the poor reliability record are
probably not those commonly offered. It’s not really the fact that the engine has 12 cylinders, although this does affect
the cost of repairs.
There are really two basic reasons for the poor reliability record. The first is that there were a few minor glitches in the
design of particular components, which is not all that unusual in automobile design, but while most automakers try to
correct such problems in a timely manner Jaguar apparently allowed many of these problems go unaddressed for
decades. This is arguably because Jaguar was suffering management problems as well as financial problems for a
considerable portion of the production life of this car.
The second reason is a long and shameful history of consistently incompetent service from Jaguar dealers, specialists,
13
and everyone else offering to work on these cars. Obviously, when a common problem becomes apparent in the design
of a car, competent service providers would determine the corrective action necessary and offer such repairs to owners.
But, as noted in many places in this book, service providers have not helped and have even exacerbated many problems,
and apparently continue to do so to this day!
Fortunately, the problems of the design of the XJ-S are all minor and easily corrected, which can render the car very
reliable indeed. When looking for a used car, make sure to select one that hasn’t already been seriously damaged by
poor maintenance (notably overheating), and then promptly read the page titled “IS THIS A REFERENCE BOOK?” at
the front and check through all the items listed. Be sure to actually take the corrective actions recommended; don’t just
read about them!
Some prospective owners are reportedly even scared off by the size of this book! As the author I’m clearly biased, but
I’d suggest that anyone who spent more than ten years compiling information on a Chevrolet Camaro or Ford Mustang
or any other model that’s been offered for more than 20 years would end up with a book at least as hefty as this one!
DURABILITY: Durability is really a different concept than reliability. Reliability is all about a car’s tendency to quit
and leave you stranded or cost you money, while durability is about how long you can drive the car before it’s worn slap
out and needs to be completely renovated or replaced. The two concepts are often confused, and in fact are somewhat
related; as individual components wear out and break down, they render the car unreliable. But when talking about true
durability, the Jaguar XJ-S is a standout among automobiles. One being worn to the point of requiring renovation is
almost unheard of. If the car has the problems noted in this book addressed and the owner replaces items such as rubber
seals, belts and hoses, and normal wear items on a timely basis, the Jaguar XJ-S could easily be considered a car to last a
lifetime. There may be a few other cars with comparable durability, but one that’s this much fun to drive is truly rare!
The one notable exception to the car’s durability is probably the original paint. The paint used up until at least the mid-
80’s was lousy, usually fading, crazing, and otherwise looking really terrible. If such a car hasn’t been repainted already,
purchasers should probably budget about $3000 for a complete strip and repaint as part of bringing such a car up to
acceptable condition. The 90’s cars supposedly used better paint.
14
GENERAL
GETTING SERVICE: Keeping your Jaguar in good working order is like anything else: If you want it done right, do it
yourself. Doing as much of your own maintenance as possible is highly recommended, based on experiences shared on
the online discussion lists (many of which are related in this book). You might be thinking, “Yeah, but wouldn’t I be
better off hiring somebody with a lot of experience working on these cars?” The answer: You’re holding all the
experience you’re ever likely to need. That’s why the book was so named.
Nevertheless, there will be owners who don’t want to get dirty, or don’t have the time, or don’t have the tools, or don’t
have a garage, or for whatever other reason would simply prefer to pay someone else to work on their car than do it
themselves. There’s nothing wrong with such a strategy; it simply must be made clear that such a decision should not be
made with the expectation that the car will get better service. More convenient, maybe; quicker, quite possibly. But a
long history of experiences with Jaguar dealers, specialists, mechanics, and the like indicate that the XJ-S owner should
expect more problems if he takes his car somewhere for service than if he maintains it himself using this book as a guide.
That said, some guidelines on finding a good mechanic: First, note that the XJ-S has been out of production for some
time now, and Jaguar dealerships are not likely to be all that enthused about working on it. Some dealers might be lucky
to even have a mechanic on staff that was there when these cars were built, and all the newer mechanics will have been
trained on the current models rather than the older models. When you pull into a dealer for service, don’t be surprised if
the only enthusiasm displayed towards you and your car comes from a salesman anxious to talk you into trading in that
old pile of junk on a brand new whatever.
With a car such as the Jaguar XJ-S, you will invariably be far better off finding an “enthusiast” -- a guy who loves these
cars and loves to work on them. Even if he works in a dilapidated shack, you’re likely to be much happier with his work
than you would taking the car to a shiny dealership that doesn’t care about your car.
Of course, enthusiasts can be hard to find. One excellent idea would be to ask other Jaguar owners who they take their
cars to. If there is a Jaguar club in the area, ask them. Finally, if there simply are no enthusiasts in your area, consider
finding out where the nearest one is anyway; even if you don’t take your car that far away for oil changes and the like,
there may come a day when you need someone to call who can really help.
Striking out totally in the enthusiast search, your next best option would be to simply find a good independent mechanic.
If he’s willing to tackle a Jaguar, he will probably be capable of fixing most of the problems likely to crop up; it’s not
that different from other cars. If you do a little reading in this book before you go, quite likely the two of you can get
started in the right direction towards getting your problems sorted.
I’d like to suggest that you simply make a copy of this book and give it to your mechanic to help him work on your car,
but experience shows that this doesn’t work very well. Many mechanics seem to consider it an insult that you would
suggest that he needs help from a book. Others apparently can’t read. And almost none of them are inclined to put that
kind of time into learning about Jaguars, especially since they have never seen a book like this one and are unaware
anything of the sort exists. So, perhaps you might offer a copy, or perhaps just discuss your car with him and if he asks
how come you know so much you can tell him about it. If you happen to find a mechanic who expresses an interest in
the book, I’d suggest you have a keeper; if he actually reads a significant portion of it, he will be the best mechanic
you’re likely to find.
Meanwhile, if you will read this book, you will find yourself far better able to judge whether or not a mechanic is up to
snuff on the Jaguar XJ-S. You will become an informed consumer.
PARTS REPLACEMENT STRATEGIES: For those obsessed with keeping their cars in original condition, obviously
only original parts will do. The suggestions throughout this book are for those who simply want their cars to run and to
minimize cost and grief in the process.
Experienced British car enthusiasts will agree that most of their reliability problems come from two sources: Non-
15
metallic parts and Lucas electrics. This is especially true for Jaguars, where the rest of the car is generally excellent.
Rumors abound as to why the rubber and plastic parts on British cars tend to crap out so soon. One rumor says there is
a law in Britain requiring the use of natural rubber rather than the far superior synthetic elastomers. Whatever the cause,
the Jaguar owner is well advised to replace the original Jaguar seals, hoses, belts, etc., with non-British substitutes
whenever feasible.
It has been suggested that the various vinyl and rubber protectants on the market, such as STP Son Of A Gun, can be
used to help many rubber components last longer. Sandy Gibbs: “When I owned a TR8 I had many of the same
problems regarding engine heat and rubber components. I found Armor All and Son of a Gun were useless unless
applied every three or four days (if you drive the car much). What did work was brake fluid, of all things. You have to
soak the part in question pretty well then rub the fluid in. Let the part dry before running the car. This procedure may
have to be repeated two or three days in a row but then the rubber is revitalized, after that one need only repeat the
procedure every two or three months. The key here is keeping the brake fluid off anything but the rubber part. This
process works on nearly any rubber part except, for some reason, tires.”
Lucas has been called the “Father of Darkness”. Contrary to popular opinion, Lucas did not invent darkness -- they
merely perfected it to a fine art! The owner is well advised to replace Lucas electrical components with alternative
products when feasible. It should be noted that many of the electrical parts on a Jag are not really Lucas; the “Jaguar”
stereo is probably made in Japan, and many of the EFI components are Bosch relabelled as Lucas.
Other than electrical and non-metallic parts, Jaguar components are typically excellent, and most are reasonably priced.
Whether it is better to replace a broken item with the Jaguar original or a substitute must be decided on an individual
basis. A good general rule is: If the original failed of its own accord, it might be better to try another source. But if the
failure was secondary (due to something else failing first), the Jaguar parts may very well be the best there are;
substitutions are in order only where the prices of the originals are unreasonable.
Regarding rebuilt parts, Randy Wilson says, “There are many companies out there that rebuild to a price, replacing only
the “common” failure part. Their attitude is it’s cheaper to only replace the one part and let the consumer figure out
which units need more work than it is to full rebuild and test every unit. This is true with electrical, a/c, steering gear,
and other things. The real sad part is these unscrupulous clowns often drive the reputable rebuilders out of the market
by the price difference. Rebuilds are a pain. The cheap ones are no bargain. And just buying an expensive one is no
guarantee. It may be a thorough rebuild, or it may be a cheap one that your vendor is making a killing on.”
REPAIR MANUALS: For a listing of sources for manuals, see “PUBLICATIONS AND PERIODICALS” starting on
page 722.
As mentioned on the flyer page, this book is not intended to substitute for a proper repair manual; you will need to buy
one if you intend to do any work on the car. In general, there appear to be three to choose from: an XJ- S Repair
Operation Manual from Jaguar intended for owners, a set of XJ-S Service Manuals from Jaguar intended for dealers
and authorized mechanics, and a Haynes manual. The Jaguar publications come in several varieties for different model
years, while the Haynes has been published in only one version.
The XJ-S Repair Operation Manual (commonly referred to as “the ROM”), is expensive (around $100) and mediocre;
not only is it somewhat difficult to follow, it is also fraught with errors. Nevertheless, it’s still probably the best choice
here.
From the introduction of the XJ-S until 1982, Jaguar offered a basic ROM, part no. AKM 3455, ©1975. This edition
does not cover the GM400 automatic transmission.
With the introduction of the H.E. in 1982, Jaguar issued an addendum titled Jaguar XJ-S H.E. - Supplement to the
Repair Operation Manual, part no. AKM 3455/S1, ©1982, commonly known as “the H.E. Supplement”. They also
issued an updated edition of the ROM, AKM 3455 Ed 3 “incorporating H.E. Supplement”, ©1982. Understandably, the
H.E. Supplement included in Ed 3 is identical to the Supplement available as a separately bound volume. Ed 3 does
cover the GM400 automatic transmission, though.
16
In 1984 part no. AKM 3455 Ed 4 was issued; this apparently represents the last correction and update to the ROM
itself, even though rather than incorporate the H.E. data into the main part of the manual it continued to feature an H.E.
supplement. From 1984 on, the ROM was updated solely by the addition of supplements; “Ed 4” comes with
Supplement A only, “Ed 4/2” (©1989) comes with Supplements A & B, and “Ed 4/3” (©1995) comes with
Supplements A, B, and C:
A 1979 - 1984 H.E.
B 1984 - 1988 1/2 Lucas 'P', cabriolet from VIN 112586, 30 pages
C 1988 1/2 - on 6.0 litre, 4-speed A/T, ABS, new body, convertible, 168 pages
Physically, the ©1975 ROM and ©1982 Supplement came as separate softcover books with off-white covers, while in
the Ed 3 and Ed 4 versions Jaguar incorporated the manual and supplements into a single binding. John M. Smith has
the Ed 4 printing, and somehow got a hardbound copy: “Pre-H.E. sections in white pages. H.E. supplement at rear in
green pages.” Steve Draper reports on his Ed 4/2: “It is a single softbound volume.” Chris Carley got the Ed 4/3, “One
book soft bound in Jag green. Each supplement has black edge at the beginning page with heading so you can flick
through & see it.”
Supplement A in the Ed 4 books is apparently quite similar to the ©1982 separately-bound H.E. Supplement, even
though the ©1982 Supplement is 63 pages while Supplement A is 74 pages. The pages must be counted by hand since
neither of these supplements have sequentially numbered pages. This book contains many references to the ©1982
Supplement, since the author owns a copy; readers should generally presume that the references apply equally well to
Supplement A.
Unfortunately, when you actually try to buy a repair manual, you not only may have trouble telling which version you’re
getting -- you may have trouble telling if it’s a ROM! For some reason, many booksellers have an aversion to actually
listing the title as clearly printed on the front of the book. Rather than offering an XJ- S Repair Operation Manual, they
will call it an “Official Shop Manual”, “Official Jaguar Repair Manual”, or whatever other name they can dream up to
confuse the customer. In general, if the price is in the $80-$120 range, you can assume it’s the XJ- S Repair Operation
Manual, but it never hurts to ask to make sure before shelling out the cash.
Also note: With some bookstores, if you tell them what year car you have, you may get only what they think you need;
this author has an ’83, and ended up with the ©1975 edition ROM and the ©1982 Supplement. While this may be
considered acceptable, a later ROM is always better since they still contain the earlier info; the Ed 4 is clearly an
improvement over the ©1975 ROM even if you own a mid-70’s XJ-S simply due to the corrections incorporated. And
there is always the possibility that you may decide to upgrade some part of your car with the parts from a later car. Just
about the only reason to accept an earlier ROM is if you find a clearance price.
Note that if you have the GM400 transmission, you will want to insist upon the Ed 3 or Ed 4 edition; the ©1975 ROM
covers only the Borg-Warner, and the ©1982 Supplement doesn’t help. The Ed 4 edition covers the GM400 quite
thoroughly, as described by Patrick MacNamara: “My ROM AKM 3455 Ed 4 has an extensive chapter on removal,
fault finding and overhaul for the GM 400. It also contains everything on the BW except removal. Interestingly, the
table of contents lists both transmissions and all related chapters as the same for both (ie 44.00.00 is data and description
for the GM, while 44.00.00 is hydraulic flow charts for the BW). You just have to make sure you are looking at the
correct chapter 44 in the text as there are two.”
If you happen to get stuck with the ©1975 ROM and wish to work on your GM400 automatic transmission, your best
bet would be to get a separate repair manual for the tranny. Andrew Kalman suggests How To Work With And Modify
The Turbo Hydra-matic 400 Transmission by Ron Sessions, Motorbooks International, 1987, 224 pages, 300
illustrations; ISBN 0-89738-267-8. Kalman says: “It seems quite complete, with a historical overview, basic
maintenance, operation, overhaul, modifications and speed tuning.” This book is highly recommended by many; for
example, Mark Johnson says, “If Kirby had compiled a book on transmissions, this would be it.” How’s that for an
endorsement!
Of course, you will still lack instructions on how to remove and reinstall the GM400 in an XJ-S, but you can pretty
much make that up as you go along (with help from the transmission mount info starting on page 342 in this book) -- or
you could just buy a Haynes manual, described below. The Sessions book plus the Haynes manual will still be cheaper
17
than buying another ROM to get the GM400 info.
Your second repair manual option is to purchase the XJ- S Service Manuals, which come as sets of several volumes
each. If you thought the Repair Operation Manual was expensive, the series of XJ- S Service Manuals ought to be
good for a major coronary: Several hundred bucks a set. On top of that, you may end up having to buy more sets than
you anticipated; while the later edition ROM’s contain all the info on earlier cars, the multi-volume Service Manuals do
not. Richard Mansell: “Now that I have the manuals in my hot little hands it appears to be more complicated than I
thought. The pre-H.E. to 87-88 manuals (JJM 10 04 06) appear to be based around the pre-H.E. with extra sections to
cover the differences between these and the H.E. (pretty logical so far). The new manuals, up to 91, (JJM 10 04 06-20)
come in 5 volumes rather than the earlier 4 but only appear to cover the additions since the earlier manuals for the 5.3
plus a random selection of the original information. Oh, and it covers the 4.0 engine too. In other words, if you have an
’89 to ’91 5.3 and you want to know about the new ignition, etc., you will need both sets as the later volume set refers
to many sections that only exist in the earlier set; e.g. under the heading “Cylinder heads overhaul” it says:
Remove left and right hand cylinder heads, see 12.29.01.
Where is 12.29.01? Only in the earlier set! Since the five-volume set costs more than the earlier one, I assumed it
would be a complete guide to the later cars. Wrong!
“The only thing of great value in the five-volume set that is not in the four is the Marelli ignition.
“Each set comprise of hardback green ring bound folders with a white growler and the words Service Manual on the
front. The copyright of the first manual is 1988. JJM 10 04 06-20 has the copyright date of 1991.
“I understand that there are add-ons, JJM 10 04 06-201 and 202 that cover models ’92 to ’96. 6.0L engine plus other
changes.” The H. D. Rogers web site (page 712) confirms this, and reiterates that these later manuals are not stand-
alone either -- if you have a ’92-on car you will need all of these sets to cover it.
Robert Woodling says, “I have purchased both the factory four-volume set and the Repair Operation Manual. The
four-volume set in some instances provides better detail while the ROM provides a better step-by-step approach.”
Before buying the multi-volume Service Manuals, you might want to consider the CD-ROM mentioned below. In fact,
you might have to; Keith Lumsdaine says, “As of December 2000, the official Jaguar Workshop Manual part number
JJM 100406 20 for the 1991-on cars is no longer available, as Jaguar have now [Feb 2001] issued it with the
Supplements JJM100406 201 & JJM 100406 202 in CD-ROM form.”
The only XJ-S repair manual made by anyone other than Jaguar is a Haynes manual, Jaguar XJ12 & XJS. This was
manual #478 in Haynes’ old numbering scheme, and is #49015 in their new numbering scheme -- but it’s the same book
either way. It’s a lot cheaper than the Jaguar publications (under $20), cheap enough you might as well pick one up
even if you plan on buying the Jaguar books anyway. It’s based on portions of the factory manuals with some photos of
a teardown of a Daimler Double Six added. This repair manual is referred to simply as “the Haynes manual” throughout
this book.
Classic Motorbooks catalogs list a Haynes manual titled Jaguar 12-Cylinder 1972-85, but this is actually the same book
-- Classic Motorbooks simply cannot bring themselves to list the correct title.
The Haynes manual benefits from some recall and technical bulletin info that does not appear in the Jaguar manuals. It
includes some basic procedures for the GM400 automatic, including a removal/reinstallation procedure, but no overhaul
info. It only covers up to 1985, so owners of later cars will not get any info on the ABS brakes, Marelli ignition, etc.,
and would therefore be better advised to get the Repair Operation Manual with suitable supplements.
Gross errors in the ROM as well as the Haynes are addressed in this book, since the author owns both books; it is
suggested that owners mark all corrections in their manuals as they read about them.
REPAIR MANUALS -- 6-CYLINDER XJ-S’S: The Jaguar XJ- S Repair Operation Manual, AKM 3455, does not
cover the 6-cylinder engines at all, nor their respective transmissions. Gerda Kennedy of Bookspeed (page 722) says,
“There is a separate manual for the XJS 6-cylinder 3.6 and 4.0” and that Bookspeed can provide it. The part number is
AKM 9063. Unfortunately, Walter Petermann counters: “I picked up the AKM 9063. It only covers the 3.6.
18
Copyright date is 83.” That explains that; 1983 is when the AJ6 engine was introduced, so obviously the book won’t
contain the 4.0 AJ16 engine or even the EFI system that was introduced in 1988 with the XJ40.
Petermann goes on to describe the publication: “There's 9 'booklets', about 30-45 pages each. The complete manual is
AKM 9063, but each book has its own number e.g. AKM 9063/1../2 etc.
Book 1: intro, general specs, engine tuning data, jacking, lubricants, maintenance, service tools.
Book 2: Engine
Book 3: emission control, fuel system, cooling system, manifold & exhaust
Book 4: Clutch, manual gearbox
Book 5: Propellor (?), final drive
Book 6: Steering, front suspension, rear suspension, brakes, wheels & tires
Book 7: Body
Book 8: Air conditioning
Book 9: windscreen wipers & washers, electrical, instruments
“The AKM 9063 is now discontinued.”
Note that AKM 9063 does cover the 8CU electronic fuel injection system used on the early AJ6, which never appeared
in any other Jaguar and therefore may be a bit difficult to get info on elsewhere.
Even if you have a later 6-cylinder car, buying AKM 9063 might still make more sense than buying a V12 ROM.
Perhaps you might choose to buy AKM 9063 along with another book -- such as an XJ40 (1988-94 XJ6) manual -- that
covers the later engine configurations (the XJ40 and the ‘88-on 6-cyl XJ-S have the same engine and transmission).
XK’s Unlimited (page 697) offers a book called the Jaguar XJ6 Workshop Manual -- Owners Edition: “Covers 1988 to
1994, 180 pages. This is an "Owners Edition" manual, meaning it is a boiled-down version of the full factory manuals
and covers the maintenance and repair projects most likely to be tackled by an owner.” The good news is that it’s only
about forty bucks. A Haynes manual might also be a consideration; see below.
There apparently is a later Jaguar publication that covers the 6-cylinder XJ-S. XK’s Unlimited offers a book titled XJ- S
3.6/XJ- SC 3.6/XJ-S 4.0 Service Manual, number 11-0252D (which may be an XK’s number rather than a Jaguar
number). It’s priced at a little over $100, indicating it may be the equivalent of a ROM.
If you’re interested in the multi-volume XJ-S Service Manuals described above, Richard Mansell indicates that they do
cover the 6-cylinder engines.
If you have a 6-cylinder XJ-S, the Haynes manual #478/49015 will be no help with the engine or transmission at all.
However, you could opt to buy the Haynes #478/49015 to cover the rest of the car and Haynes manual #49011, Jaguar
XJ6 1988 thru 1994: Automotive Repair Manual, ©1997 (thanks to Loudon Seth for this info) for information on the
engine and transmission, as well as the later IRS with outboard brakes. Or, you could supplement the Haynes
#478/49015 with the Jaguar XJ6 Workshop Manual -- Owners Edition described above. Either combination of two
books should cover most of what you need to know, with the notable exception of the 8CU EFI system used on the
1983-87 3.6 cars.
REPAIR OPERATION MANUALS -- XJ12, DAIMLER DOUBLE SIX: This book is on the XJ-S, but I’ll be a nice
guy and list what little I know about Repair Operation Manuals for saloons as well. John Littler reports that for Series
I/II cars, Jaguar issued one manual for the XJ12 and another for the XJ6, but starting with the Series III they issued a
single manual to cover both.
Regarding the S I/II manual, Littler says, “Jaguar XJ12, Daimler Double Six, Repair Operations Manual. Publication
Part No. E190/4. Copyright 1979. Covers Series 1 and 2 (of which the only significant difference are carbs vs. EFI and
the swap to GM400 halfway through the S2 model run - not the start contrary to common belief.)”
“Series 3 Service Manual - 3 items listed on first page:
Service Manual complete, AKM 9006 Edition 2
Service Manual Book 14, AKM 9006/15 Ed. 2
19
Service Manual Binder, AKM 9006/B Ed.2
“Copyright 1985. Covers both XJ6 and XJ12 series 3; the XJ12 has both H.E. and Pre-H.E. sections although they
aren't particularly differentiated. The S3 manual I have doesn't seem to cover the late XJ12 S3's (1987-92). It covers P
and D Jetronic but there's no mention made about the later ECUs.”
ADDING YOUR OWN BINDER: If you get a softbound ROM -- or any other manual from Jaguar or the UK in
general -- and decide to tear it apart, holepunch it, and put it in a 3-ring binder, you will find that it is a metric sized book
and won’t fit in a US-standard 8½” x 11” binder. If you’re in Europe that’s no problem, but here in the US you may
find it a bit of a challenge. Better office supply stores sell metric “A” size binders, but you’ll also need to get the proper
4-hole punch.
Another option is to drop into a Wal-Mart and buy a photo album intended for the Kodak Advanced Photo System;
these albums are quite a bit larger than standard notebooks yet retain the standard 3-hole pattern. Having a 3-hole
punch with an adjustable paper stop is a plus, so you can adjust the stop to center the holes on the longer pages. Just
throw the photo sleeves out, although the section dividers are nice, you’ll wanna keep them to separate the manual from
the supplements and the like. These photo albums have the added benefit that they are really nice quality; this author
even found one with a dark green, gold, and black cover that looks like it could have come from Jaguar.
PRIMERS: If you are new to automotive tinkering, you should buy one of the many books on the market explaining
general procedures for car repair. While this book is written to be as clear as possible, it is not intended as a primer and
no efforts are made to explain standard auto repair procedures. For example, this book may describe in great detail how
a particular electrical component has a history of shorting out at a particular spot, but it will not provide any instructions
on how to use a VOM to track down a short. Quite the contrary, the reader is expected to know how to do things like
track down a short, so problems that are easily isolated and corrected may not even be mentioned.
PARTS BOOKS: Jaguar also makes parts books. Many owners suggest these books are more helpful to the mechanic
than the repair manual; they contain exploded views of just about everything which are often easier to understand than
the step-by-step text in the ROM or Service Manual. And it helps to know the part number of what you need when
placing a parts order by phone, since the names of Jaguar parts are often confusing and mercurial.
Stephen Wood describes the parts book for the early XJ-S: “Jaguar Parts Manual, RTC-9109-B, for the XJ-S, 1976 to
1982, pre-H.E. cars.”
This author owns the one for the next generation: “Jaguar Parts Catalogue, XJ-S H.E. and XJ-S V12”, RTC9888CE,
August 1987. Note that the title might be misleading; this parts book does not cover the pre-H.E. cars. The title
probably reflects the fact that the H.E. badge on the car was replaced with a V12 badge starting with VIN 125020 even
though otherwise it’s still the same car with the same engine. This book covers models from the introduction of the
H.E. engine through the mid-1980’s -- which should be kept in mind when using it, remembering that “up to” really
means “from the introduction of the H.E. up to” and “from” really means “from this point until 1987.”
Richard Mansell reports on the next edition after that: “...the Jan ’87 to late-’89 parts book (RTC9900CA). IMHO 1
this is laid out a lot better than the earlier parts manuals as it has a description for each item on the same page as the
pretty picture. If you have an ’87 to ’89 3.6 or 5.3 XJ-S this guide is well worth getting, especially to aid reassembly.”
He has a point about the layout since RTC9888CE has no descriptions at all on the page with the illustration but rather
has the descriptions listed in the back under the part number.
JAGUAR BOOKS ON CD: The Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust (page 691) offers several of the repair manuals and
parts catalogues described above on CD-ROM. Compared to the paper publications, these CD’s are dirt cheap: £12.77
1
IMHO is an Internet abbreviation for “in my humble opinion”.
20
+ 17.5% VAT (£15 even) each plus £2.50 shipping, which adds up to about $25 each or so. If you’re outside Europe
you’re not supposed to have to pay VAT but they charge it anyway and so far nobody has called them on it. Tony
Bailey says, “e-mail Julia Simpson at the JDHT on <jsimps16@jaguar.com> with credit card number and other details.
If you are worried about the security of using plaintext e-mail, Julia's telephone number is +44 (0)24 76 202141, and her
fax number is +44 (0)24 76 405581.” Of course, you could always write a letter.
There are several CD-ROM’s of interest to the Jaguar XJ-S owner. The first is titled XJ- S to 1987 - Original edition
Service & Parts catalogues, part number JHM 1114. This disc contains:
JJM 10 04 06 Service Manual (4-volume) 1988
AKM 3455 Repair Operation Manual (Ed 3 with H.E. Supplement) 1982
RTC 9109B XJ-S Parts Catalogue January 1977
RTC 9889CA XJ-S 3.6 Parts Catalogue November 1985
RTC 9888CE XJ-S H.E. Parts Catalogue August 1987
Plus some photos, a JDHT brochure, etc. The Ed 3 ROM included doesn’t cover 83-on cars, but hopefully the Service
Manual will cover most anything in the pre-88 cars that isn’t in the Ed 3 ROM.
The second CD-ROM is XJS post 1987 - Workshop Service Manual, part number JHM 1127. This disc contains:
JJM 10 04 06/20 Service Manual (5-volume) March 1991
Amendment No. 1 August 1993
Appendix 1 August 1993
Appendix 2 January 1995
Amendment No. 1 was originally issued as four packages of pages; you’re supposed to whip out your Volumes 1
through 4, pull out old pages and replace them with new pages. Of course, you can’t do that when all the pages are on a
CD-ROM. Good luck keeping this straight when looking things up. Printing out the tables of contents might help.
Apparently if you want a parts book for a 90’s car, you’re SOL.
George Balthrop says, “JHM-1146 is the current offering from JDHT.”
There is another CD-ROM that might interest some readers: JHM 1122 covers the SIII XJ12.
Early versions of JHM-1114 and JHM-1127 were formatted using a software package called ScanFile, which is
unsearchable. Really, it’s only presenting scans of the paper; it doesn’t recognize the data on it and therefore cannot sort
or search it. The only way to find anything is basically the same way you’d find it in the paper version: you have to
display the table of contents pages, find a listing that looks like it might contain the info you’re looking for, display that
page, read it, get frustrated, return to the table of contents, try to figure out where the Brits hide information, etc., etc.
Note that JHM 1127 has a later release of ScanFile than JHM 1114. If you buy both, install the later release and use it
to view both discs.
Nope, these CD’s reportedly won’t run on a Mac. The savings over buying the printed versions would probably pay for
a real computer, though.
It doesn’t help that whoever put these packages together didn’t do the best job. Some collections start with the table of
contents, completely omitting the title page and the copyright date. Sometimes they make up names; the four packages
in Amendment No. 1 are called “Supplements” for some reason.
Reportedly there are later releases of these CD-ROM’s that use better formatting.
There is also a JHM 1123. According to George Balthrop it's called a "Supplementary Information CD" and "contains
Model Information as well as Electrical Technical Guides for the various models, with component location information."
Besides ordering directly from JDHT, Craig Sawyers says you can get them “...from a small number of appointed UK
dealers and specialists - JDHT have only appointed 10 of these. The best one to go for IMHO is Martin Robey Ltd on
(+44) 2476 386903. They export too, so no problem there (One of their quoted phone numbers is (+44) 7000 ROBEY
SALES so it could be worth trying that from the US). Don't bother looking at their website at
http://www.martinrobey.co.uk - it is pretty useless and also doesn't mention JDHT parts.”
21
JHDT says, “Please note that these CDs are generated by Jaguar Classic Parts at Unipart House and that we simply retail
them. In principle therefore, the same CDs should be available at the same price from all the Jaguar Classic Parts
outlets, whether Jaguar dealers or independent approved specialists.”
Apparently the US dealers think you need to pay more -- much more -- than $25 for this info. Don Lundquist says, “I
tried to order from local Jag dealer (JHM1127)... Price quoted was $123.37.” JDHT responds: “Originally these CDs
were being retailed in the USA by Jaguar dealers at far too high prices. However, it has now been agreed that they will
be available through all Jaguar dealers in the USA at the cost of $25.00. We have accordingly been asked by Jaguar
Classic Parts to cease accepting orders from the USA, since we want to give the US dealers a fair chance. Any US
customer who either has difficulty ordering a CD from a local dealer or is still being quoted the old price should contact
Jaguar Classic Parts on +44 (0)1865 383358, or e-mail Brian_North@unipart.co.uk.” There are already reports that the
US dealers insist on adding fees to that $25.
Even if you’d prefer the paper versions, it will undoubtedly prove cheaper to buy these CD-ROM’s and print the books
in entirety on your trusty inkjet. They print just fine -- although they want to print to metric-size paper and will try to
make one page into two when printing on 8½ x 11. The part on the second page is usually just a blank half inch.
TECHNICAL GUIDES: Richard Mansell reports that there is a CD produced by Jaguar (not JDHT) called Jaguar
Services Technical Guides & Focus Series 1998-1999, Issue 1, December 2000. The part number is
S TECH CD1
He lists the contents:
FOCUS SERIES
S 58 XJ-S Engine Performance (1981-88 MY w/ Lucas Ignition)
S 64 1989-91 MY XJS Coupe & Convertible Body Enhancement
S 70 Electrical System Batteries and Charging Second Edition
S 73 Sedan Power Hydraulic System
S 91 1993-94 AJ6 4.0L Engine Management System OBD I Diagnostic Guide
TECHNICAL GUIDES
JTP 425/1 Air Conditioning System HFC Refrigerant Retrofit
XJ6/VDP/XJ12 SEDAN RANGE 1988-94 MY
1988 MY Sedan Range Introduction
S 63 1989 MY XJ6 3.6 Model Year Update
S 66 1990 MY Sedan Range Model Year Update
S 69 1991 MY Sedan Range Model Year Update
S 78 1993 MY XJ6 Sedan Range Model Year Update
S 81 1994 MY XJ12 Sedan Technical Introduction
XJ6/VDP/XJR/XJ12 SEDAN RANGE 1995-97 MY
JJM 101512/50 1995 MY Technical Guide XJ6 & XJ12 Range Introduction JJM
22
181512/55 1995 MY Technical Guide XJ6 & XJ12 Range Supplement 1 JJM
181512/57 1996 MY Technical Guide XJ6 & XJ12 Range (Long Wheel Base
Sedan) JJM 181599/60 1996 MY Technical Guide XJ Sedan & XJS Ranges 1996
MY Update
XJS RANGE
-- 1986-88 MY Hess & Eisenhardt Convertible Repair Operation Manual
-- 1988 MY XJS Model Year Update S 60 1989 MY XJS Model Year
Update S 60/SUPP 1989 MY XJS Model Year Update Supplement (Marelli
Ignition) S 61 XJ-S Convertible Technical Introduction S 67 1990
MY XJS Model Year Update JJM 101506/01 1990 XJS Convertible Technical
Guide S 71 1992 MY XJS Technical Introduction S 79 1993 MY XJS
Model Year Update S 80 XJR-S Product Support S 83 1994 MY XJS
Model Year Update S 92 1995 MY XJS Model Year Update JJM 101506/52
1995 MY XJS Update from VIN 198335 JJM 181599/60 1996 Technical Guide
Sedan & XJS 1996 MY Update
XJ8/VDP/XJR
JJM 181512/80 1998 MY Technical Guide V8 XJ Series Sedan 1998 MY
Introduction JJM 181518/90 1999 MY Technical Guide XJ and XK Series 1999
MY Update
XK8
JJM 181514/70 1997 MY Technical Guide XK8 Sports Coupe and Convertible
Introduction JJM 181515/70 1997 MY Technical Guide AJ-V8 Engine and
5HP24 Transmission Introduction JJM 181518/90 1999 MY Technical Guide XJ
and XK Series 1999 MY Update
OWNER’S HANDBOOK: Owners who don’t have an owner’s handbook might want to get one. However, note that
insisting on the proper one for your model year XJ-S might not work; apparently Jaguar published a single edition of the
handbook intended to suffice for multiple model years without change. For example, the owner’s handbook for the
1983 model year is titled “XJ-S H.E. HANDBOOK” and is publication part no. AKM 9045, 2nd Edition -- no model
year evident. The copyright date is 1981. Ask for the one with the most recent copyright date before your model year.
If you have trouble finding a handbook from a bookseller, ask at junkyards and similar places that might be parting out a
car of the same year as yours.
SCHEMATICS: See page 551 for info on available wiring diagrams and "electrical guides" -- invaluable on this car.
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MAIL ORDER CATALOGS: To those just getting started with the XJ-S, take this bit of advice: Order at least two
mail-order catalogs immediately. Turn to page 692, look through the list of new parts suppliers, and start calling until
you have a couple of catalogs coming in the mail. You will want to have such catalogs on hand even if you never order
any parts just so you can tell when some unscrupulous repair shop is trying to rape you on parts costs.
OTHER BOOKS: Richard Mansell suggests: “For XJ-S fans there is a book by Paul Skilleter called Jaguar XJS: A
Collectors Guide (ISBN 0-947981-99-3). It is full of pretty pictures (nearly 200) of XJ-S’s and variants. There is a fair
bit of history detailing specification changes, etc., covering a total of 144 pages.
“Appendix A lists the technical specifications model by model.
“Appendix B lists the location of the chassis/VIN numbers and explains what each bit of the VIN means.
“Appendix C lists launch dates and prices.
“Appendix D is a fairly detailed list of production changes by date chassis and/or engine number.
“Appendix E lists annual production numbers.
“Appendix F lists performance figures.
“If you are into XJ-S’s it is well worth a look.” Skilleter’s book is published by Motor Racing Publications Ltd., Unit 6,
The Pilton Estate, 46 Pitlake, Croydon CRO 3YR, UK, ©1996.
Victor Naumann recommends Publication #S-58, XJ- S Engine Performance. “It has photos and diagrams of ignition
and fuel systems, all the controls and switches and a good section on maintenance procedures, setting throttle plates and
linkage and checking the potentiometer etc.”
Jaguar XJS Gold Portfolio 1975-1988, compiled by R. M. Clarke, is a collection of road tests, specifications,
comparisons, and reports on racing and other modifications. It is published by Brooklands Book Distribution Ltd.,
“Holmerise”, Seven Hills Road, Cobham, Surrey, UK.
John T. Horner suggests “There is a brochure type booklet written by Jaguar when the V12 was introduced and which is
sometimes still available: Genesis of the Jaguar V12. It has a good official summary of the history and specifications as
well as beautiful color overlay drawings of an engine cutaway. I think Bookspeed in the UK may still offer it.” This
author has acquired a copy of this book; it isn’t much from a maintenance standpoint, but it cannot be beat for instilling
an appreciation of one of the finest automotive engines ever designed, providing a concise history and background of the
engine’s development. From an XJ-S owner’s standpoint, the worst thing about the book is that it truly applies to the
original Jaguar V12 introduced in the Series III E-type; many of the details changed by the time most XJ-S’s were built.
The engine shown in the book has carburetors, a canister-type oil filter mounted under the front end of the sump, an oil-
to-coolant oil cooler, an oil pan that is no wider than the bottom of the block, an alternator mounted backwards so it
sticks out the front of the engine, etc.
Bookspeed’s address is on page 722. Genesis of the Jaguar V12 is also available from Classic Motorbooks, page 723.
Lawrence Buja recommends Jaguar Driver Technical Tips by Bob Bate, ©1990, R.G. Bate Publishing, 501 Cleveland
St., Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. “Technical Tips is a huge collection of tech articles published in the Jaguar
Driver Club magazine by a professional Jaguar mechanic. It is about 500 pages long and covers an immense range of
topics all related to the real-world operation, diagnosis and repair of Jaguar automobiles.” Makoto Honjo adds, “Bob
does advertise on the JDC, whose flier I sought for a lead. Well, turns out that Jaguar Driver Technical Tips is his
private and is available through him at GBP40 (hey, you've got to pay for quality). You can call him at phone +44-151-
653-6765 for a copy.”
TECHNICAL PAPERS: In the US the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) maintains a collection of technical
papers. Paper #720163, by Walter T. F. Hassan of Jaguar Cars Ltd., Div., British Leyland Motor Corp., is a quite
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detailed engineering study of the development of the Jaguar V12. Of course, the paper predates such later developments
as the H.E. Bob Weisickle points out that SAE papers can be ordered from:
http://www.sae.org/
but note that they only offer recent papers online; older papers don’t even show up in a search! You’ll have to call SAE
at +1 (724) 776-4970 Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time to get older publications.
In the UK there is a similar paper titled “Jaguar V12 Engine - Its Design and Background”, also by Hassan, from the
Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Section of the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers (AUEW-TASS),
Onslow Hall, Little Green, Richmond, Surrey.
Roger Bywater says “there is also a similar Institute of Mechanical Engineers paper by Harry Mundy from about the
same time (1972).”
SERVICE RECORDS: Chad Bolles: “...just go to any dealer’s service dept., give them the serial no. of your car; they
can pull it up on the computer and give you the available history.”
FUEL ECONOMY: Keeping an eye on fuel consumption is an excellent way to monitor your car’s condition. Since
EPA ratings are generally unreliable in the real world, it is helpful to know what kind of fuel consumption the XJ-S
should have:
miles/US gal miles/Imp. gal. litres/100km
XJ-S H.E.:
everyday: 16-18 19-22 13-15
highway: 18-20 21-24 12-13
Pre-H.E.:
everyday: 9-12 11-14 20-26
6.0:
everyday: 12 14 20
highway: 16-18 19-22 13-15
For those who like to do their own converting, there are 0.83267 Imperial gallons in a US gallon, 3.7854 litres in a US
gallon, and 1.609344 kilometers in a mile.
The values for the pre-H.E. are based on fewer reports, but those reports were fairly consistent; apparently the H.E.
really was a huge improvement in fuel efficiency over the previous design! Note that reportedly the difference only
occurs under light (street) use; with harder running or racing the economy difference diminishes.
The values for the 6.0 are likewise based on fewer reports but the reports were consistent; since the cars are of more
recent vintage and have electronic controls less subject to variation or misadjustment, you’d expect them to be
consistent. It’s perhaps surprising that these cars don’t get better economy than they do, especially considering the
improved transmission and the longer stroke engine. Perhaps the 6.0 drivers have their foot in it more than the 5.3
drivers!
Of course, the standard disclaimer: “Your mileage may vary.” But you know if you are driving harder or under worse
conditions than the average driver, and if you think your fuel mileage is worse than it should be you should immediately
investigate the causes. Many of the common causes also result in major engine damage if left uncorrected.
Jim Isbell was doubtful, but now is a believer: “The O 2 sensors were changed. The results were fantastic. The around
town mileage has increased from 12 MPG (US gallon) to 17 MPG on the first tank after the change.”
Unfortunately, there is one other reported reason for bad city mileage. “B emission” (UK and Europe spec) H.E.’s have
a timer that disables the vacuum advance for 15 minutes after startup if the coolant was below 45°C when started. If
25
you drive 15 minutes to work, park there 8 hours, and drive 15 minutes home, you are always operating on retarded
timing and will get something around 12 mpg. See page 135.
Note also that some areas require the use of “oxygenated fuels”, sometimes just during particular seasons. Oxygenated
fuels result in far worse fuel consumption in any car.
THREADS: The British invented the inch/foot system of measurement, so most of the fasteners on the pre-1984 XJ-S
are English fine thread (UNF or National Fine), available in any hardware store in the US. Jaguar and other British cars
extensively use fine threads, as opposed to the coarse threads (SAE or National Coarse) normally used on American
cars. Coarse threads are sometimes used in aluminum parts, because aluminum is too soft for effective use of fine
threads.
In 1984, many of the fasteners within the engine itself changed to metric sizes. Notably, just about every 5/16” stud
appears to have changed to M8, according to David Johnson. Many of the 1/4” threads changed to M6.
Thanks to a continuing effort towards metric standards, there are metric fasteners in other parts of the car as well -- even
in the pre-1984. Many of the subcomponents, such as the alternator, air conditioner compressor, and stereo are made
with metric threads. Later cars seem to have more and more metric threads. Mike Morrin says, “The nuts holding the
wiper blades are the only metric fasteners I have found on my 1975 car.”
WHITWORTH/BSF: There are, unfortunately, a couple of places where obsolete British standards such as BSF or
Whitworth are found on the XJ-S. See the discussions on the crank damper retaining bolt on page 89, the surge tank
vent connection on page 254, the main power terminals on the firewall on page 558, and the battery terminals and hold-
down nuts on page 586. Also note that page 12 of the Haynes manual lists wrench sizes for such oddities. Most of the
BSF/Whitworth wrench sizes don’t correspond to anything in SAE or metric sizes; supposedly, Mr. Whitworth decided
to size his bolt heads so that the length of a flat on one side of the hex was some nice even number.
Keep in mind that BSF and Whitworth wrench sizes are the diameter of the bolt, not the dimension across the flats on
the head. And, for some reason, the wrench that fits a BSF bolt seems to fit the next smaller size bolt in Whitworth.
To learn more about British non-standard standards, David Littlefield suggests visiting this WWW site:
http://www.team.net/sol/tech/whitworth-hist.html
Craig Sawyers: “At least here in the UK you can get spanners and sockets from the local tool store that are correct.”
Actually, you can obtain Whitworth tools in the US and presumably other countries; it just takes more looking. Jeb
Boyd says Snap-On has Whitworth tools. David Littlefield suggests British Tools and Fasteners; see page 710. A
search of the WWW should turn up an assortment of mail-order sources.
Note: with the exception of the crank bolt (for which wrench options are discussed on page 89), all of the
Whitworth/BSF wrench sizes used in the XJ-S seem to be the same size: 1/4” Whitworth/5/16” BSF. Hence, it might be
good advice for the XJ-S owner/mechanic to obtain one wrench. The entire Whitworth set is not needed.
TORQUE UNITS: Torque, or twisting force, is specified as an amount of force applied at a radius. In the English
system of measurement force is typically given in pounds or ounces, and radius (distance) in either feet or inches. The
first point of confusion arises because units of mass are also called pounds. As a result, it is increasingly preferred to
speak of pounds force or pounds mass instead of simply pounds. The abbreviation for pounds force is “lbf.” The f does
not stand for feet, and lbf. does not stand for foot-pounds. Readers are encouraged to beat this into their hard skulls
until it sinks in; reading “lbf.” and thinking “foot-pounds” is a good recipe for disaster with this car and this ROM.
The torque value is the amount of force applied times the radius. Twenty pounds applied at a radius of 18 inches is 360
inch-pounds or thirty foot-pounds. Hence, the terms for force and the terms for distance are written sequentially
(doesn’t matter which order, really). Sometimes a hyphen is used, which in this author’s opinion makes things clearer,
but as expected that means that Jaguar chooses not to use a hyphen. In the XJ-S ROM, foot-pounds are written as “lbf.
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ft” and inch-pounds are written as “lbf. in” That last one, if you’re not paying attention, looks like foot-pounds followed
by the word “in” -- especially if it’s word-wrapped and the “in” is at the beginning of the next line. If you make a
mistake here, you will overtighten something by a factor of 12.
Lacking a hyphen may be confusing, but at least it’s technically correct. Putting a slash between the terms, such as lbf./ft
or lbf./in indicates pounds force divided by feet or inches, and this is most definitely incorrect when used to indicate units
of torque; lbf./ft or lbf./in are units of spring rate, not torque. Unfortunately, Jaguar is reportedly guilty of this error --
not just once or twice, but throughout entire manuals. The XJ-S ROM uses correct terms, but Peter Cohen reports “I
don't have the ROM. I have the 4 volume service manual. They use the term "lbf/in".” Loudon Seth says, “The SIII
ROM uses (incorrectly) the form lbf/in or lbf/ft throughout.”
STUDS: Jaguar studs sometimes have fine threads on both ends, and are therefore difficult to find locally. Most studs
in the US have coarse threads on one end and fine on the other. You can, of course, order studs from a Jag mail order
outfit -- sometimes they’re even reasonably priced. If you want to get on with the job and not wait on the mail,
however, you can find a very long stud or bolt at your local auto parts store on which the fine threaded end by itself is
longer than the entire Jaguar stud (many Jaguar studs are rather short). Simply cut the end off and dress up the threads.
Thread the sawn end into the part, leaving the factory-made threads for assembly.
SPIRAL GROOVE WASHERS: The V12 engine is covered with an unusual type of 5/16” washer, C30075/2, that has
a spiral serration pattern on it and is slightly dished. This washer serves the purposes of both a flat washer and a lock
washer. While the serrations may help prevent nuts and bolts from unscrewing, the real locking feature is the dishing; it
makes the washer springy, keeping tension on the fastener.
David Johnson found an acceptable substitute for the spiral groove washers: “I found at Pep Boys an 8MM spring
washer. It's part number is 153-0800. They are in the racks of boxed hardware.” Note these washers don’t look much
like the spiral groove washers; they have no serrations and are sprung the other way -- they’re not dished, they’re wavy.
They are dirt cheap, though. If you find an auto parts store with a Dorman hardware case, Dorman sells essentially the
same type wavy 8mm washer as part number 436-008. They are also available at Lowe’s as Pik-A-Nut part number
792694. Nobody seems to sell wavy spring washers in SAE sizes, but 8mm will fit perfectly on 5/16” bolts.
The V12 also uses a few 1/4” spriral groove washers. A 6mm wavy spring washer (153-0600 at Pep Boys, 436-006 in a
Dorman case) will fit a 1/4” bolt perfectly and serve well.
Note that it is always recommended to use some sort of flat washer whenever a bolt head or nut tightens down onto
aluminum. If you find any places on your engine where a fastener is tightened onto aluminum without a flat washer, it is
recommended that you provide a flat washer.
Conversely, lock washers are only required in certain places. For example, the head studs require no locking feature
because the tension on the stud is carefully applied with a torque wrench and the designers have ensured that the
assembly will never allow the stud to become untensioned in operation. As a general rule, lock washers are required on
short bolts or studs but not required on longer ones because the longer fasteners provide enough stretch to absorb
vibrations and thermal transients without ever going completely slack.
PHILLIPS? THINK AGAIN!: Greg Meboe says, “All Phillips-looking screws on English cars are Pozidriv screws.
(The Japanese radios do use real Phillips screws.) The two standards are different, and once I bought a set of Pozidriv
screwdrivers I found life much easier. The practical difference is quite noticeable. The impressed angle, impression
depth and drive spline widths are different between a Pozidriv and Phillips head design. Using the correct Pozidriv
screwdrivers, I've even had consistent luck removing Pozidriv screws which appeared nearly rounded due to years of
Phillips-buggering by misinformed mechanics.
“A Pozidriv screwdriver will not fit in or drive a Phillips screw. The drive lugs are generally too wide.
“Snap-On, Mac and others sell Pozidriv screwdrivers, but most Americans don't know they exist (I didn't for many
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years). I've found Pozidriv #2 bits for the cordless screwdriver at Home Depot for a few bucks. Most Pozidriv screws
on our cars are #2, while door striker mounts and seat mounts are #3.” The big flush-head screws at the back end of the
diagonal struts in the engine compartment are Pozidriv #4.
Peter Cohen adds, “From the look of several Pozidriv screws on my car (removed only by Jaguar dealer personnel, while
under warranty), the dealer tool is a chisel.”
You can learn all about Pozidriv at http://www.phillips-screw.com/.
Sometimes Phillips screwdriver bits are marked “No.2” or “P2” while Pozidrive bits are marked “PZ.2” (using size 2 as
the example). Other companies mark their Phillips as “#2” and their Pozidriv as “P2”. The marking on the packaging
can be similarly confusing; the popular idea is to indicate tip types with a little symbol within a circle, but some
companies show the Phillips with a + within a circle and the Pozidriv as an 8-point symbol within a circle while others
show the Phillips as the + within a circle and the Pozidriv as an × within a circle -- basically the same as the Phillips
symbol only rotated 45º. Forget about the markings and simply look for the telltale ridges down the center of each flute,
which may be difficult to make out through the bubble packaging.
Apparently, Phillips Screw has the name “Pozidriv” trademarked, so some other toolmakers make tools to fit Pozidriv
screws while carefully avoiding the illegal use of the name. Easypower Corporation of Chicago makes screwdriver bits
described as “Positive Drive Phillips”, and in fine print says “will fit Pozidriv screws”. Easypower also makes
screwdriver bits called “Octo Driv”, apparently their own trademark, but indiscernable from Pozidriv. All of
Easypower’s bits that fit Pozidriv screws are marked “EZP.1”, “EZP.2”, or “EZP.3”.
Oddly enough, one place to look for Pozidriv screwdriver bits is in a Dollar Tree store. Occasionally they offer a little
plastic container with about 20 gold-tinted screwdriver bits, all for $1, and the bits include Pozidriv bits in sizes 0, 1, 2,
and 3. They may be cheap, but I haven't broken one yet.
You'll still need to find a #4, considerably more difficult because it's too big to be made as a standard screwdriver bit.
Craig Sawyers says, "If you're going mail order, try Farnell 267-030 (200mm blade length, No 4 Posidriv), or 108-494
(203mm blade length, No 4 Posidriv/Supadriv)." Another suggestion is to check Snap-On, not for their 3/8" square
drive #4 Pozidriv bit, but rather for the replacement tip for that Pozidriv bit. Evidently when the tip gets boogered up
you're supposed to drive a roll pin out and replace the tip itself, but the tip itself is actually all you need! You can just
drive it with a box end or a socket that fits the hex body of the tip itself.
Note that Posidriv is not the same thing as “anti-slip”. Phillips screwdrivers described as anti-slip are regular Phillips
screwdrivers with tiny ridges on the tip to supposedly keep the bit from slipping.
Meboe is quite right about all of the Phillips-looking screws being Pozidriv; the little screws on the taillight lenses, the
big screws holding the mirrors on, the small screws holding the ignition pickup in the distributor, everything is Pozidriv.
However, if your car has had any work done that may have involved replacing screws, chances are (in the US, anyway)
that the replacement screws are Phillips. So, you may need both types of screwdriver to work on the car. You could
closely inspect each screw before choosing a screwdriver, but that’s a pain and strains the eyes. Instead, proceed as
follows: Assume all screws are Pozidriv until you find a screw that the Pozidriv screwdriver won’t even fit into, then
pick up the Phillips.
Charlie Randle reports that the facelift cars replace many of the Pozidriv screws with Torx screws. One example is the
large bolt on the diagonal braces under the hood: "I checked the fender struts in the '94's engine bay and they are Torx
#50." With any luck, perhaps owners of facelift cars don't need a set of Pozidriv drivers at all -- but owners of earlier
British cars certainly do, and shouldn't hesitate to acquire a set.
LOCKING WIRE AND TOOLS: Several places on the XJ-S call for locking wire, safety wire, siezing wire, whatever
you call it -- notably on the braking system and IRS. You can buy suitable plain steel wire anywhere, even at Wal-Mart.
Of course, you want it to look nice, so you want stainless steel wire. Many places sell one size of SS wire, 19 gauge,
which is actually about right for most purposes. Note that you need a soft alloy for this job; many types of SS wire, such
as fishing leader wire, are too hard for lockwiring.
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If you want to get fancier, specialty stores sell stainless steel, inconel, or monel wire in various gauges along with
“lockwire pliers”. Lockwire pliers are a specialized tool with a latch that holds the jaws clamped down on the wire and a
spiral slider that spins the pliers with a simple pull. Lockwire pliers are popular with aircraft mechanics who may be
applying lockwire from sunup to sundown, but for XJ-S purposes they are not really justified; you can do the few
lockwiring jobs found on this car in a couple of minutes with regular pliers.
The theory of lockwire is simple enough, but aircraft mechanics and FAA inspectors will tell you that its use requires a
specific technique and careful application to ensure the intention is achieved: Safety. Applying lockwire requires a bolt
head with a hole drilled crossways through it; sometimes two holes are provided just to allow the choice of whichever
one lines up the best. Often it’s the fact that the bolt heads have such holes that tells you that lockwire might be a good
idea in this location. Insert the wire through the head of the bolt, wrap one end around one side of the bolt head and
underneath the other end, and twist them together in the direction that is likely to keep the wire around the side of the
bolt head instead of flipping off the top. On a right-hand-threaded bolt, the end wrapped around the head should wrap
to the right, and the two leads should be twisted to the right. Twist enough wire to reach a second bolt head and insert
one of the wires through that one, wrap the other wire around the head (this wrap will actually be to the left, since you
are going the other direction), and twist the ends together on the other side (a left twist this time). The twisted section
between the bolt heads doesn’t need to be in tension, but there shouldn’t be much slack in it. The twisted section should
come to a hole on the right side of each head (looking at each from the other), so the two bolt heads and the twisted
strand form a Z pattern. If done correctly, the wire between the bolt heads as well as the wraps around the bolt heads
themselves are arranged so that neither bolt can turn in the loosening direction without stretching the wire. Finally, clip
off the excess wire and bend the tip of the last twisted section back on itself to keep from snagging yourself on it when
working in the area.
If you happen to be lockwiring a single bolt, you will need to tie the other end of the lockwire down to something nearby
to effectively prevent the bolt from loosening. If you happen to be lockwiring three bolts, you can tie all three together
by simply continuing on past the second to the third. If you happen to be lockwiring bolts that are pretty far apart, you
may choose to tie each to something nearby rather than to each other, or to wrap the wire onto something in between
rather than leaving a long span unsupported; vibrations may cause a long section of wire to wiggle, eventually breaking
off.
If any of this is unclear, you can probably drop in on any aircraft maintenance shop and pick up a few pointers. It is
rather important that you get it right, obviously.
If you decide you’d like more safety than was originally provided for, you can drill lockwire holes in bolt heads that
don’t come with them. This is popular in racing, and some racing venues actually have specific requirements for things
that must either be lockwired or provided with tabwashers or self-locking nuts.
ANTI-SEIZE COMPOUND: Since the XJ-S has many bolts and studs threaded into aluminum, be sure to keep a
supply of anti-seize compound on hand. The stuff is a goop with tiny particles of soft metal in it -- usually copper,
nickel, or silver. As threaded items are screwed together, these soft metal particles get crushed between the threads;
later, after time, heat, and electrolysis have caused all the metals involved to fuse together, this layer of soft metal can
easily be sheared by unscrewing without damaging the parent parts. Use it anytime steel is threaded into aluminum, to
prevent galvanic corrosion from seizing it up. It also works great on exhaust manifold studs. The fact is, many
experienced mechanics (including the author of this book) swear by the stuff, buy it in one-pound cans at better
hardware stores (auto parts shops usually carry it only in small tubes) and use it on everything with threads.
An old toothbrush works great to apply anti-seize compound to threads. You only need to apply enough to give the
parts the color of the anti-seize compound; no need to pile it on, it’ll just come off as the parts are screwed together
anyway.
Anti-seize compound seems to work well on post-and-nut electrical connections, too. This is probably because the
metal particles help make a more secure connection. Be careful not to cause shorts with it, though.
Note that anti-seize compound is not a lubricant, and should never be used on moving parts.
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SO YOU FORGOT TO USE ANTI-SEIZE COMPOUND LAST TIME: Steve Hammatt describes a product to get
stuck bolts loose: “The division is called National Chemsearch and the product is called “YIELD” and is quite
unbelievable in loosening rusted nuts, bolts, etc. Their number is 1-800-527-9919. Their salesmen are everywhere
including (believe) even in Russia!
“The key is to use a true penetrating product that has a lubricant, plus time. Leave it on for at least an hour, then return
and proceed.”
Other folks swear by Liquid Wrench, and even WD-40 has its admirers. Whatever is used, allowing adequate time to
soak in is always required.
Heating a bolt with a torch is also suggested as a method for loosening, but obviously it’s a good idea to wipe the
penetrating oil away first. It also is a good idea to replace the bolt/nut, since the heating may destroy the temper.
SILICONE SEALANTS: Apparently, some silicone sealants can corrode metal parts. Jan Wikström says: “To quote
the famous Castrol ad, silicones ain’t silicones. Some leave a residue of acetic acid as they cure, which is a very weak
acid but could conceivable harm bare metal. The trick is to buy “neutral-cure” silicon.”
Ed Mellinger says: “Silicone sealant isn’t permitted in most aircraft applications for this reason (among others). Two
neutral-cure silicones I know of are Dow Corning 3140 and 3145; one’s an adhesive and one’s a thinner “coating”, but
I’m not sure either is designed to be an engine gasket so buyer beware. Warning... they are priced like aircraft parts too!
“In the “among others” category is the tendency of silicone to squeeze out in a bead and then peel off in strings...
possibly into your engine oil on its way to a bearing! This definite no-no is the most cited reason I’ve heard against use
of silicone in, er, sensitive areas.”
SEALS: If you’re shopping for parts and find you have a choice of seals, Richard Griffiths suggests “use a seal with an
outward facing second lip to prevent dirt getting under the sealing lip.”
If you put a new shaft seal in and there is a bad shaft surface for it to ride on, the new seal won’t last long -- but
replacing the shaft, or removing it for machining, is likely to greatly increase the cost and effort involved. Griffiths and
others point out that there is an easier fix: Thin sleeves that can be slid over the original shaft and held in place with
adhesives. Mike Morrin mentions “the "CR SPEEDI-SLEEVE" which is just this device. Their US number is 1-800-
882-0008. Their range suits shafts from 0.472" to 8.00".” Brian Schultetus: “These sleeves are almost as old as dirt
and available at any good bearing supply. Since these are basically universal listed by shaft size and width, no application
will be listed as a rule. There are two types of these made; stainless steel are best, the other versions I've seen were
chrome plated and had a tendency to disturb or break the chrome loose when installed. The plated ones I've seen came
from Silver Seal.”
DRIVE-ON RAMPS: The need to get under a car is inevitable, and for those of us who don’t have access to a garage
with a lift, drive-on ramps appear to be a good solution -- cheap, easy to use, and sturdy enough to hold a 4000-lb
Jaguar without dropping it on its owner. However, most ramps appear to have been designed for cars from another era,
and the spoiler pushes them away long before the front tires get near them. Patrick Krejcik provides a solution: “I got
the $17.95 specials, and all I had to do was to put a 2x6, about 18-24 inches long on each ramp to lengthen the slope. I
used a nail in the end of the 2x6, bent it and stuck it in a hole about half way down the original slope, and made the slope
longer and more shallow.”
If you wanna get fancier, Mike Wilson says that Griot’s Garage (page 711) offers a “ramp extension kit”.
CHECKING FOR CRACKS: Jan Wikström provided this “backyard Magnaflux test” for checking for cracks in steel
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parts: First, the area needs to be clean and smooth, so polishing may be required first. Allow a large, powerful
horseshoe magnet to latch on to the part across the area to be checked. Now dribble kerosene with iron powder
(collected from grinder) over the area; any crack will show up clearly.
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ENGINE
H.E. VS. NON-H.E.: The H.E. (High Efficiency) engine, with 11.5:1 compression (12.5:1 outside the US) and a swirl
combustion head designed by Porsche expert Michael May, was introduced in July 1981 and indicated by the letters
“H.E.” on the back of the car in place of the former “V12” emblem. In 1986, the H.E. emblem was unceremoniously
dropped and a V12 emblem was used once again, but the H.E. combustion chamber design continued to be used in all
Jaguar V12 engines until it ceased production.
If you have an engine laying around and need to know which it is, the trick is to look at the spark plugs. The plugs on
the pre-H.E. tilt forward or rearward and are relatively easy to replace. The plugs on the H.E. tilt toward the centerline
of the engine just enough to make them a real pain to get a socket on.
ENGINE NUMBERS: The engine number is stamped on the top rear center of the block just forward of the joint with
the GM400 transmission bellhousing, but it is typically hard to find because it is covered with grime. Paul Hackbart
sends this tip: “Take your oil dipstick out and get on the passenger side of car. You can stick it through near the oil
pressure sender and scratch away until you see it. Just make certain you clean it off afterwards.”
The XK’s Unlimited catalog includes a guide of engine numbers for the XK 6-cylinder and the V12. It provides the
following info on the V12:
7S1001> E-type Series III 3/1971-2/1975
7P1001> XJ12 Series I 1972-73
7P4000> XJ12 Series II 1973 (Carbs)
7P25001> XJ12 Series II 1974-79 (EFI)
7P?> XJ12 Series III 1979-8?
8S1001> XJ-S up to 1980
8S18001> XJ-S H.E. 1981-87
For more detail on XJ-S engines, Richard Mansell sends this helpful data from “The XJ-S Collectors Guide”:
8S4551 Feb 76 Canister type oil filter introduced
8S5203 Oct 76 Revised EFI
8S6454 Modified fuel pump
8S7017 Apr 77 GM400 introduced
8S8632 Nov 77 Stronger manual trans selector shafts
8S10195 May 78 Modified air filter box to stop blowing off!!
8S11262 Oct 78 Ignition amplifier re-located
8S13094 Oct 78 Twin V groove water pump pulley introduced
8S16401 Nov 80 Digital P injection introduced*
8S17194 Nov 80 Sump plug relocated
8S18001 Jul 81 HE Introduced
Most changes after this are listed by VIN number but the following are listed too:
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8S24175 Metric threaded cylinder heads
8S26992 Piston spec modified
8S27297 Inlet manifold modified to remove holes for cold start injectors
8S31737 Modified drive plate
8S41339 Spark plugs changed from B6EFS to BR7EFS
8S41344 Sump oil baffle plate changed
8S44227 Water pump bearing size increased
8S44317 Full flow oil cooling replaces relief flow
8S45527 GM400 revalved, modified sump pan
* Apparently the November 1980 introduction of Digital P is incorrect, as Ron Kelnhofer owns a Digital P car built in
June 1980. His engine number is 8S17116SB, which does not conflict with the data in the listing, so perhaps only the
date is incorrect.
5.3 vs. 6.0 LITER: The Jaguar V12, from its introduction in the E-type MkIII up to 1993, has been a 5.3 liter engine
(326 c.i.), with a bore of 90 mm and a stroke of 70 mm.
Engines are often described by the relationship of bore to stroke. When the bore equals the stroke, the engine is
described as “square”. Early gasoline engines tended to have long strokes and small bores, described as “under-square”.
Racing engines have evolved to having the bore larger than the stroke, or “over-square”. The Jaguar V12 was designed
to reestablish Jaguar’s eminence as a world-beater in the racing community (and prior to the fuel crisis of the early 70’s),
hence the considerably over-square design. It was quite successful in this regard, still winning LeMans races in the late
80’s.
The popularity of over-square engines in racing is actually somewhat artificial. Most racing programs divide competition
into classes based on engine displacement. An over-square design provides the most power for a given displacement,
since it permits higher RPM and provides room for large valves. However, these priorities do not translate well to street
use. Over-square engines tend to be heavy for their displacement; a larger displacement engine of comparable size and
weight can be constructed with a nearly square configuration. The over-square layout also results in larger surface areas
in the combustion chamber, which absorb combustion heat and reduce fuel efficiency. And while the design provides
excellent power at high RPM, it tends to lack torque at lower RPM; since people like their engines to be turning slowly
when cruising on the freeway, an over-square engine can seem anemic under these operating conditions.
Ford suspended production of the V12 for 1993, and reintroduced it in 1994 as a 6.0 liter (366 c.i.). More than merely
an engine enlargement, the change made the V12 much less over-square, since the change was entirely an increase in
stroke; the new engine has a 90 mm bore and a 78.5 mm stroke. This would tend to make the engine much more
suitable for street use. It remains more over-square than most engines, and hence can provide excellent performance at
high RPM, but is more tolerant of stop-and-go driving conditions and tall final drive ratios. The Michael May-designed
H.E. combustion chambers remain in use in the larger engine, while the compression ratio has been reduced to 11.0:1.
Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) was offering 6.0 litre engines much earlier. According to Richard Mansell, “TWR
started making ‘sporty’ XJ-S’s in 1984. One of the options then was a 6.0 litre engine.” John Goodman reports that
TWR also made 6.2 and 6.4 litre versions, and maybe even a 6.7.
Later on the JaguarSport XJR-S also had a 6.0. Mansell: “When JaguarSport officially started producing the XJR-S in
1988 only a 5.3 litre engine was available. It was not until mid-89 that the 6.0 litre was introduced as standard. This
was then discontinued in 1993 as by then the standard XJ-S now had a 6.0 litre engine.”
Note, however, that the 1993-on updated engine has a lot of other features these earlier engines lacked, such as a revised
bolt pattern for connecting the GM400 transmission.
WHAT’S IN A REDLINE?: Some people, probably accustomed to American pushrod V8’s, feel that the 6500 RPM
redline marked on the tach is really aggessive and far too high for an engine this big for everyday use. Nothing could be
farther from the truth; this is not an American pushrod V8, it’s an OHC V12 with an unusually short stroke. Roger
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Bywater, who worked in the engine development department at Jaguar when this engine was designed, provides a more
realistic understanding of just what that 6500 RPM redline is all about: “6500 r.p.m. is certainly safe and 7000 would
not be a cause for concern. In fact I know of basically standard 5.3 V12s cobbled together with second hand bits being
taken to near 8000 in race cars without suffering any problems at all. On the other hand an elderly engine does deserve a
certain amount of respect. I expect the one thing that would result is that the timing chain and tensioner would start to
show signs of distress a bit sooner if subjected to continual high r.p.m. In reality, there is not much point in revving a
standard V12 beyond 6000 because it will be running out of breath anyway and therefore won't be making much power.
“The real problem taking these engines to 6000 and above is that the GM 400 torque converter distorts under centrifugal
loads so that the blading can make contact creating fine metallic particles which then cause accelerated wear of the
transmission. A way around this is to use a furnace braized converter which is more rigid and able to tolerate the higher
r.p.m. without distorting so much.”
END OF AN ERA: The final Jaguar V12 engine was built April 17, 1997.
HOT SHUTDOWNS: It is never a good idea to shut down an engine immediately after running it hard; it is always
better to run it at reduced power for a few minutes first to let it “cool down”. This has nothing to do with the
temperature reading of the coolant; the problem lies with parts within the engine that get much hotter at full load than at
low load, and can be subjected to high thermal stresses if the transition from high load to off is too sudden.
This problem is especially serious in the case of the Jaguar XJ-S. Several problems the car seems to have, including
vapor locks, distributor seizings, and ignition amplifier failures, may be exacerbated by hot shutdowns. The underhood
temperatures may skyrocket after a hot shutdown, and Jaguar is known to have had underhood temperature problems
during development of this car.
Whenever you are driving the car hard, always drive the car leisurely for a few minutes before shutting it off. If you are
forced to shut the engine off after running hard -- having a mechanical problem, for example -- at least open the bonnet
to allow the heat to rise out of the engine compartment, providing some convective cooling.
See page 228 for tips on improving post-shutdown cooling.
KNOCKING/PINGING/PINKING/DETONATION/WHATEVER: Regardless of what you call that sound, it ain’t
good for an engine. A brief description of what’s going on: When an engine is running properly, the fuel/air mixture
within the cylinder is ignited by the spark plug and the flame front grows continuously and spreads throughout the
combustion chamber until the entire charge has been burned. However, while this is going on, the piston is moving
upwards towards the head, compressing the charge and thereby heating it. In the most severe cases of knocking, the
compression causes the charge to self-ignite before the spark plug even fires. The result is that the entire charge ignites
at once, rather than the gradual ignition of the flame front moving through the charge. This “explosion” has been likened
to hitting the piston with a hammer. It can damage the piston, connecting rods, and the bearings in both ends of the con
rods.
What usually happens is less severe, however. The spark plug fires well before the piston reaches the top of its stroke,
so the flame front has begun its travel while the compression is still in progress. Since the burning charge is expanding, it
is compressing the unburned charge into the far corners of the combustion chamber. The combined effects of the piston
rising and the flame-induced pressure causes the remaining portions of the charge to self-ignite. The actual amount of
charge exploded in this fashion can vary anywhere from a tiny portion to the entire charge, so knocking can be either
severe or barely detectable.
There are many factors that contribute to knocking. The most notorious is compression ratio; the higher the
compression ratio, the more likely it is for the charge to be detonated. Another key issue is the octane of the fuel, which
is a measure of how hot it must be before it self-ignites; the higher the octane, the hotter the mixture must get before it
will burn. And ignition timing is a factor, since lighting the mixture earlier will cause more of the charge to be burned
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before the piston gets to TDC and therefore increase the peak pressure.
Other factors include the intake air temperature, the fuel temperature, and cylinder wall and head temperatures. EGR,
which puts some inert gases into the mixture, makes it harder to ignite and therefore reduces the tendency to knock.
Also, there are some minor details that can complicate the issue; sharp edges in the combustion chamber can act as
“glow plugs” and ignite the charge prematurely. Carbon deposits can increase the compression ratio, as well as provide
glowing embers to preignite the charge.
Knocking can be difficult to detect on the Jaguar V12. All those little cylinders mean that each knock is small, and all
that sound deadening built into the car keeps the driver from hearing much of anything in the engine compartment.
Basically, if you can hear it at all, you might need to be concerned. On the other hand, Mike Wilson reports: “I asked
the local Jaguar rep and he had the audacity to say that "All Marelli cars ping". He said it was even in the owners
manual! So, I came home and read mine and sure enough, there it was in black and white! It said that a small amount of
pinging was normal and if it happens on flat roads under no load, to see your dealer for further assistance.”
If something needs to be done about pinging, the usual reactions include changing to better octane fuel or retarding the
timing. On the later XJ-S with Marelli ignition, you can’t adjust the timing by just rotating the distributor, so a jumper
was provided that can be pulled to put the system onto a more retarded map when needed. Even if we try to buy good
fuel, occasionally we always seem to get a tankful of real crap, and this jumper is a handy fix to get us to the next fillup.
Joe Ziehl shares some experience: “My mechanic told me to first try a higher octane fuel because while retarding the
timing may help, the preignition might be caused by something other than spark plugs, such as carbon in cylinders or on
pistons. He also recommended that I treat the gasoline and run the car hard for a few days. This made a significant
improvement in the pinging.”
Jeff Elmore reports: “I had been getting some slight pinging under medium acceleration after the car had warmed up. I
had tried many things, including checking the timing, high octane gas, etc. Then I tried the temperature at the
thermostats. It was 213°F on one side and 203°F on the other. I just changed the thermostats and topped off the
coolant (almost half a gallon low), and the pinging is gone. The car now runs better as a result, with my guess being that
a lower CWT sensor means more fuel and power.”
Andrew Stott reports: “Autocar magazine had an XJ12 HE on long term test and in their 12,000 mile report (May 8
1982) they had quite a bit about the knocking noise and clouds of smoke at around 4,000rpm in 1st following a couple
of weeks of gentle, town driving. Apparently, the Jaguar engineers discovered this quite early on in the development of
the May heads and ran special endurance tests to highlight any problems, none were found.
“In their 36,000 mile report (April 9 1983) Autocar actually had one of the heads removed and found nothing at all
amiss, not the slightest suggestion of pinking damage, and no measurable ovality or wear in the bores. There are
pictures in the report. They also ran performance tests and found the car to be just as it was at 12,000 miles.
“Both these reports are in the Brooklands book on the XJ6 & XJ12 Series III (1979-1985), ISBN 0 946489 98X.”
The experience on the internet discussion lists indicate there is one sure-fire cure for knocking: the Italian Tune-Up. Get
the car fully warmed up, then while cruising along at about 60 mph, move the shifter into 2 and punch it. Hold the pedal
to the metal until somewhere close to redline, then let off and coast back to 60 -- and repeat. The first time or two, the
car will show its displeasure by stumbling and blowing great clouds of black smoke out the rear. After a few such
accelerations, the car will react much better to being punched, even feeling as though it is anxious to do it again, and
there will be no trace of smoke. Owners consistently report there is no longer any trace of engine knock either, and the
car runs better all around.
Obviously, an Italian Tune-Up wouldn’t be a good idea if the engine has serious mechanical faults such as fuel supply
problems, overheating problems, etc. It also wouldn’t be good to run it through a speed trap.
People think I’m makin’ this stuff up about the Italian Tune-Up. Bill de Creeft provides a quote from a British car
magazine after the HE engine came out: “...if one runs the car for not less than a working week of relatively gentle
driving, typically commuting with no longer journeys between, then, once properly warm, accelerates flat out, the engine
goes through a period between 4500 and 5000 rpm of loud detonation accompanied by pale but noticeable exhaust
smoke. You learn, after the first rather frightening occasion, to keep your foot down regardless, to accelerate through
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the knocking which, together with the smoke, stops and doesn't return until after the next period of town running.
Jaguar,and Michael May, say that in gentle driving or with a lot of cold starts and short journeys combustion deposits
build up in the head and on the valves. On hard acceleration these deposits heat up and burn, causing detonation but
clearing, as they burn off into smoke. Jaguar says that in tests they conducted before the engine's launch (in July '81) in
which such deposit-induced detonation was sustained artificially for long periods of hard running, showed no sign of
piston or head damage.”
OCTANE: ...ain’t octane. If only things were simple. John Littler picked the following explanation up from an internet
discussion; I presume that ULP stands for UnLeaded Petrol and PULP stands for Premium: “The US does things
differently to the rest of the world (I bet you've heard that before!). In Australia the octane reported at the pump is the
RON (research octane number). There is also another octane that you never hear about called MON (motor octane
number). The MON is determined in a similar way, but under more severe conditions (so it yields a lower number). In
the US they report AKI (anti knock index) which is an average of MON and RON.
“The ratings for ULP and PULP are typically:
MON RON AKI
ULP 82.5 91 87 approx
PULP 86 95.5 91 approx
You can see that the US 91 is actually our PULP. This is the US mid-grade (also the main grade in Europe). They also
have a premium grade which has an AKI of 93 or a RON of about 98.”
Littler adds his own editing to this snippet: “I wish it were true that the US had a mid-grade rated at 91 AKI/95 RON.
Then it would be suitable for my Jag which requires 95 RON. Unfortunately the US mid-grade is only 89 AKI/94 RON,
so I have to pay for the 93 AKI/98 RON Super-Unleaded. If the Jag had a knock sensor I would risk trying the 94
octane stuff, but it doesn't, and the dealer has warned me to always use 98.
“BTW, prior to 1973 the US reported octane as RON like the rest of the world.”
UNLEADED FUEL: XJ-S owners in the US have been using unleaded fuel for decades, but many owners in other
countries are only recently facing the prospect of leaded fuel being no longer available. Since some of their owner’s
handbooks specify the use of “Four Star” leaded fuel only, they are understandably concerned.
Addressing this concern, Roger Bywater of AJ6 Engineering (and formerly with Jaguar Engine Development) wrote an
excellent article for Jaguar World magazine (see page 723), Vol 10 No 3, January/February 1998, page 42. Some of
the high points are summarized here.
There are two reasons for concern regarding the use of unleaded fuel: Octane and valve seat lubrication. Valve seat
lubrication is simply not an issue in the Jaguar XJ-S; every engine the car has ever been built with has an aluminum head
with hardened valve seat inserts, and the part numbers for these parts are the same for US-spec models always intended
to run on unleaded fuel. If you have shoehorned in a Chevy engine old enough to have a cast iron head with no inserts
and designed to require leaded fuel, well, shame on you.
Octane is another story. The US-spec engines have lower compression ratios to run on lower octane fuel. To be able to
run the high compression engines on lower octane fuel, either the compression ratio will need to be lowered or the
timing will need to be retarded. If the engine is being rebuilt anyway, lowering the compression ratio (different pistons,
thicker head gaskets, machining the combustion chamber, whatever) may be workable, but most people will prefer to
simply retard the timing. Bywater suggests that there’s very little difference between a high compression engine with
retarded timing and a low compression engine with advanced timing anyway.
With the Lucas ignition systems, retarding the timing is simply a matter of turning the distributor to a new setting.
Bywater says that for the 95 octane unleaded that will be available in the UK and Europe, about three degrees should do
it, although as many as five may be necessary for older cars with a lot of carbon buildup. On Marelli ignition cars,
retarding the timing only requires pulling a jumper to switch the ignition ECU to a more retarded timing map.
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UNLEADED FUEL -- AJ6 ENGINE: If you own an early (‘83-87) AJ6-engined car with the Lucas 8CU EFI, you can
retard your timing by simply turning the distributor. However, if you have a later (‘87-on) 3.6 with the 9CU engine
control system, the ignition timing is controlled electronically and not so easy to change. According to Bywater’s
article, there are two options: You can remount the crankshaft position sensor using the mount from the later 4.0 AJ6
engine, or you can remove the crank pulley and reposition the toothed rotor by drilling new mounting holes.
John Littler says, “Well, for around $50US you can get a little gizmo from a number of vendors which then gives you a
dial to advance or retard the stock timing by up to about 5 degrees either way (does it on the fly so it just takes 1 degree
off whatever the ECU says etc). Definitely available from Summit (MSD and Crane), also available in Oz from two
other suppliers as well. Lastly, seeing as I believe the AJ6 use Delco ECU's (is that right?), then a copy of the Kalmaker
software will let you change anything you want on the EPROM.”
THE DANGERS OF RUNNING LEAN: Most people tend to think of their car’s fuel system as an on/off proposition:
either you’ve got fuel, or you don’t -- and if you don’t, it won’t run, so you’ve gotta fix it. There is, however, a third
possibility that bites the Jaguar V12 owner only too often, and that is running lean.
Running lean is no big deal if you’re driving gently; in fact, there are modern automobiles designed for “lean burn”
operation, which means that at light throttle they can operate quite a ways leaner than stochiometric in order to optimize
fuel economy. But running hard -- in any gasoline engine, Jaguar, lean burn, whatever -- with an air/fuel ratio leaner
than stochiometric is just asking for engine damage. A Jaguar V12 that has been running lean for a year but has never
seen full throttle is probably as good as new, but hold that pedal to the metal for 30 seconds and a couple of new pistons
will probably be needed.
Why am I making a big deal out of this? After all, the XJ-S has EFI, which should provide reliable fuelling at all throttle
conditions. The later models even have oxygen sensors that will correct for either lean or rich conditions on the fly.
Why worry? Well, there’s plenty to worry about. If the fuel pump or other parts of the fuel system aren’t up to par, the
EFI system may provide correct fuelling under normal driving conditions, but when floored the fuel supply can’t keep up
-- and the engine runs lean just when it is most dangerous! And, horror of horrors, there are absolutely no warnings that
you’re in trouble; everything on the dash looks just great, the engine sounds just dandy, and the car has plenty of pep --
right up until it starts missing on a couple of cylinders because the pistons are toast.
If you ever intend to explore the lower half of the pedal travel on the Jaguar V12 (and who doesn’t? Why else would
you own the car?), it is recommended that you install air/fuel ratio indicators, which are commonly available; they are
very popular with performance enthusiasts for exactly the same reason: they provide a warning before it’s too late.
These indicators operate off the signal of a regular oxygen sensor. If your car doesn’t have oxygen sensors, you can
purchase generic sensors (the heated type are recommended), and it’s a simple matter to have bosses welded into the
exhaust downpipes to install them. If your car already has oxygen sensors, there’s no need to install more; the indicators
will read the signal from the existing sensors without interfering with EFI operation.
Both Jeg’s (page 717) and Summit (page 720) offer LED air/fuel indicators, and they’re even reasonably priced. You’ll
probably want two indicators, since you have two oxygen sensors -- or perhaps you can rig a switch to read one sensor
and then the other with a single indicator. The indicators usually feature three colors of LED. If the engine is running
near stochiometric mixture, LED’s near the center of the display are lit, and they are usually green. The rich and lean
sides of stochiometric are usually red and yellow LED’s, but some indicators have red as rich and some have red as lean;
make sure you understand that it is lean that means trouble, whichever color the LED’s are.
When the engine is running in closed-loop mode (warmed up, light throttle), the indicators should be reading green.
When floored, the ECU goes into open-loop mode, which means it should run richer than stochiometric. A rich
indication when floored is OK. If the gauge ever starts to read on the lean side of stochiometric while you have your
foot in it, lift your foot now and investigate problems in the fuel system before you romp on it again.
Air/fuel indicators can help you spot a lot of ills, including totally unheard-of problems not covered in this book. You’ll
be able to monitor how your fuel system is working at all times and notice when something goes wrong.
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The May 1996 issue of Skinned Knuckles has an article, “Oxygen Sensors & Air/Fuel Ratio” by Hugh Poling, in which
the author points out the limitations of air/fuel indicators that use a conventional oxygen sensor for input. Some A/F
indicators have three LED’s, indicating lean, stochiometric or rich. Others have more than three, apparently indicating
different degrees of lean or rich; according to Poling, these indicators are wired so that particular voltages from the
oxygen sensor light up particular LED’s. The indicators Poling objects to are the ones that are actually marked with
different Lambda values; “From the SAE Transaction pertaining to oxygen sensors, this relationship of voltage to LED
markings is bogus...Since the standard oxygen sensor covers a very narrow range of only a few percent around
stochiometric, this labeling is fraudulent.” In other words, an LED indicator connected to a conventional oxygen sensor
is quite reliable at indicating whether you are running lean or rich, but do not rely on it to tell you how lean or rich.
Note that there are instruments on the market that can provide accurate indications of mixture within the lean or rich
ranges, but you’ll know if you buy one -- they are very expensive, and they do not use a conventional oxygen sensor for
a signal.
OIL CHANGING: If you buy an oil drain pan from the local auto parts store, slide it under the Jag, and open the plug
in the sump, you may be in for a messy surprise. The Jag V12 will drain around 11 US quarts of oil, and this is more
than the capacity of many conventional oil drain pans. Either be sure to get a really big pan, or figure out how to drain
the sump into two pans.
Here’s an idea: Get one of those plastic oil drain tubs that features a spigot to pour the oil into bottles without a funnel.
When the tub is sitting on the floor, the spigot acts as a spillover; if too much oil is drained into the tub, it’ll come out
the spigot rather than spilling over an edge. With the tub sitting under the engine, set another container under the
spigot. Your total drain capacity hence becomes the total of both tubs.
A disposable aluminum turkey broiling pan works great for that second pan. If it doesn’t fit neatly under the spigot as is,
it’s not difficult to mangle the edge a bit to allow it to sit right.
OIL FILTER REPLACEMENT: The oil filter on the Jaguar XJ-S mounts nearly vertically, the way they all should; the
dirt stays in the filter as it’s being removed. Considering the position, you can do your engine a favor by filling the new
filter with oil prior to installing it. When you start up, you will get pressure that much sooner. There are also reports
that prefilling may help protect the element itself from rupture when the engine is started. You will find it helpful to use
a small screwdriver or some such to poke through the smaller holes in the base of the filter and push open the flap a little
to provide a vent while trying to pour oil in the center hole. And be patient; it takes a minute or two for oil poured into
the center hole to soak through the element and fill the outer chamber.
It has been noticed that some filters for the XJ-S are different from others. Some are very large, extending almost level
with the bottom of the pan. Others are of conventional size. Some have a series of flats around the bottom edge to fit
the socket-type filter wrench that goes on the end, and some don’t. Since you can’t get to this filter from the side, it is
recommended you get a filter wrench that can be used from the end, and make sure the filters you purchase can be
removed with your wrench. The socket-type filter wrench works well and is cheap, but requires the series of flats on the
filter. There are also coil type and strap type filter wrenches that will work on most any filter; note that the coil type
cannot be used to tighten the filter.
Peter Cohen says, “I have found that if I hand tighten them as much as I can with one hand with the little bit of leverage
available down there, I am able to hand remove them as well.” Peyton Gill adds, “I got a box of disposable latex rubber
gloves (used in the medical industry). They provide additional grip and make hand removal and installation much easier
plus keep your hand clean when the oil runs down the filter. These things are cheap and can be bought at drugstores. It
really makes a big difference applying torque.”
Cohen provides some part numbers listed for earlier XJ-S's: "Fram PH2931 is correct, and I have used them for years
on my 1989 XJS. Purolator L30255 is the new numbering scheme that replaces L3255. (They just stuck in a zero for
some reason.)"
Dave Hernt reports that later spec filters fit better: "Both the PH2995 and L30381 are the filters specified for the 6.0L
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V12. Same threads and gasket, just shorter. I have installed a Purolator L30381. Similar to the L30255, but a tad
shorter. Goes in easy. It seemed to me that the L30255 was not going to go in without a hammer. Also tried a Fram
PH2995, it fits."
OIL FILTER REPLACEMENT -- EARLY CANISTER TYPE: Until sometime in 1976, the XJ-S came with a canister
filter assembly. Not only does this make it more difficult to change, but more care must be taken to make sure
everything is working properly. Mike Morrin had a problem with a non-replaceable bypass valve that sits in the bottom
of the canister: “I noticed that the bypass valve was actually about half way open!! This is presumably not good for
filtration efficiency. On dismanting the bypass valve, it became apparent that the alloy valve body had been strained,
probably by someone tightening up the filter assembly with something not seated correctly. I was able to straighten and
reassemble the valve, and it looks like it should work as good as new.”
OIL ADDITIVES: Don’t use any. The quintessential article on the subject is “Snake Oil! Is That Additive Really A
Negative?” by Fred Rau, ROAD RIDER, August 1992, Pg 15. Transcripts of this article appear in literally dozens of
places on the WWW, any search should find one. A couple such places include:
http://www.performancemotoroil.com/truth_about_oil_additives.html
http://www.carbibles.com/snakeoil.html
For those who feel compelled to spend more money on oil than merely following the manufacturer’s recommended
change intervals, the following options are suggested:
1. Install a bypass filter system -- see page 115.
2. Change oil more often. In fact, changing oil ridiculously often using el cheapo oil is a very workable
plan, but some consider it environmentally unwise. It’s also a lot of work.
3. Use synthetic oil. Tests have indicated that synthetic oil coming out after the recommended change
interval is often better than new regular oil.
4. Change the filter more often. They’re cheap, and indications are they get plugged and begin
bypassing long before the scheduled oil change interval.
On my car, I change the oil according to Jaguar’s recommended interval (6000 miles), use synthetic oil (Mobil 1, 15W-
50), and change the filter every 3000 miles.
Leaks
SEALING SUBSTANCES: If you would prefer that your Jaguar not leak oil, the first thing you must get through your
thick skull is to ignore all guidance on sealants and gasket dressings provided in the official Jaguar publications. Most of
their callouts are obsolete, many were wrong the day they were printed, and -- let’s face it -- Jaguar has absolutely no
credibility regarding leak prevention. To top it all off, Jaguar manuals and TSB’s have a nasty habit of calling for some
esoteric product that’s only available in industrial quantities via special order. Forget the Jaguar sources and follow the
guidance in this book instead.
Note that “gasket dressing” and “sealant” are two different things; a gasket dressing is used to help a gasket seal
properly, while a sealant is used where there is no gasket. Nobody is strict about the use of these terms, but the wise
mechanic will note how a product is intended to be used and avoid trying to use products for applications they are not
suited for.
It’s easy to get all wrapped up in which sealant or dressing is “the best”, but all you really care about is that it doesn’t
leak. There are many products that will fill that bill for any particular application. Being readily available locally in small
39
quantities is a big plus. Here are some simple guidelines:
If it’s a gortex gasket, don’t use any substances on it; assemble it dry.
If it’s a paper gasket, use a gasket dressing such as Hylomar on both sides.
If the joint involves two close-fitting metal surfaces with no gasket, use a sealant such as Loctite 518.
Those guidelines will cover almost everything that needs sealing in the Jaguar XJ-S. There are a couple of special cases,
though. The sides of the rear main bearing cap require a gap-filling sealant that can be injected; for this, copper silicone
sealant works well although it’s not particularly easy to squeeze into the slots (the top of the rear bearing cap should be
sealed with Loctite 518). The threads on the sandwich plate bolts with their heads inside the sump should be sealed with
Permatex #2 non-hardening sealant. The head gaskets and exhaust manifold gaskets are metal sandwiched around a
fibrous core and should be assembled dry.
GASKET DRESSINGS: As noted above, Hylomar is readily available and works just fine. Hylomar is a blue goo that
never hardens. Jaguar mistakenly specified Hylomar for use as a sealant in gasketless joints, which is a large part of why
these cars leak; it eventually gets blown out of such locations.
On gaskets, Greg Fronczak of Jag Services prefers a Toyota sealant, part number 023500102. This is a black substance.
Chad Bolles suggests a non-hardening sealer from a GM dealer, part no. 1050026.
Roger Homer suggests a Caterpillar product. “I’m not sure of its official name/number but I just go into the local
Caterpillar dealer and ask for a tin of Cat Red.” Bolles and Homer recommend these last two products primarily
because of ease of disassembly later; the gaskets easily peel off the metal parts with no need for scraping.
SEALANTS: As noted above, Loctite 518 is readily available and works just fine. Everything that Loctite makes with a
number starting with 5 is a sealant, though, and many of them will work in the Jaguar V12. Loctite 573 and 574 have
both been used successfully between the tappet blocks and the heads. Steve Cranswick likes Loctite 5900 Flange
Sealant. None of these are likely to be as easy to find as 518, though.
For those who can’t seem to find Loctite 518, Karl Nelson says, “Permatex is now a division of Loctite, and Permatex
51813 is the same thing as Loctite 518. Permatex 51813 is widely available at NAPA stores, and is advertised as
Anaerobic Flange Sealer.”
Joe Bialy adds, “The '13' in 51813 signifies the size of the package the 518 comes in. For instance, IIRC, 51845 is a
caulking gun sized package of 518.”
Loctite’s not the only source for sealants. James Teston points out that Hernon makes similar products, and there’s a
Loctite/Hernon cross-reference list on the www at
http://hernon.com/crossref.htm
SEALANTS VS. OXYGEN SENSORS: You should look for an indication that a sealant is “oxygen sensor safe”
before using it anywhere on an engine fitted with oxygen sensors. Apparently some silicone sealants will emit something
that gets in the oil and eventually into the exhaust and ruins the oxygen sensors.
LEAKY GASKETS: One of the improvements Ford made to the Jaguar product line after they purchased the company
was that they “Fordified” the gaskets and seals for the V12. While all of the old style gaskets look like plain paper of
various thicknesses, the new gaskets are often “Gortex” (teflon) sandwiched around metal foil. This upgrade is
explained in Technical Service Bulletin #12-35 dated 8/92, which states that engines were fitted with these gaskets from
the factory starting with engine #8S86317SA. All of the upgraded gaskets fit the older engines, so whenever engine
work is being done it would be wise to use the newer gaskets.
40
Redesigned gaskets, along with the new part numbers:
Old P/N New P/N
Oil Filter Housing EAC6337 EBC 9624
Oil Pan Gasket EAC7251, GEG560 EBC 9623
Cam Cover Gasket, Right C29428, TJM536 EBC 9628
Cam Cover Gasket, Left C29429, TJM537 EBC 9627
Thermostat Housing, Right EAC7048, GTG130 EBC 8330
Thermostat Housing, Left EAC7047, GTG129 EBC 8331
Water Pump Gaskets C29626, C36542 EBC 9629, EBC 9630
Water Pump Elbow C36020 EBC 9636
Valley Cover C29485 EBC 9631
Sandwich Plate Gasket EAC7252 EBC 9637
Coolant Manifold Gaskets C30344 EBC 9634
Exhaust Manifold Gaskets C33921, GEG688 EBC 10199
Throttle Body Gaskets C33280 EBC 9635
There are more, I just don’t have all the part numbers.
The original valley cover gasket was a piece of thin paper, and the new one is a piece of thin Gortex -- black on one side,
red on the other. This one isn’t sandwiched around metal foil; it’s really flexible, it even comes all crumpled up in a bag.
Offhand it wouldn’t appear to make any difference which way is up, but the TSB specifies that it should be installed with
the black side towards the block. If you install the valley cover while the heads are off, trim the edges of this gasket
wherever they protrude out from under the cover to make sure they don’t interfere with head gasket seating.
Richard Francis indicates the gasket between the water pump and the timing chain cover is also rubbery, no metal. He
also says the water pump elbow gasket “was not Gortex; it was black/red material again, though not paper, not metal,
and really not that rubbery either.” The TSB says that the water pump elbow gasket should be installed with the black
side towards the block.
The TSB clarifies that all of the Gortex and Gortex sandwich gaskets should be assembled dry; no dressing should be
used. It also specifies replacement bolts; “Revised bolts have flanged heads to prevent loosening. Do not use a washer
on revised (flanged) bolts.” The TSB only mentions replacement bolts for the oil sump, sandwich plate, and cam covers.
See the cam cover sealing discussion starting on page 60 for more ideas on this bolt replacement. Also see the
discussion on sandwich plate bolt sealing on page 48.
This author ordered a set of thermostat housing gaskets by the above part numbers, and received paper gaskets. They
are black paper and kinda thin, while the older style is thicker red paper. The only other difference I can see is that the
outside edge of the newer 3-bolt cover gasket lacks the bulge at one corner, so it can fit on in any of three orientations.
I have been told that Gortex sandwich gaskets do exist for the thermostat covers, but part numbers are unknown.
The original coolant manifold gaskets were apparently very thin paper and later versions were really thick pink
cardboard; the EBC 9634 gaskets are Gortex/metal sandwiches, and are pretty thin. There are 12 used on the engine,
although because some are used under the coolant headers and others are used under blank-off plates they may be listed
in catalogs as 8 needed in one place and 4 in another. Note that the steel blank-off plates tend to distort with stress and
time, especially if they’ve been holding down the thick paper gaskets; prior to reinstalling, it’d be a good idea to run a
flat file across the bottom to make the surface flat again.
A single design gasket is used on both sides of the throttle body, between the air filter housing and the throttle body and
between the throttle body and the intake manifold, so you need a total of four. The EBC 9635 gasket is a Gortex/metal
sandwich and has 7 bolt holes in it; four in a rectangular pattern, two more at 10 and 4 o’clock for the hidden bolts that
hold the throttle body to the intake manifold, and a single loop that can either point straight up or straight down
depending on which way you flip it. The TSB says they should be installed with the tab pointing downwards. The tab
serves no purpose on the ’83, and can either be cut off or left in place to hang out the edge of the assembled joint.
Mike Morrin says, “The top gasket set is Jaguar P/N JLM12229, and has all of the new style gaskets.”
41
The new gaskets should be widely available. Be sure to check the part number or description of the gasket as some
parts people may try to give you the old style to get rid of old stock. Given the proclivity of the pre-Ford Jaguars to
leak oil, using the older paper gaskets -- regardless of how cheap you got them -- would be a poor decision.
Richard Francis ordered a rebuilt water pump in 2006. “Surprised at getting paper gaskets (plate to block and water
inlet spout) with my rebuilt water pump from a reputable vendor, I called their president. He explained that while 1000's
are sold each year, this is first time any customer asked to have the Gortex gaskets packaged with the part. Challenging
him, he offered to make this recommendation to the outsourced company who actually rebuilds and packages the part
for the customer. Wasn't TSB 12-15 issued in 1992?
“One disadvantage here, which may cause me to return this part, is that it is safe to say that the pump to plate gasket is
paper as well.
“Of course, if you want the paper gaskets...otherwise put the Gortex in the same order.
INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKETS: During the Ford gasket upgrade, the 12 individual intake manifold gaskets C43354
or AJM687 were replaced with two gaskets; each serves all six ports on one bank. The part number is NNA-3020BA.
The original gaskets were either a very hard thick cardboard or an embossed metal piece, and the new gaskets are a
really thick, soft cardboard.
If you happen to have a pre-H.E., these new intake manifold gaskets pose a problem. Peter Smith reports that the
sections of gasket between the intake ports interfere with installation of the vertical spark plugs used on the pre-H.E..
He also reports that the 12-piece gaskets are NLA. If you have a pre-H.E., here’s a plan: set some 5/16” bolts on the
floor standing on their heads and set one of the new gaskets down over them. Set the intake manifold over it, using the
bolts to align the gasket with the manifold. Use a marker to mark the outline of the manifold onto the gasket. Then take
a pair of stout scissors or sheet metal shears and cut that single gasket into six individual gaskets, throwing away the
sections between intake ports. Let’s face it, any portion of the gasket that isn’t pinched between the manifold and the
head is useless, it won’t hurt anything to cut it away.
The spark plugs on the H.E. are canted inward and are a PITA to install, but the 2-piece gaskets don’t make it any more
difficult. Nonetheless, it still might be a nice idea to cut the gaskets into six pieces and discard the useless sections
between ports; it results in a cleaner appearance in the vee, an area that’s too cluttered already.
EXHAUST MANIFOLD GASKETS: The original exhaust manifold gaskets are sort of a metal/asbestos/metal
sandwich with dimpled surfaces, and the newer ones are the same stuff except that they have added a collar around the
center opening. This is a significant improvement; the earlier gaskets tend to erode from the exhaust passage outward.
DRY PAPER GASKETS: For the few places where paper gaskets are still used on the XJ-S, Walt Osborn of Vintage
Jaguar (page 697) sends this tip: “When paper gaskets are stored for a certain period of time, they shrink and become
hard and brittle. If you are in a hurry, just dip in warm water and pat it dry with a paper towel or shop rag. Keep doing
it until it fits. If you have a little time put it in a plastic bag with a slightly damp rag. The gasket will usually reconstitute
overnight. Once it is okay, remove the rag and seal the bag until ready for use.”
PARTS BOOK CONFUSION: At the rear end of each intake manifold is an opening covered by a throttle linkage
support plate and a triangular cover with hose connections for the crossover pipe, all held to the manifold with three
bolts. It is plainly obvious that this assembly requires two gaskets, one between the manifold and the throttle linkage
support plate and one between the throttle linkage support plate and the triangular cover. The August 1987 Jaguar Parts
Catalogue shows this assembly on page 1C-15L and 1C-15R, but it shows only one gasket, EAC2650. It indicates two
required, but all the other quantities shown on the page are per-car numbers, so one could conclude that it means one
per manifold. Worse, many other sources, such as the catalogs from the mail order outfits, base their listings on this
parts catalog and repeat this error. Ignore all this misinformation and order two EAC2650 gaskets per side, four total.
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LEAKY SEALING WASHERS: Copper sealing washers work just fine -- once. The work-hardening properties of
copper are rather extreme; when fully annealed pure copper is very soft indeed, but just bend or deform it a little bit and
it gets very hard very suddenly. Copper sealing washers are intended to exploit this very feature; as the components are
tightened down on them, they initially crush to form a good seal and then promptly get hard. If you try to reuse one,
you almost might as well use a steel washer for sealing.
Craig Sawyers points out you can reuse copper washers if you anneal them. “Heat it up to cherry red in a flame (just a
plumbing gas burner will do, or even the stove) and let it cool slowly. It will then be as soft as putty, and will tighten
nicely without too much torque to give a good seal.” Hanging the washers with little pieces of wire makes it easy to use
a torch on them. Believe it or not, a butane cigarette lighter will work -- but you’ll need to hold it on the washer a while,
so it’s best to have one of those long charcoal grille lighters that won’t burn your thumb. Obviously, if the copper
washers are boogered up, it’d be a good idea to file them flat before use.
Is it important to let it cool slowly? Nope! In fact, it’s better to dunk it in water. Martin Lappin says, “Unlike steel, the
copper will also stay soft if you quench it in cold water. The advantage of this is it removes the oxide scale from the
surface.” You simply cannot quench copper fast enough to cause it to harden, at least not without special equipment;
dunking it in water isn’t fast enough. If you don’t dunk it, you’ll have to sand the washer lightly after it cools to get the
oxide off.
So why am I wasting space in this book to tell you how to save a few cents by reusing copper washers? Because you
need to start annealing new washers. Sawyers: “They are supplied as stamped from sheet copper. In other words they
are in half-hard anneal. I always heat treat new washers to put them in a state of soft anneal. Try it and you'll see what I
mean.”
By annealing each time, you can apparently reuse copper seals as many times as you like. People who use copper head
gaskets in competition find this a very appealing prospect. For a ten cent washer, though, you’ll probably want to
replace them nearly every time anyway just because they eventually get pretty mangled.
XK’s Unlimited (page 697) offers something called a Stat-O-Seal washer. It’s an alloy washer with a rubber ring around
the ID. They come in 1/8” increments. Michael Neal says, “The drain plug washer for the S3 XJ6 and XJ-S can be
replaced with the transmission cooler line banjo bolt seal from an XJ40, EBC4896. This is a neoprene-lined washer that
is reusable.” You don’t really have to seek out Jaguar parts sources, though; these type sealing washers are now
commonly available in auto parts stores.
You can also assemble your own homemade equivalent with an O-ring and a flat washer. For example, to seal a 1/2
fitting you could slide on a 1/16” thick O-ring with a 1/2” ID and a flat washer with a 5/8” ID so it fits around the O-
ring. Ideally, the flat washer should be just a bit thinner than 1/16”. When you tighten down the fitting, first it contacts
the O-ring and starts to compress it but then sits hard on the flat washer preventing you from overcompressing the O-
ring. The O-ring ends up fully trapped within the flat washer so it can’t blow out regardless of pressure. Such
assemblies provide a reliable seal, and you can easily gather the parts to assemble one to fit any application. You can
even put together really tiny versions if needed. And for optimum durability, you can opt for Viton O-rings (see below).
For the specific application of an oil drain plug, auto parts stores now offer a plug that has a built-in rubber seal under
the head. It looks like a stubby washer-faced bolt, except the washer face is made of rubber. Obviously, if the rubber
gets chewed up, you need to replace the entire plug.
The rubber-lined washer, the O-ring and flat washer, and the rubber-sealed drain bolt are all excellent sealing methods as
long as the application doesn’t get too hot for the rubber. The rubber will also deteriorate in a decade or so. Where
things get hot or you need it to seal longer than a decade, the copper washer is the way to go. Now, let’s move on to
bad ideas:
If you find any aluminum sealing washers, throw them away. They cannot be reused. In fact, they’re not all that great
the first time.
Fiber washers work fine once or twice as long as you don’t overtighten them, but eventually they tend to split open --
and not necessarily while you’re tightening them; they may crack open later when you’re 100 miles from home. They
43
are also generally unsuitable for high-pressure applications, although some fittings address this by enclosing the fiber
washer within a recess to prevent it from blowing out.
Auto parts stores offer plastic sealing washers; sometimes they are packaged with a replacement oil drain plug.
Sometimes they have circular ribs on them, apparently to improve sealing. Sometimes they have a little flag hanging off
one side, apparently to stick out the side of the joint and tell you there’s a plastic sealing washer in there. These things
work for low-pressure applications such as an oil drain plug, but don’t use them on any line that holds pressure. You
must be careful while installing; you can overtighten them and squeeze them right out of the joint, especially if there’s a
little oil involved. In general, you’d be well advised to just throw them away.
LEAKY O-RINGS: The O-rings available at your local parts store are probably as good as the Jaguar originals -- which
is to say not worth a damn. Whenever an O-ring is encountered during disassembly of the V12, it invariably is hard and
brittle and has long since ceased sealing properly. Viton O-rings are the recommended upgrade, although you might not
find them in your local auto parts store; you might need to visit a good industrial supply place to find them. They are
often brown to distinguish them from normal O-rings, but they can also be found in black or any of several other colors.
The price is always an indicator, though; they cost several times as much.
Andy Hutchinson reports: “Looked at my book today. It would seem the choice of "elastomers" (posh for rubber) is
Nitrile, Flurocarbon or Flurosilicon. Viton is Flurocarbon. Excellent hot and chem resistant. Not so good cold.
Flurosilicon is good at both ends but not very tough (fixed surfaces only). Nirtrile is a good all rounder and I suspect the
standard material. Rubber, silicone, neoprene, etc. are dogs.” As long as you’re not building Space Shuttle solid rocket
boosters, that lack of cold performance of Viton may be acceptable; on the Jag V12, it’d be preferable to leak only in
freezing weather than to leak all the time!
Viton O-rings can be ordered from McMaster-Carr (page 711).
LEAKY BANJO FITTINGS: Banjo fittings require two sealing washers. The copper washers used to seal the banjo
fittings at the back end of the tappet blocks are really thin, only about .010” thick. This is too thin for reliable sealing, so
chances are pretty good that these banjo fittings will leak right after assembly.
If your local auto parts store has a rack of red cards titled “Help!”, it probably has a package of sealing washers that are
the correct diameter for these fittings but a lot thicker: Part number 66272, labelled “Brake Hose Bolt Washer”. It says
they are ID 25/64” and OD 5/8”. These washers are about 1/16” thick and will seal just fine -- but will aggravate
another problem.
Craig Sawyers pointed out that the alignment of the cross hole in the banjo bolt doesn’t line up with the channel inside
the collar as well as might be hoped -- see Figure 1. The collar is about 13/32” thick, with the channel right in the
middle, but the cross hole in the bolt is located only about 5/32” from the underside of the head -- and the thickness of
the sealing washer between the bolt head and the collar makes this misalignment even worse. The drawing at left
includes a 1/16” thick copper washer, and the two passages barely overlap. Jaguar’s fix: those really thin sealing
washers described above.
A better fix is pretty easy, though: using a Dremel or some such, lengthen the opening on the cross hole in the bolt in the
direction of the threaded end (basically, enlarge the chamfering in that direction). This will help the oil flow to the
camshafts even if the original thickness washers are used. Ideally you will want to extend the edge of the cross hole to
about 5/16” or 8mm from the underside of the bolt head.
44
Figure 1: Banjo Bolt Modification for Better Flow
Craig Sawyers came up with a slightly different mod: “I added a single extra 2.5mm diameter hole (ie not all the way
through, just until it entered the axial drilling) with a centre line 6.7mm from the sealing face. that puts it entirely in the
channel in the oil feed line.”
Now that you’re practiced at this modification, do the same thing to the banjo bolt at the top right of the radiator -- see
page 187.
If you’d prefer, Ron Kelnhofer (page 718) offers a custom banjo bolt to replace the OEM item. He includes a pair of
copper sealing washers with each bolt that are 0.031” thick -- thicker than the OEM washers and thick enough to seal
properly, but only half as thick as the Help! items described above. Kelnhofer located the cross hole in his banjo bolt
correctly for his 0.031” sealing washers; if either the thin OEM washers or the thicker Help! washers were used with it
the cross hole would still line up better than the OEM banjo bolt with the OEM thin washers, but nevertheless Kelnhofer
suggests you use the washers he designed it for to ensure optimum flow.
He also made his banjo bolt a little longer. “1.015'' long overall. The bolt was lengthened only an amount equal to the
change in the washer thicknesses.” It is therefore not a solution for the stripped banjo bolt hole problem described
below. “The reason behind this is that with the limited amount of space between the head and the firewall, I wanted to
keep it as short as possible but still permanently address the real issue, leaking. I could have made them longer but
actually can't see a real benefit as far as sealing is concerned by doing so. As far as stripping the head threads, my feeling
is that it isn't really a problem if one uses common sense in tightening the bolt.”
Kelnhofer’s banjo bolt is made of stainless steel. You can look at a pic of this bolt at
http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/engr/banjoeng.html
When tightening banjo bolts, be sure to hold the collar on the oil line still. Failure to do so will allow the turning of the
bolt to twist the collar and bend the tubing.
STRIPPED BANJO BOLT HOLES: The banjo bolts thread into the back ends of the tappet blocks only about 0.35”.
That’s not much thread engagement for screwing 3/8” bolts into soft aluminum, and combined with the fact that the
banjo fittings often leak at assembly due to the thin copper washers, it’s only too common that a mechanic tightens them
too many grunts trying to stem a leak and winds up stripping out the threads in the tappet block. This will require many
pints to get over since it would normally require removing the tappet block to helicoil, and removing the tappet block
requires removing the camshaft, and removing the camshaft requires fiddling with the timing chain tensioner -- see page
64.
Modifying the banjo bolt and using thicker copper washers, as described above, will solve the sealing problems and
45
make it unnecessary to go cranking on that banjo bolt so hard -- but it also means that there are even less threads
engaged, so being judicious about tightening is highly recommended.
Nick Johanssen and Craig Sawyers report that the Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club (page 730) offers longer banjo bolts. “A
get-you-out-of-trouble idea for a temporary way of avoiding the removal of the cylinder head if the original bolt's thread
strips. This bolt has extra threads to take up with the deeper threads always present, but not always made use of.” He
means avoiding removing the tappet block rather than the cylinder head of course, but it’s still a task to avoid.
Of course, it might not be a bad idea to install the longer banjo bolts before the threads strip.
Note: the JEC banjo bolts are nice and long, but the cross hole is still in the wrong place. Before installing, you will
need to modify them per the guidelines above.
There are also questions about the quality of these parts. Sawyers says, “the thread had been made with a worn die. It
was as rough as a badger's backside, and was too large (like a nut wouldn't go on with just fingers). So I had to run a
3/8 UNC die down it - curling out a spiral of extra metal in the process.” Considering the soft aluminum tappet blocks
these things screw into, finding such a die and chasing those threads is certainly prudent.
Classic Jaguar of Austin, Texas also offers longer banjo bolts, part number C5846L (the L is for Long). They’re
supposedly about 3/16” longer than the OEM banjo bolts. No word on whether the cross hole is correctly located or
whether the quality is any better than the JEC items. They might actually be the JEC parts, just kept in stock on this side
of the pond.
Some people have suggested simply making new banjo bolts from normal bolts; just drill one hole axially down the
length of the bolt and another crossways. Sawyers: “The head of a standard 3/8 UNC bolt is 9/16AF. The banjos are
5/8AF - the increase in AF size for the head gives a larger land for the copper washer to seat.” IOW, it might work, but
you’ll have less sealing surface under the head. Perhaps better to just buy the correct items -- unless you can find 3/8”
UNC bolts with oversize heads.
Note that there is at least one report of longer banjo bolts being too long and bottoming in the threads before tightening
down on the sealing washers, thereby causing a massive leak. It’s all a function of how deep the hole was threaded.
Hence, if installing a longer banjo bolt, it is recommended that it be trial installed without sealing washers first to make
sure it’ll screw in far enough. If they bottom too soon, the solution is obvious: shorten them a bit. Meanwhile, if you
ever have the tappet blocks off, check the threads and if they’re not tapped plenty deep, go ahead and tap them deeper
while you can.
Things are tight back there, and problems may arise trying to get the longer banjo bolts in place with the engine in the
car. Trying to get them in between the firewall and the fitting on the oil line is probably not going to work. Rather,
gently bend the oil line upward until it clears the back end of the tappet block, insert the long banjo bolt with one sealing
washer around it, then gently bend it back to the proper position. Use a length of dental floss to hold the second sealing
washer in place, get the banjo bolt started, then cut the dental floss and pull it out.
This will work, but obviously you don’t want to do it a dozen times; eventually the tube will crack and you will need a
new one. To ease the stress on the tube, you could unscrew the banjo bolt from the oil pressure sender pedestal or
unbolt the pedestal itself, which will allow moving the oil feed manifold around much more easily. This will allow
moving the ends out from behind the tappet blocks more easily -- and if you’re coordinated, you might consider putting
the banjo bolts into the fittings for both tappet blocks at the same time rather than bolting one down and then bending
the tube to install the second. Alternatively, you might do the right bank first -- it’s the hard one -- and then you may be
able to get the left one together without even having to move the oil line around.
LEAKY OIL PRESSURE SENDER CONNECTIONS: The connection at the block at the rear center of the V is a
larger banjo bolt. For this fitting, Help! number 66265, “Brake Hose Bolt Washers” are a perfect fit. They are described
on the package as ID = 33/64”, OD = 45/64”. These same seals fit the bolts that hold the heat shields to the exhaust
manifolds -- see page 317.
The seal on the oil pressure sending unit itself is not the same size as on the banjo fitting. The sending unit fitting is the
46
same diameter as many common oil drain plugs, though, so it is easy to find a suitable seal in an auto parts store. Note,
however, that if you’re buying a new sending unit, it will usually come with a new sealing washer.
LEAKY OIL PRESSURE SENDER: When searching for sources of oil leaks, don’t overlook the oil pressure sending
unit itself, C46272. The unit can fail internally and oil comes seeping out of the electrical connector, a sure sign of
trouble since there isn’t supposed to be any oil within the electrical components in this unit. The author’s car had this
problem, and the gauge was still working just fine. The only solution is to replace it. A sender with silicone sealant
around the connector is a sure sign that an incompetent mechanic has been involved.
For more on this sender, see page 56.
LEAKY OIL PRESSURE SWITCH: The oil pressure switch, which operates the warning light, is right next to the oil
pressure sender -- and is even more notorious for leaking oil out through the electrical connection. The only solution is
to replace it, but that’s not difficult because the thread is standard and there are lots of cars that use very similar pressure
switches. David Johnson says, “I screwed one from a Chevy in. The new one was a two wire type, so I simply
connected one side to ground and it works fine.”
OIL LEAKS AT FILTER HEAD ASSEMBLY: Peter Smith says “The oil would gather around the top of the filter less
than a minute after starting the engine. I eventually took the head assembly off and found a blanking bolt fitted to the
rear which had a failed fibre sealing washer. Replaced it with a copper washer - no more leaks. I had to take the head
assembly off to see the bolt but when you know it’s there it may be possible by feel.”
OIL LEAKS AT CAM COVER/HALF MOON SEAL: Discussed on page 60.
OIL LEAKS AT TAPPET BLOCK: Discussed on page 70.
OIL LEAKS AT TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER ACCESS COVER: Before going any farther, please read the
warning about having the cam covers off on page 59; the same warning about dropping parts inside applies here.
The access to the timing chain tensioner latch is via an opening on the timing chain cover, forward of the right bank and
just above the support for the belt-driven fan. The purpose of this access is for locking or releasing the tensioner during
overhauls; there is no need for periodic adjustment, as the tensioner is self-adjusting.
The rubber plug always seems to get hard and crumbly. People with the new one in hand sometimes assume there has
been a material change, since the new one is soft and pliable while the old one appears to be Bakelite. Looking at the
ears on the new one can also lead one to believe that it’s a push-and-turn type of cover, like a radiator cap. No such
luck; it’s a simple round hole, and the ears are supposed to be flexed to get it in and out. The old one will probably have
to be removed in pieces. If a piece or two falls down inside, don’t worry about it, they’re too soft to do any serious
damage. They’ll probably just come out in the next oil change; it’s definitely not worth further disassembly.
Mark Jackson says, “Managed to get the hardened rubber bung out the hard way with wood screws and a home made
tool made out of 1/8" round which I levered with a screw driver via a nut on the chain cover!”
Note that this is an opening into the crankcase and should be well sealed to prevent oil vapor leakage, as well as to keep
the PCV system working properly to minimize oil leaks elsewhere. Chad Bolles suggests “...apply a thin coat of GM
Gasket Sealing Compound part no. 1050026 (stuff never gets hard) and press in the new plug and you are good to go.”
Jim Isbell didn’t like how much grief was required getting the plug out after it had dried up, and determined it wouldn’t
happen again. “I have cut the tabs off of the rubber plug that fills the adjustment hole for the chain tensioner. I have
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made a simple aluminum “L” shaped piece that fits under a water pump bolt and holds the plug so it won't fall out.”
If desired, the opening may be plugged with a compressible rubber type freeze plug. This may even be preferable to the
original plug, since it will make a reliable airtight seal. Be sure that the plug does not interfere with the timing chain or
the operation of the tensioner.
It isn’t too difficult to make an aluminum plug for this hole with provision for fitting an O-ring for sealing. Figure 2
shows a design.
Figure 2: Timing Chain Tensioner Access Hole Plug
One such plug was machined by Ron Morse and successfully tested on the author’s car; you can see a picture of this
installation at
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/TensionerPlug.html
Note that, even though this plug fits snugly in the hole when fitted with a proper Viton O-ring (#210), it lacks any
positive retention and therefore might blow out if pressure builds in the crankcase for some reason. Since you don’t
want to lose it after paying to have it made, something similar to Isbell’s little tab under a water pump bolt is in order to
make sure it stays put. The threaded hole in the center is to aid in removal when you actually want to get it out; just
screw in a 1/4” screw and use it to pull or pry on.
If you don’t want to make your own, Ron Kelnhofer (page 718) has some for sale. His are very similar to the
illustration shown except that he has added a retention scheme, a checkball that can be engaged to grip the side of the
opening so a separate tab under a bolt head is not necessary. You can see a picture of his plug at
http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/engr/tension.html
OIL LEAKS AT SANDWICH PLATE BOLTS: The bolts that hold the sandwich plate to the bottom of the block are
threaded into holes that open at the top to the outside of the block; if you used bolts that were too long, the ends of the
bolts would stick up through the flange and be visible from outside the engine. This arrangement was no problem with
the oil pan used on the SIII E-Type, since the bolt heads were likewise visible from outside the engine and the gasket
would seal between the pan and the block inboard of the bolt holes, so the bolts themselves would remain dry. When
the sandwich plate configuration was introduced in the XJ12 and XJ-S, however, a widened oil pan was provided at the
rear end of the engine and the heads of some of the bolts holding the sandwich plate to the block are completely
enclosed within the pan. These same bolts also hold a baffle tray in place, but since everything is inside the crankcase,
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no gaskets are used.
The result is that oil can seep into the space surrounding the bolts and then upward through the threads and come out on
the outside of the block. Not good. If the sandwich plate had been introduced with the V12 at the outset, they probably
would have made the holes in the block “blind holes” so oil couldn’t leak through; this was done in several other places,
as though someone was thinking about it at the time.
Jaguar apparently figured out the problem -- in 1994. That’s the date of Technical Service Bulletin 12-53, which
describes a simple fix: Drain the oil, remove the oil pan, remove the guilty bolts, clean the oil off the bolts and out of the
threaded holes, apply a thread sealant to the bolt threads, and reassemble. This is a snap, and well within the capabilities
of anyone capable of changing their own oil -- and is convenient to do during an oil change, and won’t even add much
time to the job.
The TSB specifies that “Loctite Primer” be applied to the hole threads. Apparently Loctite primers are essentially
acetone- or hepatone-based cleaners. You can use plain acetone on a swab to clean the threads well enough for a thread
sealant to work.
For sealing, the TSB specifies that Loctite 545 be applied to the bolt threads. Note that 545 would mean a sealant, not
to be confused with Loctite 600-series products that are threadlockers. Earl Huff found that Loctite 545 was an
industrial product not generally available to the home mechanic, so he called Loctite for advice: “After learning what I
intended to use the stuff for, the very helpful fellow I spoke with said that Permatex silicone RTV sealant or even the #2
sealant would probably work just as well.” This author used #2 for this job and it worked well.
The TSB indicates that there are 9 bolts involved on the XJ-S but only 7 bolts on the XJ12. It’s unknown where they
got these numbers or why they would be different; on this author’s ’83, there are 8 bolts that required sealing.
The TSB mentions that the bolts and gasket involved were upgraded after engine 8S 86317 (or 8W 10641 on XJR-S
cars), so if your engine is earlier than these numbers you’re supposed to replace the bolts and use the newer style gasket
EBC 9623 when reassembling.
It’s probably not the same bolts that need upgrading and sealing. There are two types of bolts on and within the oil pan
on a pre-metric engine (pre- 8S24175): 5/16”-18 Grade 5 bolts 1-3/4” long with spiral groove washers that go through
the sandwich plate into the block, and 5/16”-18 washer-faced bolts 3/4” long that thread into the sandwich plate itself.
The bolts that need sealing are the 1-3/4” ones with heads within the sump. The 3/4” screws have the dreaded
triangulated threads that strip out holes in aluminum, so these bolts were probably the subject of that upgrade.
Chances are good that the bolt upgrades are similiar to that for the cam cover (see page 60), so using the same strategies
for non-Jaguar bolts described there would probably work here as well. You’ll need nineteen 5/16”-18 bolts 3/4” long.
Grade 5 hex head bolts would work well, Grade 8 even better. Since you probably won’t have washer-faced heads,
you’ll need washers as well -- the 8mm spring washers described on page 27 will work nicely.
Although it’s probably not necessary, you could also replace the 1-3/4” Grade 5 bolts with Grade 8’s. You’ll need
fifteen. Finding 1-3/4” Grade 8 bolts is not always easy, so let me make it easier for you: get 2” bolts instead. They fit
better. You can reuse the spiral groove washers.
Of course, you might also consider replacing all the bolts you can get to on the front half of the sandwich plate that
aren’t associated with the oil pan. On a pre-metric engine these are 5/16”-18 bolts 1” long and there are eighteen of
them, but you probably won’t want to try to get to four that are above the crossmember for the front subframe.
On metric engines, all of these bolts are probably 8mm instead of 5/16” and the lengths are multiples of 5mm. It’s
probably the same number of bolts of each length, though. Remember that metric class 8.8 is roughly equal to Grade 5
and metric class 10.9 is roughly equal to Grade 8.
When sealing and/or replacing bolts that hold the sandwich plate to the block, it’d be a good idea to do one at a time
since you don’t want to disturb the upper gasket.
SANDWICH PLATE GASKETS: If you’re doing the job described above to seal the sandwich plate bolts, it makes
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sense to buy just the lower gasket. If you’re addressing gasket leaks, one could argue that replacing the lower without
replacing the upper is a waste of time. Of course, replacing the lower with the engine in the car is easy, replacing the
upper is not. You could argue that replacing just the lower is worth a try, and if it doesn’t work you can go back and do
them both and buy a second lower gasket.
When you have the stamped sheet steel pan off, set it down right side up and clean up the flat upper surface. Inspect the
holes closely. If they seem to be dished upward a bit from the bolt tension, set the ball end of a ball pein hammer in the
hole and whack it with another hammer. The metal around the hole should end up slightly dished downward. When
you tighten the bolts down the area will be pulled back flat, but compression will be applied more uniformly over the
area of the gasket.
As a point of information: Jaguar didn’t provide a sandwich plate between block and oil pan just to maximize leakage.
The sandwich plate is structural; bolting it to the block makes the block assembly more rigid. Rigidity is very important;
when an engine operates at high power, the pulses at alternating cylinders can cause the block to twist and flex. This can
misalign the main bearings holding the crank and cause them to get wiped out. When a block is thick cast iron it might
be rigid enough for everyday use, but when you’re designing a long V12 block made of aluminum and intended for high
performance work, you need to do what you can to maximize structural rigidity.
Craig Sawyers provides actual specs:
Torsional stiffness in lbft/degree
Bare block: 5445
Block with cylinder liners and sump: 40,830
Heads, block and sump: 111,700
“Now admittedly this was the original Series III E-Type engine, in which the sump was a large and deep aluminium
casting. However, I believe that the general principle still holds: the sandwich plate is indeed structural.”
Unfortunately, Jaguar may have dropped the ball here. If the sandwich plate is structural, the joint between block and
sandwich plate needs to transmit shear loads. It should therefore have close-fitting dowels, probably a half dozen, to
unite the block with the sandwich plate structurally. It doesn’t, however, so only the bolts (which fit too loosely in the
holes for transmitting shear loads) and the gasket itself hold the two parts united. The shear loads can be expected to be
hard on the gasket, and putting a thick cork gasket in here in place of the thin OEM gasket would probably be a serious
mistake. Reportedly a Ford engineer once opined that this joint will always be inherently prone to leakage.
SEALING THE DIPSTICK TUBE: The dipstick tube just slides into a tube on the crankcase and is held in place by a
bracket bolted to the top of the head. It’s not sealed. Of course, it’d be a nice idea to seal it; the fewer leaks, the better,
and even if the dipstick itself doesn’t seal perfectly (although it just might -- it is a decent design) it’d be a lot harder for
oil to find its way all the way to the top of the tube than to leak out right there at the bottom.
Some ideas for sealing this thing: You might apply a sealant to the end of the tube before sliding it back in. Or, you
might fit a small O-ring around the tube before installing it, and make sure that the bracket arrangement holds the tube
firmly so it applies a little compression onto the end of the fitting on the crankcase. Of course, Viton is preferred. Or, if
you can get your hands in there, you could slide a piece of hose over the joint and clamp it on both sides of the joint.
OIL IN AIR INTAKES: Robert Dingli explains the oil that always seems to collect in the air filter housings and around
the butterflies: “What you are noticing is probably a mixture of a small amount of engine oil that has been forced out as
a vapour from the crankcase by blowby gas which has then condensed within the inlet manifold. You may also get some
residual fuel (usually the heavier fractions) leaving an oily film. This is normal even for new engines but will tend to get
worse as the engine wears.
“On engines which have the inlet manifold sloping down from the head, there is usually quite a puddle sitting in the
plenum. The first time I noticed this was when one of the vacuum lines became blocked. It turned out to be the line
which connects to the underside of the plenum. I have since re-routed that line and plugged the connection. Whenever I
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remove the plug, a thick deep red oily mess dribbles out. The red colour is obviously the remnants of petrol (leaded
petrol in Australia is coloured red) which has run down into the plenum after the engine has been stopped. The lighter
fractions tend to evaporate when the engine is next heated.
“Very occasionally, I have been known to pour a small amount of petrol into the plenum to dissolve the goo and then
drain from the lowest point.”
FREEZE PLUGS: Apparently a US-only misnomer; English-speaking countries reportedly properly call them “core
plugs”. Some US parts places call them “expansion plugs”. Alex Dorne clarifies, “I can tell you that the freeze plugs are
not meant to rescue the block if the coolant freezes. Due to the casting process they were necessary to make mantling
of the block possible.” Of course, that doesn’t mean they won’t pop out when the coolant freezes! However, in warmer
climates the most common failure is rust-through.
If you need to replace these plugs for whatever reason, you will find several versions available, including simple steel or
brass cup-shaped plugs and copper or rubber assemblies with a bolt through the center for compressing the plug to
expand it into the opening. Dorne: “Most common material seems to be steel for automotive use but when working in
the marine business I found out that copper is used on “factory built” marine engines to prevent corrosion problems
when fresh water cooled.
Note that the original plugs are concave side out, but replacements are installed the other way. “Installing the plugs is a
piece of cake (if the block is out of the vehicle, of course). Place the plug in its seat, convex side out, hold a ball ended
hammer in the center of the plug, give it a hit with a second hammer. This flattens the plug and increases the diameter a
little bit. I think it’s a good idea to use some non-hardening sealant on the seat before placing the plug.”
If the cupped plug is a little too tight to install, it is a simple matter to make it a little smaller. Set the plug in a large
socket or box end wrench, put a steel ball (or the head of a ballpien hammer) in the center and hit it with a hammer.
Since the Jaguar V12 has an open-top deck design, there is little reason for other casting openings and there are no plugs
on the side of the block. There is one plug on the rear end of each bank, within the bellhousing. On the head, there are
three 7/8” plugs on the exhaust side, four 7/8” plugs on the intake side (visible within the V), and one 1-3/8” plug at the
back end.
PCV SYSTEM: The way a typical PCV system works is pretty simple: A scheme is provided that draws fresh air into
one side of the crankcase and out the other side and into the engine intake. This serves at least three purposes: First
(and foremost to emissions regulators) it prevents the vapors gathering in the crankcase from escaping into the
atmosphere. Second, it provides fresh air inside the crankcase rather than yucky fumes, some of which may be corrosive
or explosive. Third, the suction causes a slight vacuum within the crankcase, which causes leaks to leak air in rather
than oil out. For these benefits, there are essentially zero disadvantages other than the minimal cost of the components.
There once was a concern about effects on fuel mixture, but when carburetors were superceded by EFI that concern
evaporated.
Unfortunately, this all describes a typical PCV system -- not the one in the Jag. Rather than the flow-through scheme of
a typical system, the V12 has only one opening into the crankcase. This vent is connected to a chamber built into the
LH air filter housing. The chamber has a fairly large opening into the air filter housing itself. The PCV valve is also
connected to this chamber. Flow-through ventilation of the crankcase is clearly not possible. It’s doubtful such a system
will apply a significant vacuum to the crankcase, other than when the LH air filter is plugged up. The only objective it
will achieve is pollution control; vapors cannot escape the crankcase without going either into the air intake or into the
inlet manifold.
LEAK CONTROL VIA PCV: In the July 1999 issue of Jaguar Driver magazine, Crispin Hales relates a story about a
V12 E-type that had been converted from the original Zenith-Stromberg carburetors to SU’s by a previous owner. The
car leaked oil badly, and one by one all the leaks were corrected except for the rear main seal. After procrastinating for
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years about fixing the rear main seal, it finally occurred to Hales that perhaps the PCV system was at fault. Sure enough,
whomever had converted the car to SU’s had removed the PCV system in entirety. Simply installing a new PCV system
caused the rear main seal to stop leaking.
It’s unknown what the PCV system on the SIII E-type looks like, but it wouldn’t appear that the system on the XJ-S
would help reduce leaks this well. Of course, you should fix the leaks! But perhaps it’d be nice to achieve the leak
reduction benefits of a typical PCV system on this V12.
It would be easy enough to make this system work like a typical PCV system: remove the PCV valve from the chamber
on the LH air filter housing and plug that hole, leaving the crankcase vent connected to the air filter housing via the
chamber. Install the PCV valve into the crankcase itself. That way, the PCV valve will draw air from the LH air filter
housing into the crankcase through the metal mesh, through the crankcase, and through the PCV valve into the intake
manifold.
Of course, there’s no hole to connect the PCV valve to! You’ll have to make one. As far away from the existing vent
as possible is good, but not essential. You want to avoid any place where there’s a lot of oil splatter that the PCV might
suck up, but most engines put it right in the valve cover so installing it in the RH cam cover should work just as well. If
you’re good, you can drill a hole in the cam cover that’s the same size as the hole in the chamber where the PCV valve
was originally installed so you can install the same valve in the same grommet.
Other options would be to find a way to connect it to the plug for the timing chain tensioner or to a half moon seal.
Either way would avoid cutting on expensive metal parts.
Remember that you’re not bound by the original PCV valve. A check through the selection of PCV valves and
grommets in an auto parts store may generate some ideas. Some PCV valves have a 90° fitting on them, which might be
helpful.
If you manage to install the PCV valve somewhere in the right rear area of the engine, note that you should be able to
take the tube connecting both intake manifolds to the PCV valve off and turn it around backwards and reinstall it,
providing a ready connection to the right rear. Of course, you can just connect up some hoses to the same fittings and
route them anywhere. Connecting to both manifolds is probably good, since you want to have the same effect on
mixture on both banks.
Obviously, it is of considerable importance that the owner take care to maintain the integrity of the crankcase
containment; an opening into the crankcase will not only cause an oil leak at that location, but it will also allow air to
enter and reduce the effective vacuum in the crankcase and thereby cause oil leaks elsewhere. A classic location for such
a leak on the Jaguar V12 is the timing chain tensioner cover (see page 47), but any opening into the crankcase will do it.
Make sure your dipstick is seated properly, make sure your oil fill cap has a good gasket under it, etc., etc.
PCV FOR WORN ENGINES: In the course of maintaining a slight vacuum in the crankcase, the PCV system must
deal with whatever leaks exist to allow air into the crankcase as well as blowby from the piston rings. With a very worn
engine, the piston ring blowby may overpower the PCV system even if all the crankcase openings are properly plugged.
The EPA doesn’t really care as long as the air intake to the crankcase comes from the air filter housing; when the vapors
overpower the PCV, the excess comes out into the air filter housing and gets pulled into the engine anyway. It just
makes the inside of the air filter housing grungy. The systems the EPA don’t like are the ones with a vented oil filler,
where the excess vapors get blown all over the engine compartment and out the bottom of the car.
Of course, you might not care for the oil leaks that result when the PCV system is overpowered. It has been suggested
that, even though an engine rebuild at this time is prudent, the addition of a second PCV system may help keep the oil
leakage to a minimum until you can schedule enough time for an overhaul. Back in the days of carburetors, adding a
second PCV system would have been troublesome because you would have to figure out how to get enough fuel into
the engine at idle when all that intake air was bypassing the carburetor venturis. However, with EFI you really don’t
have anything to worry about; just install it and the EFI system will meter the fuel accordingly. You may have to adjust
the idle speed screw a bit. Note that the piston/ring wear rates on the Jaguar V12 are so low that if you are considering
this band-aid fix on an engine with less than 200,000 miles, you are advised to look for damage or leaks elsewhere first.
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PCV VALVE: The genuine Jaguar PCV valve is part number C 44231, and the valve itself is stamped E7 AC 3848.
This thing costs about $40. That’s extortionate.
Kelly Spongberg says, “I replaced ours with a generic jobber one made for older Ford V8 engines. It is exactly the same
size, and seems to work fine.”
A quick review of the selection of PCV valves at a local auto parts store revealed that it may be difficult to find a PCV
valve that won’t fit the Jaguar V12. There are a couple that appear nearly identical, such as the Fram FV202. There are
a bunch more that are the same shape except they have a hose barb on the outlet end -- but since that end gets jammed
into the grommet in the chamber on the LH air filter housing, you won’t see it and it’ll work fine. There are yet a few
dozen other PCV valves that appear the same as these except that they have an “F connector” on them that allows the
connection of two hoses; you can just pull the F connector off and install it in the Jag. There are even “generic” PCV
valves that come with a selection of F connectors; throw all the connectors away and use the PCV valve as is.
Of course, there may be a good reason why there are dozens of PCV valves available that all appear interchangeable:
they may have different innards, like different springs or port sizes so they flow differently at different operating
conditions. Dave Osborne bought a valve that was visually nearly identical to the Jag valve for $3. However, when
installed the idle was 100 RPM lower than before. Apparently the Jag valve has a stronger spring in it that holds the
valve a bit open at idle, while the Ford valve has a weaker spring and is totally closed off at idle.
Big deal? Perhaps not. You can simply readjust the idle. And, considering the way the PCV system works on this car,
it’s questionable if the PCV valve does anything of value anyway.
Fault Diagnosis
MISFIRE: With 12 cylinders, some people might not even detect a misfire. An easy way to check -- as well as to tell
which bank is acting up -- is to fold a dollar bill in half and hold it over an exhaust pipe outlet and listen to the flapping
that results; a misfire is usually obvious. Steven Draper adds, “According to the most recent Jaguar Repair Information
Periodical, the official procedure is to use a one hundred dollar bill and send it to the dealer for evaluation.
Unfortunately, the bill cannot be returned.”
COMPRESSION CHECK: First, a brief description of how to properly perform a compression check on any car: The
battery and starter must be in good condition. All of the spark plugs should be removed. Power to the ignition system
should be disconnected, since an electronic ignition system may be damaged trying to fire with the spark plugs
disconnected. And the throttle should be held at least part way open, usually by jamming something in the linkage. On a
car with EFI, it would also be helpful to disconnect the power to the EFI system or fuel pump to prevent fuel flow.
With a compression gauge fitted to one spark plug hole, the engine should be turned on the starter through several
compression strokes, until the reading stabilizes at a peak value.
On the XJ-S, it would be most helpful to have the type of compression gauge that screws into the spark plug hole and
has a lengthy hose. Trying to hold the press-in-place type on this engine is not easy. Also, since the A/C compressor
usually has to be removed to get at the front plugs, you will probably have to run the test with a dangling drive belt; try
to position it so there is no tension on it, and the crank pulley can turn within it without driving it.
On the US-spec pre-H.E. engine, the readings typically will be about 130-150 psi. The US-spec 5.3 liter H.E. engine has
11.5:1 compression, and will read about 200-220 psi. Note that readings will be lower at high elevations.
Keep in mind, however, that the absolute values are not as important as the relationship between them. There are
dozens of factors that could affect the absolute values (including the calibration of your gauge), so if your readings are
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all a little higher or lower than the above, don’t worry about it. But they should all be nearly the same; one significantly
lower than the others is not a good sign.
If one cylinder reads low, it is customary to add a couple tablespoons of motor oil into that spark plug hole and test it
again. In theory, the oil will temporarily seal bad piston rings but won’t seal a burned valve, so this test may indicate the
level of disassembly needed. Of course, the oil probably won’t seal a burned piston or a hole in a cylinder liner, so the
results are best taken with a grain of salt. Either way, the head has to come off.
LEAKDOWN TEST: The leakdown test is gaining in popularity among mechanics, who feel that it gives a better
indication of the actual quality of the sealing of the compression chamber than the compression check. To perform a
leakdown test, compressed air at a known pressure (usually 100 psig) is fed through a device with an orifice in it and
into a cylinder via the spark plug hole. The pressure downstream of the orifice is measured, and the leakdown rate is
calculated as the percent which the pressure dropped across the orifice. If the leakage out of the cylinder is very low,
the pressure after the orifice will be very close to the pressure before the orifice, and the percent of pressure lost will be
low. If the compression chamber has big gaping openings in it, the main restriction in the flow will be the orifice itself,
and the pressure after the orifice will be closer to ambient -- and therefore the percentage lost will be much higher.
When performing this test, it will be necessary to lock the crank still. The air pressure in the cylinder will try to turn the
crank to BDC, but at BDC one of the valves is likely to be cracked open, making your leakdown readings meaningless.
Try to lock the crank somewhere between halfway up on the compression stroke and halfway down on the power
stroke.
Note that, when doing such a test on the Jaguar V12, it’d be a good idea to take the oil filler cap off the left cam cover.
We wouldn’t want a well-sealed crankcase (hah!) to cause unwarranted favorable readings. Also, just in case there’s a
leak in a head gasket, the radiator cap should be removed to prevent pressure buildup in the cooling system.
Kyle Chatman points out that if the leakdown test finds excessive leakage in a cylinder, it might be possible to determine
whether the leakage is from the rings, the exhaust valve, or the intake valve by listening closely at the oil filler cap, the
air intakes, or the exhaust pipe outlets. And a bad head gasket might cause bubbles in the coolant (especially if it’s the
center cap that was removed) or other motion in the coolant level.
It’s entirely possible that the leakdown test is highly regarded simply because it gives results in percent. It should be
pointed out, however, that the percent has no real basis and is entirely dependent upon the size of the orifice in the test
device -- and Randy Wilson says “and there is no such thing as a standard orifice size.” In order to be able to compare
the results of one leakdown test against another, it would be necessary to confirm that the orifices used were the same
size and had exactly the same flow characteristics and that the same air pressure was used for the tests.
Wilson adds: “Next question is: How much air leakage is acceptable? This all depends on how big the cylinder is. The
bigger the bore, the more ring area there is to leak by. Typically, the valves are bigger, too. Here we could really use a
percent of leakage vs. base volume, but our tester is effectively measuring finite volume of flow.”
There are other concerns involving leakdown tests. For one thing, since the engine does not turn during the test, it really
only gives an indication of the leakage at one piston position. While this is usually adequate, it may fail to identify
certain types of problems such as localized damage on a cylinder wall. Perhaps the careful mechanic could slowly turn
the engine over by hand while doing the leakdown test, and watch the gauge for variance in the readings.
The leakdown test does have the advantage, however, that if a mechanic is using the same leakdown tester at the same
pressure all the time, he can get a real good idea of just what condition cars are in. While compression readings will
always vary from car to car, the percentage readings from his trusty leakdown tester should give very consistent
indications on cars in similar condition regardless of compression ratio or other variables.
HEAD GASKET CHECK: Michael Neal suggests two methods of checking the integrity of the head gaskets. First,
remove the rubber hood that connects the PCV system to the engine just forward of the oil filler cap, and look inside it.
Milky deposits are an indication that water is getting into the oil, usually a sign of trouble.
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For a more definite check, Neal recommends removing the spark plugs, pressurizing the cooling system to 15 psi, and
leaving it overnight. Then have someone turn the starter while watching the spark plug holes. Mist (or worse, a solid
stream of water) coming out of a plug hole means it’s time for engine work.
Of course, pressurizing the cooling system usually calls for a special tool. It basically is an adapter radiator cap and a
hand pressure pump; Stant is the common manufacturer and it runs $60 to $70. In a pinch you could tee into the small
hose on the center fill pipe and apply pressure.
TAPPET NOISE: Roger Bywater of AJ6 Engineering and formerly with Jaguar engine development, says, “In fact a
recognised source of tappet noise on the V12 is excessive side clearance of the tappet in the aluminium carrier allowing
it to ‘rattle about’. Remember the XK used cast iron tappet sleeves and they expand and contract at the same rate as the
tappet so the clearance remained more or less constant. This does not happen on the V12 and the minimum diametral
clearance is set by the need for a top size (high limit of tolerance band) tappet to not jam in a bottom size carrier bore at
minus 40 degrees in a Canadian Winter. The other extreme of a bottom size tappet in a top size bore could well be quite
sloppy when fully warm and the way the cam moves it around can be very critical. Cam profile, tappet clearance, side
movement, rotation and rock-over at peak lift, as well as valve seating geometry, all come into what is actually quite a
complex phenomenon. For the record the range of diametral tappet clearances involved run from about 0.0005” to
about 0.002” at room temperature. I wonder how many engine builders have even thought about measuring such
things?”
OIL PRESSURE: An oil-fed sleeve bearing, such as used in the main and connecting rod bearings of automobile
engines, is an excellent device -- much more so than most people understand. When the parts are rotating, the parts ride
up on a film of oil, much like skimboarders skim easily across very shallow water and seem to coast forever. When
operating properly, the metal parts do not touch each other, and there is essentially zero wear. The friction is entirely
within the film of oil.
This system doesn’t work at a standstill, however, the same way the skimboarder will sink to the bottom when he stops
moving. The entire reason engine bearings have a soft, replaceable surface is because they must ride on this surface for a
very brief time at startup, before oil is pumped to the bearings and before the bearings establish a film to ride on. The
hard steel surface of the crankshaft should slide on the soft bearing with very little wear on either, but startups still
account for the vast majority of normal bearing wear.
The shearing action of the oil tends to heat it somewhat; there is very little heat generated from shear, however, and
many cars get by without oil coolers. The main cause of heating of the oil is by contact with hot parts, notably the
bottom surface of the pistons.
The pistons are likewise supposed to skim up and down the cylinders on a similar film of oil. It doesn’t work nearly as
well, though, since the piston stops at each end of its travel for an instant, and because there is a less positive flow of oil
to this area.
This system also does not work very well for the contact between the camshaft and the followers. This is because the
contact area is a very thin line rather than a broad area. If one of the two parts were as soft as the crankshaft bearings
are, the force at the contact point would quickly tear it up. In the Jaguar V12, these parts are immersed in oil during
operation. This ensures they are adequately lubricated, even during startup since the oil stays there, but it also generates
more heat churning the oil.
There are two primary bearing failure modes in any engine that result from lubrication problems. The first and most
easily understood is excessive wear and damage due to lack of lubrication. The second is bearing overheating due to
insufficient cooling oil flow. These two are very different; in the latter case, the bearing may have enough lubrication to
prevent wear, but gets hot enough to melt the soft bearing material because the same oil is staying in there and getting
hotter and hotter, rather than cool oil flowing through.
All engines tend to display a drop in oil pressure at idle; the pump moves less oil when the engine is turning slower, but
the openings through which the oil flows are the same size no matter what the engine speed. The Jaguar V12 is no
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exception, and sometimes shows lower oil pressure when hot and idling, especially when it has a few miles on it. The
V12, when running on all cylinders, can idle very slowly, causing even lower pressure. This causes many XJ-S owners
to panic, and some to take poorly conceived countermeasures.
There is no magic value for oil pressure. The only real need for any pressure at all is to get oil to all points in the engine,
and this would only require a couple psi. Oil pressure is monitored simply to insure there is oil flow, which is essential.
If your car has always had low pressure at idle when hot, and it gradually over the years gets a little lower, don’t worry
about it. If it suddenly has much lower pressure than it used to, you may have a damaged bearing that is allowing oil to
flow through too fast; the cause should be investigated. If your car suddenly has no oil pressure at all, stop immediately,
do not drive it one more minute until the problem is located and corrected. Many motorists fail to understand the
importance of this, so I will emphasize: If the red light on the dash comes on indicating that you have no oil pressure, it
is not good enough to “take the next exit.” You should pull over immediately, possibly even shutting the engine off
while still moving. A towing fee, and even an illegal parking ticket, is a minor expense compared to an engine
replacement, which is the inevitable result of driving with no oil pressure.
Do not add oil thickeners to your oil. While these may increase the indicated oil pressure at idle when hot, they do no
real good and can do considerable harm. In particular, when cold the oil may be so thick that very little flows and most
of the output of the oil pump is wastegated through the pressure relief valve. While there is good pressure, there is little
flow to the bearings, and they may fail due to lack of cooling flow before the engine and the oil warm up. This is also a
good reason not to run the engine too hard until it is fully warmed up.
OIL PRESSURE SENDER: The oil pressure sender on the pre-’92 XJ-S is notorious for leaking; see page 47. It’s also
fairly well known for electrical maladies. Tom Mackie says, “My oil pressure sender is getting flaky. I connected an
ohmmeter and found that rather than nice varying resistance readings, it sometimes goes open. Which makes me
wonder how accurate this particular unit has been all along.”
If the connector on top is loose, Mike Morrin provides some insight: “The connector moving around is due to some
little plastic pegs broken inside, and will cause the sender to read low. You can uncrimp the top and get inside to glue it
down.” Since uncrimping is difficult, others suggest cutting right through the circumference of the can to get the top
off, fixing the innards, and putting the top back on with aluminum tape or JB Weld or some other mechanical means.
Ed Sowell provides electrical data to aid diagnosics: “Here are the measurements from my sender and gauge, for what
it's worth:
Oil pressure sender (markings: PTR 1001/10/EC 700kn/m2, 29-7 Part #46272):
Engine off: 350 ohms
Cold engine idle: 80 ohms ( I believe the oil pressure is about 60-70 psig under these conditions)
Oil pressure gauge:
290+ ohms = 0 psig
55 ohms = 50 psig
10 ohms = 100 psig
short to ground = off top of scale.”
I’d like to be able to tell you what commonly available sending unit can be used for a substitute, but I can’t; nobody’s
worked one out yet. The pre-’92 Jaguar V12 uses a 0-100 psi oil pressure gauge while Jaguar 6-cylinder cars use a 0-80
psi gauge, so senders from other Jags won’t work. Before trying a sender from any other car, make sure it has the 0-
100 psi range. Electrical oil pressure gauges with 0-100 psi ranges are very common as aftermarket items, though, so
perhaps the sender from one of those will work. Summit (page 720) and Jeg’s (page 717) offer many such gauges, or
you can probably find a fair selection in a local auto parts store or speed shop. Unfortunately, the senders are often
included with the gauge itself rather than sold separately, but you still might get off cheaper than buying the Jag part
even throwing the gauge away.
There are two issues that must be addressed to get an aftermarket sender to work. The first is physically installing it.
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The threads on the bottom of the OEM sender are BSPP (see the section on the radiator drain plug on page 195), while
the generic senders typically have 1/8” NPT fittings. You could buy a BSPP fitting and plumb a line to a remotely-
mounted sender -- or just opt to replace the entire pedestal. It’s possible the pedestal from the ‘92-on cars would work,
or you could actually just make one from a block of aluminum. If you don’t mind how it looks, you can simply plug the
hole in the original pedestal by cutting off the bottom of the OEM sender, putting a bolt through the center, and
screwing it back into the hole, and then tee off the fitting for the oil pressure switch (standard 1/8” NPT) to connect up a
sender with NPT threads.
The second concern is finding a sender with the correct pressure vs. ohmage response. Unfortunately, neither Summit
nor Jeg’s provide such data; if you can’t find such specs or talk a local shop into letting you check one out with a tire
pump and a VOM, you may just have to take the risk and buy one to see what their electrical characteristics are.
For now, your best option may be to shop around the mail order places for the OEM part, since prices on this item seem
to vary widely and it sometimes can be found for a quite reasonable cost.
If you have the ‘92-on with round gauges, you are in worse trouble. Read about steady oil pressure below.
REPLACING THE OIL PRESSURE SENDER: Julian Mullaney says, “Use a crow's foot and several thin extensions.
It is a superb test of dexterity and patience, but I did it. To install the new one, I attached it to a coat hanger and started
the thread that way.”
Stefan Schulz says, “Have you tried a plumber's tool called a basin wrench ? GBP5 at the nearest DIY store.”
Craig Sawyers says, “What I did was undo the banjo bolt that links the camshaft oil feeds to the back of the alloy
pedestal that holds the oil pressure sender. Then I undid the two 7/16" af bolts that hold the pedestal down and took the
pedestal plus oil pressure sender out as a unit. Changed the sender, and reversed (as they say) the removal procedure.
Made it all very easy, when originally it looked damned near impossible. The Jag ROM and Haynes were less than
useless.”
REALLY STEADY OIL PRESSURE: Bill Letter reports: “Today the kitty went in for a number of "adjustments", the
most important of which was to determine why my oil pressure gauge always reads 58 psi at idle (hot or cold). On my
last visit to the same dealer for the same problem, I was told that the gauge was working fine and according to Jaguar
Spec. Today I was shown a TSB that explained that Jaguar changed the oil pressure senders on the XJ12 Sedan and
XJS V12 (in 1996) to a new type which is actually not a sender at all. It seems (according to the dealer) that numerous
customer complaints of their oil pressure gauge reading too low (less than 25 psi) when hot at idle caused Jaguar to
discontinue manufacturing the oil sender and instead replace it with an oil switch which acts like an idiot light (when
there is more than 7 psi pressure it will always read 'ON' or in my case 58 psi, when there is less than 7 psi oil pressure it
will read 'OFF' or zero psi). So it was explained to me that the updated oil switch was installed in my car last year.
“It is Jaguar TSB Number 15-13 dated 06/95 and covers all cars with V-12 engines and some AJ16 engines on the XJS
(MY '95 on). They removed the senders and installed a simple switch because of customer complaints that the needle
would read lower oil pressure when hot at idle!”
You may have difficulty trying to undo this “upgrade” since the real sender is officially NLA. Gregory Wells of
Coventry West, Inc. explains in detail: “The sender issue is confined to '88-on XJ40 cars and '92-on XJ-S with 4.0L,
5.3L, and 6.0L engines (VIN 179737 onwards). Jaguar has superceded all sender numbers (viz. DBC4418, DBC5513,
DAC7879, DAC11141, LMD5640AB) to JLM20791, which looks like the old C42200 (now superceded to
LHD5642AA) switch for the oil pressure light on the Series III cars. Included in the bag with the sender is a small
harness which seems to only have a resistor in it. If one orders any of the above five part numbers from Jaguar, a
JLM20791 will be supplied. I've checked the '88-92 XJ40 fiche, the '93-94 XJ40 fiche, the '87-91 XJ-S fiche, and the
'92-on XJ-S fiche and they all show gauge sender part numbers that eventually supercede to the on/off sender p/n.”
However, if you’re persistent, you may be able to find a dealer or supplier that has some of the real senders in old stock.
Note that none of this seems to apply to the pre-’92 XJ-S.
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There are two things to note regarding the ’92-on senders vs. the pre-’92 senders that may be relevant: First, the
pre-’92 sender (C46272) has BSPP threads and requires a sealing washer, while the ’92-on sender has the same tapered
pipe thread that the oil pressure switch has (1/8” NPT). Second, the oil pressure gauge on the pre-’92 dash is the
vertical indicator with a 0-100 psi range while the ’92-on dash has a round gauge with a 0-80 psi range. Together this
may mean that a standard Ford oil pressure sender might work in this car.
ENGINE WORK
ENGINE OVERHAULS: If you take your XJ-S to a disreputable dealer with major engine problems, they may tell you
that a fine machine like this cannot be rebuilt, and try to charge you $10,000 to put in a new engine. Of course, one of
the features that make this a fine engine is that it can be rebuilt. It is not a disposable engine; all wear items can be
replaced. Even the cylinder liners can be easily replaced, so there is no need for boring and honing or for oversize
pistons. Of course, if you’ve overheated the engine and warped the block, or you’ve had a major engine fire, you will
definitely need a new motor.
If the engine has to be rebuilt but you aren’t up to the task yourself, you may find it challenging to find a mechanic you
feel is competent to do the job. Fortunately, if you live in the US, there may be an alternative to taking your chances
with the local grease monkeys or a Jaguar dealer: Crow Engineering, 1-800-537-4146. This is a very interesting
business run by a British guy named Stewart Plant who apparently spends a few months each year in the US. By
appointment, he and an assistant will drive to your house and rebuild your engine in your garage. He arrives in a panel
van with all the tools and parts needed and will typically finish the task in a week or so. He and his assistant sleep in the
van; the only accommodation they ask from you is to use your shower. Their services are not cheap, but they’re
undoubtedly cheaper than paying a dealer for a new engine -- and you’re more likely to be told why your engine was
damaged and how to avoid it happening again.
Rebuilding by the home mechanic is not out of the question. It’s imposing at first; the engine compartment is crammed
quite full. But with this book, a repair manual of some sort, a good set of tools, and time and patience it can be done --
and the money saved will probably be enough to pay for that good set of tools! The biggest disadvantage of going this
route is usually the time involved; typically, a mechanic will disassemble the engine, figure out what parts he needs, order
the parts, and then wait, and wait, and wait for the parts to show up -- only to find out that a few of them are incorrect
and must be returned and reordered. And, of course, on reassembly he will figure out what he forgot to order. As a
result, even though only a week or two of actual labor may be involved, the car may be scattered all over the place for a
couple of months or more.
If you decide to tackle such a teardown, note that the V12 weighs something like 700 pounds as it is pulled from the car.
You don’t want to be working with flimsy hoists or engine stands; obtain the heavy-duty stuff, perhaps even items
intended for trucks.
ENGINE ASSEMBLY LUBE: When an engine is first started after assembly is when much of the wear occurs -- in the
several seconds it takes before oil pressure and flow to the bearings is established. To counter this problem, there is a
product called “Penrite Camshaft & Engine Assembly Lube”. This is made specifically for use on all plain bearings
(mains, big ends, etc.) as well as on cams, when assembling a rebuilt engine. It claims to withstand loadings “greater
than 200000 p.s.i.”, which is almost 100 tons per sq. inch. It is an Australian product, but equivalents may be available
in other countries.
Another idea is to simply fill the freshly-rebuilt engine with oil through the galleys instead of the filler cap, thereby lubing
all the bearings before it ever turns over. All you need is a pressure vessel capable of holding at least 3 or 4 quarts with
a tire valve at the top and a hose out the bottom with a selection of fittings that will thread onto the oil filter fitting.
After reassembly, you thread the thing onto the oil filter fitting, put new oil in the tank, close it up, and apply compressed
air to the tire valve. The pressure will blow the oil into the galleys and on into the bearings. After enough oil has been
blown in to establish steady oil flow through the system, the feed is cut off before the tank empties and blows air into the
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galleys. Then install a new filter and add the rest of the oil necessary the normal way to establish the proper level in the
crankcase prior to startup.
Andrew Holley describes what he did with a motorcycle engine: “What I did was get hold of an old fire extinguisher,
the water/stored pressure type. Has about a 15 litre capacity; the handle has a tyre valve built into it with pressure gauge
as well. After draining and cleaning, filled it with oil and attached the hose via a suitable fitting to one of the oil cooler
lines. With about 60 psi of air in the tank, it forced the oil through all the passageways. Simple and effective.”
Tom Amlie: “Prelubing a rebuilt engine is sometimes difficult, but in this case it was easy. There is a pipe plug on the
little pedestal that holds the oil pressure sender and the idiot light switch. As best I could tell, it was 1/8 NPT. Got a
cheap ($13) plastic garden sprayer and cut the hose to match 1/8 pipe. Put 8 quarts through it. Worked great.”
You might want to use a good assembly lube and pre-oil the engine before startup. Blowing oil into the galleys will do
wonders for reducing wear in bearings and cam followers during that first startup, but you won’t get any oil on the
cylinder walls until the crankshaft is spinning. So having a good assembly lube on the cylinder walls is a good idea.
Engine Work -- Top
MANIFOLD CROSSOVER PIPE HOSES: On the author’s ’83, the intake manifold crossover pipe is connected to the
manifolds with a short, straight piece of 1” hose at each side. However, sometime before ’89, the assembly was changed
so that pieces of hose with 45º bends are required. A cursory look at the two assemblies leads one to believe that the
parts themselves are in fact unchanged, and the later cars were merely assembled with elbow hoses to relocate the
crossover pipe higher across the back of the engine. This might actually be helpful in making condensation drain out of
the crossover pipe back into the manifolds rather than into the vacuum line to the ECU, which really messes things up.
If you have the earlier straight hoses and need to replace them, it’s obviously pretty easy to find pieces of 1” hose. As
for the later parts, Jeff Elmore says, “The dealer quoted me $22 apiece for these three inch long, 7/8-1" diam hoses with
a 45 degree bend in it. Bennett Auto Supply had a Goodyear coolant bypass hose that fit perfectly for $2.62 apiece.
Part number #gyy 63064.”
Whatever you fit, note that the vacuum inside these parts is considerable, and long unsupported sections of rubber hose
will be sucked flat. With the earlier design with straight hoses, it appears to be sufficient to merely be sure to insert the
hoses far enough onto the fittings that there is only a short area of hose that doesn’t have fittings within it. If you must
have longer sections, you may need to insert a piece of wire coiled like a spring to hold the hose round, or perhaps just a
short section of tubing.
RUNNING WITHOUT AIR FILTER HOUSINGS: Frank Perrick points out that if the engine is to be started without
the air filter housings bolted on, the bolts themselves must be screwed in. The bolts that hold the air filter back plate
onto the butterfly housings actually go all the way through the housings and are threaded into the intake manifold. If
these bolts are left out, the holes provide a major butterfly bypass and the engine will overrev.
CAM COVER WORK: If you need to get down to the cam covers or beyond, Victor Naumann sends this awesome tip:
Remove the PCV crossover manifold, fuel rail and injectors, air injection manifolds, both fuel pressure regulators, the
ignition amplifier, the intake manifold crossover pipe, both butterfly housings, and both intake manifolds as one piece.
Be sure to disconnect the butterfly return springs before lifting.
CAM COVERS OFF?: If you remove the cam covers for any reason that is not intended to involve further disassembly
of the engine, it cannot be reiterated too many times that every bolt, nut, tool, or whatever that is in this vicinity should
have a string tied to it with the other end tied to your finger. If a metal part falls down into the timing cover while
you’re fiddling around, see the section on timing cover removal on page 93. Peter Smith suggests “I shove a big rag
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down the timing cover on each side to catch the bolts if they fall. I find this to be a nerve-racking part of the job - if the
damned things fall in it can really test your sense of humour!”
The repair manuals provide complete instructions for timing chain disengagement and camshaft removal, except they
neglect to remind you that you might want to measure the valve clearances before disconnecting the timing chain and
removing the cams. The assembly must be together to make the measurements, so measuring before disassembly will
save you having to slap it back together to measure it later. Of course, if you plan on reseating valves and the like, the
measurements won’t do you any good anyway.
You might be able to replace the timing chain without removing anything beyond the RH cam cover. See page 95.
CAM COVER DECORATION: Some of us think those Jaguar decals on the cam covers are not in keeping with the
general class of this automobile. One suggestion is to remove the decals and attach some brass insignias with screws --
making sure not to cause a leak. Might even find just the right key fob to use.
A suggestion from Steve Averill: “If you want to find something a little better looking that the Jaguar decal on the valve
cover, why not either get it photo etched or alodyned? That’d be more apropos than sticking on something that’d
probably wind up looking “tacked on” & you could pick any pattern that appeals to you.”
If you have them off anyway and have a milling machine at your disposal, you might consider skimming the top of the
ribs, leaving the black paint in the grooves between the ribs. It’ll really make it look snazzy.
CAM COVER GASKET/HALF MOON SEAL: This joint is one of the most notorious sources of oil leakage on the
Jaguar V12, although it’s possible some of that blame is misdirected; between the tappet block leaking (see page 70) and
the banjo fittings leaking (see page 44), sometimes it’s hard to be sure just how much of the oil is actually coming from
the cam cover gasket or the half moon seal.
Many owners are surprised that the cam cover gasket is a thin piece of cardboard (or, later, a thin Gortex sandwich),
expecting to see a thick layer of cork or some such. The thick layer of cork is typical on engines with stamped steel
valve covers, but the cam covers on the Jaguar V12 are a quality aluminum casting with precision machined mating
surfaces. A thin gasket should seal just fine. Of course, the original cardboard gasket won’t, but it’s not because it isn’t
thick enough; it’s because it’s a cheap cardboard gasket.
Most of the newfangled gaskets introduced by Ford are only moderately expensive, but the Gortex sandwich cam cover
gaskets are obscenely expensive. Apparently as a result, some of the mail order places continue to stock the old paper
versions. There is irony in that, since Ford updated nearly all the gaskets wholesale whether they were notorious for
leaking or not but the ones that probably needed the update the most were the cam cover gaskets.
Also involved in this joint is the half moon seal, a semicircular rubber plug used at the back end of the tappet block to fill
an opening made while machining the cam bearing journals. This plug is set in the opening, the cam cover gasket is set
on top of it, and the cam cover is installed to hold them both in place.
There is an inherent problem with this combination of gasket and half moon seal. In this author’s opinion as an engineer,
a reliable sealing of the cam cover is not possible when assembling as Jaguar intended -- even using the later gortex
gaskets. A gasket -- any gasket -- will only seal properly when securely compressed between two hard surfaces. Above
the half moon seal the cam cover gasket is not compressed; the rubber plug does not provide a hard surface for the cam
cover to press the gasket against. Instead, the rubber plug merely deforms a little, leaving the gasket locally
uncompressed. It’s no surprise that leaks are common. The most common leak path may actually be between the
gasket and the cam cover above the half moon seal, rather than around the half moon seal itself.
To effect a reliable seal, we will be departing from Jaguar's instructions for installing the cam covers. I will suggest three
different methods. The first -- and cheapest and simplest and quickest -- method is to use the OEM rubber half moon
seal but omit the cam cover gasket entirely. Seal the entire kit 'n kaboodle with Loctite 518, including all the way
around the rubber half moon seal, and bolt the cover on. The rubber half moon seal will therefore be sealing against
metal both top and bottom, and should work fine. Likewise, Loctite 518 should provide a reliable seal in the joint
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between the machined aluminum tappet block and the machined aluminum cam cover. This method should keep the
cam covers sealed until the rubber half moon seal rots and falls to pieces, which should actually be a good long time.
The other two methods involve providing a rigid surface for the cam cover gasket to be compressed against, and then
use the Gortex cam cover gaskets. Paper cam cover gaskets are not recommended, period.
John Napoli says, “I figured it was better to fill them than to play games with those silly seals. Anyway, I filled the half
moons up with Marine Tex. I clamped wood on both sides, faced with wax paper, and positioned so that the goo stood
proud of the mounting face. After it set, I filed it down flush. Seems to have worked. I buy Marine Tex at marine
supply stores.” If you have the cam covers off anyway, you might want to go ahead and pull the camshafts and the
tappet blocks so you can do this job on the bench. Marine Tex dries hard, hard enough to serve as a base for
compressing the cam cover gasket properly. JB Weld might be an acceptable substitute, available in most auto supply
houses. Napoli points out that the only reason you would ever need this opening again is for boring out the cam bearing
journals to an oversize, and if this is necessary then it won’t be difficult to use the boring machine to remove all the
Marine Tex. After completion of the reboring, you’ll probably want to install some more Marine Tex!
Edwin Hyatt did this job: “Used two old credit cards and a couple of miniature C clamps on the outside and inside of
the U and piled the JB on. Filed flat the next day.”
Bob Gallivan: “After you mix up the JB Weld use a hair drier to heat it up until it flows easily then fill the halfmoon
spot, may even want to heat the tappet block in that area to help any air to escape.”
The mold-in-place idea will probably only work with the tappet blocks out of the car. When they are on the engine, they
are held at an angle, so you’ll have trouble getting the JB Weld to stay in the recess while it sets up. Of course, you
could jack up one side of the car 30 degrees and fill one side at a time!
John Ashcroft went a slightly different route: “Got some body filler and filled an egg cup to the top, pressed the old
seals in to just under surface; when filler was hard, removed h/moons, perfect female mould. Mixed up some JB weld,
heated with heat gun and poured into mould. Removed from mould after 24hrs. and they are perfect, even have the little
groove for some Ultra Copper RTV, just have to dress the top so it is flush with tappet block. Checked the fit with
prussian blue, had to file just a fraction of what was left of the ridges.”
The third method is a more difficult and expensive but esthetically pleasing route. This author designed some aluminum
plugs to replace the rubber half moon seals, and Ron Morse was kind enough to fab up a set for testing the idea. Figure
3 shows an updated design.
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Figure 3: Aluminum Half Moon Seal
There are no tolerances shown on the drawing, so a description of which dimensions are critical is called for. The
1.0625” diameter fits very snugly in the opening, and the opening itself is rather precisely machined as a cam bearing
journal diameter. It might be acceptable to make this diameter a hair smaller, but it cannot be any larger or it won’t
fit in the hole.
The 0.531” height dimension is critical, since it locates the platform for the cam cover gasket to be compressed
against. This dimension should be held even if the 1.0625” dimension varies.
The .430” width is necessary to fit around the boss on the tappet block. This dimension can be made larger, but if
made smaller it can make the part difficult to install. Since the width of the boss was not held to tight tolerances by
Jaguar, if possible you should measure it before having this plug made and widen that .430” dimension even more if
necessary.
Apply a coating of Loctite 518 or 573 or 574 to the curved mating surfaces before installing the plug. Don't apply
sealant to the flat top surface; the gasket will seal against this surface, and Gortex gaskets should be installed dry.
Or, you could consider installing the plugs with JB Weld or Marine Tex. Getting them out later might prove to be a
challenge, but they shouldn’t ever need to come out.
If you don’t want to make these aluminum plugs, Ron Kelnhofer (page 718) has some for sale.
Using aluminum half moon plugs and Gortex gaskets should keep the cam covers sealed until the sun burns out. Of
course, if you have to remove the covers later for valve adjustment, you'll need new Gortex gaskets -- and those
suckers are pricey.
It is not recommended that you attempt to use the aluminum half moon seals with no cam cover gaskets. The height
of the flat surface of the aluminum half moon seal would need to be very precise indeed to seal properly with no
gasket.
It has been suggested that it may be simplest to just heliarc weld the openings in the tappet block shut and machine
the gasket surface. There is no way I would recommend this, though; the distortion likely to result from such
welding would surely compromise the seal between the tappet block and the head as well as play havoc with the
alignment and concentricity of the cam bearing journals and tappet holes.
CAM COVER BOLTS: Once we’ve addressed the shortcomings of the half moon seal, we still have other problems to
deal with. Neal says, “New bolts are also necessary. Unfortunately these parts are only carried by the dealer.”
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Before ordering bolts, determine whether your engine requires SAE bolts or metric bolts. Judging from the 1988 Jaguar
Parts Catalogue, the change from SAE to metric took place with engine number 8S24175. The part number for the new
metric cam cover bolts is FS-106251/J.
The replacement of the bolts may not be as much due to the excellence of the new bolts as to the lousiness of the old
bolts. The original bolts -- both SAE and metric -- have a “triangulated” thread that presumably helps it to drive into the
aluminum housing, but probably is also very effective at boogering the aluminum threads up. Martyn Sandbrook says, “I
recognise these as "taptite" screws. We used to use these in the telecoms industry way back in the seventies. They are
like selftappers but they "form" a thread rather than cut one and are supposed to be better. You don't see them these
days. I thought they were junk when I first came across them. Seems strange to be using them in a leak-critical area as
they only grip on the outer lobes once the thread has been formed and won't take much tightening torque.”
If you’d rather not pay Jaguar prices here and seek other sources for bolts, note that 7/16” hex heads will not do, you
can’t get a wrench or socket on it; either 3/8” (or smaller) hex head, socket head (allen wrench drive) or Torx drive bolts
will be necessary. And you might want to look at the access before you select bolt head styles, since you may want to
retorque them a while after replacement. Of course, buying el cheapo grade-zilch bolts (like most slotted head screws) is
not a good idea; not only will they rust pretty badly, they may not hold enough tension to keep the cam cover gasket
from leaking.
An alternative bolt that would work on SAE threaded engines was found at a Home Depot in their “specialty fasteners”
rack. It is called a “serrated flange bolt”; it has a 3/8” hex with a washer face and a row of serrations around the bottom
of that washer face. The biggest problem will be finding enough of them to do the job; often such racks in hardware
stores only contain a half dozen or so.
Another alternative SAE bolt: This author bought a box of 1-1/4” “alloy steel” 1/4”-20 “socket head cap screws” from
a local industrial fastener supplier -- less than $20 for a box of 100. These fasteners are jet black. Strength is not a
problem, alloy steel cap screws are stronger than Grade 8.
The original SAE bolts were 1” long, so replacing them with 1-1/4” bolts provides enough length for some washers
under the heads (and perhaps for thicker gaskets, if you find something non-OEM). There’s no problem with bolts being
too long, since the end just comes out the back side of the flange on the tappet block. Using the longer screws also
makes use of all the threads available in the tappet block, including the ones at the bottom end that haven’t been worn by
the lousy OEM screws.
If you need M6 socket head or flange bolts, finding them locally may be more troublesome -- at least here in the US.
Craig Sawyers says, “Well, here in the UK, the challenge is to find non-metric SS screws!” Again, going with slightly
longer screws than the OEM 25mm items -- perhaps 30mm -- might be a good idea.
Dave Oxenreider says, “I found a whole slew of 18-8 stainless steel socket head cap screws in both metric and English in
the McMaster-Carr catalog. Averaging about $25 per box of 100.” Joe Bialy opted for non-stainless (no good reason
for stainless here, actually): “Part #91290A332 for $7.34” See page 711.
Another source would be Barnhill Bolt; see page 710.
If you have a local Grainger outlet (page 711), the Grainger catalog doesn’t seem to list any suitable M6 socket head
screws but they carry “button head socket screws” which use a smaller Allen wrench but will work. The box of 100
screws 30mm long is stock number 3L184 and costs less than $20.
On the other hand, if your cam covers need M6 screws, it might not need screws with unusual heads. The typical
generic locally-available M6 screw has a 10mm hex head. It appears that a 10mm socket will actually fit in the recess,
making the search for socket heads or flange bolts unnecessary.
An idea that might work with either 7/16” or 10mm hex head screws: If you can find some sleeves with a length of
perhaps 10mm, 1/2”, or 15mm, you could use them together with screws that are proportionately longer (40mm, 1-3/4”,
or 45mm) which would raise the location of the hex head enough to enable you to get a socket on it with less trouble. A
cursory inspection of this author’s engine indicates you certainly wouldn’t want to go any longer than 15mm -- you’d
start interfering with the bottom of the intake manifold. There is a spot at each end of each manifold where a bolt hole
boss is provided (holds fuel pressure regulator at the front, other stuff at rear) and it might actually help to grind away a
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bit at the bottom of this boss. No reason not to, although it might not be that helpful either. The bigger problem is with
the center runner of both the front three and the rear three runners on each bank, which go right over a cam cover bolt.
Any taller than 15mm would most assuredly cause interference here.
If you can avoid interference, having the heads up higher might actually make it possible to retorque these bolts without
pulling the manifolds off! It wouldn’t be easy by any stretch, but it might be possible.
With the socket head cap screws, the author used split ring lock washers and flat washers. As noted on page 27, flat
washers are always recommended when a bolt head or nut sits on aluminum. (Note: TSB 12-35 specifically prohibits
the use of washers under the special Jaguar bolts in this location. Put that down as a fundamental disagreement between
their engineers and this engineer -- and note that this engineer’s cam cover bolts haven’t come loose and the gaskets
don’t leak, claims which several other owners report cannot be made about the official Jaguar assembly procedure.)
This author found some very suitable flat washers on a bubble card in a Wal-Mart: They are size 12, also known as
3/16”. If you ask for 1/4” flat washers, you get washers that fit so loosely on the screw that it looks like a socket head
might pull through the hole! Also, the OD of the standard 1/4” washers are bigger than the flat area on the cam covers,
so you’d have to cut them down to get them in. Conversely, these #12 washers fit perfectly on a 1/4” bolt and are the
correct OD for the cam cover flats. Make sure you find cheap #12 washers; better quality ones might have closer
tolerances and not fit a 1/4” bolt.
Should you use lock washers? This author thinks so; after all, they can’t hurt. Craig Sawyers replaced his cam cover
gaskets with new paper gaskets, and they shortly began to leak; when he went back in there, he found the bolts loose.
Why? Well, maybe it’s because the paper gaskets compress and relax the tension on the bolts, and therefore switching
to the Gortex sandwich gasket is the fix; or it may be because these bolts are simply too short to stay tight without lock
washers (see page 27) or some other retention scheme. The situation is rife with opinions, but note that it’s really hard
to retorque these fasteners without removing the intake manifolds. This is not a place to save money or weight; if it
might help avoid problems, do it.
You can buy enough flat washers and lock washers to do this job for less than two bucks total.
Another type washer that will work on the cam covers is the 1/4” spiral groove washer used in a couple other places on
the V12 -- if you can find a supply of them. These washers serve as both a flat washer and lock washer in one. Also, the
6mm wavy spring washers mentioned on page 27 as a substitute for the spiral groove washers will work nicely.
There is one other benefit to going with longer screws with spacers. Longer screws have more “stretch” when tightened
to a particular torque, and therefore hold tension better and are less likely to vibrate loose. It might still be a good idea
to include lock washers, but providing yet another scheme to help keep tension on those cam cover gaskets can’t hurt.
The spacers might omit the need for flat washers, depending on the wall thickness of the spacers and therefore how well
they distribute load onto the aluminum face.
As always, be sure to use anti-seize compound on the threads when assembling.
TSB 12-35 specifies that the cam cover bolts be torqued to 9.5-11.5 N-m (7-8.5 ft-lb). They didn’t mention whether
this was for the later metric bolts or the earlier SAE bolts, but hopefully it won’t make much difference. It’s also
probably a good spec whether you’re using their special bolts or some of the generic substitutes described above. It’s
not really a place where torque is critical, however; just tightening until they feel tight should be good enough.
TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER: To replace the tensioner requires removal of the timing cover which would put this
section under “Engine Work -- Front”. However, the problems occur when retracting the tensioner, which is usually
done when removing the cams or the heads -- so it’s here in the “Engine Work -- Top” section.
There are few design features of the Jaguar V12 as poorly conceived as the material the arch of the timing chain
tensioner is made of. If you manage, on your first try, to retract the tensioner and reengage it successfully without
breaking this arch, you should consider yourself lucky. The arch apparently works well when new but gets brittle with
age or heat, and an old one can be broken very easily. Michael Neal, who works on Jaguars every day, says “I’ve
become so paranoid of old tensioners, my failure rate has been very high as of late. I’m not too surprised though, most
of the cars have been approaching ten years old. I’ve been as careful as possible, knowing exactly what I was doing, and
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have watched the damn thing crack on one of the pivots.” Obviously, if you have the timing cover off for other reasons
and the tensioner is intact but has a few years on it, it may be advisable to replace it anyway.
The problems may have to do with the V12’s proclivity towards overheating. Craig Sawyers says, “The V12 chain
tensioner is, according to the technical article that was published when the V12 was launched in the early '70s, made
from molydisulphide-loaded nylon. Just looking up the spec for something else, I found that Nylatron GS is just such a
material. All the characteristics that are listed makes this a sensible choice for the tensioner blade, apart from a
continuous working temperature of 100°C maximum, with maximum non-continuous temp of 145°C.
“I'll wager that embrittlement of the blade is due to a combination of the oil environment and overheating. I have only
the evidence of one piece of information: My engine had never overheated, and the blade, although grooved where the
chain had worn it, was still flexible after 160,000 miles.”
Other engines have arched timing chain tensioners in which the arch itself is made of spring steel. It would seem a
simple matter to design a replacement arch for the Jaguar V12 tensioner made of spring steel, thereby eliminating the
fracture problems permanently; if noise or wear is a concern, the spring steel arch could be faced with Teflon or some
such. However, despite more than two decades of trouble with this piece of crap, apparently neither Jaguar nor any
aftermarket companies have opted to offer an improved part.
You can see what this tensioner looks like at
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/tensioner.html
For those without access to the www I will attempt a description of the tensioner, since it is well hidden and its
configuration may not be apparent until it is too late. Basically, the tensioner consists of a plastic arch that the timing
chain slides over top of on its way from the crankshaft sprocket to the right side cam sprocket. This is the slack side of
the chain, so it’s the proper place to put the tensioner. Between the legs of this arch is a spring that pulls the legs
together, making the arch steeper and taller and therefore taking up slack in the chain. The end of the arch nearest the
crankshaft is located by a pin on the block, while the end near the cam sprocket has a steel foot attached that is free to
slide up and down on the inside of the housing as the arch changes shape.
Alongside the spring is a latching assembly that consists of a rod that is attached near the pinned end of the arch and
passes through a hole in a rocking latch attached to the steel foot on the other end of the arch. The aforementioned
spring is actually attached to this rocking latch, slightly off center, so that it not only applies tension to the chain but also
causes the latch to rock in the CW direction (as viewed from the front of the car facing rearward). This assembly serves
two purposes: First, the rod going through the hole in the rocking latch makes a very effective one-way lock; the rod
can easily slide in the direction that allows the tensioner to take up slack, but it cannot back up and allow more slack.
Second, when the mechanic has manually retracted the tensioner, a step at the end of the rod provides a catch for
holding the tensioner in retracted mode while working on the car.
When removing the camshafts or the heads, the tension on the chain must be disengaged. However, the chain is not
removed; the sprockets are simply unbolted from the camshafts and supported in place by special brackets provided for
the purpose. The heads are removed in this state, leaving the chain and sprockets hanging there in mid-air.
Before proceeding, please reread the warning on having the cam covers off on page 59. Also, don’t do anything until
you’ve read through this entire section and the following section on disaster avoidance and understood them.
To retract the tensioner requires a pair of tools collectively known as Jaguar tool JD.50. One tool is inserted from the
top of the engine where the cam cover has been removed, underneath the cam sprocket, and hooks onto a hole in the
steel foot at the top end of the tensioner; this tool is for pulling the tensioner back to the disengaged position, and has a
handle shaped to rest against the top of the sprocket for leverage. The other tool is inserted through an access hole in
the front of the timing cover and is used to manipulate the rocking latch. The rocking latch has a slot in it, 3/16” wide
by a little over 1/2” long and roughly parallel to the chain line, for inserting this tool.
Improvising both tools is fairly easy. For the first tool, a sturdy hook is required; a standard battery hold-down bolt may
be a good place to start, but you’ll need to trim the hook as shown in Error: Reference source not found in order for it
to fit the hole in the tensioner properly. Robert Louis Woodling says, “I used a long hanger for a peg board...” Adding
a lever that rests on top of the sprocket isn’t too hard, you can even make it out of wood; just drill a 1/2” hole near the
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center of a 1” x 2” board about a foot long, insert the battery hold-down bolt through it, and put a fender washer and a
wing nut on the end. The hole needs to be about 1/2” to allow the battery hold-down bolt to tilt relative to the board.
Alternatively, Thomas E. Alberts says “I tried the lever style tool like the manuals show and didn’t like it much. I made
one with a long 3/8” bolt (~12in) and a steel tube (~1.5in dia). I formed a hook by grinding away most of the bolt head,
padded one end of the tube and put it against the valve cover mating surface and with a washer and a nut on the
threaded end and the bolt running through the tube and into the chain tensioner, I was able to gently apply the required
tension. It worked well.”
For the rocking latch tool, it appears that a common screwdriver may be used if you can get it in there. A better idea
may be a standard “brake tool”, the lever used to turn the star wheel on self-adjusting drum brakes. You might also
check to see what you have in tire irons, especially those intended for bicycles. And of course, one of those right-angle
screwdrivers might work, especially if you can find a large one. You should note, however, that while these items may
get the job done, none of them are likely to work smoothly enough for you to get a good idea of what you are doing to
that tensioner by feel.
You can easily make a more suitable tool: Buy a piece of strip steel 1/8” thick x 1/2” wide (commonly available at
hardware stores), and cut off a piece about 7” long. Then, about 2” from one end, make a sharp bend of something less
than 90 degrees -- see Figure 4. Then cut away one side of the tool -- the side that will be pointed toward the cam cover
opening -- about 3/16” as shown. This is because as you retract the tensioner, the latch moves upward with it and this
side of the tool will contact the edge of the access hole. This contact confuses the “feel” and can leave you wondering if
the tensioner is fully retracted or not.
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Figure 4: Improvised JD.50 Timing Chain Tensioner Release Tool
Of course, you could avoid having to cut away the side of the lever by simply making it out of 3/8” wide strip steel to
begin with. However, this is not recommended. The portion of the rocking latch above the slot is not very thick, so
having a lever a full 1/2” wide to insert in the slot ensures that the tool contacts the rocking latch near the ends of the
slot. If a narrower tool is used, applying torque to the lever can cause one edge of the tool to push up on this thin
portion of the rocking latch near the center of the span rather than near the edge, greatly increasing the chances of
actually breaking the rocking latch. Breaking this portion off doesn’t really affect the normal operation of the latch, but
it will make it even harder to release, and if that broken portion falls down into the crankcase you’re gonna be upset
about it.
The other feature shown in Figure 4 is a small pin sticking 1/8” up from the surface of the lever. The purpose of this
little pin is to prevent insertion of the tool farther than 1/4” into the rocking latch, where it may get involved with other
parts. A tiny roll pin could be used here, or perhaps a small screw. You can even omit this feature, if you are careful not
to jam that lever in farther than it needs to go.
Bob Gallivan reports: “The drum brake adjusting spoon is the right way to go, just under 1/2" wide, cheap & easy to
drill a hole in for the roll pin stop.”
The actual operation of disengaging the tensioner requires using both tools simultaneously. To begin with, I suggest
using the latch tool by itself to try rocking the latch CCW just to get the feel of it. It will not rock very far, but it
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shouldn’t take too much force to rock it, and you should be able to feel the spring. Old tensioners always seem to have
bent or damaged rods or latches, and it’s difficult to imagine how the damage occurs other than people applying great
force to this rocking action. You should also note that, if everything is working properly, rocking this latch alone will
have no discernible effect -- no clicks, pops, clangs, or anything else.
Don’t bother testing the other tool by itself. Trust me, you won’t be able to move the tensioner toward the retracted
position without simultaneously rocking the latch CCW -- unless, of course, the tensioner is already broken.
Now, to actually retract the tensioner: First, rock the latch CCW and hold it rocked; it doesn’t need to be held hard
CCW, just so that it is prevented from returning to the CW position. With the latch so held, pull up on the retracting
tool; you should feel it smoothly moving against a fairly stiff spring tension. In order to lock the tensioner in the
retracted position, you will need to pull as far as it will go. At this point, it should suddenly become possible to rock the
latch a bit farther in the CCW direction. While holding the latch firmly in this full CCW position, carefully release your
pull; it should lock in that position. Once it does, you can rest assured it won’t move by itself; you can go on and do
other things.
When it comes time to reengage the tensioner, do not simply trip the latch to restore the tension; the tensioner will
shatter like a dried twig, and you will need several bottles of high-octane elixir to get over it (see the section on timing
cover removal on page 93). Use the special tools to gradually release the tensioner into its normal position. Pull on the
tensioner to remove tension from the latch itself, and use the rocking tool to hold the latch near the center of a rock --
not fully CCW nor fully CW, sorta halfway in the middle. While holding the latch mid-rock (and perhaps rocking it back
and forth a little), gradually release the pull; it may take a couple tries before the latch is successfully released and the
tensioner starts moving. Once it does, you may quit fiddling with the rocker altogether, it’ll take care of itself, but
continue to use the puller tool to gradually allow the tensioner to assume its final position.
TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER -- DISASTER AVOIDANCE: Jaguar designed the latch so that the tensioner must be
retracted as far as it can possibly go before it can be locked in the disengaged position. This bends the plastic arch,
normally fairly curved, into a nearly straight shape -- and therefore stresses it far beyond what it normally sees. Even if it
doesn’t break immediately, this stress may start small cracks that cause the tensioner to break shortly after reassembly.
Simple solution: Don’t retract the tensioner! When it comes time to take the sprockets off the camshafts, just do so and
set them on the holders -- allowing the tensioner to take up the slack in the chain. During reassembly, simply use the
latch release tool to hold the latch CCW as you pull the sprockets back up into position on the camshafts. This method
has been tried and works fine.
All this means you will only need one of the two tools shown in Error: Reference source not found -- and since you
won’t ever get near the fully-retracted position, you won’t need to grind the side off the lever.
It is of utmost importance that the latch on the tensioner be rocked CCW in order to allow the tensioner to release the
tension it took up during disassembly. In fact, it’d probably be a good idea to rock that latch on at least two separate
occasions during reassembly. First, obviously, it should be rocked during the reinstallation of each sprocket. Finally,
after the distributor has been reinstalled and there’s no more need to leave the crank in a particular position, the latch
should be held in the CCW position as the crank is turned by hand through a complete turn or two.
Failing to do this reportedly results in a whirring sound from up front when the engine is started. Amazingly, it
apparently does not destroy the tensioner; just realize what you forgot, go back and rock that latch once, it goes “pop”
as the excessive tension on the chain is released, and all is well. Craig Sawyers says, “Precisely what happened to me a
year ago. Saga was that during replacement of skinny washers at oil feed, I stripped the thread in the back to the tappet
block. Tore it off to get an insert put in, and when I got the thing back together there was a worrying whirring noise
from the front of the engine related to the revs. Aargh. But - pulled the rubber plug and stuck a screwdriver in (using a
pice of mirror and a flashlight to see exactly what was going on) and "pop" went the tensioner. All was A-OK after that.
Now during the reassembly process I could've sworn that I'd released it -but obviously not enough.”
CAMSHAFT SPROCKET REMOVAL: The V12 has a cute little bracket just forward of the camshaft sprockets that
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holds the sprockets (and timing chain) in place during removal of the heads or camshafts. The sprocket hubs have little
stubs to sit on these brackets, and grooves for a clip to secure the sprocket on the bracket.
The clip, also known as tool JD.40, can obviously be improvised with sheet metal or even a normal 1/4” E-clip, perhaps
with a 5/16” flat washer behind it. Note: The size of an E-clip is the size of the shaft it typically fits, not the diameter at
the bottom of the groove it fits in. The diameter at the bottom of an E-clip groove on a 1/4” shaft is about 3/16”, so
that’s the ID of a 1/4” E-clip. The stubs on the front of the cam sprockets are 5/16” in diameter, but they have
exceptionally deep grooves and the OD at the bottom of the groove is about 3/16”, so 1/4” is the correct E-clip size.
Note that if you purchase a “head set” -- a set of gaskets intended to include everything you need when you take the
heads off -- the set will not include the locking plates for the cam sprocket bolts, C33917. You will need four new ones,
so make sure to order them at the same time.
CAMSHAFT TIMING: The repair manual describes how to adjust the camshaft timing; this is just some clarification.
To adjust the camshaft timing, obviously the chain can be moved over one tooth on the sprocket -- an extremely coarse
adjustment. The camshaft sprockets have a splined inner hub that contains the four mounting holes. A circlip can be
removed, allowing the separation of the inner hub from the sprocket, and the hub can be moved over one spline -- a
fairly fine adjustment. However, the hub has an odd number of splines, so rotating the hub 90°, 180°, or 270° will
effectively relocate the four bolt holes in 1/4-spline increments -- an extremely fine adjustment.
The engine is designed so that the crankshaft and the camshaft can be located where desired, the timing chain put in
place and the tensioner activated, and then the mechanic can fiddle around with the sprocket hubs until the bolt holes line
up. Jaguar provides an alignment notch on each camshaft and a special tool for setting the camshaft position. This
special tool, C3993, costs under $20 and is not easily improvised. It is recommended that anyone who has an engine
apart far enough to use one have it on hand.
If the engine in question has a few miles on it, it may even be a good idea to go through the procedure of setting the
camshaft timing while there. Wear in the timing chain will cause the camshaft timing to gradually move. What’s worse,
the timing of the right camshaft will move more than the left.
It is very important that you check the condition of the damper before relying upon it to set camshaft timing -- especially
if it’s a later car with the Bosch alternator, which tend to shear the damper as mentioned on page 91. If the damper
shears while running it may squeal or affect battery charging but otherwise isn’t too serious, but if you rely on the marks
to time the camshafts and the marks are wrong due to a sheared damper you may crunch pistons against valves when
you hit the starter.
TAPPET BLOCK REMOVAL: Sections 12.13.29 and 12.13.30 of the ROM describe how to remove the tappet
blocks, and both procedures end with “Lift off tappet blocks carefully, retrieve tappets and valve adjusting pads.” The
Haynes manual provides a similar procedure. Both make it clear that the tappets must be reinstalled in the same
locations they came out of, but if you yank that tappet block as described I dunno how you’ll avoid having tappets
everywhere. If you have a decent magnet on hand, it might be a better idea to use it to remove the tappets before
unbolting the tappet block from the head. If you don’t have a magnet, you might want to at least use a magic marker to
mark the tappets before disassembly.
Sidetrack: If you need some really good magnets, tear apart a scrapped computer hard drive.
When reinstalling the tappet block, the manuals say you should tighten the bolts and nuts in order, but don’t specify a
torque. Later on, you’ll be installing the bearing caps on the camshaft, and there is a max torque value specified there --
9 lbf.ft. or 1,24 kgf.m. Since the nuts are the same size and all actually hold the tappet block to the head, it might make
sense to tighten all of these nuts to the same specified torque. However, the fact that the cam bearing cap torque spec is
a max rather than a range, plus that it’s rather low for a 5/16” nut, indicate that this value is specified in order to prevent
distortion to the soft aluminum bearing caps and probably isn’t valid for the other tappet block fasteners. Hence, it may
make more sense to use torque values specified for other typical 5/16” UNF nuts -- typically 11-13 lbf.ft. or 1,52-1,80
kgf.m. Later, while torquing down the cam bearing caps, you might wanna go back and retorque these other nuts and
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screws.
The upper row of fasteners on the tappet block are different, though. If the car is a pre-‘84, they are a coarse thread
rather than a fine thread, so the torque values aren’t necessarily equal. The objective should be to achieve the same bolt
tension, but the difference in threads means it will take a different torque to achieve the same tension. Judging from
other similar applications, it appears that coarse thread fasteners should be tightened to a slightly higher torque than fine
thread, so torquing these to perhaps 12-15 lbf.ft would be in order.
They are also socket head cap screws, meaning that it requires an Allen wrench to tighten or loosen them. Loosening is
no problem, but tightening to a specified torque with an Allen wrench is tricky since you can’t put your torque wrench
on it. There are a handful of options, though. First and most properly, you can find a tool that looks like a short hex
key built into a socket so it can be attached directly to a ratchet or torque wrench. These are fairly common, but the size
needed here -- 7/32” -- is not quite so common. Sometimes you need to buy an entire set of these tools to get the one
you need, and you are hereby advised that many such sets don’t have the one you need! Be sure to check before buying.
Discount Auto Parts sells a pack of four such tools on a card labelled “Brake Caliper Hex Bit Set” by Performance Tool,
and one of the four is the 7/32” you need. These are really heavy-duty to fit 3/8” drive ratchets (most of these type tools
fit 1/4” drive ratchets) and have an unconditional lifetime warranty.
Another option is to check for bits for electric screwdrivers. These bits are 1/4” hex shafts about 2” long to fit in the
chuck of an electric screwdriver or drill, and there are all kinds of tips to drive almost anything. If you can find a bit with
a 7/32” hex tip on it, you can put it into the head of the bolt and drive it with a torque wrench connected to a 1/4”
socket. Unfortunately, finding this particular type bit may prove a little difficult.
A third possibility is to cut a piece off the end of your 7/32” Allen wrench, stick it in the bolt head, and drive it with a
torque wrench connected to a 7/32” socket. This makes for a really flimsy assemblage of tools, but it should work OK.
Don’t drop that little hex piece!
From ’84 on, the socket head cap screws are metric and require a 6mm Allen wrench. It might actually be easier to find
a 6mm hex driver that will attach to a torque wrench than a 7/32”, but if not the above ideas will work -- just change the
sizes accordingly. Sam Lysinger reports that you can get a 6mm Allen drive socket from Sears or Snap-On, either
individually or in sets.
These cap screws don’t have any lock washers under the heads, since a lock washer wouldn’t fit down in the hole. This
doesn’t seem to pose a problem, however; there are no reports of these bolts backing out.
Good luck torquing the bearing cap nuts to 9 lbf.ft. with a 150 lbf.ft. torque wrench, which is the only thing available at
most auto parts stores. J. C. Whitney (page 694) offers a torque wrench with a 0-600 in.-lbs. (0-691 cm-kgs.) range,
catalog number 15xx01148. Lysinger reports that NAPA offers four different models of torque wrenches with a 20-150
in-lbs. range ranging from cheap junk to premium, and that Sears also carrys one.
TAPPET BLOCK SEALING: There is no gasket between the tappet block and the head. Although this joint must be
sealed to prevent oil leaks, perhaps Jaguar felt that the camshaft support and the valve clearances would not be secure
enough with a gasket underneath the whole assembly.
So, how do we seal it? The ©1975 ROM, sections 12.13.29 and 12.13.30, says “Smear mating surfaces of tappet block
and cylinder head with Hylomar.” Michael Neal says, “Hylomar is a sealant that does not harden over time. It is still
readily available and is blue in color. It is commonly used to seal the liners into the V12 motor and the cam towers to
the heads. I’ve stopped using it to seal the cam towers because a good blast of carb cleaner or an aggressive steam
cleaning can dislodge it and cause an oil leak that leaks directly onto the exhaust manifolds. Not only does an oil leak
like this make a mess but it also causes the exhaust manifold gaskets to erode.” Note: See page 102 regarding the liner
sealing.
The Haynes manual merely says to use “jointing compound”, perhaps recognizing the shortcomings of Hylomar for this
application. According to Craig Sawyers, his repair manual (Jaguar SIII Service Manual, AKM 9006 Ed 5, ©1988)
“...says to use Loctite 573. I used 574, which the Loctite website (www.loctite.com) has as practically the same stuff.
TWR Jaguar in Oxford (Tom Walkinshaw's dealership, who manufactured the XJ220. I believe they know a thing or
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two about Jags) use 574.”
A call to Loctite (1-888-LOCTITE or +1-203-571-5100) and a discussion with a tech rep revealed the following: First
off, Hylomar (which is also made by Loctite, under license from Marston Bentley Ltd.) is intended as a gasket dressing,
not to be used without a gasket at all, and is not recommended for this application. As Sawyers says, either 573 or 574
is suitable; the chief difference is in difficulty of disassembly, since 574 will glue the parts together pretty well while 573
is designed to be easier to get apart.
573 is bright flourescent green and 574 is orange -- the stuff itself, not the tube it comes in. Loctite products all seem to
come in red tubes.
Sawyers reports that you’ll need about 50ml to do both banks. 573 in a 50ml tube is Loctite part number 21455 and
574 in a 50ml tube is part number 24018. Unfortunately, neither 573 or 574 is commonly sold in auto parts stores.
Finding it will normally entail calling Loctite at the above number and getting the name and number of a local distributor;
Loctite will not sell it direct. Neither of the substances is cheap, but worse yet you may end up facing a minimum order
requirement of 10 tubes or some such, so you might want to talk your local Jag club into placing an order for the group.
Now, according to Neal, apparently Jaguar has changed its mind again about what to use on the tappet block/head joint
-- perhaps because Loctite 573 and 574 are too difficult to find. “I'm more partial to Loctite 518 which, by the way, is
red. Loctite 518 is a metal to metal sealer and dries to a rubbery texture. It is what Jaguar now recommends for sealing
the cam towers to the heads. Most auto parts stores carry it, just get the big tube.”
Joe Bialy says, “I have a copy of "Loctite Worldwide Design Handbook" 1996/97 edition. 518, 573, and 574 are all
from the same family of gasketing materials. 573 cures slow and fills gaps up to 0.2mm. 518 has moderate cure time,
fills gaps to 0.5mm. 574 is fast curing, good for 0.5mm gaps. They are intended primarily for structurally rigid close
fitting flanges. Being anaerobic, they only cure between the flange faces. Excess material is dissolved in "most fluids"
thus flushed away. "Passages or channels will not be blocked."
“The book makes no mention of Hylomar at all.” Interesting, since Loctite manufactures Hylomar under license.
“I also saw a Jag tech bulletin (#12-51) that now specifies Loctite #518 for the tappet block-to-head joint. It was dated
8/94.”
“Also according to their book for 510 type gasket compounds (509, 510, 518, 573, and 574): "Anaerobics cure rapidly
between metal surfaces...To ensure gasketting success, all fasteners must be torqued to specification immediately (<3
minutes) after assembly". I dunno how you’d torque any assembly to spec within three minutes, especially one with as
many fasteners as the tappet block-to-head joint, especially if you include the cam bearing caps in that spec.
Nevertheless, the substances do seem to provide a good seal.
Steve Cranswick suggests Loctite 5900, as described on page 40. I know, too many recommendations, but the point is:
just about any Loctite 500-series product will probably work here. What won’t work here is Hylomar, which is what is
recommended in the early ROM’s and was probably used at the factory on early cars.
Whatever sealant you end up using, think a little bit before applying it. There is no need to smear it all over everywhere,
and in fact that type of application is not recommended because it can result in air bubbles. Keeping the bead thin might
also help you get it compressed properly with the first few bolts before the sealant sets up. You also don’t want to get
any inside the tappet guides. The instructions on the tube of 573 say to apply a bead to one part only, which makes it
easier to apply than Hylomar; trying to “smear” it onto the head itself would be tricky since all those studs are in the
way. Basically, you need to apply one continuous bead of sealant completely around the edge of the tappet block,
making sure the bead pattern is such that it will always contact a mating surface on the head. Some flat areas on the
tappet block correspond to gaping holes on the head, so a random guess is not acceptable; make very sure you are
applying the bead in the correct place. Pay special attention to the area of the inside corners right behind the cam
sprockets, where the forwardmost cam bearing studs are located; each side of the tappet block requires a slightly
different treatment, and the left bank is a bit different than the right.
Now, think a little more before applying the sealant. Note that the bead should be routed inside of each of the 10 holes
(one row of 6 plus the 4 surrounding the sprocket) for the studs on which the nuts are located outside the cam cover.
Unfortunately, depending on the casting tolerances of your particular tappet block, the amount of surface area just inside
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the 6 holes may be tiny indeed; you will need to exercise considerable care to make sure that particular location seals
properly when assembled. Also note that the bead must be located outside of the other 20 holes, otherwise oil might get
under a nut, run down a stud and leak out -- a serious potential on the studs that hold the cam bearing caps, since oil is
being fed under pressure between those parts.
If all that wasn’t perfectly clear, I have provided an illustration showing where that bead of sealant should be located; see
Figure 5.
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Figure 5: Sealing the Tappet Block
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If you have a pre-’84 car with 5/16” studs, the 4 studs surrounding the cam sprocket have been sealed with cap nuts and
copper washers. However, if the bead of sealant is applied to the tappet block correctly inward of these studs and the
cam cover gasket does its job, there will be nothing within these stud holes to leak. From ’84 on, these 4 studs are
metric and use normal nuts and spiral groove washers with no attempt at sealing the studs, so they must have figured out
it wasn’t necessary.
VALVE CLEARANCES: In order to adjust the valve clearances, you must tear a considerable amount of hardware off
the top of the engine. Also, since adjustment is via shims, the measurements must be made, the assembly torn apart and
the shims removed and replaced, and the gaps checked again after reassembly. The shims themselves cost about $3
each. Having a dealer perform this work reportedly costs over $600, and is probably a reasonable charge considering
the number of hours that will be required. Before doing the work yourself, see the tip on clearing off the top of the
engine on page 59.
The wear rate on this valvetrain is slow, so this adjustment doesn’t need to be done very often. However, when they do
need adjustment, it’s likely because the clearances have closed up! Wear between cam lobes and tappets or between
tappets and valve stems causes the gaps to open up while wear between valves and seats causes gaps to close, and
apparently the latter is predominant in this engine. This means that there won’t be an annoying ticking to tell you that
the valves need adjusting.
If you wish to check clearances, it is recommended that you obtain a set of feeler gauges that has a bend in the blades.
You can’t get a straight blade in there, but sets are available wherein the entire set of gauges and the holder they come in
are bent about 45º in the middle.
A minor tip: The valve adjusting pads come in sizes varying in .001” increments and (the genuine Jaguar parts anyway)
indicated by a letter etched on one side of the pad. As a favor to the next guy who’ll be working on this engine, install
the pads with the letter facing outward (toward the tappet). Years later, the letter will still be legible. If installed with
the letter facing the end of the valve, it will be difficult or impossible to decipher the letter later on.
Roger Bywater of AJ6 Engineering (and formerly with Jaguar) says, “we knew back in the 1970s that running with the
exhaust valve clearances set at 0.016” gives a slight but measurable gain in mid-range torque and reduced fuel
consumption. Noise is not excessive at this setting because the actual running clearance closes up with the higher
temperature of the exhaust valves compared to the inlets which must be set as normal.
“Anyone wishing to measure a V12 cam, as I have done in the past, will find that the timing quoted for the H.E. occurs
at 0.010” lift whilst the timing at the point at which 0.012” clearance is taken up is an almost unbelievable 36,78/78,36.
The difference in overlap between 0.013” and 0.016” clearances is about 12 degrees so the need to avoid tight
clearances will be obvious and although the extra lift may be insignificant it can profoundly effect the HC emissions
generated, quite apart from the modest effect on torque. In my view the best compromise regarding noise and
performance is to aim for 0.013” for inlets and 0.015-0.016” for exhaust which, because of greater expansion of the
exhaust valve stem, results in a similar true running clearance for both.
“...If mid-range torque could be improved by just opening up the clearances, why did the factory not do it in production?
Well maybe they did (I am not prepared to be more positive than that) - but you will not find any manual telling you so
because the reason for doing it would have been to reduce HC emissions at a critical time, at the risk of introducing
more tappet noise problems.”
CYLINDER HEAD REMOVAL: First, a bit of clarification: It is possible to remove each head with the camshaft and
tappet block in place, and this may make sense if the reason for disassembly is farther down. This is the procedure
outlined in both the ROM and the Haynes manual. On the other hand, if you plan to work on the tappets or valves
anyway, you might choose to remove the camshaft and tappet block before removing the head. It makes the head
lighter for lifting, and it makes it safer to set down -- there won’t be any valves sticking out the bottom.
The following are a few comments/corrections to the ©1975 ROM, Sections 12.29.11 and 12.29.12, along with
corresponding sections of the Haynes manual:
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In Section 12.29.11, which is about pulling the B bank head, step 19 deals with moving the transmission dipstick tube
outta the way. The dipstick for the BW tranny is on the B side, but on the cars with the GM400 the dipstick is over on
the A side, so this step needs to be moved to Section 12.29.12. The same thing might be said of step 14 in Chapter 1,
Section 19 of the Haynes manual -- that it should be moved to Section 20 -- but if you have a later car, you should
probably be following the procedures outlined in Chapter 13, Section 3 anyway.
In Section 12.29.12, which is about pulling the A bank head, step 5 says to remove the auxiliary air valve. The AAV is
on the B side, and doesn’t need removal for working on the A head only. The same correction applies to Chapter 1,
Section 20, step 5 in the Haynes manual.
Steps 8 and 12 in section 12.29.11 and steps 10 and 14 in section 12.29.12 instruct you to position the engine at TDC
on cylinder 1A (by using the cam aligning tool on the notches in the camshafts) and then unbolting the sprockets from
the camshafts. You will find this job goes easier if beforehand you rotate the crank one full revolution from that position
(TDC on cylinder 6A, notches on cams pointing downward towards the head) and pull two bolts and one locking plate
off of each sprocket. They’re easier to get to when pointing up than when pointing down. Step 7 of Section 12.13.01
and step 6 of Chapter 1, Section 10 of the Haynes manual hint in this direction without making it as clear as they might.
Both manuals talk about removing heat shields, but beyond the big obvious one on each side don't really clarify what
they're talking about. In all probability they're referring to the heat shield on the downpipe on the LH side as well as the
heat shields around the boots on the power steering rack. The heat shields on the rack need to be removed in order to
deal with the downpipes.
Neither manual even mentions the front exhaust manifolds. It’s probably a matter of choice; they can either come off
with the head or separately. If left attached to the head, they provide a nice handle for grabbing, but they do make the
assembly heavier to lift.
CYLINDER HEAD REMOVAL -- ENGINE IN CAR: The conundrum facing anyone pulling the heads with the
engine in the car is the fact that the rear exhaust manifold on each side is too close to a portion of the chassis. If the
head is slid up the studs with the rear manifold still bolted to it, it will hit the chassis long before the head clears the
studs. This problem can be addressed in two ways: 1) the rear manifolds can be removed from the head first; or 2) the
motor mounts can be disconnected and the engine moved around until the manifolds clear the chassis as the head comes
off. Sections 12.29.11 and 12.29.12 of the ROM describe the first option. Section 12.29.12 for the A bank head also
describes pulling the starter, which is probably entirely to gain access to the lower nuts on the rear exhaust manifold on
that side; if the head is removed with the rear exhaust manifold attached, the starter does not need to be removed.
If you choose the path of removing the manifolds first, you’ll run into the same problem: the chassis is too close. The
manifold won’t come over its own studs without hitting the chassis first. Of course, sections 30.15.10 and 30.15.11 of
the ROM just list the step-by-step instructions as though each step is easily completed. After all the fun you’ll have
getting a wrench on the nuts on the bottom side of the manifolds, you’ll be just tickled pink to find that you have to undo
the motor mounts and tilt the engine anyway.
This manifold removal problem also has two possible solutions: A) move the engine on its mounts again; or B) unscrew
the studs so the manifold can come out vertically without having to clear the studs. Of course, unscrewing the nuts is
hard enough, unscrewing the studs is likely to be seriously difficult. Here’s an idea: Remove all the nuts first, then back
the manifold up against the chassis so you have a gap between the manifold and the head. Using a thin pair of pliers,
reach between the gap and unscrew the top three studs and then the bottom three studs. This method has the advantage
that you will be gripping the studs near the middle and therefore not boogering up the threads where they’re actually
used. Note that two of the studs on the bottom of each rear exhaust manifold cannot come out through the manifold;
they will either have to be removed with the manifold or the manifold will have to be repositioned -- perhaps downward,
perhaps tilted -- to get those studs out. All the while, keep in mind that you will have to put this manifold back on
somehow.
Clearly, removing the heads by leaving the manifolds on the heads and tilting the engine has its benefits. For one thing,
you can leave the starter alone, there’s no reason to mess with it. This author got his heads off by unbolting the motor
mount on one side, putting a jack under the front of the engine and jacking, causing the engine to rise and tilt. After one
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head came off, the engine was lowered, the mount reconnected, the other mount unbolted, and the engine jacked back
up so it tilted the other way to remove the other head.
David Johnson says, “It was easier for me to remove both motor mounts and lower the engine to get enough clearance.”
Johnson goes on to say that, even though he pulled the heads with the manifolds still attached, he went the other way on
reassembly. “I did that because I couldn't get 2 nuts off the bottom because some &^%%$ had galled up the threads and
the nut wouldn't come off, and the stud was trapped. Now that I replaced the studs with new, and with the ever-present
anti-seize it was much easier to put it on after.”
Whatever method is used to deal with the exhaust manifolds, make sure to take enough notes to be able to reinstall the
heads and reassemble the car.
Tip: If the tappet block is off, you may find it helpful to unscrew and remove the rear pair of cam bearing cap studs to
ease clearing things while getting the head in and out of the engine compartment.
STUCK HEADS: When you actually get to pulling the head off, if it’s never been off before you’ll probably find it
stuck. In general, being stuck means one of two things: The head and block are glued together at the gasket, or the
studs are stuck in the holes. The difference becomes evident when you actually get it loose: If it was stuck at the
gasket, then once it’s broken loose it slides easily off the rest of the way off the studs. This is typically not the case with
the V12 heads, which have metal-faced gaskets that don’t stick much, but the crud really builds up around the studs
(several of which are immersed in coolant) and makes it difficult to get the head off every bit of the way. You might get
it an inch up and still be having difficulty moving it.
This author will express an opinion here: The stuff plugging the openings around the studs is very likely the Barrs Leaks
that Jaguar recommends putting in the coolant. Heads that have been off before and never exposed to Barrs Leaks again
typically come right off without any more effort than lifting by hand. Of course, rust particles or other deposits in the
coolant might also contribute to the jamming, but careful maintenance of the coolant seems to avoid those problems.
Loren Lingren sends this tip: “With all the nuts removed, try to wiggle the end of each stud by hand. The stuck ones
will not move. Begin soaking each stud with a good penetrating oil. Get several 7/16 SAE nuts (Don’t use the head
nuts unless you have extras) and an air hammer with a tie rod tool attachment. The idea is to vibrate the studs with the
air hammer, protecting the threads with the disposable nuts. Caution must be used not to bend the studs or gouge the
head surface. Continue to apply penetrant as work is done. As the studs loosen, the penetrant will disappear down
between the head and stud. I have used this procedure successfully for several years in removing even the most stubborn
heads, 6 or 12 cyl, without any expensive side effects.”
Other substances suggested for loosening the crud in the stud holes include oven cleaner, alloy wheel cleaner,
phosphoric acid, Nitromors, lemon juice, and Coca-Cola. Dr. Karsten Eller, chemist, says to forget about the oven
cleaner: “Oven cleaner is mainly caustic soda, i. e. NaOH. The sodium hydroxide attacks the protective alumina coating
on the aluminium and also dissolves aluminium metal:
2 Al + 2 NaOH + 6 H2O = 2 Na[Al(OH)4] + 3 H2
“Use of oven cleaner is therefore strongly dissuaded from.”
Eller says acid will be fine, however. Mike Morrin says, “Someone suggested using phosphoric acid (rust killer) as it
dissolves the rust without damaging the aluminium. He also suggested moulding little dams in plasticine to hold the stuff
around the studs.”
Regarding the use of Coke, Craig Sawyers says, “Now here's an interesting connection. Coke contains phosphoric acid
(that is why it rots your teeth).” The stuff worked just great for James Dichter: “You know it's amazing what a little
Coke will do. I'm beginning to wonder if we should be drinking this stuff. I'm also contemplating marketing it under a
different name for the purposes of unsiezing head bolts...”
John Warr says, “Nitromors is not actually acidic - It contains dichloromethane, which will remove most hydrocarbon
based gunge. It plays havoc with the skin however, and the vapour will go across most types of glove.
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“I think alloy wheel cleaner will do the trick quite well.”
Of course, another fine idea would be to unscrew the studs and take them out. Probably not even worth trying, though;
you can’t get very good access to the studs with the head in place, and they are likely to be trouble to remove -- see the
section on replacing head studs on page 81.
The April 1987 issue of Skinned Knuckles magazine included an article on removing aluminum cylinder heads by Earl
Reynolds. The primary suggestion is citric acid, with an editor’s note mentioning phosphoric acid and Coca-Cola as
well. But the article provides yet another idea: using an electric arc welder to heat the studs. “Attach the rod holder to
the top of the stud and the ground clamp to any other part of the engine block. Run the machine for a minute or two
and the stud will become extremely hot and expand in diameter, crushing the fuzzy corrosion products in the process.
When the stud cools and contracts, a void space is produced between the stud and the cylinder head. One minute with
the heat on and five minutes of cooling the cable down will do the trick.” Note that, since there’s probably no good way
of knowing just how hot the welder got the stud, it’d probably be a good idea to replace all the studs that were heated in
this way just in case they lost strength in the heating. With any luck, the heating also made it easier to unscrew them. It
is suggested that you review the prices of these studs before you choose to attempt this method.
If persuasion fails, use force. Malcolm Scott suggests, “I bolted on to the exhaust studs a heavy metal plate that had
sufficient rise in it so that I could use a hammer. This separated the head from the block and loosened the head from all
studs along the exhaust side. However, two studs near the rear under the inlets were clearly holding things up. On the
HE heads, the inlet tract protrudes over the smaller studs. I put the nuts back on the two offending studs and put solid
packing between the nut and the bottom of the inlet. I then carefully wound the nuts off and the heads pushed off easily.
Because the studs had grown into the head, they would not let go until the head was about 0.5 inch off. This required
loosening of the nuts and adding solid packing (I used other nuts and washers).”
Richard Chapman suggests that you remove the cam so that all the valves are closed, then feed rope into the spark plug
holes on cylinders 1 and 6. Turn the crank over and let the pistons push the head off. Might also work on cylinders 2
and 5.
John Napoli: “There is a technique that we used successfully on much lesser cars. The trick is that you need to try this
before you dissasemble very much. The trick is to loosen as many head nuts as you can access, and then run the engine!!
One good stab of the throttle is usually all it takes. The head quickly 'pops' a bit. Shut it down and then remove the
heads normally. You only need to loosen the nuts a couple of turns, and it often doesn't matter if you can't get to 'em all.
We used to do this on engines where, for whatever reason, we anticipated problems in getting the heads off.”
If nothing else works, John Goodman describes a homemade tool that will get the heads off: “1/2” steel plate slightly
wider and longer than the cyl head. Drill two rows of holes down the centre to line up with the camshaft bearing cap
mounting holes, bolt plate onto camshaft carrier using the existing bearing cap studs. Screw long bolts through threaded
holes in the outside edges of this plate which line up with the cyl head retaining studs, the ends of these long bolts had
“cups” to locate them over the cyl head studs. Next just torque down evenly with a few smacks from a BRO hammer
and the heads come off.” If you have the tappet block off, you might be able to use it as a template to mark where to
drill holes in the plate.
Alternatively, a smaller, more compact set of tools that work essentially the same way as Goodman’s massive plate can
be fabbed up quite easily. First, purchase a length of steel bar 1/2” thick and 1” or 1-1/2” wide and cut two pieces 4-
1/2” long from it. Drill two holes and drill and tap two other holes in each piece as shown in Figure 6. Into those
tapped holes, thread 3/8”-16 bolts that are at least 5 inches long and threaded all the way to the head.
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1" 1 1/ 2" 1"
1/ 8"
11/ 32" dia tap 3/ 8"- 16
Figure 6: Head Jacking Tool
If you want, you can use 3/8” fine thread bolts and tap the plate accordingly, or even 8mm metric stuff -- whatever is
easiest to find in your area. You can use threaded rod, but you’ll need to find a way to turn the threaded rod -- weld
a nut onto it, bend it 90º at one end, whatever. If you don’t have a tap or don’t want to bother, you can just drill 3/8”
holes and put nuts on the back side of the plate, but it’ll make the tool a little clumsier to use.
The tappet block should be in place, and you’ll need to remove the bearing caps and the camshaft. If you’ve already
removed the tappet block, just slide it back on; without the tappet block, it’s too easy to bend the studs using this tool.
There are seven pairs of studs for cam bearing caps on each bank; this tool can be used on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, or 6th pair.
Fit these two plates to the 2nd and 6th pairs and put nuts on to hold them in place. You might need to put some spacers
under the nuts on the studs -- 3/8” nuts work fine.
To begin with, install some generic nuts on the top of each of the four head studs that will be involved, threading them
on only a couple turns. When the jacking screws are inserted into the center of these nuts, the nuts will keep the screws
from walking off the end of the stud. However, when the head has been lifted to the point where these nuts keep it from
coming any further off, you’ll have to stop everything and remove the nuts. Things may be moving well enough by that
point to continue without anything to hold the jacking screws centered, but if not a few small pieces of 7/16” ID tubing
slid over the studs will help -- or maybe some 1/2” nuts. Once the jacking screws enter the holes in the head, there is no
further need for such things, the head itself will hold the jacking screws aligned.
It may be possible to get a mildly stuck head loose with only one tool by fitting it to the 2nd pair of studs, getting that
end loose, then relocating it to the 6th pair and getting that end loose. But since the trouble is likely to be from junk
packed around the studs and will be trouble all the way up, it’ll be a lot easier to make two of these tools and jack both
ends simultaneously.
When jacking, take care not to allow the head to tilt inward or outward; tighten both jacking screws on each tool evenly.
If the head cocks, it just jams worse on the studs.
Note that the weak point on these contraptions is probably the cam bearing studs themselves. Don’t go cranking real
hard; if the head just won’t come loose, find a way to apply more lift elsewhere -- don’t just pull the studs out of the top
of the head. Since they’re only attached to two studs each, these little tools won’t apply the lifting force that Goodman’s
massive plate will, but it should get most heads off. If more force is required, two more plates could be fabbed and
installed on the 3rd and 5th pairs of studs to apply more oomph. You could even fab a fifth plate with no 1/8” offset
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between the pairs of holes to use on the 4th (center) set of studs.
Matthias Fouquet-Lapar quotes the "XJ-S issue" (Volume 8 Number 3 January/February 1996) of Jaguar World, page
57 :
"Cylinder heads can be a nightmare to lift due to the inter-action of steel studs and alloy heads. However,
Classic Spares do market a tool of their own design that makes light work of the job. Be warned, you will need
it."
See page 693 for Classic Spares. There are also reports that John’s Cars (page 717) offers such a tool.
ONE HEAD OR BOTH? If a valve seat drops in one bank, some people want to know if they can just pull the head
from that bank and leave the other one alone. If the seat only drops a bit but stays in place, you might get away with it.
If the seat actually falls out and breaks up, apparently not. Greg Wells of Concours West says, “If one or more seats has
dropped and shattered, you must pull both heads, as the pieces will always have been tossed into the other head by the
strong intake plenum reversions.”
Aw, c’mon, that’s gotta be BS! The two intake manifolds are completely separate, connected only by a 1” balance pipe.
Parts of a valve seat would have to go through that balance pipe to get to the other side! “That's the only explanation I
can offer. This is not based on supposition but is something I have witnessed several times. The seat pieces in the other
bank (opposite the dropped seat) are pretty small and since the balance pipe is the only connection, I have to assume this
is the case.
“The last one I recall had dropped a single seat on the LH bank. Two of the LH pistons had shard embedded in them;
four of the RH pistons also did. The only seat missing was on the LH side and the broken seat pieces were small, on the
order of 1/8" or so.”
More testimony from Chad Bolles: “Yes, it is possible for broken pieces of valves and seats to end up on the other side
of the engine. Been there done that.”
And Roger Bywater: “What seems to cause it is that if the exhaust valve is unable to seat and if there is a vacuum in the
inlet manifold then exhaust gas will get drawn back out of the exhaust manifold and backflow through the inlet valve
when it opens. At moderately high engine speeds at light throttle this backflow could be quite considerable and might
easily pull debris with it up into the manifold. The good cylinder bank will be pulling better vacuum so there will be flow
across the balance pipe and if circumstances are right then bits will end up making the journey across.
“What seems at first to be impossible is actually not at all unlikely if the car continues to be driven in the damaged state.”
SO YOU HAVE THE HEAD OFF: Be sure and clean up the spark plug threads while you have the head off. One
excellent method is to get a suitable wire brush shaped like a “bottle brush” and screw the brush through the hole.
Places that sell shotgun cleaning tools have an excellent selection of suitable brushes. When clean, the spark plugs
should spin all the way down by hand. You might also want to address any spark plug threads that may be damaged; it’s
easier to install an insert now than later on when the engine is together.
If you have the A bank head off, it is suggested you go through the procedure of setting the location of the timing mark
plate described in the section on ignition timing starting on page 126.
If the block hasn’t been turned upside down in the midst of this job (!), there will be little puddles of coolant surrounding
the liners. Make sure you get this coolant out, and then scrape the bottom of these pockets with something pointy.
You’ll probably find a lot of junk, perhaps looking like sand. It might actually be sand left over from the casting process.
David Johnson says, “I discovered that there was no coolant flow around the last cylinder on my A side! The last liner is
so close to the jacket that yuck had built up to the point that coolant would have had a hell of a time trying to flow
around it. I'd bet only about 1/2 the liner had coolant touching it!” Whatever you find, get it outta there. Small
accumulations probably don’t hurt anything being there, but these pockets may serve a useful purpose in catching new
crud floating around in the cooling circuit, and maybe once they’re full stuff starts plugging the radiator or something.
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On the bottom of the heads where they come in contact with the gasket, there are several openings for coolant to flow
from the block through holes in the gasket and into the head. One row is round openings, the other row is oblong holes.
Several of these holes may be rimmed with casting flashing; apparently the core meets the form right at the hole, and
there was little effort to clean away the flashing at the factory. When the head is off, take a Dremel and clear away this
flashing to ensure the holes are fully open. Might not be a big deal, but couldn't hurt.
With the Jaguar V12, with just the heads off you might be able to accomplish several things that would require opening
the bottom end on other engines. The first possibility of note is that you can reseal the liners to the block. Use the liner
retainers (or some reasonable facsimiles) to hold 11 liners in place. Turn the crank until the piston in the one
unrestrained cylinder is at the bottom of its stroke, and then continue turning the crank while encouraging the liner to
come up with the piston. When the piston is at TDC but still at the bottom of the liner, the ledge on the side of the liner
that sits on the block will be higher than the head surface. You can then carefully clean the surface on the liner and the
block, apply new sealant, and slide the liner back into place. David Johnson actually used this method to reseal a liner
that had accidentally come loose, and ended up knocking a few more loose just to make sure they were all properly
sealed. In fact, it might not be a bad idea to turn the crank a little with no retainers in place, just to see if any liners are
loose enough to move. Or, succumb to the temptation to reseal them all whether they need it or not. See page 102 for
notes on sealants to use here.
Now we move on into theoretical, since as of this writing the following ideas have not been tried and reported back on;
attempt at your own risk. The next suggestion is that you may be able to replace the liners from above. This is a bit
harder than the resealing idea, since it requires taking each liner completely out. The challenge is getting the piston rings
back into the liners when reassembling, since even with the piston at TDC you’re working in too tight a place to use a
conventional ring compressor. However, you may actually be able to finger the rings into place one at a time. Squeeze
the top ring, slide the liner down on it, and move on to the second ring. John Napoli suggests you might even go ahead
and cut a small taper into the bottom end of the liner before installation to make it easier to get the rings in. Or, you
might be able to fashion a homemade ring compressor that will work in this space, perhaps from a hose clamp and some
shim stock, or maybe from a pair of needlenose pliers and some shim stock.
If that idea works, the next idea should work too: Replacing the piston rings. If you have the liner out and the piston is
flopping around above the opening in the block, it shouldn’t be too difficult to carefully remove the old rings and slip on
some new ones.
I’d like to report that you could even replace the pistons themselves, but reportedly the piston does not come up high
enough for the pin to clear the ledge that the liner sits on.
CLEANING HEAD STUD HOLES: Before reinstalling the head, it is of utmost importance that the holes for the studs
be thoroughly cleaned. Any crud remaining in these holes may be kicked loose when the head is slid down over the
studs and it might fall out the bottom and sit on top of the head gasket while you’re closing it up, and you’ll have a bad
seal.
For cleaning the stud holes, a suitable item would be a wire brush shaped like a “bottle brush”. If you’re real lucky, you
might find one in an auto parts store, and if you’re even luckier it might be somewhere near the correct size. Forget
about luck and visit any sporting goods store or department and look at the tools available for cleaning rifle and shotgun
barrels. Outers and Hoppe’s make cleaning tools involving 3-piece shafts and little copper wire brushes that screw onto
the end for very reasonable prices. Buy one shotgun-cleaning brush assembly and additional interchangeable brass wire
brush attachments for 10, 12, 16, 20, 28, and .410 gauge shotguns, and you’ll be able to clean just about any size hole
you encounter. You can opt for the rifle and pistol cleaning tools as well for cleaning smaller holes yet, but note that the
threads on the brush itself might be different and therefore require either a different rod or an adapter. Also note that
Outers and Hoppe’s shotgun brushes are not interchangeable, so you’ll need to choose one brand for all the brushes you
buy.
As opposed to the items found in an auto parts store with handles that are merely a continuation of the twisted wires that
form the brush itself, the shotgun brush assemblies have a finely machined 3-piece aluminum shaft. Hence, it becomes
quite reasonable to chuck one section of the shaft up in the variable-speed drill and clean those stud holes up in a hurry!
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REPLACING HEAD STUDS: Some of the head studs on the V12 are immersed in coolant. If the coolant has not been
maintained properly (changed on schedule), some of these studs may get corroded. A small amount of surface corrosion
is no big deal, but large-scale erosion can signficantly reduce the cross-sectional area of the stud -- which is a formula for
blown head gaskets.
Head studs can be thought of as springs. When you tighten the nuts to the specified torque, you are stretching these
springs to a particular load value. Even though parts may expand a little with changes in temperature, the studs are
designed to be long enough that this growth is minor compared to the stretch of the studs so the compressive force on
the head gasket is maintained. But if the shanks of the studs start corroding away, this preload is reduced. And if the
engine is reassembled without replacing such corroded studs, it may prove impossible to apply the specified torque; the
bolt may yield at the narrowed section first.
Peter Hyslop shares experience with these studs: “This applies mainly to old V12 engines (ie >20 years old) with a few
miles on them and which have never been apart:
1) The studs can get stretched if over-torqued by some fool trying to take a short-cut on a head gasket leak ... this is an
unusual degree of incompetence, so never use that mechanic again (and if you did it yourself, give up, there’s no hope
for you).
2) The studs immersed in the coolant can corrode and pit. The others are usually fine.
3) The studs immersed in the coolant can become adherent to the block and become brittle. Some of these studs stand a
reasonable chance of snapping off when you try to remove them ... yes, you read it correctly, the stud will snap before
the aluminium block gives way.
The solution:
- Make sure that you really want to go this far before you start, and are prepared to stick it out when the going gets
tough.
- Leave the studs not in the coolant alone.
- Pull the studs in coolant only if corroded.
- Expect some of the corroded bolts to snap and land you with a big machinists’ bill.
How do I know?...I’m up to my arse in the alligators right now with items two and three above (yup, snap, snap snap)!”
Note that the AJ6 6-cylinder engine used in some XJ-S’s has an entirely different theory in head studs. They are
designed to be tightened until they yield, which provides a very closely controlled amount of compression on the head
gasket -- but requires that the studs be replaced whenever the head is pulled.
VALVE REMOVAL: Jan Wikström says, “The normal generic valve compressor from K-mart will do fine; there's
nothing special about the V12 valves.” Apparently, K-mart is a quality tool source in Australia where Wikström lives;
here in the US, the vast majority of valve spring compressors on the market are either cheap junk, designed specifically
to fit a Chevy and nothing else, or both. Trying to use cheap junk on valve springs can be seriously dangerous; if that
thing snaps loose or breaks while holding the springs fully compressed, it can fire keepers and collars around the room
like bullets.
Some of these pieces of junk are intended to be operated from above only, which may be handy if you are trying to
replace seals without pulling the heads, but these tools try to hook onto the coils directly; they compress part of the
spring rather than the whole length of the spring, and they don’t compress the inner spring at all -- you have to push
down on the tool to get the keepers in and out. And you must hold the valve itself in place by other means, possibly
applying compressed air to a spark plug hole or even inserting some rope and turning the engine around until the piston
pushes it against the valve head.
If you have the head off, Gerald Foster recommends a valve spring compressor sold by Sears. It costs less than $20, is a
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substantial tool that wraps around the head (like a big C-clamp) to push on the spring and the valve head at the same
time, and is a Craftsman tool with a lifetime warranty.
When using the C-clamp type compressor, you’ll find it helpful to tighten down on the spring a little bit and then give the
top of the spring a little rap with a plastic hammer to pop the collar loose from the keepers. Then you can proceed to
compress the spring further.
VALVE SEAT WORK: It’s why you’re reading this section, right? Well, when replacing the seat, the first thing you
need to get right is the fit. In the General Specifications section of the ROM under “Valve Guides and Seats”, there is a
spec for “Interference fit in cylinder head” of 0.002”-0.006”. This is not for the valve seats -- it’s the spec for the valve
guides. The correct interference fit, 0.003”, is in the ROM, but not here; it’s in section 12.29.18, step 14. It’s followed
by instructions to heat the head before installing.
The ROM also talks about two oversize seats being available, but here in the US good luck finding a machine shop that
cares. The boring tool used to ream the hole in the aluminum and the sintered iron valve seats are both standards of
some sort and they will use their own, not Jaguar’s. If they’re any good at their jobs, they will machine the ID and the
seat area of their insert to the same configuration as the original so you really wouldn’t know the difference unless you
interrogated them about it. It’s not like you have any good reason to insist on genuine Jaguar seats here; those were
genuine Jaguar seats that fell out!
Craig Sawyers talks about the hot/cold fit: “Assuming that the temp difference between the seat and the head is 130°C,
the differential contraction is 10ppm/°C and the seat OD is 1.5 inches, there will be a 1 thou interference under these
conditions. If the seat was chilled in a freezer to -40°C, it would be a precise fit. Cooled to liquid nitrogen, it would just
drop in.
“Machining to give a greater interference than 3 thou may be counterproductive, as the seat would have to be driven
home, and shave the aluminium on the way in, reducing the interference again (to about 3 thou?).”
You need to make sure they cut the seat properly in order to ensure that the valve itself sits the same “depth” into the
head, for two reasons. First, the position of the closed valve greatly affects the combustion chamber volume and
therefore the compression ratio in that cylinder; the farther off it is, the more fiddling somebody’s gonna have to do to cc
the heads to make sure that each cylinder has the same volume. When you see what these guys do to get these volumes
the same, you’ll wish they had seated the valve right. Of course, the correct valve position may be even more important
on the H.E. engine since they are part of the swirl configuration of the head.
The second reason has to do with adjusting the valve clearances. The shims are only available in a limited range of sizes,
and grinding away on the valve stem is a no-no.
VALVE TRIMMING: After the valves and seats have been machined to renew the contact surfaces, the valve will
obviously sit lower in the head. This closes up the valve clearances at the tappets. Jim Cantrell points out: “Often,
people at this point will then cut the valve stem to get the additional clearance. This will then cause the valve stem’s life
to be reduced since the stems are hardened. This hardening only penetrates a few thousandths of an inch and cutting it
off exposes the softer valve material.” The proper solution to inadequate clearance is to replace the valve, the seat, or
both.
SO YOU’RE DOING A VALVE JOB: To many of us, doing a valve job means pulling the heads off the car, taking
them to a machine shop, picking them up later, and bolting them back onto the engine. However, the valves are a prime
place for easy improvements when the heads are off. I will mention a few ideas.
The valve guides are sleeves that are press-fit into the heads, and protrude a little bit into the inlet and exhaust ports. Jim
Isbell suggests that, before you install the valves, you take a hand grinder and grind off the protruding parts of the guides
flush with the surface of the port.
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The valves and seats on the Jaguar V12 are supposed to be machined with 44½º angles. Most machine shops will
suggest that the seats be “triple cut”, in which additional cuts are made at angles greater and less than 44½º in order to
control the width and location of the contact area. Typical angles for these cuts would be 32º and 60º and the contact
area width should be about 1½ mm wide. Chad Bolles suggests that a similar triple cut on the valves themselves would
be beneficial.
John Milne suggests that, after the valve contact surfaces have been machined, some machinist’s bluing be applied and
the valve trial fit to determine the location of the actual contact on the valve surface. Then, carefully avoiding the
contact area, the inner edge of the machined surface should be blended to form a smooth continuous surface with the
“tulip” shape of the valve. This helps the flow through the valve, since it makes a smooth passage instead of that corner.
It also slightly enlarges the opening, since the smallest flow area when the valve is open is between this inner corner and
the seat. “It’s kinda like getting a little extra valve lift for free.” Blending the inner edges of the machined surfaces of
the seat may have similar benefits.
Of course, every high-performance enthusiast will suggest that you do a little “porting” while you’re in there. This
means carefully enlarging the intake and exhaust passages. In the case of the intake passages on the Jaguar V12,
however, this may produce undesirable results. These intake passages are designed to provide a certain amount of
resonance-induced flow enhancement, and this requires that the flow rates be fairly high. Enlarging the ports makes for
slower flow, which means better flow at high RPM but less boost at low RPM. In other words, enlarging the intake
ports may increase high-speed horsepower at the expense of low-speed torque.
The next automatic suggestion is “polishing”. Quite literally, the passages may be polished using successively finer
abrasive compounds until a mirror finish is achieved. This supposedly will reduce surface friction of the flow.
Before you reinstall the head, Jim Isbell suggests you “cc” it. This means that you measure the volume of each
combustion chamber, and grind a little metal away here and there to make sure they are all the same. This makes for a
smooth running engine. To measure the volume, you can set the heads upside down on a level surface and fill each
chamber with a carefully measured amount of light oil.
Cc’ing must be done after the valves are installed for the final assembly. Clearly, if valves are ground or relocated after
cc’ing, they will sit at a different level than they did before and this would significantly change the volume of the
chamber. And this is the reason that cc’ing is recommended whenever the valves have been redone.
If you happen to be working on a pre-H.E., cc’ing doesn’t apply. The head is flat, so there are no chambers to cc.
TEFLON VALVE STEM SEALS: Michel Carpentier says, “Teflon valve seals are the way to go. They last forever,
plus you can fit them on the exhaust guides as well. Less blow-by, reduced crankcase pressure, no more oil leaks, and
cleaner oil to boot.
“Our engines came from the factory with 24 valves but only 12 valve stem seals. Jaguar probably realized that the
British rubber intake rendition would soon fry on the exhaust side.
“Why would any (effective) exhaust valve seal affect crankcase pressure? When the exhaust valves open, gases gush out
of the combustion chamber with tremendous pressure. Even though the valve itself acts as some sort of an umbrella,
there is still a significant pressure differential between both sides of the exhaust guide. Any clearance between valve and
guide will let exhaust gases into the crankcase area. Jaguar old trade secret to keep engines leaking oil!”
Of course, the decision to switch to Teflon seals, and to install 24 instead of 12, may not be quite that simple. This
author had some discussion on the phone with the rep at Silver Seals about the differences between Teflon valve stem
seals and normal nitrile seals. There is apparently a functional difference: the nitrile seals always leak, and the leakage
allows a small amount of oil down the valve guides to lubricate them. The Teflon items will not leak, so the valve guides
run dry. According to the rep, this is a problem on some cars and not a problem on others. I’m betting it’s not a
problem on the Jag, since it uses good materials on both the valves and guides. Also, the action of the cam on the tappet
applies no sideways load to the valve stem, as there is in any valve train with rockers. Still, recognize that you may be
trading oil burning for faster valve guide wear when you install Teflon seals.
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Does anyone make Teflon valve stem seals for the XJ-S? Carpentier: “Perfect Circle does, although unwittingly since I
doubt they ever considered Jaguar engines as a possible application for their product. Our valve guide diameter is 0.502
to 0.501 in, that's essentially 1/2" or sixteen (16) thirty secondths of an inch. Valve stem diameter is 0.3092 to 0.3093
in, and that's within 3 thou of 5/16" or ten (10) thirty secondths of an inch. These dimensions are a bit unusual but
luckily match those of the first generation Chrysler Hemi engines. Call Perfect Circle (they are a DANA subsidiary) and
they will tell you: "Yes, we manufacture such Teflon seals, part number D1610, available at any NAPA auto store".
“There is a catch: if you go to NAPA and ask for this reference, they look it up in their computer and tell you it does not
exist (never mind telling them what kind of car it is for...). The last time I was in the US, I finally found a place in Los
Angeles that would order them for me. The seals actually came from a company called Silver Seals Products/Whip-L
Products, Trenton, Michigan, 1-800-521-2936; their reference is DT1610 but the seals carry the Perfect Circle logo.”
This author called that 800 number, and had a set of 24 Teflon valve seals on order in a matter of minutes and in hand in
a week at a cost of less than a dollar each. For those outside the US where an 800 number won’t work, their regular
phone number is +1 (734) 479-2255.
The OEM nitrile seals on the inlet valves are pressed over the valve guide until they snap into a groove around the guide
just above the surface of the head. The exhaust valve guides have no such groove. This turns out to be a non-issue with
the Teflon seals; these seals press fit onto the OD of the valve guide, and therefore do not use the snap groove. While
the OEM seals are a simplistic piece of rubber, the Teflon seals include a metal ring on each diameter to provide a secure
fit on the guide and on the valve stem itself.
Besides the diameters of the guide and stem, there are a few other things to consider whenever fitting a non-OEM valve
stem seal to an engine. In this case, the OD of the base fits within the inner spring just fine. The Teflon seal is a little
taller than the original seal, which makes for a really close fit; the valve lift is 3/8”, and that’s pretty much right where the
valve keepers sit down on the top of the seal’s lip. If you intend to run an aftermarket cam with more lift, you’ll need to
either use the shorter OEM seals or make some other changes, like shortening the keepers or the guides.
Installation is not as simple as with the nitrile seals. Carpentier: “You cannot push them in as you would plain vanilla
seals. With your package you should get a clear and rather flimsy plastic tube closed at one end. Slipped over the valve
stem, it protects the seal as you first push it over the stem end (push with your thumb with a slight rocking motion to get
started) then slide it over the cotter groove. Trim this sleeve so it still covers the groove but does not stay trapped under
the seal when fully home.” Note: on the valve stems, just below the groove, the part number is engraved; might as well
leave the sleeve long enough to cover the number too, just to make sure you don’t damage the seals going over it.
“When you start, remember (24 times!) to put the spring seat first as it does not fit over the seal. This is especially
important as a teflon seal cannot be removed without being destroyed: 1) it is hard to pull it from the guide without
distorting it and 2) as it goes back over the cotter groove, the sealing surface between stem and seal will be damaged.”
Clearly, you need to have the valve in place before installing the seal and you can’t remove it afterward, so make sure
you are actually at the final assembly stage (all lapping completed, etc.) before installing seals.
“Now you need to push the seal over the guide. Use a tube (e.g. a deep socket) with ID greater than the narrow upper
section and a rubber mallet. A first blow will get you over the guide chamfer, then tap it all the way in. Don't hammer
too hard though or the upper portion will shear off as you hit bottom.” Note: this author has done this job, and it’s a lot
easier than it sounds.
EXHAUST FLOW LIMITATIONS: Roger Bywater explains an inherent shortcoming of the H.E. engine: “The small
and pocketed exhaust valves are the real problem and is why all the high performance racing V12s have been based on
the old "flat head" design. Putting big exhaust valves in doesn't help because the chamber walls are so close and leave no
room for flow around the edge of the bigger valve head. In fact if the HE were not of abnormally high compression
ratio, always a useful trick to get a bit more top end power out of an engine that doesn't breathe, it would struggle to
produce the barely adequate power that it gives as standard. You can build an HE to 6 or more litres (we used to do a
6.3 using 98 mm bore and standard crank) but all you really get is more torque low down but not much more power.”
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SODIUM-COOLED EXHAUST VALVES: Roger Bywater continues about the H.E. head: “As an economy measure
the HE was outstandingly successful (helped by the 2.88 axle) but the severely shrouded position of the exhaust valve
certainly hinders the pursuit of high power and increases the thermal loading the valve is subjected to. To withstand the
rigours of sustained high speeds on German autobahns sodium cooled exhaust valves were introduced on cars for the
European market.
“All but the early European H.E. V12s and also the H.E. headed 2.9 AJ6 engine had sodium filled exhaust valves under
the same part number EAC 7318 for both engines. They were introduced first on the V12 for Germany/Switzerland
then later for UK, etc. I am not aware of any corrosion problem but it would surely be a bigger problem at high
temperatures rather than while standing.
“The valve stem is roughly half filled with sodium which melts and acts as a "cocktail shaker" increasing the rate of heat
transfer from the valve head to the stem.”
HEAD GASKETS: The OEM head gaskets are a metal-fiber-metal sandwich. Payen makes such gaskets. However,
Clough (England) makes head gaskets for the Jaguar V12 that are the opposite: a fiber-metal-fiber sandwich. One
report: “One was extremely difficult to get over the studs - I believe made wrong or shrunk some. It ripped!”
The Jaguar V12 rarely suffers head gasket trouble, which may mean pretty much any head gasket will do the job, but it
also might mean that the OEM gaskets are really good. Try something different at your own risk.
Martin Walker says, “H.E. gaskets don't seem to fit the pre-H.E. heads. I bought a complete H.E. gasket set from a Jag
dealer and had to return it because the coolant passage openings in the head don't all line up properly.”
Can you just cut suitable openings in the gasket? Don Miles: “Don't do it! Don't do it! I repeat again, don't do it!
“What happens is, you allow the internal softer material to rot/crumble and to have a very large edge to escape. Not a
problem to start with if you are one of the crap screen users as it will be prevented from junking the rad. However, when
the soft material crumbles at the 'fire ring' around the cylinder head the 'nip' is reduced and gasket failure follows. On a
race engine with 10:1 or more this can be in 2 weeks. On a normal road V12 it will clearly be longer but this is pretty
immaterial (pun intended) as the loose soft part would have long since junked your engine as it blocks both screens.
Without the screens it will cost you a new rad.
“How do I know this? Don't ask, but we astonished ourselves and changed the offending gasket in 35 mins and won the
race. The other gasket was done later at a more leisurely pace.”
FIDDLING WITH THE TIMING CHAIN: If, for some reason, your timing chain isn’t sitting on the sprocket on the
holding bracket when you put the head on, David Johnson says, “if you have already installed cam, be sure that you take
the moment and hook the cam chain over the bracket meant to hang sprocket on. I looked at it and told myself, "Why
bother? I can simply reach down there and pull it up." Ain't so. The flange and bracket are just this much too close to
squeeze the chain through.”
CYLINDER HEAD NUTS/WASHERS: The thick washers under the 7/16” nuts are quite suitable for the job, and the
thin washers under the 3/8” nuts under the intake ports seem to work well enough. The same thin washers used under
the 3/8” nuts along the exhaust manifold edge of the head don’t cut the mustard, though. They are likely to be “dished”
where the nut has been pressing them down into the soft aluminum of the head. The implication: as the washers distort
and the local area of the head is dished, the tension on the stud is relaxed, reducing compression on the head gasket and
increasing the chances of a head gasket failure.
To improve this situation, one of three tactics is recommended: Replace the washers with thicker washers; replace the
nuts with washer-face nuts that will contact the original washer across most of its surface; or -- as a minimum fix --
install two washers under each nut. CarQuest auto parts (and undoubtedly some other better auto parts shops, but
notably not some of the discount or bargain auto parts stores) offers a Dorman “manifold stud washer” number 685-050
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which is quite suitable for this task. Note that these washers are not found on a bubble card on a rack, but rather in a
case of heavy red and black metal drawers that form the Dorman display -- often found behind the counter. Look in the
drawer labelled “manifold studs”. This washer is about 1/8” thick (like the washers under the 7/16” nuts), fits very
snugly around the 3/8” stud, and has a somewhat larger OD than the flimsy original washer.
With these washers under the original nuts, you can actually feel the difference as you’re torquing them up. It feels
much more solid, attaining the specified torque promptly and securely, rather than feeling mushy.
TORQUING THE CYLINDER HEAD NUTS: The nuts holding the heads to the block, as in other engines, require
careful torquing in progression to ensure proper sealing of the head gasket. However, there are two groups of head nuts
on the Jaguar V12 that cannot be tightened with a socket on the end of an extension, meaning they are difficult to use a
torque wrench on. One such group of nuts is the row of 9/16” nuts on 3/8” studs along the top edge of each head,
within the vee; these are underneath the intake ports. The other group is the row of 11/16” domed nuts on 7/16” studs
just under the tappet block on each side; these would be a snap if you were torquing the head nuts without the tappet
block on there, but with the tappet block in place you can’t get the socket over the nut.
This job calls for a tool called a crowfoot (or crow’s foot) wrench. This tool looks like just the business end portion of a
wrench with a square drive hole for attachment of a ratchet and extension. Since they are useful tools anyway and come
in handy in other hard-to-reach places, it is recommended an entire SAE or Imperial set be purchased. If you wish to
buy only the crowfoot wrenches you need for this job, Sears sells crowfoot wrenches individually. The nut and stud
sizes mentioned above were apparently maintained throughout the life of the Jaguar V12, even when many of the other
fasteners on the engine switched to metric.
There are actually at least three different types of crowfoot wrenches, so you might want to consider your choices before
buying. The most common type looks like the business end portion of an open end wrench, so it can be slid onto the nut
from the side. It operates on only two corners of the nut. The head area must be made fairly broad (like any open-end
wrench) in order to give it adequate strength to prevent it from spreading and rounding off the nut under torque. Sears
Craftsman crowfoot wrenches are this type.
David Johnson suggests that, if you can find a set, buy box end crowfoot wrenches, since the torque applied to the 3/8”
head nuts threatens to spread the 9/16” open end crowfoot and round the corners of the nut. “Mine are from Snap On.”
He’s right about the threat; this author used an open end set successfully, but there was clearly very little strength to
spare. Box end crowfoot wrenches (like other box end wrenches) cannot go on a nut from the side, they must come
down on top.
The third type crowfoot available is halfway between the open end and box end; they look like the business end of a
“flare nut wrench”. In other words, they look like the end of a box end wrench that someone has cut a slot through at
the end. It looks like the crow was pigeon-toed; maybe they should be called pigeonfoot wrenches! They cannot go on
a nut from the side, but they can go onto a bolt (or metal brake line) from the side and then come down on the nut from
above. Most such wrenches are “six point”, meaning they have five points -- the slot takes away one of the six points,
so this type wrench operates on five corners of the nut.
There is another functional difference between the open-end style crowfoot and the flare nut style. The open end style is
symmetrical when looked down on from above; if you flipped it over, it wouldn’t make any difference (except for a
raised area where the square drive attaches). So, you will need to have enough room to turn the nut 60° at a time, slide
the wrench off and move it back to the next flat and go again. But the flare nut style, despite being a six-point style,
offers another option. The square drive attachment is 30° off one flat of the hex, so if you can’t turn the nut the full 60°,
you can take the crowfoot off the end of the square drive extension, flip it over, and turn the nut the next 30°. That
would make for a long, slow job of tightening a nut, but it’d be better than being unable to tighten it at all.
Finally, one more functional difference worth noting. The open end type of crowfoot wrench, like an open end wrench,
can be used while held tilted a bit upward or downward from square on the nut. Since they only contact on two
opposite flats, they can withstand a considerable amount of misalignment during use. With a crowfoot, this means that
you don’t need to be holding the ratchet extension perfectly parallel to the centerline of the bolt or nut, but you can tilt it
away from that centerline or towards it a little bit. The box end or flare nut types of crowfoot, on the other hand, fit
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very securely on a hex. If misaligned, you won’t even get it on. This can be a blessing or a curse depending on what
you’re doing, but mark my words, whichever type you get you will eventually find a situation where you wish you had
the other.
Although listed third here, the flare nut style crowfoot wrenches are perhaps easier to find than the box end style. John
Robison says, “Here is the link for the set I bought...
http://www.tools-plus.com/hand-tools-pliers-wrenches-wrenches-crow-foot.html
J. C. Whitney (page 694) offers both open end and flare nut style crowfoot wrenches in SAE or metric sets -- for about
$10 a set! Really high quality stuff, obviously.
When using crowfoot wrenches in conjunction with a torque wrench, the crowfoot should always be attached to form a
90° angle with the handle of the torque wrench. The effective lever length of the torque wrench (distance from the
handle to the centerline of the bolt or nut being torqued) is not changed. If the crowfoot is attached in line with the
handle, the lever length is altered, and the torque readings will be inaccurate.
For some reason, some people have arrived at the conclusion that extensions make a difference in torque wrench
readings. They do not; use whatever extensions you need to to get the job done. Swivel joints can make a difference in
torque readings; if you absolutely have to use a swivel joint with a torque wrench, at least attempt to hold it as straight
as possible.
With the 11/16” domed nuts under the tappet block, the box end and the flare nut type crowfoot wrench may cause
trouble. The problem at this spot is that the domed nut is tall and comes up pretty close to the surface of the tappet
block. Since these two types of wrench have to go over the nut to get on, they must be thin enough to fit between the
nut and the tappet block at that point. Craig Sawyers bought an expensive flare nut type -- actually a 12-point flare nut
type -- that didn’t work. By lining up the gap at the end, he could get it on, but as soon as he turned the nut he
effectively trapped the tool; it wouldn’t come off. “If you get one flat of turn on it, it won't come off the nut. If you
back it off slightly so that it clears the nut, you can't get it back on for the next turn. Britool AFC687... This beast is
0.525" thick, and the diameter of the surround to the socket part is 1.275". The open end is 0.57" wide and parallel.
And it is 12-point and was not cheap - I bought this sucker to do up those 11/16" nuts under the tappet block, and was
not pleased when it didn't work out.”
Sawyers found an alternative to the crowfoot wrench for the 11/16” domed nuts: “I ended up getting a friend with a
lathe to turn a shoulder on a standard socket so that it would snug under the tappet block. Worked a treat.” Of course,
cutting on that fancy crowfoot probably would have worked, too, but the socket was cheaper -- and since it worked, the
socket was arguably preferable to the crowfoot for this job. In fact, if you plan to retorque these nuts later, you’ll find
this modified socket vastly preferable. Basically, Sawyers machined the square drive end of the socket down to about as
small as he could get it, leaving the large diameter portion as short as possible. “The part around the socket, 0.935"
diameter (ie, as supplied) and 0.7" to the turned shoulder. The turned down part (where the 3/8" drive fits) is 0.67"
diameter and 0.49" long from the shoulder to the top.” Note that the 0.7” dimension is what’s critical, and the maximum
that will work may actually vary a bit from car to car. If you start with a socket that is too tall, you won’t be able to cut
the shoulder that far down without cutting the socket in half -- but you can shorten it up by simply grinding off the end
of the socket until it goes on.
There are also problems using a crowfoot on the 9/16” nuts. These nuts sit in a ledge cut into the head, but Jaguar
didn’t cut the ledge any deeper than they had to. There’s very little clearance between the points of the nut itself and the
machined surface behind it. This is part of the reason the open end crowfoot threatens to spread; if you put the
crowfoot all the way onto the nut, you can’t turn it very far before the wrench runs hard against that machined surface,
so instead you pull the crowfoot back a little and tighten the nut with the tips of the crowfoot. Using a box end, as
Johnson recommends, will mean it needs to wrap all the way around that nut and therefore must be pretty thin-walled --
but box ends are generally pretty thin-walled, especially from companies like Snap-On. The flare nut style may have
more troubles, since the claws of the crowfoot have to be beefier to make up for the loss of strength that comes from
opening a gap at the end, and so may have trouble turning without jamming against the machined surface. It may be
possible to use either box end or flare nut style crowfoot wrenches by fitting them to the upper half of the nut only,
staying above the surrounding metal of the head; since they’re grabbing 5 or 6 points they should still be able to apply
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adequate torque. Results may vary from casting to casting.
One other solution may be to replace the nuts with new nuts with the same thread but a smaller hex. Make sure they’re
Grade 8 or equivalent; you don’t want cheap, soft steel nuts here.
Martin Karo: “Better than the crowfoot solution, Hazet makes a tool for precisely this purpose. It has 12-point box at
one end; the shank is then bent vertically 90 degrees, and runs up 6 to 8 inches, depending on the size; then another 90
degree bend brings the shank back over the box end, and a 3/8" square drive hole is bored in, directly over the box end.
This clears over-nut obstructions, and the torque values are correct no matter what the wrench angle. I rented one the
last time I replaced a cylinder head, and it worked great. To buy, however, I dunno... if it's a Hazet, you can be sure it
ain't cheap.”
You could, of course, make a wrench that fits Karo’s description. Find a box end wrench that fits the nut, and heat it up
and bend it 90° straight up. Cut the other end off and weld on a socket, any socket, to provide a square drive
connection.
The purpose of torquing head nuts to a specified value is to obtain a certain amount of tension on the studs themselves.
Whether or not the threads on the nuts are lubricated makes a huge difference in how much tension results from a given
torque, as does whether or not the contact between the nut and the steel washer it sits on is lubricated. Unfortunately,
the manuals are not as clear as they might be on whether or not the specified torque is intended to mean with or without
lubrication. In its section on General Fitting Instructions, the ROM does say “Always oil thread lightly before tightening
to ensure a free running thread, except in the case of self-locking nuts.” This makes sense, since tension obtained from
lubricated threads is more consistent than from non-lubricated threads; if the threads aren’t lubricated, there’s no telling
how much tension you’ll end up with. There seems to be little or no official guidance for lubricating the washer face,
though.
This author recommends you lubricate the head stud threads with anti-seize compound; this may not sound like oiling
lightly, but the amount of friction in the threads when installing should be comparable. Plus, the anti-seize compound
will ensure the threads are not damaged when retorquing or removing the nuts later on.
This author also recommends you apply a non-hardening sealant to the contact areas between the washer and the head
and between the nut and the washer on the 7/16” studs only. On ten of the fourteen 7/16” studs per head, these contact
areas seal the coolant circuit; that’s why these nuts are cap nuts, since coolant can’t leak through the threads on a cap
nut (and you thought Jaguar used cap nuts to make it pretty!). While not originally intended as a lubricant, the sealant
will provide a fairly consistent amount of friction between the nut and the washer and therefore a consistent application
of tension to the stud. By using a non-hardening sealant, you hopefully leave open the possibility of retorquing later on
-- although presumably you could retorque by removing the nut completely, applying fresh sealant, and reinstalling.
On the 3/8” studs, apply anti-seize compound between the washer and the nut. You can leave the contact surface
between the washer and the head dry, apply sealant, apply anti-seize compound, whatever, it shouldn’t make any
difference.
Needless to say, if any of the threads on studs or nuts are boogered up enough that the nut won’t spin on freely, they
must be cleaned up or replaced before torquing.
When torquing down the nuts, aim for the low end of the spec range, and be alert for signs of stud yielding: the nut
continues to turn without the torque increasing any more. If the specified torque is attained in a smooth and progressive
manner, there is nothing else to worry about; the head is on and secure, and there is sufficient tension on the studs to
make sure the head gasket will remain sealed. On the other hand, if either the threads or the washer face is assembled
dry, you won’t know how much of your tightening torque was lost there, so you won’t know just how much tension
actually got applied to the stud -- and therefore you won’t know how long your head gasket is going to last.
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Engine Work -- Front
CRANKSHAFT DAMPER/PULLEY REMOVAL: First note that, contrary to the repair manuals, it is not necessary to
remove the crank pulley to get the water pump off.
Also note that what looks like a bolt head in the center of the crank pulley is actually a hex fixture for turning the engine
by hand. Two smaller bolts must be removed to remove this hex, and the real pulley retaining bolt is underneath. Then
one more note: Since you already have the belts loose or off, you can remove two more small bolts and remove the
pulley from the crank damper entirely. This provides much better access to the big crank damper bolt so you can use a
box end wrench or some such.
What size wrench fits that bolt head? Craig Sawyers: “That damned thread is a 7/8 inch BSF. The AF measurement is
1.300 inches for that thread. I got a 7/8 BSF, 3/4 Whitworth socket to do the job.” See page 26 for more info on
Whitworth/BSF, including ideas on finding tools.
If you can find a 33mm socket, it’ll fit perfectly. Unfortunately, even numbers are the standard in larger sizes, so it’s
pretty hard to find anything closer than 32mm or 34mm. Hard, but not impossible; Jan Wikström says, “I have a cheap
Taiwanese socket set from the flea market; it has every mm size from 12 to 35. There are far more sockets than the ISO
standard sizes, but the odd ones can come in handy.”
Bob Christie says you can get 33mm sockets from MSC.
Apparently 33mm is a common size for truck lug nuts, so that's another avenue of pursuit.
You might want to avoid the smaller drive sizes here. Robert Warnicke says, “I broke two 1/2” drives before I finally
removed the bolt with a pipe wrench.”
If nothing else works, you can use a file or grinder on the hex to make a 1-1/4” or 32mm socket fit. You can just use a
big adjustable wrench (or Warnicke’s favorite, the pipe wrench) to get it loose, but you will still need to find a socket
that fits to carefully torque it during reassembly -- which is of considerable importance, as described in the discussion of
key failures below.
To loosen and retighten the bolt, it is necessary to hold the crank still. You can remove the starter to jam the flywheel,
but that is definitely the hard way. An easier way would be to use the access hole on the left side of the engine, the one
with a rubber plug and intended to provide access to the torque convertor mounting bolts. Michael Neal provides an
even simpler access: Just remove the cover from the bottom of the torque convertor housing.
Of course, on my car I can just put it in 5th gear with the emergency brake on!
Matthias Fouquet-Lapar suggests: “Once you have removed the upper part of the pulley (the one which drives 3 belts),
you can easily use its 2 screws to attach a home-made bar on the damper.” This is perhaps the best method of all, since
pulling this lever and the torque wrench together works really well when trying to carefully torque that bolt up on
installation.
Besides holding the crank still, there’s also the problem of getting the bolt loose. One idea that solves both problems
would be to use an impact wrench -- the way an impact wrench works, the inertia of the crank is all that’s necessary to
hold it still. But there’s not enough room in the car to use an impact wrench, so that will require either pulling the
radiator or the engine.
Shane Mantoszko says “use a good long-handled socket/torsion wrench, put it on the front crank nut, brace it on a
strong part of the engine bay, disconnect the coil, and then turn your ignition key for a few quick bursts, and viola, the
crank nut will be loose...”
Dale Knaus says, “I used what we call a "slug wrench". It is a box end wrench made extra heavy with a striking pad on
the other end. It is made to hit with a hammer to tighten and remove nuts. I borrowed the tool from the industrial plant
where I work; they are probably available from industrial tool supply companies.”
Regardless of how well these methods may work getting the bolt loose, remember that you’ll still need to deal with
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reinstallation. Since the bolt torque is critical, you’ll definitely need a suitable torque wrench and socket and you’ll
probably need that restraining lever Fouquet-Lapar suggests. All that being true, you might as well go ahead and
acquire those items and see if they’ll get the bolt off to begin with.
CRANKSHAFT PULLEY - SHEARED WOODRUFF KEY: Paul Konitshek, Michael Neal and several others report
that the woodruff keys that align the crankshaft damper/pulley are a known problem area. The keys may become worn
or totally sheared, allowing the pulley to reposition itself around the crank.
The immediate effect of this slippage depends on which ignition system you have. If you have a pre-1989 car with
Lucas ignition, you might not even notice unless things get really bad and start chewing up parts. Neal reports: “It
almost never gets to the point where the pulley comes loose.” If it merely slips, it usually won’t become apparent until
you try to set the ignition timing; the timing marks are now completely wrong, so you’ll get really confused. If you have
the later Marelli ignition system, the damper slipping will immediately screw up the ignition timing since the sensors are
on that damper.
Note that there are two keys used. There is a “split cone” that is similar to those used on industrial pulleys. The pulley
fits onto the outside tapered surface of the cone and is aligned with one key. The cone slides over the crank and is
aligned with another key. When the bolt securing the pulley is tightened to specification, the split cone compresses
securely onto the crank like a collet in a chuck.
Roger Bywater, who was in charge of belt drives for the V12 at Jaguar at one time, explains: “The purpose of the
keyway is purely for location and accurate alignment during assembly. In almost all assemblies of this type the key is not
intended to transmit any torque, indeed it is not strong enough, the friction of the tightened joint is meant to do that.
There must always be some clearance around the key so if the joint comes loose torsional vibes will always fret and
destroy the keyway. Many later engines do not have keyways anywhere, relying only on friction. The Jaguar V8
camshafts are typical with the timing sprockets just placed on the end, timing marks all lined up, and nipped up very tight
with a central bolt - that's it. If they come loose the sprocket can just spin round - only it never happens.
“The answer is to make sure the friction inside and outside the cone cannot fail so the bolt needs to be tight to the point
of yield to keep the whole assembly under tension. Possibly the bolt tightening figure is marginal at the lower tolerance
quoted of 125 ft-lbs so maybe the top figure of 150 ft-lbs should be the rule. In fact the AJ6 manual quotes 203 Newton
Metres (with no tolerance) which equates to 150 ft-lbs for the same size bolt which seems to support this view.” Note
that the threads need to be “lightly lubricated” for the torque readings to be anywhere near correct; this author
recommends anti-seize compound, which will also help get it apart next time.
If the torque is supposed to be transmitted via friction between crank and cone and between cone and damper, obviously
it’d be a good idea not to put any anti-seize compound on those mating surfaces. In fact, you might want to be careful
there’s no oil on them -- although hopefully it’d get squeezed out while torquing.
So, if the torque is supposed to be transmitted via friction, how come the Jaguar V12 has a history of key failures here?
Neal: “It seems only to happen if water has gotten into the nosecone on the crank. The area is always very rusty when
the front pulley is removed. The woodruff key is either broken or eroded away from the rust.” Of course, this area is
exposed to the elements, there’s no keeping water out of it; whether or not these parts rust probably depends on whether
the crank seal is keeping them well oiled. Perhaps they all rust, and Neal only notices the ones that have sheared keys
are rusty because those are the ones he has to work on.
The failure history could be because the engineers at Jaguar screwed up, either underestimating how much torque this
joint would need to transmit or overestimating how much torque the joint could handle. However, it’s entirely possible
that most or all of these failures came from somebody not torquing that damper bolt down adequately. Even presuming
they were torqued correctly at the factory (!), mechanics are always fiddling around in this area -- such as when
replacing a leaky crank seal. Perhaps some of the mechanics are not being as meticulous as they should be in applying
full torque during reassembly. Take a lesson: make very sure you torque that bolt properly! Just zipping it on with an
impact wrench is unacceptable.
Neal: “In some cases the slot in the crank is widened a bit but a new key usually secures it substantially.” If the crank
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has been boogered up too much by the damper slipping, of course you have to install a new crank. Yeah, right. Even
Bywater himself reassembled an engine with a damaged keyway in one of his AJ6 development cars by “drilling and
pegging” the split cone during installation. “Obviously loctite or similar would create difficulties in any future strip down
so if everything is clean and in good order and fully tight there should be no need for it. Where things are less than
perfect then pragmatism must rule.” It might help if you file the high points off the gouges on the crank and use a new
split cone.
CRANKSHAFT PULLEY - GETTING THE KEY OUT: Sometimes the keys won’t come out, notably the key on the
crank itself. Suggestions include using a pair of angle cutters to grab it and walk it upwards, and using a suitable chisel
to cut under the key to pry it out. The suitable chisel needs to be a hair narrower than the key, and can be made from
old lathe bits or “cut nails”. Cut nails are made from flat stock, giving them a sort of trapezoidal shape, and are really
hard for pounding into masonry. Greg Guillaume: “Here’s what I did: Get a 1” chisel, lay it on the crank,
perpendicular to the crank, up against the key. Then whack away with a hammer on the opposite side of the chisel. The
shape of the chisel is just right so it bites into the key, the 1” width hangs over the end of the crank, and you get a lot of
room to swing the hammer. Of course, the chisel is a little beat up, but it worked great.”
CRANKSHAFT PULLEY - SPLIT CONE PROBLEMS: Dan Jensen says, “The split cone was broken in three places.
Rather than pay $$ for a replacement, I just stuck it back into the damper/pulley with Hylomar sealant and gently
replaced it. It centered properly and has worked great for 35K miles.”
CRANKSHAFT PULLEY - RUBBER DAMPER PROBLEMS: Chris Yewdall owns a ’91 convertible, and started
having noise when operating the roof. “When lowering the roof with the engine running, a squealing noise is heard from
under the hood until the roof is fully lowered. After a few more months/miles the squeal happens most times you start
the car for a few minutes until the revs build up as you drive away. Eventually, the voltage on the battery charge guage
on the dashboard drops to 12V (about 1/4 of the way up the guage) and the battery goes flat. Occasionally, the
alternator will charge normally or just below normal, particularly on a freeway journey.”
Sounds sorta like a loose belt problem, but it wasn’t. After wasting too much money on things like an alternator rebuild,
the problem turned out to be the crank damper itself. When he got the failed part back from the mechanic, he reported
on it: “On inspection, it is the bond between the inner pulley (which keys onto the crankshaft) and the rubber damper
which has failed since the inner pulley rotates freely on the inner surface of the damper. The rubber has hardened to the
point where it has cracked in lines between the inner and outer pulley. It feels more like bakelite or plastic and has no
flex at all. Believe me, it’s not hard to spin the outer by hand.” The other three belts are driven by rigidly-mounted
pulleys but the alternator belt is driven directly from the outer ring of the crank damper, so this rubber breaking loose
causes drive problems for the alternator. A heavy alternator load, such as operating a convertible top, aggravates the
problem.
If you’re having trouble confirming if your damper has sheared, put a mark on the center portion and a mark in line with
it on the outer portion. Run the car for a while, then shut it off and check the marks. If they are no longer aligned, you
need a new damper.
Interestingly, this type failure was apparently unknown on the earlier cars with Lucas alternators driven by V-belts.
Those cars also had Lucas ignition systems, and the timing marks for setting the ignition timing were on the outside edge
of the crank damper. As a result, such a slippage between the inner and outer portions of the damper would have made
correct timing impossible. Most of the cars with the later Bosch 115-amp alternators and ribbed belts (see page 574)
also have Marelli ignition, and the timing is not adjustable -- but is established by a pickup at the front damper. This
pickup senses trigger points attached to the inside portion of the damper, so they are unaffected by slipping of the outer
ring and the engine runs normally.
It’s easy to blame these damper failures on the higher loads imposed by the 115-amp alternator or even on some change
in build quality between the V-belt dampers and the multi-groove dampers, but there is one more possible cause for
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these failures. As described on page 574, there is a flaw in multi-groove pulley design that results in them slipping and
squealing even when the belt is tight. Obviously, most mechanics will address a squealing problem by tightening the belt
-- and since that won’t fix this problem, they may respond by tightening the bejeezus out of it. An overtightened belt
applies a considerable radial load on the rubber portion of that damper, and this load cycles around the damper as the
crank rotates. It would be logical to assume that such a cyclic load could rip that rubber loose from the metal in a fairly
short while. All owners of Bosch alternators are advised to have that alternator pulley modified at the next convenient
opportunity, and then adjust the belt to a reasonable state of tension.
FRONT OIL SEAL REPLACEMENT: Peter Cohen points out that the Jaguar repair manual’s procedure for replacing
the front oil seal involves removing the radiator -- which, in turn, supposedly requires depressurizing the A/C freon
circuit. Boy, I hope you read this first! Depressurizing the freon circuit is totally unnecessary to get the radiator out
(see page 197), and if you don’t mind working in tight quarters, taking the radiator out is unnecessary to change the
front oil seal. Matthias Fouquet-Lapar says, “I’ve done this in my garage without pulling the radiator. Once all the belt-
driven hardware is removed, there is enough space. I did not even take out the fan shroud.” Brian Sherwood says, “I
replaced mine without pulling the radiator -- not very convenient, but possible. The most difficult parts were: 1.
removing the old seal (finally had to prick a small hole in it, and screwed in a sheet metal screw to pull on), and 2.
getting the pulley bolts thru the lock plate, pulley, and into the crank damper -- can’t see these at all, have to do by feel.”
Tom Amlie had trouble getting the new seal installed in tight quarters. “If I kept trying to do it like the books said, I
would still be at it. Book says to tap the new seal in. Not possible. Go to Home Depot or similar and get a PVC drain
pipe fitting (reducer) to fit the seal. Carve on it until it works. Then use that huge bolt that holds the pulley/damper to
push it in. Works like a charm.”
When you buy the front seal from Jaguar, you get the seal and the spacer sleeve it rides on in one box; this may be a
recent development, apparently a new part number has been issued. Matthias Fouquet-Lapar says, “The new part at
least includes the spacer. The part number is JLM 10613.” However, if you buy a generic seal somewhere else (or
maybe older stock from Jaguar), you’ll probably get just the seal. You can look at the condition of your sleeve and see
if you think this will cause a problem. Peter Smith says, “If the spacer appears worn it can simply be reversed on
refitting because the seal does not ride at the half way point. The new seal will then ride on an unworn part of the
spacer.” Whatever, you will want to take the sleeve out, because the proper order of assembly is to install the seal and
then install the sleeve.
You might also consider putting some sealant between the crank and the spacer prior to installation to prevent oil from
travelling between the crank and the sleeve and leaking out the splits in the split cone under the pulley. There are no
reports of leaks along this path, but if it did leak people would think it was the front seal, so who knows? Maybe it’s a
common leak!
Cohen adds, “When I did my front seal 7 years ago, the collar that came with the seal had to be tapped into place, even
though the old one slid right off. The dealer assured me that that's normal, they loosen up with time. This is not true. I
had to drive the collar off after 7 years and 70,000 miles. It's a good thing the timing cover was off, because I don't
know if I could have gotten a grip on it from the front.” Who knows, maybe Jaguar figured out how the oil was leaking
out so new seals come with a coating on the inside of the sleeve to seal it.
Also of note, illustrations in the repair manual indicate that the sleeve has a keyway, but according to Alex Dorne they
lie; “The sleeve is not keyed.”
V-BELTS: Most V-belts are available in either solid or notched varieties. There is no appreciable difference in strength,
since the strength of all V-belts comes from a layer of cord unaffected by notches. The cord is in the outside edge,
making that part stiff to force the softer, inner portion of the belt into the groove in the pulley.
The notches in the inner surface help the V-belt flex, and are beneficial when the belt must turn around a small pulley. It
is therefore recommended that a notched V-belt always be used for the alternator belt on the XJ-S.
The notches in a belt can cause noise. For this reason, most V-belts use an unevenly-spaced series of notches rather than
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evenly-spaced because an uneven spacing eliminates whine. For the same reason, cooling fans have unequally spaced
blades and tires have unequally spaced tread patterns.
POWER STEERING PUMP INSTALLATION: Jim Isbell points out that the bolt holding the belt tensioner to the
power steering pump should be installed from the rear to the front. “The bolt, if put in from the back with the nut end
toward the radiator can be removed with the pulley in place. If put in backwards it cannot be removed with the pulley in
place.”
FAN BELT IDLER PULLEY INSTALLATION: Jim Isbell says: “The bolt that connects the adjuster screw to the
idler pulley must be put in from the back with the nut toward the radiator. If this is put in backwards the adjustment
range of the idler is greatly reduced.”
TIMING COVER REMOVAL: If you want to remove the timing cover to replace the front oil seal, don’t waste your
time; the front oil seal presses in from the outside, and Jaguar even provided some prying slots for removing the old one.
See the info on seal replacement on page 92.
If you do need to remove the timing cover, Section 12.65.01 of the ROM lists 13 steps, the first two of which are as
follows:
1. Remove engine and gearbox assembly from the car.
2. Remove cylinder heads from the engine.
Fortunately, there is an alternate method. To remove the timing cover with the engine still in the car and the heads in
place, proceed as follows:
1. Remove the belts, fan and its mounting bracket, A/C compressor front bracket, and all the other
ancillary stuff in the way.
2. Remove the front crank pulley -- see page 89.
3. There are three studs threaded into the timing cover that protrude upward through the front edge of
each head. Remove the nuts and washers, then grab the studs with a pair of Vice-Grip pliers and
unscrew them. Note: Some of the studs are trapped and cannot be removed; once these are
unscrewed, merely retain them (with duct tape) in a raised position while the cover is being removed.
Once the cover is off, they can be removed.
4. Remove the retaining bolts holding the timing cover to the block.
5. The timing cover is essentially pinched between the heads and the sandwich plate. Michael Neal, who
is a Jaguar mechanic and uses this method regularly, says “I loosen as many of the sandwich plate
bolts near the front as possible. I believe it works out to about 4 or 5 back, going between the
subframe and the motor. I then use a Snap-On medium sized ladyfoot prybar and go in the hole
where the oil cooler adapter bolts onto the sandwich plate. I pry against the bottom of the tube that
the adapter goes into and the inside of the sandwich plate. This pulls down the right front corner of
the sandwich plate and allows some space for the timing cover to move. The prybar over-centers and
locates itself while holding the plate down. It is very important not to pull down too far. The bolt
holes are very prone to cracking and the break will spread out toward the center of the sandwich
plate.” See page 97 if you wish to remove the sandwich plate entirely.
6. REASSEMBLY: Since your studs were all boogered up by the Vice-Grips, buy new studs with the
same threads but longer. Saw or grind them off until they are 1/4” longer then the originals. Then,
grind flats on this 1/4” to ease the reinstallation and any future disassembly. Be sure to clean up the
threads so the nuts go on easily. Remember to slide the trapped studs in place before installing the
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timing cover. Be sure to use anti-seize compound on all studs.
7. Before reassembly, carefully trim the timing cover gaskets flush with the upper corner of the timing
cover.
8. Since the head gaskets are not being replaced, it is a good idea to apply some sealant to the bottom of
them to help them seal against the timing cover. The only stress on this portion of the head gasket is a
slight crankcase vacuum; the integrity of the head/block seal is unaffected. Make sure to apply sealant
in the corner of the two mating surfaces.
9. Neal provides this tip for getting the timing cover back in between the heads and sandwich plate: “On
reassembly I use sheets of .003” shim stock on the upper surface of the sandwich plate gasket and the
underside of the front of the head gaskets. You have to trim the stuff to clear, but it prevents damage
to the gaskets and lets the timing cover slide back in easily. The head gaskets are...very prone to
wrinkling if you don’t use the shim stock pieces to slide the cover back in.”
10. When threading the new timing cover-to-head studs into place, remember there is no reason to tighten
them into the timing cover. As long as they have been threaded in several turns, the nuts will torque
properly. Tightening the studs into the timing cover merely makes them harder to remove next time.
11. During reassembly, progressively tighten the timing cover bolts along with the nuts on the studs. The
cover must be brought up against the heads as it’s being pulled against the block. Tightening one set
before the others will cause leaks.
Note that if the engine is still in the car but the heads are off for some other reason, the timing cover should be
removable without too much additional trouble, basically following the rest of the steps in the repair manual and
skipping step 5 above. Hence, you might consider going ahead with removing it, replacing the chain and tensioner,
checking out the oil pump, etc., depending on the age and wear on the engine. You might also consider installing the
longer studs as described in step 6 above while you’re there.
TIMING CHAIN DAMPENERS: These are the steel plates mounted alongside the chain along several of the straight
sections between sprockets. The Haynes manual, Chapter 1, Section 42, Step 5, suggests using quick-drying paint to
mark their locations before removal. Craig Sawyers says, “Nice idea, but no dice. Have a look at the bare block and
you will see that the dampers fit onto raised bosses. There is no accessible metal to either paint or scribe a line on to
show the original position of the dampers.”
If you move them, the use of an elaborate (and undoubtedly expensive) special tool JD.38 is required to properly
position them. Advice: Don’t move them!
You already moved them? Sorry, at present I can offer no help. I am including this section to describe what they are
and how they work.
A roller chain is a fairly decent and reliable drive mechanism at low speed. However, 6500 RPM is another story; at
higher speeds, chains can whip, flutter, buzz, and otherwise dance around their path around the sprockets. At certain
resonances, a chain whipping back and forth can cause very high tension stresses, resulting in damage to the chain,
sprockets, camshaft bearings and tensioner.
These plates are designed to prevent this. If the chain is moving smoothly and along a straight line like it should, it
shouldn’t even touch the plates. But if it starts to whip, it hits a plate -- which absorbs the energy of the whip, and
allows the chain to return to a calm motion.
Based on this theory, it would be logical to assume we could just bolt the plates on so that they are immediately adjacent
to the chain without touching it. There are a couple problems with this plan. First, if you follow the official Jaguar
assembly order, the plates must be installed and the timing cover bolted up before the heads are installed, so having the
chain in place -- meaning the tappet blocks, camshafts, and camshaft drive sprockets in position -- is not possible. Of
course, you could always trial fit the heads, tappet blocks, camshafts, sprockets, and timing chain in order to set the plate
positions, then tear it all apart again.
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On page 93 I describe how to remove the timing cover with the heads on and therefore there may be an opportunity to
adjust the dampers with the chain in place -- although it may be a rare case when the plates need to be positioned but the
heads don’t need to come off.
The second problem is that I’m really not providing enough information for proper positioning. I’m only providing the
theory; presumably, during development of this engine, the optimum positions of these plates were precisely determined,
and they may be far more critical than simply “close to the chain without touching it.” Improper positioning of these
damper plates could be catastrophic, causing a broken timing chain which in turn causes pistons to impact valves in open
position. You see, the real purpose of this section is not to save you effort; it’s to discourage you from assuming the
position of these plates is unimportant, skipping important steps, and causing yourself a great deal of heartache down the
road.
TIMING CHAIN REPLACEMENT: The timing chain in the Jaguar V12 is a conventional double-row roller chain.
Typically, the wear on chains of this type is much more significant than on the sprockets, and usually the chain can be
replaced without replacing the sprockets. This is in sharp contrast to the “silent” timing chains used in many American
V-8’s, where it is customary to replace the timing chain and sprockets as a set.
Another characteristic of typical roller chains is that wear on the sprockets increases with the use of worn chains; if the
chain is renewed regularly, the sprockets can last almost indefinitely. The Jaguar timing chain is so cheap that it is
recommended that it be replaced whenever the engine is disassembled far enough to do so. The sprockets are so
expensive that you will want to do whatever it takes to keep from having to replace them.
In general, the sprockets don’t need replacing unless an inspection shows signs of serious wear -- one side of each tooth
looks different than the other side.
Per Jan Wikström, “According to a Reynolds chain handbook that I mislaid some time back in the seventies, so my
memory may be slightly off here, the way to determine whether a sprocket warrants replacement is to hang the new
chain over the sprocket and apply a strong pull (that’s an Imperial strong pull, not a US strong pull!) in the normal drive
direction. If more than three links ride up noticeably on the teeth, the sprocket is too worn.”
Once you’ve decided to replace the chain, the next question is whether to pay Jaguar prices or simply drop into an
industrial supply store and buy generic chain. You don’t want cheap chain, that’s for sure -- but most industrial supply
stores actually carry really good chain, probably as good or better than the chain sold through Jaguar. Many of these
stores will also happily explain to you why you want a good chain rather than a cheap one and perhaps even show you
examples of each.
When ordering a chain from some parts houses, the chain they offer is a length of generic industrial chain and a master
link to put the ends together. This leads many owners to question whether they want to do this or pay for the Jaguar
part which is a loop without a master. Those aren’t the only choices, actually; if you think a master link is a problem,
that same industrial supply store will offer to make the loop for you. They have the special tool on hand to properly roll
the end of a pin over to make the chain into an uninterrupted loop. And this will still save you perhaps 2/3 of the cost of
the Jaguar part. Remember, Jaguar isn’t fabricating custom chain for this application; the chain they sell was purchased
from an industrial supplier and made into loops.
Some argue that having a master link is a real problem, as though they are weak or some such. They are not weak; they
are typically stronger than the other links. They do, however, have some history in motorcycle applications of failing
catastrophically. This isn’t because they’re weak but rather because they can be taken apart; whatever clip or cotter pin
is used to hold them together can come out and cause the master link to fall out. This is especially a concern on a
motorcycle where running over some brush might knock the clip loose on a master link. There’s also the concern that
some motorcycle mechanics are meatheads who can’t figure out how to get the clip on the master link securely.
Of course, there is little chance of foreign interference in a master link inside the Jaguar V12 block. If you are offered a
chain with master link, simply look over the retention scheme. If it looks like something you could get together and
trust that it won’t fall apart at 6500 rpm, go with it; don’t worry that it’s somehow not as strong as the other links. If it
looks like something that might come apart, consider having the chain permanently made into a loop at the shop rather
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than risk fiddling with the master link.
Some master links are held together with a clip that slides over one pin and snaps onto the other. There’s no known
history of these coming loose, but the fact that they involve a groove around the end of both pins suggests a possible
improvement: you can simply discard the single clip and install two tiny E-ring clips instead, one on each pin. There’s
little chance that an E-ring clip would come off in use, and both of them would have to come off before the chain breaks.
They are prone to getting dropped during installation, though, so be sure to tie a thread to each one before installing.
Of course, you need to find the correct size chain. Tony Bryant says, “One possible gotcha is the old Brit vs US
standard thing. It appears there are two standards for 3/8" duplex chain: BS288/ISO606/DIN8187 and
ANSIB29.1/ISO606a. The differences are subtle but probably serious. From the Reynolds chain book, the differences
are (BS vs ANSI):
Roller width (i.e. between the inside plates) 5.72mm vs 4.68mm
Roller dia 6.35mm vs 5.08mm
Plate height 8.26mm vs 8.66mm
Plate outer width 1.04mm vs 1.3mm
Pin dia 3.28mm vs 3.59mm
Pin length 23.8mm vs 25.65mm
Breaking force 18500N vs 20000N
“So make sure you get the right chain, or I'm guessing very bad things™ will happen.”
It’s possible to replace the chain by removing only the right side cam cover and without bothering the timing cover at all,
but this requires the use of a master link -- if contemplating, make sure the chain you purchase isn’t already formed into
a loop. Retract the tensioner, then break the old chain on the top of the cam sprocket (grind the end off two pins and
slide a link out) and connect the new chain to the end of the old one with the master link. Have someone turn the
crankshaft slowly while you feed the new chain in and the old chain out, being sure to keep the cam sprocket engaged at
all times. When the master link comes around again, disconnect the old chain and connect the new chain back to itself.
It is highly recommended that the latch on the timing chain tensioner be rocked after, or preferably during, this timing
chain replacement on the chance that the new chain is significantly shorter than the old worn one was and therefore the
tensioner needs to back up a bit to allow it to sit properly.
OIL PUMP CLEARANCES: If you happen to have the Haynes manual, the clearances specified for the oil pump don’t
seem to make sense. So, I will include the values from the ©1975 ROM here:
Driven gear to housing: < 0.005” (0,127mm)
Drive gear to crescent: < 0.006” (0,152mm)
End float - both gears: < 0.005” (0,127mm)
Note that, according to the ROM, all measurements are taken with the pump removed from the engine. Since the
crankshaft is therefore not holding the drive gear in position, it is free to move as far away from the crescent as the
tightness of the gear teeth will permit. It appears a rare case that it will meet the 0.006” limit; 0.040” is more likely!
Despite the clarity of their measurement procedure, it is probable that the specified values represent clearances in place,
with the crank holding the drive gear in its correct location.
Mike Morrin: “I cannot believe the figures in the Jaguar manual. The endfloat on the gears in my pump was over
0.020”. At the time I was rather alarmed, as the engine had by all accounts only done 55,000 miles. I carefully
inspected the old parts for wear, and found that the factory machining marks were still visible on the gears, and the wear
on the pump housing was negligible. This pump must have left the factory with clearances way beyond the published
limits. So I put the old pump back and crossed my fingers. The oil pressure seems OK (when measured with an
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accurate gauge).
Of course, if endfloat is the only problem, some of us have been known to skim a little metal off the mating surface of
the housing to bring it back down. With a little care, it’s even possible to perform this fix on aluminum housings by
laying a piece of sandpaper on a plate of glass and sliding the housing back and forth on it.
OIL PUMP REPLACEMENT: According to Thomas E. Alberts, the 1992 upgrade of the V12 included a new design
oil pump -- and that the old design oil pumps are no longer available. “The original part number is C38453 or C40177.
That part was officially superseded by EBC3163 which is the pump for 1992 on. EBC3163 is supposed to fit the older
engines but some pieces are required to adapt it. This pump is at least twice as expensive as the earlier version, and the
adapter (they call it a pump collar) is $45 plus some additional bolts are required.”
Engine Work -- Bottom
Note: If you only need to replace piston rings and/or liners, you might not need to do bottom end work on the Jag V12.
See the ideas on page 79.
OIL PAN REMOVAL: The crankcase bottom is actually two pieces, a pan and a sandwich plate. The pan, which exists
only at the rear of the engine, comes off easily enough. However, any hope that this will get you anywhere is quickly
shattered. The crankcase is fully baffled (necessary to prevent foaming, reduce heat buildup and power loss, and insure
proper oil flow to the pickup in a high RPM engine), and there is one baffle the length of the engine that cannot be
removed without removing the sandwich plate.
Contrary to the manual, the sandwich plate can be removed without pulling either the front suspension assembly or the
engine out of the car. It’s a real pain, though, so you might still consider one of those options. To remove the sandwich
plate:
1. Unbolt the steering rack without disconnecting hoses, steering column or tie rods. Lower the rack a
few inches and let it hang there.
2. Remove the fan to allow the engine to be raised without hitting the shroud.
3. Remove the nuts from the two main engine mounts, and use a hoist to lift the front of the engine as
far as possible.
With all this done, the sandwich plate will just barely come out rearward. Putting it back in, with new gasket in place,
will also be a lot of laughs.
While you’re in there, replace all the O-rings you can find, such as those in each end of each oil tube. If they leak they
just leak into the crankcase, but each leak reduces oil flow to the engine. Use Viton O-rings, so you won’t have to go
back in there anytime soon.
OIL PAN/SANDWICH PLATE BOLTS: Technical Service Bulletin 12-35, which introduced the upgraded gaskets
used throughout the engine, also specified new bolts for holding the sandwich plate and the oil sump to the engine. The
explanations given applied to both the sump and the cam covers, so it is probable that the same sort of generic bolt &
washer substitution described at length for installing the cam covers starting on page 60 could also be applied here --
although these bolts are a size larger, so the specific parts mentioned won’t do.
See also the notes on TSB 12-53 on page 48 regarding sealing the threads on the sandwich plate bolts with heads inside
the oil sump.
TSB 12-35 specifies a torque of 21-27 N-m (15.5-20 ft-lb) on the sandwich plate bolts and oil sump bolts. No mention
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of later metric vs. early SAE bolts; hopefully, it’s a reasonable torque for either. It’s also probably a good spec whether
using their special bolts or generic substitutes.
MAIN BEARING REPLACEMENT: If you find yourself needing to replace the main bearings without removing the
crankshaft, the job can be accomplished the same way as most cars: Roll the upper bearing shell around and out. If it’s
difficult, insert a cutoff head from a nail into one of the oil passages of the crank and turn the crank to roll the bearing
around. However, when installing the new bearings, remember that the Jaguar block is aluminum. It is recommended
that the outer leading edge of the bearing shells be smoothed slightly with a file to prevent them digging into the
aluminum when installing.
REAR OIL SEAL: If you think your rear oil seal is leaking, you might want to check again. The rope seal used up to
VIN 160010 has proven to be very reliable indeed; an informal survey of owners on the internet indicated that the rear
oil seal was often blamed for leaks, but the leaks were always later found to come from other sources. The upper mating
surface of the rear bearing cap is one possible source, as Jaguar didn’t see fit to seal it at all -- see Error: Reference
source not found below. The sides of that cap were sealed with “hockey sticks” on early cars, but later assembly
instructions call for injecting silicone instead; apparently the hockey sticks would dry up and harden and start leaking.
Besides these possibilities right near the rear seal, there’s also the half moon seals (page 60), oil pressure sender (page
47), tappet block banjo bolts (page 44), and a host of other items that may be leaking above or around the rear of the
engine and dripping down to look like a rear oil seal leak.
If your rear oil seal is leaking, please see the note on the PCV system on page 51.
REAR OIL SEAL -- UP TO VIN 160010: Up through engine number 8S.66782, the rear oil seal was a “rope seal”, a
chunk of waxy rope crammed into a groove surrounding the crank journal. This is sometimes called the “two-piece
seal” since there’s one piece of rope crammed into the journal on the block to form the upper half and another piece of
rope crammed into the bearing cap to form the lower half.
At first it seems apparent that the upper half of the rear oil seal cannot be replaced without removing the crank.
However, Dick Russ reports that there is a tool called “Sneaky-Pete”, P/N 2700 by the Lisle Company in Clarinda, IA,
that will enable the seal to be replaced without removing the crank. The tool costs only $6 or so and is available at Pep
Boys, AutoZone, etc. It consists of a length of music wire and some tiny grippers that can be used to bite into one end
of the new seal and pull it into place around the crank.
In the March/April 1995 issue of Jaguar Journal, Russ describes in detail how to replace this seal with the crank in
place; the same article is reprised in the December 1995 issue of British Car. It also can be viewed online at:
http://www.terrysjag.com/seal.html
The procedure was developed by Phil Long and not only uses the Sneaky-Pete but also uses the seal from a 1968-78
Ford 460. The reasoning is apparently that the Ford seal is longer than the Jaguar original. After using the Sneaky-Pete
to pull the new seal around the upper half of the crank, the end that has been boogered up by the grippers of the Sneaky-
Pete can be simply cut off. If a Jaguar seal is used, the gripper must be carefully removed and the seal backed into the
recess, no easy task.
Russ also suggests that the cap be trial fit and torqued down, and then removed and inspected to make sure none of the
seal is getting in between the joining faces of the cap and block and holding them apart. Any fibers or edges of the seal
interfering with the fit can then simply be cut away before fitting the cap up final.
Note that Long’s 44-step procedure was actually written for the Series III E-type, so a few of the steps need revision to
apply to the XJ-S. For example, steps 6 and 39 deal with the E-type’s oil-to-coolant oil cooler which doesn’t exist on
the XJ-S.
In the September/October 1995 issue of Jaguar Journal, John F. Quilter and John W. Yerger of Jaguar responded to the
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above procedure, claiming it was not only unacceptable but would invalidate the warranty on the engine. They insist
that the only acceptable method of replacing this seal involves removing the crank so that a special Jaguar tool may be
used to “size” the seal prior to assembly. The seal is not supposed to actually touch the crank at all, but to reside very
close to it. The scroll carved into the crank then feeds inward, preventing oil from going outward. Contact will result in
“burning”, as confirmed by many who have found the white rope seals somewhat charred. Roger Bywater seems to feel
that the big problem is not burning of the seal itself, but burning of the rear main bearing; he says the crank rubbing on
the rope seal gets the metal hot enough to damage the bearing.
Note that the original Jaguar seal is a waxy white rope, while the Ford 460 seal appears to be impregnated with graphite.
Perhaps this helps avoid that burned look -- or camouflages it. There is at least one report of an owner asking for a seal
for a Ford 460 and being handed something in a rubber seal; make sure what you get is in fact a dark-colored piece of
rope. John Holmes says, “The Ford Rope seal is Part #C90Z-6701-A and contains 4 lengths of rope seal. Each one
measures in length 17cm, 11mm by 5.5 mm in cross section. It truly looks like a piece of rope that has been flattened
from a circular cross section. The surface of the pieces are dark grey, presumably with graphite ( it feels to be such ) but
the graphite does not penetrate very much beneath the surface. The rope pieces are quite flexible to the hand.”
If you are concerned about contact between the rope seal and the crank, perhaps a minor revision to the Sneaky-Pete
installation is in order. It shouldn’t be difficult to slip a piece of thin shim stock around the crank before pulling the new
seal into place. This will not only hold the seal away from the crank a few thou and hopefully help the seal form to that
shape much the same way as the special Jaguar tool would, but it also helps protect the crank while installing the seal. A
similar piece of shim stock could be used when trial-fitting the bearing cap to “size” the lower half of the seal, where
Long’s procedure calls for the use of the special Jaguar tool.
Hey, if the engine is under warranty, let the Jaguar mechanics do it their way; it’s their nickel. However, if you’re
paying, I’ll bet you opt for the Sneaky-Pete. Jaguar’s way requires removing the crank, which means pulling the engine
and tearing it apart. Long’s way only requires removing the oil pan and sandwich plate, not easy but possible with
engine and transmission in place -- see page 97.
HOCKEY STICKS: The rear main bearing cap not only holds the bearing shell, it also fills in a rectangular opening in
the rear of the block. It hence must be sealed around its perimeter or oil will leak out of the crankcase. When the Jaguar
V12 was first introduced, the sides of this bearing cap were sealed against the opening in the block with "hockey sticks".
These sticks fit into grooves in the side of the bearing cap, and the "foot" of the hockey stick wrapped around the top
surface of the bearing cap so as to pull the sticks into place with it during installation.
Somewhere along the way, Jaguar realized the error of this scheme and omitted the hockey sticks in favor of simply
injecting some sealant into the groove after the bearing cap was bolted in place. Because there's a gap at the top corner,
just keep squeezing the sealant in until it starts coming out the gap. This sealant injection method should be used on all
5.3 litre Jaguar V12's during a rebuild, even if they originally came with hockey sticks.
Rodney Spratt discovered that the machining of the rear bearing cap changed with the introduction of the injected
sealant. The early bearing caps had little recesses in the upper surface for the feet. Once hockey sticks were no longer
used, there was no longer any reason to machine the little recesses, so they were omitted. You couldn't install a hockey
stick in a later engine if you wanted to.
REAR BEARING CAP UPPER JOINT SEALING: When bolting on the rear bearing cap, think about how the sealing
of the crankcase itself is accomplished. The oil seal theoretically forms a seal around the shaft, and the injection of
silicone sealant effectively seals along the two sides of the bearing cap. However, the top surface of the cap is sealed
only by the metal-to-metal contact. It is suggested that a thin line of sealant be applied to the top of the bearing cap,
starting at the oil seal and ending at the silicone groove on each side, prior to assembly. See Figure 7. Be sure to use
some type of sealant that won’t space the cap away from the block, such as Loctite 518 or perhaps the Loctite 573 or
574 used on the tappet block (see page 70). Note that the sealing of this horizontal joint definitely calls for a different
sealant than the two vertical joints, which need a silicone-type stuff such as RTV.
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SILICONE GROOVE
APPLY SEALANT
OIL SEAL GROOVE
OIL SLINGER GROOVE
Figure 7: Rear Main Bearing Sealing
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REAR OIL SEAL -- VIN 160010 ON: According to Phil Bates: “In 1989, starting with engine 7P.02073, Jaguar fitted
a new one-piece rear main bearing oil seal to replace the previous rope type.” That 7P number refers to engines for the
XJ12; for the XJ-S, Greg Wells says “My microfiche shows that the rope seal was used up to engine number 8S.66782
and that the one-piece rear main seal began at engine number 8S.66783.” Jon Jasperson quotes a Jaguar TSB saying
this corresponds to VIN 160010.
The TSB also calls for a new tool, JD 163, for installing or removing this new seal. Replacement of this later type seal
does not require removing the engine or crank, but it does require removing the transmission.
Chad Bolles: “No way to retrofit, already tried that, block was recast. Crank was redesigned also. Seal is about 5-3/8’s
OD and 4-7/16’s ID. Main bearing the same.”
Unfortunately, the newer design seal seems to have its own problems. There have been several reports of it “blowing
out”, creating a massive oil leak. The seal itself appears undamaged (although most people will choose to replace it
anyway after going through the effort of removing the transmission); it apparently simply pops out of its hole. Anyone
with this type of seal who is working in the area -- because it blew out or for other reasons -- would be well advised to
secure that seal. Perhaps a Loctite retention product would help make sure it doesn’t go anywhere, or maybe it’s
possible to add some small screws around the edge to secure it in place.
PISTONS & CYLINDERS: In general, you can buy pistons for the V12, or you can buy cylinders with pistons.
Generally, you cannot buy cylinders alone. Make very sure you don’t need a cylinder before you buy a piston alone.
You cannot get pistons oversized by a few thousandths for reboring cylinders; if the cylinder is worn or damaged, it
must be replaced.
Fortunately, the cast iron used in the cylinders is apparently very hard and wear is usually insignificant in engines with
less than 150,000 miles, in which case the pistons alone can be replaced. If rebuilding, the best policy for saving money
may be as follows: Don’t order parts until the heads are off. Check for a “ring ridge”, the step created about 1/4” from
the top of the cylinder by the wear from the rings. If a ring ridge is detectable, order new cylinders with pistons. If not,
order pistons alone.
The pistons and liners are available in an “A” or “B” size, which differ by a microscopic amount. The difference is a
result of tolerances in manufacturing, and neither is really considered an oversize for the other. Each piston must match
the liner it’s installed in. There is no reason not to ensure that all cylinders within the same engine match, although
differences probably wouldn’t be noticeable.
The alloy piston in the V12 has a couple of steel inserts cast into the inside of the skirt. These inserts are a thermal
expansion control device; they not only help control how much the piston expands when hot, they also help prevent it
from ovalizing, which most pistons normally do due to the geometry of the pin bosses. When the engine goes from cold
to hot, this piston design helps maintain a close tolerance between the piston and the cylinder. This, in turn, reduces ring
leakage, piston/cylinder wear and noise. The fact is, these items make forged aluminum pistons look like lawn mower
parts. The owner seeking to replace the pistons would be hard pressed to find better ones than the originals.
ALUMINUM CYLINDER LINERS: Apparently aluminum cylinder liners are available for the Jaguar V12 from GKN
Squeezeform in the UK. Such use would require the replacement of the pistons as well, since the stock pistons are
designed (via the use of a special alloy, as well as steel expansion-control inserts) for the expansion rate of the stock iron
liners.
Jeffrey Gram contacted Rob Beere Engineering, which reported: “In the 1980’s the Jaguar Group C endurance racers
used aluminum liners. It is actually not pure aluminum but a compound called nickasil or similar. This material is very
light and is treated (don’t know with what). In 1986-1988 the alu-liners were not used anymore for endurance races
since the wear was too big and inferior to cast iron. Apparently this nickasil material has a tendency to pick up material
by which the pick-up process is accelerated and the material wears out quickly. The nickasil was only used on race
engines with frequent liner renewal.”
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The V8 engine used in the XK8 and XJ8 comes with nickasil cylinders.
PISTON & CYLINDER CLEARANCES: According to Bob Tilley, “Under the Group C TWR build instructions for
the V12, the piston to bore clearances for cylinders 1A through 5A and 1B through 5B is .0045-.005, whereas the
clearance for piston to bore in cylinders 6A and 6B is .0055-.006.”
These absolute values may be of little use to the normal V12 owner, since this is referring to racing engines where the
pistons and the liners are likely to be significantly different than stock. The implications are fairly obvious, however:
The rearmost cylinders are more likely to develop clearance problems due to poor cooling. There is no history of
problems in the street application, but the information is included here for those who might make use of it. Perhaps the
anal-retentive might choose to measure the clearances in their piston/liner sets and put the largest clearances at the back.
PISTON RING END GAPS: Technical Service Bulletin 12-33 is a correction to the piston ring end gap specs given in
the ROM. It says, “Insert the correct piston ring end gap specifications into the XJS Repair Manual, sections 12.17.10,
12.25.26, 12.41.05 and the Piston Ring Data in section 05 (Engine Tuning and Data).” Well, it’s already off to a bad
start; 12.25.26 doesn’t exist at all (at least not in the ©1975 ROM), 12.41.05 doesn’t mention the end gap spec, and
12.17.10 refers to Section 05 -- which is an incorrect reference in both the ROM and the TSB, those specs are in section
04!
Which page in Section 04? Another good question. These pages are printed sideways, evidently copied from some
other document. When you get to the bottom of the left column of page 04-5, proceed to the top of the left column on
page 04-6. When you reach the bottom of that column, proceed to the top of the right column on page 04-5, and then
proceed directly downward through the right column on page 04-6. It will be helpful to mark arrows on these pages to
remember this.
The piston ring specs start at the bottom of the left column on page 04-6 and continue at the top of the right column on
page 04-5. The gaps in question are actually near the top of the right column on page 04-5. Revise as follows: The
spec end gap for the top ring should be 0.016”-0.021”, and the spec end gap for the second ring should be 0.016”-
0.026”. The spec for the oil ring is not mentioned in this TSB.
TOTAL SEAL PISTON RINGS: Total Seal, Inc., makes a type of piston ring set in which the second ring is a two-
piece ring. Effectively, it puts two rings in a single groove with the gaps staggered -- so gases cannot pass either gap.
As a normal ring wears, the gap gets larger and the leakage increases accordingly. With Total Seal rings, the gap is
covered by the second ring, so it won’t leak no matter how much it wears.
Apparently, these rings are highly recommended by just about everyone who has ever used them -- including high
percentages of competitors in several types of racing. Testing shows considerably less leakage even compared to new
conventional rings. Not only will performance improve, but the reduced blowby should result in less contamination of
the oil.
SEALING LINERS TO BLOCK: The liners (cylinders) are slid into openings in the block, and the head is bolted down
on top of them. The upper portion of the liner is thick while the lower “skirt” is thinner, so there is a step on the OD
where it goes from thick to thin. The thick portion of the liner is pinched between the head gasket and the ledge in the
block, with the thinner skirt protruding down inside a bore in the crankcase. The head gasket seals the joint at the top,
while the joint at the ledge at the bottom of the thick portion of the liner is sealed only with a sealant applied when
assembling. There is very little pressure across this joint, but it nevertheless needs to be reliably sealed since there is
coolant above it and the crankcase below. A sealing failure would result in coolant in the oil pan.
The ©1975 ROM, Section 12.41.05 step 74, says to use Hylomar when installing the liners. However, as described in
the discussion on sealing the tappet block to the head on page 70, Hylomar is not recommended by its manufacturer for
metal-to-metal joints since it is supposed to be a gasket dressing and will not harden; it eventually oozes out of joints,
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allowing them to leak. The ©1975 ROM recommends Hylomar for the tappet block as well, but later editions
recommend Loctite 573 and apparently 574 or 518 will also work.
The liner-to-block joint, like the tappet block-to-head joint, is metal-to-metal. However, the later ROM apparently
never changed its recommendation from Hylomar for the liner installation -- perhaps because any leaks that have
occurred were not obvious and didn’t result in complaints, or perhaps because the liner-to-block joint is a much higher
compressive stress joint than the tappet block joint and therefore may be expected to seal reasonably well regardless of
sealant -- the iron liner will just dig into the soft aluminum block. Regardless, Loctite 573, 574, or 518 should be a
much better choice than Hylomar for sealing the liner-to-block joint.
Joe Bialy points out that the application guidelines for 600-series Loctite products may be confusing. “The Locktite
book specifically states that the 638 family of compounds (603, 620, 638, 641, 648, and 660) will "retain cylinder
liners".” The Jaguar V12 liners are “cylinder liners”, but 600-series Loctite products should not be used here. 600-
series Loctite products are intended to retain the type of cylinder liners that are pressed into bores in a block. The
Jaguar V12 liners are not pressed into bores; they are slip-fit into openings and securely held in place by the head.
Retention is not an issue; the only necessity is sealing -- which calls for the 500-series products.
Just in case it isn’t clear enough in the ROM: The sealant on the liner-to-block joint should be applied only under the
step on the liner or on top of the ledge in the block, not down the sides of the liner or on the inside diameter of the bore
in the block.
Performance Upgrades
COMBUSTION CHAMBER MODIFICATIONS: With an advanced combustion chamber design, the H.E. engine has
11.5:1 compression and runs on 89 octane unleaded (Unleaded Plus). Almost any mods to the engine internals would
endanger the integrity of this design, and the owner would risk having to lower the compression radically and/or face
buying octane boosters ($$$). His fuel economy would get worse, and if he didn’t do his job right his performance
would get worse, too.
One modification possibly worth considering is to install the European pistons, raising the compression to 12.5:1.
According to Chad Bolles, the only difference in the engine is the piston, which has a slightly different pin bore location.
This change will obviously require higher octane fuel. The European XJ-S H.E. reportedly produces about 30 more HP
than the US version, but much of this is probably in the lack of catalytic convertors and other emission considerations;
Mike Morrin says, “I would estimate that the extra CR alone is worth 5-8HP.”
ENGINE ENLARGEMENT: There are two ways to get more power out of an engine: tune it to obtain more
horsepower per liter, and enlargement to provide more liters. Of the two, enlargement has some definite advantages: if
the horsepower per liter is not changed significantly, the durability may not suffer; the “manners” of the engine,
important in street applications, may remain as stock or even improve; fuel economy may remain nearly unchanged; and
the use of higher octane fuel or octane boosters may not be necessary.
Indications are that the Jaguar V12 has a lot of room for expansion. A 5.3 liter (90mm bore x 70mm stroke) for two
decades, it was enlarged by Jaguar in the early 90’s to 6.0 liter (90mm bore x 78mm stroke). AJ6 Engineering (see page
713) once offered engines bored and stroked in sizes up to 7.1 liter and 405 BHP.
The room for expanding the bore seems to be limited to around 98mm. The stroke, however, can go a long way, and
since it is so over-square to begin with, getting too under-square is not a problem. Bill White (see page 721) has
prepared a Jaguar V12 for use in a 3/4-scale replica of a Spitfire fighter plane. He expanded the bore and stroke to
96mm x 95mm -- almost an inch of additional stroke -- for a displacement of 8.4 liters! This was done without
significant modification to the block, and the stock H.E. heads were used. At 3000 rpm, this engine produces 500 ft-lb
of torque in naturally-aspirated form, and 820 ft-lb when supercharged as it is in the aircraft.
According to White, that isn’t the limit by any means. He reports that an outfit in the UK called Forward Engineering
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prepares Jaguar V12’s for use in offshore racing boats. They install a spacer 3/4” thick between the block and the head,
and use liners the same amount longer than stock to provide longer cylinders. Longer studs hold the head on, and since
3/4” is the length of a link of the timing chain the addition of four links allows an otherwise completely stock timing
chain scheme to be used. White says the engines so assembled are 9.3 liter, and are very successful at offshore boat
racing.
Changes to the engine displacement require modifying or replacing the EFI. The stock EFI is hard to modify; it has a
fixed (trimmable, but fixed) map for intake manifold vacuum and RPM versus fuel. If the displacement is altered, this
relationship changes. One solution is an aftermarket EFI system that is completely programmable and re-programmable
(see page 310). Most choose to ditch the EFI at this point for carburetors, introducing the problems outlined on page
310. And the emissions inspector will not smile at them.
LOTSA VALVES: There have been experiments to adapt the 4-valve DOHC head from the Jaguar AJ6 engine to the
V12. The cylinder spacing and bolt patterns are the same -- according to Roger Bywater, not because the AJ6 was
derived from the V12, but rather because there was a plan to put the V12’s H.E. head on some versions of the AJ6. If
the DOHC heads are just bolted onto the V12, on one side the intake ports will be on the outside and the exhaust ports
will be toward the center -- not good. So, one of the AJ6 heads must be turned around backwards -- and some
complicated fabrication work is required to get such things as the cam sprockets rearranged. Bill White (page 721) has
worked with this idea, among others.
Steve Averill reports that the Autumn 1988 issue of Jaguar Quarterly has an article on “a 60 valve DOHC V12 that was
under development by Warrior Automotive Research. They expected to achieve 100 bhp/litre in low tune with a 5.8l
engine. The head had 3 inlet & 2 exhaust valves per cylinder.” No word on what’s happened since, but Warrior’s phone
number was given as 061-928 3284 in Cheshire if anyone wants to try a call.
BOOST: There has been at least one experiment in Australia in turbocharging the XJ-S, but the results were apparently
not good. Officially the problems were blamed on the inability to assemble a drivetrain that would handle the 1000+ hp
for more than a few seconds.
Chris Sleeman (also in Australia) reports on a 1998 endeavor: “When I picked up my Daimler Double Six yesterday
from my local Jaguar specialist, he showed me an XJ-S he is working on. It is a '76 model, with a 6.8 Litre Twin Turbo
V12. The motor was built by them, and the customer is apparently going to enter it into the Targa Tasmania in April.
The motor is being dynoed next week, but they say it puts out around 700hp. It is running 0.8 bar of boost at the
moment, and will be using Motec injection.”
Somewhere out there, Bradley Smith is driving around his XJ-S with twin belt-driven Whipple superchargers.
NITROUS: Martin R. Fooks has a nitrous system in his XJ-S: “The Nitrous system was supplied by Trevor Langfield
(page 719) and is a customized “High Power Nitrous” system. Because of the size of the hit to the engine (150BHP)
they installed a progressive controller, which fits neatly in my car where the trip computer used to be. This enables me
to control the way the extra power is delivered to the engine, such as starting power, ending power, time delay and time
from starting level to ending level.
“I am very happy with the Nitrous installation, which really seems to be very smooth on the V12. Trevor’s people have
the computer equipment to work out power and 0-60MPH times and that is where the figures came from. As a side
note, it ran 5.3 seconds 0-60 with a standard TH400 and only 75BHP jets in the NOS system instead of the 150 jets.
“Nitrous got a very bad press in the past, caused mostly by people adding too much power to their engines, or by not
richening the fuel mixture when the NOS was injected. The casualties in my case have been the torque converter and the
rear IRS mounts, which were all bar 1 ripped off.” (See page 402 regarding rear suspension mount weakness.)
“The engine is stock except for the exhaust and intake, and I have had no problems at all with it (unlike the torque
converter).
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“The builders of my system told me that they do not recommend putting any more than 50-75BHP into your engine
without using a progressive system as avoidable damage to the engine could result.
“Their main concerns with adding 150BHP were not with the engine as they believe it to be a very strong and reliable
item. The standard transmission and torque converter were their main objection to the increase which as it turns out was
well founded.”
“The amount of power provided in total by the NOS system can be changed by installing new jets at an English price of
7 pounds per pair, so if 150BHP proves too much to handle, you can always fit a smaller pair taking very little time and
expense. 200BHP is the maximum obtainable by my kit. My suppliers stated to me that as a rule they do not fit systems
with more than 50% of the original engine power (which is why I’m only using 150 Jets instead of 200). Obviously this
is not the case if you bullet-proof your engine.”
CAMSHAFT REPLACEMENT: Most performance enthusiasts will agree that replacing the camshaft (or camshafts;
the Jag V12 has two, some cars have four) is the most effective way to change the performance of an engine. The entire
personality of a car can be radically altered by merely changing the camshafts.
Chad Bolles reports that Isky makes high performance camshafts for the Jaguar V12.
Rob Beere Racing Services (see page 714) also offers hot cams, as well as tappet shims in extreme thicknesses that may
be necessary for such installations.
Note that any camshaft alterations should be accompanied by an EFI system modification; there will be increased airflow
at wide open throttle, but since the feedback circuit is disabled under those conditions the fuel supply will remain at the
original fixed map with no trim. The engine will therefore run lean at full throttle, a situation that begs for burned
pistons and valves.
There has been some confusion regarding the difference between pre-H.E. and H.E. cams, since published valve timing
data on the two engines seemed to differ. However, Bywater points out that they actually use the same part number
camshafts. “When the V12 was launched the valve timing was quoted in Walter Hassan’s SAE paper 720163 as being
17,59/59,17. When the H.E. version was launched in 1981 the supplement to the manual quoted cam timing as
13,55/55,13. In fact, the same cam profile had been in use since the early 1970s and continued through into the 1990s
under part numbers C42176/7, therefore all EFI V12s were produced with these cams. Now it is not widely known that
for some time the V12 was mildly plagued with excessive tappet noise and in the course of dealing with the problem the
quietening ramps on the cams were altered at least once around 1972-3. I was personally involved in an investigation
into the causes of a spate of tappet noise around 1978 and am not aware of any cam change ever being made to the V12
in production for any other reason than to reduce valve gear noise.
“Measurement of true cam timing is not a straightforward matter and it has been accepted practice to measure from the
point where the quietening ramp ceases and the lift curve proper commences. For those who are not familiar with the
term, a quietening ramp is an area at the flank of the cam where the rate of lift is small, at around 0.0005” per cam
degree, and to be fully effective must extend rather higher than the widest clearance likely to be encountered. The idea is
that any reasonable running clearance found in use it will always be taken up at a predetermined velocity which should
not give rise to noise. If the ramp geometry is changed, as we know happened on the V12, then the timing as measured
at the top of the ramp could also vary and this accounts for the small difference of timing quoted at different times in its
life.”
Mike Cogswell elaborates: “Duration itself can be misleading, since almost nobody measures duration from the instant
the valve leaves the seat until the instant it returns. Instead, duration is commonly measured at some point where there
is noticable flow, albeit typically a very low fit. This is important, since different cam grinders measure duration at
different lift, hence one man’s long duration might be less than another’s short duration. Caveat emptor, as always.”
Bywater again: “It is perhaps of interest to note that over the years Jaguar used virtually identical valve timing on all
their mainstream engines. Consider the following:
SS 2.5 & 3.5 litre 16,56/56,16
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XK 3.4,3.8,4.2 15,57/57,15
V12 17,59/59,17 (13,55/55,13)
Clearly having found something that worked there was great reluctance to change from it, although the smaller
displacement engines often had softer timing to beef-up the low speed torque as the following examples show:
SS 1.5 litre 10,50/50,10
XK 240 saloon 10,50/50,10 (5/16” lift)
Note also that hot cams might not have the expected effect. AJ6 Engineering (page 713) once offered a milder cam
than stock, and the result was higher mid-range torque and a nearly one full second quicker 0-to-60 time. Bywater
explains: “...we introduced some short duration cams for the V12 back in about 1984. They certainly boosted mid-range
performance, especially appreciated with the 3 speed BW and GM transmissions, but suffered a marketing problem
because they gave slightly less peak power so we eventually discontinued them. We sense that attitudes are changing
and many drivers are realising that a performance gain around 40-70 m.p.h. is far more valuable than adding to a rarely
seen top speed so we may well offer a modernised version of such a camshaft again in the near future.”
TORQUE LINK: When the engine/transmission turns the driveshaft, the reaction is a twisting force trying to tilt the
engine/transmission assembly on its mounts. There are only three mounts, two soft rubber mounts under the engine and
the complicated spring assembly under the tranny. The tranny mount really does little to counter this force; the torque is
entirely taken by the two motor mounts.
Since the mounts are soft, the torque can move the engine around quite a bit. If the car is not stock and producing more
torque than originally intended, the left-side mount may actually be damaged since it is put in tension under extreme
conditions.
A racing trick is to add a fourth connection between the engine and the chassis. By adding a link, torque can be taken
up before the engine moves very far or stresses the mounts too much. Newer FWD cars are usually designed with such
a link, but front-engine/rear-wheel-drive cars typically rely on rubber in tension.
Under torque, the engine twists, which means the top moves to the right, the left side moves up, etc. A link can be
added anywhere that restricts this movement, but it is usually preferable to put it either on the left side of the engine
connecting downward to the chassis, or from somewhere near the top of the engine connecting to the left side of the
compartment. Either of these locations puts the new link in tension (preferable for such parts) and helps keep the motor
mounts in compression (protecting the rubber).
Backyard mechanics have been known to accomplish this fix by bolting a length of chain between the left-side exhaust
manifold and the chassis. Under normal conditions, the chain is slack and does nothing but rattle. When the engine tries
to lift, the chain pulls tight and stops the motion. This method does work, but it is hardly a suitable fix for an XJ-S; the
chain makes too much noise, and the sudden jolt when the chain gets tight is not conducive to an impressive ride.
To do a professional job, a better idea is to install a link made from threaded rod with some rubber bushings (available at
any auto parts store), washers, nuts, and some fabricated brackets to provide holes for the bushings to fit into. Rubber
bushings are essential, since a rigid connection would transmit vibration directly to the chassis. If necessary, shield the
rubber parts from radiant heat from the exhaust system.
Alternatively, the ingenious mechanic may find a way to make a link from one of those FWD cars fit.
It should also be noted that the motor mounts on the XJ-S are not actually between the engine and the chassis, but
between the engine and the front suspension subframe. This provides two layers of isolation between engine vibrations
and the chassis: the motor mounts and the subframe mounts. Hence, adding a torque link from the engine directly to the
chassis would defeat some of this isolation and perhaps expose the occupants to increased noise and vibration. If
possible, it would be preferable to connect the torque link to the subframe as well. Or, use really soft bushings on it.
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Intake Upgrades
AIR FILTER REPLACEMENT: K&N Engineering, Inc., makes permanent air filters consisting of special fabric
sandwiched between aluminum mesh and treated with oil. They have much less flow restriction than stock paper filters
while providing improved filtration. Tests on race engines show only a slight drop in power compared to no filters at all!
Since these filters are permanent and cleanable, they can even save money in the long run.
The K&N part number is 33-2011 for any V12 XJ-S. Note that stock air filters changed when the ABS brakes were
added; since the housing shifted forward, the blank-off area over the throat had to move rearward. The K&N filters
have no blank-off area, so the same part number fits either application.
Note that the 33-2011 filters will also fit most XJ12’s, but not the last couple of years. The XJ40- and X300-based
XJ12’s (1993-on) went to a remote filter housing similar to that used on the 6-cylinder XJ40 and X300, except that they
have two of them -- one on each side of the car. If your car has air filter housings that are mounted right on the butterfly
housings and uses filters that are 16.5” x 5.75”, you need the 33-2011. If your filters are 8.37” square, you need 33-
2003. The K&N catalog also lists a 33-2579 as fitting some V12’s, but this is apparently an error.
IMPORTANT: The K&N’s look like they can go in either way outward and either end forward, but you must install
them with the flat side towards the butterfly. In other words, install the filter into the cover so it sits flush with the bulk
of the element within the cover, and then install the cover onto the engine. Installing the other way, with the bulk of the
filter nearer the butterfly, can cause the butterfly to get fouled with the filter element. This would be seriously bad,
possibly causing the throttle to jam wide open. The concern is exacerbated with AJ6 Engineering’s enlarged butterflies,
but there’s no reason not to be careful with the OEM butterflies.
Needless to say, if you’ve been running these filters the wrong way around, you should clean them before reinstalling
them correctly. Otherwise you’ll be putting the dirty side of the filter facing the butterfly.
Installed correctly, the K&N’s don’t seem to cause a problem with the OEM butterflies because they are pretty stiff. If
you want to be safe, it is a simple matter to fab a device to positively keep the filter element and the butterfly apart. This
author used stainless steel wire 1/10” (2.5mm) thick from an old radio antenna. Just fashion a loop in the wire to fit over
one of the four bolts that hold the air filter housing to the butterfly housing, then a gentle arch over to the diagonally
opposite bolt. Make sure the butterfly moves freely underneath the arch before buttoning up the assembly. If the air
filter element decides to distort, the arch will keep it out of the butterfly.
The correct end of the K&N filter forward is not as critical, but you might as well get it right. The flat edge is a bit
longer on one end than on the other, and the longer edge goes towards the front of the car.
Roger Bywater of AJ6 Engineering says, “...we gave up using K&N filters some time ago because they fall to bits
around the edges where the air box clamps up. We raised the matter with K&N Europe, for whom we do consultancy
work on occasions, but they claim not to be aware of the problem...” AJ6 Engineering now offers their own design
permanent washable foam air filters.
Glen E. MacDonald notes, “Roger Bywater gave up using K&N filters because "they fall to bits around the edges where
the airbox clamps up". True enough. However, I was determined not to trash an otherwise perfectly acceptable (and
expensive to replace) pair of filters. The fix I found was to take four suitable lengths of windshield washer hose, split
lengthwise. These are then slid over the edges of the filter, after cleaning off whats left of the 'bits' Bywater refers to. I
made this alteration over 3 years ago and haven't had any problem since.”
Of course, K&N filters come with a “million mile warranty”, so another option would be to gripe to K&N about the
problem.
For some of us, performance is not the issue with air filters; the wear rate of an engine can be closely related to the
filtration of the air intake, and any risk of inferior filtration would not be worthwhile. K&N claims that a NASCAR
stock car fitted with its filters will outperform a car with no filters over a 500-mile event, since the deterioration of the
engine due to contaminated air over 500 miles will exceed the power loss due to the intake restriction of a K&N filter.
K&N claims excellent filtration -- although there have been some contradictory reports from other sources. K&N filters
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contain a layer of cotton soaked with sticky oil; as the air passes through the cotton, particles should stick to the oil.
Such a system normally is not described as a particular size micron filter, since it really should stop all particles
regardless of size. The stock paper filter, on the other hand, is a porous media filter, and particles below a certain size
are free to pass right through.
Either K&N or the stock paper filter is probably acceptable from a filtration standpoint. However, speaking as an
engineer, I must express doubts about the filtration efficiency of most of the foam filters I have seen (I haven’t seen the
AJ6 Engineering foam filters). A foam filter works on a similar theory as the K&N, the foam providing a media for the
air to pass through that is coated with sticky oil. However, the passages between the cotton fibers on a K&N filter are
very tiny indeed, it’s hard to imagine how a speck of dust could get through without sticking, but some foam filters you
can see through. And even some of those you can’t see through appear to have passages that are quite large. And I’ve
also seen foam deteriorate, with crumbs of foam breaking off and going into the inlet. And even if the chunks of foam
don’t harm the engine, note that each chunk leaving leaves an opening for more dirt to pass through the filter
unimpeded.
OPENING UP THE AIR INTAKES: Each of the air cleaner housings has a long tapered tube with a relatively small
opening for the air intake. The purpose of the small intake opening is to accelerate the air to near Mach 1 at wide open
throttle. This prevents intake sound from coming forward through the intake. In other words, it makes the car quiet.
Unfortunately, the air is now moving fast, and there’s an air filter up ahead. If the air is allowed to simply run into the
filter, the energy associated with the speed will be wasted, and the result is a loss of pressure. Therefore, Jaguar
provides the tapered tube to gradually and efficiently slow the air down, recovering most of the energy and pressure.
Jaguar designed this tapered tube as long as they could fit under the hood.
Also unfortunately, once the air reaches Mach 1, the passage is “choked” and all the sucking the engine can manage will
not increase the amount of air flowing through it. The opening therefore forms an absolute control on the maximum
amount of air going into the engine -- and therefore the HP generated.
If you cut off this intake tube and form a large opening for the air intake into the air cleaner housing, you will eliminate
this restriction. If you interfere with the mounting of the temperature sensor in the left side intake tube, relocate it into
the housing itself (drill a hole and use a nut on the inside); it can sense the air temperature anywhere in there. Because
the EFI system detects manifold vacuum, the system will automatically compensate for the increased airflow; no tuning
modifications are required. There is no effect on emissions, so there should be no complaints from inspectors.
At part throttle (most of the time with an engine this powerful), the butterfly acts as an air-accelerating restriction, and
no sound gets out anyway. The car will sound like it did before. However, when you open it up, you will be greeted
with a sonorous growl from under the hood. This is a very sexy sound, but some Jag owners may not like it.
The performance improvement goes along with the noise. In any situation where there is still no sound, there is no
change in performance either. When the engine growls, there is more airflow than there was before.
This mod will have no effect on fuel economy, except when you hear the growl; at that point, increased fuel use
accompanies the increased airflow and increased power.
You can give this mod a trial run without much effort. Unscrew the air temperature sensor, then reconnect the wire to it
and tape it down anywhere convenient. Then, remove both air filter covers and tie the air filters in place with some wire.
This setup will provide the same performance (and a little more noise) than the intake tube removal described above.
OPENING UP THE AIR INTAKES - VERSION 2: AJ6 Engineering (page 713) has gone through several variations
on air filter housing intakes attempting to provide an optimum balance between unrestricted flow and noise. What they
now offer with their induction upgrade kits are replacement covers that appear largely unchanged from OEM except that
there is an additional intake opening on the bottom with a hose leading to another little bellmouth intake mounted in the
vicinity of the front anti-sway bar. Perhaps AJ6 Engineering will sell these covers separately, or perhaps one could just
adopt the idea and fab similar additional intakes.
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OPENING UP THE AIR INTAKES - VERSION 3: FasterJags (page716) offers a replacement air intake system called
the Growler. It replaces the entire air filter housing assembly with a pipe that curves forward and has a cylindrical K&N
filter mounted on the front end.
COLD AIR INTAKE: Any engineer will tell you that an internal combustion engine will run more efficiently (more
power and better fuel economy) on cooler intake air. Most automobiles nowadays (including some Jaguars) have hoses
directing cool outside air into the air cleaners rather than the hot air of the engine compartment. The XJ-S is a notable
exception; perhaps they felt that the hoses would make their engine compartment less attractive.
While opening up the intakes on the air filter housings as described above, a flange can be provided for an intake hose.
The author’s installation used 3” exhaust pipe, but 2½” pipe would work nearly as well (still four times the area of the
stock inlet) and would probably be easier to install. Intake hoses in many sizes can be found at most parts stores, and
some have built-in clamps. Remember to provide flexibility in the system, since the engine moves around on its mounts.
All of that was easy. The hard part is routing the intake hoses somewhere. One possibility on the XJ-S is the back end
of the headlight compartments. By making a hole and providing a flange for the hose (2½” or 3” pipe again), cool air
can be routed from existing openings just inside the grille through the space behind the headlights and into the intakes.
An opening must be made in an unseen panel within the headlight compartment to permit air flow. The modification will
also require relocating the headlight relays. Be sure to clean up the intake path as well as possible when you’re finished,
and check your air filters for debris after driving a while.
On cars with ABS brakes, the air cleaner assemblies are essentially unchanged except that they are moved forward to
avoid the brake system. The same basic mod works; the intake hose just needs to be a bit shorter.
The good news here is that this mod will reduce the noise from the Version 1 mod. The intake hoses, as well as the
sheer length of the intake path, will help dampen the growl.
Since the EFI temperature sensor will detect the cooler intake air temperature, once again no tuning mods are needed.
The cooler air provides improvements at all operating conditions, and will improve fuel economy. There is even less
tendency to overheat. The only effect on emissions is a reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions.
Peyton Gill reports, “I used a Dremel to cut the horn out of the air filter cover and then rounded the “not so perfect
hole” with a grinding stone mounted in a drill press. I did not use the exhaust pipe Kirby mentioned, I went to Home
Depot and got 2 inch gray PVC couplings. The ones I got came from the electrical dept. The couplings I used have
threads on one side and open for a PVC pipe on the other. The conduit works good because you can get a “nut” that
fits the threaded side. This nut I’m talking about is more like a threaded ring, it is very common in the electrical conduit
world. The rounded hole you leave when you cut the horn out is close to the same size as the threaded side of the
coupling and the nut inside the air filter holds the coupling tightly in place. The hole I cut was not perfect so I sealed any
openings with black RTV (silicon). I did have to relocate the ballast resistor pack on the right hand side and managed
not to have to relocate the relays on the left hand side.
“I used a hole saw ( maybe 2 1/4 inch) or whatever size slightly larger than the conduit coupling threads to cut holes in
the panels behind the headlights. Since the hole was only slightly larger than the threads so they screw fairly tightly in
plus a little more RTV to be sure they hold. I got a flexible hose from Pep Boys (they have hoses made for air filter
intakes). I took my conduit coupling with me and found a hose that fit snugly over the pipe side. The hoses have
clamps that snap into place and one of the hoses fit my conduit perfectly.
“All that was fairly easy; the good part comes when you attack the “hidden panel” described in Kirby’s book. This panel
is between the headlight opening in the front and where the hole was cut in the engine compartment. You can see it
easily enough when the headlight assembly is removed. Seeing the panel is one thing, cutting a hole in it’s another.
There is not much room to work or cut. I got a 12 inch extension for my drill and put the hole saw on this and cut a
couple 2 inch holes in the panel.
“The air temp sensor also has to be relocated. I drilled a hole in the air filter cover and placed the sensor in the direct air
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path. I did not have a nut with the same size threads as the sensor so I cut the fitting off the old horn and used it as a
nut. I don’t think the threads are anything special, I just did not want to make a trip to the hardware store to get one. I
had to extend the wires a little.”
Pictures of both the author’s, Gill’s, and several other installations can be viewed at
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/ColdAirIntake.html
John Goodman reports that sometime in the early 90’s an access panel was provided within the front wheel wells to
enable changing the headlight bulbs without removing the assemblies from the front. On the earlier cars, such an access
wouldn’t have helped because that panel inside the compartment would have blocked access anyway. So, in conjunction
with providing the access panel, the unseen panel was also changed; it now has a “hand hole” in it. That being the case,
the task of providing this cool air intake scheme might have gotten easier, since the hand hole should serve for an air
passage.
COLD AIR INTAKE - VERSION 2: Scott Horner, apparently before he became aware of this book, designed his own
cold air intake system: “I based the cold air intake on my car on a friend’s XJ-S race car’s set-up. He has approx. 4”
tubing going into the front of the inner guards, with the air filters mounted within that panel (in front of the wheels). But
this is a bit rough for a road car as all you can hear is induction roar...
“For my car, I visited a panel beater friend to modify the guards, etc., as I wanted the mod to look as if it had come out
of the factory...
“I’ll try and describe this without pictures...We used 2 1/2” tubing which is bent to come out of the inner guard and face
up to the original air intakes, which have been cut down (with new tubing) to just a stub and attached via flexible tubing.
“Within the guard, the tubing is bent down (to vertical) which then meets up with another piece of tubing (via flexible
hose) that is welded into the valance on the outer corners. These tube holes are cut just under the bumper, so are fairly
unobtrusive and with the angle of them look fairly sexy anyway...
“The great thing about them (apart from the cold air), is if you get someone to give the engine a rev while you’ve got
your hand over one of the intakes, you can really feel the engine sucking! There’ll be hell to pay the day I hit a
sparrow!”
COLD AIR INTAKE - BOLT-ON VERSION: John Goodman reports: “My (unmodified) ’89 XJR-S 6.0 has different
air cleaner boxes (part numbers SPE 1008 and SPE 1009 ) with large bore intakes. These take I believe the standard air
filters and fit the standard intake manifolds. In other words it’s all simple bolt-on improvements for any V12.
“Even more interesting is a special very neatly designed radiator top crossbeam (part number SPD1164) which has quite
large smooth oval air intakes incorporated in it. The air intakes in this crossbeam line up perfectly with the air boxes.
“It all looks very neat, but they are JaguarSport parts and won’t come cheap!!!”
Regarding that top crossbeam SPD1164, Goodman adds: “I think the part no. has been superseded with SPD 1428.
This is the part no. listed for '93 XJR-S (American spec). The only difference AFAIK 2 is that this part has mounting
holes for the location of the Ign power amp, (necessitated because the manifolds were different) and rubber connecting
hose. There is a good picture of this component in Jaguar World vol.2 no.2; anybody handy with a welder could modify
a standard one.”
IMPROVED THROTTLE BORES -- HOME MACHINIST VERSION: If you have access to a machine shop, you
can make a minor improvement in intake airflow with little fuss. Remove the air filter housings, and remove the butterfly
housings. You will need a #30 Torx screwdriver to remove the butterfly housings. NOTE: The ports the hoses
connect to may look similar, but they may be different! Be sure to carefully record which hose connects to which port
2
AFAIK is Internet shorthand for “As far as I know”.
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prior to disconnecting the hoses.
Referring to Figure 8, machine a rounded edge on the inlet into the butterfly housing. This modification should not be
attempted by hand, as smoothness and consistency is important. It is important that the radius blend smoothly into the
inner surface of the passage, but it will form an edge with the air filter mounting surface.
Before starting, ensure that the machining will not interfere with the butterfly seat nor with any of the vacuum ports near
the butterfly seat; by avoiding machining more than 3/8” into the throat, problems should be averted. Also, avoid cutting
into the openings for the two bolts that hold the butterfly housing onto the manifold; while doing so wouldn’t cause any
leakage, it may cause a whistle as the air flows past the opening. Keeping the outer diameter at 2-13/16” should be
acceptable.
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A IR F IL T E R
BUTTERFLY H O U S IN G
H O U S IN G
G ASKET
R E M O V E M A T 'L
AS SHO W N
3 /8 "
R 1 /2 "
1 /2 "
Figure 8: Butterfly Housing Airflow Improvement
Enlarge the opening in the air filter housing to 2-13/16”. The gaskets typically are already this size, but final trimming
can be done after assembly by using a razor knife before installing the filter.
This modification has not yet been tried, so performance improvements are unquantified. In theory, this mod can
provide an airflow improvement (and hence a horsepower increase) of several percent. Considering the proximity of the
blanked-off section of the air filter, the improvement may be even more significant. There should be no change in
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performance other than at wide-open throttle. Since the ECU senses and corrects for changes in manifold vacuum, no
tuning changes are required.
ENLARGED THROTTLE BORES: AJ6 Engineering (see page 713) offers revised butterfly housings on an exchange
basis in which the entire bore is enlarged from 2-1/2” to 2-7/8” (32% airflow area increase) and larger butterflies are
fitted. Note that their kit includes low-loss foam filters and air filter housings with additional intake openings, fulfilling
some of the other suggestions above. The kit also includes an electronic gadget to revise the ECU response, since the
larger butterflies will have different airflow characteristics than the stock ones relative to throttle position. AJ6
Engineering claims a 20-25 horsepower increase with this kit.
Roger Bywater describes the product: “We produce the large disks ourselves by firstly, cutting blank disks out of brass
sheet, then, using a special fixture we machine them to exact size and to get the correct closing angle in the enlarged
throttle bore. They are not simply turned disks and it is important to get the geometry right so that the correct signal is
generated across the throttle edge vacuum ports which are themselves critical on size and position. Boring out the
throttle bodies exposes a larger diameter portion of the tapping so we install new tapping inserts drilled to produce the
required vacuum signal from the larger passage.
“We also machine the spindle slots which otherwise would not accept the larger throttles and we then rebuild the whole
assembly with new bearings and seals, centralise the disks and adjust to the requisite 0.002" closing gap.
“The radiused entry which we machine on the throttle body is important to ensure that the throttle bore passes the
maximum flow by not creating turbulence at the entry point - which is what happens with square edged entry of the
standard throttles. We supply a set of specially made gaskets to match the large bore where it joins the manifold and
also for the larger radiused entry joint to the filter assembly.”
Chris Carley says, “I bought just the throttle bodies without the filters or cans. I had to drill out the backs of the filter
cans to 3-1/8" and also to my surprise had to grind out the tops and sides of the manifolds to match the ID of the throttle
bodies. Note the bigger throttles will jam against the standard air filter at wide open - AJ6 & K&N clear though.”
INTAKE MANIFOLD MODIFICATION: AJ6 Engineering (page 713) offers an enhancement called the Plus Torque
Conversion where they cut the intake manifolds open and install little intake horns into the openings into each runner,
then weld the manifolds back together. This apparently not only provides a smooth entry into each runner inside the
manifold, but it also makes all 12 runners the same length -- by making the shorter ones (the middle four) as long as the
longer ones (the outer two), thereby increasing the Helmholtz resonance benefits for all and enhancing the EFI system’s
feedback strategy to keep all six cylinders on each bank operating at an optimum fuel/air mixture.
David Buchner claims that the revised intake manifolds introduced in the early 90’s -- identifiable by the huge “Jaguar
V12” lettering across the top -- already have the improvements offered in the Plus Torque conversion.
Other Modifications
OIL COOLING: The standard oil cooler on an XJ-S is a “relief” unit, meaning it only cools the oil that doesn’t go
through the engine. However, as pointed out by Bob Tilley, the XJ-S sold in Germany is fitted with a “full flow” oil
cooler system, and the parts are available through Jaguar. We can make assumptions about why the German cars would
be different than other cars, possibly involving those Autobahns.
John Goodman adds, “It’s worth pointing out to others who own later model V12’s who may not be aware that all V12
HE engines after engine no. 8S44317 had full flow oil cooling, can’t remember the year this was introduced.”
Both oil systems, as well as almost any other in automotive use, work like this: Oil is drawn from a pickup in the sump
into the oil pump. The oil pump is a positive displacement pump, meaning it will move a particular amount of oil for
each rotation, regardless of how much pressure it has to apply to move it; if something gets plugged up or the oil is
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really thick, the oil pressure could skyrocket, blowing seals, pipes, whatever. So, the oil goes straight from the pump to
a pressure relief valve, which relieves enough of the oil flow to prevent excessive pressure in the system. The relieved
oil goes back to the sump, while the remaining pressurized oil goes through the filter (which has its own relief bypass in
the event of clogging) and into the galleys that feed the bearings, cam followers, and other parts of the engine requiring
lubrication.
In the basic relief oil cooling system in the Jaguar V12, only the oil that is relieved by the pressure relief valve is piped to
the oil cooler in front of the radiator, and from there back to the intake of the oil pump. In the full flow system used in
German cars, the oil destined to go to the galleys is piped to the oil cooler at the front of the radiator and then back to
the filter head assembly to continue through the filter and into the galleys.
Physically, the distinction is like this: in the relief system, oil feeds out of the outlet elbow at the bottom front of the filter
head to the right side of the cooler. From the left side of the cooler, it goes to a fitting on the bottom front of the
sandwich plate on the crankcase. It doesn’t simply return into the sump here, but instead goes directly into the inlet
elbow on the bottom of the oil pump. Hence, the oil pump actually draws suction from two places: the sump pickup and
the return from the cooler.
The front of the full flow filter head has a pair of fittings that don’t exist on the early style relief filter head and are sealed
off on later style relief filter heads -- the change probably due to the desire to use the same casting for both relief and full
flow filter heads. In the full flow system, oil to the cooler starts at one of these fittings on the filter head itself instead of
the outlet elbow; the outlet elbow still exists, but the port on the front is sealed off. The oil feed is piped to the right side
of the cooler. From the left side of the cooler, it goes back to the other fitting on the filter head. The oil pump therefore
has only one intake, from the pickup in the sump, and the bottom of the sandwich plate either has no hole or has a blank-
off cover on it.
The relief system has an inherent shortcoming in that it tends to vary the amount of cooling incorrectly. When the oil is
cold, it is also thick, and the pressure relief valve has to relieve a great deal of it in order to limit the pressure. As a
result, flow through the cooler is high -- precisely when not needed. On the other hand, when the oil is hot and thin,
very little or none at all is relieved, and hence flow through the cooler is minimal -- precisely when it is most needed.
The full flow system always flows the oil through the cooler before it goes through the engine, so there is always
cooling. And, the coolest oil in the system is the oil fed to the galleys, so it can be expected to reduce the incidence of
burned bearings.
The relief system has another trait that causes consternation. In order for a relief valve to work properly, it really needs
to relieve to a place of zero pressure -- such as directly into the sump. Because this system relieves through the oil
cooler, there may be a significant amount of pressure on the back side of the relief valve -- the backpressure caused by
the flow of thick, cool oil through the tiny passages in the cooler. The pressure of the oil the engine sees -- and therefore
the gauge sees -- is the relief pressure of the valve plus the backpressure of the oil cooler. The backpressure of the oil
cooler will vary greatly with oil temperature; when cool and thick, the pump will be trying to push a great deal of oil
through it, but when hot and thin it may see little or no flow at all. The combination of the viscosity changes and the
flow changes make for extreme backpressure differences. As a result, the oil pressure registering on the gauge will vary
quite a bit more between cold and hot than on most cars. This doesn’t seem to cause any harm, but it does cause
owners to get overly concerned.
If you wish to retrofit the full flow cooling system to a car that came with the relief cooling system, you will need the
following parts. The corresponding part numbers for the relief system are also shown:
Part Relief p/n FF p/n
Oil Suction Pipe C35512 EAC6424
Oil Suction Elbow C33869 EAC6422
Oil Suction Elbow Gasket C31063 C31063
Relief Assembly C42796 or EAC7755 EAC6398
Relief Outlet Elbow C38802 EAC6789
Oil Cooler C43923 CBC2692
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Oil Feed Pipe EAC1380 EAC8954
Oil Feed Pipe C38074 CBC2690
Oil Return Pipe C38075 CBC2691
Oil Return Pipe N/A EAC8956
Retainer N/A EAC6413
Bracket N/A EAC6414
Clamp C34608 (1) EAC6800 (2)
Sleeve N/A EAC6790 (2)
Bracket EAC1381 EAC6419
Plus a few bolts, nuts, O-rings, etc., all of which can be purchased locally. If you’re the industrious type, you can
probably improvise all those clamps and brackets too.
You might also be able to avoid buying the relief outlet elbow; you can reuse the old one if you can plug the opening in
it. You will have the part that screws into it, oil feed pipe EAC1380, laying around doing nothing if you want to cut the
fitting off and make a plug out of it.
The 1987 Parts Catalogue shows the same sandwich plate used for both systems; a square blank-off plate EAC6420 and
gasket EAC6421 are used to cover the unused hole under the oil pump elbow on cars with full flow cooling. In all
probability, later on when all cars were fitted with full flow oil cooling, the sandwich plate was altered to omit the hole.
But anyone doing the retrofit is probably going to prefer simply bolting on the blank-off plate to replacing the entire
sandwich plate. And they could easily make a blank-off plate and gasket rather than buy them.
To replace all these parts would require pulling the sump off the engine to replace the oil suction pipe and the oil suction
elbow. However, in theory anyway, these replacements may not be necessary, and the retrofit might be accomplished
without pulling the sump. The difference in the oil suction elbow is that the one for the relief system has the second inlet
on it, and this inlet is readily accessible via the opening in the bottom of the sandwich plate. If this second inlet is
securely plugged, it will serve the purpose of the EAC6422 part. This can be done by making a suitable part that plugs
both the second inlet on the oil suction elbow and the opening in the sandwich plate, or by using a separate plug --
perhaps like the rubber expansion-type freeze plugs -- on the suction elbow, along with a simple blank-off on the
sandwich plate. In fact, the original sump inlet adapter C37882 can be used if you find a way to plug it. Going this
route would not only reduce disassembly requirements, but it also eliminates the need for purchasing a new oil suction
pipe, oil suction elbow, and oil suction elbow gasket -- as well as bottom end gaskets you’ll have to replace when you
open it up.
Note that the difference in the oil suction pipe -- which is, in fact, the pickup -- is unknown. But there is no reason to
believe the one designed for the relief system won’t work properly for the full flow system. Perhaps the design was
changed slightly to fit the revised oil suction elbow.
OIL PRESSURE RELIEF HOSE: While fiddling with the sandwich plate off, Karl Huff was told by a Jaguar shop that
“while I'm in there I should replace the oil filter pressure relief hose (?) with a new one from the 6 litre engine.” This is
probably referring to the question mark shaped line.
OIL FILTRATION MODS: Much of the following was pilfered from an article by Nigel Calder in the March/April
1994 issue of Ocean Navigator magazine. It was primarily about auxiliary engines for sailboats, but the issues discussed
here apply to any piston engine.
Oil contamination is divided into two categories: chemical and physical contamination.
Chemical contamination degrades the oil, causing a loss of lubricating properties, and also may introduce substances that
attack engine parts. Heat and age can cause oil to oxidize and thicken, encouraging the formation of sludges and
varnish. Water can be introduced even in a tight engine by condensation within the crankcase, and causes emulsification.
If there happens to be any sulfur in the fuel, some can find its way past the rings and combine with water to form sulfuric
acid which promptly attacks engine parts. Unburned fuel coming past the rings also dilutes the oil, lowering its viscosity.
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Chemical contamination is combated by additives in the oil. Eventually, however, the additives are consumed and fail to
counteract the contaminants. At this point, the oil needs to be changed.
Physical contamination refers to metal particles and dirt in the oil. The metal particles come from wear between moving
parts. The dirt comes through the intakes, and a portion makes it past the rings. The problem is obvious in that such
particles will increase the wear on bearings and the like.
It is tempting to take comfort that the oil filter is preventing the particles from getting into the workings of the engine.
Unfortunately, it is not as effective as one could hope. The typical paper-element oil filter will catch particles down to
about 30 or 40 microns, but damage is caused by particles down to about 2.5 microns. These smaller particles build up
in the oil and pass right through the filter, cycling through the engine again and again.
The full-flow filter cannot be made with a tighter mesh because the restriction to oil flow would be too great. In
addition, if the filter gets clogged, either the element breaks open (dumping all the dirt into the engine), or the flow is
inhibited. Usually a relief valve is provided to allow oil to bypass a clogged filter, allowing crud of all sizes to circulate
through the engine.
There are two excellent ways to combat physical contamination. The first is by installing a bypass filter. A small
percentage of the pressurized oil from the outlet of the full-flow filter is diverted into a separate filter with a tight mesh
element to stop particles down to 2.5 microns, and from there right back into the sump. An orifice is provided to
prevent an excessive amount of oil from taking this route, which might starve the engine. If the filter gets plugged, no
problem -- the flow stops, and 100% of the oil goes through the galley as before. But as long as a small amount is going
through the bypass filter, within only a few minutes all of the engine oil is cycled through it and the amount of
suspended particles is greatly reduced.
The other method is essentially the same, except that the bypass filter is replaced by a centrifuge that causes the particles
to collect on the inside of a spinning cylinder. These are typically only available for larger engines.
These solutions are even better than changing oil at short intervals. Even with frequent oil changes, particles appear in
the oil immediately and continue to build up. The bypass filter, however, continuously keeps such particles from causing
engine wear.
Note that a bypass filter does not address chemical contamination. Such an installation would be effective at reducing
engine wear, but the oil needs to be changed at the same intervals to prevent the additives from failing.
An outfit called TF Purifiner (page 719) offers a package that includes a bypass filter system along with a small heater
that boils off water, fuel, and coolant to minimize the chemical contamination so the additives last longer.
Surfing the WWW, Mike Claus found that other products are available from Baker Precision Bearing (page 714), Fram
and Amsoil. “Fram offers an automotive by-pass filter in its product line that features a pleated-paper element and easy
“spin-on” replacement similar to original-equipment-type units. Ask for the Fram “PB50” with mounting hardware.
“Amsoil’s bypass unit is connected to the oil pressure sending unit and returns oil to the pan, thus requiring some
mechanical ability or the services of your mechanic for the initial installation. The company states that its bypass unit,
which employs a user replaceable, pressed-fiber element, refilters all the oil in an engine every five minutes, and keeps it
analytically sparkling clean for the (recommended maximum) element life of 25,000 miles! It even extracts and contains
any water that has (inevitably) condensed into the oil...which if allowed to remain in circulation will often result in the
formation of corrosive acids.”
Of course, one might immediately ask: if a bypass filter is such a good idea, why didn’t such a quality automobile as a
Jaguar come with one from the factory? Well, you have to consider the options the way the manufacturer does. The
lack of a bypass filter will not cause engine failure before some extended mileage, especially if the owner has been paying
the dealer for oil changes on a regular basis -- and even if the engine does fail due to dirty oil, the manufacturer is not
likely to incur any liability. The additional cost, multiplying the cost per car times the thousands of cars sold, is
significant. And the additional risk of failure -- one of the oil lines to a bypass filter blowing open or some such -- may
be more than the company wants to accept. Just having to tell prospective buyers that there are two oil filters that need
regular changing may be seen as a marketing disaster, especially in this era of drive-it-and-forget-it cars.
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You, as the owner of the car, may think differently. You have a significant investment in your car, the risk of a blown
high-pressure oil hose is no big deal to you (messy, but not particularly expensive), and you are the guy who will have to
pay for a new engine when this one wears out. Basically, if you are the type to own a Jaguar for the life of the car, a
bypass oil filtration system would be a wise investment. Of course, if you plan on selling the car soon, or plan to crash it
rather than wear it out, it’d be a waste of money.
PRE-OILING BEFORE STARTUP: A lot of the wear on any engine occurs at startup, when the engine must run for a
few seconds before oil pressure is established. Russ Lehman sends this tip: “I’ve got a “Pre-Luber” on my van because
it only gets driven about once a week or so, and the pre-lube brings the oil system up to pressure by pumping oil through
the engine before starting. These pumps are fairly common on marine engines for the same reasons.
“The pump is fed from a line attached to the oil pan and pumps into a tap where the oil pressure sender is attached. The
pump allows oil to pass through the normal routes for normal engine operation, while not allowing oil to pass backwards
through the pump (I think it’s a piston pump). The motor is switched through the ignition key in the aux position
(controlled by MOSFETS), and will stop when the engine ignition is switched on.”
There are other systems, including a simple pressure reservoir that holds pressurized oil after shutdown. During startup,
a valve is opened, pressurizing the system before the starter is engaged.
Note that such systems may be of limited benefit. While the bearings in the bottom end of the engine may experience
much less wear, it is not usually worn bottom-end bearings that require an engine rebuild. More often, it’s worn pistons/
rings/cylinders that eventually convince an owner it’s time for an overhaul, and a preoiler does little or nothing to reduce
piston/ring/cylinder wear.
ADDING EMISSIONS CONTROLS: Huh? Well, Germany now has a taxation system that penalizes cars without
emissions controls so severely that many German XJ-S owners are seeking to retrofit. For many years the German
version had no catalytic convertors or oxygen sensors even though they were provided in the US.
According to Jeffrey Gram, the following outfits (all in Germany) will install emission controls in cars that were not
originally equipped with them:
Ernst Apparatebau, Hagen, Tel +49 (0)2331 3600-0
GAT-Abgastechnik, Gladbeck, Tel +49 (0)2043 24021
Gutmann, Breisach, Tel +49 (0)7667 1091
G+M Kat, Gladbeck, +49 (0)2043 42410
HJS Abfgastechnik, Menden, +49 (0)2373 9870
Oberland, Garmisch-Partenkirchen +49 (0)8821 1036
Oettinger, Friedrichsdorf +49 (0)6172 7053-55
Walker, Viernheim, +49 (0)6204 738-0
Waschkuttis, Wiesenthau, +49 (0)9191 96495
Wurm, Stuttgart, +49 (0)711 420071.
IF ALL ELSE FAILS: Most Jaguar owners feel that if you want a Chevy, you should buy a Chevy. But there are those
who think otherwise, and for them there are several outfits that offer kits for replacing the Jaguar V12 with a Chevy V-
8. John’s Cars (page 717) offers two kits for the XJ-S, one for a small block Chevy and one for a big block. Another
outfit to check with is Jaguars That Run (page 717).
The 90° V-8 is an excellent engine layout; it has even firing order, and its primary and secondary imbalances are 100%
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correctable by simply casting counterweights into the crankshaft. The problems with the classic Chevy “lump” are not
that it’s a V-8, or even that it’s cast iron; it’s problems are: A) It has pushrod-operated valves, which require
compromises in cam profile, which in turn generally means it’ll either produce lots of power or have a good idle but not
both; and B) It employs a timing chain with no tensioner, which results in an engine that runs rougher and rougher as it
wears. Both of these problems were addressed and corrected by all major European automakers in the 1960’s, and by
all Japanese automakers in the 1970’s. Both Ford and Chevy finally introduced V-8 engines with overhead cams and
intelligent camshaft drive systems in the 1990’s, apparently in response to competition from Lexus and Infiniti.
Sir William Lyons, founder of Jaguar, apparently didn’t like V-8’s. When Jaguar bought out Daimler in 1960, Daimler
had two V-8 engines in production, and Lyons scrapped one of these immediately and the other a few years later. When
it became apparent that the venerable Jaguar XK inline 6 would no longer cut the mustard, Lyons responded with the
V12.
If you must shoehorn a cast iron V-8 into your Jaguar, do yourself a favor and purchase some cast aluminum valve
covers. They will absorb a lot of the noise of the valve train. A cast aluminum timing chain cover will also help reduce
racket. Replacing the timing chain with something with less slop, like a set of gears, will make the engine run smoother.
Of course, a better idea yet would be to opt for the newer cast aluminum Y-block Chevy V-8’s. Not only are these
engines far superior mechanically to the cast iron models (despite retaining the pushrod valve train), they also come with
modern EFI and ignition systems and improved automatic transmissions.
IGNITION SYSTEM
SPARK PLUG REPLACEMENT: Note that this task is much easier on the pre-H.E. because the spark plugs are
vertical. On the H.E., the plugs are tilted inboard just enough to make the job truly miserable. Most of the tips below
were developed to deal with the H.E.
First problem is getting the plug wires off -- and back on later. Jan Wikström, who owns a pre-H.E.: “I’ve made up a
pair of “pusher” tongs out of a bent piece of 4mm high-tensile fence wire. Same idea as the common barbecue tool, but
the jaws originated as a short piece of 9mm copper pipe split lengthwise and brazed to the wire. This gets a good grip
on the cable just above the rubber cap on the terminal. This tool needs to be bent to a slight angle above the jaws.” The
same idea might work on the H.E., but expect to have to vary the details to make it work well.
Another idea is to use a length of 1/4” steel tubing and some bicycle brake cable to make a “snake grabber”.
If you have access to a wet/dry vacuum cleaner, use the hose with no attachments to clean around the plugs before
removing them. Just poke the hose over the end of the plug. Compressed air can also be used. John Bertsche adds: “I
came up with a cool tool for cleaning out the crud around (and in) the spark plug holes. A turkey baster -- pull off the
bulb, duct-tape the other part to your shop-vac hose, and you’ve got a high-intensity, pinpoint (well, almost) vacuum
nozzle that’ll fit right into the spark plug hole. Works great! You can use it to scrape dirt and crud out of almost any
nook and cranny, and it won’t scratch the aluminum.” Note that you can purchase a set of small vacuum attachments at
Wal-Mart intended for cleaning things like computer keyboards, and those attachments would also work well here.
Using normal tools, it generally requires removing the cruise control actuator and unbolting the A/C compressor on the
H.E. to replace the 1A and 1B plugs. Matthias Fouquet-Lapar says, “Jaguar offers a tool, it's in the rear-section of the
XJ-S parts manual. It fits perfectly and you don't need to remove the A/C compressor.” Steve Holst says, “I ended up
using the official Jaguar spark plug removing tool that came with the tool kit to replace the plugs. It worked
wonderfully and I didn't need to move the A/C compressor one bit. I ended up unbolting the cruise bellows only. I'm
very glad I gave it a try.” This plug wrench (CAC5368) comes in the XJ-S tool kit, but it’s amazing how often used
cars don’t have a tool kit. If you need to buy the plug wrench, shop carefully; they supposedly can be had for under $20,
but Jaguar dealers have been known to ask much more than that.
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Ah, but things are never that simple. Peyton Gill says, “The tool's socket well was too shallow for the NGK plugs I
installed.” Graeme Mawson concurs: “My car is an '85 V12 with NGK plugs; the tool provided does not fit over the
plug, i.e. the stem of the plug is too long for the barrel of the tool! Perhaps there are two different tools!”
After much discussion about differences between types of spark plugs, it turns out that Mawson is correct -- there are
two different tools. The earlier tool, CAC5368 -- used up until at least Peyton Gill’s ’86 -- will not fit a spark plug.
However, sometime later Jaguar revised the tool so it would fit a spark plug. The two wrenches appear to be identical in
construction, but the later version, CBC4096, has a hole in the top of the socket that goes all the way through; when a
spark plug is in place, you can peer in between the pivot joints and see the top of the electrode. Brian Schreurs says, “It
does not come with the T-handle so one would have to buy a piece of rod and cut to fit.” The T-handle is C36612/2, a
part number for a straight piece of steel rod.
Apparently, the spark plug tool part number was superceded again by CCC4813. It’s not known what that difference is.
It may be possible to modify the earlier tool by simply drilling a hole through it. You’d hope that it’s not -- you’d hope
the tool is made of harder steel than that -- but in fact it appears pretty soft and cheap and may be drillable. John
Bertsche says, “The factory tool I had in the trunk fit on them fine...just wasn't up to the stupendous amounts of torque
required to crack them loose.” David Littlefield says, “The factory tool is very cheaply made, frankly. Mine has a big
sticker on it with a British flag and says "Thanks for buying British!" I kept ending the phrase in my mind with "in spite
of the fact that you are spending half your weekend trying to change impossibly located spark plugs with the incredibly
cheap, POS tool we supplied you."”
There are T-wrenches sold for 5/8” spark plugs, and a good one might actually do the job. Unfortunately, all this author
has found are cheap ones -- even poorer quality than the Jag OEM tool -- and the swivel invariably breaks as soon as
torque is applied with the swivel in any position other than straight, which makes them worthless for this task. Mawson
says, “I have bought several box type tools to undo the plugs but as indicated above they always break or 'round off'
long before all 12 plugs have been removed. Furthermore on the V12 without removing the likes of fuel lines, A/C
compressor, cruise control, distributor or throttle mechanism, when the tool does break (with stupendous amounts of
torque applied) it is more than likely that other things get broken as well (usually fingers or knuckles).”
Littlefield says, “Another suggestion for an under-the-compressor tool might be to cut down an old spark plug socket
that has the flats on it, and maybe even enlarge the ratchet hole so it can fit further down the plug.” Using this idea,
Larry Barnes made a tool that actually works: “I took a regular spark plug socket and:
1. Removed the rubber thing in the inside.
2. Ground off both ends so an open-end wrench would still work on the top part, and the bottom would
still come to the "nut" part on the spark plug.
“I use this modified plug socket for plugs 1A and 1B only. Works great without removing the compressor.” On the
H.E., make sure to start with a 5/8” spark plug socket; most spark plug sockets are 13/16”. All in all, this is probably
the best way to go; it is easy to find a 5/8” spark plug socket in whatever quality you desire, they don’t cost all that
much, and most of them have an external hex on the top. Once you get the socket suitably cut down to fit past the side
of the A/C compressor and onto a plug, you can simply use a box-end or open-end wrench on the external hex to get the
plug loose. Most importantly, if you’re careful you can apply serious torque without the slightest sideways force on the
plug; many owners have ended up with plugs broken off at the top of the threads, which is not fun to fix.
There is one more possibility in spark plug tools. J Harper points out that Eastwood Tools (page 704) offers a
telescoping spark plug socket. This thing collapses into a little hockey puck which you position over the plug, and then
telescopes into a socket shape around the plug. Cute.
Even with a workable tool, you might want to move the compressor anyway. Fouquet-Lapar, despite having the plug
tool, says, “I still remove the compressor and the throttle pedestal, mainly to clean things up at the same time.”
Littlefield left the compressor in place and says, “after this experience, I think I know what surgeons go through during
an operation. Working through a narrow hole with long instruments, trying hard not to break something vital. I was
even using forceps to hold tubes and wires back to get to the areas I needed to go!” Craig Sawyers says, “I have that
Jag tool. However, I have always found it impossible to use under the aircon compressor. The problem is that the
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swivel joint is operating very nearly through a right angle, and is very inefficient as a result. Besides which, even if it is
possible to get the plug out with the tool, it must be fraught with danger of cross-threading when putting it back, or
replacing with new. In fact, the last XJS I moved the compressor out of the way to do the plugs (my brother-in-law's)
had three chunks of broken plugs lurking under the condensor. So I now always move the compressor (a ten minute
job) and the throttle pedestal (a further ten minutes) and make the whole process more clinical. Besides which, after
vacuuming the crud from the centre of the V, you can then use a nice deep socket, and a torque wrench to get the things
in "by the book".”
If you decide to remove the throttle pedestal, John Napoli says, “Rather than removing the coil, throttle switch, etc.
separately, consider removing the whole ball of wax as one. Simply remove the four bolts holding the throttle stand to
the engine valley, and it all comes out as one.”
You may run into problems getting those four bolts out as well. It’s not too difficult to remove in the midst of an upper-
engine teardown when you’re taking everything out of the way anyway, but for the spark plug job you’d like to remove
just the pedestal without removing things like the oil pressure sender. The problem is the two bolts at the rear side of
the pedestal; they are easy to see, but not so easy to get a wrench on. First tip: obtain a 7/16” swivel socket -- or a
10mm swivel socket if the later engines have metric bolts here.
The first time you have the pedestal off, saw off the lugs on the right side that were apparently originally intended to
hold a coil. That will make access a little easier next time.
Napoli decided to make some access holes in the pedestal: “On my car, I modified the throttle stand further to lighten it,
improve airflow in the area, and make it easier yet to get in and out. I drilled a series of large holes all over. Cleaning it
all up and polishing a bit makes it look nice, improves gas mileage, reduces emissions, and decreases quarter mile times.”
Peter Cohen says, “The last time mine was out, I slotted the holes for the two rear bolts so that I could start the threads
and then mount the pedestal.”
As long as you’re going to the effort of taking the plugs out, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to go ahead and perform a
compression check. It’s a good way to keep a watchful eye on engine condition.
Before installing the new plugs, it is recommended the time be taken to carefully inspect the threads. Competition is
fierce among the plug manufacturers and they generally cannot afford to spend a lot of time and effort making perfect
threads every time. One small burr on a steel spark plug can wreak havoc on the threads in the aluminum head.
Be sure to use anti-seize compound on the threads. Do not use normal grease, as this may hamper proper grounding of
the plug, and it also may get hot and form a crust that makes it even harder to remove the plugs. And do not use a
graphite-based lubricant, as graphite may react with the aluminum and weaken it.
When installing spark plugs, it is helpful to use a piece of 3/8” hose to get them started. Press the hose firmly over the
top of the plug and use the hose to feed them into place and thread them in finger tight. Then the hose can be pulled off
and a socket used for final tightening.
There are warnings not to tighten the plugs past 8 ft-lb. of torque. 8 ft-lb. is not enough to turn the plugs loosely in the
threads unless they have been recently cleaned and chased, but the point is well taken. It is an aluminum head, and
tightening “three grunts” is both unnecessary and costly. Just tighten until you feel them seat, make sure they’re snug,
and quit.
SPARK PLUGS: A quick survey of a group of Jaguar experts clearly indicates that NGK is the plug to use. The study
may have been unscientific and the reasons may have varied, but the consensus was clear and overwhelming.
The H.E. engine uses taper seal plugs; the pre-H.E. engine uses washer-seal plugs. For the H.E., NGK used to make at
least two plugs, TR5 and BPR6EFS. Both were resistor type, but the TR5 was a “V-Power” plug with a little notch cut
in the center electrode. Jim Moore says, “They go by numbers now; an NGK 2238 is recommended by NGK for my '85
XJ-S, turns out it has TR5 written on other end of box and on the plug.”
There are many gimmicks used to sell spark plugs. One common feature that may be of some benefit: It is easier for a
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spark to jump to an edge or point than to a flat surface. This is why lightning rods are pointed. Many of the cute
configurations of spark plugs result in there being more edges on the electrodes instead of flat surfaces. The notch in the
center electrode of the NGK V-Power plug is such a feature.
Supposedly, it’s actually more important that the sharp edges be on one electrode than the other. With old-fashioned
ignition systems, the center electrode was always the anode and the ground was always the cathode -- and the sharp
edges really need to be on the cathode, which means they’re on the wrong electrode with the V-power plugs.
Apparently NGK fixed that; Richard Mansell quotes from a Jaguar publication on the changes for the 1992 model year:
“A new design sparkplug, BR7EF, incorporating a V groove earth electrode, is fitted to improve efficiency and provide
better firing consistency.”
Note that very little else changed about the Jaguar V12 for the 1992 model year; one can safely conclude that the
upgraded spark plugs would work well in older H.E. engines.
NGK certainly isn’t the first company to offer multiple sharp edges on the ground electrode. ND plugs have had a
grooved ground electrode for years. A highly-advertised plug called the Splitfire charges several times as much as
regular plugs for providing a couple of extra edges for the spark to jump to.
If you happen to have a distributorless ignition with double-ended coils (only offered on Jaguar V12’s in the mid-90’s,
and only in the saloon) then half the plugs have their polarity reversed, and the sharp edges need to be on the center
electrode again! You can’t win.
Another idea in spark plugs that gained popularity in the 90’s is platinum electrodes. Platinum is an obscenely expensive
metal -- makes gold look cheap -- but it doesn’t take much of it to make a spark plug electrode, just the tiniest dot at the
gap. And that dot makes the plug last several times as long, which is the reason some modern cars can claim 100K miles
before the first tune-up. Note that while platinum-tipped plugs may cost considerably more than standard plugs, they do
not offer any improvement in performance at all; their entire benefit is in durability.
Following the crowd, NGK has introduced new plugs for the V12, similar to their earlier offerings but with platinum in
the tips. As a result, it is increasingly difficult to find non-platinum NGK plugs. David Buchner doesn’t like platinums
because he feels you should get in there and check things more often than every 100K miles, but even with such an
attitude one might be forced to use platinum plugs and just regap and reinstall them! Might wanna be careful about
filing the gap, though; platinum isn’t all that hard, a few passes with a file and the little dot might be gone!
Bosch Platinums were among the first platinum-tipped plugs to make a name for themselves -- and it was a bad name.
Randy Wilson says “I’ve found that Bosch standard plugs do not perform quite as well as Champions or NGK, but are
better than most common American plugs. I have, however, never had any success with their platinum plugs. If the
engine is running well, they don’t seem to make any improvement, and if the engine is not well, they foul easily and are
not cleanable.” But don’t let the bad reputation sour you on either platinum or Bosch plugs; Bosch has since introduced
the “Platinum +4” plug, which has four ground electrodes (more edges!) but also seems to have corrected the problems
the earlier Platinums had.
There is no appreciable disadvantage to using resistor plugs. The resistance limits the current flow, which in turn
reduces spark plug wear and radio interference. Prior to the actual spark, there is no current flow so the resistance has
no effect on the voltage available at the electrodes.
SPARK PLUG GAPS: The proper gap for the H.E. engine is 0.025” -- you can confirm this by checking the decal on
the underside of the hood. Most plugs come out of the box with a 0.032”-0.035” gap. The gaps must be checked prior
to installation. Oversize gaps can cause poor performance at high RPM, but worse they can contribute to rotor failure
and resulting catalytic convertor meltdown in cars equipped with Marelli ignition -- see page 161.
Reports are that some dealers are installing spark plugs with 0.035” gap. If your dealer is doing this, the least you
should do is never darken his doors again. Better yet, file a complaint with the EPA, since spark plug gaps are an
“emission critical” specification (that’s why it’s on the decal under the hood) and it is illegal for them to be violating it.
If you happen to suffer a catalytic convertor meltdown as a result, please sue the dealer and help put him out of
business.
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STRIPPED SPARK PLUG HOLES: Since you have read this book, used anti-seize compound on the spark plug
threads, and didn’t overtighten, you will never strip spark plug threads. However, the PO3 or the idiot you’ve been
taking the car to for service may not be so careful and leave you with plugs that simply won’t come out without bringing
the threads with them. Aaargh!
The official Jaguar fix involves recessing, drilling and tapping the holes for larger threads, installing an insert, and
installing a small pin to prevent the insert from unscrewing. Note that the inserts will be different for H.E. and pre-H.E.
engines, since the pre-H.E. used washer seal plugs while the H.E. uses taper seal plugs. Generic inserts may work fine,
but regardless of insert used the head surface should be recessed prior to installation to ensure that the tip of the plug
will be positioned at the same level as before. If the surface is not recessed, the plug will seat in a slightly retracted
position and result in a lower compression ratio on that cylinder as well as possible effects on the swirl pattern in the
H.E.
Mike Morrin reports success using helicoils to repair the H.E. plug threads -- something one wouldn’t expect would
work, since it would appear to require drilling out the hole far enough to destroy the taper seat. “If drilled carefully,
about 30% of the taper seat is lost. I think the remaining seat is still enough for a good seal.”
SPARK PLUG INDEXING: Does “anal-retentive” have a hyphen? If you answered yes, you may be interested in
knowing that “indexing” spark plugs may improve performance in the H.E. engine. In the H.E. combustion chamber,
the compression stroke squeezes the fuel/air mixture out of the area over the inlet valve and into the area over the
exhaust valve, causing a swirl. This fuel/air mixture is swirling when the spark occurs. If the ground electrode on the
spark plug happens to be positioned with its back side into the swirl, then the spark is partially hidden from the fuel/air
flow, possibly hindering proper ignition.
To avoid this, mark the side of each spark plug with an indelible magic marker to indicate where the ground electrode is.
The position you want to avoid is with the back side of the ground electrode aimed toward the nearest end of the head;
in other words, you don’t want the electrode on the spark plugs in the front three cylinders on the forward side and you
don’t want the electrodes on the spark plugs on the back three cylinders on the aft side. If any end up in these positions
when installed, then exchange that plug with another.
Please do not use a lead pencil to mark the plugs. Graphite conducts electricity, and will cause “tracking” down the side
of the ceramic and short out the spark plug. Your engine will run much worse than before you indexed the plugs.
SPARK PLUG WIRES: If your ignition wires need replacing, there’s really no reason to buy the Lucas originals;
several companies offer aftermarket sets to fit the Jaguar V12. Or you can purchase two 6-cyl or 8-cyl ignition wire sets
from any auto parts store and combine them into a set for the V12. Here are some tips:
You can get anything from a roll of wire and a package of connectors all the way to completed, ready-to-install sets; I
used a “semi-tailored” set -- one end of each wire comes with the spark plug connector attached, but you cut the other
end to length and attach the distributor cap connector yourself. The wires on the V12 are shorter than most, and this
permits the right length so you don’t have lots of excess wire laying around.
Another feature to look for is the angle of the spark plug connector. Some are straight, some are 90 degree, a few are
45 degree. What the V12 needs is a slight bend; the ideal kit has connectors that are straight to begin with but can be
bent to whatever angle is needed. This allows providing different bends at different cylinders -- working on these plugs,
you need all the help you can get!
There is also the issue of bends at the distributor cap end of the wires. Some wires have straight connectors so they
come straight upward out of the cap, while others have 90º bends here so the wires come off the sides of the cap. Either
will work on the XJ-S, both are a pain to install and route.
3
"PO" is a car collector's term for "Previous Owner". It is often used with a derogatory connotation. Sometimes the
abbreviation “DPO” is used.
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There is also the choice between 7mm and 8mm wires. Ideally, one would choose 8mm wires, since the Jaguar ignition
system is really hot and it’s all but impossible to route the wires away from other things. Magnecor (see below) offers a
10mm set!
Most aftermarket kits seem to be bright colors. Deal with it.
Jim Belkoff writes, “I found that Pep Boys can special order a custom set of 8mm silicone wires that are made in the US
by Borg-Warner. I paid the $45 in advance and picked them up a day later. They are of high quality and include three
wires with 90-degree plug boots (for the number one wires at the compressor and another location - your choice, I
guess). The kit even came with a tube of dielectric grease.
“For those of you who don’t like the bright aftermarket colors, take heart - this set has tasteful light grey wires, black
plug boots and dark grey distributor boots.
“The length was very close on most, and exactly spot on with some of them. Even the ones that were a shade long
weren’t so huge that they flopped every which way. I have had problems with aftermarket wires in the past (mostly
semi-custom 7mm sets) and these are the closest in length and the highest quality I have used so far.”
John Smith of Brisbane, Australia says, “I noticed that most parts shops have made up spark plug wires in a variety of
lengths. I bought a set, nice blue colour, that had 90 degree connectors for the distributor and straight connectors for
the plug ends - the same as the original wires.
“I measured the various original wire lengths and these are:
1A 38cms (15 inches) 1B 43cms (17 inches)
2A 25 (10) 2B 35 (14)
3A 28 (11) 3B 17 (7)
4A 30 (12) 4B 25 (10)
5A 40 (16) 5B 38 (15)
6A 38 (15) 6B 46 (18)
Coil 19 (8)
These wires were 8mm and fitted perfectly.”
Greg Benjock bought an 8mm Belden Wire set from NAPA and was not very happy with it. “The custom ordered kit
came with wrong terminations (all were 180deg). All 13 terminations on the distributor cap in fact must be 90 deg type.
And terminations and boots for plugs 1A, 6A, 1B, and 6B are best fitted with 90 degree units. It looked very much like
an inexperienced person put the job together.” Of course, maybe the cap connectors are a matter of opinion; this
author’s are all straight connectors and work just fine!
All that said, it should be noted that the original Lucas wires are usually not very expensive; the only valid reasons for
using aftermarket wires are availability, a need for a dash of color, and a healthy contempt for all things Lucas.
SPARK PLUG WIRE THEORY: When the 12V power to the coil is cut off, the magnetic flux causes a spike in the
voltage at the high tension lead. When that voltage rises sufficiently to jump the gaps in that circuit (one between the
rotor and cap in the distributor, another at the plug), current begins to flow.
Once a spark begins, the air is ionized at both gaps. This drastically lowers the electrical resistance of the gaps
themselves. With 50,000 volts or so to work with, the current flow can rise dramatically. If allowed to rise
unrestrained, this has several detrimental effects. First, the high current flow drains the energy stored in the coil quickly,
so the spark doesn’t last as long. Second, the high current flow tends to erode the spark plug electrodes faster than
necessary. And third, the high current flow causes a considerable amount of radio interference due to EMI radiating
away from the plug leads. Besides all these negatives, there are absolutely no positives. High current flow is not
beneficial to the ignition process, only the voltage needed to start the spark is necessary. Advertisements talk about
getting “energy” to the plug gaps (energy is voltage x current x time), but that’s usually a sign of a company trying to
peddle snake oil; the only place in an ignition system to be concerned about energy is in building up the field within the
coil (the energy the Lucas “Constant Energy Ignition” and the GM “High Energy Ignition” are referring to).
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It’s easy to limit the current flow once the spark occurs, though: Put a resistor in the circuit. A resistor won’t affect the
onset of spark at all, because before the spark occurs there is no current and therefore the resistance is of no
consequence. But once the spark begins and current begins flowing, the resistor comes into play and limits the current
flow.
There are several places to put resistors in this circuit. Using “resistor” type spark plugs is common. Also common is
the use of spark plug wires with a carbon-impregnated core, which offers some amount of resistance per inch of lead.
Perhaps not so common, it is possible to purchase resistors that fit into the wire between the coil and the distributor.
Plug wires are all different lengths within the same car, so use of common plug wires will result in a different amount of
resistance between one plug and another. This doesn’t matter, as long as there is some resistance.
Some people think spark plug wires with copper conductors are a good idea. Clearly they fail to notice that such wires
are generally the cheapest available -- yet do not come on any cars as original equipment. If used with non-resistor
plugs, there will be no resistance in the circuit at all, and the plugs will be eroded quickly -- if the coil doesn’t burn up
first. Copper core plug wires should be avoided for all applications, except perhaps fitting a new lead to your timing
light; the copper is easy to solder.
A more recent development is the spiral core plug wire. The core of these wires has a very fine stainless steel wire
coiled into what looks like a long, skinny spring. Stainless steel isn’t an excellent conductor as metals go, but it
nevertheless would provide an essentially zero-resistance current path if it were straight; the current limiting factor here
is evidently the coiling. Magnecor (page 707) offers such wires but is mum about the theories on which they work,
claiming that too many competitors want their information. Judging from their descriptions, they appear they work like
this: The spiral core behaves as a long inductance coil. Before the spark occurs, there is no current flow, so the
inductance is of no concern -- same as the resistance in the standard setup. Once the spark begins, the high inductance
of the leads prevents the current flow from rising instantly but permits it to rise gradually instead -- and the ignition coil
runs out of energy before the current flow can rise to a dangerous level.
Magnecor claims several benefits to this design. One claim is that they will outlast the standard wires, because stainless
steel is more durable than the carbon-impregnated silicone core. Another benefit is that these wires are more flexible,
and several XJ-S owners have reported this is true and a blessing in the top of the V12. Perhaps the flexibility is a large
part of their longevity as well, since neither stainless steel or carbon-impregnated silicone should deteriorate before the
insulation layers do on either type wire, but bending the carbon-impregnated silicone wire too tightly will damage it for
sure.
Magnecor also claims reduced radio and electronics interference. This is important because modern cars with EFI can
get all screwed up if the spark plug wires emit enough EMI to cause spurious signals in pickup leads. The spiral core
wires have the theoretical benefit that the magnetic field generated is aligned with the lead rather than radiating away
from it in all directions. Franck Guilloteau says, “On their claims; the idle stumble that I had was reduced noticeably, but
my stereo has developed an annoying noise....so much for RFI shielding!!” Perhaps a good idea would be to use spiral-
core wires in conjunction with resistor plugs, just to be sure.
CAP AND ROTOR RENOVATION: Most of us just buy new parts periodically, but Danny Rearden says, “High
tension ignition components such as distributor caps and rotors are generally only faulty if they are cracked, or have
carbon tracks on the surface. Even both of these conditions are usually repairable if you are prepared to invest a few
hours. My dad specialized in repairing obsolete vintage and racing ignition systems and magnetos where parts were
completely unobtainable.
“Clean the part, first with solvent cleaner, then with strong hot detergent solution and dry thoroughly. Inspect very
carefully, with a magnifying glass if your vision is not 20/20, looking for any surface marks which were not intended to
be there.
“If there is no visible sign of high voltage tracking, go to polishing. Otherwise use a hobby knife and scrape the surface
until you get to totally clean material, even if this means making a hole in the component.
“Grooves and holes can filled with epoxy filler. We always used Epiglass Low Density Filler, designed for boat repairs.
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It seems to have very good thermal and electrical properties, and it does not run while curing. File and sand the repair
back to original profile.
“Polish out any marks (both in the original part and any repair), using abrasive paste, such as perspex polish or cutting
compound. These surface marks, if not removed, will be future failure points.
“If the part has a dull, porous look to the surface, a light spray of a suitable clear paint may be in order, but don't overdo
it. If the repairs were to a visible part, then coloured paint can be used.
“In the 25 years my dad was doing these repairs, I can only recall 1 or 2 items failing again, out of several hundred, and
these were subject to 'owner abuse'.
“The important things are:
• remove any trace of previous tracking
• polish or fill any holes, cracks or scratches which could accumulate dust and moisture
• stop moisture getting into the ignition in the future”
KEEPING THE IGNITION SYSTEM COOL: Possibly the worst area for heat problems is within the “V” on top of
the engine. Early XJ-S’s had so much trouble with cooking the ignition amp that Jaguar created a relocation kit to move
it out of this area. Cracked distributor caps have been a problem. Seized centrifugal advance mechanisms are a
problem. The wiring harnesses within the V always seem brittle. All of these are symptoms of excessive heat.
Maintaining a good airflow through the engine compartment does wonders for minimizing such heat-related problems on
components. However, airflow to the V is largely blocked -- not by the A/C compressor so much as by the plate
supporting the front of the compressor. See page 505 for notes on correct installation of this plate.
One simple way to improve things would be to cut a big hole in this plate. Be careful to leave enough metal to properly
support the compressor, but this will still allow a substantial opening. Since this area is directly behind the main fan, the
hole should allow some airflow under the compressor and throughout the V area.
IGNITION SYSTEM TYPES: There have been four distinct types of ignition system fitted to the XJ-S. The first two
were Lucas systems, so you can’t simply refer to the “Lucas ignition system” without causing confusion.
Up to 1982, the XJ-S was fitted with the same Lucas OPUS system that was used in the Series III E-Type. This system
uses a plastic disk with 12 ferrite inserts within the distributor to trigger the ignition. From 1982 to mid-1989, the Lucas
Constant Energy Ignition system (Lucas CEI for short) was used; this system uses a 12-pointed iron star wheel inside
the distributor. These two systems can be distiguished by the amplifier; the OPUS amp is a finned aluminum block that
may be located between the banks, on top of the radiator top support, or any of several other places; the Constant
Energy amp is a black, flat rectangular item bolted to the top of the left side intake manifold.
It must be clarified that the most obvious distinction within the Lucas distributors has nothing to do with ignition types.
Up until 1980, the XJ-S had a Bosch D-Jetronic EFI system that required a trigger board within the distributor and a
rotor with a magnet in the counterweight. From 1980 on, the Digital P EFI system was used, and it merely picked up
the ignition pulses -- no trigger board required. So, the same four screw holes in the distributor housing were used to
mount a clear plastic anti-flash shield, and a new rotor with no magnet was used. A different cap was introduced to go
with the new rotor. The OPUS ignition system, with the plastic wheel, continued in use for two more years.
The XJR-S was fitted with a Zytek ignition system.
In mid-1989, the Lucas Constant Energy Ignition system in non-XJR-S cars was replaced with the Marelli, which is an
all-electronic system -- there are no mechanical or vacuum advance mechanisms, the timing is handled by an electronic
control unit based on crank sensors. The Marelli system still uses a distributor, but it only serves to allow two coils to
fire twelve cylinders; it does not include any timing or triggering functions. This distributor is very distinctive in that the
cap has connections for two separate ignition coils, one at the center and one off-center, and has no vacuum advance
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module.
There is a fifth type of ignition system fitted to the Jaguar V12, and that is a Nippondenso distributorless system used the
last year the engine was made. However, reportedly this system didn’t make it into the XJ-S; it was used exclusively in
the last year of the XJ12.
IGNITION SYSTEM REPLACEMENT: Replacing an ignition system isn’t automatically an improvement; exactly
what an ignition system replacement accomplishes depends on what you are replacing and the sophistication of the
system you’re installing. The pros and cons of ignition system replacement are therefore covered within the discussions
of each type of ignition system found on the Jaguar V12.
Lucas Ignition (OPUS and CEI - up to 1989)
IGNITION SYSTEM DESIGN: An ignition coil requires a certain amount of time to build up enough energy to
produce a spark. The faster an engine is turning, the less time there is between sparks, so the output of an ignition coil
starts to drop off. It is also apparent that the more cylinders there are, the less time there is between sparks, and the
output of the ignition coil drops off even faster.
Another lesson in physics is that the higher the compression, the more resistance there is for electricity to jump a spark
gap, so higher voltage is required.
The Jaguar V12 H.E. has 12 cylinders, turns at 6500 RPM, and has 11.5:1 compression, making it one of the biggest
challenges for an ignition system in production automobiles. To cope with this, Jaguar has incorporated some
sophisticated ignition technology. Also, Jaguar uses a spark plug gap of only .025” to make it easier for the electricity to
jump the gap.
ROTOR REPLACEMENT: Replacing the cap is straightforward enough, but getting the rotor off is likely to be
somewhat difficult since it tends to jam. All you can do is twist, rock, and pull, and hope you get lucky and don’t break
it. Or just have a spare on hand. On the Digital P cars, there’s not enough room between the rotor and the anti-flash
shield to get a good grip on it, so Ned Wesley says, “if you need to remove the rotor, the method I use is as follows:
make two loops of string or wire about equal in length to the rotor. Place one loop over the front of the rotor and the
other over the back. Bring the loops together so that pressure is applied equally to both sides of the rotor. Give the
loops a slight tug and the rotor will come off.”
If the rotor carrier shaft seems to want to come upward with the rotor, the rotor carrier shaft retainer is broken. You
need to try to hold the rotor carrier shaft down while pulling on the rotor by inserting a screwdriver through an opening
in the anti-flash shield or some such. This is a good idea anyway to avoid breaking the rotor carrier shaft retainer. Once
the retainer lets loose, pulling upward on the rotor carrier shaft will stretch the centrifugal advance springs far below,
and you will be in for a distributor recalibration.
IGNITION TIMING: The proper advance setting is indicated on a decal in the engine compartment. If it differs from
the book, believe the decal. The Haynes manual on page 329 seems to indicate that a N America 1981-on Digital P car
should be timed at 25 to 27° BTDC at 3000, which doesn’t seem to have any basis in reality; the underhood decals
always indicate 18° BTDC at 3000.
The next thing to confirm is that the woodruff keys that align the front pulley with the crankshaft are in good condition.
They are a known problem, and clearly if the pulley is allowed to reposition itself on the crank, use of the timing marks
will be a disaster. The woodruff key problem is discussed further on page 90.
Before you get under the car with the engine at 3000 RPM, you might want to note what the timing mark actually looks
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like on the damper. There is a simple line with the letter A next to it. Unfortunately, the timing indicator plate covers
most of this up, so when you’re trying to set the timing all you see is the tip of each so it looks like VI. Trying to figure
out whether you’re supposed to be using the I or the point of the V to indicate the timing can be confusing. An
illustration in the Haynes manual makes it clearer: You must use the I mark.
On the Jaguar V12, the timing indicator itself is adjustable. If there is any chance it has been tampered with (the oil pan
and sandwich plate have been removed), then the position of the indicator must be calibrated before checking the timing.
The official method for setting this indicator is to do it when the right side (A bank) head is off. A dial position indicator
can be set up to determine when the 1A or 6A piston is at TDC. If a position indicator that will fit through a spark plug
hole is available, this same method can be used with the head in place by removing the spark plug from either cylinder
1A or 6A. Once TDC is determined, loosen the two sandwich plate bolts that hold the timing indicator plate in place,
and slide the plate on its slotted holes until 0° lines up with the mark on the pulley.
If you happen to have the 1A head off and are going through this setting procedure, Craig Sawyers has an idea to make
the setting more accurate -- or, conversely, to make it accurate enough using non-precision measuring tools: “The
manual says to set piston 1A at TDC by using a dial guage, but even this is highly inaccurate. If the dial guage has an
accuracy of 1 thou, this corresponds to a setting accuracy of 2 degrees for a 70mm stroke engine. If, with a screwdriver,
you can guesstimate to say 0.5mm, the angle error will be nearly 10 degrees, all of which makes the slotted holes on the
guage plate a bit of a joke.
“What I did when rebuilding my engine was this. When piston 1A is at TDC firing stroke, piston 6A is at TDC exhaust,
and pistons 2A through 5A are half way. I forget which stroke they are on, but two of them are on their way up, and
two are on their way down. So I set the crank up so that all four of these pistons were exactly the same distance down
from the top of the cylinder liners. If this can be measured to 1 thou, the crank angle error will be 0.04 degrees. The
trick is to carry out the measurement at the point of maximum sensitivity (half way down a stroke) rather than the point
of zero sensitivity (top of a stroke).
“I'm not sure how you could achieve this with the engine in and the heads on, but if you could fashion some feeler and
probe the piston positions in 1A to 5A with an accuracy of 0.5 mm, you could set the position of the gauge to an
accuracy of 0.8 degrees, which is more than adequate.”
There is an alternate method to set the timing indicator that doesn’t require the position indicator or removing the head.
All that is required is a device that will obstruct the motion of the piston near the top of its stroke. Such a device can be
made from an old spark plug by breaking the ceramic out of it and installing a bolt through the middle. Ideally, the
length of the bolt into the combustion chamber should be just enough for the piston to hit it only a few degrees from
TDC. If you make this device strong enough, it might also come in handy for removing the crankshaft pulley someday --
see page 89 -- although for that purpose it would be better if it hit the piston farther away from TDC.
Turn the engine a ways past TDC, and then screw this obstructing device into the spark plug hole of either 1A or 6A
cylinder. Then turn the engine backwards until the piston hits the device and you can’t go any farther. Note the reading
from the timing marks. Then turn the engine forward through one complete revolution until the piston hits the device
again, and note the reading of the timing marks. The two readings should be exactly the same amount before and after
TDC. If they are different, loosen the sandwich plate bolts holding the indicator plate and move it an amount
corresponding to one half the difference between the two readings.
Bob Egerton provides another method of finding the true TDC: “Get an old plug and beat out the ceramic centre. Then
braze in a length of copper or other fairly small bore tube (you could probably use a really good-fitting bit of polythene
tube if you cannot get access to brazing kit) long enough to see from where you are when turning the engine over by
hand with your extra long wrench. Apply a small amount of soap or detergent solution to the end of the tube and slowly
turn the motor forwards. When the bubble is largest you are at TDC.” Note again that it may be easier to use the 6A
plug hole than the 1A. And, obviously, there are many possible variations on this idea, including threading a fitting into
the spark plug base and the use of a balloon instead of soap. Note that this method won’t work if you’re at the top of
the exhaust stroke instead of the compression stroke, so if you seem to be having trouble you might want to give the
crank one complete revolution and try again.
The ignition timing on the V12 is checked with the engine held at 3000 RPM. Although a pain, this method insures the
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timing is accurate at operating speed rather than at idle, where timing is less critical. However, proper timing by this
method requires that the tachometer be at least reasonably accurate. It’s not very critical, since it would have to be in
error by about 300 RPM to cause an error of 1° in the timing. Nevertheless, if one ever finds his car hooked up to one
of those fancy, super-accurate computerized engine analysis machines, it is suggested that the location of the tachometer
needle be noted when the engine is running at a real 3000 RPM. That point can then be held whenever the timing is
checked in the future.
When checking the ignition timing on the V12, the vacuum line to the distributor vacuum advance must be disconnected
and plugged. The vacuum advance capsule is at the bottom rear of the distributor, making it quite difficult to get to this
line (the larger hoses connecting to the distributor cap itself are for the distributor ventilation system, and do not affect
timing). Do yourself a favor and cut the vacuum line somewhere convenient and reconnect it with a small piece of
tubing. From then on, all you have to do is disconnect it at the break and plug it when checking the timing.
Since the battery is in the trunk, connecting the power leads of the timing light requires ingenuity. Of course, you could
just use your jumper cables as an extension cord to connect your timing light to the battery, but perhaps that isn't
necessary. The ground lead can be connected anywhere on the car. The positive lead must go to 12V, which exists at
any solid brown wire. There are two terminals on the firewall adjacent to the valve covers, and a terminal on the back of
the alternator -- all difficult to get at. Peter Smith: “I connect my timing light to the 12V power source at the headlights
fuse box.”
David Littlefield says, "Another solution for your timing light problem was just "illuminated" on the MG list, since both
MGA's and MGB's have inaccessible batteries. One fellow attaches his timing light to his 10 amp battery charger. Says
he had done it for years with no ill affect. Perhaps a better solution than dragging jumper cables and C clamps around."
Since disconnecting the plug wire from cylinder 1A is difficult, disconnect the wire from the distributor cap instead;
make a small jumper from an old ignition wire to use to connect the timing light. Or, just buy an inductive timing light.
If it’s more convenient, you can also check the timing using the signal from cylinder 6A.
Since you must crawl under the front of the car while an assistant holds the engine at 3000 RPM to read the timing, it is
suggested you put an extra long ignition lead on your timing light so you can route it around the fender rather than
feeding it through the engine compartment. Interference with moving parts at 3000 RPM would be memorable. Cheap
ignition wire with metal conductor works well for making a long timing light ignition lead, and is available by the foot.
Steve Chatman came up with another idea: “When checking the timing on the XJ12, I discovered that I was either
going to extend the wire that clamps the plug wire or feed the light through the engine compartment. I didn't really like
those alternatives and instead simply ran the timing light over and down the outside right front wing. From there, I
could shine the light under the car, using my left hand. With my right hand, I held a mirror to reflect the light vertically.
Worked fine and seemed very safe. Of course, you should correct for the increased distance traveled by the light, but
you knew that. I was in a poorly lighted garage at night. Better lighting could make this approach difficult or impossible
to use.”
Michel Carpentier provides another way of dealing with the inconvenient location of the timing marks: “Make a pointer
out of sheet metal, which you fit under one of the water pump nuts (pointing from above towards the crank pulley).
Now position the crank so it is in firing position at 3000 RPM and put a dab of white paint opposite your pointer. From
now on you can check your timing from above.”
Timing is adjusted using a long screwdriver to turn a small eccentric cam on the side of the distributor underneath the
cruise control actuator. There is a locknut on the adjuster, and this is a place where a crowfoot wrench will come in
very handy.
The Jaguar V12 design eliminates most wear items that would normally cause ignition timing to vary, such as ignition
points or sloppy camshaft drive systems. The only remaining reason for the timing to change would be wear in the
timing chain itself, and the Jaguar timing chain normally wears so slowly as to be insignificant. If the timing in your car
is way off, it is highly recommended you determine why rather than simply readjust it. For example: If your centrifugal
advance unit seizes in the idle position, then when the car is revved to 3000 RPM the timing will be retarded by 15° or
more. If you merely adjust the timing rather than correcting the problem, then the timing will be 15° too far advanced at
idle!
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If your eccentric cam timing adjustment won’t go far enough, the distributor base must be repositioned. Remove the
distributor cap and insert a long allen wrench to loosen the three mounting bolts at the very bottom of the unit. Rotate
the entire distributor housing in the direction needed, then retighten. Please remember that this much adjustment should
never be necessary, and causes should be investigated.
HOLDING A HIGH RPM: Michael Minglin sends a tip: “Every time I went to check the timing, alternator, etc. the
book says to set the rpm to such and such. Reaching down to that auxilary air valve when the engine is hot is not my
idea of fun. What I did was to weld a nut on top of a short bolt. Threading a longer bolt into this nut gave me a “T”
with a long top and short leg. The short bolt goes into the RHD throttle cable bracket (not used for anything on my ’84
XJ-S), Then I use the long bolt to adjust the bell crank to the rpm I want. To make it even easier, I forced a short piece
of vacuum hose onto the long bolt, at the head. This makes it easy to adjust the bolt with your fingers.” This plan will
work on either LHD or RHD cars, simply using whichever cable bracket is unused.
CENTRIFUGAL AND VACUUM ADVANCE DATA: When checking distributor advance versus tables, make sure
you are looking at the H.E. or pre-H.E. tables, as appropriate. The H.E. system develops less advance in the centrifugal
mechanism and more advance in the vacuum mechanism than the pre-H.E..
Page 05-1 of the ©1975 ROM and page 05-1 of the ©1982 Supplement list data for the centrifugal advance mechanisms
for the pre-H.E. engine. Both of these charts -- as well as the centrifugal advance data on page 112 in the Haynes
manual -- begin with a listing that says “No advance below 900”, which would seem to indicate that the entire chart is
talking about the amount the advance changes from idle or static settings. However, Roger Bywater points out that this
is not the case; the other entries in these charts are actual crank degree readings based on the proper 10° BTDC baseline
timing at 500 RPM. For example, the chart in section 86.35.29/4 says that the distributor should advance 6.0-8.0
degrees at 1000 RPM; since these are distributor figures, that corresponds to 12.0-16.0 degrees at 2000 RPM at the
crank, and when added to the 10 degrees of baseline advance we get the 22-26 degrees of advance listed in the charts.
The charts would have been clearer if they had simply said “10° below 900” instead of that “No advance below 900”
stuff.
Regarding the charts for pre-H.E. advance, Mike Morrin says, “I suspect the service manual only has data for one of the
distributor variants fitted (probably C44663). The parts book shows that there were 5 different models of distributor
fitted to pre-HE XJ-Ss, and I think that the only difference was the advance curves.
C.43735 Australia (this is the one with the peculiar vacuum retard system).
C.44663 California to car 2W54183
C.43735 California from car 2W54184
C.44663 CDN/USA to engine 8S5461 (ie the 4460th engine what year??)
All other countries to engine 8S5202
C.46173 CDN/USA from engine 8S5462
All other countries from engine 8S5203
DAC1609 California from engine 8S11161 and Australia from 8S11800
DAC1380 All other countries from 8S11262
“Note that my parts book does not cover the [pre-H.E.] Digital-P cars, so there are probably 2 more I have not counted.
“On reflection, I am surprised that there is not a clearly different distributor model (advance curve) for 8:1 and 9:1
compression engines. As far as I can see, the distributor seems to change according to degree of emission control, not
compression. For example: Australia (9:1) and California (8:1) get the DAC1609, all other countries presumably
including the UK (9:1) and the rest of the USA (8:1) get the DAC1380.”
For our information, Morrin also provides part numbers for the distributors on the Series III E-Type:
C33148 up to engine 7S4663 (emission control) or 7S4879 (no emission control)
C37443 from above.
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“The carburetted distributors of course have no FI trigger assembly.”
TIMING THE PRE-H.E.: The procedure is described in the ROM, section 86.35.29/7. Basically, you disconnect the
vacuum advance, lower the idle to make sure you’re off the bottom of the centrifugal advance curve, and set the timing
at 10º BTDC. Much easier than the H.E. procedure!
Unfortunately, there’s probably a very good reason the H.E. went to setting the timing at 3000 RPM instead of at idle.
Roger Bywater speaks of distributor build quality problems: “Back in the early 1980's we encountered V12 distributors
which could over advance beyond spec by as much as 10 degrees at 6000 revs!” What this means is that with the timing
set correctly at idle, it may still be way off at highway speeds. You’re not likely to burn pistons at idle; it is far more
important that the timing is correct at highway speeds. The H.E. procedure minimizes the implications of the problem:
Even if the distributor isn’t quite within tolerances, the timing will be correct at 3000 and will merely be off at idle
instead. Much safer.
So, why don’t we adapt the H.E. timing procedure to the pre-H.E.? That way, those cars will enjoy proper timing at
highway speeds as well. Bywater: “What you are saying is absolutely correct and setting the timing at low speed before
any advance takes effect is just about the worst way of doing it, but to be honest I've never really thought much about it
before. In all normal operating conditions the advance could in theory be 4 degrees out yet still be within spec.
Allowing for wear and tear, not to mention questionable original build quality, the error could easily be more than that.”
All we need to do is figure out what the timing should be at 3000 (or some other point in the middle of the curve
somewhere) and set it there. The fact is, we could provide a spec for timing at 2000 or 4000; it wouldn’t make much
difference. As long as it’s set somewhere along the curve rather than at idle where you’re not even on the curve, the
advance will be much closer to correct where it’s important than it would have been with the timing set at idle. Bywater
suggests that it’d be best to check the timing right at the peak torque, since this is where it will be most critical due to
maximum cylinder pressures. Ideally, the timing should be checked at several places to make sure none exceed an
acceptable advance, but let’s not get carried away.
To generate mid-curve timing specs, we can combine the idle timing specs with the distributor advance mechanism
specs. The specs in the ROM for checking the distributor advance mechanism provide a 4º tolerance range. A 4º
tolerance band may be good enough for checking to see if the distributor is working but it’s not good enough for setting
the timing; we need to know what point within these tolerances is the optimum timing point. We could assume that the
tolerance is ±2º and specify timing based on the midpoint, but Bywater suggests this might not be right. “With regard to
the tolerance spread it is worth remembering that all engines must be safe with the worst possible condition which
implies that the most advanced point is the one to work from rather than mid-range. I am not sure how tangible the
benefits would be but if it makes it possible to run safely with 2 or 3 degrees more advance then the overall performance,
response and economy should be improved. I am sure it is worth trying but maybe a period of trial is called for with a
few willing volunteers who can report back before advocating it on a wider scale.”
Bywater went on to provide timing specs for all pre-H.E. V12’s:
Carburetted V12’s 35° BTDC @ 4000 RPM
D Jetronic: 33° BTDC @ 4000 RPM
10:1 CR pre-H.E. Digital P 24° BTDC @ 3000 RPM
Are these correct? You just can’t get a better authority than Roger Bywater; he was the guy leaning over a screaming
V12 in an engine testing room at Jaguar dialing the advance up and down by hand to develop these advance specs. But
anyone can make a mistake. So, after you set the timing using these guidelines the first time, check the timing at idle. If
it’s only different by a couple of degrees -- notably if it’s more advanced by a couple of degrees -- the spec was correct,
get in the car and drive. If it’s off by ten degrees, check to see if your advance mechanisms are working properly. If
they’re OK and the timing is really that far off, perhaps it’d be wise to rethink this whole idea before putting your foot in
it.
Yes, the numbers for the pre-H.E.’s sound like a lot more advance than the H.E.; that’s the nature of the beasts -- the
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H.E. gets less advance from the centrifugal mechanism and more from the vacuum capsule than the pre-H.E.
So, for those unfamiliar with timing the H.E., here’s the procedure: Warm up the engine, disconnect and plug the
vacuum advance, have an assistant rev the engine up a little past the specified RPM and then come back down to it and
hold it there, and set the timing to the specified advance.
Of course, one problem is that the scale on the timing plate doesn’t go far enough. So, set the crank at 20° BTDC and
paint a new mark on the damper at 0°. Then you can use this new mark to set the timing at the spec minus 20°.
UNDERSTANDING THE VACUUM ADVANCE SYSTEM: Between August 1998 and June 1999, Kelsey
Publishing (page 723) published six issues of a magazine called XJS Bulletin. Issues 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 contain a series of
articles called “Advancing by Vacuum” by Roger Bywater of AJ6 Engineering (page 713) that are arguably the best
explanations of the vacuum advance systems used on the Jaguar V12 available. For those interested in obtaining back
issues, here is a brief synopsis of what each issue’s article covered:
Issue 1: General concepts of vacuum advance systems
Issue 2: 1976-80 V12 vacuum advance systems, including California and Australia
Issue 3: 1980-81 vacuum advance systems (pre-H.E. Digital P cars), Emission A and B
Issue 4: Advance concerns related to the H.E. engine
Issue 6: H.E. vacuum advance systems, Emission A and B
After June 1999, XJS Bulletin was discontinued as a separate publication and a distinct section of Jaguar World
magazine was provided instead, with pretty pictures of cars but little in the way of useful technical information.
VACUUM ROUTING DIAGRAMS -- WHICH IS WHICH? Good question. The following is an attempt to clarify
the applications of diagrams that appear in several documents; here’s hoping I don’t make any errors here, since that
would really compound the confusion!
In the ©1975 ROM, there are no vacuum routing diagrams. For the vast majority of cars of the time, the routing for the
vacuum advance was simple: Straight from the throttle edge tap on top of the right side butterfly housing to the
distributor. The air pump, where fitted, was apparently uncontrolled -- on all the time. In California and Australia, the
system was more complicated, but not covered in the ROM.
The ©1982 Supplement has two descriptions, one labelled “Emission B” and the other labelled “Emission A & C”.
These both apply to the H.E. only, but the Emission A & C version only applies through 1982; for 1983, a vacuum
regulator was added to the system.
The H.E. supplement in the back of the ©1984 Ed 4 includes a desccription of a system labelled “Emission A & C -
Federal, Canadian & Japanese Specification 1983 on” which includes the vacuum regulator omitted in the ©1982
Supplement.
The Haynes manual (©1986) actually contains a fair assortment of vacuum routing diagrams, enough to put the ©1975
ROM and ©1982 Supplement to shame. Of course, they’re not labelled clearly enough, so here goes: Figures 13.29
and 13.30 apply to the 1980-81 pre-H.E. engine with Digital P injection. Figure 13.31 applies to the pre-1983 North
American H.E. Figure 13.32 applies to the 1983-on North American H.E. Figure 13.33 applies to the Emission B (non-
North American) H.E. Figure 13.33 is labelled that it applies to the Australian models, but it’s not the same system that
Bywater’s XJS Bulletin # 2 article shows for the 1976-78 Australian cars; presumably it’s for the later H.E. models.
VACUUM ADVANCE MODULE: On most cars, it is a simple matter to determine if the vacuum advance module is
intact: Connect a hose and, using your mouth, suck and watch the mechanism move. While in advanced position, put
your tongue over the end of the hose and see if it holds vacuum and stays in position.
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On the XJ-S H.E., the first half of that test -- sucking and watching the mechanism move -- works, but the tongue test to
hold vacuum may not. On the H.E. there is a vacuum regulator in the line to the vacuum advance module, and such
regulators cannot be depended on to work properly with no flow. Therefore, the vacuum advance module on the mid-
80's XJ-S H.E. has a deliberate bleed hole; the module will not hold a vacuum even when in perfect condition.
Of course, there are several different vacuum schemes used in the XJ-S over the years and around the world, and even
some vacuum retard schemes. Many of these do hold vacuum; if the vacuum advance plumbing doesn’t include a
vacuum regulator, there’s no need to put an orifice in the diaphragm.
Roger Bywater says, “Of course the high temperature situation also gives the vacuum capsule a hard time and they
usually need replacing every couple of years or so but a lot of so-called mechanics seem to miss that one.”
Note that a vacuum advance module that isn’t leaking may still need replacement. Val Danilov says, “My diaphragm
was fried rock hard, I broke it trying to test the rod movement (CRRRACK!), so I think it wasn’t leaking.”
The earlier vacuum advance modules came with an adjustment screw on the top. This screw permits adjustment of
the limit of travel of the module -- but was supposedly set at the factory to the correct travel. This is not intended as
a user-adjustable feature; the only reason to be messing with it is a suspicion that someone else has already messed
with it. Later replacement modules don’t even have the screw.
VACUUM ADVANCE MODULE REPAIR: The following procedure for rebuilding a vacuum advance module is
credited to John Napoli and Val Danilov.
Before removing the vacuum advance module from the engine, you might want to take note of the best position for
the vacuum line connection when it is reassembled. And after removing the vacuum advance module but prior to
taking it apart, it is suggested that you first carefully measure the distance which the actuator rod extends out of the
unit. Also, push the rod back into the unit (fully retracted position) and measure that as well.
Raw material is a generic replacement vacuum advance from a Chevy V8 -- dirt cheap at any auto parts store. Take the
Chevy unit apart by prying open the case; Napoli suggests it may be easier to open the case by grinding the case all
around its periphery to weaken the metal, but be careful not to get it too hot and damage the diaphragm. What you
want to get ahold of is the diaphragm/rod assembly.
Open up the stock Jag vacuum advance by prying around the crimped-on case. In this case, you’d like to reuse
everything except the diaphragm/flat link assembly, so try to do as little damage as possible to the casing; if you’ll read
ahead to understand how you’ll be reassembling it, you may decide to simply cut or grind the lip off the edge to avoid
mangling the dome itself. Even though the diaphragm/flat link won’t be reused, keep it on hand for taking
measurements.
Cut the rod from the Chevy diaphragm/rod assembly to the same length as the Jag original, then set it down on an anvil
or something and pound a flat spot at the end with a hammer. No problem -- it’s a Chevy part, remember?
Reassemble the vacuum advance unit using the new diaphragm/shaft assembly and all the old Jag parts. If the casing
wasn’t damaged when disassembled, you may be able to simply clamp the unit togeher and gently bend/hammer the
dome shut. This works but the cannister will become work-hardened so you will never be able to do this repair this way
again.
If the edges were too mangled (or you cut them off), drill the body and dome for eight fasteners; Napoli suggests 3/4”
long 3-48 fillister head screws and nuts, but notes that the exact sizes aren’t critical. Sandwich the body, diaphragm
(poke a hole through for the screws with a needle), spring, and dome, and bolt it all together, being careful that the
flattened section of the rod is aligned properly. This method has the distinct advantage that it permits repeated repairs
later -- important, since the heat in the valley of the V12 will eventually bake the Chevy diaphragm as assuredly as it did
the original.
Check that the unit responds to vacuum and pulls the shaft in.
Measure carefully the extended length of the rod, mark, and drill a hole in the flattened area the same size as the hole on
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the original part. Check the retracted length as well, and if there is an adjustment screw on the dome adjust it to provide
the same total travel (if your extended length was off a little bit, make the retracted length off by the same amount; the
variance can then be corrected by setting the timing normally). If you don’t have an adjustment screw, don’t worry
about it, the total travel will probably be close enough.
Reinstall on the distributor. Be sure to check the timing; the timing procedure requires that the vacuum be disconnected,
but the module still has an effect -- you might not have gotten that extended length as perfect as you thought you did.
Note that the original diaphragm may have had a tiny orifice built into it to provide a deliberate leak. This will usually be
evident as a tiny hole through the metal disks on either side of the rubber diaphragm itself. The vacuum advance
plumbing includes a vacuum regulator and such regulators don’t work reliably when there is no flow, so the orifice is in
there to provide a little flow. It appears that this orifice may not be necessary, since some genuine Jaguar replacement
vacuum advance modules reportedly don’t have it. If having an orifice proves to be necessary, it can be added anywhere
in that branch of the vacuum advance plumbing; you might wanna make the hole in the dome rather than in the
diaphragm itself. It might make more hiss, but you can seal it later if you decide to with a small piece of aluminum tape.
Or you may be able to fit a separate device with an orifice with a tee connection into the vacuum line. You could, for
example, take a piece of brass tubing, drill a tiny hole in the side, and connect it in the line to the vacuum advance
module.
If, for some reason, you are unable to reuse other parts of the original Jaguar vacuum advance unit, you may be able to
use the corresponding parts from the Chevy unit. Note, however, that doing so may result in differences in the advance
curve and/or limits. Use of a different spring will change the advance rate. Use of a different dome with a different
depth, and therefore a different place where the spring seats, will also affect the advance rate. And use of a different
dome may also affect the retracted length, allowing the diaphragm to travel too far or preventing it from travelling far
enough.
If the Chevy dome happens to include a limit adjusting screw, you may be able to adjust the full-retract position after
assembly to make sure it is the same as the original was. If there is no adjusting screw, you might actually be able to add
one, being careful to seal it when done to avoid vacuum leaks. If the Chevy dome is shorter and compresses the spring
too much, you may want to add a spacer ring between the diaphragm and the dome to space the dome back. If the
Chevy dome is taller and compresses the spring less, you might want to insert something within the dome for the spring
to sit on.
Napoli adds, “I have seen in this month’s Jeg’s catalog (see page 717) that Accel manufactures a replacement Chevy
vacuum advance that is adjustable. The ad copy states that the unit is adjustable for total advance and rate. It comes
with instructions. The unit looks just like the generic replacement I used, so the same repair approach should work.”
This fancy aftermarket Chevy part is still cheaper than the stock Jaguar vacuum advance module by a long shot.
If you tore things apart and then read the suggestions to take measurements first, Napoli sends some reference
measurements from a junk unit he had laying around: “For reference, the measurements were taken with 1/16” of the
adjusting screw exposed. That is, from the face of the adjusting nut to the top of the unmolested screw is 1/16”.
Also, this is a stock ’88 V12 advance (non-Marelli) from my donor engine and the unit does not operate (won’t build
vacuum). With the unit relaxed, the length from the end of the housing to the center of the hole in the actuating rod
is exactly 2 inches. Full compression of the rod reduces the length by 5/16” (i.e., 5/16” maximum travel).”
VACUUM REGULATOR AND DUMP VALVE: A vacuum advance mechanism applies more advance as vacuum
increases, which means there will be minimal advance at full throttle (to avoid knocking) and lots of advance at light
throttle (where knocking isn’t a problem, to provide optimum fuel efficiency). This also means a lot of advance at idle,
but this can be problematic. The manifold vacuum at idle may vary as the RPM rises or falls a bit, and this will move the
vacuum advance in a direction so as to accentuate those fluctuations. The result can be an unstable idle, sometimes even
stalling.
The time-honored fix for this is to use a “throttle edge tapping” for the vacuum source. The vacuum line to the vacuum
advance, rather than simply connecting to a port on the manifold, is connected to a port located near an outward-
opening edge of the throttle butterfly. Whenever the throttle is open, the edge of the butterfly itself is on the air filter
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side of this port, so the port is seeing manifold vacuum. As the butterfly approaches the closed (idle) position, however,
the edge of the butterfly passes over the port, leaving the port exposed to atmospheric pressure rather than manifold
vacuum. The result is no vacuum advance at idle. This results in a stable idle, and also makes it a bit easier to adjust the
timing -- you don’t need to disconnect the vacuum line first. This setup was very common on carburetted American
V8’s of old, and unfortunately resulted in an entire generation of mechanics who don’t believe it’s necessary to
disconnect the vacuum advance when setting the timing.
If you’d like your Jaguar V12 to operate this way, it’s very simple. Just throw away all the vacuum advance control
devices and connect a single hose from one of the ports on top of the right hand butterfly housing directly to the vacuum
advance module. This will work fine, although the total lack of vacuum advance at idle will make it use more fuel and
generate more waste heat when idling. This shouldn’t be a problem; the cooling system should be able to handle the
additional heat, and the fuel economy reduction is small -- especially if you don’t sit around idling much. It may affect
emissions tests, but ironically it may help them; in general, retarding timing seems to make it easier to pass emissions
tests. Note that most of the 1976-80 V12 models (except California and Australia) apparently did operate their vacuum
advance exactly this way, and some later models did as well except that they added controls to shut off vacuum when
the engine was cold to help it heat up quicker.
With later models, Jaguar used a better idea here. Rather than providing no vacuum advance at idle, they used a vacuum
regulator to provide some vacuum advance at idle. Because the regulator provides a fixed amount of vacuum regardless
of how the manifold vacuum is fluctuating, the instability problem is avoided. In such schemes, one hose to the
regulator comes from the manifold itself to provide a vacuum source, while another hose connects to the throttle edge
tapping to provide a “reference” to regulate to. When the engine is at idle, the manifold vacuum is high but the signal
from the butterfly housing shows no vacuum, and the regulator throttles the vacuum to the advance capsule down to a
fixed amount above that reference. When the engine is at part throttle, both the manifold vacuum and the signal from
the butterfly housing show high vacuum, so the regulator does nothing; the advance capsule gets full manifold vacuum.
At wide open throttle, both the manifold and the throttle edge tapping see very little vacuum, so the advance capsule
doesn’t get much either.
This is a really good system, providing a goodly amount of advance at closed throttle so the engine idles efficiently. It
also results in less of a step coming off of idle; rather than the vacuum advance going from no advance to full advance all
of a sudden, it merely goes from partial advance to full advance. The effect is smoother throttle response.
There is one problem, however: A vacuum regulator is a throttling device, and therefore cannot provide a great deal of
flow suddenly when needed. The specific case of concern here is when the throttle is suddenly floored. In a car with
simple hoses connecting to the vacuum advance capsule, the sudden lack of manifold vacuum would result in a similar
lack of vacuum advance just as quickly, and the engine could proceed at full throttle with the timing properly positioned
for that condition. But with this regulator in the line, a sudden opening of the throttle will require a second or two for
the vacuum to bleed off the advance capsule through the regulator. For that second or two, the engine will be running at
full throttle with too much advance, and the engine will be knocking something fierce.
The solution is another device, the dump valve. This is a vacuum-operated valve that merely opens the line to the
vacuum advance capsule to atmosphere when there is no vacuum in the manifold.
There is one other minor detail, and that is the fact that a regulator generally works better with a little flow through it; it
may have difficulty regulating vacuum in a deadheaded line. So, the vacuum advance capsule may have a tiny internal
bleed orifice, small enough that the vacuum system can still apply a vacuum but preventing it from holding a vacuum.
A little guidance on plumbing: The North American models use a vacuum regulator EAC5157, and it has three hose
connections. One connection is labelled “DIST”, and this line is connected to the vacuum advance capsule; a tee in this
line should lead to the dump valve EAC4069 and connect to the fitting farthest from the flat side. Another connection is
labelled “CARB”; this should be connected to the throttle edge tapping, which is a port on the top of the right side
butterfly housing. The third connection is labelled “DELAY”, and this one should be connected to the intake manifold;
it typically is connected through a whole series of valves and controls that provide less vacuum when the engine is cold.
Basically, the regulator and the dump valve are the only things in the vacuum advance control system that are operating
when the engine is warmed up; everything else in the plumbing has to do with cold starting.
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Note that other markets use a different vacuum regulator, but the idea is the same.
The connection on the dump valve nearest the flat side should be connected to the intake manifold; in some cars it
appears to be connected to the bottom of the right side butterfly housing, but this fitting is a ways behind the butterfly
and will see manifold vacuum in all but nearly wide open throttle, and at wide open throttle it should see nearly
atmospheric pressure either way.
The various emission control diagrams available invariably show the controls for the air pump on the same diagram,
primarily because some of those vacuum control devices used for cold starting also affect air pump operation. Don’t get
confused; other than the fact that both systems are vacuum-controlled, they really have little to do with each other. The
descriptions above only apply to the vacuum advance system.
VACUUM REGULATOR CHECKING: Stephen Tyler says his vacuum regulator was bad; “At the top of the unit is a
metal disc & in that disc is a small hole. If you apply a vacuum to the input side of the unit, you cannot obtain a vacuum
out if the tell tale hole is sucking in air. The hole is for an indication if the internal diaphram is damaged. I removed the
metal top & found that the diaphram had a hole in it. There are probably many units like this, considering the age of
these cars.” This has grave implications for the fuel economy of a lot of cars out there.
15-MINUTE TIMER: The 15-minute timer is a feature of the “B Emission” H.E. cars, which means UK/Europe spec,
82-88 or so. If the coolant temperature is below 38°C when the car is started, the timer is engaged. This disables the
vacuum advance at idle and runs the part-throttle vacuum advance through a delay valve for 15 minutes. If the coolant
temperature is above 45°C when the engine is started, the coolant temp switch is open and the timer is not engaged.
38°-45°C is the “dead band” of this switch -- whether it’s closed or open depends on whether the engine was cooling
down or warming up when it entered this band.
15-MINUTE TIMER -- LOCATION: Everybody wants to know what this thing looks like and where it is. Craig
Sawyers reports: “It is a black box with ventilation slots, 2"x1.5"x1.5". It has a single fixing hole at one end, and an
edge connector at the other.
“Location in UK cars is:
XJ12 -- under the driver's side (rhs) underscuttle, up high. It is more or less behind the speedo, and a fight to find
and remove.
XJ-S -- under the passenger side (lhs) underscuttle, much lower and easy to get to.”
Steve S says, “the US 45 sec one would be located to the right of the passenger side small fuse box under the scuttle.
Nothing is fitted in this space in the UK spec. The UK 15 min job is to the left of the passenger side small fuse box but
located on a different plate to the small fuse box set closer to the firewall (bulkhead); US spec cars have something to do
with the seat belts located where the 15 min timer goes.”
15-MINUTE TIMER -- REPAIR: The timer itself is reportedly unreliable. Tony Bryant: “My '85 NZ Spec (= RHD
Euro) had this 15-minute timer in the LH side of the LH footwell. Cheap and nasty piece of trash. It's a pertronix unit,
based on a CD4020 cmos 14bit counter, and a CD4069(?) hex inverter with one of the inputs floating(!). Floating input
pins on CMOS are just begging for a blown up chip. I replaced it with the 74HC equivalent, and tied the unused input
to ground - before I ditched the whole system.”
15-MINUTE TIMER -- DITCHING: The 15-minute timer apparently causes really bad fuel economy during those 15
minutes, especially aggravating for owners whose driving patterns happen to have them within those 15 minutes most of
the time they are driving. Craig Sawyers says, “Admittedly, the V12 is thirsty, but a certain amount of that is to do with
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the 15-minute timer on the vacuum advance. Before that cuts in I get 14 (UK) mpg. When it cuts out it comes back to
19-20.” Mike Morrin says, “My weekday commute is only 3.5 miles each way, the thermal switch operates after about a
mile and totally disconnecting the 15 minute circuit gave me a 2 MPG overall improvement.”
If you’re sick of using so much fuel, disconnect the timer! The car will run just fine with full vacuum advance when
cold, it just won’t warm up as quickly. Since the timer energizes the 3-way solenoid valve, the 2-way solenoid valve,
and the supplemental air valve (see page 304) and de-energizes them when the 15 minutes are up, you can merely
disconnect the wires from the timer or the coolant temp switch and the car will never lack vacuum advance again. The
easiest way to disable it is to just pull one of the wires on the thermal switch on the rear end of the right side coolant
manifold. This is obviously easy enough you can try it and see if you like it.
Once you decide to make this change permanent, you can make things neater by removing all of those valves and
plumbing up the vacuum advance system with the same routing that effectively existed after the 15 minutes had expired.
You can also trashcan the timer itself if you want, and replace the coolant sensor with a plug.
The 2-way solenoid valve and the 3-way solenoid valve are involved in killing the vacuum advance at idle during cold
starts, but the purpose of the supplemental air valve is to boost the idle RPM to compensate for the lack of vacuum
advance. Disabling the cold start solenoid valves theoretically eliminates the need for this idle boost (the Auxiliary Air
Valve is intended to provide idle boost for cold starting), but if you find the car idling too slowly when cold you might
consider leaving the supplemental air valve connected and disconnecting the solenoid valves only. In this regard, this
system may serve as a patch for a weak or deteriorating AAV (see page 265).
Also note that, on later cars, the same supplemental air valve was used to boost the idle when the A/C compressor was
engaged. This is a really nice feature, and one might consider keeping the supplemental air valve in place for that
purpose. If your car is an earlier model lacking this A/C idle boost, you might want to wire it up! See page 304.
15-MINUTE TIMER -- MODIFICATION: The only problem with ditching the 15-minute timer is how long the engine
takes to warm up. The vacuum advance makes the engine run efficiently, so it doesn’t generate as much waste heat.
Killing the vacuum makes the engine inefficient so it generates a lot of waste heat and warms up quickly. Richard
Mansell says, “I disconnected mine recently and found that it seemed to take a lot longer to warm up. It is now
reconnected. I may disconnect it again for the summer (if we actually get one this year).” Awwww, little Ricky’s gotta
have his heat!
Craig Sawyers suggests a compromise: “If you unplug the timer and link together the grey and pink/white wires, this
connects the 45°C switch directly to the valves. So the valves will operate until the engine reaches 45°C and then switch
off. I did this with my brother in law's XJS when his module blew.” This is a really neat fix, since it means the car will
get to 45°C in a hurry and then get good fuel economy from then on.
Of course, 45°C isn’t all that hot, so the heater will still not be working as well as some might like. So, there are other
possible fixes. The most obvious would be to replace the coolant temp switch with something with a higher cut-out
temp, like 70°C. It must be stressed that the switch really needs to cut out before the thermostat temp is reached;
otherwise, there’s a chance that the idle vacuum advance will remain disabled indefinitely!
Another idea would be to leave the timer in place but shorten that 15 minutes to something more reasonable. Sawyers
describes how to modify the OEM timer: “The counter is a 14-bit binary counter. The most significant bit is used to
trigger the valves. So you can select a delay of 7.5 minutes by reconnecting diode D1 internally to pin 2 instead of pin 3
on the MC14020 timer chip. Or if you connect to pin 1, you get 3.75 minutes.
Daniel Lethiais elaborates: “You will find inside this unit a small electronic plate with integrated circuits. Near the
HEF4020B is the diode D1. If you want a delay around 4 minute you just have to cut the connexion beetween pin3 to
D1 (with a cutter, knife...) and connect pin 1 to diode D1. It is very easy to do.
“Yesterday I have tried a connexion between Diode D1 and pin 15. I have checked my unit outside the car with a
separate power supply and an oscilloscope. The timer is now around 2,5 mn.”
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Sawyers: “You can get intermediate times by changing the oscillator frequency. This is set by the values of either C3,
or R6/R7. The timing is in inverse proportion to the parallel combination of R6 and R7, and to C3. So halving the value
of either will double the time, etc. For instance, changing R6 from 820k to 470k (leaving other components unchanged)
will reduce the time from 15 minutes to 9 minutes.”
Of course, you could just try to find a replacement timer instead of getting into the schematics.
When considering shortening or eliminating the vacuum advance disable, one must consider its original intention.
Unfortunately, there’s no telling what that was. It looks like an emissions feature and in fact is part of the scheme called
“B Emissions”, but the UK and Europe supposedly had no emissions requirements at all when these cars were built. It
could be argued that its purpose is to get the engine warm quickly to minimize wear, but one would have to remember
why a cold engine has high wear: there’s too much fuel running through it. Since this system clearly increases the
amount of fuel running through it, it’s questionable whether it does any good in that regard. All in all, the entire purpose
of this system may be to make the heater work as quickly as possible. That’s an expensive heater, especially since this
thing provides 15 minutes of lousy fuel economy even in warm weather.
VACUUM ADVANCE MODULE -- PRE-H.E.: Mike O’Neill noticed that the vacuum advance module from an MGB
will fit the pre-H.E. distributor. However, John Nuttall found that the MGB advance unit -- as well as some units for
Triumphs -- look similar and will fit, but provide differing amounts of advance at different vacuum levels. So, if your
engine is largely stock and you want to keep it that way, you probably should seek a Jaguar advance unit. On the other
hand, if your engine is not stock and you need to provide nonstandard amounts of vacuum advance, this provides some
places to look. Also, these units might provide materials for rebuilding your old vacuum advance module in much the
same way Napoli used a Chevy part in the procedure described above.
VACUUM RETARD: According to the article “Advancing by Vacuum” by Roger Bywater in XJS Bulletin Issue #1, a
vacuum retard module is typically connected to a throttle edge tapping on the inward-opening side of the butterfly.
Hence, vacuum is applied at idle, but as the throttle is opened the edge of the butterfly passes over the port so it sees
ambient air pressure. The system therefore provides a few degrees of retard at idle, but does nothing at other throttle
positions. This helps make the engine idle better, since some engines have trouble igniting the charge at high vacuum;
according to Bywater, the carburetted V12’s fit into this category. By waiting until the piston is closer to TDC, the
charge is more concentrated and compressed when the spark occurs. Obviously, such a retard scheme would help
emissions at idle by ensuring good ignition.
Ian Macfarlane, regarding his 1985 XJ-S: “In Australia the distributor has a retard connection on the vacuum module
which is supposed to operate for about 15 min. after starting via a solenoid valve. But the wire leading to the solenoid
valve had been cut (as had the wire to the supplemental air valve). Thus, even though the distributor timing was correct
with the vacuum tubes disconnected, the engine ran at about 6 deg retarded under normal conditions.
“Although this would not exactly apply to other emission systems it is another option for those with an overheating
problem - if the vacuum system was not working properly it is feasible that overheating could occur due to retardation.”
Having the vacuum retard system activated when it shouldn’t be is a valid concern, but this author isn’t convinced that
cutting the wire to the solenoid valve will do it. According to the schematics of this system, the solenoid valve
controlling the vacuum to the retard side of the vacuum capsule is a “normally closed” type, meaning that cutting the
wires should render it always closed -- no vacuum retard.
Mark Jackson, who owns an ’87 Australian model, says, “I have been told (and have the proof on the car) that the local
dealers got so fed up with people complaining about poor performance on start-up, that they just bypassed the electronic
valve mounted under the RHS manifold by routing the vacuum pipes past it.”
CENTRIFUGAL ADVANCE - SEIZING: At this point in this book, I used to report how the pre-Marelli Jaguar V12
centrifugal advance was highly prone to seizing. However, with more and more readers reporting back, I can say with
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relative certainty: Unless your distributor has been overhauled, it is seized right now. Period. This has proven to be a
100% failure rate, every time, every car, there simply is no doubt anymore. And a seized advance unit results in low
power, overheating and major engine damage if not corrected. If you are not absolutely positive that your distributor
has been overhauled already, it is imperative that you schedule an overhaul as soon as possible -- and drive the car very
gently or not at all until it’s done.
Folks, this is probably the single most important item in this book. Centrifugal advance seizure may be the cause behind
most of the problems the Jaguar V12 has -- overheating, dropped valve seats, etc. -- and the reason behind most owner
dissatisfaction, low resale value, Chevy engine swaps, you name it. Is there any way I can convince you, the XJ-S
owner, to take action now? If it’ll make you feel better, give me a call, I’ll tell you in person: Overhaul the distributor
NOW.
Sad to say, reports are that this failure mode -- notorious as it is -- is not widely known among Jaguar dealers and
mechanics. Despite the frequency of charging customers $10K for a new engine, it has never occurred to many of these
shops that the engine failures were preventable. Some people have reported that their Jaguar dealer overhauled or
replaced several unrelated components before finally figuring out that the centrifugal advance was seized. Others never
figured it out. Perhaps their fancy diagnostic computers don’t blink “centrifugal advance seized”. Perhaps they just like
collecting those fees for new engines. Whatever, keep in mind that just because you have had your car “checked out” by
the dealer doesn’t mean you don’t have the problem. It’s not even a certainty that the advance is OK if you specifically
asked them to check it; some of these mechanics don’t even know how to check it. For those who have mechanical
abilities, it is highly recommended that you check your centrifugal advance yourself, or better yet simply go ahead and
overhaul it. If you aren’t the type to get your hands dirty, it probably would be money well spent to have an independent
shop confirm the first shop’s conclusions.
John Napoli confirms this: “I know or deal with about a half-dozen repair shops. Some are run by friends (no chicanery
ever) and the others, including my local Jag dealer, are pure business relationships. None of them ever heard anything
about the chronic Jag problem of seized centrifugal weights. Not even the Jag dealer, although maybe they do know and
don’t tell. I’ll go further and say that no Jag owner I’ve encountered has ever heard of it, either. You get these strange
looks when you bring it up (“If I don’t know, then it can’t hurt me.”). I find it hard to believe, but it looks like a lot of
the information regarding the idiosyncrasies of these cars never reaches the people who can use it most. Perhaps this is
part of the reason why so many Jag owners have bad experiences with repair shops.”
The usual indications of a seized advance mechanism are an XJ-S that lacks power at higher RPM and a nasty tendency
to overheat. In some cases, when the throttle is backed off suddenly there is a brief power surge before decelerating. If
your car doesn’t have the performance at higher RPM that it should, check the advance mechanism immediately; a
distributor seizure is easily fixed, but warped blocks, dropped valve seats and burned pistons are much more expensive
and are the inevitable outcome of continued operation.
To confirm for yourself that your advance unit is seized, remove the distributor cap. Attempt to turn the rotor
counterclockwise. If operating properly, you can easily turn it about 11° (H.E.) or about 13° (pre-H.E.) against a
spring. Note that this thing should feel really loose and rattly, and when you twist it and let go it should snap back with
a metallic clink; if at all sticky or gummy-feeling when turned, time to overhaul. The forces that move this thing are
balanced against each other, so a very slight difference is supposed to make it move; while the springs may seem mighty
strong when you’re fiddling with them, even a slight amount of drag or stickiness is enough to keep it from moving as it
should. It may be movable by hand but not as far as it should or not as freely as it should. Unfortunately, in a book such
as this it is difficult to convey adequately how to tell that an advance is gummy until a person has felt a properly-
operating advance for themselves. This might be an excellent topic for a monthly Jaguar club meeting -- to have
someone who knows what the advance should feel like check every V12 that shows up. Of course, if totally seized, the
problem is obvious; you cannot move it at all except for backlash in the drivetrain.
Another method of checking for a seized distributor is to compare the timing (with the vacuum line to the distributor
disconnected and plugged) at 2000 RPM with the timing at idle (under 900 RPM). The two readings should differ by at
least 12° (H.E.) or at least 22° (non-H.E.). If they are the same or very close, the centrifugal advance is seized. If the
advance at 2000 RPM is more than a couple of degrees different when you come up to that RPM from idle than it is if
you come down to that RPM from 4000, then the advance is sticky; overhaul it.
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OK, SO IT’S SEIZED -- NOW WHAT? To prevent/correct a seized centrifugal advance mechanism, it’s necessary to
overhaul the distributor, clean out all of the original lubricant, clean up the parts, and reassemble with a reliable lubricant.
Roger Bywater says, “Most of them probably run for years without the cap being lifted so by the time anyone does get
round to it the spindle is likely to be running dry and getting built up with debris. Adding lube at that stage may well
loosen the debris and aggravate the situation so really it needs complete stripping to ensure that it will not jam at some
future time.” Bywater, having worked for Jaguar, can be expected to blame the seizures on poor maintenance -- and
perhaps he’s correct. I personally suspect the original lubricant used at assembly was lousy, based on what the stuff
looked like when I got my distributor apart! It really doesn’t matter what the cause; either way, the distributor has to
come apart.
Of course, you don’t have time for overhauling. You will probably want to try the easy fix: Remove the distributor cap
and rotor, and put some penetrating oil down the center and see if you can work it loose. If you are successful, it is
recommended that you check its operation regularly -- or better yet, just go ahead and overhaul it when you get the
chance. The results of operation with a seized centrifugal advance are simply too costly to ignore.
This is one place where getting a new part will probably not help. There is little wear in the distributor, and an
overhauled and properly lubricated used part can be expected to last the life of the car. But a new distributor may have
the same problem as the original distributor did. It is recommended that even a brand new in-the-box distributor be
overhauled prior to installation (to get that lousy lubricant outta there).
The good news: The reported incidence of centrifugal advances seizing after they have been overhauled is nil. This may
be because the original grease is the problem, and once it’s removed the problem goes away. It may simply be because
once the overhaul has been done the owner understands what’s going on and lubricates it regularly. Whatever, once the
distributor has been overhauled, there is apparently no reason to expect to ever have to do it again.
Randy K. Wilson points out that the problems with seized centrifugal advances on pre-H.E. engines may actually be
different in nature. “From what I’ve seen the gummy advance problem is unique to the V12 H.E. distributor. Earlier
distributors also had a problem with seizing, but these galled from a total lack of lubrication.” Of course, this could
mean that the H.E. only gets hot enough inside the distributor to turn the lubricant to varnish while the pre-H.E. got hot
enough to burn the lubricant away entirely. Or, it could mean that Jaguar added grease to the assembly in response to
the dry seizures, and the grease caused its own seizures.
DISTRIBUTOR REMOVAL: If the centrifugal advance is seized, or if you wish to prevent seizure in the future, the
distributor should be removed and disassembled. It’s not difficult, but it will help to read the following sections
thoroughly before tackling the job.
Note: If you prefer, it is possible to rebuild the centrifugal advance mechanism with the distributor in place. It’s easier
to take it out and do it on the bench rather than leaning over the fender, though.
Before removal, care must be taken to ensure the distributor can be reinstalled with the gears meshed correctly so the
rotor faces the same direction as before. If the crankshaft is not to be disturbed, this is very simple: Note the position of
the rotor prior to removal, so you can be sure it is in the same position when reinstalled. It’s a gear mesh and one tooth
off would be obvious, so just note the position well enough you can make sure you are on the same tooth when
reassembled.
Note: If you have the older Lucas OPUS ignition system, you are advised to position the engine at TDC on cylinder 1A,
which is where the timing marks on the crank pulley line up and the rotor is pointing at the front left headlight. If the
rotor is pointing at the right side door, you need to turn the engine around one full turn. The reason that this is
important is that the OPUS has a wheel within the distributor that has three slotted holes that line up with the distributor
mounting bolts in this position. Even if you can get it off without moving to TDC on 1A (by busting up the plastic
wheel, for example) you’re still gonna be in a pickle putting the rebuilt distributor back on without tearing it back apart
or turning the crank while the distributor is out.
If you turn the crankshaft while the distributor is out, you face additional problems. The distributor turns once every
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time the crankshaft turns twice, and therefore the distributor must not only be lined up facing 1A while the engine is at
10° Before Top Dead Center (BTDC) but it must be on the correct stroke. If not, the spark plugs will fire at the end of
the exhaust stroke instead of the compression stroke, and the motor will not run.
To get the setting right, cylinder 1A must be on the compression stroke when the distributor is installed pointing to 1A
on the cap. If you know in advance you may be turning the engine, it is easy enough to avoid problems. While the
distributor cap is off and the rotor is pointing at 1A and the crankshaft is at 10° BTDC, remove the oil filler cap. Reach
beyond the front edge of the chain and mark the camshaft gear itself (the camshaft gear turns at the same rate as the
distributor). You can use a dab of paint, or stake it, or whatever will give you a clear indication.
You might also want to mark the position of the base of the distributor, since it mounts on slotted holes. Ideally, the
base should be mounted so the correct timing is near the center of the range of the eccentric adjuster, but to begin with it
will be easier to put it back where it came from. Peter Smith: “I find that using typist’s white out to paint across
components can be helpful. It can be applied over slightly greasy surfaces and if precise alignment is necessary I can
draw on it with a biro.”
You can insert an allen wrench through the openings in the distributor and undo three screws and remove the distributor
as a unit. However, for the purposes of doing the marking mentioned above, it may be preferable to proceed with the
disassembly described below with the distributor still on the engine until you’ve removed enough parts to be able to
mark the bottom of the housing on the inside.
DISTRIBUTOR DISASSEMBLY: Remove the rotor arm; see page 126.
Remove the EFI trigger board or anti-flash shield (whichever). The biggest problem with removing the anti-flash shield
will be dropping the tiny screws and washers, but the trigger board causes more trouble. It is mounted with four tiny
plastic screws, and Jan Wikström reports that the screws get stuck to the metal; “On my own experience of three
distributors, you can expect to get two out intact. If you’re very careful.” He also reports that he has used metal screws
in a pinch with no apparent problems. When installing the plastic screws, maybe it would be a good idea to use anti-
seize compound, even though it looks silly on tiny plastic screws.
Richard Dowling dealt with the trigger board screws differently: “I retapped the holes to M4 (about 2 times stronger)
and fitted bigger nylon screws.”
Next, remove whatever is used to trigger the ignition; on 1982-89 cars, you need to remove a C-clip, then slide off a
wavy washer, then pry out a U-shaped pin. Finally, you need to slide off the iron star-shaped inductor rotor, being
careful not to damage it or deform the points. Even more importantly, don’t just pull upward on a sticky star rotor,
because you may stretch the springs in the centrifugal advance mechanism underneath. Here’s a method that seems to
work: Lift gently on the star rotor a little bit and insert the claw of a claw hammer under the star rotor. Rest the head of
the hammer on the edge of the distributor housing, but do not pry. While holding the star rotor in its slightly elevated
position with the claw hammer, tap downward on the center of the rotor carrier shaft with a plastic-surfaced hammer.
Once the end of the rotor carrier shaft is flush with the surface of the star rotor, if it still won’t simply slide off you can
position a small socket with an OD slightly smaller than the rotor carrier shaft on top and continue tapping.
On the pre-1982 cars, a plastic disk with 12 ferrite inserts was used; according to Jan Wikström, “Its hub is about an
inch long (estimated; I’ve never seen an intact one) and all beneath the disk. It’s a tight fit on the spindle and in its
keyway. And the disk, which is all you have to apply force to, is about 3/16 in thick near the hub. On an old car like
mine, the only way to get the disk out would be by breaking it up.”
Fortunately, John Nuttall found a better way: “I discovered a technique for removing the circular plastic timing rotor
which, according to Jan W in your book, often breaks under extraction. The idea is to undo the three screws which hold
the movable part of the distributor body to the base. This can be done with the rotor in place. These screws have springs
on them to allow the body to rotate when the vernier is turned. It is then possible to push upwards on the rotor with the
body with the force being applied uniformly very close to the central shaft of the rotor - much better than pulling at the
edge.”
Unfortunately, Wikström counters: “It’s better than fingers, although it still bears on the thin part of the disk outside the
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hub. But sure, it’s worth trying before you break the disk up. One hitch: If you don’t have the distributor with the little
screw inside the top of the shaft, lifting the micro housing (charming name, isn’t it?) will pull the centrifugal advance
mechanism apart without shifting the disk.” And stretch your advance springs beyond recognition. If you can’t rely on
the retainer to hold the rotor carrier shaft still, you must press down on the center shaft with your thumbs while pulling
up on the housing to get the disk off. Maybe some method involving tapping with a plastic-faced hammer will work
here, too.
Whichever distributor you have, you must remove the three screws with springs and lift off the movable portion of the
base to gain access to the centrifugal mechanism below. You could leave the pickup assembly in place, but on the 1982-
89 it’s in the way for getting to one of the screws with springs; since it’s only two Pozidriv screws to remove the pickup
assembly, that’s the easy solution. Of course, it’s a good idea to inspect the vacuum advance mechanism as well as the
pickup module while you’re there.
Note how the centrifugal weights and springs are installed. Being careful not to stretch them, disconnect the springs
from the pivot posts for the centrifugal weights; Carlos Artal says, “Use a piece of strong, thin string (such as fishing
line, etc. -- I used dental floss) to take away the springs without damaging them or overextending them. It works for
mounting them too. Just get one extreme, and pull slightly outwards and up.” You don’t have to disconnect the springs
from the posts on the rotor carrier base plate if you don’t want to; you can just let them dangle. Yes, the two springs are
different, but it doesn’t matter which one goes on which weight.
Remove the felt from the top of the rotor carrier (if there is any) and observe the retainer underneath. This is a possible
cause of trouble. The early cars had a screw there, but on later cars there’s a nylon clip instead. The nylon clip is usually
brittle and cracked, sometimes allowing the rotor carrier to rise on the distributor shaft and possibly causing interference
damage down in the advance mechanism. If you don’t have a screw, the procedure for removing the rotor carrier is to
yank, which usually results in breaking the nylon clip.
Normally the rotor carrier shaft should slide off the distributor shaft at this point, but if it is seized some Liquid Wrench
or other measures may be called for. Please try not to bend the distributor shaft -- it is remarkably thin within the rotor
carrier. And don’t grab the rotor carrier shaft with pliers or vice grips -- the metal isn’t that hard, you’ll booger up the
surface, and then it will be difficult to get the plastic wheel or star wheel back on. Once apart, clean all the crud off the
bearing surfaces. Decide for yourself whether Bywater or I am right, whether it seized due to lack of lubrication (dry) or
a lousy lubricant (gummed or varnished).
There are photos of some of the parts within the distributor at:
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/Distributor.html
DISTRIBUTOR SERVICE KIT: A distributor service kit, part number DZB105, is available; it is often called an “anti-
flash shield kit” since the anti-flash shield is the most obvious part in the bag. The kit contains parts usable on all pre-
Marelli distributors. Stefan Schulz points out: “It's a Lucas part number rather than a Jaguar one. My friendly not-so-
local Jaguar parts man couldn't find it on his system.”
The mail order catalogs may not list what parts are supplied in this kit, so the list is provided here:
Clear plastic anti-flash shield (used on 1982-89 only)
Screws and washers for anti-flash shield (4 ea)
Ignition pickup mounting screws (2 ea - used on 1982-89 only)
Distributor cap gasket
U-pin for reluctor positioning (used on 1982-89 only)
Reluctor retaining clip and wavy spring washer
Replacement carbon contact for distributor cap, with spring
O-ring for distributor-to-engine joint
Nylon rotor retaining clip (see note under DISTRIBUTOR DISASSEMBLY above)
It may not really be necessary to obtain this kit to perform a distributor overhaul. The O-ring can easily be purchased
locally, and you’d be well advised to find a Viton one anyway. The rotor retaining clip, while not likely to survive
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disassembly, can be replaced with a couple of small washers and a tiny O-ring -- see CENTRIFUGAL ADVANCE
REASSEMBLY below. The existing anti-flash shield, screws, cap gasket, U-pin, retaining clip, wavy washer, and
carbon contact may all be reusable -- and if not, screws and washers can be purchased separately, a gasket can be
purchased separately from Jaguar (DAC4063) or cut from gasket stock, and a carbon contact can be pilfered from some
other type of distributor cap.
In fact, the only part of this kit you’re likely to really need is the anti-flash shield itself since the old one may be brittle
and cracking. You could try buying it separately from Jaguar; it’s part number AEU1722. Or you could try fabbing a
flat disc from clear plastic and installing it with four long nylon screws and some nylon nuts to support it at the same
level as the top of the original shield; you might drill the four holes in the housing out and tap them larger to permit using
stouter nylon screws. You could try fabbing a shield from the bottom of a plastic container of some sort, again finding a
way to hold it in place without creating an electrical path to ground. Finally, you could just omit the anti-flash shield
entirely, since it’s plausible that it’s entire purpose in existence was to provide a purpose for the four screw holes that
were originally intended to hold the trigger board on D Jetronic cars.
DISTRIBUTOR SHAFT SEAL: The Jaguar V12 distributor has had two common problems, centrifugal advance
seizing and cracking distributor caps. Both of these problems have been attributed to crankcase vapors entering the
distributor between the shaft and the housing. Supposedly the vapors condense into the type of varnish found inside
engines, seizing the advance mechanism. Vapors collecting within the cap are ignited by the arcing of the distributor and
cause an explosion which cracks the cap.
Both causes are in question. Hard deposits that seize the advance may very well be the original lubricant exposed to too
much heat. And Jaguar’s reported reason for venting the later distributor caps was to deal with high temperatures that
caused the caps to crack, although clearly the vent system could also remove collecting vapors. It is noteworthy that the
later, vented distributors are still prone to advance mechanism seizing, and the still later Marelli distributors are vented
even though they have no advance mechanisms to seize. And the real source of the explosive vapors is the incompetent
mechanic who has addressed a seized centrifugal advance by spraying WD-40 down the center of the shaft, which spun
out and was ignited on startup and blew the cap apart.
There is a seal between the shaft and the distributor housing, but it gets hard and brittle, probably due to the heat in this
area. If the distributor is being worked on, it might be a good idea to replace this seal. Note that removing the
distributor drive gear retaining pin requires some grinding, and reinstalling the pin requires a tack weld to hold it in
place. There’s a bearing in there, too, you might wanna renew it while you’re there.
RATTLY PARTS: Richard Chapman had another problem: “The pressed connection between the rotor shaft and plate
where the springs connect was loose. I brazed it very carefully and that made the timing reading stable rather than
flickering.” This is not a rare occurrence; be sure to check your rotor carrier for looseness before reassembly.
THINGY: Highly technical term referring to a specially-shaped plastic thrust washer at the bottom of the rotor carrier
shaft, just below the centrifugal advance weights. It has ears on it that appear to provide an inner stop for the centrifugal
weights, apparently to reduce noise but effectively limiting how retarded the timing moves at idle. It’s also a British
non-metallic part, so it may be cracked or broken. Note: If you have the early distributor held together with a screw
under the rotor instead of the nylon clip, you don’t have a thingy and don’t need one.
If you’re lucky enough to have an intact thingy, you need to take care to reinstall it properly during reassembly. If you
just look at it and line up the notches with the “wings” on the cam plate on the bottom of the rotor carrier shaft, there’s a
better than even chance you will have installed it wrong. There is a pair of pins on the thingy that hold it in position
relative to the cam plate, and the correct position of these pins is shown in Figure 9. Note that for clarity the thingy itself
is not shown, only its pins.
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RIGHT WRONG
Figure 9 - Locating the Pins on the "Thingy"
If your thingy is toast, bad news: This part is apparently unobtainable. It’s not included in the DZB105 kit. One
frustrated owner reported: “I phoned Lucas Aftermarket Operations, Parts and Service (note: See page 705).
Apparently, they have routine service parts which are readily available at most dealers, other service parts which they
can provide part numbers for and which are often available, and then there are non-service parts which of course the
thingy and the seal fall under. The parts did not show up on his drawings although he did have DZB105. He could
see the shaft bearings in the drawing, but no seal and no plastic thingy. I asked what happens to parts that are not on
their drawings anymore. I was advised that once it is not profitable to sell replacement parts, they are removed from
the aftermarket listing and so, to Lucas Aftermarket the part numbers are no longer available. He told me that the
part numbers could only be obtained from the factory drawings once they were declared non-service parts. He also
advised that they factory would not talk to me about this because that is what Lucas Aftermarket is for. So, Lucas
Aftermarket is apparently the only information source Lucas has for part numbers and they do not have these parts
listed anymore.”
You’re screwed. The only option -- and it’s a perfectly workable one -- is to install a generic 5/16” ID flat thrust
washer in place of this thingy. Val Danilov adds “I wouldnt use any washer there larger than 0.5in OD, as it may
interfere with the weights.” The thrust washer also needs to be at least .060” thick, although if thinner you could
merely stack two in there; the ideal thickness is around .078”, but you could probably install anything up to about .
120” without any problem. The loss of the inner stops for the centrifugal weights will evidently allow the timing to
retard a fraction of a degree more at idle than before (timing is set at 3000 RPM, well out of the influence of this
thingy, so timing anywhere except idle will be unaffected). There also might be some noise at idle with the weights
hitting the metal shaft instead of the plastic stops, although how you would ever hear it above the general din of the
engine idling is simply inconceivable.
Plastic, brass or bronze will work nicely; steel might gall against the other steel parts, and aluminum or copper may be
too soft and wear quickly. Danilov doesn’t like the idea of plastic, since this is the type of application where
choosing the wrong plastic will result in a part that gets hard and cracks with age; he found a porous bronze thrust
washer at an Ace hardware store with the 1/2” OD and was able to drill out the ID to the correct size. This sintered
bronze bearing material is ideal, since the entire purpose of the material is for use as a bearing between steel parts.
Another idea would be to buy a 5/16” ID - 1/2” OD bronze sleeve bushing and slice a suitable ring off one end of it
(if you find a place that sells them, you might want to pick up a couple more such bushings; see the section on throttle
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linkage bushing replacement on page 269).
CENTRIFUGAL ADVANCE REASSEMBLY: Do not grease the sleeve bearing area between the rotor carrier shaft
and the distributor shaft before reassembly; this bearing should be lubricated with full synthetic engine oil only. Steve
Holst shared his experience with the xj-s@jag-lovers.org discussion list: “I can vouch for having no grease put in the
rebuild. I had my distributor rebuilt by my previous Jag mechanic before I knew of this list. About two years later it was
seized up again. It didn't take long before that grease was gumming things up again. I have a feeling that most Jag
mechanics assume that slathering on the stuff is the way to do this job. I cleaned it out myself that time and haven't had
a problem since.”
It is recommended that the pivots for the weights be lubricated with dry graphite only. The ends of the springs and the
contact surfaces all the way around the cam plate on the bottom of the rotor carrier shaft may be lubricated with a high
temp light grease such as automotive contact grease, but make sure not to apply so much that there is any conceivable
way you could cause a seizure if this grease hardens. An unnamed source on the MG discussion list says, “Dupont
makes a line of synthetic greases under the Krytox brand name which use a PFPE (perfluoropolyether) oil thickened with
PTFE (Teflon). It is rated for continuous use up to 260°C and down to forty below zero and is chemically inert, so it
won't react with anything which may come into contact with it (gas, liquid or solid). I think the GPL-225 would
probably meet your needs, but something thicker (GPL-226) might be good, too. You should be able to get a 'sample'
tube of this stuff for about $10 or less. Check out:
http://www.lubricants.dupont.com/
Finding a replacement nylon clip apparently requires buying the entire service kit (see page 141), which you might want
to consider anyway. However, considering the clip’s failure tendencies, you may decide not to use it. It has been found
that an excellent method to retain the rotor carrier is to insert a couple of small metal washers that fit within the carrier
but around the top of the shaft, followed by a tiny, chubby O-ring. Snap the O-ring into the groove on the top of the
shaft so that it retains the washers in place, which in turn retain the carrier. David Johnson says, “I found a #61 O-Ring
at Home Depot was a perfect fit in the groove. It has the following dimensions: 9/32” x 5/32” x 1/16”. The O-Ring has
a slightly smaller diameter than the top of the shaft. When you get it on it seems to stretch until it is a perfect fit for the
groove.” For owners in the UK, Carlos Artal says, “The O-ring can be found in the generic O-ring packet they sell at
Halfords. There are 2 boxes, one with large rings and one with small ones ; in the small O-rings one, there's a perfect
sized O-ring.” It might even be a good idea to try to find a Viton O-ring in this size, although since sealing isn’t the
issue and you’d be willing to buy a new O-ring whenever you take the distributor apart perhaps you don’t care if it gets
hard and brittle.
Another suggestion: Roger Bywater says, “Pulling the spindle apart invariably destroys the plastic retainer at the top but
we find a small push on trim lock washer works just as well.”
The washers need to have an OD less than 13/32” (10.3mm) but larger than 5/16” (7.9mm), and the ID needs to be at
least 3/16” (4.8mm). Brass washers would be ideal; you don’t need yet another source of rust in this assembly. Johnson
says that Home Depot’s 5mm plain zinc washers fit perfectly. “They are in the pull out boxes and not hanging on peg
hooks. 4 per bag.”
If these parts are installed properly the carrier should have a slight amount of up and down play, but if excessive there is
the possibility the rotor carrier shaft might be able to slide up far enough to disengage the pins on the thingy down
below. If the thingy moves while thus disengaged, the rotor carrier shaft might come back down and crunch it. This is
unlikely to happen while running, but it might occur when somebody is trying to replace the rotor. To avoid the
problem, install at least two washers under the O-ring. Better yet, do some trial fits while apart; first, try just the O-ring
and washers on the distributor shaft to see how many will fit, then trial assemble the rotor carrier shaft, thingy, washers
and O-ring without the centrifugal weights in the way and see if the pins on the thingy remain engaged when the rotor
carrier shaft is lifted. When through with the trial, it should be possible to simply pull the rotor carrier shaft off, popping
the O-ring without damage, but just in case it’d probably be a good idea to have a couple of spare O-rings on hand for
such trials.
Once the rotor carrier shaft is in place and retained, you can connect up the centrifugal advance springs. On the heavy
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one, it is recommended that the elongated end be positioned on the outward post that a weight pivots on rather than the
inward post on the rotor carrier shaft baseplate. It might not make any difference, but it’ll make sure the tip of the
spring doesn’t touch the side of the rotor carrier itself. It’ll probably be easier to assemble this way, too.
If there is no felt plug in the top of the rotor carrier shaft, install one -- or just jam a cotton ball in there. Something
needs to hold some oil.
DISTRIBUTOR OVERHAUL -- PAY SOMEONE ELSE VERSION: Jeff Elmore points out that British Car Service
(page 706) will overhaul your distributor for you. “I called them and they said that they do the whole seals, bushings
and new springs. They said that they have an assortment of springs and they keep trying until they get the right advance
curve.”
DISTRIBUTOR INSTALLATION: Since you read this book first and marked the parts correctly, installation is a snap.
If the crankshaft has not been disturbed, reinstall the distributor with the rotor pointing in the same direction it was
before removal (Note: Correcting a seized advance mechanism may make the rotor point slightly differently, but it’s
real close. You’ll know if you miss by one tooth on the drive gear). If the crankshaft was turned, remove the oil filler
cap, turn the engine until 10° BTDC and the mark you made on the sprocket is showing, and install the distributor with
the rotor pointing towards the 1A contact on the cap.
If you didn’t plan ahead and the engine has been turned, it is not so easy. If you just take a blind shot at this you only
have a 50/50 chance of getting it right. There is a mark on the jackshaft, but the jackshaft turns at the same rate as the
crankshaft, twice the rate of the distributor, so that mark is of no help.
To ensure correct positioning, the 1A spark plug can be removed and the engine turned over with a thumb over the hole;
the compression stroke can easily be determined. However, getting the 1A plug out and a thumb over the hole is
difficult on the H.E. (it’s much easier on the pre-H.E.). You might try Bob Egerton’s bubble trick described in the
section on timing starting on page 126. There are also whistles sold that can screw into the plug hole to report when
you’re on the compression stroke.
Craig Sawyers says, “...look down the hole. If it is on exhaust, you can just see the exhaust valve if you shine a light
down the hole. If it is on ignition, you won't see any valve (they'll both be shut).”
Mike Morrin says, “There is an easier way. Set the engine to TDC according to the mark on the crankshaft, get a short
length of hose which will seal up against the spark plug hole, and blow into it. On the compression stroke, you should
go red in the face.”
Alternatively you can check cylinder 6A (right rear cylinder), which may be easier for any of the methods described
above. This cylinder fires exactly one complete crankshaft rotation before and after 1A. Therefore, you can find the top
of the compression stroke on 6A and then turn the crankshaft through one complete turn. Or, you can leave it there and
install the distributor such that the rotor points to the 6A contact instead, exactly opposite the 1A contact.
To place the distributor housing in the right place on the slotted holes so the vernier adjustment has a usable range,
merely align it with the marks you made before you took it out. You didn’t mark it? Tsk, tsk. Read on.
Michael Neal claims, after working on these cars daily, that the optimum location of the distributor body on the three
slotted holes is always the same. The correct position “is with the distributor body set at 3.5 degrees retarded at the
adjuster. The centerline of the rotor will be 75% past the No. 1 line on the inner shield. The slots for the holddown
allen bolts will be 2/3 past the allen heads. The tooth on the pickup will be roughly 5 degrees past the center of the
pickup point. Note that the distributor turns anti-clockwise. This setting will give you near perfect timing almost every
time with adjustments both ways. Other settings tend to give too much retard or advance with no adjustment.”
PREVENTING THE DAMN THING FROM SEIZING AGAIN: After you’ve overhauled the distributor and fixed the
seized advance, the rotor carrier/distributor shaft interface must be lubricated regularly; the Lubrication Chart in the
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ROM says two or three drops of clean engine oil in the felt under the rotor every 6,000 miles (every oil change - no,
Quickie Lube is not likely to be doing this!). This is not easy, as it requires removing the distributor cap, which in turn
requires removing the cruise control unit and all the ignition wires. This lubrication procedure is obviously very
important; it is recommended that owners do it themselves, or make very sure their mechanic isn’t skipping this part of
the maintenance. Jan Wikström suggests installing a new felt pad, then taking it in for service. If the pad is dry when
checked afterward, cease doing business with that shop. Perhaps good advice, but has a significant probability of
eliminating every shop in the area from consideration!
Note that many XJ-S distributors don’t seem to have any felt. Considering the known problems here, it’d probably be a
good idea to put some in. Or, just a wad of cotton.
Since the seizing appears to be caused by the lubricant getting baked, normal “clean engine oil” might not be the best
idea. I recommend that a synthetic engine oil be used, since it won’t tend to varnish or sludge and withstands higher
temperatures without breaking down. Soak the felt or cotton thoroughly every time you’re in there, and make sure
you’re in there often enough. It might not need to be as often as every 6,000 miles -- especially if you’re using synthetic
motor oil -- but it’s better to be safe than sorry here, so make sure you do it often until you personally have confidence
that you can go longer between oilings without the thing drying out or gumming up.
It is suggested that spray lubricants of the flammable variety be avoided within the distributor. When running, there are
sparks between the rotor and the electrodes in the cap; vapors will be ignited upon starting, ruining your day.
DISTRIBUTOR CAP REPLACEMENT: Randy Wilson has a low opinion of the aftermarket products, and
recommends buying only the genuine Lucas parts: “The last time I checked, there was only one aftermarket cap
available. I ordered in a lot of them... and every single one was defective in one way or another. Missing center buttons,
missing vent tubes, pre-cracked, molded oval... Flimsy pieces. They’re about 1/3 the price of the Lucas pieces... and not
worth it.” Note that the author has also purchased one of these aftermarket items, and in fact had trouble with the vent
tubes simply falling off. Rendering it usable required careful application of JB Weld.
Jason Korke says, “I have found when I installed a replacement cap & rotor from "Standard" brand, they worked OK
but the vent tubes broke off. I reinstalled the Lucas cap, and found no spark! Eventually I found the Standard cap &
rotor will work and the Lucas cap & rotor will work, but do not mix the two brands.”
DISTRIBUTOR CAP VENTING: The 82-89 distributor cap has two fittings for a positive ventilation system. Air is
drawn through a small filter, through the distributor, and into the engine side of the air filter housing. The filter is
normally found laying against the left wing at the crossbrace attachment, and sometimes concerns owners because it
appears to have been disconnected from somewhere.
Reportedly this system was incorporated because the earlier distributor caps were cracking due to excessive heat,
although some suspect removal of flammable vapors was the real reason -- see comments under DISTRIBUTOR
SHAFT SEAL on page 142.
The connection to the air filter housing is not actually to the housing directly, but rather to a hose between the housing
and the auxiliary air valve (see page 265). This is therefore a special molded hose with provision for a tiny fitting. The
fitting itself is a plastic elbow, and is often found to be broken. It is not to difficult to find a suitable replacement,
though, and you might even find a brass one. Or, you can forget the whole thing and install a generic piece of hose
between the air filter housing and the auxiliary air valve, and install a small fitting right onto the inner side of the air filter
housing for connecting the vent line from the distributor.
The filter itself is no more complicated than it looks. Any generic fuel filter will serve as a replacement. Unfortunately,
some people actually have trouble finding one; David Littlefield says, “These used to be widely available as a generic fuel
filter. However, when I looked for one recently they were nowhere to be found. I finally ran across one at my local
auto parts store, but not with the automobile fuel filters -- it was in the lawnmower parts!” Others suggest asking for a
fuel filter for a VW. Peter Havas got carried away and made a filter from a plastic film container stuffed with generic
filter material (cotton, some types of vacuum cleaner filters, a coffee filter, or the crankcase ventilation filters sold in auto
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parts stores will serve). He cut lots of little holes in one end, and cut a hole in the other end just a hair smaller than the
OD of the hose and stuffed the hose into it. This arrangement allows him to service the filter by opening it up and
cleaning or replacing the “element”.
Obviously, optimizing airflow and cooling would be a good idea, so replacing this filter before it gets significantly
plugged up is recommended. If you drive in dusty conditions, take note.
If you would like to help this system out, reroute the intake filter to somewhere in front of the radiator. This will draw
cooler air, and will also draw more air since this is a high pressure area. The cooler air should also help the electronic
ignition pickup last longer.
It’s possible that this ventilation scheme was retrofitted to earlier cars. It may also be possible to drill the older cap and
fashion suitable fittings, one in the side for an inlet and one out the top for an outlet. A few pieces of hose, a fuel filter,
and a connection to the engine side of an air filter housing and it’s done.
Lucas OPUS Mark 2 (pre-1982)
LUCAS “OPUS” MARK 2 IGNITION -- DESCRIPTION: This is a brief description of how the pre-1982 ignition
system works, based on the more detailed description in SAE paper 720163 on the development of the engine.
The pickup within the distributor consists of an E-shaped transformer with one input coil and two output coils. The
input coil is on the center leg of the E and is fed a 600KHz input signal from the amplifier. The two output coils are on
the outer legs of the E and are wired in series so that their outputs cancel -- provided the two sides of the transformer
are equal.
When one of the ferrite inserts built into the plastic rotor in the distributor aligns itself with one side of this transformer,
it magnetically completes the circle on one side of the E. Since the output coil on this side is now more closely coupled
with the input coil than the other output coil, its output is greater -- and the two no longer cancel each other. A
transistor in the amp is toggled by the resultant output signal, triggering a spark.
TROUBLESHOOTING: Jan Wikström sends this procedure for testing the OPUS ignition system:
1. Pull the lead from coil to distributor out of the distributor and jam it under a fuel pipe so there’s a gap
of about 1 mm (.04in) between the brass and the nearest engine part.
2. Crank the engine. Do you get fat, blue sparks in the gap? Then the ignition is OK and you need to
troubleshoot the injection system. If not, continue:
3. Pull the spade connector off the coil terminal marked (+). Turn the ignition on, then test the power
with a spare light bulb between the connector and engine bare metal (this is better than a voltmeter,
because it will reveal a poor contact with insufficient current carrying capacity). Is the lamp bright?
Then continue; if there’s no voltage, check the ignition switch and all its wiring including the ballast
resistor.
4. Touch the connector quickly several times to the terminal. Do you get a spark now? Then the pickup
coil in the distributor or its wiring, or (less likely) the amplifier, may be faulty. If there’s no spark,
turn the ignition off and continue:
5. Get a test lead with alligator clips. Clip one end to bare metal on the engine, pull the tubular
connector off the (-) terminal of the coil and clip the other end to that terminal.
6. Repeat test 4. If you get a spark now, the amplifier or its wiring is faulty. If you get no spark, the
coil is dead.”
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OPUS IGNITION AMPLIFIER RELOCATION: The OPUS ignition amplifier is a finned aluminum block that was
originally mounted down within the galley between the cam covers. It gets cooked, primarily after the engine is shut off
and all that heat from the block rises. Dick Russell says that intermittent failures characterized by the tach reading zero
even when the engine is still turning are a sure sign the amp has failed.
Jaguar makes a kit to relocate this amplifier to the plate across the top of the radiator so it stays cooler. The kit includes
a new amplifier and a new pickup for inside the distributor, and costs over $300.
It is possible Jaguar includes the amplifier and pickup simply because the only time their mechanics get a call to relocate
the unit is after the original unit has fried. On the other hand, perhaps the reason the unit was originally located in such a
sorry place was because the wiring needed to be as short as possible, and the replacement amp and pickup have updated
circuitry necessary for the longer wires. According to Jan Wikström, the plugs and wires used on the replacement kit
are different than the original, indicating you’re supposed to replace the amp and pickup together. However, he simply
spliced wires and used his old pickup, and it worked fine. He notes, however, that the wire color codes changed; it is
necessary to open the amp and verify where the wires go to ensure they are connected correctly.
Clearly, crosstalk between the 600 KHz input signal and the output wire back to the amp would be detrimental to
operation, and such crosstalk could be easily caused by the wires merely being located too close to each other for too
great a distance. Also, the output wire picking up any other signals -- such as interference from the ignition wires --
would be ungood.
Reportedly, some owners have relocated their original amps by simply lengthening the wires, and have been successful.
Others have not been successful. At least one owner reports that the official Jaguar relocation kit caused the wires to
pick up so much interference from the spark plug wires that the car wouldn’t run, and he couldn’t get the system to
work until he shortened the wires back to the length of the original.
Russell recommends that ribbon wire with five or more conductors be used to relocate the amp. By using every other
conductor, the unused conductors in between provide adequate spacing between the active conductors to prevent
crosstalk and interference.
Russell also recommends relocating the amp to the firewall rather than the top of the radiator. In his car, the amp was
affected by water and crud thrown up from cars in front of him. Fortunately, he was able to repair it by resoldering
some connections inside.
Perhaps another solution is to leave the amp in the valley and attempt to keep it cool there. Fashioning a heat shield
from sheet aluminum for underneath it will help. Also, see the suggestion on page 125 about cutting a hole in the A/C
compressor mounting plate.
British Auto/USA (see page 692) claims to have “reinvented” this amp using modern electronics. The amp they offer,
part number JLM368/R, looks exactly like the original and is supposedly durable enough that it may be located within
the V; apparently some concours judges will subtract points if the amp isn’t in its original location.
Of course, if you don’t care about concours points, the best relocation idea is to relocate that OPUS system to a
dumpster and replace it with an aftermarket ignition system. See page 150.
If you have a 1982-89 car with a black plastic amplifier mounted on top of the left intake manifold, you have the Lucas
CEI ignition rather than the Lucas OPUS. There is no need to worry about relocating the amp.
IGNITION AMPLIFIER -- REPAIR: Referring to the OPUS finned aluminum ignition amp, Jan Wikström says: “As
for the amplifier itself, there is precious little pottery involved. I opened up the suspect one (four small hex-head screws
underneath) and found that while there’s a silicon blob at the cable entry and a silicon slurp for a seal around the lid, the
inside is empty and there is complete access to PC board and power transistor. No need to $pend up on a new one if it
goes belly up; this unit is eminently repairable.”
Phil Stuart says, “There are four transistors in the early Lucas Opus ignition amplifier, one is a big one in a TO-3 casing
for amplifying and 3 smaller ones for switching. I burnt up the smaller switching transistor. It's fixed and running now;
the transistor we finally put in was a ECG128, NPN type. Cost $2.95 CND. The original one was Germanium NPN;
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the replacement is silicon NPN.”
PICKUP WIRING: Wikström warns: “One problem I’ve had on both cars is an intermittent break in one of the three
ignition trigger wires coming out the front of the distributor, right in the moulded grommet. This seems inherent to the
design, as the big, heavy three-pin connector flops around on loose wires and should cause metal fatigue as the wire
bends back and forth. I have replaced the wires (solder joints inside the distributor) and applied spade connectors
instead of the three-pin job.”
COIL LOCATION: If you can’t find it, you’re in trouble. If you have the Haynes manual, the caption on the
photograph labelled 10.2 on page 118 says it’s “at the rear of the throttle pedestal” but it lies, it’s at the front.
BALLAST RESISTOR PACK: The ballast resistor pack is shown as item 164 on the Jaguar wiring schematics. On
earlier schematics, it is illustrated as a simple rectangular box with six wires connected to it, but on later schematics they
show three resistors inside. It would probably have been better if they hadn’t done that, because the simplistic 3-resistor
illustration is incorrect and misleading.
Section 86.35.29/3 of the ©1975 ROM is titled “Ballast resistor check”, and provides a simplistic continuity test. It
provides a more detailed illustration of the ballast resistor pack -- also incorrect. Section 86.35.29/4, “Coil voltage
check”, Step #4 includes values for the resistors in the ballast resistor pack, but they’re numbered “Resistor 1” through
“Resistor 3” and “Connection 4” and “Connection 5” with no clue whatsoever what connections they’re talking about.
In section 86.35.29/10, in the latter half of Step #4, inexplicably buried in the midst of a coil/amplifier check procedure,
the resistance values are repeated and the illustration is provided again -- this time with Connection 4 and 5 labelled, but
you’re still left to guess at the resistor numbers. The Haynes manual doesn’t have any illustrations of the ballast resistor
pack innards, just photos of the outside. Is it any wonder that this book has grown to over 730 pages? Anyhow, the
easiest thing to do is to simply provide a new illustration, so please refer to the figure here instead of any of the
illustrations in the manuals.
It should also be noted that some of the diagrams in the
Haynes book have differing color codes on the wires; for 100 OHM
TACHO
example, Fig. 4.1 shows a UW wire where the XJ-S has a
W/U, and a WU wire where the XJ-S has a W/SU.
7.6- 9.2 OHM
AMPLIFIER
Mike Morrin explains the tach connection: The power
SW
from the center left terminal through the 7.6-9.2Ω resistor
to the upper right terminal on the ballast pack diagram
(which connects to the W/U wire) “...is the drive current 0.72- 0.80 OHM
for the output switching transistor. So, the tachometer
START
gets its drive direct from the amplifier, not from the coil
circuit.” 0.9- 1.0 OHM
“According to the parts books I have here, there was an
early version, used 1971-72 which apparently did not have
the tachometer connection, and the later version, which
was used 1972-80.” Morrin provides part numbers:
E-type C35883 until engine 7S7559
E-type C37759 from engine 7S7560
Figure 10 - OPUS Ballast Resistor Pack
XJ-S C37759 all
“C37759 is apparently Lucas 47229.”
There is some discrepancy about the resistor serving the tach. The XJ-S ROM reports it as 100Ω, but the SIII E-Type
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ROM reports it as a straight-through connection, no resistor. This actually probably wouldn’t make any difference to an
electronic tachometer; the resistor merely limits current in the event of a short circuit or something. Could the part
number change with engine 7S7560 reflect the resistor? Morrin: “Either way there is a mistake, it says:
"Connection 5 - Tachometer terminal and straight through internal connection (incorporated in later
units marked 47227)."
That 47227 part is apparently a typo in the E-Type manual; it should say 47229, which is what is actually marked on the
ballast packs.
“On reflection, I think the early unit probably had the straight through connection and the later unit the 100 ohm resistor.
There does not appear to be any change in the vehicle wiring coinciding with the change in ballast.”
Note that 86.35.33 describes how to remove the resistor pack. Evidently rocket science, don’t tackle this job unless you
are a very experienced mechanic. At least Jaguar didn’t put any serious errors in this procedure.
If your ballast resistor pack has failed, it shouldn’t be terribly difficult to put together a collection of generic resistors to
replace it. After some discussion about a ballast resistor pack in which that 7.6-9.2Ω resistor had blown, Gary Johnson
suggested “Radio Shack (Tandy). They sell a 10 or 20 watt 8 ohm non-inductive resistor that sounds perfect for this
application.” For the main resistor serving the coil, there are a wide variety of ballast resistors available at any parts
store since just about all cars used them up until the 80’s; it should be easy to find one that will work.
TACHOMETER PROBLEMS: Both John Holmes and Jan Wikström had tachometers that didn’t work, and both
arrived at the same corrective action: they disconnected the tach signal wire from the ballast pack and connected it to the
- terminal on the coil, where it’s connected on every other car ever made. Holmes: “I just know how this is wired in
other cars and did the simplest circuit possible to see if the tach worked. When it did, why change it again?”
LUCAS OPUS IGNITION SYSTEM UPGRADE: As mentioned above, British Auto/USA (see page 692) offers a
replacement amplifier for the OPUS ignition system that supposedly is more reliable than the original. Supposedly.
Steve S reports, “I had of those BA updated amps bought from SNG in UK fitted to my V12 E. The original OPUS
amp did 20 years and 90k miles in the V and was still working when I took it out after hearing that it was unreliable. I
thought I was going to "decrease chance of a breakdown". The SNG updated unit lasted about 3 years and 7K miles
before failing in the classic opus failure mode - dies suddenly when hot. Fortunately because this was a USA inspired
device it came with a lifetime guarantee (as against a UK guarantee of guaranteed until it breaks).”
LUCAS OPUS IGNITION SYSTEM REPLACEMENT: If you have any trouble with the original Lucas OPUS
ignition system, it is recommended that you simply replace the entire system with a modern aftermarket ignition system.
There are several available, and most of them can be purchased in entirety for less than replacing any defective part of
the OPUS system. And the owners who have opted for such upgrades have universally reported better performance
from their cars. Note: this recommendation does not carry over to cars with the Lucas CEI ignition; that is an excellent
system and there is rarely any cause to ditch it.
Lucas designed the plastic wheel within the OPUS distributor with three slotted holes that enable the mechanic to insert
an Allen wrench, loosen the three screws at the very bottom, and remove the distributor as a unit. If you install some
sort of aftermarket system, you might want to consider whether or not you will be able to get that Allen wrench past or
through whatever is used to trigger the pickup. Of course, it might not be your highest priority; you could always simply
disassemble the distributor in place far enough to remove the wheel to gain access to the screws.
None of the common aftermarket systems will replace the EFI trigger board. The EFI is a separate system that just
happens to have its trigger board inside the distributor. After you’ve removed all the OPUS junk and installed an optical
wheel and pickup or whatever, you will need to put that trigger board right back in. If your trigger board is toast and
you’ve priced a new one, that is definitely bad news. However, Jaguar’s upgrade trigger board -- which uses Hall effect
transistors instead of the reed switches used in the original -- seems to be reliable, so usually you only need to buy it
150
once.
LUCAS OPUS IGNITION SYSTEM REPLACEMENT -- ALLISON/CRANE XR700: Allison was acquired by
Crane. By whichever name, their XR700 is a popular replacement for the OPUS. Derek Hibbs reports: “My ign amp
died as a result of convected heat last year. A reliable replacement unit was not available so the workshop installed a
Crane Cams unit. The unit itself is located on the RHS air cleaner and it came with replacement pieces for the
distributor because it uses an optical pickup.”
Andrew Holley says, “I removed the Lucas (Prince of Darkness) system and fitted the Crane XR700-0300 system, took
all of about 2 hrs. The car starts first time every time, and seems to run a bit more crisply. It has improved fuel
consumption slightly, but the major benifit is that it now starts instantly , no matter the conditions.”
Steve Douglass says, “After fighting problems (mostly heat related) with the original OPUS system on my car, I replaced
it with a Crane Fireball system that I got from Terry's for $124.00. The kit came with everything I needed to do the job
along with good instructions. The system has an optical pickup that goes in the distributor and an amplifier that mounts
on the firewall. Pretty much like what it replaces. I was able to install the thing in about 2 hrs and the car fired right
up.”
Paul Clarkson had a hell of a time with pickup mounting brackets inside the distributor and ended up having to fab and
modify stuff, but he’s apparently the only one; everyone else claims the system is a simple bolt-in. Emin Morali replied:
“Try to assemble the optical pick-up unit without using any bracket. You use only two screws and it will fit perfectly in
the place of original pick-up unit.”
There is some confusion about which coil to use with the XR700. Clarkson reported, “I invested in a Crane Cams
XR700 amp and PS91 coil. Here is a reply I received from the tech. dept. at Crane Cams in reply to my query about
lengthening the pick-up leads (so I could locate it in a cool place):
"The XR700 is to be used with our PS20 or PS40 coil with the supplied ballast resistor that
comes with them. The PS91 coil has such a low resistance that two ballast resistors are
needed to keep the XR700 from overheating. This also kills off some of the spark power to
the point of being worse than it would be if the proper coils were used. If you wish to keep
the killer coil you will need to use the XR3000 amp that is designed to use the higher
output coil. Please fix this before proceeding. You hook it up just as you see in the
instructions and everything should be fine. You can also add to the length of the wires on
the amp if they are of the same gauge and type of wire. Hope this helps. Tech support,
Steve 4208..."
Again, Emin Morali responds: “When I fit Crane XR700, the car was hesitating to exceed 5000-5200 rpm with misfire
at the engine. So I changed the PS20 with PS91 keeping the same OEM ballast resistor pack of my car, but adding a
serial resistor of 1.4 ohm to protect XR700. No result, the same problem continued. This time I throw the 1.4 ohm
resistor away and used PS91 with OEM resistor pack. My problem finished. However the possibility of damaging the
amplifier pushed me to replace PS91 with a Bosch blue coil (also low primary resistance) by adding a serial resistor and
no problem at all.”
Clarkson says the XR700/PS91 setup was recommended by (now defunct) GT Jaguar. Paul Squire: “Quoting their
website: "Gran Turismo worked very closely with Crane on these systems. The tech questions they receive about their
systems for Jaguars are referred to us because they know we have more knowledge in this area than even they do."”
Terry’s Jaguar (page 696) offers the Crane system, or you can also get it directly from Crane.
The Crane system comes with a disk with suitable slotted holes for access to the screws in the bottom of the distributor.
LUCAS OPUS IGNITION SYSTEM REPLACEMENT -- ALLISON/CRANE XR3000: Emin Morali says, “I had
called a Crane dealer in Florida to ask him if I can use XR3000 with PS91. After he discussed the subject with a Crane
tech., he told me that it won't work. I did not understand the reason why, however I had seen before in Crane web site
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that XR3000 may have compatibility problem with OPUS systems and was not recommended.” Gee, it seems the Crane
tech support keeps telling us not to do things that work fine; Bernard Embden installed the XR3000 and it seems to have
worked out, although he put a lot of effort into locating the amp inside the car and making a bracket he liked for the
optical pickup inside the distributor. You can view his installation at
http://bernardembden.com/xjs/ingamp/index.htm
LUCAS OPUS IGNITION SYSTEM REPLACEMENT -- LUMENITION: Welsh Enterprises (page 697) offers at
least two different models of Lumenition electronic ignition system for the XJ-S, each featuring an optical pickup and
compatible with their engine rev limiters.
LUCAS OPUS IGNITION SYSTEM REPLACEMENT -- LUCAS CEI: The later Lucas CEI system makes an
excellent upgrade for the Lucas OPUS. Buying the Jaguar parts new would be more expensive than just going with one
of the aftermarket systems above, but if you can find what you need in a junkyard you might get off pretty cheap. If you
can’t find the CEI ignition amp for a reasonable price, you can build one with a GM HEI module, a couple of resistors, a
capacitor, a zener diode, and a suitable box to mount them in. You can use the Lucas CEI distributor, but you must
install the vacuum and centrifugal mechanisms from the original distributor in it to maintain the correct advance curves
for the pre-H.E. engine. You’ll also need to omit the anti-flash shield used in the CEI distributor to mount the D
Jetronic EFI trigger board, but they use the same mounting holes so that’s easy. Make sure to use the earlier “green
stripe” rotor as it has the magnet in it that drives the EFI trigger board.
Alternatively, you can reuse your OPUS distributor. You will probably need to modify it to install the CEI pickup,
though. On the CEI cars, the pickup mounts on a metal plate that can rotate with the vacuum advance; on the OPUS
cars, there’s a fragile micarta part that rotates and holds the pickup. The body of the OPUS distributor includes a center
section that this micarta part rotates around, and on the CEI distributor body this center section is gone.
According to John Testrake, SNG Barratt (page 696) developed a way to upgrade to the Lucas CEI while maintaining
the appearance of the OPUS under the hood. “They have marketed it for Ser III E-types which are, of course,
carburetted. I called them last year and asked if they could do it for an EFI engine. They said yes and that they were
just bringing that to market. I think mine was the first one.
“They completely rebuilt the dist. from my car with all new parts and refitted it with the CEI reluctor and pickup. Then
they swapped the internal parts of my amp with CEI parts and built in a heat resistant mounting. It's all designed to
operate with the D-jet EFI and has all the original advance curves, trigger board and what not.
“And it uses one coil. It's a Lucas coil with bare aluminum case about 6" long and a white cap where the leads connect
that says LUCAS. It mounts to the front of the throttle pedestal like the original. Pretty standard issue, I think and it
comes as part of the kit.
“Everything looks like OPUS. Nobody can tell it has CEI inside. I'm hoping for a JCNA North American class 11
Championship with this car. So that's why all the fuss over originality.”
Steve S, who reported above that he had purchased the British Auto/USA-upgraded OPUS amp from SNG Barratt and
it failed on him: “SNG being good people exchanged it for one of the CEI units in the OPUS case - although the lifetime
guarantee is not available with this new one. I gather the original unit was withdrawn because it was unreliable. With
the kit you also get a new aluminium U-shaped resistor pack identical to the original and decent fitting instructions. You
have to send your old distributor back in part exchange. The coil, OPUS style alloy box, and resistor pack have stickers
on them in inconspicuous places warning that this is an updated system with a reference number for maintenance in
future so standard parts do not get swapped back in.”
LUCAS OPUS IGNITION SYSTEM REPLACEMENT -- $$$: You could just go hog wild and install a fancy-
schmancy modern high-tech ignition system. See the ideas for upgrading the Marelli on page 172; any of those systems
can be used to upgrade the OPUS as well.
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Lucas Constant Energy Ignition (1982-89)
LUCAS CEI IGNITION -- DESCRIPTION: The triggering mechanism for the Lucas CEI ignition system consists of a
“star wheel”, a wheel with 12 points on it, mounted on the distributor shaft with a “pickup” adjacent to it. There is a
magnet and a coil in the pickup. A magnetic field is established in which the flux passes from one pole of the magnet
through the coil, through the star wheel, and back to the opposite pole of the magnet. When a point on the star wheel
aligns with the core of the coil, this magnetic flux has a nearly continuous path of iron and is therefore at its strongest.
When the point is far away from the core of the coil, the magnetic flux is at its weakest because there is so much air
space in its path.
Since a voltage is generated in a coil with a changing magnetic flux through its core, a voltage is generated in the pickup
by the increasing strength of the magnetic flux as a point on the star wheel approaches the tip of the core. A voltage is
likewise generated by the decreasing strength of the magnetic flux as a point on the star wheel moves away from the tip
of the core -- but this voltage will be opposite in polarity from the first one. The pickup will therefore produce a voltage
that suddenly reverses polarity as a point on the star wheel passes the tip of the core. The electronics within the
amplifier module sense this voltage reversal to break the ground connection to the coil, triggering a spark.
But that’s not all this system does. It waits a varying amount of time before reestablishing the ground connection to
begin charging the coil for the next spark, getting the charging started ASAP at high RPM but waiting a bit longer to get
started under idle conditions so as to minimize coil heating. It also monitors the current flow to the coil to make sure
that it does not exceed a set limit, which might happen at low RPM when there is more than adequate time to build up a
charge in the coil. If the current rises too much, the amp begins to cut back on the voltage applied, holding the current
constant and preventing the coil from overheating.
Prior to systems with such features, coils had to be designed to handle high-current conditions at low RPM and had
ballast resistors to limit the current. With the current control features, coils can be designed more compact and without
the oil inside that was needed to keep them cool. They could also be designed with very low impedance in the primary
coil without worrying about current overload problems, allowing much faster charging on 12 volts. Unfortunately, such
coils weren’t available when the Lucas CEI was introduced, so two conventional coils were wired together to
accomplish the task. Later, after suitable coils became commonplace, Jaguar would replace the dual-coil setup with a
single modern coil whenever a coil needed service.
During most operation, the ignition amp is merely switching the current on and off and is dissipating very little heat.
However, at low RPM when it’s having to cut back the voltage to limit the current in the coil, it’s having to dissipate
that extra power. It gets hot under such conditions. The amplifier is bolted to the aluminum intake manifold to try to
dissipate some of this heat to the manifold and to the cool air passing within.
Roger Bywater: “The 12.5:1 compression of the H.E. was too much for OPUS to fire and in any case it was getting
to be a bit primitive by that time as it had no means of current control other than via the ballast resistor.”
TROUBLESHOOTING: Randy Wilson sends this procedure: “With the engine cranking, check for:
Power to the ballast source
Power to the coil + post
Ground switching on coil - post (if so, you should have spark)
Ground to amplifier case
“If everything passes except the ground switching on the coil, then it’s in the amplifier or its wiring.
“A scope put on the pickup leads should give a modified sine wave pattern typical of magnetic induction sensor. At
crank speed, I think it’s around 1.5V peak-to-peak. No scope pattern is a bad pickup.”
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“I’ve never personally seen the pickup go bad, but have run into cracked wires in the pickup harness. Quite often
jiggling the harness will cause the problem to “correct” itself; sometimes for many years. Everything working fine after
doing the scope check is bad pickup wires.”
If your car runs well when cold but gets uppity when hot and you suspect the ignition amp, you might try pouring some
water on it to cool it off. If the car runs well again, you have definitely narrowed the search for a cause down to
something in that little black box!
IGNITION AMPLIFIER -- REPAIR: The Lucas Constant Energy ignition amplifier is a black plastic box mounted on
top of the left intake manifold. This unit is clearly labeled “Lucas” and “Made in UK”. The mail-order catalogs call for
a part number DAB106, and want serious $$$ for it.
If you unbolt this unit from the intake manifold, turn it over, remove four tiny screws and remove the cover, you will see
four components inside. The predominant component is a GM High Energy Ignition (HEI) module. This unit is so
common that you can find it on a bubble card hanging from a hook in any department store with an automotive section
-- for around $20. Usually this amplifier can be repaired by simply replacing the GM HEI module for considerably less
than the cost of replacing the whole unit.
Simple? Maybe not. Dave Johnson says, “The amp on my ’84 died on me several years ago. I replaced the module
with the equivalent GM module and it lasted 3 months. I replaced the zener and the capacitor with equivalents. I again
replaced the module. This one lasted 1 month. I gave them one more chance (lifetime warranty) and it's worked for 4
years now. The moral of the story? I believe the modules available from discounters are marginal and you have to keep
trying to get a good one. Since I didn't even consider buying a new amp from the dealer I can't rate their failure rate but
a GM mechanic friend of mine kept after me that the modules I was getting were junk. He was right and I now have a
working one. No more intermittent problems. Try another one.”
Tom Drakos concurs: “After buying 3 different control modules all made by Wells, DR100, I got 3 different types of
results, all of which were terrible, to the point of undrivable. I knew the original was made by GM, so I searched the
internet looking for a similar application. I ended up with a control module made by AC Delco, part # D1906, even has
the GM stamp on top like the original. Price was a little more, $41.00 from Discount Auto, but well worth it. The car
runs like new, smooth as silk at all engine speeds and idle.
“My advice to anyone experiencing a problem with a control module would be not to use WELLS D100...these things
are crap!!”
Terry Pegler apparently disagrees about the part number. “The replacement modules that I am using are AC Delco #
10482820 from the GM Dealer. It is made in singapore...” Doug Dwyer adds that there were earlier part numbers for
the module, starting with 1875990 in early years, but the 10482820 replaced them.
Just because you spend the big bucks on the Delco doesn’t guarantee you’ll get a good unit. Owners have reported bad
ones of those, too. Just keep trying.
Shafi Keisler claims that the standard GM HEI module is rated for 6 amps but the one in the Jaguar V12 is a special unit
rated at 8 amps. Nobody has been able to confirm that claim, though. The standard HEI works great, once you get a
good one.
Reportedly some modules come with a packet of heat sink compound. Tom Bennett says, “I just bought a GM module
from AC Delco, came with a pack of silicone heat transfer goo. I am familiar with the usual white heat sink paste; this
stuff is very different, it's labeled silicone grease and contains 90% polysiloxane 10% silica.” Hmmm. Might not be heat
transfer goo; might just be goo. Dunno why they’d provide a packet of goo, though.
Heat sink compound might not be a bad idea; applying it between the module and the ign amp housing might help the
module run cooler. Even if the module you get doesn’t come with the stuff, you can get it at electronics shops. The
best way to apply heat sink compound is with a single bead, so that when you bring the parts together you squeeze the
compound so it spreads out. This way you avoid air pockets in it.
John Robison says, “Advance Auto has an electronic gizmo they can plug the GM unit into. It simulates loading at both
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low and high rpm (somehow) and then gives a pass/fail indication for both conditions.” While it may hardly seem
worthwhile to check a $20 part rather than simply replacing it, such a test may go a long way toward confirming
diagnoses. You might even consider testing the new one you just bought before you leave the store.
Joe Bialy adds: “There are 5 connections on the GM HEI module. The fifth terminal is the ground for the module
which is actually one of the mounting holes on the module itself. All of the coil current passes through this connection.
If the ground terminal on the module itself is not secure, ignition problems will occur.” Peter Havas adds, “The HEI's on
GM engines sit atop the distributor cap, and the replacements must have a second ground wire or they burn up. I don't
know why, but having had many GM trucks which suffered spontaneous HEI failure, it was revealed by the local GM
garage that you must run a straight ground as well as the little flat strip to the HEI to keep it from burning up. This
applies only to replacement units, and I have no idea why. It works though.” There don’t seem to be similar problems
in the Jaguar V12 application -- perhaps since the module is securely bolted to the aluminum intake manifold rather than
to the distributor cap -- but it couldn’t hurt to make sure the ground is solid while you’re in there replacing a module.
Becky Amason says, “Anyone having repeat failures of your ignition modules should check the wires from the stator in
the distributor for damaged insulation. This is a known problem with GM HEI ignitions. The wires flex as the vacuum
advance moves back and forth, eventually breaking the insulation and shorting out the ignition module.”
The other components inside the amp housing are a 1 microfarad condenser, a couple of resistors buried in a white
rubber blob, and a zener diode mounted in the top of the case so the upper surface is actually visible from outside. The
condenser may actually be a common source of trouble; there are at least two reports of it shorting out when warm, so
the engine runs OK when cold but has trouble when warm. Since the condenser is connected to 12V, it shorting out
causes it to get even hotter. Pouring cold water over the amp fixes the problem for a few seconds.
The condenser is apparently only a noise reducer, being connected to the +12V side of the coil. As such, just about any
condenser would probably work. If you’re looking for a replacement condenser, you might consider the one intended
for use with the GM HEI ignition system. Auto parts stores sell a part labelled a “capacitor”, but it’s more than that.
This part is a little harness that has a 2-terminal connector on one end that plugs onto the HEI module, a 3-terminal
connector at the other end that plugs into the GM distributor, and a capacitor attached to the 2-terminal connector. One
such part is made by Standard, part number RC-4. Joe Bialy says, “More than likely, the cap in the connector will work
as well as the Lucas cap if it is wired identically. Noise suppression caps are not the most critical components in a
system. Typically, -20/+80% tolerance items. I'd even bet an old "points" type would work just as well too.” Peyton
Gill says, “I replaced the condenser (capacitor) in the ignition amp about a year back. I used a condenser from a Chevy
inline six distributor. As memory serves, it required removal of the mounting bracket which was soldered to the
condenser body. It is a little longer but the diameter was about the same.”
About the resistors, Walter Petermann says, “The white piece of rubber has 2 resistors in it. One is 10k, the other 6.8k.
They are connected together at one end to terminal C of the GM module. This same terminal goes to the coil minus and
the large diode. The other end of the resistors go to tach and fuel ECU (white/gray wires)” The 10K resistor connects
to the tach and the 6.8K connects to the EFI ECU. On the ignition amp, both wires are the same color but the tach wire
has a male terminal and the ECU wire has a female terminal; the wires they connect to are clearly distinguishable, since
the ECU lead is a shielded cable and the tach wire is a plain W/S/U wire. Craig Sawyers points out that the 6.8K
resistor is actually shown on the fuel injection system wiring diagrams. You can easily test the resistors without even
unbolting the amp from the manifold; just disconnect the W/B wire from the ignition coil and the leads to the ECU and
tach and measure from the W/B wire to each. If the resistor feeding the tach fails the only symptom would be a
nonfunctional tach, but a failure of the resistor feeding the ECU will stop the car with conviction.
The trick to testing the zener diode is in recognizing that it only exists to protect the amp against overvoltage, which
normally occurs only when the system is operated with a spark plug wire disconnected. Under normal conditions, it
does nothing. So, to find out if it is causing trouble, merely disconnect it. If nothing changes, the diode is probably not
the problem. If the problems go away, you can consider finding a replacement zener diode or simply leave it
disconnected; if you choose the latter option, you might want to be careful not to operate the ignition with any spark
plug wires disconnected from then on.
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FIDDLING WITH THE GM HEI IGNITION MODULE: This author found a warning inside a Lucas CEI ignition
amp that read:
CONTAINS
BERYLLIA
DO NOT OPEN
Judging from the fact that this label was attached to the surface of the GM HEI module itself, the beryllia referred to is
probably inside that module; there is nothing else within the Lucas ignition amplifier that appears to be this type of
substance.
Beryllia is the oxide of Beryllium, and is used in a type of ceramic used to mount or encase electronic parts. This
ceramic conducts heat very well, helping keep the part cool, while being an electrical insulator -- an unusual
combination. Unfortunately, beryllium is really as dangerous as indicated. If you are inside the box repairing your amp,
just remove and replace components. Don’t go sawing open the GM module, the dust created can kill you.
Mike Morrin adds, “There is actually very little of it used in anything built in the last 20 years except high power
transmitters and some specialised power modules. I am not sure about the GM ignition module, but if there is any, it is
likely to be a pad under the power device about 2mm square and .5mm thick. Beryllium Oxide is very expensive, so the
semiconductor manufacturers avoid it where possible, the safety aspects not withstanding.”
MORE TECHNICAL INFO ON THE GM HEI: Motorola once offered a publication MC3334/D which provided
“analog IC device data” on a chip they made, MC3334 (and a couple of variations) which was described as a “High
Energy Ignition Circuit” and was apparently used within the GM HEI module. This document was very informative, not
only on the circuit itself but on the entire ignition system it’s used in. Unfortunately, such info is apparently NLA;
perhaps Motorola no longer makes that chip, leaving it to the aftermarket businesses.
ELECTRONIC IGNITION PICKUP: The electronic pickup used in the Lucas CEI distributor involves a magnet that is
mounted with two screws. Be careful tightening these screws; the ceramic magnet is much more brittle than metal
items, and can easily crack. If already cracked (notably around one of the screw holes), do not be concerned, it will not
affect operation. However, be sure not to leave any chips in there that could come loose and move around within the
distributor. It is better to discard small bits of the magnet that have broken away.
The pickup itself is apparently quite reliable, but there are a couple of indications that it may develop intermittent
problems. Don Lawson of Northeastern Classics had a customer with a car that would run fine and then suddenly quit,
and after a considerable amount of frustration they finally simply replaced the distributor in entirety -- and never had the
problem again. The original distributor was sent to this author for analysis, but nothing could be found wrong with it.
The pickup was monitored while immersed in water being brought to a boil, and it showed no problems. It’s possible
the problem was elsewhere in the V and it was accidentally corrected while changing distributors.
Martin Walker had similar problems. “Mine would run fine if I kept moving, but let it idle for 30 minutes, or run it in
slow traffic for a long time in hot weather and it would suddenly die. It would then not start for about 2 hours, and
would then fire up OK and run well again. This cost me much time, money and aggravation, as it eventually did this
some distance from home. The AA trailered it to the nearest Jag main dealer, who spent lots of my money in man-hours
trying - and failing - to find the problem. I paid to have it trailered back to my garage, and replaced the ignition amp
before turning to the pickup. I took it out and mounted it on a soldering iron - and at a consistent temperature (80-odd
degrees, I recall) it would simply go open-circuit.”
Keith Morris concurs: “I believe that the epoxy in the pickup heats up and breaks a close tolerance gap. I have
experienced this problem on an MGB and a Jaguar. A simple replacement of the part solved the problem.”
If you have decided that the pickup is a problem, don’t replace the entire distributor; the pickup itself is available at most
auto parts stores, made by several different aftermarket brands. It’s not cheap -- over a hundred bucks -- but it’s
cheaper than a new distributor.
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Considering how many different cars use the same GM HEI ignition amp, it may be possible to find a cheap pickup that
fits some other car and make it fit the Jag distributor. The ones that fit Chevy V8’s of the same era look totally different,
but there are other pickups in the catalogs that do look fairly similar.
PICKUP GAP ADJUSTMENT: David Littlefield says, “The Haynes manual calls for readjusting the gap between the
magnetic pickup and the iron star wheel with a plastic or non-ferrous feeler gauge. Believe it or not, these are readily
available. I found some at Pep Boys hanging on a card beside other feeler gauges, I think they were made of brass.”
Note: brass corrodes easily, and polishing removes a little metal so your feeler gauges would get progressively less
accurate. It is recommended that you spray a little WD-40 or something similar on each blade before tossing it back in
the tool box, or take some other measures to prevent corrosion.
“Also, the Haynes manual says to turn the crank until one of the points on the star is next to the pickup so you can check
the gap. Unnecessary!! Just remove the U-shaped thingy holding the star wheel in place and it will turn on the rotor
carrier so you can get a point of the star in the proper position.”
CONNECTORS: Mark Whitnell reports, “For the last several months the only way I could get it started was to use
starting fluid. I checked out the spark since that was an area recommended by Kirby. The spark was very small and I
suspect that the small spark could not ignite the gas but could ignite the ether (lower vapor pressure).
“I checked the distributor pick-up coil for the proper resistance according to Haynes (2.2K to 4.8K). I checked at the
connector attaching to the ig amp first...very high megohms. Then I pulled the connector apart at the distributor.
Checked the continuity of the wiring to the ig amp...checked ok. Then measured the resistance at the connector to the
distributor...high resistance. Looking at the two prong connector...visually it looked fine. I went ahead an cut off the
connector and measured resistance of the two wires to the distributor pick-up. Measured resistance... 3000 ohms within
the range described in Haynes. Replaced the connector. Voilà, starting problem solved.. good spark, etc.”
COILS: The Lucas CEI system uses two conventional ignition coils wired in parallel. The high-tension lead of the
secondary coil is sealed off, and only the lead from the main coil is connected to the distributor. Between firings, energy
is built up in both coils. When the 12V supply is broken (“the points open” in the lingo of the pre-electronic age), the
energy stored in the secondary coil cannot escape through the high tension lead because it is sealed off, so the energy
comes back through the 12V leads instead. The primary coil then not only has to release the energy it has stored itself,
but also the energy coming back from the secondary coil. These two energies add to produce a powerful output at the
high tension lead on the primary coil.
The secondary coil, located in front of the radiator, is not a spare or a backup; it is designed into the system for
producing a good spark. If the secondary coil goes bad or gets disconnected, the performance will suffer; typically, the
engine will top out at around 4500 RPM and won’t go any faster. The secondary coil is not special, however, and can
be replaced with a conventional coil provided the high tension connection is covered so that it cannot arc to ground.
Since mid-1989, XJ-S’s have gone to a Marelli ignition system that also uses two coils. However, the Marelli coils are
not wired together; each one fires only six cylinders.
According to Alan Jenks, “Jaguar now recommends replacing both coils with a single “solid” (not oil filled) coil (#DAC
6093) that fits in place of the main coil. The aux coil and wiring is removed.” Roger Bywater says, “The best coil to use
on Lucas HE V12s is DAC 6093 (Ducelier coil - 0.62 ohms primary); only one needed and works well in place of earlier
twin coil set up. If you can find another coil with primary winding resistance of 0.5 - 0.6 ohms maybe it is worth a try.
If the resistance is any more than that it will not be able to build up enough coil energy to fire a spark at the higher end of
the rev range when the coil “on time” is very short (about 1.4 milliseconds at 6000 revs). It might also struggle around
the peak torque point. Although the V12 constant energy ignition module is fairly tolerant (it runs OK with the blanked
second coil removed - albeit with a loss of spark energy) I have encountered some that behave very oddly if the coil is
not the correct load match. The DAC 6093 might be a bit expensive but it does the job...”
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He adds that the original parallel coil arrangement was “conceived when coils of sufficiently low resistance were not
available.” That's no longer true; it's not too difficult to find coils with a 0.6 ohm primary impedance today.
From an unidentified owner: "It looks to be apparent that a single coil either epoxy or oil filled will do the trick. I found
the coils listed along with several other brands in a copy of the Performance Corner parts catalog. On the catalog cover
is a web address of
http://www.performancecorner.com
In the catalog are listed the MSD 8207 coils which have been suggested by others. The brand name of the coils I've been
asking about is PerTronix. Their Flame-Thrower coils are rated at 45,000 volts (45001 is 0.6 ohm Chrome oil filled,
45011 is 0.6 ohm black oil filled and the epoxy 0.6 ohm one in black only is 45111). The Xtreme coil 0.6 ohm is the one
rated at 60,000 volts in chrome is 60060 and 60061 for black."
John Goodman defends the earlier parallel coil setup: “The only difference (between the two coils) is the HT socket is
sealed on the aux coil, and is no longer stocked by Lucas. The primary coil is still available from a Lucas distributor and
is cheaper than the universal coil Jaguar sells to replace the two V12 coils. I am experiencing coil/ignition related
problems on my car and have tried a few of these Ducelier coils (original equip on the XJR-S). I am convinced it is the
coil causing intermittent starting and cutting out problems, thinking of resorting to the early twin Lucas coil system
which never gave any trouble on previous cars.”
The choice is yours. You can switch to a single coil of 0.6 ohm primary impedance or you can go with two coils of 1.2
ohm primary impedance each. Both setups work equally well, which is excellently. You don't need genuine Jaguar or
Lucas coils for either scheme; any coil with the correct impedance will work. The two 1.2 ohm coils are likely to be
cheaper than the single 0.6 ohm coil, since we're talking about conventional oil-filled bottle-shaped coils that are
available in any parts store for just a few bucks each.
Ignore the claims of how many thousands of volts the coils are "rated" for. This is a completely meaningless claim; the
voltage generating the spark is a function of the spark plug gap and combustion chamber pressure and has nothing to do
with the coil.
Jim Isbell: “BTW, if you measure the primary, be careful because when you remove the meter the secondary sparks and
it can really make you jump; also, when the field collapses you can feel the bite on the primary as well.”
LUCAS CEI IGNITION SYSTEM REPLACEMENT: There is rarely any good reason to replace the Lucas CEI
ignition system. The performance is excellent, and replacing with aftermarket rarely results in any improvement. The
centrifugal advance mechanism is prone to seizing, but that’s easily avoided with regular maintenance. The vacuum
advance module fails after a few years in the heat in the vee, but it’s not that expensive to replace; besides, most
reasonably-priced aftermarket ignition systems continue to rely on the original centrifugal and vacuum advances anyway.
Repairing a failed amplifier costs $20 with parts available everywhere. The two coils are reasonably-priced and easily
obtainable (or you can spend bigger bucks for a modern single coil). The only parts that are even remotely expensive to
replace are those in the distributor, the star wheel and the magnetic pickup, but they rarely cause any trouble. The
pickup itself is available at regular (non-Jaguar) auto parts stores for around $100.
Terry Pegler: “I ordered the Crane XR/700, part number 700-0300 conversion system; it arrived the other day. The
instructions on Page 1 state "If the distributor has a 3 terminal connector it is an OPUS system and you can proceed. If
the distributor has a 2 terminal connector, it is not an OPUS system and you must use Crane HI-6R part number 6000-
6400."” Unfortunately, Pegler was replacing his CEI system due to a severely mangled star wheel and therefore had to
wait until he could obtain that additional Crane part to get his car running again.
Of course, if you’re a performance enthusiast, you might wish to replace the Lucas CEI with something more
sophisticated or flexible. Most owners would not be enthused about upgrading to the later Marelli system because it’s
too expensive and failure-prone, but there are modern aftermarket systems that have all sorts of features. See the
discussions on upgrading the Marelli on page 172; any of those systems could replace the Lucas CEI as well.
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Marelli Ignition
MARELLI IGNITION: In this age of electronic wizardry, many modern cars have done away with the mechanical
centrifugal and vacuum advance mechanisms and do the whole job with microprocessors. In some cars, the distributor is
done away with altogether, and separate ignition coils are used instead.
Since Jaguar incorporated the Marelli ignition system in 1989, this is essentially the type of system used. There is no
centrifugal or vacuum advance mechanism; the timing is all done electronically. However, rather than using lots of
separate coils, the distributor was kept, using two coils and directing the spark mechanically. This distributor is clearly
lacking many of the internal parts of the earlier models, since it no longer handles the timing functions. The rotor is
actually two rotors in one, and the cap is two six-cylinder caps in one, so each coil is operated as though it is running a
six-cylinder engine. The computer that handles the timing is located near the passenger’s feet, and has a vacuum line to
it.
The source:
Magneti Marelli S.p.A.
Viale Aldo Borletti, 61/63
20011 Corbetta (Milan) - Italy
+39-2/972001 FAX: +39-2/97200355
http://www.marelli.it/
As of this writing, this WWW site doesn’t have anything on the XJ-S ignition system; only general info on the company.
MARELLI OR NOT? If you don’t know if you have a Marelli ignition system or not, measure the diameter of the cap.
If it’s around 4-1/4”, it’s a Marelli; the Lucas cap is about 5-1/2” in diameter. You can also check the height from the
mounting surface of the cap to the top of any one of the 12 spark plug wire connectors around the edge; the Lucas will
measure about 2-1/4” while the Marelli will measure about 3-1/8”.
If these descriptions aren’t good enough, you can try looking at pictures at:
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/LucasMarelli.html
EFI TRIGGERING: The Digital P fuel injection system, in use on the Jaguar V12 since 1980, is triggered by the
ignition system. With the Lucas OPUS and later with the Lucas CEI, this signal was taken from the - terminal of the
coil, with a resistor in the line to limit spikes to the electronics. The Marelli has two coils, each of which only see six
cylinders of pulses, so the ignition ECU itself includes circuitry to provide a suitable signal to the EFI. Don Neff says,
“This signal is carried by a small shielded wire from pin 24 of the ign ECU to pin 17 of the EFI ECU.
“The power amps above the radiator do not have any feedback, but the two ign coils each have one. The feedback from
the A-bank coil goes to the tach and the feedback from the B-bank coil goes to the diagnostic socket. The engine
continues to run if either ign amp is unplugged.” As a result of the tach getting a signal from only one coil, a six-cylinder
tach is used.
SIII XJ12: For some reason, the Marelli ignition system was not introduced in the XJ12 until the XJ40 version model
came out in 1993. Roger Bywater adds, “What may not be so obvious is that the saloon standardised on the low
compression engine at the same time that Marelli was introduced on the XJ-S. It is interesting that while the non-cat
Marelli XJ-S used a completely different fuel map (DAC 6338) from other engines the non-cat saloon stayed with the
same mapping (DAC 6336) that was used for the previous high compression engine. The cat saloon used the same ECU
as had been used on the pre-Marelli / Lucas / cat low compression XJ-S (DAC 6335).”
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CAP VENTING: The Marelli distributor is vented in the same manner as the Lucas distributor (see page 146), except
that the vent connections are on the base rather than on the cap. Since there are no centrifugal or vacuum advance
mechanisms, there are fewer reasons that Jaguar would have decided to provide this system. Either the cap needs
cooling to prevent cracking, or explosions can be the result of fumes building up.
TUNE-UP PARTS: There is supposed to be a gasket under the Marelli cap, but the new cap doesn’t come with one.
Part # JLM-1910. Reportedly atrociously expensive, just like the cap itself.
IGNITION AMPLIFIERS: Everything about the Marelli ignition system is expensive, including the two amplifiers,
DAC11520. However, reasonably-priced substitutes are available. Pete Bainbridge-Clayton says, “I was surprised to
find that both my amps were different, and neither seemed to be the 'correct' one. One is a Unipart GIM5002, the other
one is a Bosch 0 227 100 139. Discovered that there was an Intermotor 15000-c which was an equivalent. The Bosch
was running fine, and I managed to find a stockist of the Intermotor part - in fact they are available off EBay, the seller is
cashfromthechaos and they charge a whopping GBP10!! Yes, ten pounds plus postage - quite a difference from the
Jaguar part! All I can say is that it is running fine, the amp doesn't get hot, and I am very happy with it!”
TIMING: You don’t really wanna adjust the timing on this thing, do you? Randy Wilson describes the XJ40, which is
similar: “Spark timing is not easily adjustable. This car has a crank triggered digital ignition system. Timing changes
would require moving the pickup and/or modifying the ECU.”
On the other hand, there are two different timing maps built into the ignition ECU. Michael Neal says: “There is a nifty
little jumper on the harness at the back side of the left intake manifold. Pull this sucker and your timing retards, perfect
for those trips to Mexico. Usually the connector is red.”
Mike Wilson quotes from a Jaguar manual: “Map Link Selector- This link permits the selection of either of (2) ignition
maps contained in memory. If the link is in place the ignition map suitable for 95 Octane fuel is selected, and if the link is
removed the ignition map suitable for 91 Octane fuel is selected.”
Mike Wilson continues, “To find this "link" look behind the lefthand intake manifold. This link (barrel shaped and with
two wires coming out of it. One is yellow, the other black) is usually wire tied to the Diagnostic Socket.”
DISTRIBUTOR POSITION ADJUSTMENT: Randy Wilson, still talking about the AJ6 engine: “Jaguar has a special
jig for doing this, but it’s not really needed. The whole purpose is to make sure the rotor is pointing to a wire lug no
matter what the current computer-chosen timing is. On normal dizzies, the centrifugal advance moves the timing up...
but it also advances the rotor by the same amount, as they are attached. No such luxury with the crankfire system.
“First mark the dizzy body directly in line with the #1 and #6 plug wires (note: 1A and 6A on the V12). Then remove
the cap. Bring the engine up to TDC, noting which way the rotor turns. When you reach TDC, the rotor should be
pointing at one of the two marks. It doesn’t matter which one (why we marked both). Now turn the dizzy body until
the mark is just past the trailing edge of the rotor contact. Just past it, not more than a degree or two. In this position,
the rotor contact will line up with the wire lug in cap in the timing range of about 5 to 40 degrees before TDC; the
operative timing range of the engine.
“If the adjustment is off very far, the results will be subtle. The most likely thing is the rotor and cap will tend to burn a
little uneven...biased against the direction of misadjustment. The cap and rotor will “wear out” a little faster. If the
misadjustment is extreme... and I’m not sure it’s possible on the AJ6, there will be a misfire at the extreme end of the
timing curve as the spark has to jump a pretty large gap inside.
“Next time, mark the position before you remove the distributor. This is one of those rare cases where “close” is good
enough.”
Regarding the Marelli on the XJ-S: “Yep, ‘tis the same ideas and principles. I’ve never actually had to pull a Marelli
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distributor, so I can not comment on the exact position. You would mark 1A and 6A... and set things so the rotor
sweep-by happened in the 10 to 30+ before range.”
MARELLI-CAUSED DISASTERS: The combination of Marelli ignition and catalytic convertors can, and often will,
result in the destruction of the catalytic convertors and possibly the whole car. This is not a section of this book to be
glossed over lightly! If you have a car with Marelli ignition and catalytic convertors, you need to take a proactive role in
making sure your car doesn’t become a burned-out hulk in a junkyard somewhere.
CATALYTIC CONVERTOR MELTDOWN/FIRE (ONE-BANK FAILURE): While any misfire is a cause for concern
with catalytic convertors (see page 318), the Marelli ignition system provides a unique and especially threatening
possibility: running on six cylinders. While the various Lucas ignition systems were single 12-cylinder ignition systems,
the Marelli is actually two separate 6-cylinder ignition systems. Hence, it is possible -- probable, even -- that sooner or
later one of these ignition systems will fail while the other continues working. Since each half of the ignition system
operates one bank of the engine, one entire half of the engine, along with its dedicated catalytic convertors and oxygen
sensor, may see no spark all of a sudden while the other bank continues to run normally.
The V12 can be accurately described as two six-cylinder engines; each bank has the same firing order and the same
natural balance as an inline six-cylinder engine (note: conversely, a V8 is not two four-cylinder inline engines). Hence,
the V12 actually runs smoothly on six cylinders, and drivers who have not read this section may make the fatal mistake
of trying to press on to the next exit or the next gas station. According to LaRue Boyce, symptoms to look for include:
“Loss of power, more gas smell but no noise, just the no power feeling. Oh, the loss of vacuum also causes the
transmission not to want to shift. You will know when it happens, there is no power, just enough to get you to 45mph
on flat ground.” Julian Mullaney says, “When my car started running on 6 it was very noticeable. I thought that the
tranny was slipping at first because I had to give it so much throttle to get it moving.” Note that, with the typical failure
mode described below, this happens all at once; there is no intermittent operation where it runs well most of the time and
drops to low power on occasion. Once a bank shuts off, it’s gone for good.
Running a non-cat V12 with no spark on one bank fills the inop side of the exhaust system with fuel -- a disaster looking
for a place to happen. Since the XJ-S exhaust system loops up and over the rear suspension, it should be able to hold
several gallons of fuel before it starts pouring out the tailpipe! Since there is no spark in that bank at all, the owner
might just get away with it -- but he’d better hope his ignition system doesn’t mysteriously start working again! The
same goes for a cat-equipped car that had an ignition failure when started from cold; the cats won’t work when cold, so
the fuel in the exhaust system on that side may never be ignited.
If the car is equipped with catalytic convertors and they were at operating temperature when the ignition failure
occurred, the cats will burn the fuel as it arrives, and things will getting considerably hotter in a big hurry. What’s
worse, if the car continues to be driven, more throttle will be applied to get any speed out of it, so even more fuel and air
will be dumped into these cats. The inevitable result will be a cat meltdown within seconds. What’s worse, often the
cherry red-hot catalytic convertors will ignite something, perhaps by melting through the fuel hoses that are above and
not too far away. The car is immolated so fast you’ll barely have time to pull over and get out.
You don’t want to be driving on six cylinders, not even for a minute.
If you were dozing when you read those last few paragraphs, pinch yourself, clear your head, and go back and read them
again.
DISTRIBUTOR ROTOR PROBLEM: Unfortunately, a one-bank ignition failure turns out to be a common occurrence
on Marelli-equipped V12 Jags. Although anything that kills one side of the Marelli ignition system can cause the car to
run on six cylinders and threaten a cat fire, there is one possible cause that clearly outweighs all others in terms of
frequency of occurrence. Randy Wilson: “The most common failure, the one that kills the A bank, is the center post of
the rotor burns through, allowing a ground path from the rotor contact straight to the distributor shaft.” This
characteristically results in a fire or meltdown in the right side cats only, since it is always the A bank ignition system
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affected. For a photo of a cut-away rotor that suffered this failure, see
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/Marelli_pix.html
WHAT TO DO: If you have a Jaguar V12 with Marelli ignition, take the following action immediately: Remove the
distributor cap. Remove the distributor rotor, which is held in place with two screws. Looking at the top of the
distributor shaft where the rotor attaches, you will see the flat plate that the two screws thread into, and you’ll see the
hexagonal stub of the shaft itself sticking up above the center of this plate. Cut or grind that stub off, down to nearly
flush with the plate. Obviously, you will want to make sure to collect all metal particles generated. This hexagonal stub
helps center the rotor while you install the screws, but that’s not really necessary. You can, if you wish, leave just a bit
of it above the plate to help center the rotor, but really it’s better if you just hack it completely off and let the screws
locate the rotor.
That was Step 1. For Step 2, hold the rotor upside down and notice the opening in the bottom; it’s shaped something
like an asterisk. Fill this opening completely with clear silicone sealant, the stuff used to seal windows. Try to make
sure there are no air bubbles down in the recesses. Then, while the sealant is still wet, install the rotor and secure it with
the two screws. If done properly, you will have a bit of sealant squeeze out the edges as you’re tightening the screws
down. Simply wipe away the excess. Of course, allow the sealant to set up before driving the car.
As of this writing, I have received no reports of a Marelli ignition system suffering a one-bank failure due to shorting
through the rotor after having done this “silicone squirt”. It appears to be a 100% effective fix. It was even tried once
on a rotor that had already failed just to demonstrate how effective it is, and it did in fact render the rotor functional
again -- but obviously using the method to resurrect failed rotors is not recommended, it should only be used to protect
against failures in the first place.
Just do it. And remember to do it again each time you install a new rotor.
The “silicone squirt” was originally suggested by Julian Mullaney. Marelli owners everywhere will forever be indebted
to him.
CHEAP AFTERMARKET PARTS? The frequency of the rotor failure has been blamed on aftermarket rotors. It is
true that some of the aftermarket rotors are highly susceptible to failure, and have been known to fail within minutes of
installation. Note, however, that similar rotor failures have been reported in genuine Marelli parts as well -- it just takes
longer. No matter which rotor you obtain, you need to perform the silicone squirt.
It is a simple matter to tell if you have genuine Marelli parts: they say “Marelli” right on the part. Being marked “Made
in Italy”, coming from a Jaguar dealer in a Jaguar box with a Jaguar part number, or costing a king’s ransom are not
indications of the genuine article, because many of the knockoffs are made in Italy (the genuine Marelli items may
actually be made in the UK!), Jaguar apparently offers any and all of them under their part number, and they are all
expensive.
Rumors have been circulating for years that Marelli has ceased making the genuine articles and once the stock is used up
only the aftermarkets will be available. These are apparently false rumors as of 2002. It’s bound to happen eventually,
though; even if Marelli is still making caps and rotors now, they will cease making them sooner or later -- the V12 has
been out of production for years.
SPARK PLUG GAPS: The correct spark plug gap on a Jaguar V12 with Marelli ignition is 0.025”. Period. Use of
larger gaps causes higher electrical stresses on the rotor and everything else in the ignition system. And remember that
the gaps tend to grow with wear.
There are two problems here. First, there are spark plug catalogs that claim that the gap should be 0.035”. Donald
Anthony says, “I've been checking around for parts for the last few days and all (100%) of the spark plug sellers (napa,
oriellys, pep boys, and all the local foreign parts guys) told me the proper gap is .035". I even saw it on their computer
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screens for all brands of spark plugs.” Ignore them, they are wrong, and they are wrong in a very big way.
The other problem is the fact that new spark plugs for the Jaguar V12, just like most other new spark plugs, come out of
the box with a 0.035” gaps. They must be regapped prior to installation. Interrogate your mechanic, making sure to use
the word “lawsuit” when asking if he made sure the gaps were 0.025” before he installed them.
See page 121.
AFTERMARKET DISTRIBUTOR CAP PROBLEM: Besides the problems with the rotor, there are also problems
with Marelli distributor caps. However, these problems appear to only occur with aftermarket caps, and only certain
ones; some care when purchasing should avoid trouble, as discussed below.
The problems with the cap soon become obvious: the cap chars and melts from the inside out around the base of the
center post where the A bank coil wire plugs in. To see some photos of such problems, see
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/Marelli_pix.html
On the cheaper aftermarket cap, the carbon brush fits into an opening in the plastic of the cap at the top on the inside.
There is a spring behind this carbon brush to hold it against the top center of the rotor. Inside the hole, there is an
aluminum terminal built into the plastic that the spring pushes against and the wire snaps into on the topside. So, the
spark from the coil comes through the wire, into the aluminum, through the spring, into the carbon, and on into the
rotor, all by direct contact. The only arcing going on in the vicinity is out at the tip of the rotor.
The primary problem with the aftermarket cap is that the spring behind the carbon brush on the center electrode isn’t
long enough. If this brush is pushed all the way up into the cap, it barely comes back down to flush with the surrounding
plastic. As a result, the carbon won’t actually contact the top of the rotor, and the ignition pulses will be arcing from the
carbon to the rotor -- perhaps aggravating the already weak rotor.
But the worse problem results if the carbon brush is not pushed up into the cap. Since the spring is too short, it doesn’t
make it all the way to the aluminum terminal. Instead, a wide spot in the spring fits snugly against the ID of the hole in
the plastic, and acts like it is securely installed. Although it looks good to the mechanic, the ignition pulses will now
have to arc inside the hole between the aluminum terminal and the upper end of the spring. This will chew up the spring
in a hurry, making the gap get larger and larger -- and the arcs will heat things up in that little chamber, eventually
melting the plastic and burning through the cap.
Obviously, as a minimum fix, the carbon brush and spring should be pulled out of the cap, separated, and the spring
stretched. The spring is a loose fit in the hole at both ends, but there is a wide portion in the middle that fits snugly in the
hole. You will find that twisting the spring counterclockwise makes it easier to remove and reinstall in the hole; a
counterclockwise twist pulls the coils a little smaller. To get the carbon brush to snap in and out of the spring, turn it
clockwise; a clockwise twist makes the spring coils larger. When done, the carbon should protrude at least 1/4” from
the plastic each time it is pushed back and released. If you have a VOM, check the ohmage between the carbon itself
(without compressing it back into the cap) and the electrode up on top. It should be well under 1Ω, but it won’t be zero
because carbon isn’t really that good a conductor. If it’s an open circuit (infinite ohms), you didn’t get that spring seated
against the electrode; pull it apart and try again.
While the spring stretch might render the cheap aftermarket cap workable, there is a far better fix: making sure the hole
for the brush features a metal sleeve rather than simply being a hole in the plastic. Thus, the spring will make a good
contact with the terminal whether it reaches the bottom of the hole or not; the wide portion contacting the sides of the
hole serve as electrical contact. It also protects the plastic from heat, wear, etc. And the spring seems to be easier to
install properly, since the wide portion is sliding on smooth machined metal rather than molded plastic.
This is an easy fix on the part of the manufacturers; they merely have to redesign the aluminum terminal to include a
sleeve that extends all the way to the inside surface of the cap. And, believe it or not, they have made this fix. Andy
Klopfenstein reports that “Apparently the manufacturer discovered the apparent flaw we have seen in the cap. This new
cap has a different inner aluminum cross section. The new inner aluminum shank now comes all the way to the bottom
of the center post (inside cap). You can see it when you look at the contact button. The contact button now slides up
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and down in the aluminum shank.” Hey, even the aftermarket caps aren’t cheap; since you’re spending good money,
make sure you can see aluminum around the carbon brush within the cap as Klopfenstein describes before paying for a
new cap.
If you are unable to find an upgraded cap or have a relatively new pre-upgrade cap and don’t wanna throw it away just
yet, the following fix to the pre-upgrade aftermarket cap is easy: Remove the carbon brush and spring. Fit a 9/32” bit
into the drill, preferably a variable-speed critter so it can be run slowly. A drill press might also be helpful here. Drill
right down the center hole inside the cap until you get to aluminum. Keep drilling until you are drilling the bottom of the
hole, not just the sides. Then take a piece of 1/4” ID brass tubing (available at better hobby shops) and bevel one end’s
OD edge with a file. Poke this end into the hole, set the cap down on a firm surface, and tap the other end of the tube
with a hammer until it seats securely in the bottom of the hole. If it fits tight, great; if it fits too loosely, pull it back out
and apply a little JB Weld around the outside of the tube about 1/2” from the end (not at the very end!) so that it is
smeared into the edge of the plastic as the tube is driven home. Let it dry. Then, using a Dremel with a cutoff wheel in
it, cut the tubing off flush with the surface of the plastic. Clean up the edges a bit, then reinstall the spring and brush.
Regardless of what type cap you end up with -- even a genuine Marelli -- it wouldn’t hurt to stretch the spring as
described above, just in case.
THAT’S NOT ALL: George Schulte says, “I came out of a store after 15 min of shopping to see smoke billowing out
of my hood. When I opened it the flames were pretty well involved. Luckily a fire extinguisher was close at hand. The
fire began from the center of the distributor cap. The lighter cap besides being cheaper and lighter is also flammable. I
noticed some arcing around the center hi voltage lead but didn't think too much at the time because the car was running
fine. The plastic is not hi temp and the entire cap caught fire which spread to the rest of the wires in the area which
spread out and melted the fuel hoses.”
REPLACING THE DISTRIBUTOR: Perhaps the easiest and cheapest way to avoid the problems with the Marelli cap
and rotor is to replace the entire Marelli distributor while keeping the rest of the Marelli ignition system, which has no
significant problems. Any 12-cylinder distributor (or even two 6-cylinder distributors, if you can figure out how to
mount them) will take the spark from a coil and distribute it to 12 cylinders; you’re not worried about timing advance
curves because the Marelli electronics will still be handing that.
The distributor of choice is obvious: the Lucas distributor! It’ll bolt right in.
There is one problem, however: connecting the outputs of two separate ignition coils to the single center post on the
Lucas distributor cap. You can’t just splice them together; a spark generated in one coil would backfeed into the other
coil rather than jumping the gap at a spark plug. Charlie Welkie points out that there’s a product on the market for this
job: an MSD Automatic Coil Selector, part number 8210. It’s a diode pack with two inlets and one outlet for
connecting two ignition systems to one distributor cap. Its original intention is to allow racers to install main and backup
ignition systems in their race cars, and when the main one fails simply switch on the backup system and keep going. Jeff
Strom of MSD reports: “There are 8 diodes in each unit, 4 per side.” Each diode is rated at 12KV, so it will block a
48KV spark -- which is plenty for ensuring the spark goes to the plug instead of to the other coil.
Even though it’s not involved in timing, you should maintain the centrifugal advance mechanism in the Lucas distributor.
It’s helpful to have the centrifugal mechanism keeping the rotor tip aligned with the terminals in the cap throughout the
advance range. You can discard the vacuum advance hardware and plug the opening. You can discard the Lucas CEI
pickup and star wheel. If you happen to use an early model distributor, you can discard the OPUS pickup and plastic
rotor. You can discard the trigger board if there is one. Of course, rather than simply discarding all this stuff, you can
sell it on EBay.
Before removing the Marelli distributor, position the crank at TDC on 1A, which is indicated by a mark on the front
damper lining up with the sensor at the bottom. Pull the cap off and make sure the lower tip on the rotor points towards
the notch in the housing; if it points the opposite way, turn the crank one full turn.
You need to position the Lucas distributor correctly, and you won’t be able to use a timing light to do it. With the crank
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at TDC on 1A, position the distributor so that the trailing corner of the rotor tip lines up with the 1A terminal in the cap.
It doesn’t require great precision since it’s not determining actual ignition timing; it’s just making sure the rotor is
positioned close enough that the spark can jump the gap.
Note that the spark plug wires do not go in the same places on the Lucas cap as on the Marelli cap. On the Lucas
cap, the 12 wires go in firing order. They do not on the Marelli; they are switching back and forth across the cap.
#1A is marked on the Lucas cap, and the firing order is counterclockwise looking down on it:
1A-6B-5A-2B-3A-4B-6A-1B-2A-5B-4A-3B
The distributor ventilation scheme connects to the base of the Marelli distributor, but connects to the cap on a Lucas.
Reconnect accordingly.
After you’ve driven the car a while, pop the distributor cap back off and check where the arcing is etching the tip of
the rotor. If it’s distributed along the tip of the rotor, just put the cap back on. If the arcing is concentrated on one
corner, turn the distributor a bit to try to get it towards the center of the tip. Clean the tip up a bit so you can check
it again later. It may take a couple of tries to get the position right, but once you do you should be able to forget it
for the life of the car.
“Slover Jr” performed this mod on his car with great success: “Yes, I'm using the exact twin coil separator
mentioned in your book which btw has been so helpful in my years of ownership! I purchased one off E-Bay from a
racer and it's been working flawlessly. The swapping to a Lucas dist only required a small modification to the coil(s)
mounting to make room for the larger cap and new wires as the original marked ones did not reach their respective
plugs (you could maybe make them work but I needed new ones anyway) and you need to find/make some short ones
with 90° boots on one side, straight boots on the other for the extra coil/cap connections to the separator but other
than that it was no problem.
“Also using the method you described in lining up the Lucas unit after replacing the dist and running the car for a bit I
looked inside the cap and the rotor was making contact right on spot, not bad for a w/e hack like me. It's such an
easy mod I don't know why I didn't do it sooner as I drove with fears of pyromania for too long!”
Not only will this “retro retrofit” avoid the Marelli rotor and cap problems, but it’s also likely to save the owner some
money! A used Lucas distributor plus the MSD Automatic Coil Selector probably won’t cost much more than a new
Marelli cap and rotor, so it can be done instead of the next scheduled tune-up. And the next tune-up will be a bunch
cheaper -- and you can even postpone it a long time, since the Lucas cap and rotor lasts nearly forever.
Slover Jr says, “...my shopping list was as follows:
Used Lucas dist with cap & rotor (very nice condition ready to run) $75
Used coil separator (could have went new for $60) $25
New V12 wires set (used some of my old ones to make the short leads for the coil separator) $70
“Once I had it all done and verified it was running perfectly I sold the Marelli unit for $50 (It had 70K on it, was in
real nice shape, and I had no plans to ever go back) so my total cost was $120.
“Even if I want to sell the car I will not worry about being able to put it back to original; most people would not even
be able to notice and someone who knows these cars that well would have to agree it was a clever thing to do!”
DETECTING IGNITION FAILURES: As soon as the Marelli failure mode was discussed and understood on the
online xj-s discussion list, several members proposed methods to detect such a failure and thereby avoid disaster.
Andrew Corkan promptly designed a dirt-cheap circuit for detecting whether or not there are sparks going to each bank
and providing a warning indication if they are not -- see Figure 11.
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Figure 11 - Ignition Failure Sensor
Corkan describes his creation: “The circuit detects a spark in either bank by means of an induction pickup placed on a
plug wire, similar to the ones used by tune-up timing lights. When a spark pulse is detected it shorts out an RC circuit
that would otherwise cause an LED to light up.”
“You have to make your own inductive pickup using a so-called RF choke (really just a two-part inductor core) and
magnet wire. Open the core and remove half of it from the plastic holder. Wrap 50 loops of magnet wire around the
half of the core still in the plastic holder. You do not want the magnet wire exposed in the engine so solder regular wire
to it and pot that half of the pickup sensor, magnet wire and solder joint in RTV. The wires you solder on should be
long enough to reach into the car where you will place the circuit. Replace the rest of the choke when you install it
around the plug wire. The choke will fit around the plug wire, no need to remove the plug wire.
“There are two options for hooking up indicator lights (see dotted lines in circuit schematic). The first option is to use
LED's. Just wire them as D2 and D4 and bring the wires into the interior. Kirbert 4 suggested a second option of using
the 'trailer' bulb in the dash as an indicator light. For this option you can wire up D5 and D6 to the base of Q3, which
will in turn power up a 12 volt lamp.” Note that in this latter case, a spark failure in either bank will light the same light;
arguably, the driver doesn’t really care which bank just failed, as long as the light tells him a bank just failed (with the
Marelli rotor failures, it’s always the A bank that fails). The owner may choose to use the trailer warning light, the seat
belt warning light, or any other 12V light he wishes, and he may want to relabel the indicator accordingly, color it red,
etc.
“All references in the schematic to "+12V" are to a switched (accessory) power source. When you hook things up you
4
“Kirbert” is Kirby Palm’s online pseudonym.
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should see the lights come on when you move the key to 'accessories' but they should turn off as soon as you start the
engine.” Hence, no need to provide a separate bulb check circuit.
“All the parts for this circuit are available from Radio Shack (but our overseas friends should have no trouble finding
these parts). In addition to what is listed here you will need wire to run from the sensors to the box you put the stuff in,
and wires to run the LED's or the signal light into the dash (if you use that option). You will also want to get a small
circuit board or breadboard and a little plastic box to put the circuit into; a 3 in. x 4 in. box is just fine.”
Part # Value/type Radio Shack #
R1 9.1K
R2 2.2K
R3,R5 22K
R4,R6 40K
C1,C2 470uF, 16v 272-957
Q1,Q2 IRF510, N-Channel MOSFET 276-2072
Q3 TIP31 NPN Transistor (option B) 276-2017
D1,D3,D5,D6 Germanium Diodes 276-1123
D2,D4 LED, any kind will do (option A)
L1,L2 RF choke (two part inductor cores) 273-104
LAMP1 Lamp on the dash (option B)
Magnet wire any kind will do 278-1345
Wire any kind will do
Box and board any kind will do
“It is easy to build, all you need is a soldering iron. It will monitor both banks and turn on a light if there is a Marelli
boo-boo.”
Different colored D2 and D4 LED’s may be used for the indicator lights to indicate which bank, or red could be used for
both to indicate trouble. As shown, the circuit monitors one plug wire (chosen at random) on each bank. One plug wire
on each bank would be enough to detect the common Marelli failure (really, you might as well save your money on
circuit components and just build one circuit to monitor the A bank), although you could get carried away and build 12
circuits instead of the 2 shown and install a complete set of 12 LED’s if you wanna really be sure you detect any possible
problem.
Corkan goes into more detail for those interested: “The circuit uses two identical channels for each bank. Pulses from
the inductive pickups trigger the MOSFET transistors (Q1, Q2), which are sensitive to voltage. They are pretty
standard N-channel MOSFETS that will trigger at about 3.0 - 3.5 volts. To make sure they work reliably with the faint
pulses coming from the sensors, R1 and R2 provide an offset voltage of about 2.5 V. (If you can not locate the right
MOSFET you may have to change the values of R1 and R2, they should be selected so they bias the sensor pickups to
1.0 V less that the MOSFET needs to trigger.)
The diodes (D1, D3) are very important. The diodes keep the voltage pulses from going back down the sensor wire,
forcing it to drain more slowly through R3 or R5. Germanium diodes have a small voltage drop, unlike standard diodes.
If you do not use Germanium then you will need to increase the bias voltage on the sensors by about 0.5 V to make up
for the additional voltage loss.
Each time the MOSFET's fire they short out the RC circuit formed by R4 and C1 (also R6 and C2). This RC circuit
takes about two seconds to charge, and when it does voltage then flows into D2, lighting it up and warning the driver
(or flowing through D5 to the NPN transistor which lights the lamp, etc...). When a pulse hits Q1 (or Q2) it drains C1
(or C2) preventing the indicator circuit from ever getting enough voltage to light. As long as there is a steady supply of
pulses the RC circuit never charges and the light never lights.”
The polarity of the pickups on the plug wires makes no difference, since the pickup will put out a voltage pulse in one
direction when the spark starts and a very similar pulse in the opposite direction when the spark stops. Corkan: “...and
thus the reason for the first diode. In fact the circuit is sensitive enough that polarity will not make a difference, even
though you can see a small difference in the signal on an oscilloscope.”
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An alternative warning system idea would be to detect the overheating of the cat itself, as discussed on page 318. This
has the advantage of indicating a problem no matter what the cause.
AUTOMATIC SHUTDOWN: Once you have some sort of failure detection system that will tell you that the Marelli
has quit firing one bank, there is still the question of what to do with the indication. You could provide an idiot light,
but anyone that drives despite a sudden lack of horsepower may likewise drive despite a warning light; some XJ-S
owners allow others to drive their cars and don’t want to have to lecture them on the importance of a particular idiot
light each time. Another possibility is to have the sensor shut down the car. If Corkan’s ignition monitoring circuit can
light one of the dash indicators, it could just as well be used to operate a relay to shut off power to the ignition -- but
you’d have to install the relay so that it doesn’t cut off the ignition when the ignition switch is in the “start” position or
you’ll never get the car started. The OEM starter relay has a contact that will work perfectly, left over from the days
when a ballast resistor was used with a coil but was bypassed during starting; just use the same contact to bypass the
cutout relay.
A better idea, though, is to use the relay to shut off power to the EFI system or to the injectors themselves. That way
starting won’t be a problem; as soon as the starter turns the engine over and the system detects some ignition pulses, the
EFI will be enabled and the car will start.
LIMP-HOME MODE: Automatically shutting off the engine in the event of six-cylinder operation protects the car but
aggravates the driver, especially if it happens in traffic or in a bad neighborhood. A better idea is to shut off fuel to the
bank that has lost spark, thereby making it safe to drive the car on six cylinders. That same relay idea should work for
this, using Corkan’s circuit with two separate Q3’s (you can omit diodes D5 and D6 if each subcircuit controls its own
Q3) to control separate fuel injector shutoff relays for each bank. Starting should take care of itself; as soon as sparks
are detected in each bank, that bank’s fuelling will be enabled and the engine will start.
The idea of shutting off fuel to one bank and continuing to run does have one important benefit: it is likely to provide a
better cooldown of the overheated parts. Several owners, having already been made aware of the Marelli problems,
nevertheless reported that the right side cats were cherry red hot by the time they figured out what was happening, shut
it off, and got the hood open. When the engine is simply shut off under such conditions, the residual heat within the cat
may nevertheless fry nearby rubber parts, sensors, wires, etc. If the fuel is shut off and the engine continues to run,
cooling air continues to flow through the engine compartment, and air continues to flow through the cylinders of the
inop bank and out through the exhaust system. A running cooldown is better on the engine and ancillaries than a hot
shutdown. Perhaps even if a sensor provided only a warning light indication, a switch could be provided to manually
shut off fuel to the inop bank to allow the car to continue moving.
CATALYTIC CONVERTORS -- MELTDOWN/FIRE (SENSOR-CAUSED): Greg Maddison lamented a large loss to
his wallet: “The front two had melted into a solid mass and the debris ruined the back two.” Obviously, this symptom
differs from the typical Marelli six-cylinder operation described above, since the Marelli failure will toast the cats on one
side only.
“It seems there is yet another reason the Marelli system can cause a misfire that brings the cats up to kiln temperatures.
This would be problems with the TDC sensor/magnets. There are 3 equally-spaced bar magnets around the crank
damper and a sensor that "looks" at the magnets and sends a pulse directly to the Marelli computer. There is a specific
air gap between the magnets and sensor that must be maintained for the system to work properly.
The Jag dealer replaced the damper/magnet assembly on my car saying the rubber had split. This caused the air gap to
be too wide between one of the magnets and the sensor. They first tried to grind down the other two magnets and move
the sensor closer (sounds like the damper deformed and became eccentric), only lasted 600miles so I had to have damper
replaced. The dealer's mechanic explained to me that each magnet produces a timing pulse for 4 cylinders. If one of the
pulses are missing, 4 cylinders don't get spark and send unburned fuel through the cats. The mechanic said that a
different damper is fitted to cars with the 100-amp alternator (like mine) and fails more often than the older cars.” Note:
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the 100-amp alternator requires a grooved belt instead of a V-belt, and the alternator belt is driven by the damper itself
rather than the bolt-on pulley, so the 100-amp alternator does require a different damper. Perhaps it fails more often
because of the increased torque load of the alternator being applied to the rubber.
“After removing the crank pulley they found the woodruff key sheared and cone split, pulley had rotated 6 degrees on
the shaft. Mechanic says the Marelli computer can vary the timing up to +/- 28 degrees. So, at this point I don't know if
they misdiagnosed the sheared key problem as a damper problem (they are claiming both are toast) all along. I can
certainly understand how having the pulley rotate on the shaft can introduce timing errors on a Marelli car.”
There are a few problems in the explanation offered by Maddison’s mechanic. First off, the tabs on the pulley are
attached to the center portion, not to the outer portion held in place by the rubber -- but they might still be damaged by
the rubber shearing. Chris Carley explains: “The timing tabs are a ring with 3 tabs sticking out every 120 degrees bolted
to the back of the pulley attached to the solid middle section and then the tabs are bent over the edge of the pulley.
There is a 1/2 inch of pulley behind the alternator belt (ribbed), where these are bent over. If the rubber sandwich breaks
down then the outside ring of the pulley will slop around and bash the tabs out, which could then hit the sensor (.028
to .042 gap). Whether that problem sheared the key - who knows?” Whatever, make sure your pulley is in good shape
and securely torqued down (see page 90); somehow, problems here can evidently toast your cats.
CATALYTIC CONVERTORS -- MELTDOWN (SECONDARY DAMAGE): Greg Maddison says, “Also check the
engine speed sensor located on the flywheel housing. It is a $40 part located very near one of the catalysts. Mine
melted when the catalyst overheated. After that the speed sensor became temperature sensitive, car ran well when it was
cold. After it warmed up the car wouldn't develop any power and couldn't go over 40 MPH.”
Tim Jones had another secondary problem. After having the cats replaced and the car put right, it started issuing white
smoke from the right exhaust pipe. This is an indication of a blown diaphram in the vacuum modulator on the GM400
transmission; the vacuum line sucks transmission fluid out of the transmission and into the right manifold, causing the
smoke in the right bank only. Apparently the catalytic convertor meltdown generated enough heat to roast the vacuum
modulator.
INTERMITTENT FAILURES: Greg Maddison suffered from electrical connections: “Occasionally when warm/hot
the engine just stops. It will usually restart after a few tries or if left for a couple of minutes. It turned out to be the
crankshaft sensor connector. I could jiggle the crank sensor and car would start again. If you have the Marelli digital
ignition system you will have a crankshaft sensor and a flywheel sensor; engine will not run if the signal is interrupted
from either. Look for a two-wire connector on the left front top of the engine; wires should be in a hard plastic wire
protector running down the front of the engine to the back side of the crankshaft pulley. I found the contacts in this
connector to be green and nasty. Cleaning with spray-on relay and contact cleaner cured the problem. Run the engine
and wiggle this connector and see if it stops. Also check the flywheel sensor connector, it’s on the rear top left of the
engine, looks like the crank sensor connector and hard to get to.”
Steve Sarmanian had the same problem, only different. “In the 2-wire upper connector of the front crank sensor (1
white wire, 1 blue), about 8 inches back into the top harness the white wire connects to the wire braid that surrounds the
sheathing around the blue wire by a solder connection. That connection is protected by a clear plastic sheath (rubbery
plastic tubing about an inch long). The connection is bad, and bad from the factory. It fooled me the first time around
because underneath the clear tubing the wiring looked good. But this time I split open the tubing with a razor blade and
the white wire fell off the braid. There's no good mechanical connection there; when the loom is built they apparently
just strip the end of the the white wire, lay it on top of the braid and melt on the solder. The tubing holds the joint
together. I confirmed that that was the cause of my problem: touch the wires, the car will start; separate them and the
engine dies.
“The fix is to twist the sheath into a secure mechanical connection with the white wire, crimp it with a slip connector and
then resolder. Problem disappeared.
“I unwrapped the rear sensor to check the braid connection on that one (near the firewall) and saw that someone had
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been in there before me with a mechanical fix, but no solder. I fixed it.”
John J. Lynch had similar symptoms, but the cause turned out to be the crank sensor itself: “The problem went
something like this:
1) Car started fine
2) Ran normally for 15 minutes
3) Died completely due to spark failure
4) Engine cooled down for 1-4 hours
5) Repeat step 1
“Turns out the Engine Speed Sensor was the real culprit. The specs say that the sensor should read about 700 ohms but
when I measured it after the engine died I noticed it was only reading about 260 ohms. Since I had previously tested the
sensor with an O-Scope and saw that it was producing the square wave I was expecting, I thought everything was fine.
I was wrong. For some reason when the engine warms up the sensors resistance is dropping below 700 ohms causing
the voltages that are delivered to the ignition computer to be way out of spec. Consequently the computer was shutting
down the ignition amps. For kicks I decided to put a 500 ohm resistor in series with the sensor to validate my new
conclusion and sure enough the car ran fine. As soon as I removed the resistor, the car died again. Problem solved!!!”
LACK OF OOOMPH: Jim Householder reports on “a problem I had with my 1991 XJS; cost me a lot of money and
stumped all the Jag mechs. At 4500 RPM the engine would just flatten out and go no more, but ran quite well up to
this speed. The story is long and sad about trying to get it fixed but decided I would try it myself. Turns out that the
number 2 coil was bad, not a big deal but seems none of the Jag pros had run into this problem.” Interestingly, running
out of juice at 4500 RPM is exactly what you would expect from a secondary coil failure on the earlier cars with Lucas
CEI ignition, but it’s not obvious how it can occur with the Marelli.
1992-ON: Richard Mansell quotes from a Jaguar Publication on the changes for the 1992 model year:
“The Marelli digital ignition ECU has been software upgraded.”
REPLACING THE MARELLI IGNITION SYSTEM: Since the Marelli has some serious problems that can cause
fires, obviously there is incentive to replace this system as a preventative measure. Those fires sometimes destroy
considerable portions of the Marelli system itself, though, and Marelli hardware is quite expensive, so owners having
already suffered such fires also seriously consider a change of system -- not only to avoid a repeat but because they have
a budget for such a replacement.
If your objective is to avoid even the slightest possibility of a fire, you’re out of luck; any car with any ignition system
can have a fire if things go too far wrong. If your objective is to eliminate even the slightest possibility of having a one-
bank failure of the type the Marelli system is infamous for, the only way is to replace the Marelli system entirely; as long
as there’s effectively two six-cylinder ignition systems, there will always be the possibility that one will fail while the
other keeps working. Before you latch onto that for a solution, though, you might wish to review the first fact and
realize that the Marelli, if you can fix the rotor and cap problems, may actually be relatively safe. This author suggests
your money might be better spent on an overtemp sensor for the catalytic convertors.
If you have decided that two six-cylinder ignition systems are totally unacceptable, there are two other types of system
that will work on a V12: a single 12-cylinder system or a distributorless system.
REPLACING THE MARELLI IGNITION SYSTEM PART I: The only replacement ignition systems that will
eliminate the problems with the Marelli distributor are ones that eliminate the Marelli distributor. One idea is a
distributorless system -- six double-ended coils, each connected directly to two spark plugs.
One source is Electromotive; see page 716. The installation manual for their HPV-1 includes instructions on how to
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install two six-cylinder systems on a V12. You are once again back to two six-cylinder systems, one of which can fail!
But at least you won’t have the Marelli rotor to worry about any more.
Another source is...Jaguar. As discussed below, the final few months of XJ12 production came with a Nippondenso
distributorless ignition system. Yeah, that’ll be a cheap retrofit. Judging from Roger Bywater’s and Rick Wilder’s
descriptions of this system, it‘s two six-cylinder systems again!
A distributorless system can have a failure in one part of the system; for example, one of the six double-ended coils could
fail, killing two cylinders in one bank. But that would cause a lumpy-running engine, hopefully getting the driver’s
notice. It wouldn’t keep running smoothly as the Marelli one-bank failure does unless the three coils serving one bank
happened to fail together, which is highly unlikely. But if the distributorless system actually consists of two six-cylinder
systems -- as apparently many of them are -- you obviously could lose one control circuit and have a one-bank failure,
just what you feared with the Marelli.
If the system you install happens to be a “total engine management” system (ignition and EFI together), you may be in
luck. It’s still likely to be two six-cylinder systems, but the ignition pulses from each six trigger the injectors for each six.
So, if the ignition for one bank fails, it might cause the injectors for that bank to quit operating -- providing a safe limp-
home mode.
REPLACING THE MARELLI IGNITION SYSTEM PART II: Another idea is to retrofit the earlier Lucas CEI system
into the later cars. It’s kind of a shame to replace the high-tech electronically-controlled Marelli with the comparatively
archaic Lucas with its mechanical advance controls, but it will definitely eliminate the possibility of one-bank ignition
failures. If anything in the Lucas ignition system quits working, the car stops; one-bank failures are simply not possible.
Note that the centrifugal advance mechanism in the Lucas distributor should be attended to prior to installation, as
described beginning on page 137. This mechanism then requires periodic maintenance (oiling) to make sure it doesn’t
seize, but this isn’t really a problem unless you don’t do it.
This retrofit has the additional benefit of saving money on future tune-ups. The Lucas caps and rotors aren’t cheap, but
they’re cheaper than the Marelli items.
Whit Coleman at British Parts International (page 692) reportedly has assisted several owners with installing Lucas
ignition systems in Marelli-equipped cars -- after the fire. The motive was cost, pure and simple; after the car has
suffered an engine compartment fire, it’s cheaper to convert to a Lucas system than it is to buy the Marelli parts needed
to get it going again -- possibly because the Lucas stuff is more readily available at junkyards. Coleman claims that
people usually obtain an entire donor car to do this job.
Coleman asserts that the change requires replacing the EFI ECU and the associated wiring harness with the items used
with Lucas ignition systems. He’s not entirely sure why, but if you’re using a donor car you’ve got those items on hand
anyway. He also points out that you can then turn around and sell the EFI ECU that worked with the Marelli, possibly
recouping a considerable portion of the cost of the donor car.
This author is not convinced that retrofitting the Lucas ignition system requires changing the EFI ECU and the harness.
If I didn’t have the replacement ECU and harness handy, I’d try running a shielded wire from the Lucas CEI ignition
amp to the footwell where the Marelli ECU was and connect to the suitable pin in the harness for sending the trigger
signal to the EFI system and see if it works.
If that works, it’ll also be possible to use the early OPUS distributor along with an aftermarket ignition pickup and amp
like those suggested on page 150 -- but you’ll want to recurve the distributor advance mechanisms to the curves used
with the H.E. engine. If the ignition system doesn’t provide a dedicated trigger signal lead, connect a wire to the -
terminal on the coil and run it through a 600Ω resistor for a trigger signal.
Coleman also points out that this conversion will require changing out the tachometer, since a six-cylinder tachometer is
used with the Marelli ignition. Again, if you have the donor car, this is no problem -- unless you have the later style dash
and the earlier tach won’t fit.
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REPLACING THE MARELLI IGNITION SYSTEM PART III: As mentioned below, the XJR-S came fitted with a
Zytek engine control system which utilizes a gutted Lucas distributor. The XJR-S is not a common model and the Zytek
system controls both EFI and ignition, so installing this system in a regular XJ-S is likely to be costly. The Zytek system
is supposedly programmable -- you’ll probably need to reprogram it to work with a non-XJR-S engine -- but it’s
reportedly difficult to get the programming software from Zytek. All in all, this retrofit is probably not a reasonable
option from a cost standpoint unless you happen to need a new EFI system as well, and even then it’s not likely to be the
cheapest alternative. Of course, if you happen to have a junked XJR-S laying around...
UPGRADING THE MARELLI IGNITION SYSTEM: Aside from fire avoidance and/or fire repair, some might opt to
replace the Marelli system (or the Lucas systems, for that matter) simply to improve performance. There are several
features that might be worth seeking. Some of the better aftermarket ignition systems have electronically-controlled
advance, making them ostensibly similar to the Marelli -- but they almost invariably are programmable in order to be
adaptable to different cars. This programmability might be of considerable value, especially if the engine is being
modified. Some systems include knock sensors which will allow better optimization of the advance curves as well as
automatic compensation for differing tankfuls of fuel. Some systems use six double-ended coils, thereby eliminating the
need for a distributor.
The ultimate, perhaps, is the “total engine management” system. Such systems replace both the ignition system and the
EFI ECU with an integrated, programmable control system. Some even integrate electronic control of an automatic
transmission -- but obviously you’d need to upgrade the transmission to take advantage of that.
XJR-S Ignition
John Goodman reports that the XJR-S uses a Zytek ignition/fuel injection system -- see pages 307 and 721. “Basically
it is a modified Lucas distributor; even the rotor arm is standard. However the vacuum and mechanical advance
mechanisms have been removed (ECU-controlled vacuum sensor and programmed advance).
“It has a magnetic "Hall effect" engine speed sensor and a similar timing sensor. The 'Hall' effect thing has an inner
and outer wheel. The inner one has one notch and is the timing signal/ speed sensor, similar to the Marelli crank
sensor, the outer star like wheel has twelve notches/spikes to control injectors.
“It appears that to set the timing exactly you really need the dealer to plug in the "JaguarSport magic laptop". In the
set up screen there is a function <reference ignition timing>. This is where you set the distributor to the 10 degrees
BDC at idle for the ECU to get its base line input. After exiting the screen the ignition timing reverts to the control
of the ECU.
“So, under the ECU control, at idle you should be seeing 3.5 degrees and at 3000 rpm it should be around 18 degrees
if the timing is right. It is a damn inconvenience not being able to check or set the ignition timing without the software.”
The Zytek system continued to use the altered Lucas distributor even when the baseline XJ-S was fitted with the
Marelli ignition.
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Distributorless Ignition
The Jaguar V12 was fitted with a distributorless ignition system for a short time just before it was discontinued, but
didn’t make it into the XJ-S; Roger Bywater of AJ6 Engineering (page 713) says, “It was on the 300 range saloon and
we have a dealer technical guide telling all about it. There were two amplifier modules driving two coil modules each
containing 3 double ended coils for a bank of 6 cylinders. All driven by a Nippondenso Engine Management system.”
Rick Wilder, who owns a ’95 XJ12, says, “I had the impression that the distributorless ignition was only added in the
1996 MY. That erroneous impression was reinforced by alldata.com, which shows the Marelli ignition on my MY. I
just took the valley cover off to see what's up and found the 2 coil packs, each with 6 spark plug wires attached, and no
distributor.”
COOLING SYSTEM
COOLING SYSTEM DESIGN: In most “water-cooled” cars, the cooling system consists of a circuit wherein a fluid is
pumped into the portion of the block surrounding the cylinders, then up into the heads, then on to a thermostat, and
from there through the radiator and back to the pump. The thermostat and housing are usually designed so that, when
the thermostat is closed, the fluid is not deadheaded but rather bypassed to allow the fluid to circulate around between
the engine and pump without going to the radiator.
The Jaguar V12, of course, is different. It has two thermostat housings, one at the front of each bank. The XJ-S
radiator is a side-flow radiator divided into a top third and a bottom two-thirds; the end tank on the left end of the
radiator either has an internal baffle one third of the way down, or actually consists of two separate end tanks. The
coolant coming from the left bank, via the left side thermostat, enters at the top left and flows left-to-right through the
top third of the core. Then the coolant from the right bank comes in, mixing with this already-cooled fluid. The mixture
then flows right-to-left through the bottom two thirds of the core and on to the pump. Each thermostat also controls a
bypass directly back to the pump inlet via a “cross pipe”; as the thermostats open to allow coolant to the radiator, these
bypasses are closed off by a disk on the bottom of each thermostat.
It is unknown why Jaguar contrived a dual-thermostat system, but it was probably just to reduce plumbing -- not having
to get the fluid from both banks back to a single thermostat housing.
Because the mixed fluid goes through the pump and to both banks, both banks are always seeing the same incoming
coolant temperature. When the thermostats are closed and the fluid is bypassing into the cross pipe, both banks will also
see the same flow rate, and therefore will warm up at the same rate. When the thermostats are fully open and the
bypasses are closed, however, the left (B) bank will always see a lower flow rate than the right (A) bank, and therefore
will run warmer. This is due to the radiator design; the fluid from the left thermostat outlet has to pass through the
upper third of the radiator core to get to the exact same place the fluid from the right thermostat outlet goes to directly.
As a result, the backpressure at the left radiator inlet will always be higher than the backpressure at the right radiator
inlet. Since the flow to both banks is from the same pump and it is not a positive displacement pump but a centrifugal,
most of the flow will naturally take the easier route through the A bank.
The action of the thermostats may accentuate the differential flow at operating temperatures. When the thermostats are
only partially open, the bypass leads directly back to the pump inlet while the route through the radiator has a higher
backpressure. As the higher backpressure begins to slow the flow in the left bank, the coolant arriving at the left
thermostat begins to get warmer. As a result, it closes off the bypass some more, further reducing the flow in the left
bank! Some have advocated installing a colder thermostat in the left side to compensate for the warmer running bank,
but this would seem to be the exact wrong thing to do; it could arguably be better to put a warmer thermostat in the left
side so the bypass stays open and flow is maintained through the bank. Flow will be reduced in the radiator, though,
possibly causing the entire engine to run hotter.
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As long as the cooling system is clean and operating properly, the differential cooling flow between banks doesn’t seem
to cause any problem. However, there are three implications the XJ-S owner should be aware of:
1) The coolant temperature sensor for the EFI system is on the left thermostat housing. Since this side is running
warmer than the right and the EFI system will be adjusting the fuel mixture for the entire engine accordingly, the right
bank is likely to be running a little leaner that the left. Of course, on cars with Digital P EFI and oxygen sensors, the
system will automatically correct the mixture on individual banks -- as long as you’re in closed-loop mode. When you
put your foot in it, you go into open-loop mode -- and when your foot is in it is precisely when you don’t want to be
running lean! You can only hope that the open-loop scheduling includes enough enrichment to overcome the effects of
the temperature differential between banks. Again, as long as the system is clean and operating properly, there doesn’t
seem to be a problem.
2) The coolant temperature sensor for the gauge on the dash is on the right thermostat housing. This means that the left
bank can have zero flow and be overheating severely, and the driver would have no indication from the dash as long as
the right side still had good flow.
3) While the system works fine when clean and operating properly, the double-pass radiator scheme seems designed to
accentuate any problems that develop. While the coolant flow is always lower through the left bank, the radiator getting
obstructed internally seems to increase the difference in flow -- possibly because the flow from that bank has to go
through twice as many passes of the obstructed radiator, or perhaps just because the thermostats are closing off the
bypass fully. Whatever, the incidence of dropped valve seats or other overheating damage is much higher for the left
bank.
Roger Bywater has a different theory about why the left bank seems to drop more valve seats: “If the V12 overheats for
any reason B bank is likely to suffer more than A bank and I believe this is because A bank is fed from the low side of
the water pump whilst B bank is fed from the top. Therefore any condition which might promote cavitation at the pump
will have a more damaging effect on B bank.” There are even those who suggest that the left bank suffers more than the
right because the big belt-driven fan is blowing air over the right bank, although this is a minor factor at best. Rather
than trying to decide which theory is correct, note that all these theories might have some validity! The B bank is
definitely the one at risk.
Bywater relates “...an observation from when I first started doing Japanese Heat Damage Tests, which involved an
extremely arduous simulated incline run. The test was carried out on a chassis dynamometer in a temperature controlled
environment with airflow coupled to road speed. The punishing part was a simulated gradient lasting (going from
memory) 20 minutes at high load and moderate speed in which the airflow through the radiator is barely adequate to
cool the engine.
“Before we added supplementary fans to live with the test most cars would overheat badly towards the end and I
remember that a V12 dropped a few valve seats on one occasion. The dropped seats were in the left hand head. This
was a test fleet car in sound condition so all those theories like radiator or heater blocking are not relevant. I do not
accept that airflow around the engine is a significant factor.
“I think just about any car would have overheated in the circumstances. A pair of electric fans mounted in front of the
radiator kept the problem under control (I cannot be sure if that was done on the V12 but it certainly was on the 4.2) so
maybe that should be suggested to anyone whose driving pattern gets into similar territory. Personally I was dubious
about the fans making much difference but the engineer in charge of cooling systems assured me it would work and he
was right. The setup was used in production on XJ6s for the Japanese market only (it is shown on the parts slide) but I
don't think the V12s ever had it.”
RECOMMENDATIONS: Despite the proven shortcomings of the cooling system design, many experienced XJ-S
owners insist you can avoid trouble by scrupulously maintaining your cooling system. This author does not agree. If
you put any stock in what I say, you will make four changes to your cooling system immediately:
1) Install coolant filters in the upper radiator hoses. I recommend the Tefba’s, although the Ganos also work fine. See
page 190. Note that you might also want to install a convenient coolant drain to aid in servicing these filters.
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2) Modify the banjo bolt in the air bleed port at the top right corner of the radiator so that it actually allows air
through. See page 44.
3) Install a “flushing tee” in the highest point in the heater hose, and use it whenever you’re changing coolant. See
page 180.
4) Install foam weatherstripping in every nook and cranny where air might get around the radiator rather than going
through it. See page 226.
Those are all easy. They'll only cost you a few bucks and won’t take more than a couple of hours. In addition to those
four items, there are two things that should be done when the opportunity presents itself:
1) If the radiator ever must come out for any reason, convert the system to single-pass. If that radiator is going back
in, have the radiator shop modify it first. If a new radiator is going in, make sure it’s a single-pass radiator. See
page 198.
2) If you ever have any trouble with that belt-driven fan, chuck the whole thing and install an electric fan in its place.
See page 219.
HOW HOT IS TOO HOT? Just about the first question everyone asks is just how high the needle can get before it’s
time to start worrying. Unfortunately, all too often owners ask people who should know, including supposedly certified
Jaguar mechanics, about their gauges reading halfway between N and H, and are told, “That’s OK, they read there all
the time, don’t worry about it.” These people are liars, and you can tell ‘em Kirby Palm said so. Many, if not most, of
the maintenance headaches occurring on Jaguar V12’s can be traced to overheating -- not just one-time overheating, but
long, persistent, chronic overheating, the type that can only happen when the owner is ignoring the gauge -- usually
because someone told him it was OK. If anyone tells you your temp readings are OK, ask him if he will guarantee that
and agree to pay for engine repairs when the valve seats drop.
Trying to get a handle on just what constitutes a reason to panic on the XJ-S temperature gauge has long been difficult,
since reports from owners seemed inconsistent or contradictory. The gauge being an example of British electrics has
only added to the uncertainty. However, by noting many such reports on the internet discussion list and following
several of them while the owners checked things and made corrections, this author has been able to derive the following
guidelines. Note that these descriptions apply to the vertical or “barrel” coolant temperature gauge found in the pre-’91
XJ-S; those with later cars with round gauges will most certainly see similar behavior in general, but I can only offer a
few reports on where the needle sits when the car is running properly -- see below.
Some vertical gauges reportedly have temperature scales in degrees, while others have merely a C at the bottom, an N
dead center of the scale, and an H at the top. This description will refer to the C-N-H scale but both type gauges are
apparently identical except for the paint.
There are basically four situations that the vertical gauge will indicate:
1) If your car has a properly-operating cooling system fitted with 190°F (88°C) thermostats,
the needle will always be sitting on the N when the car is warmed up. Perhaps just a hair to
the high side of the centerline of the scale, but always within the width of the letter itself,
never above it.
2) If your car has a properly-operating cooling system fitted with 180°F (82°C) thermostats,
the needle will always be sitting about 1/4” below the N when warmed up.
3) If your needle seems to wander around a lot, you have air in your cooling system. See the
section on filling and bleeding on page 179.
4) If your needle is above the N, your car is overheating. If your needle is halfway between the
N and the H, your car is severely overheating. And don’t worry about the needle being on
the H; it will never get that far.
Note that these guidelines apply to the XJ-S as configured from the factory -- with the gauge sender located in the right
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side thermostat housing. As mentioned above, it’s the left side that is likely to have overheating problems -- which may
explain why trouble occurs when the gauge reads just above the N where any reasonable person would presume it’s still
within normal operating range. If the sender were moved to the left thermostat housing as proposed below, perhaps the
gauge would have to be reading closer to the H to indicate serious trouble.
Believe it or not, it appears that the vertical gauge is actually quite reliable. In many (but not all!) of the reported cases
of the needle being above the N due to problems with the gauge or sender, it was plainly obvious that there were gauge
problems -- often with all four gauges, and sometimes pegging them against the upper end of the gauge seconds after
cold start. More subtle faults in the electrics, such as corroded connections, always seem to cause the needle to read low
(often all four gauges at once -- see page 591) or to not read at all, staying at the C end. A high temp reading that
appears even remotely plausible is usually a cause for concern.
A lot of owners describe the situation when talking about their temp readings, such as how hard they’ve been driving
down the freeway or how hot it is outside today. Unfortunately, such qualifiers are usually an indicator of trouble.
Engine coolant temperature is controlled by the thermostats, and should not vary beyond their control range regardless
of conditions. And their control range (from fully closed to fully open) is pretty tight indeed; it has been described as
“three needle widths” of travel on the gauge. Since the cooling system should always have some margin (excess cooling
capacity) so the thermostats can control the coolant temp, the indication should always be within this control range. If
the gauge ever indicates more than a couple of needle widths above the regular operating temperature with whatever
thermostats are installed -- including reading on the N with 180°F thermostats -- it means that the thermostats are no
longer in control, they are wide open, and it’s absolutely everything the cooling system can do to hold the temperature
indicated. Obviously, if things get just a hair worse -- the outdoor temperature rises a couple of degrees, one more tube
inside your radiator gets plugged up, you sit in traffic a few more minutes, whatever -- the temp is going to rise some
more. Overheating damage is imminent, you need to be taking corrective action now.
The only way “corrective action” would include replacing thermostats is if the thermostats are bad. Merely switching to
colder thermostats is not corrective action; if the cooling system can’t hold 190°F, it won’t be able to hold 180°F either.
Replacing 190°F thermostats with colder thermostats won’t fix anything unless the 190°F thermostats were defective.
HOW HOT IS TOO HOT? - LATER XJ-S ROUND GAUGE: James Teston says, “I have a '92 with the round
temperature gauge. (Not the barrel gauge)! It looks like this:
C \ N / H
^
|
And this is where the needle stays (Between the N and the right hash mark).”
Steve Gallant says, “My 93 XJR-s with 6.0L engine runs the same regarding temperature -- middle of the N to just
slightly to the right. It has been this way since I purchased the car with 5k miles on it.”
Howard Gladman concurs: “My 95- 6.0L exhibits same reading. Once the the needle reaches about a needle width to
the right of N the Aux fan switches on and the needle stabilizes. 56,000 on the clock and running strong.”
It’s a pretty safe bet that all three of the above cars are running 190°F thermostats. If you’re running colder thermostats,
expect readings farther left than these -- and if you don’t see them, fix your cooling system.
COOLANT TEMPERATURE SENSOR RELOCATION: As mentioned in the description of the cooling system
above, the coolant temperature sensor for the EFI system is on the left thermostat housing while the coolant temperature
sender for the gauge is on the right thermostat housing -- and both are on the wrong side. It would be better if the EFI
coolant temperature sensor was on the right side and the gauge sender was on the left side, for two different reasons. As
a result, an owner could rationally decide to move the EFI sensor from left to right, or the gauge sender from right to
left, or to move both, essentially exchanging the two. All moves are covered here; make your own choice.
It’d be really nice if both sensors were the same thread so you could just swap them. Unfortunately, the gauge sender is
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Smiths with a 5/8” UNF, 18 threads per inch, while the EFI sensor is Bosch, metric, 12mm x 1.5mm thread.
To move the gauge sender to the left thermostat housing, you’re gonna have to drill and tap a 5/8”-18 hole. This will
require two tools you probably don’t have: a 9/16” drill bit, and a 5/8”-18 tap. 9/16” drill bits are not too difficult to
find, but note that they are only available to fit 1/2” or larger drills! They make 1/2” drill bits with reduced shanks all the
way down to 1/4”, but the idea of a drill bit any larger than 1/2” reduced to 3/8” shank seems to have completely eluded
the market. A 14mm drill bit might also work, but they aren’t available to fit a 3/8” drill either.
One possibility is obviously to rent a 1/2” drill. Another idea: you can carefully grind six flats on the bottom 1/2” of the
shank of the bit. Then you can chuck up a socket driver in your 1/4” or 3/8” drill, snap a socket onto the socket driver,
and insert the hex on the bottom end of the drill bit into the socket. It might be a little wobbly, but if you drill the hole as
large as possible with conventional drill bits beforehand (1/2”), this hokey arrangement should do an acceptable job of
enlarging the hole.
This author bought a 9/16” bit with a 1/2” shank and three long flats to help it fit securely in a chuck. By grinding three
short flats in between the existing flats, a 12mm socket fit quite well -- and doesn’t hurt the bit one iota, since the
original flats are intact and would still fit properly in a 1/2” drill.
Another option, of course, would be to replace the OEM gauge sender with a generic sender with similar electrical
characteristics but threads that fit the existing EFI sensor port on the left thermostat housing. Good luck. If you wish to
try this, note the OEM sender registers 412Ω at 40ºC.
You can install the gauge sender anywhere in the left thermostat housing that will see coolant flow from the heads. It
should not go in either the bypass passage or the passage to the radiator, since either may be closed off at one time or
another. On a pre-8S44060 engine, the obvious place to put it is on a flat that was clearly intended for such a boss but
never drilled, right on top and near the rear end of the housing. From engine 8S44060 on, there’s already a hole here
with a sensor in it, so this location isn’t an option.
There’s another flat surface apparently intended for a boss just rearward of the EFI sensor, but this port location
connects to the bypass passage. Also, the boss is too small for drilling and tapping a 5/8” hole.
Another option, of course, is to just drill out the EFI coolant temperature sensor boss and retap it for the gauge sender.
That leads to the next problem: you now need somewhere to put the EFI coolant temperature sensor. And over on the
right side is ideal.
There are at least two existing ports on the right side; the one where the gauge sender goes, and the one where the
thermotime switch goes. On the author’s ’83, there is no thermotime switch; there is a plug in the hole. Doesn’t help,
unfortunately; both holes are too large for the EFI coolant temperature sensor. So, you have two options: either drill
and tap one of the existing holes out to a significantly larger size, install a plug, and drill and tap the plug to fit the EFI
sensor; or just install a suitable plug in the old gauge sender hole and drill and tap an entirely new hole in the coolant
manifold for the EFI sensor. There are a couple of locations that will serve. Note that the EFI sensor could just as
easily go on the rear coolant manifolds.
For a plug for the old gauge sender port, I’d suggest: another sender. In fact, just leave the original sender there and
buy a new sender DAC2583 for the left side. The senders are less than ten bucks each.
In fact, as long as you have two gauge senders, just install another wire and a switch somewhere so you can switch from
one to the other to monitor both sides of the engine with the same gauge. If you go this route, you might want to
replace an original C40106 sender with another DAC2583 just to make sure any difference in indicated temp is due to a
real difference in temperature rather than a difference in sender.
If you have just read through this section and have decided to make this mod, note that unless you can figure out how to
use taps and drills down in some fairly tight places, you will need to remove the thermostat housings to do the drilling
and tapping. Probably the easiest way to do that will be to remove the air filter housings and then unbolt the entire
manifold assembly -- thermostat housing, coolant connecting pipe, and rear coolant manifold -- and move the entire
assembly rearward far enough to disengage the hose connecting the thermostat housing to the crossover pipe. So, while
you’re preparing for this job, go ahead and buy a total of eight coolant manifold gaskets EBC 9634, two air filter
housing gaskets EBC 9635, and both thermostat cover gaskets EBC 8330 and EBC 8331. You may also want to get
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four “top hat” seals C37990 for the coolant connecting pipe, and maybe an AAV gasket C42165 or whatever a newer
gasket number is. And you will want to get a new copper washer for reinstalling the EFI sensor, C2296/3, although you
can probably find a suitable sealing washer locally. Reportedly a new gauge sender comes with a washer, so if you don’t
remove the existing sender you won’t need to buy one separately.
BLOWING COOLANT: In general, if you are blowing coolant, your car is running too hot. If you have a pre-H.E.,
pressure relief at the radiator cap on the header tank on the left wheel well will blow coolant or steam out the little tube
into the wheel well. Note that, if you fill the system right up to the cap, it will blow a little coolant the first time you run
simply due to expansion. You should be able to tell when it’s actually overheating, since it will blow much more
energetically.
If you have an H.E., pressure relief at the radiator cap on the header tank on the left wheel well will cause coolant or
steam to blow into the plastic “atmospheric catchment tank” within the compartment behind the left front wheel. This
tank, in turn, overflows via a tiny tube out the bottom of the car at the very rear of the left front wheel well. If the tank
is empty or nearly empty, you may not be able to tell that the cap is relieving pressure; steam may condense within the
plastic tank, and nothing visible comes out the tube. If the overflow tank is totally full -- which it can get to if the owner
continues to top up the system on a regular basis -- any pressure relief can push liquid out of this tube, even if it’s steam
that’s coming out of the header tank. And, again, if the system is topped up, it may push a little liquid out the first time
it’s run without overheating.
Finally, as noted on page 186, the overflow tube coming out of the atmospheric catchment tank is a classic example of
poor design, so more than likely any flow out of this tank will be all over the inside of that compartment and come
leaking out of nooks and crannies, such as out the joint between the rocker panel and the fender.
OVERHEATING DAMAGE: In any aluminum-block engine, severe overheating can result in a warped block or
warped heads, which in turn normally call for an engine replacement. In the Jaguar V12, a more common symptom of
an overheated engine is a dropped valve seat. Since the heads are aluminum, the valve seats are sintered iron rings that
are pressed into the aluminum. Since iron and aluminum have different coefficients of thermal expansion, overheating
will cause a loose fit and the seat can just fall out. After that, it holds the valve part way open and bangs around in there.
Amazingly, reports of broken valves are rare; more often the owner who continues driving despite the annoying ticking
under the hood allows the valve to beat the seat to pieces, which in turn bang up the piston, the other valve, and the
head.
Do not continue to drive when the car is overheating. If no other options are available, drive it short distances at a time,
shutting it off and allowing it to cool before starting again. And don’t continue to drive if it sounds like a Chevy with
bad lifters, either -- you’ve already dropped a seat, but you might as well quit before you do even more damage.
If at all possible, don’t shut off the engine when the car is overheating; many have reported that’s when the valve seats
drop -- when the engine is stopped. Instead, find a water hose and leave the engine running as you hose down the
radiator through the front grille. Once the temp gauge comes down, then shut it down -- and call a tow truck, do not
start it again until you have addressed its overheating problems.
OVERHEATING -- H.E. vs. PRE-H.E.: Roger Bywater indicates that the pre-H.E. cars had some tendency to
overheat: “With regard to the marginal cooling at sustained high speeds the H.E. had a slight advantage in that the
higher compression ratio raised the thermal efficiency and reduced the heat losses to the coolant. It was also
noticeably over-fuelled at high revs which must have helped further and the problem, slight though it was, seemed to
be solved. Distributor build quality was also better by this time.”
OVERHEATING -- CAUSES: Believe it or not, the XJ-S H.E. does not overheat when it’s running right -- and this
from an owner who lives in Florida! If yours tends to overheat, don’t ignore it. Check the following, all of which are
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described further in this book:
1) The cooling system must be properly filled with no air in it.
a) The system must be filled with the proper coolant mixture and bled correctly to begin with, which requires
disconnecting a hose at the heater valve (not mentioned in the manuals).
b) The automatic air purge system must be working properly to keep air out.
i) The banjo fitting on top of the radiator is probably plugged if it hasn’t been modified.
ii) The line to the atmospheric catchment tank may be obstructed or kinked.
2) The radiator must be clear, no blockage or sludge; unfortunately, this is difficult to check conclusively on the XJ-S
without removing it from the car and removing the end tanks. Crud in the radiator will cause overheating under all
conditions, but usually more at speed than at idle. Experience indicates that any radiator maintained following the
owner’s handbook guidelines for more than ten years is likely to be plugged.
3) Suspend the thermostats in a pan of water on the stove and bring them to a boil. Do not let them contact the
bottom of the pan. If the thermostats are not visibly wide open by the time the water boils, replace them. Their
usual failure mode is to open only slightly.
4) Retarded timing will cause overheating under all operating conditions. See the sections on ignition timing beginning
on page 126.
a) A seized centrifugal advance mechanism may be seized at any position from idle to max advance. Usually, it
will be correct at one particular RPM, retarded everywhere above that RPM, and overadvanced everywhere
below. Conditions with retarded timing will cause overheating. Conditions with overadvanced timing can also
cause overheating but usually not as severe; the more obvious problem is knocking. See page 137.
b) A blown vacuum advance module will cause timing to be retarded at low throttle while correct at full throttle,
so the car will overheat more when driving gently.
5) There may be debris obstructing airflow through the radiator, such as dirt and leaves -- either plugging the fins
themselves or within the space between the A/C condenser and the radiator. See page 202.
6) A bad fan clutch causes overheating only in stop-and-go traffic or other conditions where motion of the car doesn’t
provide enough air flow. See page 215.
7) The fan shroud needs to be properly installed and sealed up against the back side of the radiator. See page 226.
8) The fan shroud flaps should be intact and free to flap as intended. If they are missing, overheating when stopped
and idling is likely.
9) There needs to be foam surrounding the radiator to prevent air from bypassing it. See page 226.
10) Front spoiler -- it must be there, and it must be properly mounted. See page 227.
11) Automatic transmission problems can be putting too much extra heat into the radiator. See page 324.
While all of the above items point to common faults, it must be said that far and away the most common cause of
overheating on XJ-S’s that are ten years old or more is a plugged radiator. If you are having cooling problems, address
the easy items first, but you might as well go ahead and plan to remove the radiator and have it rodded, recored, or
replaced.
FILLING THE COOLANT SYSTEM: The ROM and the Haynes both provide a detailed coolant fill procedure and
give dire warnings about engine damage caused by hot spots if the procedure is not followed. Allow me to add: they
ain’t kidding. Reportedly, one indication that the system has not been properly filled and bled is that the coolant level
light comes on every now and then while driving. Another is a temp gauge that seems to wander around.
Of course, you could just take your car to the Jag dealer and let the experts change the coolant so you don’t have to
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worry about it, right? Get real. Stefan Schulz: “In my experience (in the bad old days, that is, when I still let garage
mechanics near my car), they never seemed to follow this procedure because the coolant level light would behave as you
describe after they messed with the cooling system. When I started doing my own maintenance and followed the
procedure to the letter except for the leak sealer I never got the low coolant light on when the engine was running.”
Steve Gallant: “Same for me here. My car was serviced by a very reputable main dealer as part of a pre-purchase
service. After receiving the car, I noticed the low coolant light came on on my first drive. I performed the factory
procedure for filling/bleeding, and the light was extinguished. I must have added close to a quart of coolant. So even
dealers don't take the necessary time to perform this operation 100% successfully.”
Wally Magathan: “My car was also serviced by a reputable dealer, but I didn't know it was routine for them to ignore
the bleed procedure until now. I've now bled the system, put in almost a gallon, and hate to think what's been going on
in the engine in the month since they "fixed" my radiator hose.”
Jim Isbell provides a great tip on filling the coolant system: “Getting the water into the system has always been a
problem on the XJS because of the two fill points. I always tried to do it on level ground before and spent many minutes
shaking the car to get all the air out of the system. Today, just by accident, I was parked in the driveway with the nose
of the car elevated and I didn't feel like moving it. So I pulled the cap on the header tank and filled the car (about two
quarts) then I pulled the cap on the crossover pipe and added another quart. The air bubbled out quickly and the car
was completely full in no time. I recapped both vents and it's finished. From now on I will park the car with the nose
uphill when I fill the radiator.”
The engine is deliberately designed for the coolant to flow upward with no air pockets, but when parked on level ground
it just barely flows upward. Tilting the nose up should make the air clear out a lot better. Offhand, it’s probable that
you can’t have the nose too far up until the air bleed port on the top left of the radiator is higher than the fill opening on
the crossover pipe.
Be sure to bleed the air out of the heater circuit while filling the cooling system. See below.
AIR BLEED VALVE: At the top left corner of the radiator is a small fitting used to allow air out while filling. Mike
Morrin says, “The first few XJ-S (1975 model year) left the factory with a threaded plug.” Then they switched to a little
winged valve for most pre-H.E. cars -- but for H.E.’s, they went back to the plug. Morrin: “The owner’s handbook and
manual give instructions for both types of fitting.” Both items were the same thread, 1/8” BSPP -- so if you’re here in
the US, don’t lose that plug! If you’d prefer the convenience of the valve, C45587, it will fit where the plug fits; the
valve sits a little higher and therefore closer to the hood, but this doesn’t seem to be a problem.
AIR BLEED AT THE HEATER VALVE: There is none, but there should be. Since the line comes out of the right
side coolant manifold, goes upward until it gets to the heater valve and then downward until it connects to the bottom
left corner of the radiator, it forms a big bubble when filling the coolant system. Therefore, you need to disconnect a
hose at the heater valve to let the air out when filling. A disconnected hose creates two openings, one on the end of the
hose and the other on the end of the fitting it was attached to. As you fill, coolant will start to pour out of one of the
openings first; put a thumb over that opening and continue to fill until coolant starts to pour out of the other opening,
then reconnect the hose.
Of course, it’d be more convenient if there were actually a bleed port. Douglas Dahl says, “2 clamps and a $0.99 5/8"
connector at any auto parts store. It is the same as the T's used in the flushing kits out there and comes with a screw
top.” These black plastic “flushing tees” are commonly available in 1/2”, 5/8”, and 3/4” size, and you’ll need the 5/8”
for this job. The straight section of the tee has hose barbs of the specified size while the connection off the side is a male
garden hose fitting, and it comes with a blank-off cap with a rubber washer inside. It really could not be any simpler to
install or use. If your local auto parts store doesn’t sell these flushing tees individually, it may sell the flushing kits which
contain three tees -- one of each size -- plus one cap and a few other items, all for less than five bucks so it still won’t
break you. Note: you might want to check the passages inside the tee for plastic mold flashing before installing.
Please note that installation and use of an air bleed in the heater circuit does not mean you don’t need to follow the
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prescribed procedure for filling and bleeding the cooling system. You will still get air in the system when filling; we just
hope that you will trap less air in the system by bleeding air from the heater circuit.
When filling the cooling system, it is suggested that you run the car for a few minutes with the climate control system
off. With it off, the heater valve will remain open, so the cooling system will have a chance to push the air pockets out
of the heater circuit. With the system on, it may just close that heater valve as soon as the engine is started unless it’s
cold enough inside the car for the system to call for heat.
ANTIFREEZE: Don’t operate the Jag or any car without antifreeze in the cooling system. The name “antifreeze” is an
unfortunate misnomer, and pure water is a totally unacceptable coolant -- even in Hawaii. Antifreeze not only prevents
freezing, it also retards corrosion and crud buildup, helps prevent boilover, and serves as a water pump seal conditioner.
Running pure water will result in early water pump seal failure. Also, replace the antifreeze annually, because the
inhibitors in it wear out and it becomes corrosive.
Scott Fisher sends the following wisdom: “In the context of the automotive cooling system ethylene glycol is not an
anti-corrosive agent; it is in fact corrosive. To offset this fact, manufacturers add anti-corrosives (inhibitors) to the
glycol. These preparations, while in good condition, perform well in both minimizing corrosion and preventing freezing
of the coolant. However, over the life of the coolant the anti-corrosion properties of the inhibitors are depleted.
“Water aids corrosion in three main ways: 1) bringing free oxygen in close contact with the metals so that corrosion
(oxidation) can occur. 2) Water is conductive. Once water has been flowing in your cooling system for some time, its
conductivity will rise as it picks up metal ions. The water may serve to promote electrical activity which may erode
metals by galvanic action. 3) Some of the metal ions in the water may also react directly with the metal surfaces.
“Apart from supporting the above three processes, ethylene glycol has the added unfortunate property that it oxidizes
through several stages to oxalic acid. The products of ethylene glycol oxidation by oxygen and subsequent reactions
include: aldehydes, carboxylic acid, nitric acid, glycolic acid, glyoxylic acid, oxalic acid, formaldehyde and formic acid.
Most of the series of oxidation products to and including oxalic acid are directly corrosive to metals. Added to this,
oxalic acid is highly toxic.
“To combat the above acids and other corrosion activity, antioxidants and alkaline formulations are added to the glycol
mix. These include many compounds which are used in cooling systems where antifreeze properties are not required
and include primary, secondary and tertiary amines; organic and inorganic phosphates, silicates cresols and other
phenolic substances; a wide variety of sulfur compounds; soaps; alkali metal salts; and borates.
“These inhibitors slow down the corrosion process caused by the glycol and the water. They may coat the metal
surfaces and prevent corrosion by passivation. Passivation is the process where the a protective film forms on the metal
which prevents further contact with the solution. Unfortunately, in all coolant preparations (with or without glycol) the
inhibitor system (during engine operation) is being continuously depleted in the performance of these actions. For this
reason, proper cooling system maintenance is critical.
“One aspect of cooling system maintenance that we can all easily follow is to minimize “aeration” of your coolant.
Aerating accelerates the uptake of free oxygen from the atmosphere. As free oxygen is one of the essential ingredients
for corrosion, the importance of minimizing it’s uptake is clear. To this end you should make sure all your hoses are in
good condition and clamped tightly. “Closed systems”, where an expansion tank and recovery system closed to the
atmosphere is used, also help in this regard.
“If you overheat (boil) glycol-based coolants they must be replaced immediately as this accelerates the oxidization
process of the glycol to acids.”
LONG LIFE COOLANT: Peter Cohen says, “I noticed that the manual called out “phosphate free” coolant. The
statement I am referring to is on Page 26-03 of Volume 2 of the XJS Service Manual (JJM 10 04 06) under the heading
“ANTIFREEZE”. The V12 HE motor is essentially unchanged since long before the existence of non-phosphate
coolant. Ergo, the Jaguar V12 has been doing fine on normal coolant for all these years, so why ask for non-phosphate
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now?”
“After much searching, the only non-phosphate stuff I could find at the time was Prestone 460 Long Life coolant. The
Prestone 460 has the distinct disadvantage of being brown, so now coolant leaks are the same color as oil leaks (and the
same color as rusty old coolant). I have since found Texaco Havoline Long Life, which is orange.”
Jim Belkoff answers, “Beyond the phosphate-free issue and the long-life issue, Texaco DEX-COOL (and I assume the
Prestone equivalent) contains no silicates. From what I understand, silicates are abrasive and gradually eat away at
water pump seals. Texaco and GM have done tests to prove this new coolant results in fewer water pump replacements.
“The reason the new coolant lasts so long is the carboxylate inhibitor system that’s added to the base ethylene glycol. I
would suggest taking a look at Texaco’s website (www.texaco.com).
How important is phosphate-free coolant? Apparently we should ask the folks at Saturn. Cohen: “In their first year of
production, Saturn recalled and destroyed all of the first cars they sold because "they were shipped with the wrong
coolant, which could destroy the engine block". Given that they could simply have issued new motors, this was an
impressive waste of money.”
Peter Cohen says, “DEX-COOL apparently eats silicone sealants. If you are replacing your water pump, do not use
silicone sealant on the gasket. Either use no additional sealant, or use Permatex.”
LONG LIFE COOLANT -- MAYBE NOT: That orange long life coolant sure sounds good, but eventually enough
negative reports appeared to convince many owners to stick with the traditional green stuff. In fact, enough negative
reports appeared to convince many auto mechanics to avoid the orange stuff like the plague. Gary Penovich says,
“Chevrolets and other late model GM cars have been affected by brown sludge. It seems that extreme driving conditions
and/or low coolant situations lead to a gelatin-like thickening of the stuff.”
Wally Plumley, on the Porsche 928 discussion list, discussed coolants with Texaco reps and learned that long life
coolants are not suitable for “open” cooling systems in which air is present in the cooling system. In other words, it’s
not suitable for systems that don’t have a coolant overflow tank -- such as the pre-H.E. XJ-S. It’s also not suitable for
systems that leak. “Silicates in conventional coolants will "plate out" or coat metal surfaces inside the cooling system. If
the cooling system gets low on coolant, the plated silicates will give some corrosion protection to the metal that is then
exposed to hot, moisture-saturated air. DEX-COOL has no silicates, so if the coolant level gets low, the metal exposed
to hot, moisture-saturated air has no corrosion protection, and will corrode relatively quickly.” Of course, this wouldn’t
matter to anyone whose car never got low on coolant.
Bernard Embden argues that DEX-COOL is not only inappropriate for systems that don’t have an overflow tank, but for
system with unpressurized overflow tanks -- which would include all Jaguar XJ-S’s. “On my 88 Grand Prix with its
non-pressurized expansion tank, (tank does not have a "pressurized radiator cap") a nasty sludge built up around the
expansion tank filler cap with DEX-COOL installed. The crap was hard and not easily removed. Based on my
experience, it appears that DEX-COOL reacts with the atmosphere to form this sludge. GM agrees that low coolant
resulting in radiator contamination is the death bell of DEX-COOL. A "low coolant" condition creates an "air pocket"
within the radiator that allows a deposit accumulation unique to DEX-COOL. Once this deposit attaches itself to the
radiator cap, the cap loses its sealing ability and a vicious cycle of low coolant/more deposits starts.
“Without a pressurized radiator cap, the cooling system has a large and variable "air pocket" in the non-pressurized
expansion tank. This allows DEX-COOL deposits to start to build up immediately in the expansion tank and is
ultimately drawn to the radiator cap. Once on the radiator cap sealing surface it prevents proper sealing. From this
point on your radiator is on borrowed time.”
RETROFITTING OLDER CARS WITH LONG LIFE COOLANT: Jim Crider says, “A few years ago, someone
thought a long-life coolant (original plan: life of vehicle) would be a Good Thing. This leads to Organic Acid
Technology coolant (OAT), which is marketed as "DEX-COOL" by GM and has been factory-fill in their products
(except C4 Corvette -- not sure about C5 Corvette) since 1995. It's the orange or orangy-red stuff. Someone along the
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line decided the word "acid" was a Bad Thing to try to sell, so OAT was recursively changed to Organic Additive
Technology. It can go 5 years/100K or 150K miles -- provided it's not mixed with other coolant. OAT has less
cavitation resistance than silicate-based coolant, and can attack certain sealing materials, so it's not a good idea to
convert a green-coolant car over to OAT unless the manufacturer says it's okay. OAT also has a tendency to stain
translucent plastics in things like overflow bottles and pressurized de-gas bottles with a funky brown crud. Oh, and
OAT from one manufacturer isn't necessarily compatible with OAT from a different manufacturer. Texaco is GM's
OEM supplier and is licensed to use GM's "DEX-COOL" trademark on their aftermarket packaging.
“Many European automakers use a hybrid of OAT -- HOAT (Hybrid Organic Additive Technology -- clever, huh?),
which is the OAT package with a small amount of silicates added to increase the cavitation resistance and make it less
aggressive against those seals and gaskets. This is often pale yellow in color. This stuff seems to offer pretty much the
best of both worlds -- it's not quite as long-lived as straight OAT, but it is much better behaved in operation than OAT,
much like conventional coolant.
“Note that these three different additive packages are not really cross-compatible. No, they won't eat the insides of your
radiator if you mix a little of one in with another in a pinch, but you'll be better to get the system flushed out and a fresh
mix of 50/50 whatever your car needs put back into it.
“If I owned a car that came with OAT or HOAT from the factory, I'd likely stay with it. The anti-corrosion additives, in
particular, leave residues on the walls of the various coolant passages (that's how they work -- the residues coat the base
metal and prevent corrosion), and it's tricky to convert an engine that's been run with one style of package to use another
package and get the full benefit.
“Switching from conventional to OAT, for instance, requires a mild acid flush of the cooling system after removal of the
conventional coolant and before pouring in the OAT if the long-life corrosion benefit of the OAT coolant is to be
realized. Just pouring the OAT in after draining the conventional won't gain the full measure of added coolant life the
OAT marketers (notably Texaco) like to use as selling points.”
Somewhere in the midst of all this, the labelling on the containers of DEX-COOL quietly changed, making far more
modest claims for durability and combatibility.
Quoting from the Popular Mechanics web site: “Now let's look at "retrofit" and "drain and fill" and explain what you
can and can't do safely, and a bit of why. If a vehicle has a copper-and-brass radiator, forget a retrofit, says General
Motors, because the organic acid (orange) antifreeze may not provide adequate protection for the lead solder in that
radiator. The Chrysler orange hybrid combination of silicates and organic acids is meant to provide special protection
for the water pump. Sorry, you can buy it only at a Chrysler-brand dealer.
“Prestone believes you can retrofit to its organic acid orange almost any vehicle with an aluminum radiator and cooling
system that has been well-maintained and is in good condition, if you do it right. However, the antifreeze maker
recognizes the possibility of a problem with Dodge truck 5.9-liter V8 water pumps, for which green or yellow/gold U.S.
antifreeze is recommended–if you don't get Chrysler's specific orange.”
A 1998 magazine article quoting Applied Chemical Specialities Co. (a competitor of Havoline) put the retrofit issue
more strongly: “DEX-COOL is an excellent antifreeze to be used in brand new cars in which traditional
phosphate/silicate antifreeze has never been used. However, if any traditional antifreeze has ever been used in your car's
cooling system, it is strongly advised to avoid using DEX-COOL. This is because, short of a dangerous strong acid
cleaning or complete replacement of ll parts within the cooling system, it is physically impossible to remove all residuals
of phosphates and silicates - even with repeated flushing. If DEX-COOL is used in such a system, deposit formation will
be almost instantaneous and will seriously affect your car's cooling system efficiency and performance. Because most
corrosion occurs under such deposits, it will also affect the long-term corrosion prevention in such a system as well.”
In a more Jaguar-specific vein, Al Askevold reports some problems with DEX-COOL: “Besides the bad report about
DEX-COOL from the radiator shop who did my recore, I could not remove my rad caps without damaging the rubber
seals, and my Tefba filters - I had to remove them and clamp them in a vice to remove the tops. I tried several different
kinds of lubricant on the parts with no effect. I finally flushed the DEX-COOL, I am now using a different brand, so far
no problems.”
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WATER: The antifreeze needs to be mixed approximately 50/50 with water, but if you care about your cooling system
you might want to be careful about what water you use. The garden hose may be convenient, but it’s not necessarily
healthy for the car. The biggest problem to be concerned with is dissolved solids, that stuff that’s left in a pot after you
boil water away. Since boiling is often going on alongside the hottest parts of the engine (cylinder liners, head), this
same stuff is left there. As a scale on the metal surfaces, it can insulate them from the coolant and make the cooling
system less effective. When the scale flakes off in chunks, it can find its way into the radiator and plug up some of the
tiny tubes. Finally, the scale is somewhat abrasive, and therefore is not particularly good for the seal in the water pump.
This problem might be considered minor. There are only about two gallons of water introduced to the system at each
coolant change, and that amount of water only has a finite amount of dissolved solids in it. This appears to be the
attitude the auto manufacturers take, since there are no radiator hose filters in a car from the factory (see page 190).
However, if you change your coolant often or use really crummy water, you might be contributing to the plugging of
your radiator. If your car loses coolant and you add water daily from a garden hose, you might as well go ahead and
pull your radiator and have it rodded out.
To minimize problems with dissolved solids, you should use distilled water, deionized water (also known as
demineralized water), or water that’s been purified using a reverse osmosis process. All three types are generally
available at the local grocery store for perhaps 75 cents a gallon; at some places, you can take your own jug and get it
even cheaper from a dispensing machine. Deionized water is sometimes called “purified water”, and is usually labelled
that it “serves distilled water uses”.
Grocery stores also sell various types of drinking water, including spring water. These may not be any better than the
tap water, since they may contain lots of dissolved solids -- they just contain dissolved solids that taste good.
Other processes advertised include ozonated water, which is a process to kill germs, and carbon filtered water, which is
a process to remove volatile compounds that affect the flavor. Neither process has any significant benefit for cooling
system use. The first time the engine is warmed up to operating temperature, the germs will be dead and the volatile
compounds will have boiled away and been removed from the system by the air purge system.
There are arguments about using rain water or condensate from an A/C system. The argument is that they are both
“distilled”; however, the other side of the argument is that they apparently pick up quite a load of dissolved solids
somewhere along the way, either from pollutants in the air or from dust or whatever. Look at the container that collects
the water and judge for yourself if it’s OK for the inside of your cooling system to have similar stuff in it.
Peter Smith reports from “...a series of brochures from Tectaloy. It says "the preferred water is demineralised. Do not
use spring or bore water." The brochure illustrated that the corrosion effects on welded aluminium were serious, and
that as little as 1 volt earthing through the cooling system could chew out an aluminium radiator in weeks (probably do
the cylinder head a power of no good as well). It also notes that true distilled water is getting harder to obtain due to the
cost of production and the energy required in the distillation process. Also "if you believe rain water is the answer just
reflect for a second on the damage it does to gutters and tanks, and they're usually galvanised against corrosion. Spring
water is totally unsuitable as it is full of minerals and salts". Summary was that distilled, demineralised or reverse
osmosis water were the most suitable.”
One thing you should definitely not use is “softened” water from one of those water softeners that is recharged with salt.
Dave Lokensgard says, “Never use softened water in a cooling system containing aluminum. Water softeners are ion-
exchange units, not de-ionizing units. The main bad actor coming from the water in aluminum corrosion is the chloride
ion, and water softeners work by replacing all anions in the water (negatively-charged ions, like phosphate, sulfate, and
so on) with chloride, and all positively-charged ions with sodium ion. This is why they are recharged with salt (sodium
chloride). So softened water is the worst thing you can use in a cooling system.”
Jason Korke: “The coolant I bought was designed to be mixed with water. It was made by Castrol which in Australia is
I believe fairly well regarded. It wasn't cheap! The bottle said, "Mix with demineralized or soft water."” It is unknown
why Castrol’s directions would say such a thing; perhaps they meant naturally soft water (water with few minerals) as
opposed to softened water (water in which the minerals have been exchanged for salt).
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If you work in a science lab, an electric power plant, or some other type of industrial facility that uses clean water, you
may actually be able to get ahold of some really pure water -- something chemically much closer to unadulterated H2O
than the distilled, deionized, or RO stuff you can buy locally. Believe it or not, this may not be good. Pure water is a
solvent; it would actually be quite effective at corroding your aluminum, iron, and brass parts if it weren’t for the
protective additives in the antifreeze. So, although the total lack of dissolved solids is nice, perhaps it’d be better if you
added some dissolved solids before using; drop a few chunks of scrap aluminum and copper into the jug and let it sit a
while before using it in your cooling system.
If you want to learn more about water, there is a “WaterNet” forum on the Internet.
RADIATOR CAPS: The XJ-S H.E. has two radiator caps, but only the one on the header tank (left side of the engine
compartment) is actually meant to operate as a conventional radiator cap; namely, to control the pressure in the system.
The one on the cross pipe (at the top right of the engine) is really just a place to add coolant, using a standard radiator
cap because they’re available. If one or both of the caps go bad, they may be replaced with standard coolant-recovery
radiator caps.
The early XJ-S H.E. originally came with two different caps that were chained in place to make absolutely sure you
didn’t mix them up. However, as Alex Dorne points out (and Jaguar eventually figured out), there is no opening out of
the chamber between the lower seat and the upper seal in the fitting on the cross pipe. As a result, it doesn’t really
matter what pressure rating the cap is you install there; the upper seal will totally seal that opening, no pressure relief is
possible. The cap on the header tank will always establish the pressure limit within the cooling system. So, Jaguar now
offers two identical caps as a replacement so it doesn’t matter if you mix them up.
Nowadays all radiator caps are coolant-recovery type, but I will point out the difference anyway. In non-recovery
systems, any coolant that was relieved by the radiator cap merely blew overboard, and when the system cooled back
down air would be drawn back in. Radiator caps made for non-recovery systems usually had a brass diaphragm under
the top cover that primarily served as a spring to keep the cap from rattling; it didn’t matter if it didn’t seal, since coolant
was just going overboard and air was being sucked in anyway.
In a recovery system, coolant released is collected in a reservoir and sucked back into the system on cooldown. While
the configuration of the radiator opening hasn’t changed, it now becomes more important that the top cover of the cap
actually seal. When the engine is cooling down and drawing coolant back in, any leaks at this joint will cause it to draw
air instead. So, modern coolant-recovery caps have a rubber seal in place of the brass diaphragm. Since this type cap
works just fine on non-recovery systems, it is doubtful if anyone actually makes the older style anymore.
COOLANT RECOVERY SYSTEM: Hey, all cars have them nowadays, it’s not rocket science. Each time an engine
heats up, the expansion and pressure buildup blows air, gasses, and coolant past the radiator cap and into a recovery
tank, where the air and gasses bubble to the top. When the engine cools down, the contraction draws coolant back from
the bottom of the recovery tank. However, on the XJ-S the coolant return line from the pressure cap to the
“atmospheric catchment tank” behind the left front wheel is unusually long. Since the expansion/contraction of an
engine only moves a little water at a time, it requires several thermal cycles to purge the air out of the hose (unless you
overheat and blow steam). Each time you open the pressure cap, you allow the water to drain into the atmospheric tank
and the line to fill with air. If you keep opening the pressure cap to check the level, it will never get a chance to work
properly.
Even the tiniest leak in the coolant circuit will screw up a coolant recovery system. You may not be concerned about a
very slight loss of coolant, but you should be. The engine takes several hours to cool down, so the rate at which coolant
is drawn back from the recovery tank is glacial indeed. With even a tiny leak in the system, this suction will draw in air
from outdoors instead. Once you have pockets of air in the system, the next event in your life will be an engine rebuild.
Steve Haley says, “I found that even being a cup and a half low on coolant makes a big difference in the location of my
gauge needle.”
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ATMOSPHERIC CATCHMENT TANK: On the H.E., the atmospheric catchment tank is a plastic container located
directly behind the left front wheel, within the bodywork. “Atmospheric” means that it’s not pressurized; it’s basically an
open container to pour coolant into. To get to it, remove the left front wheel and remove the sheet metal panel at the
rear of the wheel well.
The vent on the atmospheric catchment tank is somewhat unusual. On most cars, the coolant recovery container is
within the engine compartment, and when it overflows (like, when your car is overheating big time), the fluid coming out
the vent just dribbles out onto the ground. In the XJ-S, however, such leakage would result in antifreeze throughout the
bodywork -- unacceptable. So, the container has a vent line that is routed out the bottom of the car. For this vent to
work as intended, the container must be airtight. The design is really lousy, however, and it is likely to leak throughout
the bodywork when overheating anyway.
To prevent such localized flooding, try this idea: install a pan underneath the atmospheric catchment tank to catch any
coolant that spills out of it, and provide a drain from this pan out the bottom of the car.
According to Mike Morrin, the pre-H.E. doesn’t have an atmospheric catchment tank; relief from the radiator cap on the
header tank just drains into the wheel well. He suggests that an overflow tank might be a useful retrofit. Considering
the problems with the OEM tank noted above, it might be wiser to simply purchase a generic “coolant recovery system”
such as those offered by J.C. Whitney. Note, however, that such generic tanks may be designed to overflow all over the
place rather than out a tube; either mount them somewhere that this isn’t a problem, or provide a tray to catch the
overflow and route it out the bottom of the car. Tank volume may also be a concern, so if given a choice get the largest
container you can find.
ATMOSPHERIC CATCHMENT TANK FILLING: Ideally, you’d like to have a minimum of a couple of inches of
coolant in the bottom of the atmospheric catchment tank. However, you’ll notice there’s no convenient way to put any
coolant in it! Apparently, Jaguar expects you to just add coolant at the header tank, and eventually some of it will get
into the catchment tank eventually. Or maybe you’re supposed to disconnect the hose from under the cap on the header
tank, put a funnel in the end and hold it high and fill it that way.
Steve Haley had a better idea. “I added a fill hose which I ran back out through the same hole as the others.” This
would give you a filler location in the left rear corner of the engine compartment. Note that the point where this hose
enters the atmospheric catchment tank should be airtight, so if it overflows the excess coolant will come out the vent line
behind the LF wheel rather than pouring all over everything.
Even with such a nifty filler scheme, you still don’t have any good way to tell what the level is. If you arrange your filler
hose to end about two inches above the bottom of the tank, you can find out by blowing into it. If you hear bubbling,
the level is at or above the end of the hose, and you don’t need to add coolant. If the blowing just whooshes into the
tank freely, you need to add coolant. If you think you might have too much coolant in it, you might even connect a
siphon and drain the excess through this hose; when it gets down to the two-inch level, it will suck air and automatically
quit siphoning.
COOLANT RECOVERY HOSE: The line from under the radiator cap on the header tank to the atmospheric
catchment tank is anything but simple -- or reliable. In the engine compartment, where you can see it with the hood
open, it is a sturdy thick-walled 5/16” hose. When it gets into the compartment behind the LF wheel well, where you
can’t easily inspect it, it connects to an adapter that steps the size up to 3/8”, which then connects to a length of thin-
walled rubber tubing (which actually appears smaller than the 5/16” hose). This 3/8” hose then bends downward 90º
and into the atmospheric catchment tank.
One common problem is that the thin-walled tubing may get kinked making that 90º bend -- sometimes because
somebody has fiddled with the hose in the engine compartment and pushed more of it into the hidden compartment,
tightening up the bend. Michael Aiken says, “My coolant recovery hose was kinked as it enters the atmospheric bottle.
This made the recovery system totally inoperable and could lead to more severe damage anywhere in the cooling system,
as this is the only way pressure is vented as the coolant expands.
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“It can easily be tested by disconnecting the hose at the top of the neck of the expansion tank and blowing in the hose. It
should offer little resistance to air flow and you should hear a gurgling sound behind the LF wheel. I applied 30 lbs of
pressure and no flow. It was really kinked. It could also possibly be broken which is not as severe but could lead to
slow coolant loss. The hose is a soft rubber and makes two 90º turns in 5 inches. The second turn (the one that kinked)
has a radius of less than an inch. I cut the hose off just above the bottle cap, installed a 90º 3/8" heater elbow (plastic)
and a non-crimping heater hose back to the original connector. Cost less than $4.
“If I were reading this I would take the 2 minutes and check it out. Unlike most cars this recovery system is completely
out of sight and problems are likely to go undetected. This hose is really flimsy (unlike the hose from the tank neck into
the wheel well which seems very strong) and just fell apart as I took it off.”
Another problem is the little adapter, which is steel and therefore subject to corrosion. Craig Sawyers reports, “Mine
was rusted solid inside, and so totally inoperative.” Steve Haley says, “The short metallic slightly conical connector was
completely plugged with corrosion. The hose into the tank crumbled in my hands...and the metal brackets were rusted
and in pieces.”
Yet another concern: The end of the rubber hose inside the atmospheric catchment tank obviously needs to be open,
both to allow coolant out and to suck coolant back in. In some cases, the hose blows coolant just fine, but when sucking
the tip of the hose gets sucked onto the bottom of the tank (or even onto the side, if someone is really unlucky). It then
can’t pull in any more fluid even though surrounded by fluid, so the system pulls in some air from somewhere else
instead -- or starts sucking radiator hoses flat, which is also trouble.
The fix is easy: pull the hose out of the atmospheric catchment tank, and redesign the tip of the hose so it can’t possibly
get sucked onto a surface. One idea is to punch a 1/4” hole through the hose crossways about a half inch from the tip.
This will prevent the hose from sucking up the bottom 1/2” of the fluid in the atmospheric catchment tank, but typically
you’d rather not suck up the dregs anyway.
When fooling with the coolant recovery hose, remember that the hole where it enters the top of the atmospheric
catchment tank is supposed to be airtight so that fluid won’t overflow out that point if the tank gets full.
AIR PURGE SYSTEM: When coolant is added to a cooling system, there is always some air diffused in the liquid.
Over time, this air will come out of solution and rise to the top of the liquid, forming air pockets. To avoid creating hot
spots (since the air won’t cool the metal adjacent to it as well as the liquid would), the idea is to design the system so the
air will collect in a spot where it won’t do any harm so the owner can deal with it at his leisure.
In old pickup trucks, the top of the radiator was the highest point in the cooling system. As a result, any air in the
system would tend to collect right under the cap; all the owner had to do was top it up on occasion and the rest of the
circuit would remain air-free. Unfortunately, when Jaguar designed the XJ-S, the hoodline of a 1950 Ford pickup was
not considered acceptable; not only would the top of the radiator have to be so low that it would not be the highest point
in the system, but it wouldn’t have a cap on it either. Hence, more elaborate measures were necessary to continuously
purge air out of the system.
These measures changed with the introduction of a second radiator cap on the bypass pipe with the introduction of the
H.E. Mike Morrin says, “The Pre-H.E. XJ-S has only the cap on the header tank. The level of the cap is marginally
below the radiator vent valve (with the car on level ground).” There was a small tube from the top right corner of the
radiator over into the top of the header tank on the left wheel well. The bottom of the header tank was connected into
the return line from the heater line, which is essentially the suction side of the pump. The pump operation would
therefore draw a flow from the top of the radiator into the header tank. Within the header tank, the air would tend to
rise out and collect under the radiator cap while liquid coolant went out the bottom back into the circuit. The owner
simply tops up the system every now and then to keep air out.
With the H.E., it was decided to add a second fill cap on the bypass pipe. This formed another high spot where air
would collect. So, the air purge tubing from the top of the radiator to the header tank was modified to include a hose
connection for a line from a tap just under this second cap. Unfortunately, this complicated matters; the bypass pipe is
connected to the suction side of the pump, so it’s at low pressure. So, the coolant and air is likely to flow into the fill
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connection rather than out toward the header tank. To make the air purge system work right, connections to the header
tank were revised. Rather than simply relying upon the suction side of the pump to draw coolant, an ejector was
incorporated into the air purge tubing to provide even more suction so as to pull air out of the cap fitting on the bypass
pipe. To operate this ejector, a hose was provided from the left side thermostat housing (high pressure) and there’s a
special connection on the bypass pipe directly into the suction side of the pump to get the lowest pressure possible. The
high flow resulting is routed through the ejector to provide as much suction as possible. The connection to the heater
return line was eliminated; the heater line merely passes underneath the header tank on its way to the radiator outlet.
Correction: The ©1982 Supplement, page 26-1, Fig. 2 showing the cooling system schematically shows the ejector
(item 18) incorrectly; the line from the radiator and the line from the left side thermostat housing are interchanged.
Simply look at the tubing on your car to see the correct scheme. The same schematic with the same error is included in
the Haynes manual, page 334, Fig. 13.6.
The XJ12 with carburetors has a second radiator cap on the bypass pipe, but lacks the ejector-based air purge scheme.
Its air purge scheme operates similarly to the pre-H.E. except that it’s connected to the coolant passages in the induction
housings rather than to the top of the radiator.
On the H.E., in addition to the ejector scheme, a “water valve” EAC4168 was installed in the air purge connection to the
bypass pipe. This is basically a check valve that allows air to flow out towards the header tank but won’t allow coolant
to flow from the top of the radiator into the bypass pipe. This water valve is built into the fitting on the bypass pipe
itself. This requires a 3/8” fitting at that end, and since the air purge tubing is 1/4”, Jaguar uses a special hose that’s 1/4”
on one end and 3/8” on the other. Of course, if you want to replace the hose, you can use a piece of 1/4” hose, a piece
of 3/8” hose, and an adapter. Tony Bryant says, “I've brazed a 3/8" fitting onto the bleed pipe to be able to use
"standard" 3/8" heater hose here.”
If your water valve is toast and you can’t find a replacement, you can use a generic in-hose check valve, but be sure that
the unit you select opens very easily since the ejector will not provide enough suction to overcome a heavy spring. Bob
Lovell points out that McMaster-Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com/) offers a wide selection of check valves; the best
choice would probably be number 47245K23. However, better yet would probably be to make a check valve from
three successive sizes of brass tubing and a steel ball. Most commercially-available check valves consider a positive
closure of utmost importance, but in this case total cutoff is not as important as ease of opening. Don’t install a
spring in your assembly, just let the ball roll back and forth, and install it nearly horizontally.
If the air purge system doesn’t seem to be keeping air out of the space under the cap on the bypass pipe, it may be a
sign that the radiator is plugged. A plugged radiator will cause the pressure at the top right side of the radiator to be
higher than it should be. As a result, coolant will be coming out the banjo fitting faster than it should, possibly
overwhelming the air purge ejector and preventing any purge from the bypass pipe connection.
In either the pre-H.E. or H.E., the air purge system is attached to the radiator at a banjo fitting at the top right. This
banjo fitting has a design defect in that the hole through the side of the bolt itself is too close to the head, so it doesn’t
line up with the annular groove in the fitting properly. This exact same flaw is found in the banjo bolts on the back end
of the tappet blocks and is discussed at length beginning on page 44; the same modification should be done here to
improve flow, reduce the tendency to get plugged up, and make sure the air purge system works as intended. The banjo
fitting on the radiator is longer and has finer threads than those on the tappet blocks, but it is the same diameter.
If you don’t want to modify that banjo bolt yourself, Ron Kelnhofer (page 718) offers a replacement banjo bolt of his
own design. It is made of brass rather than steel, and it has the cross hole correctly located when used with the included
copper washers. You can look at a pic of this bolt at
http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/engr/banjorad.html
While the defective banjo bolts on the oil lines don’t seem to cause obvious problems, this one tends to get plugged up
and completely shut off the air purge system from the radiator. David M. Johnson says, “After Kirby's info on the banjo
bolt being blocked, I took note and disassembled the bolt this weekend. Guess what, the holes in the bolt were blocked
with crud. One of my cars was making a disgusting moaning sound for the first minute after start up; the moaning sound
(trapped air) is now gone. Thanks Kirby, I would not have found that on my own.”
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Craig Tims had more serious problems. After having the radiator rodded and the thermostats replaced at the dealer, the
car continued to overheat. He eventually found that the new thermostats had no jiggle pins and the banjo fitting was
totally plugged. After clearing and modifying the banjo fitting and correcting the thermostats, his temp gauge stays
where it should be. While such details may sound minor, Tims’ example should illustrate just how important it is to have
a working air purge system to keep air out of the coolant circuit.
Using thick sealing washers under the head makes the hole misalignment worse, so Jaguar provides really thin washers
that tend to leak. Once the modification to the bolt is done, the thick copper washers commonly found in auto parts
stores can be used for better sealing. This banjo fitting requires three seals, and the plug at the top left for venting the
radiator when changing coolant requires one more of the same size. If your local auto parts store has a rack of red cards
titled “Help!”, it probably has a package of sealing washers that are perfect for these fittings: part number 66272,
labelled “Brake Hose Bolt Washer”. It says they are ID 25/64” and OD 5/8”.
Depending on personal preference, you might consider fiber washers instead of copper. This might be especially
advantageous on the plug at the top left of the radiator, since you may be opening that one more often and fiber washers
can be reused if care is taken while copper washers must be replaced (or annealed) each time to seal properly. 3/8” fiber
washers may be difficult to find in an auto parts store even though they carry lots of larger ones for oil drain plugs.
Lowe’s carries suitable fiber washers in its specialty fasteners section, part number 838050.
LEAK SEALERS: Mike Wilson says, “Here is what my 1990 XJ-S Drivers Handbook (publication number: JJM 18 02
03/00) states on page 176: “Two 135 ml bottles of Jaguar Radiator Leak Sealer or Barrs Leaks must also be mixed with
fresh anti-freeze”.
Folks, this horrible recommendation is probably the single biggest reason Jaguar didn’t make it on its own and had to sell
out to Ford. Many Jaguar mechanics owe their livelihood to this terrible advice, since a high percentage of their work is
traced to this stuff plugging up the bottom half of the radiator and contributing to Jaguar’s reputation for overheating
problems. Please, do not use any leak-sealing substance within the V12 cooling system. If the system leaks, fix it.
To make sure no Barrs Leaks gets in there, you’re gonna have to keep the car’s cooling system away from Jag dealers.
Craig Sawyers reports: “Here's a horrible thing. I bought Jag antifreeze, determined I wasn't going to run the risk of
damaging my glitzy re-built V12 with the wrong stuff. Anyway, my dealer casually tossed in a Jaguar box marked
"2xJLM 636". "What is this?" say I. "Oh - corrosion inhibitor". That sounds good I think, particularly given the recent
thread on water types for radiator use, and electrolytic corrosion. Well, guess what is in the box? Two nicely packed
bottles of (unmarked) Barrs Leaks. AAARGH! Will they never learn! Needless to say, they are still in the box, and will
never even have sight of my rebuilt rad.”
If the car is more than a few years old and having overheating problems, it’s not a bad idea to just take the radiator to a
shop and have it rodded to restore its effectiveness -- especially if you’re not the original owner and the previous owner
may have been using leak sealers. John Napoli reminds you to clean out “the engine block, heater core and don’t forget
to remove and flush the expansion tank -- these are commonly forgotten repositories of Barrs Leaks.”
OTHER THINGS PLUGGING YOUR RADIATOR: Another major source of particles for plugging the tubes in the
radiator is rust scale, which primarily comes from four items in the XJ-S cooling system: the header tank, the cross pipe,
and a coolant connecting pipe on top of each head. Replacing some or all of these items with non-steel substitutes
would reduce or eliminate this source of crud. See pages 204, 208, and 211.
GURGLE SOUNDS: Paul Burke says, “I had a gurgle which was coming from around the heater matrix. It started
fairly quietly and only became audible when the car was stopped. I thought it was probably the air-conditioning system -
ha. The sound became loader over time and more apparent under acceleration. The noise turned out to be virtually
(well maybe not all, but more than normal) the full pump output going through the right hand bank of the engine, out the
back, through the heater matrix, along the hose that runs along the left hand side of the engine, into the small "T" into
the bottom hose and back to the pump thereby effectively bypassing the left hand side of the engine and the radiator.
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My radiator had become partially blocked...”
FIXING A PLUGGED RADIATOR: Once you come to the realization that your radiator is plugged, there are
generally five things you can opt to do about it. The first is to go down to the store and buy some product intended for
“flushing” cooling systems and use it according to the directions. A quick survey of owners on the internet indicated
that this never does any good. Paul Bachman says, “I was told by a good source (must have been good 'cause I can't
remember who it was) that since the advent of aluminum engines and aluminum radiators there are no longer any
radiator flushing products that do anything useful at all. It seems the chemicals that used to do a fairly good job of
cleaning out a brass/copper radiator cause serious corrosion to aluminum. Soo... rather than face complaints (lawsuits?)
from people who don't read directions, all such useful products just quietly disappeared from the shelves about 15 years
ago. I believe he went on to state that the antifreeze additives that were capable of keeping a brass/copper radiator free
from blockage were deleted at about the same time.... thus the reason why most of our radiators are blocked or
becoming blocked. From my experience (from before 15 years ago), I have to say that this theory seems to have merit.”
Unfortunately, the next four options all involve removing the radiator. Deal with it.
The second option is to have the radiator “boiled”. This involves dunking the radiator in some kind of vat full of
chemicals and cooking it for a while. Again, a survey of owners indicates that this only rarely works with the XJ-S
radiator, possibly because of the types of junk that typically plug it. Considering how much effort it was to get it out and
put it back in, you might want to rethink this option.
The third option is to have the radiator “rodded”. In this case, the radiator shop removes the covers on each end of the
radiator and rams a rod through each tube from end to end, cleaning all the accumulated deposits out. He then solders
the covers back on and pressure checks the assembly. This usually does the trick, although there have been a few
reports when it didn’t; it may depend on how skilled your local radiator shop is. Jim Isbell says, “Some shops don't
know that to properly clean it both tanks have to be removed. If they only do one and you don't see any improvement it
just might be because it wasn't cleaned properly.”
Keep in mind that rodding does not render your radiator as good as new; the passages are unplugged but not all deposits
can be cleaned away, and some parts may be stressed or weakened during the procedure. Sometimes the shop will even
report that the radiator is toast and cannot be rodded, and suggest option number four.
The fourth option is to have the radiator “recored”, which means they take the end covers off and solder them onto a
new center section entirely. Apparently all brass radiators are made of comparable configuration cores, so the shop will
be able to find a suitable core. You need to ensure the new core is at least as good -- and possibly better -- than the
original was. Any upgrade generally involves the number of “rows” the core has. There is also a difference in fin
spacing, but if given a choice you should probably opt for the bigger fin spacing; the amount of cooling capacity is a
secondary concern compared to the likelihood of the fins getting plugged with debris, and it’s difficult enough to hose
out the radiator on this car.
The fifth option, of course, is to have the radiator replaced. You can opt for an OEM radiator -- but in this author’s
opinion, you’d be nuts to do so. As long as you’re buying a radiator anyway, take the opportunity to convert to a
single-pass arrangement as described on page 199.
If you’re doing any of this work on your radiator, you should be installing coolant filters to make sure that it doesn’t get
plugged again -- probably within seconds of starting, as all the crud sitting in your block is promptly flushed into your
freshly-cleaned radiator. Also consider the other items on the checklist on page 198.
COOLANT FILTERS: Everybody who has taken their XJ-S radiator to a shop and had it rodded out has been told that
it was really plugged up. The Jaguar recommendation to use Barrs Leaks in this system is often blamed, but there are
apparently other contributors as well. Rust scale coming off the inside of the header tank and cross pipe is a source of
crud. Some mechanics use too much silicone sealant so it leaves a bead around the joint, and later on this bead peels off
and starts looking for a passage to plug. And those who replace their coolant often but mix it with hard tap water are
introducing a whole new supply of minerals with each change; when the engine heats up, all these minerals deposit on
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hot engine parts as a scale, and then break off in chunks and reconvene in the radiator.
Why don’t they make a “last chance” filter to install in the upper radiator hose to catch all this junk before it can get into
the radiator and plug things up? There are no small passages in the engine, the chunks could just flow right through the
block, but catching them before the radiator should greatly extend the time between roddings.
They do. In fact, it’s a fairly popular idea among car enthusiasts, so there are several different model coolant filters
available. Peter Smith identified one excellent brand: “The manufacturer is
Tefba
122/124 Silverdale road
Silverdale NSW Australia 2752
Phone: 02 4774 2022
Fax: 02 4774 2777
“It consists of a black nylon moulded body which resembles a jam jar approx. 2 inches (50mm) diameter by 2 inches
high. It has a screw lid and the inlet and outlet pipes come in at base level such that the side elevation resembles an
inverted "T". When you unscrew the lid you look down inside and see a stainless steel filter screen placed across the
flow path of the coolant. The filter screen is bent to form a delta shape or arrow head pointing in the direction of the
flow. This provides a filter element size effective of approx. 6 square inches. The filter mesh hole size is about twice the
size of the tea strainer we have in the kitchen.
“I have installed two of these on my XJC and they look pretty neat. It is easy to check the screens by undoing the screw
tops and there is a spigot which is attached to a disc which sits at the bottom of the pot. You use this spigot as a handle
which lifts out the disc with the screen sitting on top plus the crap."
The Tefba housing is not transparent, so you can't inspect the element for accumulated crud without opening the top.
However, by installing the Tefba filters in the highest horizontal portion of each upper radiator hose, owners have found
that they can check the screens without draining any coolant first -- and so are able to check them regularly. The fact
that the element is huge means it's not that important to check them very often anyway.
In the US, you can get Tefba filters from Fasterjags (page 716).
There have been at least three significant issues discovered with the Tefba filters. The first is that the element didn’t
come all the way up to the cap; when the cap was screwed on tight, there was a gap between the top of the screen and
the bottom of the cap. Debris -- especially debris that floats -- could thus circumvent the screen and enter your radiator.
Ashcroft found an easy fix for the Tefba elements being too short: “the element does end about 3/16" below the cap, but
the disc is about 5/16" below the in/outlet. I just put a 3/16" thick O-ring under the disc, raises the screen to the cap.”
Chip Wikan adds, “a trip to the local Advance Auto Parts found an O-ring, part # 64630.1, dimensions 30mm x 36mm x
3mm which elevates the "grudge" tray perfectly flush with the top of the filter.”
This author went a bit farther and fashioned a thin strip of stainless steel sheet metal into a wavy shape and set it in the
bottom of the housing before dropping in the tray with the screen on it. This bit acts as a spring that holds the element
against the cap. One must be careful to shape the sheet metal so no edges dig into the plastic.
The second issue is that the screen is clearly shown to be formed into a V shape in the exploded view diagrams, but the
one actually delivered in the filter is merely warped into a U shape. In operation, this U shape can be blown up against
the outlet side of the housing. Ken Gray reports: “I decided to check mine after doing the equivalent of 6 or so Italian
tuneups (testing the newly installed Crane system). I found a distinct dish in the filter elements exactly the same shape as
the exit hole.”
If this happens, the effective screen area is reduced from the entire screen down to just the portion covering the outlet
itself -- and if there’s any debris in there to speak of, flow is nearly entirely cut off, perhaps quite suddenly. This is bad.
It is therefore imperative that all Tefba users carefully fold their screens into a crisp V shape as shown in the diagrams,
which will prevent any such disasters.
The third issue is that the screen doesn’t sit properly against the bottom of the tray, which can allow crud to slip under
the screen and into the radiator. This problem may be made worse by folding the screen into the crisp V shape. The
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recommended fix is to carefully cut notches in the edge of the plastic tray until the screen sits against the bottom as it
should.
Despite these issues, the Tefba filter has proven to be the item of choice. All three problems are easily rectified once you
know about them, and since you are reading this book, you know about them.
One other nice thing about Tefba filters: somebody out there must be listening, because many of the problems seem to
be getting fixed. The later models reportedly come from the manufacturer with a stainless steel spring attached to the
bottom of the tray to hold the screen up against the lid. And Richard Francis reports that the screen has been fixed, too:
“Today's Tefba's are delivered with a stronger screen...shaped like a baseball field backstop...very difficult to bend and
smaller holes.”
The only remaining complaint about the Tefbas is that the cap sometimes becomes really difficult to get loose, which
some owners blame on the lack of lubricity of long-life coolant. Applying a little water pump lubricant or some such to
the threads might help some, but you might also consider this when installing and arrange the filter such that you can get
a big pair of pliers or an oil filter wrench onto the cap. And, of course, don’t overtighten the caps; Don Buresh suggests
it’s like installing an oil filter, “go 1/4 turn past seated and no more, otherwise it will be a real bear to get off.” Dave
Harvey says, "I apply Teflon grease to the threads and gasket surface, the same stuff plumbers use on gas fittings. This
makes tightening and loosening the lids a much easier task. And I use a strap wrench. My strap wrench was originally
intended for removing the oil filter on my (long gone) Ford Courier pickup. It works very well in a confined space since
it has a 3/8" socket drive."
The Tefbas are so popular with XJ-S owners that can I even forward suggestions on what upper radiator hoses to buy.
Al Askevold says, "I found two preformed hoses that can be used. On the right side I used a hose from Napa p/n 8303
from the t-stat housing to the filter, and a short piece of 1-1/4" hose on the other end. The 8303 Napa hose was used for
clearance around my cold air intake mod, but should work for the OEM setup too.
"The OEM hose that I cut to fit for the b-bank is not the way to go! After clamping everything together both inside
corners on the oem hose were bent just enough to cause a restriction, not much but not a good thing for the b-bank. So
back to Napa, this time I came up with a Napa hose p/n 7737."
Brian Schultetus found another source of coolant filters:
Gano Filter Company
1205 Sandalwood Lane
Los Altos, California 94024
+1 (650) 968-7017
This company makes a filter that is essentially a conical screen in a tube. The basic model is a clear plastic tube so you
can see the filter getting crudded up and know when to take it out and clean it, but some people don’t like plastic so they
offer a brass tube model as well. They also claim that the screen is made of the same copper alloy as the radiator itself,
so it also serves as a monitor for corrosion. And they point out that merely having the clear tube can provide
considerable information on what is going on in the cooling system; you can watch the little "window" while the engine
is running.
The filter comes in three sizes, and of course they expect most customers to buy one per car. The V12 has two upper
radiator hoses, though, so you will need two filters. The hoses are 1-1/4” ID, which corresponds to Gano’s “small” size
filter.
If you’re worried about flow rates through those screens, Damrel suggests using the next size up Gano filter, the
“medium” size filter. “I made up a couple of custom hoses and put the old hose over the radiator and thermostat
housing nipples to make up the difference.” This author uses the small Gano filters with no problem, but it certainly
couldn’t hurt to be using the next larger size.
Gano filters do a great job of keeping the radiator clean, but because the element is much smaller than the one in the
Tefba they must be cleaned out periodically to keep from becoming obstructions themselves. Removal, cleaning, and
reinstallation is a snap, except that it requires draining about one gallon of coolant and replacing it afterward. If you
have the later XJ-S with no radiator drain, this could prove a pain. So, if you have the radiator out to be rodded (!) it’s
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suggested you have a drain port added. Another option might be to install a fitting in the lower radiator hose to facilitate
easier draining. An even better idea might be to tee into the heater hose at the bottom left corner of the radiator, install a
short hose out the bottom of the car and put a plug in the end.
Even if you have an earlier car with a drain valve, periodic cleaning could prove messy and wasteful of coolant. Hence,
the idea presented in the section starting on page 195 of providing a fitting with a piece of hose with a plug at the end is
recommended. This makes it very convenient to just drain a gallon into a clean jug, service the Gano filters, then put the
gallon right back in.
Tony Glavocich points out that the clear Gano filters can be helpful in diagnosis: “If you have Gano filters, you might
just tie some white string to the screen filter, then you can monitor when the stats are opening. That is how I discovered
my problem. I was also able to see a difference in flow between the two sides by observing the string. The string thing
is something that I would suggest to anyone with Gano see-through filters.”
There are yet other sources of coolant filters. John Goodman says, “I noticed on the AC Delco website they have
screw-on coolant filters (like oil filters). Paper filter with mesh so if they do clog up the paper busts leaving the slightly
coarser mesh to still catch the big bits...”
There’s another product made in Australia by:
Coolfilter Australia
151 Bushmead Road
Hazelmere WA 6055
Unfortunately, one customer had problems with the Coolfilter product. “It consists of a conical plastic material which
has a series of steps. The idea is you cut it off at the appropriate shoulder to suit the ID of your hose. I fitted new hoses
and the there was no appropriate shoulder; one shoulder was too big and caused the filter to buckle and the next
shoulder too small. The step sizes go from 1.1" to 1.3". The new hoses I have are 1.2" ID. The Coolfilter is very
flimsy and cannot push the hose out to accommodate the 1.3" step and of course the 1.1" step is too loose.
“Also, I believe the holes are too large (tea leaves would go straight thru), it would only filter out large particles. The
Coolfilter has slots which are 13mm long by 1.5mm wide tapering down to 1mm. The slots are in between each size step
and running lengthwise. I have run the vehicle with the Coolfilters installed (as best as achievable) for about 50
kilometers and they have captured no crap at all. Either I have a clean system or they pass the crap thru the slots and
gaps created by the buckling of the OD.”
Tom Bennett says, “Make your own filters! I bought a couple of very fine mesh SS tea strainers, a little bit of cutting
and shaping, ended up with 2 "chili" shaped strainers that fit into the top inlets of the rad. Work great! I open them up
about once every 3 months, although the crud is getting less. First time I looked, there was about a teaspoonful of crap
in each!”
You can look at some coolant filter installation photos at
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/CoolantFilters.html
One easy mistake to make is to service the radiator now and worry about installing coolant filters later. If you’re having
your radiator rodded or replaced, you should go ahead and put in coolant filters now to protect it from the junk that’s
still sitting in your engine waiting to get at it! Don’t wait until after you reinstall the radiator and run the engine -- in the
first five minutes of running, a whole pile of crud will get pumped into your nice clean radiator. Much of the crud in the
cooling system is heavier than coolant, and so sits in low spots within the engine and won’t move unless the flow is
really high -- but your radiator is plugged, so the flow is never high enough to move it. Then you clean the radiator, and
the first time the thermostats open there’s more coolant flow through the system than it’s seen in years! It stirs up all the
crud laying around and pumps it right into the radiator.
Bob Gallivan: “I bought these some months ago & finally got around to putting them in & already I can see what looks
like a gray crud through the filter. I'm sure that the new rad at this very moment is harboring this crap that has migrated
there before I installed the filters.”
Richard Damrel: “Had my radiator rodded out in May of this year, now it seems to need it again according to my
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mechanic. The radiator shop says it's not uncommon for a massive build-up of scale or corrosion to be transferred from
the block to the radiator. Seems to me that it should be much easier to change a few filters every now and then rather
than pull the radiator twice a year.”
Douglas Dahl: “I had to have my radiator rodded right after I got the car (about 6,000 miles ago). This last week, it
was pulled again. No Barr's leak is allowed within 50 yards of the beast and I put the Gano filters on this time. I just ran
it for less than five minutes and both filters seem to be completely clogged. Tomorrow, after it cools, I will clean them
out and see how long it takes to clog them again, and so it will go until they need no further cleaning.”
Chris Reed reports, "Several times since I had my radiator rodded and fitted TEFBAS, I have never found any debris in
the filters. I cleaned my filters today (after a 400Km spirited run) and they were 75-80% covered in debris. I won't say
'blocked' as there was obviously water flow but the filter had a circle of particles the diameter of the hose, and I'll swear
on a stack of bibles it was SAND! So regardless of how many times you check the filters and find them clean do not
discard them - the crap I had in mine would not have been good news for the radiator!"
David Hodges says, "Rebuilt engine myself, spotless inside, hot tanked, etc. Reconditioned radiator, all new hoses etc.
Flushed heater and crossover pipe, also header tank. Fitted Tefba's and still found crud within a week. After engine was
carefully 'run in' and filters stopped showing crud, after the first real run down the track and the engine cooled there was
more crud in the filters. I honestly do not know where it came from but can only assume the heat loosens scale or
whatever from places mere humans cannot reach. I personally would not run without them."
A couple of owners have expressed concern that they will never be able to drive their cars for more than a few miles
without having to clean coolant filters. When first installed, it’s a good idea to check them within the first five minutes
after the thermostats open, and continue to check them in relatively brief intervals until they look like they’re willing to
remain unplugged for a while. Rest assured, sooner or later you will get most of the crud out of the system and they will
run clean for months at a time.
HEATER HOSE FILTER: Gano (see above) also offers a small filter assembly for installation in the line to the heater
core, pointing out that the same crud that plugs radiators can also plug heater cores. Your immediate reaction might be
“Who cares? If the heater core gets plugged, it doesn’t damage the engine.” However, you might want to rethink that
reaction. The heater core getting plugged might not damage the engine, but it’d still be no picnic to fix.
Unfortunately, the Gano heater hose filter assembly is only available in brass -- no clear plastic version offered -- and
therefore must be disassembled to check for pluggage.
On the plus side, you don’t need to get this item from Gano; it’s available in any hardware store! All it requires is a pair
of fittings for a 5/8” garden hose, and one of those hose washers with the built-in conical screen intended for supply
hoses for washing machines and dishwashers.
Garden hose fittings generally come in three flavors: The plastic junk, the slightly better “corrogated” brass (made of
brass sheet metal formed to shape), and high-quality fittings machined from solid brass. Besides being considerably
more durable, the solid machined brass items also typically have flats around both male and female fittings, making it
much easier to tighten and loosen. This being the US, most consumers are morons who buy the cheapest junk available
and most retailers are also morons who cater to this stupidity rather than making the slightest effort towards educating
their customers on why a better product is the wiser buy. So, the solid machined brass items can be a little hard to find.
Home Depot carries an excellent set. Made by Nelson, item N-1558 B, “5/8" Brass Hose Repair -- Extra Heavy Duty
Rod Brass” contains a male fitting, a female fitting, two SS worm screw hose clamps, and one rubber washer -- in other
words, everything you need except that you’ll need to pitch the simple washer and install a screened washer instead.
This set costs about $5, and the screened washers are perhaps 3 for $1. With a little shopping you can actually find
screened washers in two or three different screen grid sizes; the ones with the biggest holes are suggested -- the fine
ones are really fine. After screwing the two fittings together with this screened washer in the middle, just cut the heater
hose between the engine and the heater valve and install this assembly with the clamps.
Wal-Mart also sells the top quality machined brass items, believe it or not. They offer the male and female fittings
separately.
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Despite the temptation to use big wrenches on the flats on the machined brass fittings, be careful not to overtighten. It’s
not too difficult to cut right through the rubber outer circumference of the screened washer. After all, the washer was
designed for the fittings to be hand-tightened, so it’s really soft rubber.
Cleaning this filter is easy, since you can easily install the fittings at the very highest point in the system and not even
have to do any draining. Just unscrew the two hose fittings from each other, clean out the screened washer, and
reassemble. In actual practice it often proves easier to loosen the hose clamps and remove the entire assembly for
cleaning than to just unscrew the halves in place.
Will the screen in the line reduce flow to the heater core? Perhaps. Here in FL, we couldn’t care less; any flow at all is
enough, and most of the time we’d rather have less flow. But you guys who live in the less habitable climates might be
concerned about installing this screen. I have this suggestion: Install the screen assembly, and then when winter
approaches unscrew the fittings and replace the screened washer with a normal hose washer. That way, you get
filtration in the summer, full flow in the winter. With any luck at all, the filtration in the summer will take enough of the
crud out of the system that there won’t be any pluggage during the winter.
Such a screen installed in the heater line might actually save your radiator! Since this essentially becomes a “bypass
filter” arrangement, eventually this tiny screen should remove most of the crud circulating around the closed coolant
circuit. The only problem will be the crud that jams tubes in the radiator before ever going through the heater hose, but
if you’re concerned you should be buying the radiator hose filters described above. The other shortcoming is that, since
this screen is so small, it’s likely you’ll have to clean it out a lot of times right after installing it until you get the system
pretty well cleared up.
RADIATOR DRAIN: Up until somewhere around 1988, the XJ-S was fitted with one of the most obnoxiously
overdesigned radiator drain cocks in automotive history: a metal drain valve at the bottom right corner of the radiator,
operated by a lever that extended up to just below the upper hose fitting. Evidently, the image of luxury is supposed to
include being able to drain your coolant while standing erect beside the car in a tuxedo. For all this effort and expense,
Jaguar couldn’t bring themselves to provide an outlet out the bottom of the car, so opening the drain valve causes
coolant to pour all over the structures in the area and dribble out wherever the catch pan isn’t. The end of the valve is a
spherical shape with a funny flange, making it rather difficult to attach a hose, but it’s possible with enough
determination.
Before you get too involved with that drain cock, let me provide a description of what you’re getting into. The drain
cock itself is a solid brass tapered plug valve that turns 90º from full open to full shut. There is a spring on the bottom
that “loads” the tapered plug to keep it sealed; the seal is brass-to-brass, there are no elastomers inside the valve. There
is also a little diamond-shaped washer that fits on a shoulder with two flats that limits motion to 90 degrees. This valve
is probably repairable from most of its typical failure modes, which is an option you may want to keep open; read on
before doing anything irreversible.
Unscrewing the valve from the radiator may be the first irreversible thing you do. It is not a tapered thread; it is sealed
by a fiber washer. But when tightening down, the valve must end up oriented properly to align with the remote handle.
To accomplish this interesting feat, Jaguar appears to have used two tactics: First, the fiber washer may in fact be two
or more fiber washers, indicating the assembler may have added washers as required to get the proper alignment.
Second, the fiber washers are thick and compressible, so there is some considerable range of tightness that will ensure a
seal; the assembler can tighten until it lines up, and leave it. If you take it out, what do you suppose are the odds that it
will line up properly and seal reliably when you reinstall it? Fortunately, the size washer needed is the same as those
used on many oil drain plugs, so you should be able to obtain a good supply of fibre washers of various thicknesses from
local auto supply houses.
If you decide to go ahead and unscrew it, here’s a tip: the hex size is 19/32”, but if you don’t have a wrench that size a
15mm makes a good fit. It may be helpful to unbolt the fan shroud and back it away from the radiator a bit to permit
use of an open-end wrench, since even a crowfoot won’t work well in this space.
Before you reinstall the drain cock, here’s another tip: The hole in the end of the valve is 5/16” to a depth of about a
quarter inch, and then 1/4” the rest of the way through the valve. With a propane torch, it is a fairly simple matter to
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solder a short length of 5/16” OD brass tubing into the end of the valve to provide something to attach a hose to. The
hose can then be routed out the bottom of the car, making draining the coolant a lot neater and easier to collect and
dispose of properly. Since there are no nonmetallic parts inside the valve, you don’t even need to take it apart to solder
on it, but you almost might as well -- it’s only one cotter pin. Something to keep in mind: the radiator moves around a
little on its rubber mounts, the oil lines move around a little with the engine moving on its rubber mounts, and the front
subframe moves a bit on its rubber mounts. Make sure there is adequate clearance around the valve and attachments so
they aren’t subject to impacts or rubbing due to these various motions.
Let’s say your radiator drain valve is toast and you have decided to replace it. Ed Sowell ordered one from Jaguar:
“Problem is, it is not the same as the original, even though the part number is correct. Apparently Jaguar found a new
source. The valve is different in several ways. In fact, the only similarity is that it is a 1/4" BSNB thread, about the same
length. The plug is held with a nut rather than a spring and cotter pin. The important differences are:
The diameter of the bore is 3/16", whereas the original is 5/16". Slower drain time, but would work. Also, with the
original I can jamb a 5/16" plastic hose barb fitting into the outlet to allow coolant recovery (as opposed to washing
down the front suspension and splashing on the floor). With the 3/16" bore, it appears impossible to attach a hose.
There is a handle instead of the tongue on the stem. Consequently, the extension for above-car operation of the
valve cannot be attached. Very bad. You have to get under the car to operate it, and there appears to be no way to
avoid being drenched when you open it! Could be used, but nobody would want to. Might as well just slash the
lower hose!
Due to the height and length of the handle, it can not be installed in the radiator while it is in the car. No matter
which way I set the handle, it bumps into something, e.g., the sub frame, or the oil cooler line. It might work if it
was screwed in before dropping the radiator into the car.
“I find it hard to believe Jaguar would say this was a replacement for the original. They must be blind.”
So, now you’re in the market for something non-Jaguar to fit that hole. Go ahead and measure the threads; they are
13.16 mm OD and 19 threads/inch. As mentioned above, it is not a tapered pipe thread; it’s a washer-sealed installation
like an oil pan drain plug. Tony Bryant in NZ says this drain fitting is “1/4" BSP (British Standard Pipe). Very common
in this part of the world. Cost me less than $1 for a brass plug. Any competent hydraulic fitting supplier should be able
to find one, or at least a thread adaptor. BSP is extremely common here, but NPT is a lot more difficult, but still
possible.” Well, here in the Bubba Belt in the good ol’ USA, my local hydraulic fitting shop calls it BSPP (British
Standard Pipe - Parallel, as opposed to a tapered version) and charged over $5 for a fitting for connection to a 1/4” hose
-- and only had that one type of fitting on hand to choose from. The hole through the middle is only about 1/8”, so it
would drain very slowly indeed; this fitting was clearly designed for hydraulics, not radiator drains.
The closest thing you’re likely to find in auto parts stores in the US is a 1/4” NPT (tapered), but it will not fit properly --
it’s 18 TPI.
Bryant also suggests that the coolant drain plug on the block (note: not the one on the radiator) of many Japanese cars is
BSP, although the tapered version. Still, the tapered plug may be usable to plug the parallel fitting on the XJ-S radiator.
Another option: find a way to use the original valve as a plug. It’s solid brass and very meaty (weighs about five
pounds, I think) so it should be easy to work with. One possibility is to cut the valve portion off, just leaving the hex
and threads, so it looks like a plug except it has a 1/4” hole through the middle. So, you can put a stainless steel or brass
bolt through the middle and tighten a nut down on the other end, and use the assembly as a conventional plug -- just
remove the whole thing when you want to drain the coolant. If you wanna get fancier, you can tap the hole in the center
for a threaded plug instead of using a bolt.
Of course, using a simple threaded plug as a radiator drain is messy. For neater work, you can solder a piece of brass
tubing into the hole in the plug, connect a piece of hose to it, route the hose out the bottom of the car, and plug the end
of the hose with something. Then when you want to drain the coolant, you don’t even need to open the hood -- just
reach underneath and remove the plug from the end of the hose. You can stick with the 1/4” hole in the plug, but it
might be a better idea to enlarge the hole to 5/16” and use larger tubing and hose; it’ll drain quicker and larger chunks of
crud can pass through.
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A similar idea might be to drill and tap the hex portion and screw in a common fitting. It’s too small to fit a 1/4” NPT
fitting, but a 1/8” NPT will fit nicely. One might think that draining through a 1/8” NPT fitting would take forever, but
believe it or not you can find fittings with 1/8” NPT on the outside and a clear hole through the middle that’s larger than
1/4”! One such fitting is made by Brass-Tite!, part number 43275, and has a 1/8” male NPT on one end and a 3/8” hose
fitting on the other; it is perfect for this task.
Yet another option would be to make the piece of the original valve into an adapter to fit a standard drain cock. This
would involve drilling and tapping for the threads of whatever drain cock you buy. Most of the universal ones seem to
fit a 1/4” NPT, but you’ll need to choose a smaller drain cock with a 1/8” NPT. You also need to choose your drain
cock carefully, since many of them have a moving plug at the inner end that would require more space inside the hole
than you’ll be able to provide within that chunk of the original valve.
If you have the radiator out, you can get more radical: toss the original drain cock in the trash and drill out the threads in
the boss on the radiator and retap it for something readily available. The fitting on the radiator appears to be pretty
meaty, so it could be drilled and tapped for something considerably larger than the stock drain cock.
WHAT RADIATOR DRAIN? Somewhere around 1988 -- possibly coinciding with the introduction of long-life
phosphate-free coolant -- Jaguar went from the overdesigned drain cock to no drain cock at all. On later cars, it is
necessary to disconnect the lower radiator hose to drain the coolant. Wearing a tux is not recommended. In fact, this
author once suggested to an owner that he do this task au naturel, and just jump in the shower afterwards.
Joe Montgomery suggests another way to get most of the coolant out of later cars: “Having seen at the local shop the
way coolant goes everywhere when the bottom radiator hose is pulled and since the storm drain that would collect it is a
straight shoot to the bay, I found a better way. I got about 2 feet of 1/4" copper tube and 4 feet of plastic tube that
would fit over the end from Home Depot. By inserting the copper tube through the bleed hole on the right hand side of
the radiator I was able to syphon better than 3 1/2 gallons into a bucket for recycling.”
Another suggestion: if you can locate a suitable tee, you can cut the bottom radiator hose and install the tee with two
hose clamps and use the tee to drain the coolant. There is a similar tee used for adding a coolant heater in subfreezing
climates; perhaps that tee could be used.
Something to note: the lower radiator hose does not connect to the bottom of the radiator in an XJ-S. It’s perhaps four
inches from the bottom at the left side. So, if the only way to drain and flush the coolant is by disconnecting this hose,
you will never get the junk outta the bottom four inches of the radiator! And the connection is on the downstream side;
anything larger than the tiny passages in the radiator core will pile up on the upstream side indefinitely. Hence, if you
have the radiator out for service, you might consider having a drain fitting added at the bottom right corner.
RADIATOR REMOVAL: Both the official Jaguar manual and the Haynes manual state that removing the radiator
requires discharging the air conditioner freon circuit. They lie. In fact, as Jim Isbell reports, “In the Haynes manual
there are 21 steps under section #21 that describe the removal. Steps 1, 3, 5, 9, 10, and 11 are all unnecessary.” Most
are merely extra work, but discharging the freon is a waste of serious money.
Both manuals also provide the same illustration which shows the radiator sitting on top of the oil cooler. This may be
the case for cars that weren’t equipped with air conditioning, but for the rest of us the oil cooler is in front of the
radiator, and the A/C condenser is on top of it.
Forget the manuals and just dive in. The radiator comes out vertically upward, leaving the A/C condenser and oil cooler
in place. Drain the coolant and disconnect the hoses, remove the air purge system tubing from the top of the rail over
the radiator, unbolt the A/C dryer from the rail and leave it hanging, unbolt the fan shroud, and remove the rail. Either
remove the hood, or simply remove the grille, disconnect the struts, and tilt it forward until it rests on the bumper.
Disconnect the hoses from the transmission cooler and the wire from the coolant level sensor (early models only) and
whatever other little things are hanging on, and pull the radiator out straight up.
Now, if you have an early model such as Bernard Embden’s ’78, things are a bit more difficult. “The radiator has two
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brackets welded to the bottom. The oil cooler is bolted to these brackets. To remove the radiator the oil cooler lines
must be disconnected and the radiator and oil cooler removed as one unit. Once removed, the oil cooler can be unbolted
from the radiator brackets.”
Embden recommends changing things while you’re in there. “Why does the damn oil cooler have to be bolted to the
radiator? After removing the radiator I decided I was not going thru this again. I went over to the radiator and sawed
off the two tits (sorry, "oil mounting brackets") that the oil cooler bolts to. Now properly motivated, I fabbed two
brackets out of 1/2 inch wide, 1/8 thick flat iron available at any hardware store. I offset the brackets (wider). Made
two 1-1/4 inch straps. Bolted one end to the oil cooler mounting bracket, the other to the brackets that I fabbed up.
This was so the brackets would fit below the still existing part of the bracket that remains on the bottom of the radiator.
(I was concerned about clearance). Two bolts per side, drilled the holes thru the boxed lower radiator support.
Brackets had to be angled slightly (hammer took care of that). Now the oil cooler and A/C condenser sit where they
should be with the radiator out.”
RADIATOR WORK CHECKLIST: If you have to pull the radiator out for any reason, you should take advantage of
the opportunity to do all of the following:
1) Rod, recore, or replace the radiator.
1a) Consider converting to a single-pass system; see below.
1b) If the coolant level sensor is located in the radiator, have the radiator shop plug the hole and relocate
the sensor to the header tank -- see page 207.
2) Clean fins of A/C condensor and oil cooler.
3) Consider revision of radiator drain scheme -- see page 195.
4) Revise air bleed banjo fitting -- see page 187.
5) Install foam in all undesirable air paths -- see page 226.
6) Install coolant filters -- see page 190.
You might also consider the opportunity to replace the front oil seal on the engine or to check that the bolt holding the
crank damper on is properly torqued (page 90).
IMPROVING THE ONE-AND-A-HALF-PASS RADIATOR SCHEME: As mentioned in the cooling system
description beginning on page 173, the OEM radiator in the XJ-S will result in the left bank running warmer than the
right. If you’d like both banks running at the same temperature, it will be necessary to revise the system so that both
thermostat outlets see the same backpressure. Perhaps the simplest and most straightforward method to accomplish this
would be to increase the backpressure on the right side thermostat outlet. Performance outfits like Summit Racing
(page 720) offer flow restrictors for cooling systems, but their intentions are different and the parts may be difficult to
adapt to the Jaguar V12. Perhaps the better tactic would be to simply adopt the idea, and provide a simple orifice in the
upper right radiator hose or radiator inlet. We have no idea what size the orifice should be, unfortunately; if someone
wants to take the effort to install pressure taps and experiment, the orifice should be just the right size that the pressure
at both thermostat outlets is exactly the same -- but even with that criteria, the desired orifice size may vary with radiator
condition and possibly even engine RPM.
This author installed a 1/2” stainless steel washer in the right side radiator hose as an orifice. The OD of a standard 1/2”
flat washer proved to be exactly the same as the OD of a 1-1/4” Gano filter (see page 190), so a couple of tiny holes
were drilled in the edge of the washer and it was screwed to the inlet end of the Gano filter with the existing screws that
hold the Gano filter together. The ID of the 1/2” washer is 14mm. The car ran fine and stayed cool, as evidenced by the
gauge sender in the right side thermostat housing; thus we can conclude that a 14mm orifice is large enough, although
we really cannot decide if it is small enough without measuring the effect on the left bank temperature.
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Note that the installation of such an orifice doesn’t merely make the cooling of the right bank as bad as the left. It
actually improves the cooling of the left bank. It accomplishes this by increasing the pressure loss in the right bank,
which reduces the pressure in the right side end tank on the radiator. Since the flow through the upper 1/3 of the
radiator is a function of the pressure difference between the left side inlet and the right side end tank, lowering the
pressure in the right side end tank will increase the flow in the upper 1/3 of the radiator -- and hence in the left bank.
ELIMINATING THE ONE-AND-A-HALF-PASS RADIATOR SCHEME -- HOME VERSION: The optimum fix for
the XJ-S cooling system would be to eliminate the one-and-a-half-pass scheme altogether and plumb this cooling system
the way Jaguar should have in the first place. If you’re handy with a propane torch or have a radiator shop willing to do
some fiddling, you may be able to modify the OEM radiator to make it a single-pass. You will need to remove and cap
the upper left inlet, and install a second inlet on the right side header tank just under the existing inlet. Remove and
throw out that hokey radiator drain lever if your car has it (see page 195 for ideas on the radiator drain). Also, you need
to make the left end of the radiator into a single tank the full height of the core. The radiator on this author’s car has a
single left end tank with a partition hidden inside, so you can remove the tank, remove the partition dividing the upper
1/3 from the lower 2/3, and reinstall the tank. Other owners have reported their radiators have two distinct tanks, an
upper 1/3 and a lower 2/3. This latter type would obviously require more effort to convert into a single left side tank,
such as perhaps adding a pipe between the two. Once you’ve got the radiator converted to a single-pass, see the
plumbing issues below.
A testimonial from Joe Bialy: “With two electric fans and the original two pass scheme, the fans would run for a long
time after shutdown. Sometimes cycling on and off a few times too. With my one pass scheme, only one fan runs for a
minute or two after shutdown, never cycling on and off afterwards. This car absolutely runs cool as can be now, far and
away the best it's ever been.
“Yank the radiator, slice out the baffle, solder it back up, buy a couple of 1'' copper fittings and two radiator hoses, put it
all back together and fergettaboutit. This will be your best weekend investment under the hood ever and it'll only set
you back $50 or so.”
Alternatively, you can convert to a single-pass system without modifying the radiator at all -- or even removing it from
the car! Rather than removing the partition in the left tank, simply install a tee in the lower radiator hose and route a
hose from the left inlet (which will now be a secondary outlet) down to it. Tee the two thermostat outlets together and
feed them into the single 1-1/4” inlet on the right side; this inlet has been proven large enough to handle all the flow.
ELIMINATING THE ONE-AND-A-HALF-PASS SCHEME -- AFTERMARKET VERSION: The simplest way to
fix the OEM cooling scheme would be to replace the one-and-a-half-pass radiator with a suitable single-pass radiator
from some other application. It just so happens that one application springs to mind: the Jaguars that are converted to
Chevy power. Chevy engines have only one thermostat outlet, so it makes no sense to try to use that one-and-a-half
pass radiator with it. Besides, that would result in the Chevy overheating as readily as the V12 did! So, as one might
expect, the outfits that offer Chevy conversion kits are a good place to go looking for a bolt-in single-pass radiator for
the XJ-S. John’s Cars (page 717) offers two such radiators, one intended for use with a small-block Chevy and a
“super-duty” intended for use with a big block Chevy. Either one has plenty of capacity for a Jaguar V12. Both are
quite reasonably priced -- meaning they are considerably cheaper than a new Jaguar radiator. John’s Cars uses exactly
the same radiators for either the XJ-S or the Series I/II/III XJ6/12 saloons, all years, indicating that the profusion of part
numbers in the Jaguar parts books all involve minor detail distinctions.
Note that John’s Cars may also offer radiators -- both regular and “super-duty” -- intended to be used with the Jaguar
V12 engine, meaning they have the same 1-1/2-pass arrangement as the OEM radiator. You do not want one of these.
Make it very clear that you want a radiator intended for use with a Chevy engine.
Another application also comes to mind: the Jaguars with 6-cyl engines. The 6-cyl Jaguars, whether they be XK, AJ6,
or AJ16 engines, all use single-pass radiators. The radiator from a 6-cyl XJ-S is one obvious possibility, while a radiator
from a pre-1988 XJ6 should also fit.
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The only question mark is whether or not the 6-cyl radiator has enough capacity to keep a V12 cool -- and that’s a
serious question mark. The 6-cyl engines are a bit smaller and a bit less powerful than the V12, so in theory Jaguar
could get by making their radiators with fewer rows or fewer fins or whatever. On the other hand, perhaps Jaguar just
used the same cores for both type radiators and the only differences are in the end tanks and hose connections. Only
someone who had both radiators in hand could tell whether the 6-cyl rad is lighter duty or whether it has comparable
capacity to the V12 rad, and so far I have not gotten any reports.
Another idea would be to buy (or make) a single-pass radiator designed specifically for use in the V12 Jaguar
XJ-S/XJ12. Chad Bolles and Bradley Smith have both blazed this trail, and their costs for a custom-made aluminum
single-pass radiator actually compare favorably with buying a new OEM radiator from Jaguar!
Bolles and Smith had to discuss the radiator design at length with the people building it for them -- but you don’t have
to! Be Cool now offers aluminum radiators to fit the XJ-S; they are still “custom” in that they are designed specifically
for the XJ-S and they are not actually made until you order one, but they already have the design on record -- you just
order the part number of the radiator you need. Be Cool actually offers four part numbers, all of which end in 082
which is apparently Be Cool’s indication that it fits an XJ-S. 62082 is the radiator that most XJ-S owners will need; it is
a bare aluminum radiator for an XJ-S with an automatic transmission. 63082 is the same radiator, except that the
aluminum is polished (Be Cool caters to the show car crowd, so all of their radiators are available with a polished finish).
60082 is a radiator for a manual transmission car, lacking the transmission cooler and therefore a few bucks cheaper.
61082 is the manual transmission radiator in polished form. All of these are single-pass radiators with a single large inlet
at the top right, since Be Cool would have nothing to do with that silly one-and-a-half-pass idea.
I know what you’re thinking: “The Jaguar parts books indicate that many different radiators were used over the years.
Which one does the Be Cool radiator replace?” The answer: all of them. To illustrate, the following are the differences
in the Jaguar OEM radiators:
The very early cars had the oil cooler supported by the radiator. However, this is a really horrible arrangement to
work on, and most owners who get in there find a way to convert the oil cooler mounting scheme to be more like
the later cars; see page 197.
The low coolant sensor was installed in the right front corner of the radiator up until sometime in the mid-80’s, then
was relocated to the header tank. Regardless of where yours presently is, it would be a good idea to relocate it to
the header tank; see page 207.
Up until the mid-80’s, the transmission cooler had barbs protruding from the back side of the right header tank and
the lines from the transmission were connected by sliding the hoses over the barbs and clamping. Later cars had
threaded holes, and pipe thread fittings on the ends of the transmission lines were screwed in. The Be Cool
radiators for automatic transmission cars come with threaded holes, which allows the owner of an older car with
hoses and clamps two options: he can screw standard fittings into the holes and connect up the hoses with clamps,
or he can replace his lines with the later lines with threaded fittings at the ends.
Sometime in the late 80’s, Jaguar eliminated the hokey drain cock and provided no drain at all! Be Cool took an
interesting approach here; they provide a drain scheme based on the early radiators, complete with the cute little
lever -- but they also provide a rationally-designed drain on the left end of the radiator.
It’s probably possible to fit the Be Cool radiator to an XJ12, but that hasn’t been confirmed.
Finally, note that there were apparently radiators with either three-, four- or five-row cores, and owners get very
concerned about how many rows they end up with when recoring or replacing a radiator. Well, the Be Cool radiator is
two-row -- but that only illustrates the shortcomings of this method of specifying a radiator. With brass radiators, each
tube is perhaps a half inch wide by 1/8” thick, so a core that is two inches deep can fit four rows. However, Be Cool
uses tubes that are a full inch wide and also a bit thicker than 1/8”, so two rows provides at least as much surface area as
four rows of the tiny brass tubes. Also, the brass tubes are so tiny and flat that you’d be lucky to fit a fingernail file into
one, but the aluminum tubes have much larger passages so they are far more difficult to plug up.
Be Cool guarantees a 20-40º temperature drop over 4-5 row brass radiators. Just how you’d ever make such an
evaluation is uncertain, but at least they appear willing to stand behind their product. By their estimation, this radiator
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should be good for up to 600 cubic inches and 1000 hp.
As of this writing, Be Cool reportedly does not offer any help in connecting the two 1-1/4” thermostat outlets into a
single radiator inlet; apparently you are on your own there, although it wouldn’t be a great surprise if they start making a
suitable accessory. See below for ideas on making a tee.
Be Cool’s web site is at http://www.becool.com. Their products can be ordered through Summit Racing, page 720.
A few other comments about aluminum radiators: Aluminum conducts heat better than brass, although the walls of the
aluminum tubes are thicker than the walls of brass tubes which negates some of that advantage. Brass radiators are
soldered together, though, and solder doesn’t conduct heat well at all. Aluminum radiators are welded together, so they
are all-aluminum (the mass-production aluminum radiators on some cars have plastic end tanks, but that’s not important
here).
Some people also value the fact that an aluminum radiator weighs less than a brass radiator, but to make a fair
comparison one would have to consider the volume of coolant inside as well as the weight of all the attachments and
fittings involved; for most of us, this concern is not foremost in our minds at this point anyway.
Finally, note that an aluminum radiator apparently cannot be rodded or recored, so if you don’t keep your cooling
system clear of obstructions the next cleanout will involve replacing the radiator again.
The author will take this opportunity to express an opinion: it may not be worthwhile to run right out and purchase a
single-pass radiator to replace a good condition OEM radiator, but if the original radiator is done for, anyone paying
Jaguar prices for a new OEM radiator when new single-pass radiators are available for the same money or less ought to
have his head examined. The annual sales of new OEM Jaguar radiators should be zero.
ELIMINATING THE ONE-AND-A-HALF-PASS SCHEME -- PLUMBING: Whichever single-pass radiator you
choose, you will need to plumb it up. Obviously, you need to route the outlets from both thermostat housings over to
the same side of the car. A simple pipe or hose supported along the back edge of the upper radiator support is one idea.
If your single-pass radiator has two 1-1/4” inlets, one right over the other, you simply need to route one hose from each
thermostat outlet to them. When plumbing the two inlets, take care not to create air pockets; having the coolant going
downhill to enter the radiator might trap air in the hose. It will probably work best to connect the nearest thermostat
outlet to the lower of the two inlets. If you cannot devise a routing that will push air bubbles on into the radiator inlets,
you will need to provide an air bleed port at the high point where a bubble might get hung up.
It’s more likely your single-pass radiator will have one larger inlet rather than two 1-1/4” inlets. Hence, you will need to
tee your two upper radiator hoses together. One idea would be to have a weld shop make up an aluminum tee. Another
idea would be to make a tee out of brass or copper pipe fittings. And yet another idea is to just have a local radiator
shop slap together a tee out of standard brass radiator fittings. Byrnal Haley did this: “All good rad shops stock inlet
and outlet pipes for rad repair. I drew a diagram of what I needed and the rad guy fabricated it from stock parts. You
just need to tell him which size pipes to use.” The result simply couldn’t have been prettier. You can take a look at:
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/SinglePassRadiator.html
An improvement on a tee would be to make it a wye for better flow characteristics. Another idea would be to actually
make a manifold that reaches across the engine compartment, so you only need short pieces of hose to connect it up.
And yet another idea would be to create a tank or container of some sort with two 1-1/4” lines in and one larger line out;
a photo of a racing XJ-S in the May 2000 issue of Jaguar World shows such a tank, and it has a radiator cap on top --
and the radiator cap on the crossover pipe has been omitted.
Coolant filters are still recommended with a single-pass setup, but you now have the choice of one or two filters. Two
filters, one connected to each thermostat outlet, has an advantage in diagnostics in that you can tell what crud came from
which bank. Also, you may use the coolant filters as couplings to connect radiator hoses together to accomplish the
routing required for this job. But using two filters also has the disadvantage that the B bank filter could get plugged
without the temperature gauge sender in the A bank telling you about it. Hence, it’s better to go with a single coolant
filter plumbed in after the two lines are teed together if possible.
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If you are using Gano filters, it’s suggested that you either use two or use one that’s 1-1/2” or larger and step the hose
sizes up to meet it; a single 1-1/4” Gano would probably be too restrictive for the total coolant flow of this engine. This
isn’t an issue with the Tefba filters, though, since the filter elements are the same size, it’s only the connections that vary.
If the new radiator’s bottom outlet isn’t in exactly the same place as it was on the OEM radiator, you’ll need to abandon
the OEM molded bottom hose in favor of a flex hose -- which is a better hose anyway.
You’ll probably need to revise the air purge system across the top of the radiator. If the flow in your new single pass
radiator is left-to-right, it can stay pretty much unchanged, but if the flow is right-to-left you’ll probably want to reverse
it and put the banjo fitting at the top left and the air bleed plug or valve at the top right. Simply exchange the banjo
fitting with the air bleed port. You can cut the long metal tube and reconnect it with a piece of 1/4” hose and a pair of
EFI clamps, making it a lot shorter than it was. You will also need to figure out how to route the connection from under
the center radiator cap over to this location. It may be possible to cut the tube near the tee at the left side and flip the
whole thing over and reinstall it, putting the banjo fitting at the left but leaving the long tube going across the top of the
support rail and connecting to the hose from under the radiator cap in nearly its original position. The short tube that
originally connected the hose from under the radiator cap to the banjo fitting can now be used to connect the banjo
fitting back to the tee at the left side with a short piece of hose.
If you get rid of the one-and-a-half-pass scheme, you can forget about relocating the coolant temperature sensors as
described on page 176. The only reasons to do that were due to the differential cooling, which you will have eliminated.
Of course, if you’ve already done it, you can leave it alone; for similar reasons, there’s no point in changing it back.
ELIMINATING THE ONE-AND-A-HALF-PASS SCHEME -- OTHER IDEAS: Another option would be to replace
the one-and-a-half-pass sideflow radiator with a simple custom-made downflow radiator. This would result in an upper
header tank all the way across, so the two inlets could be right where they are. The bottom outlet would probably have
to change; it’d add complexity to try to get the outlet several inches up the left side where the OEM outlet is. It’d
probably be easier and better to just provide an outlet at the bottom and use a generic flex hose to connect it to the pump
inlet. Flex hoses are usually better in this location anyway.
Believe it or not, the Series III E-Type used a downflow radiator exactly as described. It’s not known why Jaguar
decided to cause all sorts of trouble by providing the XJ’s with the one-and-a-half-pass sideflow radiator instead.
RADIATOR MOUNT BUSHINGS: The radiator is mounted on four rubber bushings, two at the bottom (C43577) and
two at the top (C38333). If you wish, you may replace these by visiting your local discount auto parts store and looking
through the selection of PCV valve grommets that are usually on a display rack in bubble packs. There is one intended
for a Toyota that will serve quite nicely in both positions. It doesn’t have as large a weight-bearing surface as the Jaguar
originals, but it’s not made of British rubber either.
By the way, there are several possible explanations for why the radiator is mounted on rubber bushings, including to
allow for thermal expansion and to protect the fragile radiator from chassis flex and vibration. However, one plausible
explanation is that it is to electrically isolate the radiator from chassis ground. Since the radiator is largely brass or
copper while the engine block is aluminum, and the engine must be grounded, grounding the radiator would complete a
circuit through the coolant causing electrolytic corrosion somewhere -- probably inside the block! Several owners have
checked and confirmed that their radiators are not grounded; the rubber mounts, the rubber hoses, the foam packing, the
fact that the fan shrouds are bolted to the rail instead of the radiator itself, all add up to complete electrical isolation.
Unfortunately, the heater core -- also brass -- is quite effectively grounded.
RADIATOR OBSTRUCTIONS: One possible cause of overheating problems is that the outside of the coil or the
spaces between the fins has been plugged with crud so air can’t flow through. Since the fins in the A/C condenser coil
and the oil cooler are coarse but the fins in the radiator itself are much finer, the blockage may be dirt jammed in the
radiator fins while the condenser and oil cooler still look clean. One great way to avoid this problem would be to spray a
garden hose through the radiator from the engine compartment forwards every time the car is washed to prevent any
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buildup. Unfortunately, the design of the fan shrouds and the tightness of the engine compartment conspire to make this
task all but impossible, so more likely it’s going to have to be addressed by a periodic disassembly and service.
Worse yet, Jaguar does a poor job plugging the gaps around the condenser and oil cooler, so really big things like leaves
get blown through the gaps and into the space between the condenser and radiator (see page 226). The result is often a
massive collection of debris between the condenser and the radiator, where it’s really miserable to get to.
John Bertsche provides a procedure: “Well, I really didn't feel like pulling the radiator this weekend. I came up with an
alternate plan, which may or may not be useful to those of you with my problem.
1) Put the front of the car on ramps. Take off the spoiler, if you're lucky enough to have one. Take out the lower
splash panel/lower center valence, or whatever you prefer to call it, if it hasn't rotted into swiss cheese from all
the wet leaves that have collected between it and the oil cooler after all these years.
2) After liberal use of Liquid Wrench, use your sturdiest pair of vice grips to loosen the two large Phillips-head
screws holding the oil cooler to the brackets attached to the frame. Once they're loose, you can try using an
actual Phillips-head screwdriver to take them all the way out. (Ed. note: they’re not Phillips, they’re Pozidriv --
and using the correct tool may eliminate the need for the vice grips.)
3) Carefully pry (on the brackets, please, not the cooling fins!) the oil cooler away from the radiator just enough
(about 1/4 inch) to get a straight piece of coat-hanger wire (a foot long or so) up in between the oil cooler and
the radiator, and gently gently use the coat hanger wire to brush the debris out of the space. If your car is like
mine, it will look like the tobacco inside a cigarette (about a carton's worth).
4) Use a blower, like your shop-vac, to blow forward through the radiator (like back-flushing the air flow) to
loosen any crud that's trapped in the radiator fins. You can hold the oil cooler away from the radiator a little bit
while you're doing this with sticks or whatever (again, levering only against brackets, not cooling fins!). You'll
be surprised at the amount of junk that flies out. Thousands of insect wings, bits of leaves, styrofoam, paper,
etc.
5) There's quite a bit of space between the A/C condenser and the radiator, but virtually none between the oil
cooler and the radiator (at least on my car). So, as you clean out the bottom section, the debris from up above
will fall down into the gap you're creating. Make sure you alternate between using the blower and the coat
hanger a few times to get everything cleared out.
6) Put it back together and take the car out for a beer. You should notice a big improvement in cooling. I
estimate my radiator was about 30-35% blocked.
“I'm pretty sure this took longer to write than it did to do (except for step 6). It may be worth a try (easy fixes first!)”
Instead of the coat hanger wire, Paul Gill says, “A plastic mini-blind slat is great for this.”
Matt Dillon suggests another method: “Take the top holder off of the radiator so that you can spread it apart from the
A/C condenser and clean out the junk that's in between them. I found a whole boatload of stuff in there.” Removing the
upper rail requires removing the air purge tubing, which in turn requires draining a little of the coolant. Think of it as an
opportunity to modify the banjo fitting on the air purge system (see page 187) and install foam to prevent it getting
plugged again (see page 226).
Before you decide that you’re done, try to shine a light through the radiator. You might try laying a piece of paper on
one side and see how much light shines on the paper. The task may still require a mirror and/or a tiny, bright light on the
end of a long, bendable wire, or maybe you can shine enough light through the condenser and oil cooler. If you still
can’t get the enough of the crud out to see light everywhere, it may be necessary to drain all the coolant and pull the
radiator out to clean the fins themselves. Think of this as an opportunity to have the radiator rodded (see page 189) and
to revise the drain scheme (see page 195).
PREVENTING RADIATOR OBSTRUCTIONS: Colleen Melton suggests you install a screen in front of your
condenser/oil cooler to keep crud from plugging things up. “A simple piece of fiberglass window screen (darker color
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such as charcoal or black look less obtrusive) run in front of the heat exchangers works great at keeping leaves, bugs,
etc., from clogging up the works. My car has such a screen installed, we've done it on all our vehicles for quite a few
years. Ours is secured at the top by clamping under the A/C drier clamps, and at the bottom by pinching between the
panel below the lower grille and the radiator lower support. Cost is next to nothing and we have more time to work on
other things, rather than cleaning out crud to prevent the dreaded overtemp blues.”
Of course, you could just opt for one of those bug screens that wraps around the nose of the car and clips onto the front
wheel wells.
HEADER TANK: The header tank is susceptible to rust perforation. The good news is that the later and cheaper tank
fits better. The filler is curved to clear the air cleaner that is set forward to clear the ABS unit. The newer tank is about
half the price of the older one and has studs instead of bolts to mount it.
Unfortunately, it is still made of steel, which means it will eventually rust through again and the rust flakes will plug up
your radiator. Better idea: Call Cathouse Spares in Sydney, Australia (page 693) and order their stainless steel version.
This is one example where an international phone call and overseas shipping are definitely worthwhile.
Mike Morrin went another route: “I could not find a supplier of pre-H.E. expansion tanks. So I eventually had a local
radiator shop make me one in brass, using the original fittings and brackets. He quoted (and I paid) US$130, but I think
he lost money on it because of the labour involved.”
As Morrin notes, there are minor variations between header tanks. Most notably, the pre-H.E. has a fitting on the
bottom for teeing into the line from the heater core to the radiator outlet, while the later cars have a upward-angled
fitting at the bottom front corner for connecting to a fitting on the later crossover pipe right at the suction side of the
pump. If you obtain the later type header tank, you can fit it to the earlier car by simply installing a generic tee in the
heater hose and running a hose from the upward-angled fitting to it -- or you could spring for a new crossover pipe at
the same time (also in SS from Cathouse Spares) and hook it up as in the later cars.
On later models, the coolant level sensor was located in the header tank instead of the earlier location at the front right
corner of the radiator. If your new header tank doesn’t have a hole for the sensor, drill one about 3” up from the
bottom. If your car has the sensor in the old location in the radiator, relocate it. If you can’t get around to doing the job
properly just now, buy a new sensor and grommet and install them in the header tank and leave the old sensor where it
is. Sooner or later, you’ll probably have the radiator out for rodding and you can have the original sensor location
sealed up at that time.
THERMOSTATS: The early OEM thermostats had “jiggle pins”, a pin with a rubber ball on one end, loosely retained
in a hole in the flange. They are supposed to be installed with the jiggle pins on the top side. These probably aid in
either letting the air out while you’re filling the system with coolant, or helping the air find its own way out during
operation. Clearly, they’re supposed to do more than provide a small leak; a hole would do that. The jiggle pins
evidently act as a sort of check valve, allowing fluid or air through one way but sealing tight the other way. Mike
Morrin provides a theory: “I always thought the jiggle pins were designed such that with the engine stopped, and no
pressure differential across the (closed) thermostat, any air on the engine side of the thermostat could bleed out to the
radiator, but with the engine running the pressure differential would push the pin (or ball) into the hole, blocking any
flow of water until correct temperature is reached.”
It has also been suggested that the pin, jiggling around in the hole, prevents the hole from being obstructed by a small air
bubble. Or that the ball, being much heavier than air but only marginally heavier than water, will reliably fall open when
surrounded by air but can be held shut by the slightest pressure differential when surrounded by water.
Morrin points out that the design got upgraded along the line: “I recently bought a pair of 88 degree thermostats for my
1986 V12 and they are Waxstats and came in genuine Jaguar packaging. The jiggle pin has however been replaced with
a ball in a cage.” Same thing only different, either design will work. Some aftermarket thermostats reportedly also
feature this caged ball (no aftermarket thermostat apparently ever featured the jiggle pin). Jaguar isn’t the only
manufacturer to specify such features in their thermostats; you can find caged balls in several different thermostats on the
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rack in the auto parts stores these days.
Try not to buy thermostats without jiggle pins or air bleed valves. If you tell the parts clerk the model year of your car
and he returns with thermostats without such features, try giving him a later model year -- say, 1991. The design of the
cooling system didn’t change, but for some reason some of the computer listings in the parts stores list thermostats
without air bleed valves for early cars and with air bleed valves for later cars. If you must buy aftermarket thermostats
that have no wiggle pins, drill a 1/8” hole in the flange; the small leak might keep the engine from warming up quite as
fast, but at least it won’t drop valve seats due to air pockets. Michael Bucklew suggests “a small cotter pin can be
used.”
The Jag V12 also requires thermostats that have a post on the bottom with a spring-loaded disk for closing the bypass
passage when the thermostat is open. Believe it or not, there are aftermarket thermostats purportedly intended for this
car that don’t have these attachments. Do not buy any such thermostats. There are acceptable aftermarket thermostats
available; if you don’t find them at first, try another store.
NOTE: Don’t operate this engine without thermostats. The thermostats must be in place to prevent the coolant from
taking a short circuit and bypassing the radiator. Incidentally, it’s not really a good idea to operate any liquid-cooled
engine without a thermostat.
If you’re in the market for thermostats, make sure to check the computer or applications listing to get the correct type
for the Jaguar; don’t just pick up something that looks right. Julian Mullaney says, “First time around went to Pep boys
and got some new t'stats that looked exactly like the originals. It wasn't until after putting them in water and looking at
the amount of travel they open and the amount of spring compliance on the back close-off disc that I noticed they were
different. They look identical, but they move differently. This is real important because that disc has to close off the
crossover pipe properly. Went back and got some other t'stats that looked the same but had the right amount of travel.
You can check it by taking it out of the package and just forcing it thru the motions to check travel length, etc.”
This is not to say they must look identical to the originals. Bob Gallivan: “Just received a set of 88 deg C t-stats
(Calorstat made by Vernet in France). These appear to be different than the 88 deg t-stats I replaced last year (Waxstat).
1: the vernet came with rubber ring gaskets that fits the outer edge of the disk.
2: overall length:
Vernet is 51 mm.
Waxstat is ~49.55 mm.
3: the valve (?) width
Vernet is ~23.25 mm
Waxstat ~17.8mm”
THERMOSTAT TEMPERATURES: The bulbs in thermostats work by taking advantage of the step increase in
volume that accompanies a phase change, in this case when wax melts. Before the wax begins to melt, there is little
plunger movement. As the wax melts, the volume of the wax increases, pushing the plunger out of the bulb and opening
the poppet. Once the wax is completely melted, the plunger stops moving. The temperature at which the plunger
moves is a function of the specific compound of wax used. The small changes in volume with changing temperature
when the wax is entirely solid or liquid are insignificant, and since the bulb itself is changing volume at a comparable
rate, they may not move the plunger at all.
The proper way to mark a thermostat is to indicate its “control range”, the temperature at which it cracks open and the
temperature at which it is fully open -- which, on the Jaguar V12 thermostats, is the point at which the bypass port is
fully closed. However, the thermostat manufacturers generally don’t do this; thermostats are commonly rated with a
single temperature, with no indication whether this indicates the crack-open temperature, the fully-open temperature, or
some temperature in between. The Jaguar literature (including the Haynes manual) does, however, specify “opening”
and “fully open” temperatures for thermostats -- leaving the owner trying to figure out which thermostat in the store
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corresponds to the specs. The general consensus seems to be that the “early cars” were originally fitted with 180°F
(82°C) thermostats, while the “later cars” were fitted with 190°F (88°C) thermostats. The change may have coincided
with the introduction of the H.E., but it may have changed at different times between North America and other markets.
The ambiguity in the rating scheme seems to allow for some funny stuff, though. The Robertshaw thermostats offered
by Discount Auto Parts are available in 160°F (71°C), 180°F (82°C), or 195°F (91°C) ratings; their computer describes
the 195°F items as being “closest to OEM specification”, and these are the ones generally kept in stock. Peter Cohen
says, “195°F is the standard opening temp for American cars nowadays. Those responsible for spec-ing products at
certain manufacturers are probably just going on automatic pilot.” More likely, they’re just making thermostats for the
Jag using the same wax bulb used on their products for other cars rather than having to make a separate line of wax
bulbs. Cohen continues: “Beck-Arnley, Motorcraft, and Motorad list 192 degree thermostats.” Perhaps the same idea,
except these companies chose to split the difference between 190°F and 195°F for their wax bulbs!
James Teston says, “F.Y.I: A '92 has as standard (owners manual) 90°C (194°F) but you can get up to 205°F 'stats for
this year. There are no listings this high for the '83.” I just love it when application listings give totally different data for
an ’83 than a ’92, ignorant of the fact that the engine is totally unchanged.
You can apparently forget about relying on the thermostat manufacturer’s qualitative description of the temperature
rating. A review of the offerings of several companies’ 180°F thermostats revealed that many of them described this as
“standard temperature” or “O.E.” (which it is neither for most XJ-S’s), a few described it as “medium temperature”,
while a great many described it as “high temperature” -- an interesting outlook, since it is the coldest thermostat that
should ever be considered for this engine.
There is really little functional difference between 180°F (82°C), 190°F (88°C), 192°F(89°C), and 195°F (91°C)
thermostats, although as noted on page 175 they will result in different gauge readings when the cooling system is
working properly. In theory, the warmer thermostats should provide better fuel economy, and those who live where it
snows report they will make the heater work quite a bit better.
There are also 160°F (71°C), 165°F (74°C), and 170°F (77°C) thermostats available, generally described by the
manufacturers as “low temp”. None of these should be used in the Jaguar V12. They certainly won’t help anything in
any car, but in this case they might actually cause problems; they may cause the engine to run cold enough that the EFI
system is working on an enriched part of the fuelling map that it was never intended to use continuously, and you may
get bad fuel economy, low power, spark plug foulling, etc. If it gets too far onto the cold fuelling map, it may actually
run rich enough for excess fuel to rinse the oil off the cylinder walls, greatly reducing the engine life. Also note that the
AAV (page 265) won’t fully close until 80°C, so you may also get an inconsistent idle trying to run colder.
The fact that the EFI coolant temp sensor and the AAV are both on the left bank and the left bank runs warmer than the
right bank may confuse this issue a bit. Some people have installed low temp thermostats with no apparent ill effects,
but this might be due to the fact that the left bank is running warm enough to put the EFI in a viable control mode and to
fully close the AAV anyway. If the EFI sensor is moved to the right bank as discussed on page 176 or the cooling
system is modified to eliminate the differential cooling between right and left bank as discussed on page 198, the EFI
sensor and AAV may actually start seeing temperatures as cold as the thermostat spec -- and might start showing
symptoms of running too cold. If this happens, the solution is obviously to replace the thermostats with units in the 180-
195°F range.
THERMOSTAT SEATS: Jan Wikström reports that “The seat of the thermostat bypass (supposed to close when the
thermostat opens) in the thermostat housings is subject to erosion. Inspect and fit a bronze seat if necessary.” It’s not
known how common this erosion is, but if significant erosion is present it will definitely reduce cooling efficiency. Jan
made a bronze seat by machining a pipe fitting and then machining a suitable recess in the thermostat housing to press it
into. Other options would include building up with weld material and remachining or simply replacing the thermostat
housings.
Rob Weiss-Malik says, “When I took the t-stats (which I had recently replaced) out again and inspected them I found
that the somewhat spherical washer (valve?) at the back end of the t-stats (the one that seats against the coolant return
opening when the t-stats open) had very faint off-center circular wear scratches on it. Upon checking the recessed
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sockets that the t-stat flanges seat into I found that they contained gritty deposits of a grayish material that I could
scrape off by using a small flat screwdriver.
“After seeing this I temporarily reinserted the t-stats back in the sockets and it immediately became apparent that they
were not seating perpendicular to their sockets!!! This resulted in the back valves not seating the right way against the
back opening when the t-stats opened and in turn causing the ring shaped seating marks (scratches). These conditions
apparently lead to some of the flow not going to the radiator but going straight back to the engine with a concurrent rise
in temperature. Please note that the amount of gritty material at the seats was very small, and yet it caused a large of
amount of deflection in the alignment of the t-stats (sufficient to cause bypass of flow). I also religiously maintain the
proper proportions of antifreeze in the cooling system, and the radiator was re-cored about 15K miles ago.
“The fix consisted of thoroughly scraping (without scratching) the recessed sockets with a flat screwdriver to remove all
of the deposits. This was followed by light sanding with very fine (600 grit) sandpaper. Then the t-stats went back in.
Now my gage sits below N and does not creep up into the gray-hair zone.
“By the way, the symptoms of this condition were that the gauge would first stabilize a quarter way below N and then
would very slowly creep up past the N setting over a period of 15 to 30 minutes. The physical evidence for this
condition were the deposits themselves (you can see them easily, assuming you can cram your head that low under the
bonnet!!!) and the ring shaped seating marks on the back valve. This was an easy fix and I would recommend it as a
routine maintenance procedure whether or not your cat is overheating.”
NOT-SO PRESS FITTINGS: Stefan Schulz found that the 1/4” connection on the top of the left side thermostat
housing had come loose. This fitting is connected to a hose that goes to the air bleed piping on top of the radiator, and
normally operates at cooling system pressure. Once it comes loose, it really comes loose: “The only thing that held it in
place was the slight force exerted by the hose pressing on it from above!”
The ideal fix here would be to drill and tap the hole in the thermostat housing for a NPT and then screw in a suitable
fitting, and throw that pressed-in thing away. Trouble is, it might be a bit difficult to do with the thermostat housing on
the car. It's not horribly difficult to get the thermostat housing off the car, but it does complicate matters.
Unfortunately, Schulz is not the only owner to suffer this same failure. In fact, it appears to be fairly common. All in all,
if you have that thermostat housing out for any reason, you might want to preemptively replace that pressed-in fitting
with a screwed-in fitting just so you don't have to worry about it any more.
BADLY LOCATED FITTINGS: The right rear coolant manifold casting has locations for three bosses. On this
author’s ’83, the manifold has a vacuum switch in the front boss and the hose supplying the heater is connected to a boss
in the second; the third is blank, undrilled. On Jason Philbrook’s ’89, however, there are sensors in the first two bosses
and the heater hose is connected to the third. This puts the hose fitting too close to the insulation on the structure of the
car, and the engine moving on its mounts caused the corner of the insulation to wear a hole in the hose and cause a leak.
See COOLANT CONNECTING PIPE below for ideas on providing new taps along the pipe itself, allowing you to plug
this one and not use it any more.
COOLANT LEVEL SENSOR: On early cars, it’s at the front right side of the radiator, where it’s very hard to find
unless you have the hood off. Sometime in the early 80’s, it was relocated to the header tank, where it’s a lot easier to
get to. If you have a car with the earlier sensor location, at a convenient opportunity you should relocate the sensor to
the header tank. Simply drill a hole in the header tank about 3” above the bottom and insert the existing sensor with a
new grommet, and find some way to seal the hole in the radiator.
This sensor is nothing more than a pin that makes electrical contact with the fluid itself. The resulting ohmage reading is
processed by an electronic gadget, C42294, into an on/off signal to the dash indicator light. If this gadget fails, note that
some GM cars use exactly the same type of level sensing system. Their sensor won’t fit the Jag, but the electronic box
should work.
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FINDING LEAKS: Michael Bucklew says there’s a product to help. “The item is for checking for coolant leaks on the
whole system. A kit comes with a ultraviolet dye that is circulated through system. Shut down, and hand pump up the
pressure. With a blacklite the coolant leaks look like neon lights. Typically, kits comes with the lite and dye. I think the
price is around 60 bucks at "better auto stores".”
COOLANT CONNECTING PIPE: On top of each head there is a coolant pipe, C42595, that connects a manifold at
the rear of the head to the thermostat housing at the front. It is a straight steel pipe with a small shoulder at each end to
hold itself and the sealing bush in place.
Of course, being steel it is subject to rust and corrosion. The outside merely looks ratty; the inside, which usually rusts
worse than the outside, dumps flakes of rust into the coolant circuit and helps plug up your radiator.
There is an easy way to make a nice replacement. Drop by an air conditioning repair shop or supply house, and pick up
a length of 5/8” ID (3/4” OD) copper tubing as well as a fitting or two. Note: air conditioning systems typically use the
odd eighths sizes of tubing to differentiate them from water piping.
Cut the tubing the same length as the original. Cut the fittings to make rings and use a propane torch to solder them
onto the tubing to form shoulders. If you take the effort to polish it up a little, having the copper tube across the top of
each head looks really snazzy. Since this tube is mounted in rubber at both ends and has no direct contact with
aluminum parts, galvanic corrosion is no more of a concern than in the copper radiator.
If you need additional openings into the cooling circuit for adding or relocating sensors or taps, one possibility would be
to assemble copper coolant connecting pipes as described. Then, carefully noting where there is room for such things,
you can install a tee in one of these pipes. A simple “sweat” tee would make an excellent connection for the heater hose,
leaving the threaded openings in the manifold itself available for sensors. Or, you could solder in a cast bronze tee with a
threaded connection. And, of course, you can install more than one tee if it would be helpful.
Al Askevold has another idea: Make pipes from Schedule 40 pipe. But wait a minute! In copper piping we needed
5/8”, but Schedule 40 only comes in 1/2” and 3/4”. Fortunately, 1/2” Schedule 40 has no dimensions anywhere near
1/2”. Askevold: “Schedule 40 is OD 0.840, ID 0.622, with a wall thickness of 0.109.” So, cut 1/2” pipe to length and
then machine the OD down to 3/4” at the ends to fit the seals.
But Schedule 40 is ugly! Yeah, it’s typically galvanized cast iron, and the black iron is just as ugly. But if you shop
around, you can find it in solid brass or stainless steel. The stainless steel Schedule 40 is not very pretty since it is
unfinished, but as long as you’re machining it anyway you could give it a skim cut over its entire length to polish it up.
Askevold points out that stainless steel pipe is available from McMaster-Carr (page 711), but the shipping will probably
bankrupt you; better to buy locally if you can find it.
COOLANT CONNECTING PIPE SEALS: Part number C37990, commonly referred to as a “top hat seal”, is actually
the same seal used on the electric fan control thermal switch on the early XJ-S, and may even be used on other types of
British cars. This seal can be used only once -- it says so right on the seal itself. When installed and the engine is run,
this seal seems to bond itself to the pipe and makes a very effective seal. Unfortunately the steel pipe will then rust,
eventually breaking this seal. So, every time you’re working in this area, you’ll probably be well advised to replace these
seals while there, cleaning up the OD of the pipe before reinstallation.
Unless you go with the copper pipe replacement described above. In this case, the seal bonds itself very well to the
copper, it never rusts, and it can be a real pain to try to pull apart during the next overhaul. Solution: don’t ever take it
apart again! Since it will never leak if undisturbed, every time the engine is worked on simply remove the entire water
rail assembly -- thermostat housing, pipe, and rear manifold -- as a single unit and set it aside for reinstallation later.
The top hat seals are expensive if purchased from Jaguar. There are aftermarket versions available for only a couple of
bucks each, though; they reportedly don’t have the writing on them. It’s not known if there is any functional difference
in the rubber compound, but the cheap items are likely to work fine here -- this is not a difficult connection to seal once
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the rusty pipe issue is dealt with.
COOLANT CONNECTING PIPE SEAL REPLACEMENT: Odysseus Marcopolus passes along this idea: “Many
thanks to Phil Prince's tip about not having to remove either of the manifolds to get the pipe out. All I needed to do
was:
1. Drain coolant.
2. Remove air filter housing.
3. Grab pipe w/vicegrips and shove it into the back manifold until the front end was free; then pull forward and
out. (I needed to whack the vicegrips a couple of times w/ a hammer to get the pipe moving.)
4. Remove seals from manifolds.
5. Cleanup pipe with grinder/wire wheel (just didn't have time to fab something new).
6. Place new seals in position.
7. I coated the pipe ends with gasket dressing.
8. Push pipe into rear manifold until there's enough room to get the front end in and position the pipe.
9. Refill coolant and replace air filter housing.”
Of course, this is not likely to work as well with the copper pipe described above as it does with the OEM steel pipe; not
only will you bugger up the copper pipe with the vicegrips, but the soldered-on shoulders will make it quite difficult to
push the pipe into the rear housing to remove. You could, of course, simply leave the shoulders off, since the pipe
should remain in place just fine without them and then you could replace the seals using this method. Mark the pipe with
a marker so you can tell when it’s positioned properly at installation.
This replacement method should work with the stainless steel pipe if you machine the OD of the stainless steel pipe to
the same dimensions as the OEM steel pipe. You could even taper the step in diameter to make it work even easier.
Of course, when all is said and done, it’s not really all that difficult to remove the thermostat housing. And having either
the copper or stainless steel pipe in place is likely to avoid the need to replace those top hat seals nearly as often.
RADIATOR HOSES: The hoses in the Jag are not significantly different than any other car. For locations where the
shape of the hose is not too critical, go to the local parts shop and ask to look over their selection of molded hoses. Find
one with the right diameter, and with a section that will fit where you want it to. It is helpful to have the car there, and a
shop that will let you take the hoses out to the car and look at them. Buy the hose and cut it to the length and shape you
need and discard the rest. This method is usually cheaper than either buying the Jag hoses or using flex hose, and is very
aesthetically pleasing. Note: You will probably not find a hose with the exact same shape as the original. All that is
important is that the two ends will connect properly, and that the hose doesn’t run into anything in between. Also keep
in mind that the engine moves around a little on its mounts, while the radiator stands still; a little room for flexibility in
the radiator hoses is helpful.
Peter Smith: “the top left hose is the same shape as (in Australia) a Holden 186 or Mazda 929 late 80’s.”
Peter Cohen says that the Goodyear catalog lists “a single XJS radiator hose, the one for the upper left. Goodyear part
number 61267, cost $6.39. It has a slightly tighter S bend than the original, and appears to be about an inch too long at
the front end (so was the Mackay). Same wall thickness as the original. The Goodyear catalog also had a note that this
item is also available in "Hi-Miler".”
Cohen also provides Beck-Arnley hose numbers:
Upper Left 142-4555
Upper Right 142-4548
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Lower 142-0702
Cohen also ran across an Australian brand. “I didn’t like them much. The upper left developed a hole, and the lower
was not shaped quite right, so it rubbed on a bolt on the motor, and began wearing a hole in itself. It had to be tie
wrapped out of the way.”
Auto parts stores offer a wide selection of molded heater hoses too. The question-mark-shaped section of hose that
connects the heater return pipe to the outlet of the radiator, CAC 5125, can be neatly replaced by a hose number
303675.
Regarding the lower hose, Richard Dixon shopped around. He found one place that offered him P/N C41102 for a
reasonable price, and another place that offered him P/N CCC6993 for an unreasonable price. He was given conflicting
information on whether the later P/N fit only the 6.0 cars or superceded the earlier numbers. “Called a local import parts
store and she said $US 14.96 and I can have it tomorrow. When it comes in, guess what part number it has on it? Both
C41102 and CCC6993. And it fit perfectly. Go figure!!!”
By the way, one big issue on lower radiator hoses is collapse. It’s on the suction side of the water pump, and under
some conditions (such as a plugged radiator -- and it’s not like that never happens on a Jaguar XJ-S!) the suction can
suck the hose flat -- which is really bad for coolant flow! The time-honored fix here is to install what looks like a big
coil spring inside the hose; many lower radiator hoses come with such coils. The problem there is that they aren’t
stainless and eventually rust, which not only allows the hose to collapse but also puts chunks of spring steel into the
coolant loop. If this type of thing is in your car, it is suggested that you replace this hose on a maintenance schedule
rather than waiting for trouble.
Another solution seems to be to make the walls of the lower hose itself really tough. The problem here is that,
eventually, hoses soften up, and may eventually start collapsing -- and you have a really tough time figuring out what’s
wrong with your car, since it’s clearly having cooling problems but you can’t find the fault. The hose looks fine when
the engine’s shut off. Again, replace the hose on schedule rather than waiting for trouble.
Marty Sullivan came up with the unthinkable solution: a flex hose. Flex hoses are widely considered unacceptable for
some reason, but for a lower radiator hose they have some definite benefits. There is a coil of wire built into the casing
of the hose itself, where it isn’t in contact with the coolant, won’t rust, and won’t get chunks into the coolant circuit.
Some people seem to feel they don’t flow well, but there’s little basis for this contention; certainly Sullivan didn’t have
any problems with flow. The biggest issue is that, when really old, sometimes a flex hose will delaminate, leaving the
outside casing and the enclosed wire coil looking fine while the inner lining pulls away from it, collapses internally, and
plugs the passage -- but this probably doesn’t happen any sooner than the problems with molded hoses described above.
Sullivan claimed the flex hose he found fit beautifully and was much easier to get into place than a molded hose would
have been.
If you want the best possible setup, though, the thing to do would probably be to get a good quality molded hose and
make a stainless steel wire coil to go in it (whether it originally had a coil or not). You wouldn’t have to worry about
that hose until it actually sprung a leak.
If you have an engine heater in the lower hose, all of the above still applies except we’re talking two short hoses instead
of one long one. See page 685.
GENERAL WATER HOSES: Harry Trafford suggests better-than-stock cooling system hoses: “Gates makes a
cool flexible, wire-inserted hose for bends that would kink regular hose. I think the old name was “Red Stripe”, but
don’t know if the name has changed. The other type I’m using is is Gates “Vulco”. No wire, but extremely strong.”
WATER PUMP REMOVAL/CROSS PIPE INSTALLATION: What the Jag manual calls the “cross pipe” is the pipe
that connects the two thermostat housings to the water pump inlet, and has the fill cap on top. It is variously called a
crossover pipe, a bypass pipe, and several unprintable names. Note that the air balance pipe at the top rear of the engine
connecting the two intake manifolds is also called a crossover pipe; try not to get confused.
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The repair manuals indicate that the crank pulley must be removed to remove the water pump, but the cross pipe can
stay where it is. However, according to Jim Isbell, “The water pump will come out and go back in without removing the
crank pulley. But the pump will not go back on with the crossover pipe connected if the pulley is still on as you have to
snake it in over the pulley and the crossover pipe would be a big impediment.
“So having said that and realizing that you are now going to replace the crossover pipe with the water pump already
installed, there is only one way:
“Lubricate all three of the pipe connections (on the two thermostat housings and the water pump) liberally with 3M
water hose sealer. Then lubricate the three matching pipe ends on the crossover pipe with the 3M stuff. Now slip the
new, cut to the proper length, hoses onto the crossover pipe. Put two clamps onto each of the three hoses, not tight,
just enough so they don’t slide off. The two clamps on the right side should be placed so the screw is on top when
installed and slightly back. The clamp on the thermostat housing on the left side should be so that it is on the bottom and
slightly back so there is enough room for a screwdriver angled down below the header tank. The two clamps on the
water pump hose should be on the left side of the hose slightly back so the screwdriver is angled to the left side of the
car. If you set the clamps up this way you will save a lot of grief later on.
“Now push the hoses up onto the crossover pipe as far as they will go. Next place the center (water pump), hose onto
the water pump tilting it and the crossover into position. It will take a little pushing and prying with a screwdriver, but
it’s not too bad and the hardest part is done.
“Now, pull all the three hoses into approximately the correct position and lightly tighten the clamps. Now make sure
the small pipe on the top of the crossover is clear of the big bolt on the block so that the hose to the overflow tank
can be put on without being in a position to rub a hole in it. Tighten all six clamps and you are done.”
Lenny Berk did this job, and had the following suggestion: “Removing the engine breather filter housing (two bolts)
made my life a little easier to get the crossover pipe in.” The breather housing is the thing on the front of the left
head, just forward of the oil filler.
Berk also was less than satisfied with the lubricating qualities of hose sealer when fitting the cross pipe. Suggestions
for alternatives include water pump lubricant, intended as an additive to coolant. Care must be taken when selecting
a lubricant, since the wrong stuff may attack the hose material or otherwise screw up the cooling system.
This author found another way to install this pipe: remove the engine breather housing, and unbolt the A/C
compressor and shift it rearward a couple inches. Then, fit the left end of the cross pipe to the hose on the B bank
thermostat housing with the right end of the cross pipe up in the air. Then swing the pipe down, inserting the fitting
into the hose on the water pump as you do. Finally, connect up the right end, which is easy. Tighten the clamps and
reinstall the breather housing and the A/C compressor.
When installing this cross pipe, try not to insert it too far into the hose connecting it to the water pump. Positioning
the cross pipe a hair too low makes it considerably more difficult to get a socket on the bolts holding the front
support plate for the A/C compressor. With the cross pipe properly located, the bolts holding the bottom of the
support plate to the engine are easily accessible below the pipe, and the bolts holding the compressor to the support
plate are easily accessible above it.
A/C V-BELT RUB: If the V-belt rubs against the cross pipe, it’s because the cross pipe wasn’t installed correctly.
There are no brackets to hold this cross pipe in position; it is held only by the hoses connected to it. If it rubs the V-
belt, the ends of the cross pipe were not inserted far enough into the hoses connecting to the thermostat housings.
Usually, the clamps can simply be loosened and the pipe pushed into the proper position, and the clamps retightened.
Note Jim Isbell’s warning above to take care not to install it too far rearward causing the small hose to the header
tank to rub on the crankcase breather mount bolt.
CROSS PIPE REPLACEMENT: If you’ve had the cross pipe out, you’ve probably been alarmed at its condition.
It’s cheap steel, and usually is so pitted and corroded that it’s amazing it doesn’t leak like a showerhead. It also is
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reportedly atrociously expensive from Jaguar, and you really don’t want to be searching the junkyards because the
ones you find there are likely to be just as corroded. Mark Jackson suggests an alternative: “Cathouse Spares offers
a third-party solution. Cathouse can provide stainless steel rails acquired from an anonymous source for about
$AUS135 (~$US95) plus the usual costs of mail & handling. I've seen one and it looked pretty good - had all the
bells and whistles - just a little "choppy". The angles from memory were mostly welded instead of smoothly bent, but
it looked pretty spiffy anyway.” Cathouse Spares is listed on page 693.
Of course, it’s just plumbing. You could conceivably make your own. One possibility is to find suitable copper
piping and fittings and solder or braze the whole mess together. The fill cap might be a bit of a challenge, but there’s
no good reason it has to be a conventional radiator cap; any opening with a suitable watertight cap should work. Or
perhaps you could rip a radiator cap connection off the top of a brass radiator and solder it on. The trickiest part may
be at the pump inlet itself, where the connection from the header tank seems to protrude down the center of the pump
inlet connection. It’s not known how critical this is, since all lines lead to the pump inlet sooner or later; perhaps a
simple cross fitting would work.
You might even be able to replace the entire cross pipe assembly with straight sections of tubing, tees, and suitable
hoses and clamps. Note that this is the suction side of the pump, so it might be a good idea to use hoses as short as
possible and insert metal coils to prevent collapse.
CROSS PIPE HOSES: John Napoli decided to cut pieces from commonly available hoses to connect the cross pipe.
“I did find Dayton hose numbers D71458 (smaller ID hose [to heads]) and D71316 (large ID hose [to water pump]).
These were fairly inexpensive. They may not be the cheapest or the best donor hoses to use, but they seem ok. The
smaller hose has enough material to cut at least four hoses, and the other two, so I will have a complete set of
spares.” All of the cross pipe hoses are short, straight sections, so it’s probable there are dozens of readily-available
hoses that can be cannibalized similarly.
WATER PUMP LUBRICATION: On the top of the water pump is a setscrew with a locknut on it. This setscrew is to
prevent the outer race from rotating in the housing, and either inserts into a hole in the bearing or tightens onto a flat. If
it inserts into a hole, you can remove the setscrew and screw in a zerk fitting (available at any hardware or auto parts
store -- yes, it’s even the right thread), and then you can grease the bearings with a grease gun. Be sure to reinstall the
setscrew when you’re done.
WATER PUMP SEAL FAILURE: In the water pump housing there is a small drain hole that leads from the space
between the seal and the bearing out the bottom of the pump. As a result, when the seal fails the coolant comes out the
bottom rather than through the bearing. This is actually fairly standard practice in water pump design.
WATER PUMP REBUILD PARTS: If you are visualizing a water pump seal as similar to, say, the simple crankshaft
lip seal on the front of the engine, allow me to improve your mind. A water pump seal is considerably more involved.
It consists of a non-rotating face that is spring-loaded in the axial direction (parallel to and surrounding the shaft) to hold
it against a rotating seat. These two parts run against each other with spring pressure holding them in contact, so they
are made of materials that should provide long wear as well as a good seal: a carbon face against a stainless steel seat in
good ones, a plastic face against a brass seat in cheap ones. And, of course, the level of polish of both surfaces is
important, so the rotating seat is replaceable and is sold as part of the seal.
There is an elastomer involved, but only to connect the spring-loaded face to the seal housing so that it is free to move
axially to contact the seat but fluid won’t leak around behind it. The elastomer is therefore not really a wear item,
although it certainly can be the item that deteriorates!
The housing material is sometimes specified, commonly either brass or stainless steel. It’s hard to care; the housing isn’t
going to be the part that fails. I suppose it may be important in industrial applications with corrosive fluids.
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The Jag water pump seal is an industrial standard; it can be found in any industrial equipment supply store, such as
Grainger, as a type 68 shaft seal. In fact, Grainger offers two seals that will fit: Catalog #1R306, which has a black
plastic seal face and a Buna diaphragm and is rated -40° to 225°F, and #1R324, which has a carbon seal face, a Viton
diaphragm, and is rated -20° to 350°F. The Viton one costs ten bucks more than the Buna. Both of these Grainger
seals have stainless steel rotating seats. After buying a rebuild kit to get the bearing, Sean Straw described the seal
included as having “...the characteristic plastic seal ring material, meaning these are likely the Buna version. The seal
face is very different in quality vs. the Viton one I purchased. If you're a stickler for precision, get the Viton one -- the
differences are not just in the seal rubber - the face of both the seal and the seal washer are much better in precision on
the Viton - it's polished, whereas the Buna is a bit more coarse looking (it doesn't look super porous, but it is obviously
not polished). How much of a difference it'll really make in this application is questionable, but for the cost of parts, I
think it is worth it.”
Straw goes on to report that the seal has an industrial standard designation: RS 80613. “That's the Buna version --
append a V for the Viton one.”
When the author’s pump needed rebuilding, it was because that diaphragm in the seal had failed; it’s unknown just how
prevalent this failure mode is, but why not go with the Viton seal and not worry about it any more? 225°F isn’t all that
far from the operating temperature of this engine, not even considering its tendencies to exceed that operating
temperature. Meanwhile, if you ever exceed the -20º limit on the Viton seal, you’d better have a good antifreeze mix.
The bearing is also a fairly standard item, similar to those used in many common water pumps. In case you’re not
familiar with water pump bearings, the outer race is a long cylinder as though there are at least two rows of balls or
rollers inside. The shaft itself is part of the bearing, and presumably the inner race is machined directly onto this shaft.
Straw provided the critical dimensions for the Jaguar part: the bearing outer race is 1.500” OD and 2.1280” in length.
The shaft is 4.9025” long overall, with 1.7745” of this protruding from the rear of the bearing. The portion of the shaft
protruding from the rear has an OD of 0.6300” to fit the seal and to press fit into the impeller. 1” of the shaft protrudes
from the front of the bearing, and this portion has an OD of 0.7500” to press fit into the pulley flange.
Finding a bearing supplier may be difficult, however. The easiest way to get one may be to purchase a rebuilt water
pump for another type car from a discount auto parts store and remove the new bearing (and perhaps the seal as well)
from it. After rebuilding your water pump, return the disassembled pump along with your old bearing for the core
refund.
When used in a Chevy or some such, this bearing would be press fit into a cast iron housing. On the Jaguar V12 water
pump, however, apparently a press fit into aluminum wasn’t considered reliable, so in addition to the tight fit a small
threaded stud is screwed into the side of the housing and into a recess in the side of the bearing outer race to positively
hold it in place. All such bearings seem to have a hole or notch that will work, possibly originally intended to line up
with grease fittings in other applications; if you happen to find one that’s totally smooth, you could easily grind a small
flat on it.
Rebuild kits for this pump are available at reasonable prices. Straw reported that the kit he received from XK’s
Unlimited (page 697) included the bearing, seal, impeller (cast iron), two gaskets, and a replacement stud and nut for
holding the bearing in the housing. The author purchased a kit elsewhere and received only the bearing and seal, so take
note and ask what is included before ordering.
Despite all the above availability, Dan Jensen suggests you forget about rebuilding the pump yourself and simply buy a
rebuilt pump. It isn’t that much more money, and unless you have things like presses around it’s easy to screw up a
DIY rebuild job. Don’t even ask Jaguar for a new pump, though -- you can’t afford it.
WATER PUMP REBUILDING: Some, but apparently not all, water pumps have a single countersunk Pozidriv screw.
According to Thomas Alberts, it is a common mistake to overtighten this screw, resulting in a fracture of the aluminum
casting surrounding it. Apparently the casting was designed for a non-countersunk bolt, and adding the countersinking
makes the metal too thin for serious tightening. If you wanna make sure the pump doesn’t leak, use a good sealing
compound; don’t overtighten this screw.
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WATER PUMP CORROSION: There is apparently some history of the water pump housing getting corroded; nobody
seems to know if it is as a result of pump cavitation, bad antifreeze mixture, or what. Randy K. Wilson says, “The place
at which they corrode away is at the lower part of the water pump cavity. This is behind the impeller area, but not the
working side of the impeller. The area should be a fairly low flow area on the high pressure side of the pump. But it’s
close enough to the output side of the impeller that turbulence could be present.
“Whatever the cause, I do see the corrosion pitting often enough. There may be a clue in that it’s not very often when
merely changing water pumps; I see it on engines being rebuilt. Engines get rebuilt because they have done some high
mileage, or have been abused/neglected.”
FAN TIP RUB: If the tips of the blades on your fan show signs of rubbing, the problem may be in the transmission
mount -- see page 342. If you have a metal fan, you can hear it happen: you nail it from a standing start, and get a
deafening screech from under the hood like all hell broke loose. A bad, or an incorrectly assembled, transmission mount
allows the engine to pivot around on the engine mounts, causing the fan to rub.
A fan tip rub may also be caused by a failure of the left side motor mount. When stomping it in low gear, a lot of torque
is applied to the drive shaft. According to Newton, this means that the same amount of torque is applied to the
engine/transmission assembly in the opposite direction. The engine tries to tilt to the right, applying tension to the left
motor mount that was really designed for compression only. If this rubber mount is torn, the entire engine will lift right
up off its mount, causing the fan to rub.
PLASTIC FAN CRACKING: Issue 68 (June 1996) of Australian Jaguar Magazine: “Graham Cummins has recently
found that the main plastic fan on the H.E. is prone to cracking and breaking up which can cause immense damage under
the bonnet.” Any guesses as to how Mr. Cummins discovered this problem? Are you gonna find it the same way?
Mark D. Stoner did. “My yellow fan decided to explode one day when shifting at full throttle from 1st to 2nd gear. Put
a nice dent in the top of the hood along with shredding the steel fan shroud and blowing a huge hole in the radiator.”
Lee Opausky wrote: “Yes, the yellow plastic fan is cracked at the front. When questioned, the shop foreman of one
prominent Jag dealership told me not to worry, the crack on his XJ-S is ½” wide!” More proof that you can’t trust the
dealers for good advice.
Jim Isbell ordered a replacement fan, and reports that the fan he was shipped did not look like the original. “It is
black and has a flat center metal piece. The old one was white (now yellow) and the center piece was dished. The
old one had a lower aspect ratio (short and fat) to the blades while the new one has the higher aspect ratio (long and
skinny). The black flat one makes up for the “dishing” by offsetting the plastic instead.” With any luck at all, this
means that Jaguar has recognized the problem and redesigned the fan, and this new one won’t have cracking
problems. By the way, some of us believe the original fan was yellow to begin with, not white.
The black plastic fan may be an improvement, but to be safer still it may be preferable to just go ahead and replace the
belt-driven fan with electric fans as described beginning on page 219.
FAN CLUTCH TYPE -- EARLY VS. LATE: The early XJ-S fan clutch mounts with one bolt, the later with four.
Mike Morrin points out that his ROM (Ed 4) appeared to have the two confused. “On page 26-3, section 26.35.21
appears twice, once titled “FAN AND TORQUATROL UNIT (Early Cars)” and then titled “FAN AND
TORQUATROL UNIT (Later Cars)”. The diagrams and text for these sections appear to be transposed, as the section
for “later cars” matches my 1975 car (as well as the illustration in the 1980 edition of the parts catalogue).”
On second thought, maybe not. Morrin continues: “I am now sure that the version with the 4 bolts holding the clutch on
to the pulley is the early version used on the carburetted XJ12 (and never on the XJ-S), as I now have one of these
(XJ12) engines with fan clutch. My “spare” 1973 XJ12 engine has a fan clutch with 4 bolts holding the clutch to the
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pulley. The clutch has “HOLSET HUDDERSFIELD” cast on the front of it. The illustrations both clearly show metal
fans.”
So, apparently, this is what we have: The early XJ12 had a 4-bolt fan clutch with a metal fan. When the XJ-S was
introduced, it came with a 1-bolt fan clutch and a metal fan. In 1979, this was replaced with a 4-bolt fan clutch with a
plastic fan.
There are photos of the guts of a 1-bolt fan clutch at:
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/FanClutch1.html
And there are photos of the guts of a 4-bolt fan clutch at:
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/FanClutch.html
OPERATION -- 1-BOLT CLUTCH: The 1-bolt fan clutch is a study in simplicity; the hub that is bolted to the pulley is
a simple disk inside an aluminum housing filled with thick goo. There aren’t even any bearings; the disk itself serves as a
goo-lubricated bearing.
FAN CLUTCH CHECKING -- 1-BOLT CLUTCH: It would appear that the only plausible failure mode would be
for one of the seals to fail and the goo to escape, and there are reports of such failures; the goo leaves a track on the
outside of the clutch and perhaps spattered around the engine compartment. Such a failure should be apparent when
turning the fan by hand; either the resistance is “jerky” or inconsistent, indicating some of the goo is gone, or it spins
effortlessly, indicating all of the goo is gone.
It’s plausible, though, that the goo make break down with time or mileage. Typically, a highly viscous fluid has long
molecular chains, and subjecting such a fluid to shear gradually breaks those chains and makes the fluid less viscous; this
is one of the reasons you change your oil regularly. If the same thing happens to the goo in a fan clutch, it may lose its
effectiveness as mileage is added up even if the seals remain intact. Ed Sowell says, “I am a great fan (no pun intended!)
of changing the clutch. It had a very good effect for me, even though there was no external evidence of mine being worn
out. It is my opinion that the commonly cited fan clutch tests are meaningless.”
OPERATION -- 4-BOLT CLUTCH: The later 4-bolt fan clutch is a thermostatic type, meaning it engages more firmly
to blow more air when the air coming through the radiator is hot. As opposed to the simple 1-bolt fan clutch, this thing
is remarkably complicated. It functions by having a chamber at the front, divided from the driving impeller by a panel.
When the engine is cold, two thermostatic elements -- one obvious coil on the front and a simple bimetal strip inside --
conspire with centrifugal force to move the goo out of the impeller area and into this chamber, thereby largely
disengaging the clutch. When it gets hot, the thermostatic elements allow the goo to move back into the impeller area,
providing a firmer engagement and faster fan speed.
FAN CLUTCH CHECKING -- 4-BOLT CLUTCH: If the problem isn’t obvious (totally seized, freewheeling, etc.) it’s
very difficult to tell when a thermostatic fan clutch is bad. How it feels when turned by hand depends largely on how hot
the clutch was when the engine was last turned off, since the goo won’t move from chamber to chamber when the
engine isn’t running. Just playing with it when cold can move some of the goo around, causing it to change feel while
you’re studying it. Reportedly the best indication the clutch is bad is that the car is running hot in stop-and-go traffic --
although, obviously, that might be caused by any of several other problems. Typically it’s when the owner can’t find the
problem and replaces the clutch in desperation and the car quits overheating that we learn that the clutch was bad.
The thermostatic clutch may be complex, but it still involves thick goo -- and therefore the goo may be subject to the
same molecular breakdown as that described for the 1-bolt clutch above. Hence, it may make sense to replace it every x
miles (perhaps every 60K miles or 100Km) whether it looks bad or not.
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Of course, if the clutch is completely locked up, it’s shot. This is often the result of a bearing failure; the 4-bolt clutch
has a single ball bearing in it. Some people are tempted to continue driving with a seized fan clutch, because it moves so
much air and keeps the engine cool. However, it is not recommended for three reasons. First, it makes a lot of noise.
Second, it uses a lot of energy, enough that you will be able to notice a drop in fuel economy if you’re following the
numbers closely. And third, if it’s the plastic fan, it’s likely to come apart since the fan will be turning a lot faster than it
is intended to. When a couple of plastic blades bounce off the bottom of your hood and leave a nice dent, you’ll wish
you had sprung for a new fan clutch.
There is, believe it or not, at least one more failure mode of this fan clutch. Marty Sullivan had the bearing fail in his fan
clutch so it didn’t hold the fan centered properly. At highway speeds the unbalance vibrated the entire car. This was
tricky to diagnose since it looked OK when the engine was off and felt OK when turned by hand; it was only by
watching it wobble at idle you could figure it out. Of course, this problem is likely to damage the fan support bearing if
not corrected quickly.
The difficulty in determining whether a fan clutch is operating properly is just one reason why replacing the belt-driven
fan with an electric fan as described on page 219 makes sense. You can easily tell when an electric fan is operating
properly.
FAN CLUTCH REPLACEMENT: If it is determined that the fan clutch is a problem, there are several possible
courses of action: the fan clutch can be replaced with a new one; it can be replaced with a substitute; or the entire
belt-driven fan scheme can be chucked and electric fans installed. Your local parts shop is unlikely to carry a Jaguar
fan clutch, so you will have to consult a Jaguar parts supplier (and spend some serious cash) to exercise that option.
Substitutes are discussed below. Replacing the belt-driven fan with an electric fan is discussed starting on page 219.
Of course, you could bolt on a fixed or flex-blade fan and eliminate the fan clutch altogether. However, this results in
slightly worse fuel economy and a considerable amount of noise (whine). Most would consider the noise unacceptable
in a car such as the XJ-S.
The electric fan is probably the best overall solution, and will result in better fuel economy and more power. There may
be slightly more noise at idle (depending on the fan you use), but much less noise at higher RPM. It is unknown why
Jaguar doesn’t use this system to begin with; perhaps they don’t like the sound an electric fan makes. Or, perhaps they
wanted to minimize the use of Lucas and Bosch components.
FAN CLUTCH INSTALLATION -- ONE-BOLT TYPE: Graeme Adamson says, “I replaced the fan clutch several
months ago. Having done it one before, I figured I was an expert. Only problem is, second time round, I didn't fasten
the nose bolt tightly enough, nor did I use Loctite on the thread. As a result, I was driving home one day when I heard a
"clatter clatter" sound. Switch off real fast, but the damage was done - the bolt had come out and fallen down the
shroud, and the fan and clutch had spun off into the radiator.
“As it happened, the clutch was fine, I happened to have a spare fan, and I had to pay to have the radiator replaced.”
FAN CLUTCH INSTALLATION -- FOUR-BOLT TYPE: Dan Jensen suggests that, when reinstalling the fan
clutch, “Use nyloc nuts on the fan-to-pulley studs. It is a real pain to install both a lock washer and nut on the end of
the four studs with very little clearance. Having just a nut to worry about dramatically lessens the problem. I have
never had them come loose in any of my three Jags.”
FAN CLUTCH SUBSTITUTION -- ONE-BOLT TYPE: The early XJ-S, from introduction through 8/79, was fitted
with a fan clutch, part no. T55C, with a single bolt on the front to hold it on. These also used a metal fan blade,
C39831.
Mike Morrin notes: “The early XJS fan clutch appears to be identical to the unit used on a Rover 3500 SDI. This might
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not be very helpful in the USA, but they are relatively common in the UK and some other countries. When the fan
clutch on my XJ-S was found to be seized, I bolted on the Rover part (no modifications) and have had no problems.
The Rover plastic fan is different to the Jaguar’s.”
It might be possible to retrofit the later type clutch EAC4751 and plastic fan EAC3265 (or the substitutes suggested
below) to the earlier XJ-S by purchasing the pulley EAC3438 and the bearing EAC3437. You might also need bushing
EAC4382. The question is whether or not the bearing housing is the same, or will at least position the fan properly.
FAN CLUTCH SUBSTITUTION -- FOUR-BOLT TYPE: Later XJ-S’s used a fan clutch that mounts with four bolts
to the front of the drive pulley. This is the prevalent style on US automobiles, leading one to consider the possibility of
low-cost substitutes. However, the fan clutch market is full of niggling little details, so one must check several
dimensions carefully to make sure a substitute will fit:
A) The pilot hole in the center of the shaft must fit snugly around the stub in the center of the mounting
flange. A hole too small won’t go on, and a hole too big won’t center the shaft properly.
B) The mounting bolt pattern must be workable. This generally isn’t too critical, because they all seem
to use four bolts and the aftermarket clutches provide radial slots to fit nearly any pattern.
C) The shaft must be of comparable length. Too long will press the fan into the back of the radiator.
This dimension doesn’t need to be exact, merely close enough to prevent interferences and keep the
fan within the shroud for maximum efficiency.
D) The bolt pattern for mounting the fan to the clutch must match.
E) If the fan has a recess for the clutch housing, the clutch housing must fit within the opening.
The auto parts houses normally have a cross-reference chart that lists the above dimensions for the fan clutches available.
If you compare the clutch from your car to their chart, you can determine what can be used.
If you find a clutch that is suitable except the pilot hole is too big, it would be a simple matter for a machine shop to
fabricate a bushing to adapt. Some Jaguars come with such a bushing, EAC4382; perhaps this bushing can be used to
adapt an aftermarket clutch. Its ID is 5/8”, OD is 3/4”. Michael Neal suggests you be sure the bushing is correct and
necessary before pressing it into the clutch, since it can be difficult to remove.
David M. Johnson found a substitute, a Hayden 2747. “This is a Ford/GM heavy duty clutch, all the dimensions match
except it is a little longer, i.e. the clutch bolts on directly with no modifications. The existing fan will bolt directly to the
clutch. The advantage of this clutch is that it will turn at 90% of the pulley RPM. The standard duty units only turn at
75% of the pulley RPM.”
Now, if you have replaced your yellow fan with the later design black plastic fan -- or wisely plan to (see the section on
fan cracking on page 214) -- Johnson has bad news: “The two fans (yellow and black) are interchangeable if you have
the original Jag fan coupling. The GM fan coupling I stated was a replacement only works with the yellow fan because
the centre boss is a larger diameter (approx 7.5 inches). The black fan is OK with the jag clutch coupling, but will not fit
the GM fan clutch substitute, because the black fan centre boss is only 6.5 inches diameter, i.e. the GM fan clutch fouls
with the fan blades. I went out this weekend in search of a clutch coupling for the black fan, but cannot get an exact
match with the Jag original, because all the ones that fit the bolt holes and centre boss are more than 6.5 inches in
diameter.” Understandably, the original style fan is no longer available, so obtaining a new one of the crack-prone
design is not an option.
Of course, another option would be to find a fan from some other car and make it fit the clutch and the car. One
possibility: the XJ6 fan! This fan looks just like the original white XJ-S fan, complete with the hub that provides enough
space for a substitute clutch, but the OD is larger -- 17-3/4” as opposed to the 17” fan used on the XJ-S. So, you’ll
have to trim 3/8” off the tip of each blade and then rebalance it.
Another possibility may be to modify the later design black plastic fan. The design of this fan involves a plastic cylinder
with the blades protruding outward, but the blades also protrude inward perhaps a half inch. It’s these inward-
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protruding stubs that cause the interference with the larger generic fan clutches. Emile Desroches reports that carefully
marking and trimming these stubs will permit fitting the Hayden 2747 clutch described above: “I used a Dremel
"MotoTool" which is a small hand held grinder designed for hobby work and a small circular saw blade, but it can be
done with a sharp knife or a file if you're patient. This procedure takes about an hour. I feel the results (needle well
below N) are more than worth the grief of the installation.”
Another alternative for using a non-OEM fan clutch: You can usually find a way to use whatever fan was originally
designed to mate to the clutch you are using -- which means you don’t have to restrict yourself to clutches with the same
fan bolt pattern. A procedure is described below.
1. Go to your local junkyard and buy a fan that fits the clutch, basic Ford or Chevy; preferably with
unequally-spaced blades (reduces whine) and preferably with aluminum blades (easier to cut).
2. Trim the tips of the new fan until it is the same diameter as the original. After cutting, round the
corners and file the edges for safety.
3. Bolt the sucker together and check for interferences. Noted possible interferences include the water
pump pulley and an oil line across the bottom. The oil line may be bent and repositioned, or both
interferences may be corrected by trimming or notching the blades. Obviously, trim all blades exactly
the same way. It’s helpful to cut out a cardboard template the shape of one blade and use it to mark
each blade for trimming.
4. Remove the fan from the clutch. Set the fan on razor blades centered on opposing bolt holes to check
the balance. Trim a little metal from the blades on the heavy side until it balances. Rotate 90° and
balance the other way. Make sure it balances both ways when completed.
A fan clutch that has the same pilot hole diameter, a slightly longer shaft length, and a different fan bolt pattern was
found at AutoZone. It is made by Imperial, part number 215038. Since the offset of the mounting flange of the
junkyard-purchased fan was less, the fan blades themselves end up in exactly the same place. The longer shaft also
makes it a lot easier to get the mounting bolts in. It is believed this clutch, with a modified fan from a junkyard, will fit
all the XJ-S’s from 8/79 on.
Since the aftermarket clutch was designed to turn a 19” fan while the original turned a 17”, the aftermarket clutch
engages more forcefully than the original. This assembly will therefore make more noise (whoosh) than the original.
But it will reliably keep the engine cool.
Some aftermarket fan clutches come with a lifetime warranty. But even if yours doesn’t, you still can replace it much
more easily next time, since you will already have a suitable fan and/or bushing.
FAN BEARING: The fan on an XJ-S is mounted on a dedicated bearing instead of on the water pump as in most front-
engined RWD cars. The bearing appears to be similar to those found in several types of water pump, except the shaft on
one end is too short to mount anything on. Perhaps a suitable water pump bearing can be found and the unused portion
of shaft cut off (be careful not to get the shaft too hot and damage the seals!). Since finding the bearing itself may be
hard, perhaps the most expedient procurement method would be to buy a suitable rebuilt pump, remove the bearing,
throw the remains of the new pump along with the shot Jag bearing back in the box and return it for the core refund.
Some rebuilt pumps available in auto parts shops are really cheap.
A better alternative is to chuck the engine-driven fan and install an electric fan as described below.
IDLER PULLEY BEARING: The repair manuals indicate that the idler pulley for the fan drive belt is attached to its
support arm with a nut within a recess on the back side. On the author’s ’83, the assembly looks just like the pictures
except there is no nut; the end of the shaft is flush with the surface within the recess. Apparently the bearing itself is not
intended to be replaceable; the parts suppliers offer only the entire arm/pulley assembly, EAC8097.
Bernie Embden reports that the early arms were made of aluminum; later idler arms are iron. Bernie's car is a '78 (and
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has a nut), so apparently the early design was used at least that late. Mike Morrin has two early cars and one has a nut
and the other does not, but both have aluminum arms, so there are apparently at least three configurations: Aluminum
with nut, aluminum without nut, and iron without nut. “The 1980 XJ-S parts catalogue shows the part number of the
assembly as being C39875, with no separate part numbers for the pulley or arm (and no nut).” This might be the
aluminum without nut part number, with the EAC8097 reflecting the change to iron.
Daniel Pontes had a shot bearing in the idler pulley, and rebuilt the water pump thinking that’s where the noise came
from. “This pulley mounts on the water pump so a stethescope is useless. Disconnecting belts and running the
engine is also a waste of time. The only way to track the source is a manual shake with your hands on each and every
pulley.
“A few phone calls later I find out that this pulley is very costly and very hard to come by. Since it is only the bearing
that goes I thought it should be no problem to put a new one in. Yea right!! My fix-
1. find a new FAG bearing # W52315-1.
2. Have your machine shop press out the old bearing out of the pulley, mark which side faces the
front.
3. The shaft is only peened onto the arm, it comes out easy enough.
4. The new bearing has a long and short shaft on either side of the outer race. This is a water pump
bearing and the shaft is the inner race.
5. Have the machinist chuck the long end into a lathe and dress the short shaft to fit into the idler arm.
6. Press the pulley back on with the front side facing the front.
7. The goal is to get the pulley as close as possible to the arm without rubbing.
8. Press the pulley with the new bearing into the idler arm.
9. Do not peen this bearing onto the arm. It will break. TIG weld it into place-- it can always be
drilled out if it fails again.
10. Cut the long end of the bearing shaft as close as possible to the outer race of the bearing and dress
it .
11. Install your new idler.”
Of course, welding is not likely to be good for the seals and lubricants within that bearing or the temper of the shaft --
and would be especially difficult if the arm is aluminum. Perhaps while the machinist is working on dressing that shaft,
he can provide a retention scheme -- like threading it for a nut.
Note that the fan clears the front of this assembly by only a small amount, so it may be advisable to check the clearance
of the new assembly by spinning the fan around by hand before starting the engine.
Michael Aines wrote: "I have had 2 of these go out in 115,000 miles. My last replacement came from Welch
Enterprises. It is not the original part, and requires some fiddling to install. However, it has a replaceable bearing,
unlike the original, so not only is it cheaper to buy, it can be repaired even more cheaply in the future."
This may start sounding like a broken record, but rather than repair the idler bearing, you might consider tossing the
entire engine-driven fan scheme and installing an electric fan as described below.
ELECTRIC FAN SUBSTITUTION FOR BELT-DRIVEN FAN: The best solution for fan clutch problems, cracked
fan blade problems, and idler pulley problems is to install a large electric fan (or two large electric fans) and remove the
fan, clutch, mounting assembly (shaft & bearings), belt, and idler pulley altogether -- and perhaps the little stock electric
fan as well. The Jag V12 is a hot beast, so the biggest electric fans that will fit should be used; a single 16”, dual 14”s,
etc. One benefit: we have all heard stories about how much power the belt-driven fan uses or even how much the belt
itself uses, but the 16” electric fans typically draw about 10 amps -- meaning they use only about 1/8 horsepower when
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they are on. And if you control them properly, they’re not on when not needed.
There are lots of places to purchase electric fans. Most local auto parts stores carry them, as well as J. C. Whitney (page
694). Some of the best selections are from Jeg’s (page 717) or Summit Racing (page 720). Harry Trafford points out
there are at least two retailers on the www that specialize in electric fans:
Fluidyne: http://www.fluidyne.com/
Scotts Cooling Fans: http://scottscoolingfans.com/ 1-800-272-3267
If you are shopping for a new fan, note that the Imperial brand electric fans are reportedly unreliable; you’d be well
advised to avoid that make. Ed Hyatt: “I have had two Imperials fail and the problem was the glue that they use to hold
the magnets to the case. The glue fails and the magnet attaches itself to the rotor, shorting out everything and blowing
the fuse.”
Also note that Hayden 16” fans come in two models, one with considerably higher airflow than the other. The high
airflow model has comparable airflow to most other aftermarket 16” fans, but is more expensive than most. The lower
airflow model is comparably priced with the others, but its airflow is pathetic by comparison. Haydens are reportedly
very quiet, though, perhaps due to their sickle-shaped blades. One more concern here is that the two different models
are visually almost identical, and on store shelves it’s entirely possible that someone has switched fans around in the
boxes in order to get the high airflow fan for the lower price -- leaving you to pay the higher price for the low airflow
model without even knowing you’re getting gypped.
One thing to look for in electric fans: a grille to keep your fingers out of it. Some have it, some don’t. If you’re the kind
of person that worries about such things, you might want the grille. The rest of us most definitely do not want the grille,
since it reduces the airflow by a considerable amount.
Peter Cohen offers another possibility: “Went shopping in the wrecking yard the other day. I came home with a 16"
electric fan from an '83 Buick Regal ($20). This fan has a ring on the outer edge that is attached to the fan blades, and
rotates with it. It is secured by three metal rods that go from the motor housing to two points on the lower radiator
support brace, and one to the upper support brace. Interestingly, it also uses a ballast resistor, and 3 wires. One wire is
ground, one goes through the ballast resistor, and one bypasses the ballast resistor, presumably to make a two speed
fan.” This author visited his local junkyard and found similar fans in a Delta 88, a LeSabre, and a Toronado, except that
they had plastic support structures instead of the metal tripod. All had the same resistor arrangement for two speeds.
The key is apparently to look for large FWD GM cars with a transverse-mounted V6, but note that the exact same fan
can also be found on the V6 Pontiac Fiero. Smaller FWD GM cars have a 14” electric fan, and RWD GM cars use belt-
driven fans. The GM electric fans are not very compact; the total depth is around 5 inches, as compared to about 3
inches for a typical aftermarket electric fan, but once the stock belt-driven fan and support are removed there is plenty of
room in the XJ-S. Tip: take a 10mm socket and ratchet with you to the junkyard. Note: the GM fans do not have a
grille to keep fingers out.
When you buy an electric fan from a reputable junkyard, they will typically mark it. That way, you can take it home, test
it and see if it works properly, and bring it back if it doesn’t and exchange it for another. This is actually a better policy
than some stores that sell new parts, since many places have a no-return policy on electrical stuff. Needless to say, you
are advised to test any and all electric fans as soon as you can, perhaps using jumper cables; you don’t want to fabricate
shrouds, bracketry and wiring and then find out the fan doesn’t work.
Electric fans can sometimes be mounted on the front of the radiator (if you can deal with the diagonal strut on the XJ-S),
opening up considerable working room in the engine compartment. Many aftermarket fans are designed to be installed
on either side of the radiator; to mount in front, typically the blade must be removed, turned around, and reinstalled, and
the wiring must be reversed to run the motor in the “blow” direction rather than the “suck” direction. Note that a fan on
the front side and blowing should have a minimal shroud so as not to block air flowing into the radiator due to vehicle
motion, but a fan on the back side and sucking needs a larger shroud to draw air from a large area of the radiator. The
shroud that’s integral with an aftermarket electric fan is usually inadequate for use on the back side; what’s really needed
is a rectangular shroud to cover the entire radiator -- or, if multiple electric fans are used, an entire section of the
radiator.
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Installation of electric fans requires more thought than simply slapping a fan in there. For example, consider the space
between the A/C condenser and the radiator: with a blower fan in front, the air might come through the condenser, go
sideways within this space, and come back out forwards through a different part of the condenser -- providing excellent
A/C but leaving the engine uncooled. Similarly, a sucking fan can pull air from the engine compartment through the
radiator backwards, across the space, and back through the radiator to the fan -- leaving the A/C condenser without
airflow, and eventually overheating the engine from recirculating the same air over and over. If the space between the
condenser and radiator is open to outside, things get even worse. In the XJ-S, one tempting possibility is to mount one
16” electric fan in the existing shroud on the right side of the radiator (replacing the stock belt-driven fan), and a second
16” fan on the left front of the radiator blowing through the A/C condenser; this would make sure that both coils get
airflow. Another possibility is to just replace the belt-driven fan with an electric and leave the small electric fan and the
entire shroud assembly as stock.
John Napoli went this latter route, and reports on the process: “Removing all the stock stuff is a bit of a pain -- there is
not much room to work, the process is iterative -- but it all comes out. You’ll have to replace a couple of the water
pump bolts that went through the idler pulley bracket with shorter bolts. Remove the radiator while you are at it to
clean out the leaves in between the rad and the condenser -- I seem to recall that if you pull the rad first it is easier to get
out the stock fan.
“I kept the stock electric fan and added the second inside the shroud of the old mechanical fan. The fan shroud is split
from the factory (little fan and big fan) so this is real easy. I used an ‘S’ bladed fan from a Hot Rod supplier - 1-800-strt-
rod or some such - it is the largest one they had (17” or 18”). Any fan of similar size should be fine; you can get them
from Pep Boys or JCWhitney. Be sure to run the fan before installing it. Some are out of balance. Mine was, and you
would not believe how annoying it is! I had to balance the blade (wrapped solder around the light spots and used
weatherstrip adhesive to lock it in place) but it would have been better to start with a perfect unit.
“I made brackets to hang it off of the stock shroud. It fits in there nicely and the underhood appearance and access is
improved. Do not under any circumstances attach the fan to the radiator core with those silly little plastic thingies! The
Jag radiator is softly mounted to absorb vibration. Use those shortcuts, and the new fan will quickly work loose.
“Performance has been fine as measured on accurate mechanical water temperature gauges. I like overkill, though, and
may some day add one or two little pushers in front of the condenser.” Note: a better way to evaluate fan adequacy
would be to measure the temperature of the air coming through. A marginal capacity fan may keep the coolant within
limits but the air coming through the radiator will be really hot, while an excessive amount of airflow will reduce how
much the air heats up. Of course, comparisons would have to be done on similar days with the engine running under
similar conditions.
This author also installed a 16” electric fan in place of the belt-driven fan, but went a slightly different route than Napoli.
Rather than adapting an electric fan to the opening in the existing shroud, a new section of shroud was fabricated. This
is remarkably easy, since the XJ-S shroud is actually two sections, with the left 1/3 containing the small electric fan and a
set of flaps while the right 2/3 has the hole for the belt-driven fan. By keeping the left 1/3 but making a new right 2/3, it
was possible to provide a hole the correct diameter to fit the electric fan. The right 2/3 piece of the shroud was made at
a sheet metal shop by merely folding three sides of a flat piece of sheet metal, and cost $20. There are photos of this
installation on the www at
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/ElecFan.html
Duncan Williamson: “I dumped the fan clutch / fan from my car and used a pair of electric fans from a Honda (I think it
was an Integra). They came complete with the plastic mounting frame which is the same size as an XJ-S radiator. The
whole assembly is attached to the radiator frame with 6 large nylon ties. I also picked up the thermostatic switch and
soldered it into the bottom of the radiator (near the bottom hose). I now have really good cooling in traffic and the
whole fitting exercise took about half a day. The fan motors are very flat so fitting/clearances were not a problem. They
cost next to nothing, look very tidy and may well be a viable option.”
If you are removing the stock mechanical fan bearing support, you will need two studs 4-1/4” long with 5/16”-18
(coarse) threads on one end to continue to hold the water pump properly. The other end of each stud can be either
coarse or fine thread, since it gets a nut and you can use whatever nut matches. Good luck finding such studs!
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Alternatively, you can use threaded rod cut to length, or you can cut the original stud shorter and thread it. Or, you can
just stack washers on the existing stud if you don’t need clearance in the area for the motor on your electric fan. You
will also need two 5/16”-18 bolts 1” long, but those are easy to find.
Even though the addition of an electric fan may reduce the total hp drain on the engine, it will definitely add to the load
on the alternator. If you have a Lucas alternator with 66 or 75 amp capacity, this mod may push the total electrical load
over the alternator capacity; when the A/C compressor kicks on and brings on both electric radiator fans with it, the
system voltage drops and the lights dim. Hence, it might prove necessary to replace the Lucas alternator with the later
115-amp Bosch (see page 574) or a 100+ amp GM (see page 576) to maintain voltage under all operating conditions.
CONTROLLING ELECTRIC FANS: Electric fans can be controlled by either of several mechanisms. The simplest
method is to wire the fans to run whenever the ignition is on. This is wasteful, however, since the fans are only needed
when the car is standing still or moving slowly. It also may cause the engine to run cold, or take too long to warm up, in
cold weather.
The electric fans could also be connected to the existing electric fan control system, which automatically operates when
the engine is hot or when the air conditioner compressor is operating. Note that replacing the single tiny fan with a
couple big ones requires more electrical work than simply installing a larger fuse in the #1 position in the headlight
fusebox; the stock wiring, even if it doesn’t burn up, will provide too much resistance and the fans won’t run as fast as
they should. Some suitably heavy wiring should be run from the bus on the firewall to the new fans, using a separate
relay for each fan. Napoli: “I wired the new fan simply: I added a relay that is picked up by the stock (ie, little) fan
coming on. The power for the new fan is routed through the relay from one of the 12 volt feeder wires located near the
relays at the upper rear corner of the right fender. You can get fancy and route alternative feeds from the A/C
compressor or a dashboard switch, but if you do you may need a diode to prevent backfeeding something else.”
Yet another possibility is to add another fan switch into the coolant system. Jaguar makes a suitable housing for a
switch for the Mk III E-type, C34005, that fits into a radiator hose, or maybe you could get lucky and find a switch that
will fit one of the unused ports in the water rails on top of the heads. Or, there are switches sold for electric fans that
just strap to the outside of a pipe, so you could just attach it to one of the coolant pipes -- or oil pipes, for that matter.
With any such switch, one of two fans can be connected to the stock wiring and the other to a separate switch. This
would result in the two fans operating separately, and only one running when only a small amount of airflow is needed
(since one fan will always come on before the other). The dual circuit also provides a measure of redundancy, since one
of the fans would provide some cooling in the event of the failure of the other circuit.
The fans could also be controlled via an air temperature sensor in the air coming through the radiator. This method is
often used by the aftermarket fans, providing a switch that mounts right on the fan housing. Note that if the fans are
mounted in front of the radiator, the sensor must be moved to behind the radiator to work properly. This method scares
me, since I always wonder what would happen if there is no air coming through the radiator -- like, the car is stuck in
traffic and there’s a slight breeze from behind.
Yet another control system would be to provide a “paddle” switch that shuts the fans off when the airflow due to car
motion is adequate. There don’t appear to be any such items commercially available, but making one would not be
difficult. A pivot with a paddle on one side and a tiny counterweight on the other, balanced to eliminate inertia effects,
could be installed in the area behind the front grille. The arrangement could be rigged to operate a conventional
microswitch with contact ratings sufficient to operate the fans directly, or a relay could be incorporated. Using an
ohmmeter or a light bulb, the car can be tested and the switch adjusted until it operates at a suitable speed, about 30-40
mph. This system would still operate the fans when the engine was cold, but would function properly with the air
conditioner; the air conditioner requires airflow when running even when the engine is cold, but the motion of the car
above 30 mph will be adequate; turning the fans off is OK.
Finally, remember that you can use a combination of the above schemes; for example, you could use a paddle switch
along with a temperature sensor to prevent the fan from operating when moving fast or when the engine is cold.
If the control scheme used allows any possibility that the fans will be off when the car is idling, be sure to incorporate
circuitry to run at least one fan (preferably all fans) whenever the air conditioner compressor is operating (similar to the
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present wiring for the small stock electric fan). On some later XJ-S’s, the small stock electric fan does not come on with
the compressor, but remember that this is assuming a belt-driven fan that is always turning; regardless of the stock
wiring, if the belt-driven fan is removed you must provide fan operation when the A/C compressor is engaged, regardless
of engine temperature or outdoor temperature.
One final note: another nice feature of electric fans is their ability to run after the engine is shut off. The biggest heat
problem in the XJ-S is heat soak after shutdown. The small electric fan already can provide some relief if the coolant is
hot enough for it to be on when the car is shut down, but having multiple electric fans and multiple control schemes
provides more possibilities for addressing this issue. It might even make sense to provide an air temperature sensor at
the upper rear of the engine compartment to control post-shutdown fan operation. Or, maybe using a hot-start sensor in
the fuel rail to control a fan would help with hot starts more than the way it’s normally used (to alter fuelling).
ELECTRIC COOLING FAN: Here we’re talking about the small OEM electric fan, not the replacements for the belt
driven fan described above. Yes, the original Bosch fan is atrociously expensive. But it doesn’t do anything any other
12V, 11” diameter electric fan won’t do; substitutions are in order. Ideally, you’d like to include a system of rubber
mounts, similar to the Jag originals, to minimize noise.
One possibility is to buy the 11” electric fan from J. C. Whitney, 38xx3020A, remove the fan/motor from the shroud it
comes in and figure out how to mount it. Depth won’t be a problem, it’s really flat. But you don’t really have a good
opportunity to look at it before you buy it to decide if you can make it fit.
John Himes says, “I am using a Hayden pancake style fan & motor. Their 12" model fits inside of the current shroud for
the 11" Bosch fan. There are four mounting points on the Hayden that I had to remove. I used a few self-tapping
screws to secure the fan inside of the shroud. It has been in use for three years or so with no problems.”
If you’d rather shop at the junkyard, a Subaru fan will work with minor blade trimming and a homemade mounting
adapter plate. In fact, there are probably dozens of electric fans from small cars that can be used here. Many small
Japanese cars come with two small electric fans, one that’s standard for the car and another that comes with the air
conditioning option -- and these two fans are different, giving you two options from the same car.
Alex Dorne fit an electric fan from a Saab 900 Turbo and says it “replaced, and even looked better, than the original
when in place. The diameter was perfect, giving about 1/4 of an inch air around the propeller. And after removing a
metal protective ring around the prop I could use what was left of the mount and bolt the fan to the shroud using the
upper rh and lower holes. I also think this fan flows more than the original since it’s designed to cool a Turbo engine all
by itself.”
“The Turbo fan motor is flatter than on the non-Turbo because the lack of space between the radiator and the engine...
the flatter design leaves even more space between the fan and the engine in the Jag than the original fan did.”
The author used a fan from a Mercedes sedan of some sort. This was a “puller” style fan, but in the Mercedes it had
been installed in a “pusher” location, in front of the radiator. It was the only fan cooling the Mercedes; small but
extremely powerful, far more powerful than the OEM Jaguar fan. It was also very ruggedly constructed. It did require
some bracket fabrication to hold it in place.
Duncan Smith says, “UK list subscribers may be interested to know that the fan from an MGB will fit with only a couple
of minor mods (the shaft needs shortening and a hole drilling through it). The substitute fan was £40.
“One (big?) drawback is that the rear of the motor housing is open, unlike that on the Jag motor (not that its being
sealed protected mine from corroding and finally seizing!). My mechanic sealed it up with tape which he swore would
be good for the life of the car (maybe he's dropping a hint ;-). I am not entirely convinced, but given the price of the Jag
part and the age of my car I am not too bothered...”
John Goodman reports that the XJR-S has a different 11” fan than the basic XJ-S: “Seven blades high CFM part no.
EBC 4553. No part no. listed for the fan shroud so would imagine it could be retrofitted.” You can draw your own
conclusions about why Jaguar would go to the effort of providing a different fan.
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ELECTRIC RADIATOR FAN SWITCH: There are apparently at least three different switches that have been used in
the XJ-S. Up through VIN 101854 (mid-’79), switch EAC1322 pressed into a rubber grommet in the water pump inlet.
I think this type of switch is called an “otter switch”. From VIN 101855 to VIN 151087, switch EAC2510 threaded
into roughly the same location on the pump inlet, so clearly the pump inlet was changed to provide a threaded hole.
After VIN 151087, switch DBC2145 was used. It is unknown what the difference between the last two switches is,
since they both fit into a threaded hole; perhaps they turn the fan on at different temperatures. Peter Cohen says, “The
thermal fan switch from my ’89 XJ-S says 85º C. It also says 909-6 and EAC2510.”
The difference between EAC2510 and DBC2145 might also be in the connector styles. Cohen reports: “Beck-Arnley
lists the same part number for the 85-91 XJ-S V12 as for the 88-90 XJ40. This part is actually an XJ40 part. It has two
wires that are potted into the switch itself, leading to a cylindrical plastic connector (2 inches long by 1 inch diameter).
This part can be used in the XJ-S V12 by cutting off the connector, and attaching blade connectors to the switch wiring.
This part may also be correct for the 92-96 4.0L XJS 6 cyl.
“The Jaguar dealer quoted $122.50 for the XJ-S switch. The Beck-Arnley part is just under $30. Here are the catalog
listings for some other sources for XJ40 fan switches that should be in the same price range:
Beck-Arnley
XJ40 and 85-91 V12 201-1151
Four Seasons (Division of Standard Motor Parts)
XJ40 36538
NAPA
88-90 XJ40 FS-222
Note that the original switch has connectors right on it -- which is a real pain to get the spade connectors on and off of.
Since this XJ40 switch has wires that you put spade connectors on the end of, it should be easier to connect the harness
to.
Would the XJ40 switch replace both the DBC2145 and the EAC2510? Unknown. However, Cohen claims the elbow
itself, EAC3195, apparently didn’t change, so it should thread in.
If you have an early car, do you really want to put in a new otter switch? Well, if it were my car, I wouldn’t. Instead,
I’d consider buying a new pump inlet EAC3195 (or threading the hole in the original inlet where the rubber grommet
went) and fitting the later switch. Failing that, it may be possible to wrap a piece of bailing wire around the inlet elbow
to securely hold the otter switch in place, but make sure that the bailing wire doesn’t short out the connectors on the
switch.
ELECTRIC RADIATOR FAN RELAY: As mentioned on page 563, the electric radiator fan relay is an SPDT relay
(red to indicate it’s different), meaning it has a central fifth terminal labelled 87a - a NC contact. In this particular
application the 87 contact is 12V power and the 87a contact is connected directly to ground. As a result, if a relay with
two 87 terminals or one 87 and one 87b terminal is plugged in, a direct short will result and fuse #1 in the headlamp
fusebox will blow immediately.
The NC contact shorts the fan motor to ground when not operating. It’s not known why Jaguar did this. If a 4-terminal
relay that has no center spade terminal is installed, the system seems to work fine; the fan operates normally when on,
and the fact that the fan is not grounded when off doesn’t seem to make any noticeable difference. However, it seems
unlikely that Jaguar would have gone to the effort of supplying the grounding circuit without a good reason.
ELECTRIC FAN DIODE PACK: The blue item mounted on the top left side of the engine compartment just rearward
of the diagonal strut looks like a relay, and has the same spade terminal layout as a relay, but it’s not a relay at all; it’s the
diode pack for the electric fan. The terminals are numbered simply 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. You can easily pry the box open
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with a small screwdriver and inspect the layout inside.
Diodes merely allow current in one direction only. When testing this pack, you should be able to get current to flow
from terminal 3 to terminal 1 but not the other way around. You should also be able to get current to flow from
terminal 5 to terminal 4 and from terminal 2 to terminal 4, but not the other way on either. This description uses the
accepted definition of current as flowing “from” a + terminal to a - terminal. Note that some meters may not incite a
diode to flow in either direction when set to a standard ohmmeter setting; if the meter does not have a setting for testing
diodes, it might be better to use a battery and a light bulb to test.
In case you haven’t developed a healthy disrespect for Lucas engineering yet, here’s another example of their
handiwork: the wires that connect to terminals 1 and 3 are both GN, but they are different and you’d better not mix them
up! Likewise, the wires that connect to terminals 2 and 4 are both LG, but don’t mix those up either!
If you’ve already disconnected them and gotten confused: on the author’s ’83, the GN wire that connects to terminal 1 is
actually two wires attached to the same spade connector, while the GN that connects to terminal 3 is a single wire.
Likewise, the LG wire that connects to terminal 2 is actually a pair of wires, while the LG that connects to terminal 4 is a
single wire. Here’s hoping other cars are the same!
I will describe more elaborate tests, in case the above proves inadequate. If you apply 12V to a GN wire and the electric
radiator fan starts running, that wire connects to terminal 1. If the clutch on the A/C compressor engages, it connects to
terminal 3. If the engine is cold and you turn the ignition on and read 12V at a LG wire, it connects to terminal 2; if not,
either a fuse is blown or it connects to terminal 4.
Just when you thought you had these things figured out, Jaguar goes and does something totally unexplainable. Michel
Carpentier reports on the diode pack in his Daimler Double Six: “The blue box is clearly the same as described in your
book: one diode with anode in 3 and cathode in 1; two diodes with anodes in 2 and 5, common cathode in 4. But it
provides the logic for the headlamp wash/wipe system. 2 is connected to a blue/red wire (high beam), 5 to a blue/white
wire (low beam), 4 goes to terminal 85 of the wash/wipe relay via a blue/red wire. 1 has a green/blue wire going to one
of the washer pump terminals. 3 has two green wires, live when ignition is on. Terminal 86 of the headlamp wash/wipe
relay is connected to the other terminal of the washer pump (common to windshield and headlights) and to the
windshield washer switch. When you push the windshield washer switch, terminal 86 of the headlamp wash/wipe relay
is grounded and the pump operates via diode 1/3. If the headlights are off you get normal windshield washer operation.
If they are on (either low beam or high beam) 4 is live so the relay is energized: the headlamp wiper motors kick in and
valves open, squirting fluid on the outer headlights. Much ado for a perfectly useless gadget!
“Back to the cooling fan. Against the radiator is a small harness which comprises the following: A green/brown wire
running from a connector on the RHS of the radiator (said connector linked to A/C compressor clutch) to terminal 86 of
the red fan relay. Somewhere in between, this wire is cut and a small PCB (about 30x8mm) holding a diode soldered in,
with the cathode towards the relay. Terminal 86 of the red fan relay is also connected to the thermostatic switch by a
green/white wire. A black wire connects terminals 85 and 87A to ground. A brown/green wire comes from the main
harness on the LHS (live at all times) and goes to terminal 87. Another small PCB (exactly 32x10mm) is also buried
inside the harness. It holds two diodes with a common cathode connected to the thermostatic switch by a green/orange
wire. One anode has a red wire going to terminal 30/51 and thence to the fan motor. The other anode is connected to
the main harness by a green wire (live when ignition is on). This harness is held together by the usual weaving:
outwardly there is no way you can tell that it is so electronically sophisticated as to contain 3 diodes!”
Craig Sawyers says, “Curiously, it seems that some detail went into the choice of diodes in the fan control and headlamp
wiper circuits (the blue box with four terminals). The diodes are all soft recovery devices, which are specifically
designed to eliminate fast voltage spikes when they switch off (caused by junction capacitance in the diode itself). I took
the lid off just out of curiosity some time ago, and they are all quite distinctive (BUV something or other). When I
looked them up they are quite specifically soft recovery diodes each with different ratings, designed to reduce the
transient interference when they switch off. I was quite surprised at the obvious care that had been taken in the choice of
components.”
Peter Cohen talks about the later cars: “The facelift model cars have a different setup to the 1991 and earlier cars. The
later cars have a completely different diode pack. It will be in approximately the same location. Most relays are
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manufactured by Hella or Bosch. If you see a component made by someone other than Hella or Bosch in that general
vicinity, it is worth a look. It will have one BG and two LG wires.”
LATE MODEL ELECTRIC FAN OPERATION: Bruce Segal reports: “I believe Jaguar changed the design in 89 so
that the fans no longer come on with the A/C compressor.” Wise? Many owners don’t think so, and rewire the fan the
way the earlier cars were wired so the small electric fan comes on with the compressor. You can read all about the
benefits of optimum airflow through the A/C condenser on page 516.
FAN SHROUDS: The fan shrouds ensure that air drawn by the fans comes through the radiator rather than other
places. If the fan shroud is not installed properly and held securely against the back of the radiator, then air from the
engine compartment can be drawn in by the fans. This short-circuits the airflow and reduces the amount of air coming
through the radiator.
Anytime there are two fans and one may be on while the other is off, it is also important that the fan shrouds provide a
separation between the two so that air draw by the running one doesn’t simply come backwards through the non-running
one.
FAN SHROUD FLAPS: At the lower left corner of the XJ-S fan shroud are a couple of rubber flaps. These are
designed to allow air to flow rearward through the openings in the shroud but not forward. At speed, the air coming in
the front of the car and through the radiator merely blows these flaps open. At a standstill, when the fans are trying to
draw air through the radiator, these flaps shut to prevent the fans from drawing air from the engine compartment instead.
They’re as simple as they look. If they are damaged or missing, it is easy enough to make replacement flaps from an old
inner tube, or even old shoe leather.
FOAM IN AIR PATHS: In order to ensure that air coming in the front of the car goes through the radiator, any
passages around the radiator must be plugged; air would much rather take an easy route, so even a small gap will allow
a large portion of the airflow to bypass the actual heat transfer area. Also note that the space between the radiator and
the A/C condenser/oil cooler must be sealed all around, so that the fans draw air through the A/C coil and oil cooler
rather than in through a leak path. And, of course, air coming in the front of the car should be compelled to go through
the A/C condenser/oil cooler rather than sneaking past it as well.
There is a second reason to apply the foam in the nooks and crannies around the A/C condenser and oil cooler. As
mentioned on page 202, the space in between the condenser/oil cooler and the radiator itself is often found to be
plugged up with debris. While the difference in coarseness between the condenser/oil cooler and the radiator may permit
a particular range of grit sizes to get in there, the fact is that this space is usually found to be full of leaves -- far too large
to have passed through the condenser coils. They can only be getting in there by sneaking through openings that should
have been plugged with foam.
Jaguar used foam to plug some of these openings -- a British nonmetallic material. If your radiator seems to have no
such foam anymore, Thomas Alberts says, “Most of the mail order places do not carry these "gaskets" (as they are called
in the parts book), however they can be purchased from Jaguar dealers for a few bucks. The part numbers (for my 1987
XJ-S) were CAC2321 for the side and CAC3821 top & bottom.”
Alternatively, go to the building supply store and purchase one package of 2-1/4” x 2-1/4” x 42” foam intended for
sealing window air conditioners and at least one package (maybe two) of 1/2” thick 3/4” wide weatherstripping foam
tape. For the tape, you may have a choice between “open-cell poly” and “closed-cell vinyl”; either will probably work
fine. You may also buy a couple other thicknesses of foam weatherstripping while you’re there, just in case.
Doing a proper sealing job is easier if you have a lot of stuff apart in this area. For example, having the fan shrouds
removed helps, and having the radiator upper support rail off is also a big help. Ideally, do this job while you have the
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radiator itself out. But if you’re not doing that kind of work today, don’t postpone sealing the openings until you do; do
your best with what you can, and if necessary buy some more foam later when you have things apart.
If you have the radiator out, start by applying the foam tape to seal the bottom of the radiator between the rubber
support grommets and outboard of the grommets to prevent air from sneaking by under the radiator.
Cutting the 2-1/4” foam with a razor knife, install a piece on either side of the radiator to fill the huge gaps there. Install
the foam in front of the radiator itself, beside the A/C condenser/oil cooler. If positioned properly, it will seal against
both by fitting snugly against the ends of the A/C condenser and against the front of the header on each end of the
radiator. Make sure the pieces stand high enough that the upper radiator support rail sits down on them when installed.
The foam can be fit behind the supports for the front bumper crash absorbers all right, but you’ll have to end it where the
pipes connect to the oil cooler. Then cut a couple more chunks from the remainder of the 2-1/4” foam to fill in the
openings under the pipes to the oil cooler.
From the remainder of the 2-1/4” foam, cut a piece about 6” long and then cut it lengthwise at a slight angle to create
two wedge-shaped pieces of foam. Use these to fill in the space on each side near the top where the 2-1/4” foam wasn’t
fat enough to completely fill in the space. If you have wiring or hoses passing through here, you can arrange them to go
between the pieces of foam so they are nicely supported. You can cut suitable recesses in the pieces of foam to make
way for the freon line coming around the top right end of the radiator.
Looking through the lower grille in front of the car, you will notice that there are two more gaps created by the fact that
the oil cooler is not as long as the A/C condenser. Cut two blocks of foam and insert them by reaching right through the
grille.
There is also a gap between the bottom of the A/C condenser and the top of the oil cooler. This gap should be plugged,
even though it never was originally. This seems counterintuitive, since it’s directly in front of the radiator and it would
seem that plugging this gap would reduce airflow through the radiator. That’s not the problem, though; the problem,
besides allowing air to bypass the A/C condenser and the oil cooler, is that this gap allows leaves and other debris to
pass through and get lodged in the space between the radiator and the oil cooler. This has proven to be a far more
serious concern for XJ-S owners than any reduction in airflow that might result from sealing this gap. Fortunately,
sealing the gap is really easy; just cut a piece of weatherstripping to a suitable length and cram it in there. If you use
weatherstripping that’s perhaps twice the width of the gap, it’ll stay in place just by friction; there’s no need for the
adhesive on the weatherstripping to stick to anything.
If the upper radiator support rail is off, make sure to seal it against the top of the radiator, against the top of the A/C
condenser, and against the top of the fan shroud before reinstalling it. The top of the A/C condenser in particular may
have such a huge opening that it doesn’t even appear sealable; you may need to stack 1/2” foam tape two or three layers
high to fill the hole.
FRONT SPOILER: It’s important to have the front spoiler in place. Engine cooling relies on air coming in through the
radiator, and it must have a place to go. The XJ-S does not have vents through the hood or out the sides, so all this air
must go out the bottom. The front spoiler is designed to direct air either into the radiator or around the sides of the car,
and to restrict air from going under the nose of the car as much as possible. This results in low pressure under the car,
so the air going through the engine compartment can easily flow out that way.
However, if the spoiler is missing, air can flow right under the nose of the car unimpeded. This increases the pressure
under the front of the car, which in turn resists the outflow from the engine compartment. The air coming in through the
radiator cannot escape as easily, and builds up pressure in the engine compartment. The resulting backpressure prevents
as much air flowing through the radiator. It also tends to cause significant lift on the front end (try multiplying a very
small pressure over the entire area of the front half of the car; the total lift can be very large indeed) and can cause the
car to “wander” at high speed.
HEATER CONTROL VALVE: See page 495.
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Post-Shutdown Cooling
It it commonly acknowledged that the worst cooling problem the XJ-S has is not when running but after shutdown. The
small electric fan runs after shutdown if the thermal switch has it running when the engine is shut off, but once the switch
cuts out -- which it does all too soon, since it is reading coolant temperature at radiator outlet -- it will not come on
again. 700 pounds of hot engine plus hot exhaust manifolds and hot catalytic convertors tend to raise the underhood
temperatures after shutdown considerably higher than they ever were while running, and there are indications that parts
of the engine itself get hotter after shutdown as well.
There are three problems generally associated with post-shutdown heating: Dropped valve seats, hot start difficulties,
and heat-stressed engine compartment components. The exact mechanism of dropped valve seats is unclear, but several
owners have suffered dropped seats after a hot shutdown rather than while running. The other two problems are
clearer, and result from the high temperature of the air surrounding the engine -- and all the extraneous components that
are heated by the air. Since there is no longer fuel flow in the rail, the fuel sitting in it gets hotter and hotter, causing
serious hot start problems that Jaguar has addressed with a coupla different types of fuel rail temp sensor providing fuel
enrichment. The post-shutdown underhood temperatures are clearly a key cause of deteriorated hoses, brittle wiring,
short-lived electrical components, and a host of other traditional Jaguar afflictions.
This section includes several ideas for dealing with the post-shutdown temperatures. Most address primarily the
temperature of the air within the engine compartment, which may or may not have a significant effect on the
temperature of the heads themselves in the vicinity of the valve seats.
HOOD VENTS: Just the ticket for letting the heat rise naturally out of the hood after shutdown. It’s a body
modification, so it’s discussed further on page 473.
ELECTRIC COOLING FAN BOOTSTRAP CIRCUIT: The electric fan includes a “bootstrap” circuit, so that if the
coolant is hot enough for the fan to be running when the engine is shut off, the fan will continue to run until the coolant
temperature switch shuts it off. Once off, the bootstrap circuit drops out and the fan cannot start again, no matter what.
Other cars -- notably Japanese and other FWD 4-bangers -- have cooling fans that cycle on and off for quite a while
after the engine is shut off. Clearly, they are wired so that the fan will run if the thermostat calls for it, regardless of
whether the ignition is on or not. It is also evident that they come on -- indicating that once they shut off the first time,
they may still be needed again. Probably the engine heat soaking through the compartment.
Why did Jaguar provide this bootstrap circuit, rather than just wiring the fan to run when needed like the Japanese cars?
There would be two possible results if the bootstrap weren’t in there: 1) The fan would never come on after shutting off
the first time -- meaning that the bootstrap circuit was unnecessary; or 2) the fan would come on after shutting down,
which means it needs to come on and the bootstrap circuit is contributing to the cooking of the engine parts!
The only plausible explanations: A) Jaguar was afraid the Lucas thermostat would fail in the on position and kill the
battery; B) they didn’t feel that a fan kicking on and off in the parking lot was in keeping with the proper Jaguar image;
or C) they were worried about liability from someone having their fingers in there when a fan came on unexpectedly.
Stuart Barnes adds D) “Many car alarms are voltage sensing and although they can cope with a voltage rise (to allow an
electric fan to run and then stop) a lot of the aftermarket varieties can’t cope with the voltage drop that would occur
when the fan came back on.”
For those of us who are more concerned with the life of our machines, keep our fingers out of moving machinery as a
force of habit, and don’t have such alarm system concerns, it might be a good idea to rewire that circuit to run the fan
whenever necessary. It’s easy to do: On the left side of the engine compartment is a small blue box that looks like a
relay, but it’s the diode pack (see page 224). Pull the LG wire off of terminal 4 and connect it to a 12V power supply.
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There is a 12V supply available at the solid brown wires at the headlight fusebox just a few inches forward of the diode
pack.
Note that, if you have headlight washers and wipers, the blue box might not be the fan diode pack. See page 224.
ENGINE COMPARTMENT AIR TEMP SENSOR: Another way to get the electric cooling fan to run longer after
shutdown might involve adding an air temperature thermostat within the engine compartment -- preferably high and
rearward, where the post-shutdown cooking problems are the worst. This thermostat could be set at a much lower
temperature than the one in the coolant and still wouldn’t come into play while the car is moving or the engine-driven
fan is circulating air. But if the air starts getting hotter after shutdown, it can come on -- even if the coolant in the water
pump isn’t that hot -- and flow some cool air through the engine compartment.
Imperial makes a dandy little “Adjustable Thermostat for Electric Cooling Fans”, number 226203, available at Discount
Auto Parts. It’s really an air temp thermostat. It has a remote bulb sensor and includes instructions for mounting right
on the back side of the radiator core, but you could mount it anywhere -- even on the underside of the hood! The
thermostat is adjustable from 248°F to 32°F, and the contacts are heavy enough to control fans directly without relays.
ELECTRIC COOLING FAN POST-SHUTDOWN TIMER: Michael Aiken’s plan: forget relying on temp sensors and
simply provide a timer that runs the fan for a fixed amount of time after shutdown. Aiken used one of the existing 10-
minute seat heater timers to provide this fan operation, and provided the wiring scheme shown in Figure 12 which
automatically starts the fan running on the timer whenever the engine is fully warmed up and shut off. Aiken points out
that this is not an unheard-of idea; the Nissan 300ZX uses a similar scheme with a 17-minute timer.
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Figure 12 - Post-Shutdown Cooling Fan Timer
Aiken describes this scheme: “The timer is activated by grounding pin 1 and then releasing it. It will not activate if pin 1
is held to ground. I left the manual switch (on the side of the console) wired in so the light would show when the fan is
on, but that is optional.” Having the pushbutton may have an additional benefit: you can push the button to force 10
minutes of fan operation whenever you wish. This might be handy if, for example, you get stuck in downtown traffic;
you can simply tell the fan to run continuously for 10 minutes rather than cycle on and off with the thermostatic switch
operation.
“The capacitor is a 2000µfd electrolyte and the diode is 3 amp. The capacitor attaches to ignition key 12V output in
position 2 and 3. This is important to keep the fan from coming on during startup (position 3).” Ed. note: the wires
that meet this criteria are white, as has been indicated on the schematic. They are connected to terminal 3 on the ignition
switch.
“When 12V is applied to the capacitor it charges through the diode. When the ignition is turned off the capacitor
discharges back through the relay momentarily (about .5 seconds) activating it and starting the timer relay. The fan runs
for 10 minutes and then shuts off. The thermostat in the ground leg prevents the capacitor discharge if the engine is not
yet warmed up. The capacitor does hold the charge and will discharge later if the temp reaches the set temp -- even
several minutes after shutdown. I set my temp at 180ºF.”
The schematic shows the output of the timer (pin 4) connected through a diode to the wire from terminal 1 on the diode
pack to the fan relay, so it will directly close the relay and operate the fan. Radio Shack catalog number 276-1661 will
serve nicely for this diode as well as the other one used in this scheme. In this application on the timer output, the diode
only serves to make the indicator light show that the timer is engaged. If this diode is omitted, the system will still work
just dandy but the light will be on whenever the fan is running, even if it is the A/C compressor control or the stock
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coolant switch operating it.
If you happen to have one of the later cars where the A/C compressor does not bring on the electric fan (as Aiken has),
you don’t have to buy a new diode for this task; there’s an unused one in the diode pack. Just connect pin 4 of the timer
directly to terminal 3 of the diode pack.
Aiken also points out that this scheme doesn’t have to control the small stock electric fan; it could be used just as well to
control an aftermarket electric fan, or anything else electrical you’d like to run for 10 minutes after shutdown. The use
of a marine bilge vent fan has even been suggested. It’s probably not a good idea to operate a large fan or multiple fans;
it shouldn’t take much airflow to keep the underhood temperatures within reason, and you don’t want to strain the
battery. The fact is, the stock Jag small fan is probably perfect for this job.
Since Aiken used the seat heater controls, the schematic shows the timer and the pushbutton with indicator light as they
appear in the Jaguar seat heater schematics. Of course, if you’d rather leave your seat heaters wired as originally
intended -- or if you have an earlier car that doesn’t even have seat heaters -- you can simply buy a new timer from
Jaguar, or perhaps a generic timer (or maybe the one from a Nissan!). You can simply leave the pushbutton and
indicator light (and the related diode) out of the circuitry altogether if you wish and connect terminal 30 of the relay
directly to pin 1 on the timer. Or, you can buy any generic momentary pushbutton switch; don’t let the excessively
complicated Jaguar illustration fool you, that heater switch is just a normal momentary single contact switch with a built-
in indicator light. If it’s only the indicator light you want, you can skip the switch altogether and simply buy any generic
12V indicator and connect it to pin 4 on the timer and to ground and mount it anywhere convenient -- or you could wire
it to one of the unneeded warning lights in the dash.
Aiken apparently left his timer where it was originally mounted behind the dash, but if you’re installing a new timer you
can pretty well choose anywhere to install it. Other than 12V power -- any brown wire -- the only thing you really need
is access to a suitable white ignition wire, and they are all over the car -- even going to the EFI power relay in the trunk.
There is also one to the ignition system on the engine, so it’s possible to install all of this stuff someplace near the fan
itself -- perhaps in front of the radiator, or in the compartment behind a headlight -- and not have to run any wires into
the passenger compartment, provided you don’t want a pushbutton or indicator light.
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FUEL SYSTEM
The D-Jetronic XJ-S fuel system involves a fuel tank with a drain that feeds a small surge tank. A screened pickup in the
surge tank leads to a soft-mounted fuel pump just below and to the right of the spare tire. The line leads to a fuel filter
and then to two separate fuel rails on the engine, one for the left bank and one for the right. A pressure regulator on
each rail directs excess flow through a fuel cooler and then back to the tank.
The Digital P uses a similar system except that the two separate fuel rails were replaced with a single rail. There are still
two pressure regulators, but in this case one is a supply regulator and one is a return regulator. Supposedly the return
regulator, the one on the LF corner of the engine, is the only one that actually does anything. While the D-Jetronic
regulators held rail pressure constant, the Digital P regulators vary rail pressure with intake manifold vacuum and
therefore have vacuum lines connected to them.
The earliest saloons are fitted with carburetors, which use much lower fuel pressure than EFI. The EFI saloons have
fuel systems resembling those in the XJ-S. The most notable difference in the saloon fuel system, though, is that the
Jaguar saloons have two fuel tanks and a switchover system so the driver can choose which tank to use.
In 1992 the XJ-S fuel system changed markedly. The external fuel pump was replaced with a submersible pump inside
the tank. The fuel rails were redesigned to connect to the injectors with O-rings instead of short hoses. The worthless
supply regulator was omitted.
Fuel Fires
Besides the usual general concerns about fuel fires -- fuel lines left in place too long until they rot, etc. -- there are also a
couple of specific worries:
EARLY D-JECTRONIC FUEL RAIL: The early Digital P XJ-S’s (early 80’s) had a problem with engine fires. There
was a recall to address the problem in which the fuel rail on the engine was replaced; the newer design is indicated by
rectangular tubing, while the pre-recall rail was made of round tubing. All Digital P XJ-S’s were subject to this recall,
but indications are the recall was not as conscientiously applied outside the US. Unfortunately, word is that the recall is
“closed” and dealers will no longer perform it. If you have a Digital P with round tubing in the fuel rail, you probably
should consult your favorite junkyard and collect all the parts that look different and perform the recall yourself. Note
that the D Jetronic still uses fuel rails with round tubing.
Leaking fuel in an engine compartment is remarkably difficult to ignite. Usually there have been obvious odors and
visible leakage for some time. Please do not ignore fuel odors; the XJ-S shouldn’t have any.
MARELLI IGNITION WIRES: The later XJ-S with Marelli ignition also has a reputation for engine fires. Peyton Gill
reports on “an XJ-S that had a little pyrotechnics under bonnet. I asked the guy about it and he said that the fire was put
out within 30 sec (owner had a fire extinguisher) and the estimate to repair was $2000.00. There was not that much
damage. The cause of the fire was the ignition coil wire was about 1/4 inch from one of the fuel injection lines (between
rail and injector). The ignition wire had been arcing to the line and eventually worked its way through. I guess the
physical damage and ozone created by the arc eventually broke down the line.”
Julian Mullaney adds, “There was a recall for cracked injector hoses and injector bodies. Ozone from the distributor
leads causes the perished plastic. The recall replaces the lead with a shorter one, and replaces the injector. They looked
up my car (vin no.) in their database and the fix had already been done a long time ago, however the problem persisted.
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“The problem was ozone deteriorating the injector hose on the right bank second cyl. from the firewall. It produces a
cracked surface of the rubber hose. You should look carefully for this, it's not easy to spot.
“The dealer said that they were instructed to look for visual damage to the hose and replace injector if needed. "If" is
the key word here. However, if it looked good, they could get away with only changing the HT lead to a shorter one
(thus not close to the injector) and leave the original injector hose. This leaves the chance that damage could have
occurred to the hose but it's not visible yet, leading to the following chain of events:
upon initial recall they only replace the HT lead
then the hose continues to deteriorate from initial ozone embrittlement;
then you see the damage to the hose a year or two later;
pyrophobia sets in;
then you call the dealer;
then they tell you sorry, the fix has already been done;
then you find that the recall was done sloppily;
then you get pissed off;
a) then you think about fixing the problem yourself
b) you call the dealer again and insist they fix it again properly
then dealer calls Jaguar to authorize 2nd repair
they say OK
you get it fixed for free
“Option b) worked fine with me, my local dealer was very good about it.”
Ron White adds, “I checked the recall database and the recall only affects 1989-91 XJ-S models; this is a result of: "The
high tension lead from the ignition coil can move from the production location closer to the #4A fuel injector hose.
Vehicle description: coupes and convertibles with Marelli ignition systems."”
MTBE: Stephen Wood says, “We starting in Spring 1996 having a substance called MTBE -- methyl tutol-buytol
ethanol, something like that -- blended with our gas to help reduce emissions. Hopefully they will be taking it out soon,
as there has been a major hubbub about it here. You see, it also melts things, like fuel lines, carburetor gaskets,
(especially the old rubber/cork type), fuel tanks, brazing material solder, etc.
“Last summer car fires were up significantly all over the state, including my brother’s ’69 Camaro (it was restored).
MTBE melted through the carb gaskets on his vintage Holley and poof.
“At that point it got serious, and I checked my fuel lines, and sure enough, they were going way squishy from the inside
out. In other cars we have seen it also has melted injector seals.
“If you ask the insurance companies they have had a slight increase but nothing to worry about. No problem, right?
Wrong! Most of the cars affected are cars that the insurance industry won’t provide fire, theft and vandalism coverage
on anyway. If you ask the CHP and the firemen, they know that last summer was a major problem.”
So, you need a new type of fuel hose, right? “The problem with the hose issue is that the rubber manufacturers are not
going to gear up for a California-only issue. However, some of the new cars have fuel lines made out of a tygon
derivative, a newer plastic that is more resistant to these blended fuels (New LT1- LT4- and LS1 GM motors). I don't
think there is a crossover app. as of yet, tygon is a bitch to work with and has the characteristics of polypropylene
tubing, i.e., firm and not clampable. You have to use special fittings with it.
“There is supposed to be some new silicone-based flexible "rubber like" fuel line coming out soon from Gates or
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Goodyear but I haven't seen it. So for now, I have been keeping an eye on the situation and checking all pressurized fuel
lines every month, and replacing them every 6 months (I have done this three times now). Vent lines are ok from when I
replaced them 6 months ago. I have been changing fuel filters every 45-60 days (preventative mania), making sure to cut
open the old filter to see if anything weird develops like little bits of rubber hose.
“I will have to take my gas tank out this summer, and have it boiled and welded or just put in a new one. The corrosion
around the outlet is growing and I think it is melting through the solder. I may just JB Weld it or something.”
FIRE EXTINGUISHERS: After reading this book, you have probably come down with a healthy dose of paranoia
regarding fires in the XJ-S. A fire extinguisher is cheap, and may come in handy.
Ron White had a fire in his car, and thanks to having a fire extinguisher in the trunk and knowing how to use it, his car
survived with almost no damage. “I have seen engine fires in other cars and have seen people make the mistake of
flinging their hoods (these were American cars) open, only to have the fire flare up 5 or 6 feet because of the added
oxygen. I opened the bonnet just enough to get the nozzle of the extinguisher in, and gave it a good squirt. I then
cautiously opened the bonnet up and seeing no flames opened it up all of the way and gave it a real good squirt!”
White’s extinguisher happened to be a Halon type which works wonderfully and leaves no crud on the engine but is bad
for the ozone layer and is in the process of being outlawed. Experts seem to feel that a common powder type fire
extinguisher would probably work just as well, the only disadvantage being that you’d have a job getting all the powder
out of the engine compartment afterward.
One more note: White’s car is an ’86, meaning it’s late enough to have had all the updates to correct the early fuel rail
problems and too early to be covered by the recall for the later cars with the Marelli ignition. “It appears that the cause
was a cracked body on an injector, and it was squirting fuel directly on the distributor!” That fire extinguisher is
sounding like a better idea all the time, isn’t it?
John Napoli suggests a built-in system like those found on race cars: “It should be a lot easier to extinguish a fire within
the closed confines of the engine compartment with the bonnet closed, and you could certainly react a lot quicker than,
say, opening the bonnet, saying "Oh, sh$t", running for the boot, trying to find the fire extinguisher that is underneath all
your luggage, meanwhile the bonnet is open and the flames are getting higher...” Of course, keeping the extinguisher on
the floor in front of the front seat may help.
Emile A. DesRoches says, “If anybody is really interested in a real "racing car" fire control system (sanctioning bodies
require a system plumbed in to spray at the engine, fuel cell and driver's lap area), they can be obtained from such
organizations as Racer's Wholesale in Atlanta. From experience as an SCCA tech inspector, I can say that they may
make a mess, but they work and clean up is inevitably less expensive than replacing a fried V12 motor.”
Fuel Odors
FUEL ODORS: To state what should be obvious: Jaguars are not supposed to smell like fuel.
One excellent suggestion is to trot the car right down to your local Jaguar dealer, or anyone else with the equipment to
test automotive emissions. The testing equipment includes a probe that is inserted in the tailpipe to detect unburned
hydrocarbons (fuel). This probe is real handy for finding fuel leaks anywhere in the car.
There is a relay in the trunk through which the EFI controls the fuel pump; it’s the one without a red paint mark on it.
You can remove the relay and jump connectors 30 and 87 in the socket to run the fuel pump. This is useful for
searching for fuel leaks without having to leave the engine running. Of course, you’ll kill your battery if you do it for too
long.
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FUEL ODORS IN TRUNK: The trunk smelling of fuel is a common problem with many common causes:
fuel-soaked carpet padding (see page 235)
leaking hoses either in the trunk or over the IRS (see page 235)
leaking compression fittings (see page 236)
someone installed the wrong type hose in your fuel system (see page 238)
there may be a bad O-ring in the fuel filler connection (see page 244)
a plugged or disconnected drain from the fuel filler compartment (see page 245).
a tank that develops a hole by rubbing on a steenkin’ rivet (see page 245)
a tank that has developed stress cracks (see page 245)
a tank that has simply rusted through (see page 245)
Note that you can greatly reduce the possibility of fuel leaks or odors by addressing all of these concerns at once! Take
the tank out, coat it outside and in, replace all fuel and vent hoses with new, and reassemble. It would take a few days,
largely because lining and coating the tank require several steps of cleaning and coating and letting them dry overnight.
If you’re not willing to try lining the inside of the tank yourself, doing all the other tasks would still be worthwhile.
Don’t overlook the possibility that fuel odors in the trunk aren’t originating in the trunk. The author had a leak in a line
under the car, and couldn’t smell it outside the car but it stank somethin’ awful inside the trunk. I couldn’t even imagine
how the fumes got into the trunk. Likewise, a malfunctioning vapor recovery system (see page 259) that’s releasing
fumes into the bodywork up at the front of the car may result in the fumes migrating into the trunk. In fact, even a
cylinder misfiring and releasing unburned fuel out a tailpipe has been known to cause fumes to collect inside the trunk.
People who correct problems with the vapor recovery system often report that it cures odor problems in the trunk. If
the problem was a stuck-open (or missing) Rochester valve overloading the carbon canister and as a result odors were
coming from the carbon canister up front and were working their way through the bodywork to the trunk, they may be
truly cured. Likewise, if the problem was a leak from the vapor recovery system somewhere, it may be truly cured. But
if the problem was a plugged vapor recovery system causing excessive pressure in the tank, the problems are not cured,
they’re just no longer as apparent. The vapor recovery system is supposed to prevent excessive pressures within the
tank, and if it fails the pressures may reach levels that force fuel through leaking fittings or even crack the tank. If the
vapor recovery system is fixed and the pressures are no longer excessive, there may be far less fuel coming through the
leaks -- but the leaks are still there. And any cracks that may have started in the tank are still there, too. If you could
smell fuel, that fuel was getting out somewhere, and it would behoove you to find out where.
SMELLY CARPET PADDING: The fuel filter is the size of a Coke can and is located behind the spare tire in the
trunk. When this filter is replaced, it is all too easy to spill its contents within the trunk. The nature of the foam padding
under the carpet is such that once this happens, your trunk will smell of fuel for all eternity. The only suggested fix is to
replace the carpeting and padding. It is recommended that before the filter is replaced, and before any repairs to the fuel
system in the trunk are carried out, the carpet be removed.
When changing that filter, unscrew the mounting bracket from the floor first. Then you can hold the filter over a catch
pan when disconnecting the hoses.
LEAKY FUEL LINES: As described on page 243, there are several fuel lines that include a piece of hose in the middle
of a metal tubing assembly. When old, these hoses often weep fuel rather than burst outright. In fact, they may leak so
slowly that they never appear wet; the fuel evaporates faster than it leaks. Just about the only indication of trouble is the
odor.
Two of the hoses that need attention are not in the trunk, but rather under the car and over the rear suspension. The line
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over the right rear axle is the pressure line to the engine, and the line over the left rear axle is the return line to the tank.
If the hose section of either line develops leaks, it seems to cause odor in the trunk more than anywhere else for some
reason.
Check all of these lines with the pump running, and replace any hose you even suspect of being the cause of odors.
Better yet, just replace the hose sections if they are older than ten years or so.
Both hose sections over the IRS are actually fairly easy to replace. Both lines connect at threaded fittings at the forward
corners of the trunk floor, and both have couplings just forward of the IRS. Before removing the right side one,
depressurize the fuel system, and before working on either, pinch the appropriate fuel lines in the trunk and in the engine
compartment (if the tank hasn’t been removed and the system totally emptied).
This author found the one on the right side a bit easier to do than the one on the left, because there were more other
things in the way on the left side -- but some of these things, like the handbrake cable, may switch sides on a RHD car so
others may have different challenges. On the author’s ’83, the fuel line assembly on the right side came out as a unit, so
it could be rebuilt and reinstalled easily enough.
The line on the left side takes a little more thought. First, there is a plastic clip up at the top of the arch holding it in
place. If it’s not broken to begin with, it’s easy enough to break it; it is only too apparent that it’s not necessary to hold
it in place. Second, the short section of metal tubing on the rear end is hook-shaped, so it isn’t likely to feed out over
the IRS. Instead, after disconnecting both ends of the line, pull it rearward a bit and use a razor knife to slice through
the hose itself. Then remove the rear section rearward and the front section forward.
To rebuild and reinstall it, start by cutting a piece of new hose a couple of inches longer than the original hose. In fact,
note how much of the straight section of the hook-shaped metal portion is exposed beyond the end of the hose, and cut
the new hose longer enough to cover almost the entire straight section. Install this new hose on the front metal section
of the line with an EFI clamp, making sure that the screw portion of the clamp is positioned downward and a little
inward because the top and outer side will be against the inside of the bodywork. Stick a plug in the end of the hose,
then feed the hose into position from the front until the end of the hose comes out on the back side of the IRS where you
can get ahold of it. Clean the entire straight portion of the hook-shaped section in preparation for having a hose slid
onto it. Put an EFI clamp over the tube, remove the plug in the end of the hose, then push the tube into the hose and
continue to push until things begin to line up. Loosely assemble the coupling at the forward end. When the tube has
been pushed into the hose far enough that the threaded end lines up properly with the fitting on the trunk floor, position
the clamp near the end of the hose and tighten it down. By using a longer piece of hose here, the clamp is located such
that it can easily be tightened below the corner of the chassis and the screwdriver can be held within the wheel well.
When you tighten the threaded end into the fitting on the trunk floor, you will need to have an assistant hold the end of
the line on the inside of the trunk in the correct position. Failure to hold the lines in position while tightening will result
in distortion of either the hose over the IRS or the hose in the trunk or both.
COMPRESSION FITTINGS: In the author’s ’83, there are seven places in the rear end of the car where a metal fuel
line is attached via a brass nut and a brass compression seal. Three of these are on the main fuel tank itself: the main line
to the surge tank, the vent line from the surge tank, and the return line from the front of the car. The other four are in
two elaborate bulkhead fittings where the supply line and the return line run through the floor of the trunk.
These fittings are assembled by sliding the nut onto the tube, then sliding the brass compression seal onto the tube, then
inserting the tube into the fitting and tightening down the nut. As the nut is tightened, the brass ring is compressed onto
the steel tube, forming a reliable seal and also securely holding the tube in place. Typically, the thin-walled steel tube is
soft enough that the compression of the seal necks the tube, although this isn’t strictly necessary for sealing or retention.
The bad news is that these type connections are meant to be assembled once and left alone. If you unscrew the nut, you
can remove the nut/tube/seal assembly out of the fitting, but you cannot get the seal off the tube -- and you’ll only get
the nut off if it can slide off the other end. If you simply slide the thing back together and tighten it down, there’s only a
moderate chance it will seal; the tube and the compression ring apparently work-harden, and there’s no further
compression available to allow it to reseat. Applying sealing substances is a waste of time, and can result in chunks of
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sealant plugging up your fuel system. To ensure a proper seal, both the brass ring and the steel tube must be replaced
whenever such a fitting is disassembled.
The good news is that the brass compression seals themselves are common in the US and are available at any hardware
store or industrial supply house. They are also often available in auto parts stores, in the bins with brass fittings. Note,
however, that there is a similar type of compression seal intended for use with copper or plastic tubing, and the
compression ring itself is a bit different; it has a collar around the middle. It might work here, but obviously you might
be well advised to seek out the same type as was originally used to ensure it seals properly in these fittings.
Suitable steel tubing is also available in sizes up to 3/8”, sold in auto parts stores in straight lengths with flared ends and
nuts in place; just cut the flares off and chuck the nuts, they won’t work here, all you want is the straight length of
tubing.
You can purchase a tool in any auto parts store that will help you bend metal tubing without crimping it. Note that
cheap tubing benders often don’t work very well; it is recommended that you spring for a good one. Also note that
you’ll want to put the bends in your tubing before you cut it to length.
You can make a barb for attaching a hose to the steel tube using a tool sold at most auto parts stores. It’s called a
“double flaring tool”, and its purpose is to make those flared ends that you just cut off the tubes you bought. The
intended use of the double flaring tool involves two steps. The first step forms a little bulb on the end of the metal tube,
and the second step folds the outer end of this bulb back inwards to form the double flare. Forget the second step, just
perform the first step, and it leaves a neat, professional-looking barb on the end of the tube for attaching a hose. One
example of this tool is the AmPro T73360.
Anyplace that sells the compression seals probably also sells the nuts that are used with them -- but that won’t help you.
This is a Jaguar, so the fittings are some oddball thread. In the US, you’d go nuts (!) trying to find a new nut of the
same thread; if you need a new nut, just go ahead buy an entire new hose assembly from Jaguar. Fortunately, the old
nuts are usually reusable; just cut the old tube in half to recover them.
When you assemble a compression fitting with a new section of tubing and a new compression seal, you’ll know what
they are supposed to feel like. You can feel a smooth crush as the seal is compressed onto the tube.
Now that you’re an expert in rebuilding those compression fittings, let’s discuss some special cases. First, the Rube
Goldberg bulkhead fittings going through the floor of the trunk: if these things are leaking, don’t even think of trying to
reassemble them with new compression fittings and new tubing. Instead, yank the entire contraption out of there and
install a simple rubber plug to fill the hole in the trunk floor. Cut a hole through this plug the size of the steel tubing
involved. Bend a piece of steel tubing to a suitable shape and insert it through this hole, and connect the hoses to each
end of it with suitable clamps. Presto, a simple, logical fuel line assembly with minimal opportunities for leakage.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is a good credo, but you could actually justify removing those bulkhead assemblies on the
basis of the weight savings alone.
I’d suggest you throw those bulkhead fittings as far as you can, but remember to save the nuts from them first; they
might actually fit two of the connections on the tank itself -- although that’d be an unreasonable expectation from the
British, they probably deliberately made them different to make sure you couldn’t connect the wrong line to the wrong
place!
If your problem is that you’ve boogered up one of the smaller nuts threaded into the tank itself, you might be able to
save yourself the trouble of trying to find such an oddball nut by simply performing this bulkhead fitting replacement and
getting the nuts from there.
Finally, the big problem: the main line from the main tank to the surge tank. On the author’s ’83, this is a hook-shaped
1/2” tube that screws into a 90º fitting on the tank. I certainly hope they changed this design on later cars. The
incompetence of the designer was so awe-inspiring that you can’t even get a wrench on that nut without removing the
tank from the car! Anybody exhibiting this level of skill should be operating a broom rather than a pencil -- and only if
you’re not too picky about how clean the floor is.
This fitting is the most likely one to be leaking because of the hook-shaped tube. Getting a hose connected to that tube,
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maneuvering the other hoses in the area, even replacing the battery or getting the spare tire in and out is liable to apply
some stress to the end of the hook, all of which is likely to bend the tube right at the fitting and cause the compression
seal to start leaking.
So, once you finally figure out this is where your trunk odors are coming from, you need to get that fitting apart. Drain
the tank (see page 245). Disconnect the straps holding the tank in place. Insert some sort of broad pry bar between the
gas tank and the deck it’s sitting on and see if you can lift the tank up a bit. If you can’t, use a machete to slice through
the foam under the tank so you can. Once the tank is liftable, it’s actually possible to get a box end wrench on the nut by
sliding it on from the other end of the hook-shaped tube and holding the tank lifted as you maneuver the wrench to the
nut and turn it. Hence, you can fix your leak without totally removing the tank, disconnecting all those other lines,
removing the battery tray, etc.
1/2” brass compression seals are actually not too difficult to find, but 1/2” thinwall steel tubing is. The auto parts stores
only carry steel lines up to 3/8”. You might try a place that carries parts for large trucks. Other places that may carry
1/2” steel tubing, including hydraulic shops, typically have thicker-walled tubing -- which will work fine in the
compression fitting but is difficult to bend or to form a barb on for connecting the hose.
The solutions here come together. First, you don’t want to install another hook-shaped tube. Instead, what you want to
do is install a very short straight tube, providing a hose barb right there at the fitting on the tank. Then you can use a
longer piece of 1/2” fuel hose to connect it to the surge tank. Hence, you probably already have the tubing you need --
in the old tube. Just cut off the old compression seal and cut off the hook end, leaving a straight section of steel tubing
about 3” long. Apply the old nut and new compression seal and install. Be sure to clean up the outside of the section of
tubing with some fine sandpaper so it forms a good seal.
Of course, if you try to use the double flaring tool to provide a hose barb on a tube this large, you may mess it up -- and
you have no backup tubing. Solution: don’t bother providing a barb here. The maximum pressure this hose will ever
see is about 3 psi, nowhere near enough to push a clamped hose off a smooth tube.
If your hook-shaped tube is too messed up to obtain a clean straight section from, you can use thicker-walled tubing
since you’re not bending it and you’re not forming a barb. The thicker-walled stuff might even be advantageous in
providing a more secure attachment with more resistance to bending or deformation.
STINKY FUEL LINES: Believe it or not, one reported cause of fuel odors in the trunk is apparently the use of the
wrong type fuel hoses. They’re not leaking; the odor seeps through the material of the hose itself. You can tell this is
the problem by wiping your finger on the surface of the hose, walking a few feet away, then smelling your finger. If it
smells like fuel, that’s the problem.
Fuel Lines
FUEL HOSE MAINTENANCE: If you have any doubts about the condition of the fuel hoses in your car, replace them.
Based on experience from the online discussion list, it would be an excellent idea to replace all of the fuel hoses in the
car at least once every ten years; you can do it every five years to be on the safe side.
In some locations, there is a fuel line assembly that consists of hose crimped onto metal lines; in such cases you can just
buy new Jaguar fuel line assemblies, but it’s cheaper to buy generic hose and install it in the existing lines with suitable
clamps (see below). The hardest part would be getting the original crimped fittings off, but the second time you do the
job it’ll be easier since you’ll only need to loosen clamps. Don’t overlook the sections of hose in the lines looping over
the rear suspension on each side of the car.
In other places, you will be replacing pieces of hose with clamps on the ends. In yet other locations, you may need to
replace hoses that don’t seem to be attached at all -- they are merely pressed onto the fitting. Please read the following
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sections to understand how these work before tackling the job.
FUEL HOSE SIZES - D-JETRONIC: Bernard Embden found that the nipples on the D-Jetronic fuel rail are
measurably smaller than standard 5/16” nipples. “Putting 5/16" hose on the Pre-H.E. fuel rail resulted in a less than
satisfactory connection. The clamps had to be tightened excessively and bunched the 5/16" hose just to prevent leakage
at the required 30 lbs. fuel pressure. Even in this unsatisfactory condition, the 5/16" hose could be rotated easily on the
rail. I fitted the 9/32" hose. This was the only size hose that fit the nipple correctly.”
FUEL HOSE SIZES - DIGITAL P: The D Jetronic fuel rail and injectors truly need 9/16” hose, a fairly unusual size.
The original hoses on the Digital P fuel injectors appear to be 7mm or 9/32” as well -- but in this case it’s the wrong
size. The injectors themselves are made by Bosch -- and have barbs designed to fit an 8mm hose, a very common size.
The barbs on the square-tubing rail and on some of the lines to and from the rail are also designed to fit an 8mm hose.
When you have the old hose off, it is a simple matter to measure the diameter of the straight-sided portion of the barb
between the ridges to confirm what size hose is needed. 5/16” is 7.93mm and will fit an 8mm barb just fine.
The problems begin when the novice mechanic finds out how easy it is to push the new hoses onto these barbs. They
just slide right on. That just doesn’t seem right, and smaller hose is purchased and crammed onto the barbs with great
effort and sometimes even boiling the hose prior to installation or other extreme measures that are only too likely to
damage the hose or shorten its life.
Resist such thinking. The hoses are supposed to slip on easily. Why would Bosch design an attachment scheme that
requires lots of effort on an assembly line? When 5/16” or 8mm hose is used on the clampless connections on the XJ-S,
they simply do not leak. There is no problem there; the fuel leaks the car is plagued with come right through the hose
when it dries up and cracks.
Some people have found 8.5mm hose -- sometimes at a Jaguar dealer. Don’t use it on the XJ-S; there are no fittings on
this car that call for this oddball size.
FUEL HOSE TYPE: The XJ-S features Electronic Fuel Injection, and EFI systems operate at higher fuel pressures than
carburetors did: 30-50 psi vs. 5 psi. Ordinary “fuel hose” was designed for 5 psi -- do not use it anywhere in this fuel
system. Most auto parts stores now carry “EFI hose”. It is more expensive, but a fuel fire is no fun. The basic generic
EFI hose looks like standard hose; you will need to read the printing on the rubber surface to know you’ve got the right
stuff. Look for either “EFI” or “Fuel Injection” or some such clear indication of its suitability for fuel injection systems,
or for a working pressure rating higher than 100 psi.
If you have clampless hose connections (see below), generic EFI hose will work fine -- but there is yet a better idea. If
you find an industrial hose distributor or hydraulic hose shop, they can sell you what they refer to as “push-on hose”,
hose that was designed specifially for these type connections. Push-on hose is available in two different styles: smooth
rubber surface or cloth surface. They both have basically the same specs; in fact, nobody seems to know why anyone
would choose one over the other. It probably has something to do with abrasion resistance or some such.
The rubber surface push-on hose usually has a bunch of markings on it, including a pressure rating in the order of 350
psi, but it probably does not use the term “EFI”. There is a spec number on there, and you’re supposed to look it up in
reference books to determine suitability for particular applications. It is suitable for automotive EFI systems.
The cloth surface hose this author found has far less text on it. Duh! It’s harder to write on cloth! The letters are really
big to be readable, and all it says is “WEATHERHEAD 5/16 H10005 D 09/14/98”. The pressure rating on this hose is
actually lower than the rubber surface hose (250 psi) even though it looks a lot tougher than the rubber surface hose.
You cannot squeeze this hose flat with your fingers. Weatherhead H100 series hose has a nitrile inner liner suitable for
use with non-oxygenated automotive fuels.
Note that there are a few places on the XJ-S where one end of a hose is a push-on connection and the other end requires
a clamp. The push-on hose is suitable for these applications; it can be reliably clamped on suitable barbs.
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The Weatherhead cloth surface hose is more expensive than the rubber surface: $2/foot. Don’t be intimidated by the
fact that Jaguar wants many times that much for their “original” hose; it’s no better, and it’s arguably not as good.
Weatherhead is one of the most respected names in the industrial hose business.
Another good reason to be shopping at the industrial hose supplier is that you can buy this Weatherhead H100 hose in
1/2” size. There are a couple of 1/2” fuel hoses in the trunk of the XJ-S, but there aren’t many auto parts stores that
carry 1/2” fuel hose.
Of course, you can buy fancier hose. Bill Fernandez says, “There is a lot of stuff available out there, aero hoses, rubber,
etc. High quality cloth braided German fuel injection rubber hose is what I ended up using. This is the same equipment
used in BMW and Mercedes, they don't go bad period. I have a 1975 CSi (BMW) with the original cloth braided hoses
with 325k original miles and not a single leak or hint of gas yet.
“The H.E. Bosch injectors are designed to use slip-on rubber injector hoses. The areo style will require lots of
modification to both the injectors and the fuel rail to get them to work. The areo stuff is very pricey and just not worth
it aside from looks.”
Hose to avoid: Based on several reports from owners, do not use Goodyear blue lined hose. Vans says, "My Goodyear
fuel injection hoses 5/16'' (blue lined) have failed in just 2 years. They would only leak when side pressure was applied
to the fuel rail or hoses, they would squirt out a small amount of fuel. No leaks while running without side pressure.
"Just replaced all injector hoses with Dayco 7.9mm (5/16) from my local parts supplier. While removing the Goodyear
hoses some were able to just pull off. When installing the Goodyear 2 years ago they were very tight and could not be
pulled off. This is not a job I want to do every couple of years. My advise is to avoid Goodyear for these engines at all
costs."
Ed Sowell adds: "I had the same problem with Goodyear hose. I redid the rail with Gates hose, which most auto parts
stores no longer carry. NAPA does."
FUEL HOSE CLAMPS: Some fuel line connections, especially on earlier cars, came with crimped collars that
compressed the hose against the barb. If you remove a hose with a crimped collar, you can replace it with new hose
with a clamp -- provided you use the correct type clamp. If you live in the US and walk into an auto parts store and ask
for a hose clamp, you will be handed a stainless steel band with a series of angled slots through it and a worm screw
attached to one end. These “aircraft type” clamps are excellent -- for lines about 3/4” in diameter and larger. Although
they do sell small clamps in this style, they do not work well on hoses as small as the fuel lines on the XJ-S. There are
simply too many “corners” within that circle as it is snugged up, and although it may seal at first while you’re looking it
may leave local areas that aren’t securely compressed against the fitting and will start leaking later when you’re not
looking.
If you live in the UK and ask for a hose clamp, you might get a “Jubilee” clamp or something similar. These are also
stainless steel worm screw clamps, but instead of angled slots in the band it has little raised lips for the screw to engage.
These are better than the US aircraft type clamps on small diameters, but still not good.
To assure a good, reliable seal, you’re going to need some clamps that securely compress the hose onto the fitting
uniformly all the way around. While the worm screw types are not recommended, there are several other types that will
work fine. Many auto parts stores sell “EFI hose clamps”, which consist of a steel band with a small screw and nut that
draws it tight. They come in various sizes, and you need to carefully select the size you want; these type clamps will
only fit the size hose intended, you cannot just keep screwing them down smaller like a worm screw clamp.
Unfortunately, you’re not likely to find these type clamps in stainless steel, so it is advisable to carefully apply anti-seize
compound to the threads on that tiny screw if you ever want to get it loose later.
Sometimes EFI clamps are offered in a package with the hose; make sure you have suitable clamps on hand or can buy
them separately before buying EFI hose without the clamps. Jim Taylor says, “I replaced the originals on my (then) 16-
year-old '76 XJ12C. I obtained two Volvo FI hose replacement "kits" (part number 273680-9). Each kit contained the
appropriate number of short rubber hoses and neat little black painted hose clamps (not worm gear type) for a Volvo six
cylinder car. This fix didn't cost very much. My receipt (dated 3/4/92) shows I was charged the grand sum of $6.11 per
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kit.” Of course, similar kits may be available from other car makes as well.
John Ashcroft, who lives in Australia, says, “If you have screw (worm drive) clamps and have an engine fire, the
insurance company will not pay. You have to have EFI clamps on fuel lines.”
There is also a type of clamp that works similarly to the EFI clamp described above, except that it has two loops of wire
in place of the steel band. These seal pretty well, but they’re not very pretty and they really mangle the hose. They
don’t seem to come in stainless steel either.
Greg Price says, “The Series III XJ6 has some nice fuel injection hose clamps, and my local Jag tech recommends
Mercedes fuel injection hose clamps.”
Stefan Schulz says, “Here in the UK, Farnell offer stainless steel hi-torque hose clamps which are The Biz. Highly
recommended. Farnell Industrial are on telephone [+44] 113-2636311.” Schulz adds that he does not recommend the
fuel injection clamps from a Volvo.
Tom Mackie says, “I find most conventional "clamps" to be a little unsightly. So.. There is a clamp used in the repair of
shop air hoses as well as on oxy/acetylene hoses (if that's not a high fire hazard application, I don't know what is). These
clamps do not have a screw/nut on them. They are a single usage item. They are a formed metal band, with an outward
flare/dimple/nipple (I have no idea what to call it) on each side. These simply slide over the hose, are placed into
position, then using pliers, these nipples are squeezed, compressing them, which in turn tightens the clamp. No
screw/nut sticking out, getting in the way, cluttering appearances etc. Definitely not self loosening. Removal is with side
cutters.. Just snip off one side and bend it open. These are cheap.. so making them disposable is not a big deal. This I
would use on the injector end.
“I was considering another crimp style, but for the fuel rail end. There is what I'll describe as a "cup" shaped unit, which
I believe is sorta an aeroquip fitting. I have to confirm this yet, but I believe you could use any hose with the appropriate
size "cup" and have it crimped into place. The minor catch is that you either need the special tool which applies pressure
to about 6 locations at the same time, or you have the fittings shop do it by taking them the fuel rail. These are semi-
permanent, and removal is with a hack saw, which destroys the hose. This is why I'm thinking of using these on the fuel
rail side, and the removables on the injector side. Again, no screws sticking out, etc. Nice-n-neat.”
Note that the problem of worm screw clamps causing leaks is not unique to the EFI fuel system. One should also take
note of the types of clamps used on the fuel tank vent system, the power steering hoses, the transmission cooler hoses,
and just about anywhere else that small diameter hoses are clamped. Leaks at some of these locations may be less
disastrous than a fuel system leak, but you’d still rather not have any leaks.
CLAMPLESS HOSE CONNECTIONS: The section above describes what clamps to use on fuel hoses. Now let’s
discuss not using them! There are two types of hose barb used in the fuel systems on the XJ-S, and one of them must be
clamped while the other should not be clamped.
DO NOT CLAMP CLAMP REQ'D
Figure 13 - Fuel Hose Barbs
With the barb shown at left, the hose is installed by merely pushing it onto the barb. It works kinda like a Chinese finger
trap; the hose slides on easily, but if you try to pull it off it grips onto the barb and won’t let go. These fittings typically
come with a dished washer or cup that must be slid into place before pushing the hose on, but these items do nothing
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more than hide the cut end of the hose to make the installation look neat. Hydraulic hose shops have push-on fittings
with flimsy plastic dished washers.
Proper use of a hose clamp requires the smooth cylinder of the type shown at right for the clamp to compress the hose
against. If a clamp is applied to the barb shown at left, it will compress the hose against the points on the ridges and
possibly damage the inner liner of the hose. There are clampable barbs that have a series of small ridges in this clamping
area, presumably to help ensure a reliable seal, but they are usually rounded and easily distinguishable from the large,
toothy grips of the clampless barb.
Believe it or not, the non-clamped type provides a much more reliable seal. This is apparently because it allows the
rubber hose to flex and seals more securely as it does, whereas the clamped connection will often start to leak as soon as
any pulling or twisting is involved.
Typically, you will know which type you’re dealing with before removing the old hose by looking at what’s on there
from the factory. If there’s no clamp, it’s the type that doesn’t use a clamp. If it’s the type that needs a clamp, there will
be some form of clamp -- or a cup-shaped piece of metal that is “swaged” or “crimped” onto the end of the hose to
compress it onto the barb. The decorative cups on the non-clamped barbs sometimes look similar, but it is obvious that
they are not swaged; in fact, you can spin them around with your fingers.
The problem, of course, with relying on the existing situation as an indication of barb type is that someone may have
gotten in there before you and added clamps where there shouldn’t be any.
Note that you may have a mix of clamped and clampless fittings. The early D-Jetronic cars use clamps everywhere.
John Ashcroft says that his ’80 needs clamps on the rail but not on the injectors. On the author’s ’83, the entire injector/
rail assembly uses clampless fittings, but the connections at the fuel cooler still require clamps.
Regarding pressure ratings and the security of push-on connections: A shop frequented by this author has a tester, and
in their spare time they test things to failure just for grins. The 5/16” cloth-surface push-on hose described above was
tested, installed as intended on a push-on fitting. It held to 1200 psi, and then the hose ruptured near the end of the barb.
The push-on connection never leaked or came apart.
INJECTOR HOSE REPLACEMENT -- D JETRONIC: Injector hose replacement on the D Jetronic is pretty self-
explanatory: Loosen clamps, disassemble, reassemble with new hose, tighten clamps. If there are crimped metal collars
(you have original crimped collars after all these years?), you will need to cut through one side of each collar and spread
it a little to get it off; replace the collars with EFI clamps when reassembling. Ed Sowell adds, "It is not sufficient to
tighten the hose joints just once. I am absolutely sure they were all tight and non-leaking when I rebuilt the injection
system last summer. Yet, in April of this year they were nearly all loose. I believe this is due to the hoses deforming
under clamp pressure and setting in the compressed state due to high temperature. Then they will be loose when the
engine is cool."
INJECTOR HOSE REPLACEMENT -- DIGITAL P: This job is not self-explanatory since there are no clamps, but it's
still pretty easy. The guidelines below are for replacing the hose without even pulling the injectors, but you might want
to remove them as a set to save your back and also to replace the injector seals at the same time. Either way, you will
need to depressurize the fuel system. You will be spilling a little fuel, so take suitable precautions. Disconnect the inlet
and outlet lines to the rail, and remove anything that goes over the rail.
Cut all twelve old hoses through the middle. Any fuel remaining in the rail itself will dump out, so you might want to
choose a suitable hose to cut first and quickly aim it into a jar. You might then try cutting a hose at the other end of the
rail and blowing through it to clear out as much fuel as possible. After cutting the hoses, lift off the rail, leaving the
injectors in place.
Remove the pieces of the old hose from both rail and injectors. Don’t lose the dished washers. Try to do as little
damage to the barbs themselves as possible. The basic idea is to use a razor knife of some sort -- a boxcutter blade or
utility blade, X-Acto knife, whatever -- to “shave” down one side of the hose, cutting just deep enough to slice through
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the reinforcing cord inside the hose but being careful not to cut so deep as to penetrate the inner lining of the hose and
contact the metal barb inside. Cut too shallow the first couple of times just for practice; you can always cut deeper, but
once you’ve cut too deep you’re faced with barb damage. Once the reinforcing cord is severed -- possibly two or more
places around the barb -- the hose can be pulled off.
The problem, of course, is the dished washers get in the way. You can only slice so far down the side of the hose before
the blade hits the washer, leaving the last 1/8” of the cord uncut. It’s trying to get that last part cut, using a corner of the
blade or whatever, where frustration sets in, and the frustration can result in damaged barbs. Richard Fields says, “I
used an X-Acto knife (available at any hobby shop) to remove the hoses, after fighting them with a razor knife. The X-
Acto blade I used was shaped like a cats-Jaguar?-claw and could get in behind the washers very easily. It made cutting
the hoses off a snap!”
Note that while the clampless barbs all are similar in configuration, the ones on the injectors are made of much softer
metal than the ones on the rail. You might want to work on the ones on the rail first so you get the hang of it before
tackling the much-easier-to-damage ones on the injectors.
If the barbs get a little dinged up, believe it or not they can usually be repaired quite effectively. The trick is to make
sure there are no “notches” in the edge of each ridge, so that the edge of the ridge contacts the inside of the hose all the
way around to form a leakproof seal. If there’s a notch, you can grip the barb gently with a standard pair of pliers while
you rotate the injector (you probably need to remove the injector from the engine to do this properly) so that the teeth
on the pliers scrape off the edge of the ridge all the way around until the notch is cleaned up. You still don’t want to use
a clamp on this hose connection unless you had to clean the ridges completely off to get rid of notches -- in which case
you probably should spring for a new injector.
Others suggest not using a razor knife at all. John Ashcroft says, “Used a electric soldering iron to burn the old hoses
off of injectors with no damage to barbs.” Ken Gray elaborates: “You poke the hot tip of the iron into the fuel line just
above the top barb and push it down the length of the fuel hose and into the seemingly useless cupped washer at the base
where you just work the tip around a bit to completely severe the hose. The whole process takes a few seconds due to
the very hot tip of the weller. You can grab hold of the barbs immediately after hose removal and they are barely warm.
I would not use any other method now as the soldering iron works perfectly without any damage to the barb or internal
plastics of the injector. You do however need to use the correct soldering iron; I ended up using a Weller electric iron
which seems to have a temperature control in the tip. I must also say that I have not been able to reliably regenerate the
tip for soldering purposes. This is not a problem because the tips are readily interchangeable.”
David Johnson suggests a wire wheel: "My plan of attack is to cut all the hoses in the middle between rail and injector.
Then I use my bench grinder which is set up with a wire rope wheel. It makes quick work of the remnants of the hose
on the injector and does not gouge the barb end. The wheel's strands are flexible enough to get under the cup. As for
the rail I have an air die grinder which I use with a similar, though smaller and slower, wire wheel and it is simply a
matter of abrading the material off. Actually took me less than 3/4 hour to do all 12 recently."
Cut suitable 8mm or 5/16” (7.9mm) EFI hose into ten pieces 1-3/4" long. Make doubly sure that all ten hoses are the
same length; different lengths can cause problems with the clampless barb connections. Install the ten pieces of hose
onto the rail first; remember to put the dished washers in place. Use no lubricants on either the hoses or the barbs; they
should be assembled dry, and they should push on easily. Position dished washers onto the injectors, and then push the
entire rail down onto the injectors one bank at a time. After pressing the rail down onto the injectors, pull upward
forcefully on the rail to help the hoses establish a good grip on the barbs. Leave the 1A and 1B hoses until last, and cut
those hoses to whatever length seems to fit right. Reconnect the fuel inlet and outlet, and then turn the ignition on for
two seconds at a time for several cycles so the fuel pump can repressurize the system. Start it up and check for leaks.
HOSE ASSEMBLY REBUILDING: Many of the lines (fuel, power steering, etc.) in the Jag consist of metal tubing
with threaded connectors and a short length of hose in the middle somewhere, all sold under one part number. When it’s
been in there too long and has dried up and started leaking, the section of hose can easily be replaced with suitable hose
along with suitable clamps. It is suggested that before you cut the original hose off, you place measured marks on the
tubes on either side of the hose so that when you reassemble, the same overall length can be established. You should
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also put alignment marks, so the new assembly won’t be twisted. Finally, if the hose is within sight of the exhaust
system or other hot parts, it might be better to wrap it with some aluminum foil to prevent the radiant heat from cooking
the new hose.
Some hose assemblies in the fuel system have clampless barbs to connect metal tubing to hose, similar to those fittings
on the rail described above. However, these may have a deep cup covering the end of the hose instead of the dished
washer used on the injector hoses; this deep cup looks like a crimp collar except that it isn’t crimped. The deep cup can
make it a bit more difficult to get the old hose off, since getting the razor knife on the hose will be all but impossible and
getting a soldering iron tip in there will be no picnic either. To make life easier the next time you replace hoses, you
might want to order some of the dished washers used on the injectors, EAC7876, and reassemble the fuel lines with
these instead of the cups. That will also make disassembly easier this time, since you can just cut the cups off to get
them out of your way.
The author’s solution here worked well. I used a hacksaw to cut these deep cups circumferentially, separating each one
into a sleeve and a shallow cup -- obviously being careful not to saw all the way through the hose and damage the barb
underneath. I was then able to simply slide the sleeve up the hose out of the way and slice the hose away using the same
method as with the hoses on the rail with the dished washers. When reassembling with new hose, I reinstalled the
shallow cup (cleaned up a little) and discarded the sleeve. The finished assembly looks good, arguably better than the
dished washers at the rail.
If you get those cups off intact and intend to reuse them, note that when putting the new hose on you may have trouble
telling if it’s on all the way. So, prior to assembly, slip the cup onto the end of the hose and mark on the hose so you’ll
know when it is fully inserted into the cup. This is especially important with a really thick-walled hose like the
Weatherhead cloth-surfaced stuff described above because it fits so tightly in the cup that it makes it very difficult to get
on the barb.
Fuel Tank and Filler
FUEL FILLER CONFIGURATION: In the 70’s, the fuel filler pipe on the XJ-S had a flange on it and was rigidly
mounted behind the filler door with three screws. This author’s ’83, however, has no flange; all it has is a small tang that
engages a small bracket to prevent the filler pipe from rotating as the cap is tightened. The same three screws are used
instead to fasten a metal collar that holds a rubber boot around the filler pipe. Hence the filler pipe is mounted flexibly; it
can move around a bit since it is held in place only by the boot, an O-ring seal at the tank, the hose clamped onto its
outside, and of course that little tang that prevents it from rotating.
With either design filler, the clamp on the hose connection to the tank is accessible from within the trunk by removing
some carpet. Then you can pull the filler out through the filler door after removing three screws.
On the later design, the filler itself inserts into the opening in the tank with a really fat O-ring for a seal, and then the
entire assembly is enclosed in a short section of 2” hose. If the fat O-ring works, the 2” hose only serves to hold the
assembly together, not to contain fuel or odors. This assembly might have been designed this way because Jaguar
couldn’t find a 2” hose that would positively prevent fuel odors. Remember, the fuel-filler-to-tank connection in most
other cars is underneath the car, not inside the trunk -- perhaps for good reason. If you have odors, you might consider
pulling this assembly apart and replacing that O-ring, which is part number C46157.
FUEL FILLER CAP: ...is discussed on page 261 under the vapor recovery system.
FUEL FILLERS -- SALOONS: The fuel fillers on the saloons are different from the one on the XJ-S. They are a pair
of decorative flip-open fillers on the top rear of the car -- one for each tank, since there are two tanks. Walt Osborn of
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Vintage Jag Works: "On the dual filler caps on these cars, the seal for the filler cap is spring loaded and "floats" on four
studs, retained by four push-on round barbed retainers. The cap is held at the front by a roll pin which is also the hinge
pin. When the seal gets old, it cracks and starts letting debris and moisture into the tank.
"In the past, this seal was serviced as the whole seal and holder that floats on the four studs; part #12685. On series 2
cars the number was changed to RTC 196 for emission controlled cars. In 1988 RTC 196 went NLS (No Longer
Supplied). Part #12685 (non-vented) has been available off and on...
"The seal can be easily replaced. You can take the cap off the car or leave it on. Use some pliers and pull the old seal
out of its slot. Go around the slot and bend the thin lip outward a little making the entrance to the slot wider. Cut a
piece of neoprene flat rubber 1/8" thick x 2-7/16" outside diameter x 1-1/2" inside diameter. If you are worried about
the rubber being compatible with current gasoline, there is an alternative. There is a new gasket pair available for series
3 cars as aftermarket part #GCS/L. Use the old gasket and mark the new gasket around the inside hole with a pen and
cut the hole out with a razor blade knife, cutting just outside the pen mark. Stretch the new part on, crowd it into the
slot and bend the thin lip back down. If you use the later gaskets there is a small hole which is ignored because it
disappears under the thin lip."
FUEL FILLER DRAIN: Derek Hibbs says: “The answer for my fuel smell was simple: the fuel cap overflow pipe was
disconnected and any spillage during refueling was draining directly into the boot/trunk instead of onto the ground.
Reconnected the overflow pipe and no smells (I also take more care when refueling).”
STEENKIN’ RIVET: On the underside of the car there are numerous lines that are held to the car with little clips and
rivets. One of these rivets is in the panel the tank sits on, and sometimes the weight of the tank compresses the pad
enough that the metal tank contacts the tip of the rivet. After some vibration, the contact can wear a hole in the bottom
of the tank. Once the tank is drained and removed, it is a simple matter to patch the hole (there are types of epoxy sold
that will work well) and find an alternate way of supporting the line under the car.
STRESS CRACKS IN TANK: Officially, the recall supposedly was to prevent excessive pressure/vacuum cycles on the
tank, resulting in stress cracks. Obviously, this is something else to check on your tank.
RUSTY TANK: Chad Bolles reports that the seal around the rear windshield starts leaking, and the water soaks the
sponge under the tank and causes the tank to rust. Chuck Sparks reports that external rust on the bottom of the tank
where it sits on that foam is far and away the most common cause of fuel leaks in the trunk he has seen. The author’s
car didn’t have any leaks there, but it did have some rust -- and there were no signs of any leakage from the rear
windshield. It’s entirely likely that filling the tank with cold fuel -- or just running the car, which chills the fuel in the
tank via a fuel cooler -- may cause condensation on the outside of the tank, which runs down the sides and soaks into the
pad.
FUEL TANK DRAINING: The way you’re supposed to drain the tank is to remove a rubber plug in the floor of the
trunk and loosen a drain plug in the bottom of the surge tank and allow it to drain into a container. The drain fitting
works kinda like a big brake bleed nipple; you don’t need to remove it, just loosen it a coupla turns. Unfortunately, the
drain never lines up with the hole in the bottom of the car very well; you might want to consider enlarging the hole and
using a larger plug. Hopefully, one way or the other, you can push a short piece of 5/16” tubing onto the drain fitting to
route it out the bottom of the car and into whatever container you’ll be collecting it in. Kevin Darling says, “An 11/16"
wrench easily opened the sump drain from within the trunk.” While you’re fiddling with that drain, you might consider
upgrading it as described on page 253.
Using that drain works OK, I guess, but there is an easier way! Remove the spare tire and disconnect the line from the
inlet to the fuel filter. Direct this line into a gas can sitting in the trunk. Remove the fuel pump relay and insert a jumper
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in the socket between terminals 30 and 87, which will run the pump and run all the fuel into the gas can, neat as you
please.
Of course, either way you drain the tank, it’ll be easier if you drive the car until it’s really low on fuel first.
FUEL TANK REMOVAL: The main fuel tank is located over the rear axle. It is accessible by removing the spare tire
and some other stuff, then pulling the carpet out. Tank removal is pretty straightforward until you get to the last step.
The tank sits on a 1/4” layer of foam, and is often bonded to the foam from years of sitting on it so there’s no way you
can slide it out. Chuck Sparks offers a solution: a machete! Just slice through the foam from wheelwell to wheelwell,
and the tank will come right out. You’re probably going to want to replace that foam anyway; if the tank has been
leaking, it’s probably smelly.
FUEL TANK LINING: The fuel tank in the XJ-S is made of stamped sheet steel. This is a sorry choice of material for
a fuel tank, and any automaker that chooses it should be ashamed -- and that’s most of them. It’ll start putting rust
particles into your fuel system almost immediately. After it’s been doing that a few years, things get more serious. It
may develop leaks due to rusting from the inside out; it may develop leaks due to rusting from the outside in; it may
develop leaks due to stress cracking; and it may shed enough rust scale from the inside surfaces to plug the fuel pickup,
resulting in fuel starvation at high power, which in turn results in burnt pistons.
If you already have such problems, you need to do something -- but if you don’t have such problems, you might still
consider making some preventative measures at some convenient opportunity. A popular strategy -- for owners of any
old cars with steel fuel tanks, not just Jaguars -- is to apply a coating to the inside of the tank. Most such coatings will
not only prevent future problems, but they will usually seal up minor leaks. John Whitehead says “I have used gas tank
sealer from Bill Hirsch Automotive (see page 700), with great success. I put it in the fuel tank of my ’67 XKE which
had a number of pinhole-size leaks. Previous attempts to coat the outside of the tank were not as successful. The tank
sealer is gasoline and alcohol resistant. A quart can is sufficient as only a thin film is coated to the inside of the tank. I
am not sure of the product’s chemistry, but it dries to a white Teflon-like film.” Obviously, major cracks or holes will
require more extensive repairs.
Other sources of similar tank sealer materials include Red-Kote by Damon Industries, Renu (page 704), Eastwood (page
704), and Avon in England. Most modern sealers claim to be suitable for gasohol, but you might want to ask to make
sure. Oxygenated fuels, octane boosters, lead substitutes, injector cleaners, and anything else you may be tempted to put
in there are also things to ask about. The Hirsch, Red-Kote, and Eastwood sealers (and perhaps others) use methyl ethyl
ketone as a solvent, which means you need to avoid putting anything with MEK or acetone in it in your tank. Note that,
in the case of oxygenated fuels, lining the tank may be an improvement; MTBE will attack the brazing on a steel tank.
Several people have reported using POR-15 to coat the inside of their tank. It may not be specifically intended for the
purpose, but nobody has reported any problems.
You should be warned that lining your own fuel tank is not an easy job for the novice. Obviously, the tank must be
removed from the car, but that’s not the hard part. The inside of the tank must be scrupulously cleaned prior to applying
the liner, and cleaning is a serious challenge on the XJ-S tank -- even for shops with lots of experience cleaning and
sealing fuel tanks. The XJ-S tank has so many baffles inside that, looking into the filler and fuel level sender openings,
you will not be able to see more than perhaps 1/4 of the total interior surface of the tank, even with mirrors. You can
just forget about brushing, scrubbing, sandblasting, or the like. The only way you’re gonna do anything inside this tank
will be by putting things in, shaking it around, and pouring it out.
Bill Eslick: “Many years of racing (Midgets and Sprint cars) have given me opportunities to learn how to clean a fuel
tank. Solution: Three pint-sized cartons of BBs. Pour them in the tank and shake the shit out of it. If you are going to
coat the thing then shake it dry. Rinse with lacquer thinner, and shake again. This is tedious but works remarkably well.
Be sure you use BBs; lead shot can get lodged in baffles, etc. because it's so soft. Also, any errant BBs can be pulled out
with a magnet.”
A report from this author, who has tried BB’s: if you put a BB in the XJ-S tank, you will be using a magnet to remove
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it. They will not come out any other way. That doesn’t necessarily preclude the use of BB’s; once you figure out how
to use a magnet effectively, it only takes a couple of hours (!) to get a few thousand BB’s out of the tank.
Unless things are really bad in there -- lots of loose scale -- most owners would be well-advised to use only liquids in this
tank. Still, this is not a simple matter of pouring out the gas and pouring in the sealant. Mike Aiken provides the
guidelines recommended for use with the Eastwood product:
1. Wash tank with hot soapy water, then rinse out with a garden hose.
2. Metal wash diluted in 2 gallons of water. Slosh, 5 minutes a side, slosh. This is supposed to remove
contamination from surfaces and inhibit flash rust. Says it contains alkali surfactants(?).
3. Rinse with garden hose.
4. 1/2 gallon of muriatic acid obtained locally. Slosh until gray appearance.
5. Rinse with garden hose.
6. Rust remover (phosphoric acid). Rotate until all sufaces are contacted and uniform gray appearance(?). Dump
out.
7. 1 quart of acetone obtained locally. Slosh on all surfaces (no specified time). Dump out.
8. Do step 7 again.
9. Sealer. Rotate all around. Let stand 8-10 minutes on each side. Dump excess. A white coating should exist
on all surfaces of the tank. Says it contains methyl ethyl ketone.
10. Allow to dry (open) for 48 hours before use .
“If you dumped all this crap in the ground you would have another "Love Canal". It says to dispose of "stuff" according
to local law.”
The instructions that come with other products may not be as extensive, but they should be. Simply applying a single
cleaning product prior to lining may work on a new tank, but it’s likely to result in troubles down the road if done to an
old tank with a few years’ accumulation of surface rust and gasoline varnish inside. The lining may not stick securely in
spots, then later peel off and plug up the pickup.
Aiken: “The key, I believe, is the first step (Ed. note: he means step 2), which is to get all the varnish and other goop off
the metal. Rust (and some metal) will be removed by the muriatic acid, but the acid will not remove non-metallic stuff.
The cleaner supplied by Eastwood softened but did not remove all the gasoline residual (varnish, etc). Where I could
see it I could scrap it off with a stick, so it was not yet removed. So I added a step. With most of the cleaner still in the
tank, I added a gallon of acetone. Sloshed it around then let it sit for about two hours, then sloshed it again. It worked.
If you see anything but gray metal (maybe some rust and corrosion is OK) the process will fail. The muriatic acid will
not remove non-metal stuff, and the liner will only adhere to pure etched metal.”
The steps above describe a “metal wash” with “alkali surfactants”, but in reality any automotive cleaner/degreaser that
can be poured into the tank, sloshed around, and drained out will work well. The objective is to get any varnish and goo
out, so make sure that you accomplish that.
The muriatic acid is for getting the major metal corrosion off. Muriatic acid is available at building supply stores (it’s
used to clean brick walls) and at swimming pool supply stores (used to control ph in pools). The concentration
commonly available is 20º baume, which is a suitable strength for this job. Most shops -- as well as the guidelines above
-- suggest using a half gallon, but on this tank a full gallon is advisable because the interior of the tank is so convoluted
that there may be spots you don’t get to with less liquid inside.
Muriatic acid is nasty stuff; Aiken says, “muriatic (hydrochloric) acid is potent and very caustic. Emission of chlorine
gas is lethal. You must wear rubber gloves and a mask and be outside.” Arranging to be upwind is helpful, too, even if
it requires a fan.
Phosphoric acid is available in several products for treating surface rust, including Ospho and Right Stuff De-Ruster,
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available at auto parts stores. It chemically converts rust into something inert and paintable. Note that Naval Jelly is
also a phosphoric acid-based rust treatment, but unusable here because it’s too thick to slosh around inside; you need a
thin liquid here.
Note that there should be no rinsing with water past step 5. The residue of the phosphoric acid treatment is removed
with the acetone. After rinsing and draining (several times for maximum effect), any remaining acetone will evaporate
completely in minutes, leaving the tank clean, dry, and ready for lining.
Tip: each time you put a liquid in, you’re gonna have to drain it out. And there is only one opening into the XJ-S tank
that will drain the last pint or so, and that’s the fitting for the main line to the surge tank -- the one that’s intended to be a
drain. All the other openings are nothing but frustration, nothing ever seems to pour out of them except when you don’t
want it to!
A popular idea is to use heat -- either to make the various cleaning agents or acids work better, or merely to dry the
inside of the tank after rinsing. If a really big oven is available, this might work pretty well -- but the more common
procedure is to use a torch to heat the outside surface of the tank. One should be aware that this method might be
perfectly workable on other tanks that are mere cans, but on the XJ-S tank such torching will clearly have more effect on
the outer shell than on the baffles within.
Also note that you will only be able to visually inspect or physically touch a small percentage of the inside of an XJ-S
fuel tank. That means that you must rely on liquids to accomplish everything you need to accomplish. Trying to scrub
the areas you can see will only keep you from being able to judge the success of your work by looking at the areas you
can see! Treat the entire tank the same way, and then you can conclude that the entire tank is done when the visible
areas look done.
When the liner is poured in, you need to slosh it around to coat all the inside surfaces and drain out the excess. Good
luck! First off, the stuff doesn’t really “slosh” since it’s a little too thick; it might help to dilute the liner with some MEK
or acetone prior to pouring it in. Even if you render it sloshable, it’s still difficult to coat all those internal baffles; as you
rotate the tank over and over, the fluid pours past the baffles without really getting up on them. Of course, the baffles
are not a leak concern, but you would like to prevent them from rusting anyway.
When you open the tank up to drain the excess liner, you can just prop it up and let it pour out -- and it’ll pour for two
hours. Alternatively, you can just drain for five minutes -- getting most of what you will ever get out -- and then tip the
tank over to let the remainder run back across surfaces inside to make the coating a little thicker. If you will tip the tank
to a different position every few minutes, you can avoid the lining puddling in any one place.
Of course, while you’re lining the tank, it would also make sense to line the surge tank -- which is easier to do, although
again it’s not as easy to drain as you might think. The drain plug in the bottom won’t drain the lowest half inch of liquid!
You have to tip and tilt the surge tank to get everything to drain out of the big pickup opening, and all the liquids like to
flow around the opening rather than draining out it.
And you might also want to consider lining the vapor separator, although it’s a bit tougher because the biggest opening
into it is a 5/16” hose connection.
If all this sounds like too much for the do-it-yourselfer, there are places that will do it for you. You can usually find a
local shop that does this sort of work, although the one found by the author had never heard of phosphoric acid, had
been applying liners over bare metal with surface rust for 25 years. For a more reputable shop, you can contact Moyer’s
Fuel Tank Renu (page 704) about shipping your tank to them for work.
Although this section was written with the XJ-S coupe fuel tank in mind, it’s probably equally applicable to the
convertible and cabriolet. The Hess & Eisenhart is another animal, since it has two tanks; the upper one is a modified
version of the coupe tank and the lower one is completely custom.
FUEL TANK COATING: As mentioned above, a common cause of fuel leaks in the XJ-S is rust on the outside of the
tank -- specifically, the bottom. Therefore, even if you’re not interested in lining the inside as described above, you
might want to tackle the job of making sure the outside doesn’t rust. The tank still has to come out, but beyond that this
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job is obviously much easier. Simply clean off any existing surface rust (and possibly the paint if you want, meaning you
can sand-blast the whole outside if you wish), treat it with a phosphoric acid product such as Ospho or Naval Jelly, and
then coat it with something that will make really sure it won’t rust. Automotive undercoating is a popular idea, as is
POR 15. Undercoating is available in spray cans from automotive stores. You can’t see the tank after it’s installed, so
appearance is not an issue; you just want to make very sure it will never rust again.
Note: when you first remove the carpet and look at the tank in place, what you may think is rust may be the remnants of
the glue that once held the carpet in place. Be sure you’re really looking at rust before you panic.
FUEL TANK REPLACEMENT: The author, having gone through the tank lining process, has arrived at a few
conclusions:
1) I’d never do it again. Rather than fiddling around with all this work, I’d just take the tank down to a local fab shop
and have them make me an entirely new tank out of heavy gauge aluminum. The cost is reportedly comparable to
buying a new tank from Jaguar, but if you buy a new tank from Jaguar you still end up with a rust-prone steel can.
While making the new aluminum tank, I’d omit those stupid threaded compression fittings and just provide barbs for
connecting hoses. I’d probably have a new surge tank made while I was at it, and completely change its configuration so
as to better locate the pump and an in-hose pickup filter.
2) I consider the entire idea of making automobile fuel tanks from steel to be irresponsible at best. Aluminum should be
the minimum specification, if only to minimize rust problems. From an automobile manufacturer, though, I would
expect a mass-produced version of the fuel cell commonly used in racing. Racing organizations wouldn’t consider a
simple steel tank acceptable, and with good reason: they’re an obvious fire safety hazard. It wouldn’t cost auto
manufacturers $20 more per car to provide a similar level of safety in street cars -- far less than air bags or ABS brakes
cost.
FUEL LEVEL SENDER: It’s discussed on page 594.
Fuel Tank: Hess & Eisenhardt Convertible
FUEL TANKS: This section is of no use to coupe or later convertible owners, but it is reportedly difficult for H&E
owners to find information on how this system works so a description is included here. According to Mike Cogswell,
“In order to make room for the folding top and its mechanism H&E had to take the standard tank and cut part of it off.
It would appear they literally cut the tank and welded in a sloped section. To regain fuel capacity, they added a second
tank under the parcel area, basically where the rear seat would have been in a coupe. The upper tank is about 14 US gal.
and the lower is about 11.
“As you know, the standard tank has a sump from which the high pressure fuel injection pump draws its fuel. Since the
second tank is lower than the first H&E added two concentric hoses. The larger outer hose allows fuel to gravity drain
into the lower tank from the upper (which is where the filler neck is located.) Consequently, the lower tank is always full
until the upper tank goes dry. Meanwhile, a small submerged pump constantly pumps fuel from the bottom tank to the
top tank via a small tube that is located in the center of the large drain hose. The fuel is dumped into the upper tank’s
sump, where it is available to the main fuel pump. The submerged pump can pump fuel faster than the engine consumes
it, but any in excess of the sump capacity will drain right back into the lower tank. Both pumps only run when the
ignition is on and the standard pump circuit is energized, so all the regular safety interlocks still work.”
Tim Blystone points out that since parking the car nose-down on an incline will cause the fuel to drain toward the
forward tank and away from the sump, the auxiliary pump might not keep up when the tank is less than half full. “All of
the early tank designs will stall on a sufficient incline.”
“H&E went through a couple of different configurations. The main difference is the dams added in the interior of Jags
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original tank.”
FUEL TANK LEAKS: This author has only laid eyes on one H&E convertible, and that one was literally pouring fuel
out the bottom of the car. Steve Wilke says, “I've heard stories from a couple of informed sources that Jaguar Cars
repurchased a large number of Hess & Eisenhardt convertible conversions, and these cars were then shipped elsewhere;
Brazil was one of the target countries that was mentioned to me. Seems that a large number of the H&E conversion fuel
tanks weren't made properly, and had a propensity for splitting their seams and producing a very pronounced fuel smell.
When the owner would call the dealer to report this, they'd say something like "Really? Where is this Jaguar?". Then
they'd send over a flatbed truck, load up the car, and hand the owner a check. Perhaps Brazil has a much lower
population of suit-hungry attorneys than the States do. I would expect the population of H&E's in the States to be quite
small indeed by this point.”
If you have an H&E with a leaking tank, there’s certainly no need to ship it to Brazil. It’s a fairly simple matter to fix a
leaking fuel tank, or even to simply take it to a local welding shop and have them fab up a replacement tank in heavy-
guage aluminum with whatever fittings and connections you desire.
FUEL GUAGE: see page 595.
FUEL HEATING PROBLEMS: The stock Jaguar fuel pump moves far more fuel than the engine normally needs with
the excess returned to the tank. Since this heats the fuel somewhat, a fuel cooler is included in the return line, using the
A/C freon circuit to provide cooling. On the H&E, however, the problem is exacerbated by the fact there are two pumps
running full time, coupled with the fact the car is a convertible so the top may be down and the A/C off on warm days!
Tim Blystone: “Normally this presents very little problems until the A/C goes on the fritz, or you have one of H&E’s
earlier designs. If it is summer, the top is down... the A/C system is off. No cool fuel. Vapor lock from hell.”
FUEL SYSTEM MODS: Tim Blystone: “My modification puts the plastic hose from the H&E fuel cell directly into
the supply for the sump tank. A new and longer piece of hose is required. Fuel is pumped by the H&E pump directly
into the Jag sump tank and bypasses the need for the tank to be gravity filled. There is a return to Jags original main
tank from the sump tank so there is no excess pressure in the sump. The result is a fuel system that doesn’t have the
H&E problem with steep inclines or die dead in the middle of a hot southern day.”
Another idea might be to do away with the surge tank and main fuel pump altogether and (somehow) connect the pump
in the lower tank directly to the engine. The fuel in the upper tank can then simply gravity-feed to the lower tank and
stay there. Basically, the lower tank would serve as the surge tank. The return line from the engine doesn’t require
alteration, it can continue to feed into the upper tank. The vent lines from the surge tank can simply be plugged,
allowing the existing vent lines from the two main tanks to work as intended. Benefits include more luggage space in
the trunk! Before doing this, one would need to ensure that the fuel pump in the lower tank can actually provide the
flow and pressure required by the engine. If necessary, just replace that pump with one of known capacity -- one from
any large V8 with EFI, for example.
GAS CAPS: The single fuel filler on the H&E is the same as the two on an XJ6. You can read about these on page
244.
Surge Tank and Fuel Pickup -- Pre-1992
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FUEL PICKUP: Leonard Berk’s XJ-S would run fine when first started, but after a half hour it would start to lose
power, eventually coming to a stop. After shutting it off and letting it sit for a minute, it would start and run fine for
another half hour. It turned out the problem was dirt in the small surge tank in the trunk. As the engine ran, the dirt
would gradually collect on the screen on the pickup and plug it. When the engine was shut off, the dirt would fall back
to the bottom of the tank. This is not a freak occurrence; in fact, it is one of the most common failure modes on the
Jaguar XJ-S! This same problem happened to this author’s ’83 and several others have reported it as well.
In fact, it’s common enough that it even caught Jaguar’s attention. This pickup screen plugging is a very rare example
of a problem that has been recognized and addressed by Jaguar. In Issue No. 2 of the XJS Bulletin, Ray Ingman of
Classic Spares, Inc., reports that Jaguar issued a replacement pickup screen with a considerably larger screen area. The
part number is CBC5649. Anyone working in the area should definitely upgrade.
Ingman apparently doesn’t think a lot of this fix; his impression is that the larger area won’t prevent it from plugging, it’ll
just take longer. He may be right, but he might not be. For one thing, the suction at the screen is a function of the
screen area, so a screen with more area will have less suction at the surface -- so maybe the junk won’t have as much
tendency to stick. Another possibility: It may be that the larger screen has so much area that it's effectively unpluggable
-- you could cover the entire surface with crud and it would still be able to pull enough fuel through the nooks and
crannies between chunks to maintain flow and keep running.
John Goodman owns a 1989 XJR-S 6.0 litre: “I have just cleaned out my sump tank, no signs of a filter!” Who knows,
maybe Jaguar decided it was more trouble than it was worth.
There is some experience to indicate that the plugged pickup problem is often accompanied by a failed fuel pump.
Perhaps the plugged pickup causes the pump failure. Be aware that when you find the pickup problem you may also
have to replace the pump before the car runs right again. Apparently, if you can hear the pump whining when driving,
you can count on it. Perhaps the cost of this pump is one good reason to check the pickup before you have problems.
OK, you’re thinking to yourself that you don’t have the symptoms of a pickup problem, but you’ll now be able to
recognize it if it happens and know how to fix it when it does. John Himes would probably suggest you think again. If
the sump pickup can get plugged badly enough to shut down the engine, what happens when it’s plugged a little less
than that? Let’s say it’s just a little bit plugged, not enough to affect engine operation at 60 MPH but enough to start
limiting fuel flow at full power. Just as you’re really getting into the interesting areas of the speedometer, the pressure in
the fuel rail starts to drop off. The engine starts to run lean just when it can do the most harm; lean mixtures at full
power are a recipe for disaster. And you’re into the open-loop range of operation, so the oxygen sensors are not able to
correct the lean mixtures. Himes was cruising along at 140 MPH, and the next thing you know he was facing several
months of down time and several thousand dollars in mechanic’s bills to fix a couple of burned pistons. Now, lemme ask
again: are you sure your fuel pickup is in good shape? In fact, everyone with the earlier style pickup screen should
definitely upgrade; go ahead and order the part now.
Kevin Darling claims that his car starts more easily since he cleaned up his pickup, and has a lower, more stable idle.
Neither of those effects can be easily explained, but improvements are always welcome.
There is, of course, another way of dealing with the problem: discard the OEM screen altogether and install an inline
screen in the hose between the surge tank and the pump. This would have the advantage that, once this screen had
collected a lot of crud, you could clean or replace it and get the crud out of the system once and for all. With the OEM
setup, you’re probably leaving a lot of crud inside the surge tank even when you clean it as best you can. Also, with an
inline screen you may be able to pinch the lines and service it without having to drain the surge tank. Finally, if you get a
screen assembly with a clear housing, you’ll be able to see if it’s dirty.
The line between the pickup and the fuel pump is 1/2”, and finding a fuel filter or screen assembly with 1/2” fittings may
be difficult -- and you certainly don’t want to step down to smaller fittings, since the entire objective is to minimize
restriction in this suction line! Keep looking; Chad Bolles says NAPA carries fuel filters with 1/2” barbs. This author
found a suitable unit a local parts store; it’s a Wix filter, number 33299. Less than ten bucks. It has an all-metal
housing. It’s a pretty compact unit, helping ease installation a bit.
Andrew Holley found another one: "Has 1/2 inch fittings and looks just the thing for keeping the crud out of the system.
The part no. is 202711 (Volvo)"
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There are also various types of high-performance or specialty filters that might be used. Holley makes a unit called a
Volumax that includes a cleanable 60 micron screen element. It comes with either 8AN or 3/8” hose barb fittings that
screw into the housing, but 8AN is 1/2” so you might be able to find 1/2” hose barb fittings to screw into the housing.
Heavy equipment places that work on trucks and bulldozers may have suitable filter assemblies that can be fitted with
cleanable screens, but they are usually big industrial contraptions and will be difficult to locate in the XJ-S. They also
have threaded connections, so you’ll have to install some suitable fittings for connecting the hoses up.
Another possibility, of course, would be to tee together two or more 3/8” filters. Finding suitable 1/2”-to-3/8” tees may
be harder than finding 1/2” filters, but once you’ve put it together it’d be easier finding replacement filters.
You’ll need some 1/2” fuel hose -- another challenge. EFI hose is not necessary, this is a low-pressure application. But
finding any fuel hose in 1/2” size may require visiting an industrial hose shop rather than an auto parts store. See page
239.
You also need to get some clamps; EFI style clamps would be great, but 1/2” hose is big enough that regular worm
screw clamps work just fine.
The OEM fuel hose goes from the pickup tube to the pump inlet, only about four inches with a 90° bend -- too close to
put this filter in between. Instead, use a new piece of 1/2” hose to make a big circle from the pickup tube barb CCW
past the pump inlet, down, back to the right, up, and back left into the fuel pump inlet. Then install your filter anywhere
in this loop that’s convenient. Probably three feet of 1/2” hose total, but absolutely no sharp bends.
Wrap some foam around the metal filter so it won’t rattle and clang against the floor or battery support. I used the 1/2”
foam tape used for sealing doors. After encircling each end of the filter with foam strips, I added some electrical tape to
hold it in place.
FUEL PICKUP - SALOONS: Saloons -- either XJ12 or XJ6 -- don’t have a surge tank, but they nevertheless have the
same problem with clogged fuel pickups, one per tank. Without having read this book, Chuck Sparks came up with a
remarkably similar fix as that described above, fitting two generic fuel filters in the lines between the tanks and the
selector valve.
FUEL SUPPLY MONITORING: From a fail-safety point of view, the surge tank pickup situation is bad. Regardless
of which pickup screen you have installed or how often you clean it, there is really no way to know if it’s plugged until
you notice the symptoms -- and the first symptoms are likely to be low compression readings in a couple of cylinders!
Of course, a plugged pickup isn’t the only possible cause of lean running under hard throttle. A failing fuel pump, an
obstructed fuel line, or a fuel filter overdue for replacing are other obvious candidates. Whatever the cause, the result
will be the same: if you run it hard, you’re gonna be buying new pistons.
Oh, c’mon, the problem can’t be that serious! How come other cars aren’t burning pistons at full throttle all the time?
Well, obviously because their fuel systems weren’t designed by Jaguar engineers. On most cars, nobody ever even has
to think about the fuel supply; it’s just there, and it works. The concept that an engine could run lean because of a
plugged fuel pickup strikes owners of other cars as laughable.
Of course, you could resolve to never drive the car hard -- but why else would you own a Jaguar? A better solution
would be to have some indication that the fuel supply is holding up before you burn pistons.
Two methods come to mind. The first would be to install a fuel pressure gauge or sensor in the rail. Robert Dingli says:
“I bought a VDO fuel pressure gauge for about Aus$40 and connected it to the fuel rail where the cold start injector was
once supplied. I believe any pressure gauge designed for hydrocarbons would be suitable and other brands sell for much
less. My gauge is mounted in the engine bay as I am paranoid about high pressure fuel entering the cabin.
“There are a couple of things to note about connecting the gauge:
- use high pressure fuel line and fittings.
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- don’t mount the gauge on the engine as vibration will kill it.
- use a restrictor in the line as the pressure fluctuations will also kill the gauge.”
If you have the Digital P system, ideally you’d use a gauge that reads the difference between the fuel rail pressure and
the intake manifold pressure. Since the fuel pressure regulators are referencing manifold pressure, this should result in a
steady reading at all operating conditions and any variation is a sign of trouble. If you use a regular guage that
references ambient atmospheric pressure, the fuel rail pressure will go up and down as the intake manifold vacuum
varies, so you will have to monitor both and do a little math to make sure things are operating properly.
For most intents and purposes, a pair of air/fuel meters (see page 37) is a better idea than a fuel pressure gauge.
SURGE TANK DRAINING: In theory, the easy way to drain the surge tank is to pinch off the line from the main tank
to the surge tank and run the pump, which will pump the fuel through the fuel rail and back into the main tank. You
don’t even have to hotwire the fuel pump relay; you can just start the engine and let it run until it stalls.
Good idea in theory, but in fact may not work too well. As described below, the return line from the engine doesn’t
simply go into the main tank, but rather goes through the tank and is directed into the vent connection for the surge
tank. Running the pump will circulate the fuel from the surge tank around and back into the surge tank, and you will
have to run the engine until it burns all the fuel in the surge tank.
So, pinch off the vent line too? Bad idea, because then the pump would pull a vacuum on the surge tank and cavitate
long before it empties the surge tank -- unless your surge tank has been fitted with the JLM 2163 vent kit mentioned
below, it which case this might work fine.
Forget that method; there are other perfectly workable methods that are very easy. The intended method of emptying
the surge tank is to clamp the main line from the main tank, and then remove the rubber plug in the floor underneath the
surge tank and open the drain in the bottom of the tank (see page 245). Since the vent line actually opens near the top
inside the main tank (as opposed to where it looks like it goes) you only need to make sure the fuel level is below that
level so it sucks air instead of fuel. Just plan on this job when the tank is less than half full. Of course, you can do it
when it’s full; it’s just that you will first have to drain the main tank down to the level of the vent before the surge tank
will empty.
Another way to drain the surge tank is to pinch off the main line from main tank to surge tank, disconnect a line from the
fuel filter and direct it into a gas can sitting in the trunk, and remove the fuel pump relay and apply a jumper between
terminals 30 and 87 in the socket to run the pump.
Of course, one way to drain the surge tank is to drain both the main and surge tanks; that way you don’t have to pinch
off any hoses. See page 245.
SURGE TANK DRAIN UPGRADE: Somewhere along the line, the drain plug in the surge tank changed from C41803
to CBC4518. The newer drain plug is magnetic, while the earlier item was a simple plug. If you are working in the area
and find no magnetism in your drain plug, you definitely should opt for a replacement; any particles that stick to that
magnet are particles prevented from plugging the pickup screen.
The 1988 Jaguar Parts Catalogue lists only the first part number, but later editions apparently confused things a bit.
Wally Magathan says, “According to my parts manual, RTC9900CA, Jan 1989: on page 2D 05, there is a diagram of the
sump tank, with the drain plug part annotated as having been replaced by a magnetic plug. One puzzlement, however:
the diagram is indicated to pertain to cars equipped with 3.6 engines only. There is no diagram labeled for use with 5.3
engines.” Kevin Darling responds: “This puzzled my local Jag dealer as well. But the RTC9900CA parts book is
wrong, since both my 1985 and 1990 V-12's have the sump tank.”
Supposedly the CBC4518 plug will fit all the earlier cars.
If you’re cheap, of course, you could always simply drop a magnet into the surge tank while working on the pickup. It
might be more challenging to clean, but it should do just as good a job of keeping ferrous particles off the pickup screen.
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SURGE TANK VENTING: The vent line from the surge tank doesn’t go to the vapor separator, as one might expect.
Instead, it connects back into the main tank about 2” above the bottom. However, this is not a simple opening into the
tank. Inside the tank, this fitting continues as a tube that makes a couple of bends and terminates with an open end
pointing upward a couple of inches from the top of the tank.
Meanwhile, the fitting for the return line from the engine compartment is at the bottom left rear corner of the tank.
Inside the tank, this fitting continues as a tube that runs across the rear of the tank -- there are actually a couple of clips
brazed to the inner surface of the tank to hold the tube in place -- and then bends upward and terminates with a 180º
hook that pokes its end down into the opening of the pipe from the surge tank fitting described above. The connection
of the two pipes is not liquid-tight; if you tip the tank over and pour a liquid into one of the fittings, it will leak out of the
connection within the tank. But it doesn’t appear to be a very loose fit; the tube from the return line appears to nearly
fill the opening in the end of the tube from the surge tank vent.
In other words: the fuel returning from the engine compartment passes through the main tank but really goes directly
back to the surge tank, with a leaky connection inside the main tank to allow air to bleed out or something.
Mike Morrin provides a possible explanation for this Rube Goldberg: “Let's say you are nearly out of fuel, with a little
fuel still sloshing around the bottom of the main tank. You park, with the engine running on the side of a road with a lot
of camber so that all the fuel runs to one side of the tank. The main outlet from the tank is now above the fuel level.
The engine can keep running (or restart) for as long as there is fuel in the surge tank.
“With the arrangement you describe, the engine can keep running until all of the fuel in the surge tank is burned in the
engine. If the return pipe just went to the main tank, the fuel circulated by the pump would all end up in the main tank,
and the surge tank would be empty in a minute or so.”
Apparently something about this system didn’t work as intended, though; in Issue No. 2 of the XJS Bulletin, Ray
Ingman reports that Jaguar issued a kit to provide an additional vent for the surge tank, JLM 2163. The kit includes a
replacement pickup tube that features a vent connection. A line from this connection is simply teed into another vent
line up near the vapor separator.
Ingman describes the incentive for this fix as a “problem of fuel vaporization within this tank under adverse, e.g. hot,
climatic conditions. This results in flat spots and hesitation in engine performance.”
SURGE TANK VENT CONNECTION: There are three threaded fittings on the fuel tank in the ’83 coupe. The main
drain line from the tank to the surge tank requires a 13/16” wrench and the return line from the front of the car requires a
19/32” wrench -- both readily available at most hardware stores. However, the fitting where the surge tank vent
connects to the main tank requires a 1/4” Whitworth/5/16”BSF wrench.
Fuel Pump
FUEL PUMP CONTROL: On both the Digital P system and the earlier D Jetronic, the fuel pump is controlled by the
EFI ECU via a relay in the trunk. The ECU contains a circuit that determines whether or not the engine is actually
running and shuts off the pump if it has been motionless for more than a coupla seconds. You can observe this circuit
working by turning on the ignition without starting the car, and listening to the pump run; it should shut off in a couple
of seconds.
Note: there have been some reports that owners have gotten the idea that they are supposed to wait until the pump stops
running before starting the car. This is not the case; the fuel pump control circuit is only provided as a safety device.
When starting, the key should be turned from off all the way around to start promptly.
The fuel pump control circuit is unreliable in the 6CU ECU, and sometimes will fail to keep the pump running more than
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a coupla seconds regardless of whether the engine is running or not. Typically, the starter is engaged, the engine fires,
the starter is released and the engine quickly dies -- misleading the mechanic to believe that the problem is related to
coming off the starter circuit. Of course, like most electronic failures, it can be intermittent -- runs perfectly for a while,
then dies, then inexplicably runs perfectly later.
If you’d like to test this circuit to determine if this is your problem, simply remove the fuel pump relay in the trunk (the
one without a red mark on it) and put a jumper into the socket connecting terminals 86 and both 87’s. This will allow
the pump to run whenever the ignition is on. If the car now runs perfectly, the fuel pump circuit in the ECU (or the relay
itself) was the problem. AJ6 Engineering, Beckman, or any other place that repairs ECU’s should be able to fix this
problem for far less than the cost of a new ECU.
If you’re willing to risk the odds that you will be in an accident where you are knocked unconscious, a fuel line is
severed, and something ignites the leaking fuel, you can leave this jumper in place permanently -- but a better idea would
be to cut the orange wire from the 85 terminal in the socket and connect it directly to ground and reinstall the relay.
That way, the relay will continue to handle the heavy current to the fuel pump instead of pulling it through the ignition
switch, as is done with the 86-to-87 jumper. Note also that if you happen to have a leaky injector, turning the ignition
on without starting the engine can fill a cylinder with liquid fuel, causing considerable damage the next time the starter is
engaged.
You might also consider upgrading to the later 16CU ECU. See page 296.
FUEL PUMP POWER SUPPLY: Elsewhere in this book there are lengthy discussions of problems with voltage losses
in the original Lucas wiring. The electric windows, the windshield wipers, and the headlights all commonly suffer from
low voltage due to high-resistance connections or simply undersized wiring. Why should the fuel pump be any different.
The voltage to the fuel pump, unfortunately, is a far more serious concern. The fuel pump provides a constant flow of
fuel. The engine takes what it needs, and the excess is returned to the tank. As long as the engine is at low power, most
is being returned to the tank, and a reduction of pump capacity would go unnoticed. When the throttle is floored,
however, a fuel pump working at low voltage won’t provide enough fuel to keep up, and the engine will run lean --
precisely when the EFI system is in “open-loop” mode and desperately in need of enrichment. The inevitable result will
be burnt pistons, in short order. What’s worse, it’s quite possible you’ll spend thousands of dollars rebuilding the engine
without ever figuring out why you burnt pistons -- and hence may do it again the next time you floor it.
Now, today, before the next time you hammer that gas pedal, go out there and measure the voltage across the terminals
on the fuel pump itself. You’ll have to remove the spare tire, the trunk carpet, and a couple of panels to get at it, but it’s
not difficult.
At idle, the voltage should be at least 11V. Better yet, have someone hold the engine at 2000 rpm. At that speed, the
voltage should be at least 13V.
If it’s not, fix it. For analysis, you can use the same VOM while you’re there to determine where the voltage losses are
-- in the ground connection, in the fuel pump relay itself, in the wiring from the battery to the fuel pump relay, in the
wiring from the fuel pump relay to the pump. In the XJ-S, all these items are within a couple feet of each other in the
corner of the trunk. In the saloons, the battery is up at the front of the car, so testing each part of the circuit is a bit
more involved.
Better idea: just forget the testing and replace everything. Run a new 12-gauge wire directly from the battery post to the
fuel pump relay. Run a new 12-gauge wire from the fuel pump relay to the fuel pump. Run a new 12-gauge wire from
the fuel pump to ground. Make sure you’re providing good connections to the fuel pump relay socket, not just splicing
into the existing wires near the terminals -- the existing connections where the terminals are crimped onto the wires may
be the problem! If the voltage at the pump terminals still isn’t what it should be, replace the fuel pump relay itself --
that’s the only thing left it could be. All of this could be done in perhaps an hour for ten bucks worth of wire,
connectors, and a relay. Money well spent.
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FUEL PUMP NOISE: A noisy fuel pump is a very common complaint. The two most common causes, though, are not
the pump’s fault. The first is a problem in the mounting. The pump is supposed to be mounted in foam rubber and
connected at both ends with flexible hose so that it can vibrate without transmitting sound into other parts of the car.
However, its near-vertical mounting often allows the entire pump to slide downward through its mounting until the
outlet barb, within the hose, is jammed hard against the trunk floor. This allows the vibrations to be conducted directly
into the structure of the car. To prevent this, the author wrapped a piece of soft rubber around the pump and held it
securely to the pump body with a hose clamp. The pump could then slide downward only until this rubber contacted the
mount, and could not slip any farther. Problem solved.
Ed Sowell has a related problem: “Mine was really noisy for a while. Then I found some jerk had put a floor jack under
the boot floor pan, pushing it so that it ran into the pump. Got quieter when I pounded the floor back down.”
The other likely cause of pump noise is a plugged pickup or other restrictions on the suction line to the pump. See
FUEL PICKUP on page 251.
FUEL PUMP MOD: This author had a scrap fuel pump apart and was surprised to find that there is no anti-rotation
feature on the pump stator. If it decided to, the stator could start spinning within the pump housing. Just for grins, I
worked up a fix which is explained and illustrated at
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/83FuelPumpMod.html
Basically, I drilled and tapped a threaded hole in the magnet case and screwed a round-headed screw into it from the
inside outward such that the head of the screw would prevent the square stator housing from spinning around within it.
I ground off the tip of the screw flush with the outside of the magnet case so it wouldn't interfere with installation in the
pump housing.
There it sat online for years, a fix without a problem. Then Charles Welkie weighed in: "Many of us have been
wondering if the stator in the Lucas fuel pump does ever actually rotate. Seems my experience today confirms that it
can happen. Fuel starvation problem led to the usual (new filter), check the surge tank screen, etc. Still no joy. Upon
pulling the fuel pump apart it became obvious that the stator could spin rather freely in the magnet housing. A 6-32
button head machine screw and 3 lock washers later it didn't spin any more. Nice bonus - the pump didn't leak after
reassembly either. The test drive was a joy. Good solid response throughout the range."
The question now arises: Over the decades, how many fuel pumps have been discarded and replaced when this
modification would have rendered them fully operational? We'll never know, but consider that the typical symptom of a
failing pump -- getting too noisy -- could certainly be explained by the stator spinning around inside the case.
FUEL PUMP OVERHEATING: Joe Bialy warns against running the pump with an empty tank, or otherwise with no
fuel in it: “The fuel is the only means of cooling the pump windings.”
FUEL PUMP FOREIGN OBJECT DAMAGE: Steve Holst had a fuel pump totally seized by a tiny strip of cellophane,
possibly from a wrapper or maybe the edge of the Lucas label on the side of the pump. For those of us who like to
tinker, it’s possible to fix this problem by completely disassembling the pump and removing the cellophane strip -- but
just your luck it’d be a metal chip or a piece of sand and the impeller will be scored beyond repair. The message is clear:
make very sure nothing can get into that pump inlet except fuel! Fortunately, the line between the pickup screen and the
pump itself is very short and simple. Just make sure that there’s nothing within that little stretch of plumbing and you’ll
be OK.
FUEL PUMP VARIATIONS: Peter Smith says, “The pump motor is used on several cars including Volvo, but the
rotors are said to be different to provide different flows for different cars.” Just in case there is any misunderstanding, let
me make the implications here perfectly clear: the fuel pump is not an item that you should replace with a pump from a
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different car just because it looks the same. If you install a pump with a lower flow rate, the car might run fine at normal
speeds but run lean when floored and the ECU is operating in open-loop fuelling mode. The result will be burned
pistons. There won’t be any warning prior to burned pistons.
FUEL PUMP UPGRADE: In 2005, the author picked up a flyer in an auto parts store touting a new line of Bosch fuel
pumps. Instead of the roller pump found in the XJ-S pump, this pump features a turbine pump. John Robison, who
works at Bosch, says “If I remember correctly, the impeller runs up around 30,000rpm.” Supposedly quieter,
supposedly more durable. And, judging by the illustrations, is about the same shape and size as the OEM Lucas pump.
So, if your pump dies, perhaps you’d be wise to seek out one of these newer design pumps. If it’s suitable for any EFI
automobile of similar horsepower and you can get it mounted and connected up, it should work fine. Bosch might even
provide a cross-reference listing new pumps for old cars.
FUEL COOLER: Many people see that the air conditioning circuit in the Jag includes a fuel cooler, and assume that this
is a high-performance trick. Dragsters often include an ice bucket in the engine compartment to cool the fuel on its way
to the engine to get more horsepower.
It’s a great idea, but unfortunately not the case. The fuel cooler in the Jag is in the return line going back to the tank.
The pump moves much more fuel than is normally needed and most of it recirculates. The fuel being heated while
passing through the engine compartment as well as the pumping energy itself would eventually heat up the fuel in the
tank significantly, possibly causing vapor lock problems and problems passing EPA emission requirements -- heated fuel
gives off more vapor. The cooler is to counteract the heating effect. This may help explain why the ventilation system
has the A/C running during most conditions.
Why Jaguar doesn’t put the cooler in the supply line and reap both benefits is anybody’s guess. Perhaps it’s more
difficult to make a cooler to operate at the higher fuel pressure on the supply side.
FUEL COOLER - CONVERTIBLE: According to Michael Neal: “This vapor lock problem was such a problem that
the convertibles were modified to keep the A/C compressor running all the time. The aerodynamics on the convertibles
caused the engine compartment to run even hotter than the coupes. With the A/C compressor running the fuel cooler
kept the fuel temp to a decent level.”
This author suspects aerodynamics had nothing to do with it. In the coupes, the A/C was always on anyway -- you can’t
live in there long without it. But with the convertible, you can turn the A/C off and put the top down.
1992-on Fuel System
FUEL COOLER - 1992-ON: Richard Mansell quotes from a Jaguar publication that was sent to him: “It is titled
“Technical Guide - The New XJ-S 1992 Model Year Preliminary Information”. In it there is a paragraph about the fuel
cooler deletion, it says:
“With the introduction of the in-tank fuel pump, the fuel cooler is deleted. This affected the characteristics of the
system so that a muffler is added in the line to reduce noise and vibration.”
“I wonder why adding an in-tank fuel pump should allow the deletion of the fuel cooler. It also says in another section:
“As a result of the deletion of the fuel cooler, it is necessary to introduce a redesigned hot start system. The thermal
vacuum valve fitted to pre-92 MY vehicles is replaced by the following components:
1. Fuel rail temperature switch. The electrically operated switch enables the fuel rail pressure to be increased when
the fuel temperature exceeds 70 degrees Centigrade at hot starting.
2. 45 second timer module. The timer limits the time for which the increased fuel pressure is applied.
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3. Solenoid vacuum valve. This controls the vacuum signal driven by the fuel temperature switch and the 45 second
timer.
4. Vacuum delay valve. This controls the way the extra pressure is applied at hot starting to give a decayed reduction
in fuel pressure over 45 seconds, after which the pressure is switched to normal.”
FUEL PUMP: John Goodman reports: “The latest XJ-S’s had pumps inside the fuel tank, so Jaguar may have done
this for noise related problems. I suspect that these pumps are lower output because the ’93 model XJR-S had twin in-
tank pumps, and must be ordered in a matched pair.”
FUEL PUMP REPLACEMENT: Noel Keefer found that somebody had already replaced his in-tank fuel pump with a
Walbro. "A WALBRO pump ought to be available at NAPA, for cheap. It was a perfect fit." Note that, when you take
the old pump out, you'll find it encased in a housing. You have to open the housing up; the Walbro fits inside where the
original pump was.
FUEL PUMP WIRING: Nigel Sly, who owns a ’93 4.0, reports on a fuel pump wiring issue: “Pull the fuel tank and
remove the pump cannister/housing, then prise that apart, remove and replace the pump. Took me about 5 hours all in
all. Just the pump unit will cost about $100. Don't celebrate at that cost, when mine failed it was the connector which
had toasted, apparently a design fault. New pumps have a different connector, which will not fit the female connector in
the evaporative flange.”
“First, cut off the connector from the pump, and then solder on an extra 2 to 3 feet of wire to the pump cables, this gives
room to allow the pump to be refitted without the evap flange getting in the way. Pop out the through connector which
goes through the evap flange (black in colour), cut the right angled bit off the connector, and then drill a small hole
down through the connector, which will allow the pump cables to be passed through. Fit the connector back into the
evap flange, and fill the connector with mastic/sealant to seal the hole. You will probably need to remove the connector
from the external harness as well, unless you can find a matching connector to fit to the pump cables. If cannot find
matching connector, cut the connector from the external harness, and then fit matching connectors to the external
harness and the pump cables.”
“I tried for weeks to get the original pump connector, even tried the makers of the connector, only to be told it has been
out of production for years. Jaguar had the pump connector, and hence the evap flange changed in 1994, mainly I think
because of numerous failures of the original connector.
“Incidentally, the tank does not need to be completely removed from the car; it needs to be moved back about a foot in
order to get access to the evap. flange.
“A replacement pump (in canister), complete with new redesigned evap. flange, and new harness is about $900, but now
as rare as rocking horse s**t, you might see them listed on various sites, but stock is zero.”
Sly may be satisfied with his fix of running the wires through the flange and sealing them up, but in general this type of
thing is not a good idea. It’s possible to end up with leaks through the wires themselves, vapors or liquid passing
between the copper conductors and the insulation. In general, this type of problem calls for a liquid-tight bulkhead
connection, something that the pump plugs into on the inside and the harness connects to on the outside. Better
electrical supply houses should be able to provide such connectors, but make sure they’re compatible with fuel and
ethanol. If all else fails, you could conceivably make such a thing by embedding straight pieces of solid brass in the
sealant and then connecting the leads to them on the inside and outside. You might even use connectors to hold the
brass pieces in place while the sealant sets up.
Alternatively, you could make one small hole per conductor, and install a small bolt and nut with insulating washers.
You must make sure that the head of the bolt seals against the insulating washer, otherwise you will get a leak along the
bolt threads. It may prove a challenge to get the electrical leads connected without causing a leak.
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FUEL PUMP PLUGGING: Noel Keefer reports: “My '92 [42,000 mi] has two screens prior to the pump. It produced
the proper pressure and adequate volume for shop tests. But it couldn't go fast very long, maybe 5 minutes. Pulled the
pump from the tank and the two screens were clean. So was the inline filter. All were perfectly clean. However the
pump, a Walbro!, has about a 1/4 inch intake with a screen finer than the two prior filters. It was dirty. I carved the
screen out because I'm not particularly fond of removing the tank when I have 3 filters preceding the pump. Now I have
2 followed by the inline and a screen on the return!
"Some may say now the pump is in jeopardy. My answer: ''So what?''. If the external filter is ever going to be more than
a splice in my fuel line let the D*** dirt get to it. But tank removal is now going to be less frequent, if ever."
Rory McKenzie reports: “My friend Mike Dallaire ('92 xjs v-12) told me his in-tank pump fried out and he had to do
similar work. He said when he pulled the in-tank fuel filter out, it was all clogged up with the remnants of little
polyethylene ''packing pillows'' which had not been completely removed between the shipping and installation phases.”
Vapor Recovery System
VAPOR RECOVERY SYSTEM: When the car is running and drawing fuel out of the tank, there must be a vent
system to allow air into the tank to prevent a vacuum from being created. It is no longer acceptable to merely have a
small hole in the gas cap; such methods allow fuel vapor to escape into the atmosphere all the time, whether the car is
running or not, and would contribute to air pollution. Raw gasoline is a serious air pollutant, and besides that it smells
bad.
Unless you live in California or somewhere else where they have intelligently-designed gasoline pumps, you pump 20
gallons of fuel vapor out into the air every time you pump 20 gallons of liquid gasoline into your car. It is simply
inexcusable that, decades after the public became aware of the problems of air pollution, every filling station in America
doesn’t have the same vapor recovery filling systems that California has. But, back to discussing the fuel tank vent
system in your Jag.
Avoiding polluting the air via a properly-designed fuel tank vent scheme is easy and doesn’t hamper the performance of
the car one iota. The only disadvantage to the owner is in the initial cost of installation, but since the car comes with the
system from the factory and has therefore already been paid for, there is no reason to remove or disable it.
In simplest terms, a “vapor recovery system” connects the fuel tank vent to a carbon canister. Air can flow freely
through the canister into the fuel tank, but when vapors from the fuel tank try to escape through the canister they are
absorbed by the activated charcoal. Of course, the charcoal can only absorb so much fuel. Therefore, whenever the
engine is running, there is a system by which the engine draws fresh air through the canister. This draws the vapors back
out of the charcoal and burns them in the engine.
When the car is not run for extended periods of time, the amount of vapor generated in the tank could be considerable.
Gradual changes in ambient temperature and barometric pressure would cause the vent system to “breathe”, running a
large amount of vapors through the canister. To absorb all this vapor, the canister would have to be prohibitively large.
To reduce the amount of vapor the canister has to deal with, there is a “2 psi valve” in the vent line between the fuel tank
and the canister. This valve will allow air to flow in either direction, but only after a certain pressure or vacuum has been
reached. If the contents of the tank expand and try to escape out the vent, it will prevent any flow until the pressure
reaches 2 psi or so, and then it will allow it to pass to prevent damage to the tank or hoses. Similarly, if the contents of
the tank contract and try to draw air in through the vent, the valve will prevent any flow until the vacuum reaches a set
value -- usually lower than the pressure value -- and then it will allow it to pass to prevent the tank from collapsing. As a
result, the vast majority of the smaller expansions and contractions do not open the valve at all, and the amount of vapor
the canister must absorb is greatly reduced.
Of course, this means that at any given time the fuel tank and hoses may be slightly pressurized, even when the car is not
running. Even the tiniest leak anywhere in the system may become quite significant.
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I am sorry to report that the vapor recovery system on the XJ-S is unreliable. Many owners have reported problems,
usually indicated by a large “whoosh” but often dismissed as normal until the gas tank cracked or other dangerous
symptoms arose. Fortunately, if the symptoms are recognized and addressed promptly, it’s never difficult to make the
system work as it should; it’s simply not that complicated or expensive to fix.
VAPOR RECOVERY SYSTEM -- AFTER RECALL: The original XJ-S vapor recovery system pretty well followed
the description above. However, there was a tendency for the tank to develop stress cracks from excessive pressure
fluctuations as well as indications it did not vent as well as intended (including numerous complaints about fuel odors),
so there was a recall to address the system. In general, the recall involved the installation of a “Rochester valve” in place
of the 2 psi valve. David M. Johnson: “The Rochester valve (Part CBC 7714) is a cylindrical disk (approx 2 inch
diameter) with an inlet from the fuel tank vent pipe and outlet for the vent to connect to the carbon canister. A third
outlet at the top is to connect to the manifold vacuum.” A Rochester valve works the same way as the 2 psi valve when
the engine is off, but when the engine is running the vacuum signal pulls the Rochester valve wide open to freely vent the
tank.
The recall also installed one or two (depending on VIN) vacuum-operated purge valves to provide a positive purge
when the engine is running. The left side throttle butterfly housing was replaced with one that had suitable taps for
controlling the Rochester valve and purge valves.
For those who have disconnected the vacuum lines from the butterfly housing and want to reconnect them properly, I
can give this guidance based on the dealer instructions for the recall that installed the system in the first place: Among
the two vacuum hoses that go from the butterfly housing to the area in front of the left wheel well, one is supposed to
have a black and white delay valve in it, hanging in the vicinity of the coolant header tank. A hose from the black side of
this delay valve should be connected to the front port on top of the left butterfly housing. The hose with nothing in it
should be connected to the rear port on top of the butterfly housing. Of course, there were several variations on this
system as applied to different cars, but I think that description should cover most of them.
The carbon canister, the Rochester valve, the purge valves, and the associated plumbing are all located forward of the
left front wheel; remove the forward panel of the inside wheel well to inspect. The only part of the vapor recovery
system not in this location is the vapor separator, which is high in the right side roof pillar on the coupe.
I am sorry to report that, after the recall has been applied, the vapor recovery system in the XJ-S is still unreliable. The
installation of the Rochester valve sounds good in theory, but unfortunately the Rochester valve itself is apparently
extremely unreliable. When it fails, it apparently fails jammed shut, which is the worst thing that can happen to a vapor
recovery system.
CARBON CANISTER OVERBOARD VENT: When the recall was applied to the vapor recovery system, one change
done was to remove a hose that vented the carbon canister out the bottom of the car. It then just opens into the
bodywork cavity. This demonstrates an interesting attitude; of course, if the system is working as it should, there
shouldn’t be any odors coming out of this opening. But if, on the off chance, some gasoline vapors make it through this
canister, you might be happier if you installed a new hose venting it overboard.
VAPOR RECOVERY SYSTEM -- CHECKING: If your XJ-S has the Rochester valve, the first check is quick, simple,
and clear: with the engine running, open the fuel cap. There should be absolutely no “whoosh” or any other symptom of
pressure equalization. If there is a whoosh, either the Rochester valve isn’t working, or the system is plugged
somewhere.
The second test requires more judgement. When the engine is shut off, the Rochester valve becomes a 2 psi valve, and a
small pressure or vacuum can build up in the tank. After parking for some time, a little whoosh is to be expected, but
too much is too much. Too long is not the concern; typically, a nearly empty tank will whoosh for a long time (lots of
air space inside) while a nearly full tank results in a very brief whoosh. The concern, though, is not the duration but
rather the severity. David M. Johnson says, “A huge whoosh and an oil canning sound means the valve is not working --
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the vent is connected wrong, or the vent is blocked.”
Another sign of trouble: no whoosh at all. There is a remote chance that the fuel in the tank has remained at the same
temperature since shutdown and hasn’t developed any pressure or suction at all -- but that’s really unlikely, especially if
the car has been sitting in the hot sun. Generally, if you don’t get a whoosh when the car’s been sitting a while, either
the Rochester valve is stuck open -- which may sound acceptable but it’s really not, it’ll quickly saturate the carbon
canister and then you’ll have fuel odors, not to mention what you’d be doing to the environment -- or there’s a leak in
the system somewhere, which obviously could cause odors, fires, you name it.
In the US, the duration of the whoosh involves the little trap door in the filler that prevents you from inserting a fuel
nozzle dispensing leaded gasoline. Since you can no longer buy leaded gasoline, nozzle notwithstanding, this thing is a
relic of a bygone era and could be removed without concern. But if it is there, it effectively restricts vent flow when the
cap is removed, and may make a short whoosh into a longer whoosh. Conversely, if the trap door is gone, a long
whoosh may seem deceptively short.
If your car doesn’t have the Rochester valve arrangement for some reason, whether or not the engine is running makes
no difference; either way, there should be a small whoosh.
BACKUP FOR ROCHESTER VALVE: The entire point of the Rochester valve is that the tank should be freely
connected to the carbon canister when the engine is running. It is a simple matter to make sure that happens: just tee
into the vent lines before and after the Rochester valve and connect up a solenoid valve to bypass it. Connect the
solenoid valve to a switched power source so it is energized whenever the ignition is on. That will ensure proper venting
when the car is running.
To ensure proper venting when the engine is off, you can install a 2 psi valve in another bypass around the Rochester
valve. If you don’t have a 2 psi valve, you can probably get one from just about any car in a junkyard; most cars use a
simple system similar to the pre-recall scheme in the XJ-S. Or perhaps you can buy a Jaguar part, CBC6820.
Of course, once you have the 2 psi valve and the solenoid valve working together, you could eliminate the Rochester
valve. If it jams open, that’d be a good idea.
Obviously, another option would be to install a second Rochester valve around the original.
FAILSAFE FOR VAPOR RECOVERY SYSTEM: There are reportedly several different gas caps used on these cars;
some OEM, some aftermarket. Some of them are a total seal, but others have a pressure/vacuum relief valve built into
them to serve as a safety in case the vapor recovery system gets plugged. Good idea! If your gas cap is a total seal type,
you might want to replace it. Note that if you have the pressure/vacuum relief valve type, it may defeat the whoosh test
described above; you’ll only get a small whoosh when removing the cap even if the vapor recovery system is totally
plugged.
If somebody has drilled a hole in your cap, you definitely should replace it.
FUEL FILLER UPGRADE: The fuel filler on the XJ-S -- at least this author’s ’83 -- is the old style that turns 1/4 turn.
Not only is this a lousy design, but it’s also difficult to secure; Jaguar offers a locking variety, but believe it or not their
locking gas cap is officially not supposed to be used in the US -- it doesn’t seal as it should and therefore won’t meet
EPA emission requirements. Roger Bywater says, “Most lockable caps have a tang which engages with the underside of
the filler neck so the sealing arrangements are probably unable to withstand any significant vacuum or pressure and are
just able to stop fuel sloshing out.”
On later models, Jaguar made the door over the filler lockable, which eliminated the need for a locking gas cap.
Walter Acker IV points out that it is a simple matter to ditch this dinosaur and install a modern filler from a junkyard.
The filler on his ’76 is different than the later designs (see page 244), but the general idea should apply equally well to
either type. Just peruse the local junkyard until you find a car with a modern tighten-until-it-clicks fuel filler cap on a
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filler pipe that looks like it would work in the XJ-S. Remove it, pay the junkyard the five bucks or whatever, then take it
home and make it fit. Acker used a Ford filler to upgrade his ’76. “The Ford filler that I had put in is just soldered at a
radiator shop. I was not specific enough about the position of the Ford filler in the Jag neck to them. You must explain
where the bottom of the Jag unit is so that they can line up the Ford unit so that the drain holes in the Ford unit are in a
proper position so that the fuel will drain into the tank if there is any leftover in the neck system. The collar on the Ford
neck is of the wrong size (smaller) and at the wrong angle for a Jag XJ-S so it must be removed completely so that the
Ford unit will slip inside of the Jag unit.
“I checked with the state of California smog reps and they said that it is not a legal modification so if it is detected by a
smog rep then the car may not pass smog in CA.” Damn shame these guys are so picky, since this cap upgrade will
improve the car’s emissions. “The smog police will give you a problem but the normal smog techs just remove the cap
and see it is threaded and test it without ever calling the officials for clarifications.”
“The one thing that I like is the fact that when you go to a parts store they have a new style of gas cap. It is called a
Prevent which is a pressure release type so that you can release pressure buildup before there is a problem when
removing the cap for fuel filling.”
Note that you need to pay attention to how high the new cap sits; you don’t want to go through the entire modification
only to find that the filler door won’t close. And having to hack a side off the new cap will reduce the esthetics of this
upgrade considerably. Note, however, that the tighten-until-it-clicks cap can merely be turned a couple more clicks if
the problem is a corner or something that obstructs the door.
Bernard Embden -- who owns a ’78, also with the earlier flanged-type filler pipe -- reports: “A visit to the junkyard
resulted in the removal of the fuel neck and cap from a 1987 Ford (hacksawed the fuel pipe right out of the trunk- lucky
no sparks). I cut approx 2 inches from the filler tube, and the same from the Jaguar fuel filler pipe. Keep your existing
flange that mounts the pipe to the body. You will need to modify it somewhat. Make your cuts dependent on whether
you will keep the existing flange or not. Off to the welder. Two trips later (he had no way to pressure test the weld)
and I was ready to install. The Jaguar filler pipe is quite large, approx 2 inches I.D. The Ford pipe is 2 inches O.D. This
made the welding quite easy because one pipe fits inside the other. Remember to change the tank gasket (large "O" ring
thingmajij). No leak, no drips, no fumes. One of those projects that made so much sense that I should have done this
years ago.”
Regarding finding the right one in the junkyard, Embden says, “Most filler pipes started small and stayed small.
However some started larger and then became small. On these you only need the first few inches so it doesn't matter.”
This author made this upgrade, but my ’83 has the later style filler pipe with no flange. I believe this makes the upgrade
easier, since you don’t need to worry about the alignment of the flange when you have the two pipes brazed together.
And, without a flange, if the cap ends up too high for the door to close you merely loosen the clamps and slide the filler
pipe a little farther into the tank.
David Low points out that the XJ40 has the tighten-until-it-clicks type of filler, and suggests that it may be adaptable to
the XJ-S “if you’re handy.”
A locking gas cap for the tighten-until-it-clicks type filler is readily available, and appears to seal just fine. These later
caps won’t ding the paint as badly when you drop them, either, since they are plastic and weigh less than the old metal
1/4-turn caps.
VAPOR RECOVERY SYSTEM -- MAINTENANCE: The vapor recovery system, including the carbon canister, is
normally maintenance-free. Activated charcoal can absorb and release fuel vapor forever, it doesn’t wear out or get
“full”. However, there are filter elements within the canister (after all, it is an air intake) that may eventually get clogged,
and the carbon itself may eventually get contaminated with fuel additives or other non-petroleum substances, so it is
recommended the canister be replaced once in a great while.
If you’re really a skinflint, the carbon canister can be opened and the filters replaced. There are two, one at the top of
the charcoal and one at the bottom -- you must dump all the charcoal on a newspaper or something. Both filters can be
neatly replaced with coffee filters. The canister can be held shut with aluminum tape when reassembled.
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The carbon canister itself has an opening on the top to atmosphere, and three fittings on the bottom (note: the canister
may be mounted upside down, so top may mean bottom and vice versa). The fitting labeled T is connected to the fuel
tank, via the appropriate valves and the vapor separator. The fitting labeled P is the purge line to the engine. The fitting
labeled C is capped off; it originally was the connection for venting the float bowls of the carburetors, but they are
history. Note: if you fit carbs, do not simply open this fitting and try to use it; a screen has been omitted inside as well,
and you will draw carbon granules into the float bowls.
One of the possible causes of the common fuel odors is the location of the canister in the XJ-S. On most cars, it is
located in the engine compartment where any escaping fumes will simply be blown away by the flow of air through the
radiator. But in the location in the bodywork forward of the left front wheel, there is no such flow. The vapors may
gather in the bodywork and eventually work their way to the passenger compartment. Of course, there aren’t supposed
to be any fumes escaping, so this is a secondary problem. However, it might be a good idea to connect a length of hose
to the atmospheric vent on the canister and route it out the bottom of the car.
Another possible failure mode is that the engine is not properly purging the canister. If the engine is not drawing air
through the canister when running, the canister will quickly become saturated with fuel and will cease to absorb, and any
further fumes coming down the vent line will escape to atmosphere.
VAPOR SEPARATOR: In the XJ-S, there are several vent lines from the fuel tank. They all are routed to a small
vapor separator high in the bodywork to the right and above the fuel tank. This small metal contraption is intended to
allow most fuel vapor to condense and drain back into the fuel tank. The vent line to the canister is routed from a point
high in this separator, so fuel vapors must be very determined indeed to make it past this point.
Note that the vapor separator has been blamed for many problems. Since it is steel, it is prone to rusting. If a hole rusts
through it, fumes will be vented into the bodywork. Also, rust particles may fall inside it and plug the tiny vent passages
and hoses.
Vapor Recovery System: Hess & Eisenhardt Convertible
VAPOR RECOVERY SYSTEM -- INCORRECT PLUMBING: David M. Johnson owns two H&E’s, and reports: “I
found that on both of my cars the fuel vent systems were plumbed incorrectly (not done by my local dealer). The
carbon canister under the front left wheel arch is connected to a vent pipe from the fuel tank, and a vent pipe to the PCV
valve next to the LHS air intake. The two vent pipes were wrongly connected, i.e. the fuel tank vent was connected to
the valves for PCV pipe (two valves operated by vacuum from the LHS manifold), and the PCV vent pipe was
connected to the Rochester valve that should be connected to the fuel tank vent.
“So what’s the big deal? Well, the valves that would normally operate the PCV valve only open under vacuum when the
engine is running. When parked and sat in the sun the tank cannot vent! I tested these valves with 10 psi and still the
valves would not open. The tank is now a sealed container with fuel vapor inside! There are only two things that can
happen:
(a) The tank will build up a severe pressure and will rupture in time due to fatigue at the weakest location. A
pressurized gas vapor canister in my car/garage does not give me a good feeling!
(b) If you are lucky, one of the vent pipe/fuel connections will leak to relieve the pressure and cause a fuel leak
and/or a fuel vapor smell. I am still not keen on this option with the car in my garage!
“If the tank is connected correctly to the Rochester valve, the valve will open at approx. 2 psi to relieve the pressure in
the tank, and also opens under vacuum. This stops the tank venting under all conditions and hence does not overwhelm
the carbon canister.
“Of course my vent works perfectly now, no gas smells and no severe pressurization of the tank, just a small woosh
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when I open the tank cap. I wanted to pass on this info to others, since I consider this a dangerous fault, in this case not
a design fault but an incorrect installation by the Jag dealers on two cars! Very ironic since the recall was to solve this
problem.”
“This recall was Hess specific (recall (C002) XJ-S purge kit (Feb 1990). If you check the recalls on XJ-S 86-91 you will
find there were similar problems with the regular XJ-S but a different fix. The mod was estimated to be 4.35 hrs for
later Hess cars to install Kit JLM2046 and conduct a fuel system integrity test.
“The diagram (figure 6, page 8 of 23) showing the valves and carbon canister connections is not very clear because the
fuel vent pipe connections are only partly shown, but the PCV pipe vent connections are clearly shown. I deduced these
pipes were incorrectly attached by testing all the valves to determine how the vapor system functioned. I called the Jag
dealer the next day to get a copy of the fuel vent recall, and hence confirm the connection was incorrect.
“I do not think the two cars were fixed by the same dealer for the recall. One car is from New York, and the other is
from California. That is why I suspect other cars could also be connected wrongly!”
Throttle Linkage, Idle Speed Adjustment
IDLE SPEED ADJUSTMENT: On each butterfly housing, there is an adjustment screw that a lever contacts when the
throttle is at idle. These are not to be used for setting idle speed. If they have been disturbed, the linkage must be
readjusted as described on page 271.
Underneath the rear end of the left intake manifold there is an aluminum housing with two hose connections; one that
goes up to the back end of the manifold and one that goes forward to the air filter housing. This contraption is called the
auxiliary air valve, or AAV for short. Just below the connection leading to the air filter housing is a bolt. This bolt,
believe it or not, is the idle speed adjustment. The bolt itself obstructs an air passage, so the farther the bolt is
unscrewed, the more the passage is opened, and the faster the engine idles. It’s not real convenient to get to, but a
ratchet and a long extension with a swivel at the end will do it.
There’s a photo of the adjuster at:
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/IdleScrew.html
On this author’s ’83 (as well as in the photo), the adjuster is a 12mm thread with a head barely larger than the threads, so
the head requires a 13mm socket to fit. However, Craig Sawyers reports that later versions (including replacement
valves to fit earlier cars) use a metric threaded adjuster with a much larger head: “The old one is indeed metric, M12,
but metric fine thread. It is however a special, with a 13mm AF head (standard is 19mm AF). New valve 12mm over
the threads, 1.75mm thread pitch and 19mm AF. That is a standard metric M12 bolt. Truly huge by comparison.
Jag/Lucas have clearly economised by using a standard M12 coarse thread bolt with the standard head. Adjustment
sensitivity with the coarse thread is just fine.”
HIGH IDLE SPEED: If your idle is too high and you’ve screwed the adjuster in all the way and it won’t come down,
problems with the Auxiliary Air Valve are by far the most common culprit -- see below. There are other possible causes,
though, including a vacuum leak, butterflies sticking and not closing properly, butterfly stops not adjusted properly, or
your overrun valves are opening when they shouldn’t. There’s even one possibility involving a solenoid valve installed in
the cruise control during a recall; see page 672.
When the idle gets above 1800 rpm or so, the overrun cutoff feature kicks in and shuts the fuelling off until the rpm
drops below 1100 or so, then it turns it back on. The resulting cycling of the engine will get your attention! People get
very concerned when this happens, thinking it must be something far more serious than simply the idle speed is set too
high, but that’s all it is.
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AUXILIARY AIR VALVE: The auxiliary air valve (also called an “extra air valve” in Jaguar repair manuals) is in the
same housing that the idle adjustment screw is on, and is supposed to open when the engine is cold to keep the idle up.
It contains a bulb similar to those found in thermostats that protrudes down into the coolant rail on top of the B bank
head. A rod from this bulb pushes a piston up a cylinder against a spring, covering an opening in the side of the cylinder
that allows air into the engine.
Although they share the same housing, the idle adjustment screw and the cold idle function of the AAV are separate.
The screw obstructs one passage allowing idle air into the manifold, and the piston controlled by the bulb obstructs a
different passage allowing idle air into the manifold. Hence, if the cold idle piston jams wide open, closing the idle
adjustment screw will still usually not bring the warm idle down within reason.
The bulb may look similar to a thermostat bulb, but it is not the same; see the description of the operation of a
thermostat bulb on page 205. A thermostat goes from fully closed to fully open in only a few degrees; the AAV needs
to move gradually from open to shut over a range of 80°C or more. So, where the thermostat bulb has wax in it that
changes phase, the AAV bulb contains an oil; it probably works by simple thermal expansion. For more on this, visit
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/AAV.html
Michael Aiken says, “I believe there are many versions of the AAV depending on many variables and the correct one for
your model is necessary. My parts manual (which is for 87 to 89MY) shows no less than four part numbers for the extra
air valve for the V12: Two for up to SN 8S.57761 and two after 8S.57761. The other variable is emission code.” Mike
Morrin calls that “an example of the later parts books not showing the details of early cars. The June 1980 parts book
shows C42164 used initially on all cars, then progressively replaced for various markets between 8S.5203 and 8S.11800
with EAC1405 and EAC1590, which were in turn superceded by EAC2273. Interestingly, EAC2273 did not supercede
C42164.”
Based upon inspection of several part number AAV’s, it is apparent that the relationship between temperature and piston
location is the same for all. The bottom end of the bulbs are all marked “-30º”. The only difference between part
numbers is the configuration of the opening in the side of the cylinder that the piston slides over. By shaping this port
properly, the engine designer can provide whatever airflow/temperature relationship he needs. The port shapes used on
Jaguar V12’s actually vary considerably; the web site mentioned above includes photos and dimensions of ports from
various AAV’s.
There are two common failure modes for the AAV; the piston gets stuck, or the bulb gives out. If the piston gets stuck,
possible solutions are obvious: disconnect the outlet hose and spray a bunch of solvent or carb cleaner into it, or take it
off the car and soak it in solvent. Mike Morrin says, “Going along the non-destructive path, if you look down the bore,
you will see some smallish holes drilled in the piston. I managed to fit a long self-tapping screw into one of these, and
used it to pull the piston up against the spring a few hundred times, while applying WD40 to wash out the crud. It
seemed to work, and I have had no problems in the following 12 years.”
If the bulb gives out, chances are it will do so gradually, and the result will be that the piston sits lower and lower at a
given temperature. Craig Sawyers, who lives in the UK, hot-water-tested a new AAV and found that it was totally
closed by 80ºC. He also tested an old but “working” second-hand AAV that appeared to be of identical construction,
and it had the exact same sort of characteristics except shifted upward in temperature; if you extrapolate based on the
positions he measured up to the boiling point of water, it wouldn’t fully close until nearly 110ºC.
Since a lower piston opens the port more, the cold idle will get higher and higher as the bulb gets weaker; when the port
is no longer fully closed at operating temperature, the warm idle will start to rise. For a while, this can be countered by
screwing in the idle adjuster, but eventually the adjuster will be all the way in and the idle will still be too high.
To make sure the AAV is the problem, remove the left side air filter cover and element, start the car and let it warm up,
and check how much air is entering the hole where this valve is connected. You might even try covering the hole
entirely; since the warm idle air also goes through this opening, the engine RPM should fall to below a normal warm idle
or even stall, although it will be sucking air through the distributor vent scheme like crazy. If the idle drops a little but
remains high, your idle speed problems are probably due to something other than the AAV.
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Based on observations of several AAV’s, it appears that the condition of the bulb can be easily verified: remove the
outlet hose, and measure from the upper edge of the outlet fitting down to the inside bottom surface of the piston (which
has several holes in it; make sure you’re measuring to a surface between the holes). This dimension should be 70mm at
room temperature. If it’s more like 72mm or more, it’s weak.
Note that looking into the inlet fitting at the port might not be a good indicator of bulb condition. Some of the port
shapes are fully open at room temperature, while others don’t fully open until freezing. Boiling won’t necessarily help
either; most AAV’s are fully closed by 80ºC, but at least one type still has a portion of the port uncovered and
apparently modulates the idle speed at operating temperatures.
It is considered good practice to replace thermostats whenever the engine has been overheated. Considering the
similarities of construction of the AAV, it probably should be replaced whenever the engine is overheated as well. Of
course, a new AAV costs one hell of a lot more than a new thermostat. Just the same, overheating is only too likely to
be shortly followed by AAV trouble; there are two seals in the base of the AAV around the bulb that are made of nitrile,
and they get just as hard and brittle as a nitrile O-ring when things have been hot. There is a sleeve inside the bulb that is
probably nitrile as well.
Would you install a used thermostat in your car? Of course not. The idea of installing a used AAV may be just as
misguided, even though they are atrociously expensive. Philip Jones says, “I spent a day pulling 4 off a local breaker's
stock and found none satisfactory.”
AUXILIARY AIR VALVE -- REBUILDING: If you need to replace the thermal capsule in your AAV, the biggest
challenge will be finding a suitable replacement bulb. As mentioned above, a bulb from a thermostat will not provide
the same response. Richard Guevin suggests you check:
Corea Electronics Corporation
138-5, sosabon-dogn, sosa-gu,
puchon-city kyonggi-do, Korea Zip Code: 422233
ph: 82-32-346-3665 FAX: 82-32-346-5326
http://www.cecom.co.kr/en/page1.html
Of course, you might opt to use a thermostat bulb anyway. Rather than holding a nearly constant idle during warmup,
the idle will gradually rise until the thermostat temperature is reached, and then it will quite suddenly drop to a warm
idle. If this is acceptable -- and it certainly is preferable to an OEM bulb gone bad, in which the idle never comes down
-- just try to find the coldest thermostat bulb you can, so the idle drops before operating temperature rather than at
operating temperature. And make sure the thermostats in your engine are hotter than the bulb in the AAV.
On the series of web pages starting at http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/AAV.html, procedures are presented for
rebuilding the AAV. If at all possible, review this site prior to tackling the job; the photos will be helpful. The short
version of the procedure: Put the AAV in a press and push the outlet fitting down until you push it through the housing
and push the baseplate out the bottom. Press the bulb out of the baseplate upwards, which will destroy a peened-over
edge and ruin a flat washer holding the bulb in place. Applying sealant, install your new bulb and retain it using
whatever you will trust to work; a 1/2” stainless steel flat washer with a series of tiny holes drilled around the outer edge
held in place by a circle of #4 stainless steel screws threaded into the baseplate is a good plan, but make sure the holes in
the baseplate don’t break through to the other side or they will cause a coolant leak. After cleaning up the piston and
other internal parts and making sure they move freely, reassemble by pressing the baseplate in the bottom and the outlet
fitting/cylinder in the top. Apply some Loctite 518 around the edge of the baseplate before pressing it in to help make
sure it won’t leak coolant. Make sure to stop pressing the outlet fitting at the right place, which should be where the
inside bottom of the piston is 70mm below the top edge -- unless you’ve used some other sort of bulb, in which case you
might want to stop pressing a little sooner, drive the car for a while and see how you like it, and if it’s not right just pull
the hose off the top and tap the outlet fitting in a little farther until it behaves the way you want it to.
Some suggest polishing a bit off the OD of the outlet fitting/cylinder to change the press fit to a slip fit, and then retain it
with screws through the side of the housing. This makes it a bunch easier to get apart next time. A little sealant would
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make sure it doesn’t leak air, but really it wouldn’t be a big deal if it did; you’d just have to adjust the idle screw to
compensate.
John Ashcroft of Melbourne, Australia, says, “H&H Spares do a c/o for $90 AU, trade price; they have someone rebuild
them so the bits are available somewhere. Put one of their exchange units in about 5yrs ago and it's still working fine.”
See page Error: Reference source not found for H & H Prestige Spares.
AUXILIARY AIR VALVE -- CHEAP FIXES: If your AAV isn’t sticking but exhibits the “tired” behavior described
above, Roger Bywater suggests a fix: “It does seem that the range of movement can change with age possibly due to
very slight leakage from the bulb. In such cases it is quite feasible, after assessing the amount of correction required, to
just press the top further into the casting body in a vice (with a socket or tube over the bulb) to get the thing operating
back in range. Obviously it has to be checked in boiling water before and after and it needs to be done with care because
it is all but impossible to get it back if it goes in too far.
“Don't go blaming Jaguar or Lucas for this valve and its foibles, although most of them run for years without trouble. It
was a Bosch invention.”
Faced with a completely failed AAV, Jan Wikström simply started the car and let the AAV suck a small rag into the
opening in the air filter housing to plug the port. If the rag is small enough, it could conceivably plug the port without
interfering with the warm idle adjuster. Of course, if it’s too small it’ll pull it through the port and into the engine. I’d
suggest something around 2 inches square.
With a little more disassembly, you can do a better job of plugging it. Take the hose off the inlet fitting and jam a plug in
there. By making the plug short enough, you should be able to push it past the warm idle passage, which comes off the
bottom of this passage, and plug the cold idle port only.
Really cheap and easy: jam a cork into the hole into the opening in the air filter housing. The problem with this is that it
will suck through the distributor vent scheme like crazy to maintain idle. Still, if you have a problem on the road, this
might be a quick fix until you get home and can do something better.
All of these last fixes, of course, completely eliminate any idle boost when cold. Interestingly, several owners have
reported that this doesn’t seem to hurt anything! The V12 will idle at 300 RPM with no problem. Some cars have
another means of boosting the idle when cold, namely the supplemental air valve at the front of the right intake manifold.
This thing stays open for 45 seconds on US-spec cars and 15 minutes on UK/Euro spec cars to compensate for a
disabled vacuum advance at idle; you might consider re-enabling that vacuum advance at idle (see pages 304 and 135)
while leaving the idle boost functional.
Finally, of course, an entire separate cold idle scheme could be provided; John Napoli says, “just get one or two vacuum
solenoids. Wire to toggle switches, pipe the air thru an inline fuel line filter (or plumb to air box) and go to town. These
thingies are real cheap. Get generic units unless you have some Jag take-offs in your junk box.” For fancier work, you
could install temp switches in the coolant circuit to operate these solenoids automatically. By using different temp
switches, the idle could drop in steps as the engine warms up and the solenoids shut off in sequence.
IDLING ON ONE BANK: Kurt Hill has a very early XJ-S, and the AAV plumbing looks like the illustration in Section
19.20.16 of the ©1975 ROM or Fig. 3.52 in the Haynes manual -- which don’t resemble the plumbing in the later cars at
all. In this early layout, there is a tee on the outlet of the AAV, with one fitting connecting to the crossover pipe while
another connects to a hose that goes forward underneath the left side intake manifold and connects into it from the
bottom.
Hill’s problem was that the car ran great at speed, but idled on the right bank only -- and flunked an emissions test big
time because the EFI system was still squirting fuel into the left bank that wasn’t firing. It turned out that a PO had
replaced the hose from the AAV underneath the left manifold with generic hose, and since it has to make a 90º turn, it
kinked as soon as manifold vacuum was applied to it. Since this is not only the idle air supply to the left bank but also
the crossover pipe, the left bank got no air. Since this hose was hidden under the manifold, it was a difficult problem to
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locate; when the engine wasn’t running, the hose looked fine.
The easy fix: replace the hose with a molded hose with a 90º bend in it, which is what the car originally came with.
Better fix: install a metal spring inside the hose to prevent collapse. Better fix yet: replace the hose with a section of
copper piping with a 90º elbow, and connect it at both ends with really short pieces of hose.
Those with later cars don’t need to worry about running on one bank at idle (unless they have Marelli ignition!), because
the crossover pipe is no longer part of the AAV plumbing but a separate entity. But any hoses under manifold vacuum
are always cause for concern for sucking flat.
OVERRUN VALVES: If the throttle is closed at an elevated RPM, the manifold vacuum can exceed that normally
found at idle. Under such high vacuum conditions the fuel/air mixture being introduced into the cylinders, even at the
proper ratio, can be so rarified that it cannot be reliably ignited with an ignition spark. If that cylinder full of unburned
mixture is then exhausted, it dumps quite a load of raw hydrocarbons into the atmosphere. However, as Roger Bywater
points out, an even worse result (from the car owner’s standpoint) is what happens when the mixture is later ignited
within the exhaust system; it can blow the mufflers open. This igniting within the exhaust is what causes the “backfire”
upon deceleration that is characteristic of some cars -- mostly pre-EPA cars.
“The purpose of the over-run valves is to limit the vacuum that the engine can generate on the over-run because it was
generally considered that when vacuum exceeds about 22" Hg the charge density is so low and contaminated by exhaust
residuals that combustion ceases to take place effectively. The over-run valves therefore ensure that any mixture
entering the engine is dense enough to fire.”
At the front end of each intake manifold on the Jaguar V12 is either a blank-off plate or a little housing with a stub hose
connection to the air filter housing. The little housings contain the overrun valves. They are a spring-loaded poppet
valve that should open only when the manifold vacuum is higher than a set amount more than idle vacuum. Basically,
this limits the manifold vacuum to a level where ignition is reliable. It also tends to make the engine feel as though it has
no “compression” on deceleration -- basically, the throttle is being opened a little. In fact, on some other automobiles,
the same effect is achieved by physically opening the throttle.
Does your car have overrun valves? Apparently, it depends on whether or not your EFI system incorporates another
method of addressing the same problem: overrun cutoff, in which the fuel injectors are shut off under deceleration (see
page 274). Bywater: “When the EFI V12 engine was first introduced it had over-run valves and did not have over-run
cut off. Cut off was introduced in some markets in about 1977-8 and the over-run valves, being no longer necessary,
were therefore deleted on the respective cars. I cannot be sure from memory if US Federal emission cars were included
but it is possible that they continued without cut off. All manual transmission cars continued with over-run valves
because they did not have cut off as it caused unpleasant driveline shunting. Manual ECUs also gave slightly different
low end fuelling being able to run at full throttle below the stall speed of a torque converter.
“Cut off on the D-Jetronic system was effective at all temperatures unlike later Lucas Digital cars in which cut off was
inhibited at low temperatures, necessitating the return of over-run valves.
“I think it is correct to say that if a D Jetronic engine has over-run valves it would not have over-run cut off, unless of
course someone has swapped the ECU at some time.
“In fact, the over-run valves were notorious for losing spring pressure and causing a high or erratic idle speed. The
practical solution was to just tighten the nut about 2 turns.” Basically, adjust it just tight enough that the valves are
closed at idle -- which can be confirmed by putting a finger over the hole in the filter housing with the engine idling.
“Setting the over-run valves by checking with finger over the hole is as good as any method. As long as they don’t leak
at idle but work when you blip the throttle and release it to create an over-run condition they will be OK. You will
probably hear them anyway. Again from memory I think they were meant to start to open at 20" Hg but by their nature
they are more a sort of progressive leak rather than a step change device so manifold vacuum could exceed this value to
a small extent.”
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ACCELERATOR PEDAL -- EARLY MODELS: Mike Morrin says, “The Jaguar pre-HE service manual seems not to
have been updated from 1975 to 1981, which is fine for my car, but I have seen a few things which are obviously wrong
for most of the pre-HE cars. A minor example of this is the RHD accelerator pedal assembly: The only type shown in
the manual was only fitted to the first 200 cars.”
THROTTLE CABLE -- ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS: Ron Brock says, “The starter was acting as though I had a low
battery. After replacing the battery to no avail, I started in on the starter. The car would crank over fine sometimes and
other times it would barely turn. After receiving several "tips" about checking the electrical connections, I went thru
them from the battery forward.
“My problem became clear one night in the garage, I was attempting to start the car with the bonnet up, and it was just
dragging. It was then that I noticed a whiff of smoke coming off the back of the engine. I walked around to the front of
the car to determine what was "smoking," it was the throttle cable, and was it hot (by the way this also solved my
sticking throttle problem). It seems that the engine was grounding itself thru the throttle cable. I was unable to remove
and clean the standard grounding strap at the engine, so I added a second strap that I purchased from NAPA for $4 and
the car has been fine. Absolutely amazing. I would seriously recommend that anyone have starter/charger problems
explore this cheap and easy fix first.” See page 555.
THROTTLE LINKAGE BUSHINGS: There is a throttle shaft on each side of the engine, parallel to the heads, that
transmits throttle motion to the butterflies. The rear end of this throttle shaft, along with some linkage, is supported by a
plate bolted to the rear of the intake manifold. There is a rubber bushing in the plate for the shaft to turn in. This
bushing is probably shot -- British nonmetallic parts again. This bushing will dry up, crack to pieces, and fall out, leaving
the throttle shaft to wallow around in the opening. In fact, this is another example of a 100% failure mode in the XJ-S;
if you haven’t already replaced the bushings, they are probably bad right now. The effect on the throttle operation is not
good, as it tends to screw up the sync of the two butterflies with each other and with the throttle pot in the turntable.
There are also reports that this problem can have adverse effects on emissions tests, especially if one bushing is gone and
the other is still on the job.
The part number for the original Jaguar rubber bushing is C34388. However, I don’t think anyone in their right mind
would recommend the original bushing -- it’s rubber, for heaven’s sake. Rubber throttle linkage bushings are a relic
from cars with rigid linkages from the pedal to the carbs; since the engine moved around on its mounts, some means had
to be provided to connect the pedal on the car to the butterflies on the engine without the engine’s motion affecting the
throttle position. The solution was to have one rotating shaft with one end mounted on the car and the other mounted
on the engine; the pedal was connected to a lever right next to the mount on the car, and the butterflies were actuated by
a lever next to the mount on the engine. The pedal twisted the shaft which opened the butterflies, and engine motion
would rock the shaft back and forth without twisting it. Rubber bushings were needed at the ends of such shafts to
isolate engine vibrations from the rest of the car, and to allow the small angular motions of the shaft without any binding.
None of this applies to the XJ-S. The motion of the engine relative to the car is dealt with via a throttle cable. The
linkages where the bushings are used involve shafts that are mounted at both ends from the same intake manifold, so
there is no relative motion. Totally rigid bearings will work fine.
This application really begs for nylon bushings, but bronze bushings would probably work just as well if you can install
them so they wouldn’t rattle or jingle. The shaft is 5/16”, and the hole in the plate is 1/2”. With a little looking, it
should be possible to find a suitable generic bushing to use here. A bushing with a single lip will work; retention won’t
be a problem since it is effectively trapped.
Replacing this bushing looks difficult; it appears to require removing either the throttle body or the linkage support plate,
either of which is a pain. You may choose to remove the linkage support plate, since it will permit you to fiddle with the
bushing installation away from the car -- or take it with you when shopping for a bushing. If you go this route, make
sure to have two EAC2650 gaskets on hand for each side; see page 42.
David Littlefield describes a shortcut: “I was able to replace both my bushings today in my '88 XJ-S without removing
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either the throttle body or the linkage support plate. I first loosened the pinch bolt on the short rod that is between the
bushing and the throttle body. I then removed the spring clip that holds the spacer that fits against the bushing. By
sliding both the spacer and the pinch bolt as far as I could towards the front of the car, I was able to gain enough
clearance to push the rod towards the rear of the car for the ball end of the rod to come out of the throttle body fitting.
“Once I had the rod out of the car, I was able to move the pinch bolt even further back-- past the knurled portion and
right against the shoulder. I then took the new bushing to my bench grinder. I carefully ground down almost all of the
lip on the beveled side. I put the bushing on the rod, then fitted the rod back in the car, pushing the rearmost end in first
and then putting the ball end in the throttle body fitting. I then pushed the bushing into place, while still on the rod.
Removing almost all of the beveled lip on the bushing allows the bushing to be pressed into place while on the rod, since
distortion of the inner diameter of the bushing is minimal. Replacing the spring clip behind the spacer and resetting the
pinch bolt completes the procedure.
“As stated in the book, a bushing with a single lip will work since the bushing is effectively trapped. There are no real
worries about the bushing slipping back on the rod because the spacer and spring washer hold it in place.
“I used the factory bushing for this procedure, but I see no reason why it wouldn't work with others.” Littlefield gets
two demerits for replacing a British nonmetallic part that failed with another part just like it -- but at least, using his
method, it won’t be too difficult to replace them again.
Jeff Elmore offers a different shortcut: “I remembered someone saying that it was easy if you did (something) and slid
the shaft back through the throttle housing. Well, after some contemplation, I figured he meant removing the screws
from the shaft-to-plate and sliding the plate out of the shaft and sliding the shaft forward through the housing. Well, it
worked like a charm and the bushings were replaced in about 20 minutes.”
If you’d like to try a more expedient fix, John Napoli describes a method he credits to Gerry Duff: “We just cut a couple
of pieces of rubber hose. Slipped right onto the shafts, and is the right OD. No tools or disassembly needed. Been
working fine for almost a year, and when they wear out 5 minutes to do it again. When the repair was done, the rubber
hose sections were left long enough so that they could be turned around if excessive - and quick - wear was realized
until a more conventional repair could be effected. Last week I asked the owner how it was holding up. He pulled the
hoses, and stated that there was no visible sign of wear at all -- he had never needed to turn 'em around.” Note: this
author tried using this method on a friend’s car, and couldn’t get it to work. It apparently requires a particular type of
hose we didn’t have on hand; we were trying to use fuel hose, which was a little too fat to fit through the hole properly
and tended to “walk” off the shaft when the throttle was moved repeatedly. Napoli suggests that the hose used with
success may have been vacuum hose.
As Leslie Winfield discovered, a generic bushing with no lip will work if you can figure out how to hold it in place -- and
can make installation almost as easy as Duff’s fix. “I purchased a 1/2 inch x 5/16 inch bronze bushing 1 inch long, and
two 1/2 inch outside snap-rings. I ran a 5/16 bolt through the bushing, pinched it with a nut & chucked it in my drill
press (poor man's lathe). I shaved about .005 inch off the OD with a flat file, used a hacksaw with a 24 tpi blade to cut a
groove about 3/32 of an inch from each end deep enough for the snap-ring, and then cut the bushing into two halves.
With a little fiddling, the snap-ring can be threaded to the inside of the support plate, the bushing can be slid over the
shaft and through the hole in the support plate (grooved end first), and the snap-ring positioned into the groove on the
bushing. The bushing is now captured on the shaft, and almost no play is observed with this setup. It doesn't look too
bad, cost $1.07, and it should last as long as my ’79 XJ-S does.” Of course, if you happen to have purchased bushings
with a flange, you can still use this method by cutting the groove in the opposite end from the flange. While buying
these bushings, you might want to buy a spare one in case you ever need to replace the thingy in your Lucas distributor
-- see page 142.
Home Depot offers a nylon part that can be installed exactly the same way that Winfield installed his bronze bushings.
It’s stock number 30699 87298, described as “1” x 1/2” SPACER - NYLON”. All of Home Depot’s “nylon spacers”
are marked for their OD and length, with no marking on the package at all about their ID; there are several ID’s
available, including 1/4”, 5/16”, and 3/8”, but other than the stock number they are all marked the same. If they happen
to be out of the 5/16” ID bushings, you could purchase the 1/4” ID bushings and carefully drill them out.
After bushing replacement, the linkage should definitely be adjusted as described below.
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THROTTLE LINKAGE ADJUSTMENT: If the butterfly stop screws have been disturbed, the linkage bushings have
been replaced, or any other tinkering has been done that could mess up the linkage adjustment, it should be readjusted.
Also note that several owners have found that a rough idle cleared up when this procedure was undertaken, even though
one wouldn’t expect it to make any difference; the crossover pipe should deal with any imbalance between sides.
I’d like to simply dump the description of this procedure off on the repair manuals since any decent repair manual would
provide a step-by-step procedure that’s easy to follow, but unfortunately the procedures described in the ROM (Section
19.20.11 followed by 19.20.05 -- not 19.20.25, as is indicated in Step 10 even though such a section doesn’t exist) is
only barely discernible and the one in the Haynes manual (Chapter 3, Section 47 followed by Section 37) is bloody
awful. I will endeavor to explain the process here more clearly.
In further developments, the mid-90’s cars with OBD II required much more careful adjustment to avoid fault warnings.
TSB #19-36, dated 10/95, says: “Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) may be set if both throttle valves are not
synchronized to begin opening at the same time. The Manifold Absolute Pressure (MAP) sensors will detect a difference
in pressure between the two intake manifolds, which leads to the setting of DTCs.
“The most common codes found are: P1106 P0106. The following DTCs may also be set: P0107, P0108, P0125,
P1107, P1128. Poor throttle valve synchronization may also cause customer complaints of poor driveablity and idle
quality.”
TSB #19-36 provides improved procedures for adjusting the throttle linkage on the OBD II cars, but it can be applied to
all V12’s with EFI. As a result, these improvements have been incorporated into the following descriptions of the
adjustment procedures. Joe Bialy and Richard Mansell provided some interpretations of this TSB. Mansell says, “I
suspect there are different TSB's for the different models. I guess the contents are the same but for a start the throttle
pedestal is different on my '96 XJ12 compare to the XJ-S I owned so the picture with the TSB is different.”
The linkage requires five distinct adjustments, which must be done in order because each affects the others. Proceed as
follows:
Before starting, remove the air filter covers and elements. It is highly recommended that you clean the throats before
proceeding, using some sort of solvent (see THROTTLE STICKING below) to get the areas where the edges of the
butterflies contact the housings nice and clean. Rather obviously, check the condition of such things as the linkage
bushings (see above) before doing the adjustment.
Disconnect the crossrods from the throttle pulley by prying them off the ball joints.
Loosen the locknuts and turn in the butterfly stop screws until they don’t interfere with the butterfly motion. Make sure
the stop screws turn easily enough to turn with your fingers; if they’re hard to turn, you may need to take them out and
clean up the threads.
Loosen the clamp on the lever at the rear end of each butterfly shaft, directly below the crossrod attachment. This lever
is clamped onto a splined section of the butterfly shaft, and since the clamp takes on some toothiness the first time it’s
tightened it tends to move in snaps. While holding the butterfly closed move the lever at least one snap in the open
direction, both to ensure you have the clamp loose and to make sure the stop within the linkage here isn’t interfering
with the butterflies closing.
Adjustment 1: Loosen the screws holding each butterfly disk in its shaft, gently press the butterfly closed so that it
makes secure contact all the way around, then retighten the screws. This centers the disk in the opening.
Adjustment 2: Set the butterfly stop screws. This screw prevents the butterfly from quite fully closing; if it closed
completely, it could easily jam, especially with temperature changes such as shutting off a hot engine and then trying to
start it the following morning.
To adjust the stop screw requires a 0.002” feeler gauge. The earliest Jaguar repair procedures specified a 0.004” (0.105
mm) gauge, but after 1978 it was changed to a 0.002” (0.05 mm) gauge -- which works fine for the earlier cars.
Insert the feeler gauge at the bottom, push the butterfly firmly closed on it, and give the feeler a little tug so the butterfly
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grips on it. Note that the butterfly should grip the feeler securely; if everything is right, it’d take a firm pull indeed to get
it out. If it seems to slide out with some smooth resistance, it’s probably not gripping it correctly but rather just getting
close enough to be bending the feeler around the curvature of the throat. Make very sure there are no throttle stops
keeping the butterfly from closing fully on the feeler.
While pulling gently on the feeler, turn the stop screw with your fingers just until the butterfly starts to let go of it. Try it
a couple of times until you get the feel of the process, at least well enough that you can do both sides the same way.
Without moving the stop screw from this position, take your fingers off of it and put an open-end wrench on it. Tighten
down the locknut while holding the stop screw still with the wrench.
From the TSB: “An improved factory procedure for setting the throttle stop screws, using an air flow measuring gauge,
was introduced during the 1994 MY production of V12 engines. All 1995 MY V12 engines are set at the factory using
this method.” Many garages actually have this air flow measuring device since it is indispensible for syncronizing SU
and Zenith Stromberg carburetors. It should work fine here, although you might need to remove the inner half of the air
filter housing to be able to get it to sit on the intake properly -- and then you’ll need to plug the bolt holes, since they
create a vacuum leak. If going this route, you should set one butterfly stop screw per the directions above and then set
the other butterfly stop screw to flow the same amount.
Adjustment 3: Adjustment 3 is officially to position that lever against its own stop, take up all the backlash in the
coupling under the butterfly stop screw, then tighten that clamp back down. However, it moves in snaps -- you’ll never
get it to clamp down exactly where there is no backlash. So, hold the butterfly against its stop screw and move the lever
towards its own stop until it snaps as many times as it’s going to. Tighten the clamp down. When done, the linkage at
this corner of the engine should have a bit of backlash: move it one way and it opens the butterfly, move it the other
way and it sits on its own stop, and there should be a little movement in between. Again, make sure the stop in this
linkage isn’t what’s stopping the butterfly itself.
Adjustments 1-3 should be performed on both sides of the engine, and obviously everything should end up as close to
the same from one side to the other as possible. If nothing seems to feel the same way on the second side as it felt on the
first, you probably should start over and do them both again.
Adjustment 4: Adjust the throttle crossrods. Obviously, you will need to put them back on for this procedure. Graphite
lubricant is recommended in the ball joints, but it is not recommended that you lube them now; the powder might
interfere with the adjustment. Rather, adjust the crossrods then snap them back off to apply a little graphite.
Position a spacer 2mm (0.079”) thick between the turntable and its idle stop. A 2mm allen wrench works if you have
one, but whatever you use try to make sure it doesn’t fall down into the nether regions somewhere. The spring tension
will hold a 2mm allen wrench in place during this job, but just the same it’d be a good idea to either tie a string to it or at
least have the other end over the turntable pedestal itself rather than hanging out over the cliff.
Loosen the locknuts on the crossrods and adjust each link such that the butterfly is just starting to open with that 2mm
spacer in place. The thread on one end of each crossrod is LHT, so with both locknuts loose you can just turn the rod
itself to make it longer or shorter. They even provide a knurl to help you turn it easily.
“Just starting to open” is a bit tricky; if you have good light, you can carefully watch the lever lift off the stop screw on
the butterfly. However, a better idea is to install that .002” feeler gauge between the lever and the stop screw and allow
the return spring to hold it. Position it so it’s hanging over the throttle body rather than straight up. Now turn the
crossrod just until the feeler gauge falls down against the throttle body.
Tightening the locknuts requires three hands: one to hold the 1/4” wrench holding the ball socket still, one turning the
5/16” wrench to tighten the locknut, and a third to keep the crossrod from turning as you tighten. If you have a third
hand available, a pair of pliers might be preferable to expecting to hold the crossrod still with fingers. If you don’t have
a third hand available, a pair of vice grips will work if you carefully prop them on the fuel rail.
Make sure the ball sockets end up properly oriented 90° to each other when the locknuts are tight. The flats on the one
at the turntable end should be horizontal and the flats on the one at the outboard end should be vertical.
When done, check your work: put that .002” feeler gauge in the butterfly stop on each side (or one in both sides, if you
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have two .002” feeler gauges) and very slowly and carefully turn the turntable (without touching the crossrods
themselves) until the feeler gauge drops. Note the gap between the turntable and the idle stop when they drop.
Officially this backlash at the turntable stop is to be between 0.062-0.094” (1.57-2.39mm)(the .002” feeler gauge adds a
bit to this, but it’s negligible).
Also make sure the two butterflies open as close as possible to the same time. If they don’t, the TSB allows an
additional 0.030” of turntable travel to get the second throttle to move off its stop.
Adjustment 5: Loosen the locknut on the full throttle stop screw on the throttle pulley, and back the stop screw away.
Hold the pulley in full throttle position, noting that the butterflies are both full open. Adjust the stop screw until it just
touches the pulley and retighten the locknut. This stop screw merely prevents stress on the linkage while the engine is at
full throttle and the kickdown switch is in operation, and is not meant to restrict full throttle.
Ensure that the throttle moves freely through the full range of motion. Finally, check for no gap at the turntable stop
with the throttle in the closed position. If the cruise control cable is too tight, it can restrict the throttle linkage moving
fully to idle.
You will need to warm up the car and readjust the idle speed, since the butterfly stop screw positions have been altered.
THROTTLE STICKING: Apparently, all cars have occasional problems with throttle sticking due to buildup on the
butterfly itself. A butterfly cleaning procedure from Randy Wilson: “You are cleaning the throttle plate and surrounding
area. The edge of the butterfly and the area of the housing right around it will be covered in black goo. Prop the
throttle open and wipe the stuff out with a rag. Use the weakest solvent you can to get it clean. I start with a “WD-40”
grade oil, and go to carb cleaner if it’s really bad. Oven cleaner is out. Sand blasting is not needed or recommended.
“Warning: Some non-Jag cars, notably later Fords, have a teflon coating on things in an attempt to reduce this problem.
Most solvents will damage this coating.”
THROTTLE LINKAGE LUBRICATION: Jan Wikström says, “The ball-joints shouldn't be lubricated at all, unless you
want to give them a dusting with Teflon or graphite. The reason is that grease hardens and oil or grease picks up dust
from the air, increasing linkage wear and friction.
Electronic Fuel Injection
If you wish to understand or troubleshoot the Jaguar XJ-S electronic fuel injection system, it is highly recommended that
you obtain a copy of “Understanding Electronic Fuel Injection, Ignition and Engine Management” by Roger Bywater
and available from AJ6 Engineering (page 713). The book is written as a primer on EFI in general, but since Bywater’s
expertise comes from years of working for Jaguar many of the examples presented happen to be Jaguar systems. Often,
it seems he is talking about these cars in particular.
According to Dick White, “There is a book ‘Bosch Fuel Injection and Engine Management’ which I found very
informative. It contains many references to Lucas.” It is available from EWA (page 724), among other sources.
FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM TYPES: The 1976-80 XJ-S used a type of Lucas fuel injection system based on the
Bosch “D-Jetronic” design. From 1980 on, the cars used a system referred to as a “Digital P”, also based on a Bosch
design. The two systems are completely different. Among the differences: The earlier D-Jetronic system used a trigger
board within the distributor operated by a magnet in the rotor; the later Digital P system simply derives its triggering
from the ignition pulses. The D-Jetronic has a “throttle switch” in the turntable on top of the engine that provides an on-
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off pulse about ten times as the throttle moves from idle to full open; the Digital P has a “throttle potentiometer” in the
same location, providing a smooth varying resistance as the throttle moves. The fuel regulators on the D-Jetronic
system maintain the pressure in the fuel rail at a constant value, while the regulators for the Digital P system vary the fuel
rail pressure according to intake manifold vacuum.
The D-Jetronic has no oxygen sensors, lacking the sophistication for feedback control. The North American Digital P
has two oxygen sensors, one in each exhaust downpipe, and Roger Bywater reports that the ECU will control the
mixture in each bank separately. The Digital P systems in countries without emission regulations had the feedback
capability omitted from the ECU, and had no oxygen sensors.
Bywater elaborates on the various systems: “D-Jetronic ran from 1976 to 1980 in the XJ-S but, just to confuse things,
ran until 1981 in the saloon. Digital P 6CU first appeared in July/August 1980 on the 10:1 compression flat head
engine rated at 300 b.h.p. in the XJ-S. Most XJ12 saloons continued with the earlier 9:1 D-Jetronic engine until the
arrival of the H.E. engine in July 1981 but a few saloons were fitted with the 10:1 engine and Digital P. I understand
that the improved fuelling accuracy of the Digital P EFI system was what made the higher compression engine viable.
“The 10:1 engine performed very well and was certainly the most lively version of the 5.3 ever produced but there
were two things which could make it a bit fragile at sustained high speed. Firstly the cooling ability of the radiator
was a bit marginal, secondly the distributor build quality was not too good and we measured errors of up to 10
degrees excessive advance at 6000 revs, which is obviously likely to cause trouble. Not surprisingly, there were tales
of piston failures on German Autobahns.
“Those early 6CUs triggered from the coil negative terminal and the ECU was protected internally from the high
voltage firing spikes by a 100K resistor in the input circuit. This was not necessary with the Constant Energy system
introduced for the H.E. and was replaced by a link. Another important difference, apart from the fuel requirement of
the 10:1 engine being different from that of the later H.E., was that full load fuelling was set into the mapped fuelling
values so there was no need for a separate full load enrichment switch circuit. This means that fitting an ECU
intended for an H.E. car to one of these engines is likely to magnify any tendency to burn pistons because the full load
condition will be excessively weak. A number of people have found this out the hard way. Strangely the ECU seems
to survive the high voltage firing spikes despite not having the protection resistor.
“The H.E. engine arrived in July 1981 in both the XJ-S and XJ12 saloon so that is when D-Jetronic really ended.”
INJECTOR GROUPING: The wiring harness is set up to operate the injectors in four sets of three. Within the ECU
these circuits are combined to form two sets of six. In the early D-Jetronic systems, each set of six injectors included
three on each bank, and this injection pattern is explained in great detail in the repair manuals. However, in the later
Digital P systems (which include oxygen sensors), each group included all six injectors from a single bank so the ECU
can monitor the oxygen sensors separately and control the mixture of each bank as a group.
OVERRUN CUTOFF: On the Jaguar V12, some EFI systems feature overrun cutoff and some don’t; see the section
on overrun valves on page 268.
When the foot is all the way off the throttle but the engine speed is well above idle, the pilot is clearly not interested in
power; any fuel provided is a waste of fuel and an unnecessary contribution to emissions. So, if the ECU detects that the
throttle is at idle and the RPM is above some set point (1500-1800 or so), fuel to the injectors is totally shut off. As the
RPM drops past another set point nearer to idle speed (1100-1300 or so), the fuelling is turned back on to provide a
smooth transition to idle -- or to rev it back up to the cutoff RPM. Roger Bywater: “It's easy enough to check on the
car by just flicking off one throttle pushrod and opening that throttle to lift the speed without the throttle switch being
moved (assuming the switch is set correctly).”
Regarding which EFI systems have overrun cutoff, Bywater says “...all 6CUs do indeed have over-run cut off above
approximately 1500 r.p.m. but it is activated not only by a closed throttle signal from the throttle potentiometer but also
by the vacuum signal. On a Federal 6CU cut-off commences at nominally 17.5" Hg and fuel reinstates when the vacuum
falls to 15" Hg. Cut off on European versions is active over a wider vacuum band which also varies with engine speed.
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“16CUs only need the throttle closed signal to activate cut-off above the required speed.”
This feature can easily confuse the novice mechanic that may not be familiar with it. What will sometimes happen is that
the car is running poorly, and the idle screw will have been opened up to maintain a reasonable idle speed. Then the
problems with the engine are corrected, and the engine then tries to idle faster -- but hits the cutoff RPM, shuts off,
drops back to the cut-in RPM, kicks back on, and sits there cycling up and down indefinitely. The mechanic thinks he
has really screwed something up this time and begins all sorts of ill-conceived corrective measures when all he really
needs to do is close down the idle screw a bit. It’s even more confusing, of course, when the overrun cutoff feature is
temperature dependent so it doesn’t cutoff when the engine is cold but starts cycling upon warmup.
Another common cause of trouble is the infamous auxiliary air valve (page 265). The car is running fine one day, but the
next day the auxiliary air valve sticks open and the engine starts ramping up and down upon warmup. The mechanic
drives himself crazy trying to figure out the ramping, while what he really should be looking for is the cause of the high
idle.
For the overrun cutoff feature to work right, the ECU clearly needs to know the throttle is at idle. On the D Jetronic,
there is a special contact in the throttle switch for idle. In the Digital P, the throttle pot must be adjusted properly (page
297).
EFI GROUNDING PROBLEMS: Michael Neal sends this experience: “...the radiator had been replaced and a ground
for the fuel injection harness at the right front of the engine compartment had not been re-secured. It had blown two
ECUs before I found this. I don’t know why but it took the ECU a week or two to blow. After I replaced the ground
and ECU there were no further problems.”
Reportedly, if the engine clearly is running very rich or possibly won’t even start because it’s too rich, it’s time to start
looking for grounding problems in the EFI wiring. John Napoli relates one experience: “Although ground to the ECU
was one of the many things we had checked early on, the owner later went further and checked the ECU connector. He
found an intermittent ground on pin 1 at the connector. This pin, according to our schematics, should ground to the
frame of the car at the ground points near the battery. This wire was identified in the loom and a splicer to ground
added. The car started fine and at this point is OK.”
ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT: The following is a list of the ECU part numbers, hopefully mostly correct. Thanks
go to Jeffrey Gram, AJ6 Engineering (page 713), and other sources.
D-Jetronic: Type 3CU LRZ103 and LRZ113?
Digital P: Type 6CU catalyst version: DAC 2597 and DAC 3586
non-catalyst version: DAC 2596 and DAC 3062
Type 16CU catalyst version: DAC 4118, DAC 4585, DAC 6335, and DAC 6337
These are the low compression version - presumably 11.5:1
non-catalyst version: DAC 4119, DAC 4478, DAC 4586 and DAC 6336
These are the high compression version - presumably the 12.5:1
Additionally, there is a low compression non-cat version: DAC 6338.
For one year (1981), the XJ-S had Digital P EFI on a pre-H.E. engine. Clearly, the fuelling maps for such a car would
differ from those for the later H.E., and the ECU’s would not be interchangeable. It’s not known if any of the part
numbers above apply to the pre-H.E. Digital P.
Note also that the Marelli ignition system provides a cleaner signal to the EFI system, so the ECU’s fitted to Marelli-
ignitioned cars have less filtering in the signal input circuitry. This may help account for the profusion of 16CU part
numbers listed above. The pre- and post- Marelli ECU’s are not interchangeable.
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Richard Mansell quotes from a Jaguar publication on the changes for the 1992 model year:
“The new fuel control system, the Lucas 26CU, replaces the 16CU and provides the following benefits:
- Improved starting performance at all temperatures.
- More efficient engine operation during warm up.
- A diagnostic facility which stores fault data for later retrieval.
- Low quiescent current drain.
- Eprom socket to allow modifications.
- JDS diagnostics serial link.
- Fuel used output.
- Enhanced software.
- Enhanced limp home capability.
With the pre-facelift ECU, (Lucas 16CU), one injection is delivered per engine revolution. In the facelift condition, the
Lucas 26CU, there are three injections per engine revolution. The number of pulses is reduced to one per revolution
after a set number of injections.
After-start enrichment - The enrichment is now coolant temperature dependent. It decays away over a number of
engine revolutions instead of over a time period and is no longer linked to cranking fuelling so that better calibration is
achieved.
Acceleration enrichment is reduced; calibration is improved; over enrichment is bettered in the occasions where the
driver opens the throttle very quickly.
Full load Enrichment - Where full load enrichment was determined by vacuum operated switches sensing inlet manifold
depression, it is now determined by throttle potentiometer position and engine speed.
There is a single 2.5 bar mini fuel pressure regulator instead of two.”
Roger Bywater continues: “The 26CU controller introduced in 1991 for 1992 model year was superseded by the 36CU
type part way through 1993. 36CU was the next stage of development of the 16CU, 26CU theme and was itself
superseded at the end of 1994 by the much more advanced Pecus / Nippondenso system of full engine management.”
The people at John’s Cars (page 717) say they will test your ECU for you, free of charge. They are confident you will
eventually be buying something. They add, however, that since testing requires a car, there may be a few days’ delay
until they have a car with the correct system on hand for the testing.
Of course, you can probably learn a lot yourself if you have a friend with a car similar to yours. Swap the ECU’s and
see how many problems go with them.
If your ECU gives up the ghost, please see the comments under Performance Mods (page 310) before spending the
major $$$$$ for a new one. Also, you might want to contact AJ6 Engineering listed on page 713.
If you wish, you can open the ECU easily enough; it is a simple cover-body-cover sandwich with several screws holding
it together. Note that a couple screws have aluminum caps that serve as a tamper indication; it might be wise to inquire
about policies regarding exchanging an opened unit before opening.
Take precautions to avoid static electricity discharges while inside this unit. Usually, it is sufficient to keep one hand on
the chassis while working.
EFI WIRING HARNESS TROUBLESHOOTING: Matthias Fouquet-Lapar suggests “one thing I would do is to put
in fixed resistors for the various sensors direct at the ECU connector” to find out if there’s a problem in the harness.
INJECTOR CONNECTORS -- D JETRONIC: The connectors on the early cars are a simple plug that inserts into a
rectangular recess on the injector. If you need new connectors of this type, Ed Sowell says you can get them at NAPA.
“They have what they call "harness rebuild" parts which is a selection of connectors and pigtail wires with various
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connector styles. You buy the connector body and the pigtails separately, and assemble. Be sure to ask for "harness
rebuild parts," as you will get nowhere asking for injector connectors. The NAPA numbers are:
housing 2-17411 (this is the plastic connector body)
contact 2-17421 (this is the pigtail with the connector attached-- 2 req'd per connector)
Also discovered that NAPA has the contacts themselves without the pigtail wires.”
Tom Simon says, “I have located a source for the injector connectors for pre-HE engines. They were ordered from Fuel
Injection Corporation in California. Their web site is www.fuelinjectioncorp.com. The connectors are part number
920155B; they are black rather than the original white. The terminals with no wires are 920121B. They also have the
boots (920125B) for the connectors. I ordered 20 connectors, 14 boots, and 50 terminals. The total order including
shipping was less than $35.00.”
INJECTOR CONNECTORS -- DIGITAL P: Apparently Bosch decided the simple rectangular plug wasn’t secure
enough, so they developed a much more sophisticated connector for the Digital P system. These connectors are a
rectangular hard plastic box that fits around the connector on the injector, and they have an external spring to provide
snappage. These connectors simply pull off, although they can be a real bear sometimes. It might not be a bad idea to
apply a little grease or something to that spring or the little point that it snaps around to help get it off next time.
These same connectors are also used on the Digital P temperature sensors.
According to Peter Cohen and others, NAPA offers this connector in parts or as an assembly. The assembly, with
pigtails hanging out, is part number 2-17424. In parts, the numbers are
Housing - 4 per box 2-17416
Spring Clips - 25 per box 2-17417
Terminal Ends - 25 per box 2-17418
Michael Bucklew says, “The NAPA parts did not fit due to the lip around the bottom that holds the spring clip. My
plugs do not have the lip around the bottom. The NAPA parts were $14.49 each for the plugs.” It’s unknown if
Bucklew’s comments apply to the pigtailed assembly, the individual parts, or both, but at that price who cares? That’s
too much.
Rue Palmer says the problem is that is apparently the wrong NAPA part number. The connector you need is NAPA part
number 2-17427. He describes this as a “Wired Housing (a wired connector minus the spring clip). I had to use the
spring clips from the old injector connectors because the new connectors don't come with them.”
Lucas lists the parts this way:
housing 526 8917 comes in packages of four
contact 526 8918 comes in packages of 25
spring 526 8930 comes in packages of 25
The Lucas parts, as would be expected, fit fine; this author used them on my harness rebuild.
It appears that the complete connector with pigtails is the most common way to find these parts. Discount Auto Parts
also carries Caltherm, item number 08653, “GM Multi-Port Fuel Injector Connector”. Costs less than two bucks each.
Cohen: “Other vendors are:
Conduct tite: Fuel Injection Repair Socket #85850
Dorman: Connector kit #643-463”
John Robinson adds, “Beck Arnley makes an OEM copy connector w/pigtail: 158-0017.”
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Ed Forman says, “I looked at several parts stores, found some that looked like they would work at an Auto Zone store.
But the back stuck out too far and hit the plate that holds the injector in place. In desperation I went to a Jag dealer,
they had the same type as the Auto Zone store. But I found the right ones at an Auto Value store. They are made by
Parts Master part # 84059, they work great. About $3.00 each, that's better that $12.50 at Jag.”
Patrick MacNamara says, “Best deal I have found on the injector connector housings is from Del City. They were only
$1.03USD each and are complete with 6" pig tails, #73522. No boots though.” MacNamara ditched the pigtails since
he wanted to use high-temp wire, which meant he needed terminals separately: “The terminals for the injector housings
are available from your local Volvo dealer at about $.75CDN each (Cable terminal #V0978258-2). The terminal
connectors from Volvo are nifty two piece quality looking terminals and don't look as cheap as the ones installed by Del
City with their pigtails. They have the double OEM crimp with one on the insulation and one on the actual wire which if
I understand correctly should negate fatigue. The terminal crimp part seems to be referred to as an open barrel
arrangement necessitating special crimping pliers.”
So, Patrick, why didn’t you get the housings from Volvo as well? “I had purchased one to trial fit it to the Jag injector.
They are of a superior design in terms of positive locking with a nice button for release as well as being made from what
looks like high impact resistance plastic. Unfortunately the button release and lack of half moon cut out negates the fit
onto the angled injector port.”
None of the above items seem to include the rubber boot that covers the joint between the wires and the plastic
connector. Gregory Wells says, “Wurth markets the rubber boot and as with all Wurth parts, they're expensive. I think
the Wurth part number is 5-7120, but I'm not real sure of that. Wurth distributes hardware and shop supplies to repair
shops via independent salesmen and as far as I know does not distribute to the retail market, so if you want to chase
these down call import repair shops to see if Wurth calls on them.”
Rue Palmer says you can get the boots from NAPA: “Harness Boots (for those who want the original rubber boot- 2
per box): 2-18414”
MacNamara adds, “Boots are also available from Volvo at $1.84CDN each (Housing cover #V0967340-1). These fit
the Del City Bosch connectors very well but are slightly shorter than the Jag OEM ones. They are also much sturdier
looking.”
If you can’t find the boots, screw it; the harness will work just as well and just as long without them, and probably look
just as good or better. Keen Young says, “My solution was 1/2" shrink tube over 1/4" shrink tube. Put them both on
the wires, solder on the connector, slide the small tube up to the connector, slide the large tube over the small one and
over the connector, heat. If you look really closely, you can tell it's not factory. Got the tubing at the local surplus store
for $.20/foot.”
It’s also apparently possible to upgrade this connector. Since it’s used on so many types of car and has been for so long,
it’s to be expected that companies have come out with improved versions. Mike Waldron says, “Autotronic Controls,
makers of MSD Ignitions (http://www.msdignition.com), make weatherproof (don't need no stinkin' boot) connectors
for Bosch style injectors. These are designed to be removable from the injector, thus they don't break! The part number
for a bag of eight is: 2400”
Unfortunately, Tom Bennett says, “Nice connectors, only problem is they do not fit! The lock/unlock mechanism gets in
the way with the injector hold down. Nice for the other sensors though.” Hmmmm; sounds like the ones Forman found
at the Jag dealer.
Robinson, who works at Bosch, says, “Delphi/Packard Electric makes a great connector that I believe will fit:
15305086 - connector body
12176636 - terminal
12176807 - seal
15326238 - spring
“These are for the new GM eco-tech V6 wire harness. Anybody who carries AMP products should be able to get
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them.”
You could just drop into a junkyard and buy a bunch of connectors; lots of cars use Bosch injectors and most of them
don’t cook them like Jags do. Guy Poppe says, “I gathered 12 from the junkyard from GM cars. Nice and sturdy and
clip on -- great. The connectors are too big as they strike the mounting plate. Tried a Chrysler connector from my '94
LHS and they fit. They look different than the GM or Jag ones but again better quality.”
INJECTOR CONNECTOR REPLACEMENT: In case you’re trying to keep straight which wire goes to which side on
each injector, Keen Young says, “No polarity. The injector doesn't care which side is ground (earth).”
Bill Farnsworth: “Last month I changed all my plastic injector connectors without removing the existing leads. I
replaced all 12 connectors in 3 hours. Knowing a bit about connectors and wiring kinda helped too. Here is how I did
it:
“Tools required:
Small flat blade jeweler's screwdriver
Small utility or x-acto knife
Hot air (750w) heat shrink gun
A three foot length (appr.) of 1/2 in" shrink tubing
1 Tube silicone glue/sealer
“Remove the connector from the injector. With the utility knife cut away the existing heat shrunk rubber from around
the base of the connector leaving enough to maintain a base of rubber against the connector. You will notice that there
is a small amount of epoxy glue holding the rubber to the base. Work the rubber and connector back and forth (like
snapping a crab leg) until the glue releases. Turn the connector toward you and inside you will see a small slot above
each lead. Insert the small jeweler's screwdriver into the slot; this releases the tab holding the lead to the connector.
You can pull the lead out now. If it doesn't release, work the screwdriver around until it does release. Or you can just
break the old connector off; it's toast anyway.
“What you have left is a clean wire with two leads, and a 3" length of Jaguar rubber boot, all intact. Neat!! If the leads
aren't clean, now is the best time to clean them with alcohol.
“Now, slide a 4" or 5" length of 1/2" shrink tubing over the leads and boot. The tubing has to be long enough to go
over the entire boot and cover both ends by at least a half an inch to prevent water seepage. Next put a small amount of
silicon glue/sealer around the base of the boot that meets up with the base of the connector. Be careful not to get any
sealer on the leads.
“Now take the new connector and push the leads thru the end until they seat. The base of the connector with mate up
perfectly with the boot and the glue will seal up the end of the connection (just like original).
“Slide the tubing up and over the boot and over the base of the connector until it clears the lip by the same distance as
the original (look at the next injector connector). Take up your heat gun (a hair dryer might work, but probably doesn't
have enough directional control.) and warm up the shrink tubing until you have a perfect fit around the connector and
boot and wiring at the other end. Take care to not melt other wiring in the area. Aluminum foil works as a good heat
shield/deflector. Move onto the next injector. The first one will take you a while. Once you get a feel for how
everything comes apart and goes together, then the whole process will take you 5 minutes per injector.”
IS YOUR INJECTOR HARNESS COOKED? Surprise, surprise. Craig Sawyers explains: “As some of you will have
found, the insulation on the wires under the hood gets really brittle with time, and cracks. I was just browsing the
Farnell catalogue (major electronic component supplier), and their selection of "automotive cable" uses PVC insulation,
with a maximum temperature spec of 70°C. Interesting, think I. In fact, most PVC insulation conks out at 70°C. Some
special UL-rated cable goes to 90°C (or 105°C if it won't be moved while it is hot, some hope on an engine). So it is
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practically guaranteed that the insulation will fail on a Jaguar, even if it doesn't overheat! This is particularly true of the
V12, where both major engine harnesses run smack down the centre of the V.”
Is this a serious problem? It’s just cosmetic, right? You don’t care except the wires look bad, right? Well, ask Rue
Palmer, who had a sudden loss of power and immediately pulled over and opened the hood to see what was the matter:
“It looks like one of power wires in the injector harness shorted out due to the PVC wire insulation becoming brittle and
cracking, which then melted most of the insulation from the wires to the right bank injector harness. It appeared that
when the harness shorted it caused all the injectors in the right bank to go to a continual spray condition which flooded
out the right bank and dumped raw fuel into the exhaust system. Upon examination the next morning, both the right
exhaust and the engine oil had gas in them.
“Additionally, gas sprayed into the engine compartment caused by the injector located at "5 A". It had a hole melted in
the housing of the injector body. None of the fuel lines appeared to have been damaged but I replaced them all anyway.
To this day we don't know why we didn't have a massive engine bay fire. The wire in some places was glowing when
we lifted the hood. I don't think the fire extinguisher that I carry would have put it out if it would have ignited.”
Funny thing: the only reason Palmer pulled over that quick is because he had read this book, and thought he was
experiencing the Marelli failure described on page 161. His car doesn’t have Marelli ignition, though, which was the
first clue that this problem was different.
Half the wires in the injector harness are connected to 12V power, and the other half go to the resistor pack and then on
to the ECU in the trunk. If any of the latter half short to ground, 12V power will be applied continuously to an entire
bank of injectors. This will flood out the bank, but worse it will cook wires and melt injectors because these circuits are
not designed to have 12V on them for longer than a couple of milliseconds at a time.
Still, reports of this cause of engine fires are not common -- which makes sense, actually. Once the fire starts, all the
insulation in the V will be burned away and the wires scorched, so it will be impossible to diagnose this cause. Palmer is
probably an extremely rare case for having caught it before ignition.
Sawyers: “It wouldn't be so bad if they had been routed along the fuel rails.” Actually, this is fix #1 -- relocating the
injector harness before it gets cooked. This author moved it off the bottom of the V and up just an inch or so, fastening
the harness clips under the intake manifold nuts rather than under the bolt heads holding the valley cover on. This gets it
out of the oil deposits and keeps it a lot cooler without changing the appearance of the engine significantly. If you’re
unconcerned about appearance, it is a simple matter to relocate the harness right up on the fuel rail and tie it in place
with zip ties.
If your harness is already cooked, consider fix #2 -- rebuilding the harness using better wire. Sawyers: “The real
McCoy seems to be Raychem Flexlite High Performance wire. This stuff is double insulated, with a primary insulation
of radiation crosslinked polyalkene, and a jacket of modified PVF2. Operates at up to 125°C and has excellent chemical
resistance (ie oils for us) (they say). The problem? It is a factor of ten more expensive than standard automotive cable.
This means (in US speak) about $1 a yard for the most common gauge.”
Another possibility is Teflon-insulated wire. If you find a source, buy it and use it. Of course, asbestos-insulated wire
would work great, but isn’t recommended anyway.
Del City (page 707) offers “cross-linked polyethylene” insulated wire which is supposedly good to 177°C (350°F). That
oughta be enough!
Del City will add stripes to wires if you want, but it’ll probably entail minimum order sizes beyond reason for the home
mechanic. If you find sources of small lots of color-coded wire, good for you, but if you’re limited in colors you can
color code them with pieces of heat shrink tubing, or even type up little labels and fasten them to the wires with clear
heat-shrink tubing. If you wanna get fancy, there are professional wire labelling products available.
To end up with a reliable injector harness, you can either rebuild the one you’ve got or make an entirely new one from
scratch. Either way is about the same amount of effort, but rebuilding the existing one requires less thought. Just mark
which plug goes to which cylinder, then take the whole thing off and lay it out on the bench. Strip all the wrapping.
One by one, cut out the dried, cracking sections of wire and replace them with new sections. Use heat-shrink tubing to
seal all soldering jobs. Of course, you may choose to replace injector connectors while you’re at it -- see above.
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Making a new one from scratch is not only not really any more difficult, but it results in a considerably neater appearance
and more pride in the accomplishment. Again, take the harness off and lay it out on the bench and strip the wrapping.
But in this case, merely inspect it to see how the wires are routed and connected, measure the lengths, and make an
entirely new harness. If you wanna get professional about it, you can lay down a sheet of plywood and hammer nails
into it as a guide to making the new harness, but this really isn’t called for on a one-time job.
There are even a couple of minor changes you might make to your new harness. When this author did this job, one
change made was the location of the section of the harness that passes from the right bank over to the left bank side. On
the OEM harness, this bundle of wires passed under the A/C compressor. The new harness was altered slightly to have
this bundle pass to the rear of the compressor and under the cruise control bellows instead, a much more convenient
location.
You probably won’t be able to find a replacement for the big plug at the right side fenderwell, but the original one is
probably OK due to its location away from the serious heat; you can merely dyke it off and splice it into the new harness
assembly. If you would rather replace it, you can get some generic connectors and replace the connector on the end of
the harness on the right fenderwell that the injector harness connects to. You need connectors with at least five
terminals (the original has eight, but you can combine some). You can, of course, connect them up with multiple smaller
connectors, or even a bunch of individual spade connectors, but that would look crummy. Perhaps the best connectors
available are called Delphi-Packard automotive connectors; they are commonly used in modern GM cars, and they are
completely sealed so they won't corrode. They are likewise available from Del City; you can use either a single 6-pin or
two 4-pin connectors for this job. If you choose to use two 4-pins, you might actually opt to create two completely
separate injector harnesses, one per bank.
Del City also sells new high-temperature looming, but if you want you can just bundle the wires with zip ties every few
inches and leave them visible.
If you’d like to review some photos of the injector harness work, visit
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/InjHarnessRebuilding.html
I know what you’re thinking: “Too much effort; I’d rather just buy a new harness.” Wrong. First off, you clearly have
no comprehension of just how far Jaguar can gouge the customer for a few wires and connectors; once you price this
item, after they pick you up off the floor you will be shopping for wire and a soldering gun. Second, remember that a
new Jaguar harness is made from the same cheap PVC-insulated wire the original harness was, so all that money only
buys you a temporary fix -- it will soon be cooked again. Better to do it yourself and do it right.
Also note that the injector harness accounts for most of the wires in the V, but not all. Once you’ve got the injector
harness fixed, you’ll probably want to similarly upgrade the other wires in the area.
RELAYS: There are several relays involved in the EFI system. They are discussed along with all the other relays in the
car starting on page 562.
FUEL INJECTORS: If your engine is running or idling rough, one possible problem is a plugged or bad fuel injector.
This may be indicated if the misfire always seems to be the same cylinder, although a bad spark plug or wire or
mechanical problems in that cylinder are other possible causes. One-cylinder problems have different symptoms than
they would have on a carburetor system, because a misfire in one cylinder causes the fuel and oxygen to enter the
exhaust unburned. The oxygen sensor will pick up the excess oxygen, and the ECU will conclude that the engine is
running lean. The ECU will then richen the mixture to all 6 cylinders on that bank, and then the whole bank sounds bad,
not just one cylinder. If you have catalytic convertors, they might start getting toasty as well -- see page 318.
If you have a trip computer in the car, chances are pretty good that the indicated fuel mileage doesn’t agree with the
actual mileage determined by the odometer and the fill-ups. However, the error should be pretty consistent -- off by
about the same amount every time you check. There have been some reports that a sudden change for the worse -- the
actual fuel economy gets quite a bit worse while the trip computer is still indicating about the same as before -- may be
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an indication of an injector gone bad. The trip computer calculates fuel usage based on what the injectors are supposed
to be flowing, not what they actually are flowing, so when an injector jams open or starts leaking the fuel mileage goes
to hell while the trip computer still thinks everything is fine.
If you suspect there is a problem with an injector, John Keppler suggests you use a stethoscope first. “I started the
engine, then using a mechanic's stethoscope, listened to each injector. I could hear every one loud and clear except 5A,
which was dead silent. I found the bad injector in seconds with a mechanic's stethoscope.”
If you have an injector that doesn’t seem to be working, pull the connector off and check the windings with a VOM.
The windings on an injector should measure 2.4Ω at room temperature, and must not be shorted to the injector body.
You could get lucky like Keppler did. “I pulled the plug on my 5A injector and measured its resistance. The cheap
meter I was using read 2.9 ohms. That looked reasonable. I then measured the voltage across the plug contacts with
the engine running. I can't remember the voltage I got, but it was identical the the 1A connector (the most accessible
plug to use as a reference). At this point, I plugged the injector back in and started the engine. With the stethoscope I
could tell that it still wasn't working. Then I tried tapping 12 volts directly across the injector. The injector clicked!
Loud and clear! So I once again plugged in the injector and started the engine. This time, I could hear it working just
fine with the stethoscope, and the engine ran smooth. I can only assume that I either had a bad contact at the plug that
got cleaned up by repeated unplugging and plugging, or the injector was just plain stuck, and hitting it with a good shot
of 12 volts freed it up.”
If you’re not as lucky as Keppler, purchase one of the many fuel injector cleaners available that can be added to the gas
tank. The common advise on how to use in-the-tank injector cleaner is -- as concentrated as possible. Run the car down
to 1/4 tank, then add the injector cleaner, then run it down to nearly empty before refilling.
If that doesn’t fix the problems, the next step is to take the car to any place that specializes in fuel injection work. They
can flush the injectors with a cleaner by just connecting a line to the fuel supply line and running the engine.
If this doesn’t work, the next step is to depressurize the fuel system, disconnect the supply and return hoses, remove 24
nuts and remove the rack of injectors as a unit. Take it to the same fuel injection shop and have them flush it in a rig.
With it separate from the engine, they can use much more powerful cleaners than they can on the engine. Best of all,
even if their cleaning doesn’t fix the problem, they will be able to tell you if any injectors are bad and which one; they can
actually watch them spray on the bench.
If you’re the adventurous type, you might try testing the injectors yourself. Unbolt the set from the engine and raise
them up a few inches while leaving the fuel supply and return hoses connected. Jumper the relay in the trunk to allow
operation of the fuel pump with the engine off. Immediately check that no injectors are dribbling fuel. Place a small
glass jar around one injector. Connect a couple wires to this injector, and give it a quick zap with 12 volts. Note: do
not leave 12 volts connected continuously; only give the injector instantaneous jolts. Observe the performance of the
injector. Repeat for all injectors; you can empty the glass jar back into the tank between tests. Obviously, any injector
that seems to perform differently than the others is suspect. No smoking is suggested during this procedure, and it
would also be wise to avoid electrical sparks.
Tony Gardner reports that J. C. Whitney offers a device for doing such tests called an Injector Inspector. “This device is
hooked up to the battery and one can select various combinations of pulses to operate individual injectors. They suggest
using it with the injectors in-situ and timing pressure drops but I did not find this very convincing.”
“Back lighting with a flashlight is helpful. You can also rig the device to facilitate pumping cleaner through each
injector.” If you can devise a pressure container with one line in the top and another out the bottom, you can fill it with
flushing fluid and connect the fuel line in the top and let the fuel pump push it through the injectors.
The injectors can be replaced individually, and there is nothing wrong with replacing only the one that’s gone bad.
Replacing the whole set is expensive, and usually not warranted.
The only differences between injector part number 0 280 150 163 (1985-91 front two), and 0 280 150 164 (1985-91
rear ten) is the length of the piece of hose attached to them. These injectors were fitted as a recall to cars with injector
part number 0 280 150 105 (1980-85), so those injectors have no functional difference either.
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The D-Jetronic cars had either 73143A/0 280 150 023 or 73143B/0 280 150 035 injectors. Some reports indicated that
the last three digits indicate an orifice size difference, but Roger Bywater of AJ6 Engineering assures us that the number
reflects a minor design change only and that all of these injectors have the same flow specifications. Note that the D-
Jetronic injectors do not have the same flow rate as the Digital P injectors.
Richard Mansell quotes from a Jaguar publication on the changes for the 1992 models:
“New smaller lighter fuel injectors allowing the fitment of a lower mounted fuel rail, giving improved control of fuelling
at small pulse widths.”
Fuel injectors tend to be blamed for a lot of problems, probably more than they actually are responsible for. Michael
Neal (Jaguar mechanic) says: “The only failed injectors I have seen have been from running water through them or
running a car with a blown head gasket to death.”
FUEL INJECTOR PULSE CHECKING: Robert Dingli suggests “an oscilloscope or a smart DVM with pulse width or
duty cycle readouts can be used to check the injector electrical supply. Some modern ECU’s can detect whether an
injector is unplugged (or short circuited) and thus it’s best to connect the electrical apparatus in parallel with the
injector.” Michael Neal says the injector pulse width should be around 3 milliseconds at idle.
John Keppler suggests you could go with what you have and check the injector pulse with an old-fashioned dwell meter.
Hey, you’re not using it anyway; if you still have any cars with points, it’s high time you installed electronic ignition
modules in them. Keppler points out that a dwell meter is merely a 12V duty cycle meter with scales in degrees instead
of 0-100%. Disconnect one injector connector and connect the two leads from the dwell meter to it -- which may
require sticking some small flat metal things into the plug. Ideally, buy a new Bosch plug and create a jumper to connect
the dwell meter while leaving the injector connected. Fire the engine up and see what happens. Remember to check
both circuits (there are two, one per bank on the H.E. and all mixed up between banks on the pre-H.E.).
At this point, I cannot offer any guidance on just what kind of readings to look for. Remember that, while point dwell
should stay relatively constant with RPM, injector pulses will indicate a “dwell” that varies with engine RPM and load.
Just check the dwell meter readings on someone else’s car as a basis of comparison; it probably doesn’t even need to be
a Jaguar, since pretty much any fuel injector should be seeing the same kind of injector pulses.
INJECTOR SEALS/NOISY FUEL INJECTORS: Each injector is mounted with two rubber rings, a small one at the
tip and a large one around the body. These rubber parts isolate the injector from the manifold. There are two reasons
you might want to replace your injector seals. The first is noise; Hunt Dabney says: “On the noise issue, I just replaced
all of the injector seals and rubber mounts. My injectors are now really quiet!” The other reason, of course, is to
eliminate vacuum leaks; the smaller ring at the tip is obviously critical for sealing the intake manifold, but the larger is
also important for holding the injector securely against the smaller.
Frank Perrick points out that these seals are available at any auto parts store since they are standard Bosch items. The
seals come in packages to service four injectors, so you will need three kits for the V12. Here’s a tip for getting the guy
behind the counter to get you the right parts: When he types all the make and model data into the computer, one of the
screens he will face is where he must select the type part you’re looking for. One choice is “fuel injector/carburetor
gaskets”, but if that selection is made it will come up with some obscure part number and claim it’s not available. If, on
the other hand, he selects “fuel injectors”, it will come back with a listing for the “fuel injector seal kit”. Or, Perrick
suggests you can just carry an injector in there and say “I need these gaskets”.
John Napoli found a different kit: “Standard Motor Parts SK-3 does the trick -- handles four injectors (eight rings -- 4
big and 4 little) for less than $4.00 US.” A similar kit, the one carried by AutoZone, is GP Sorensen part number 800-
9207. The kit offered by Discount Auto Parts is Tomco part number 27013.
However, not all kits are the same; some carry parts besides the two rubber rings. One such kit is Beck/Arnley # 158-
0021 vp 1; B.J. Kroppe says, “The kit included the small, square-sectioned seal between the injector tip and plastic cup,
as well as the large rubber washer which I believe isolates the clicking injector from the rest of the engine. The last bit
that was in the Beck-Arnley kit was the tiny (nylon?) mesh filter that fits into the top of the injector fuel inlet. This is a
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neat design.”
Kroppe also found a set from Python Injection, Incorporated, part number 200-120, with even more parts.
“Description: large injector washer (isolator), square section o-ring seal, mesh injector inlet filter, injector tip cup (does
not fit Jaguar injectors).”
You might wish to make the extra effort to find seal kits with pintle caps -- see below.
FUEL INJECTOR PINTLE CAP: You can’t see this thing when the injector is in place, since it is on the end buried in
the intake manifold. When you take the injector out, though, it is the plastic cap that completely surrounds the injector
with a hole at the tip where the pintle is. The original pintle caps are a tan color, and reportedly not very reliable; you’re
likely to find them damaged. Richard Chapman says, “I got black caps in my seal kit, along with the 2 rings. Just pulled
off the old ones with pliers and a twisting motion - not too difficult, just a bit nervous on the first one. I could not have
reused the old caps once removed. It was difficult to get the new ones to fully seat inside the recess where the injector
tip meets the injector body - lots of fiddling needed except on the 2 different ones which fitted with ease!!! Weird.”
Paul Hackbart says, “The pintle caps are not for spray pattern but for heat protection. To replace them I used a little
mm socket so not to damage the solenoid tip and tapped it back on to click into place. I would replace the pintle caps
regardless. When I did mine, 3 or 4 were cracked and most of them at the end were missing. The original orange ones
are not recommended as all pintle caps by Bosch are black/heat resistant.”
IDLE STUMBLE: A stumble may be a sign of an intake manifold leak. Since the EFI senses manifold vacuum and
meters fuel accordingly, it would make sense that an intake manifold leak would only cause a high idle, not a stumble or
misfire. However, a manifold leak that is near the intake of one particular cylinder apparently has more effect on that
cylinder than on others, and can cause an individual cylinder to run lean. This may be quite serious, since a lean-running
cylinder is a candidate for a dropped valve seat -- a very expensive problem. If a leak is suspected, a can of WD-40
makes an excellent leak locator; simply spray on each area while the engine is running and see which spot makes a
difference when sprayed on.
The gaskets between the intake manifold and the heads are common leak sources. It appears to be necessary to
retighten the manifold-to-head nuts occasionally, especially shortly after a reassembly. In fact, just go out to the garage
now and torque ‘em all down.
D-Jetronic
RECOMMENDED READING: Roger Bywater wrote the definitive guide to the D-Jetronic system, published in Vol.
2, No. 2, Jaguar Quarterly (now Jaguar World -- see Kelsey Publishing, page 723), 1989. It is highly recommended
that owners of cars with this system obtain a copy of this article.
TRIGGER UNIT: D-Jetronic cars have a "trigger unit" inside the distributor that provides a signal to the EFI system to
trigger the fuel injectors. It is mounted just under the distributor rotor and is activated by a magnet in the tail of the
rotor.
The trigger unit originally fitted inside the distributor had magnetic reed switches and a three-wire connector that plugs
into the EFI wiring harness. These type trigger units were later superceded with a replacement trigger unit that uses Hall
effect circuitry instead of reed switches for improved durability. The Hall effect trigger unit has a fourth wire, separate
from the connector, this fourth wire must be connected to a 12V power source that is switched on with engine ignition.
Unlike reed switches, the Hall effect circuits require a power supply. Three-wire units are no longer available. By now,
most of the original three-wire trigger boards have probably been upgraded to four-wire.
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Reportedly, the official Jaguar procedure is to connect the fourth wire to the white wire at the ballast resistor. This, in
fact, should provide the proper switched 12V source -- on paper, anyway. However, Ray Reynolds reports that the 12V
available at the ballast resistor was so noisy that it caused the injectors in his car to fire wildly, resulting in flat spots and
even stalling at some throttle positions. He simply reconnected this wire to a more reliable 12V source and his problems
cleared up.
TRIGGER UNIT TESTING: If you have the Hall effect unit, the testing procedure in the ROM won’t work.
However, either the reed switch version or the Hall effect version are supposed to provide the same signal to the EFI
system, so it's still easy enough to test -- you just need to make sure that it has 12V power and a ground connection
when doing the testing. And you need to test it in place and using the rotor to activate it; it doesn't matter if it'll work
with some magnet you're holding in your hand, if it won't work with your rotor, it won't work.
There are four wires. The one that provides 12V power should be obvious; it's not in the connector with the other three.
Of those three, the center one in the connector is a common ground; it must be grounded during testing to complete the
12V power circuit. The outer two are normally open but get very brief closures to the common ground as the magnet in
the rotor passes over the trigger unit.
To test, connect leads to these three wires without unplugging the connector. You can unplug the connector, tie small
test wires to the terminals, and plug it back in. Or you can just jam straight pins through the wires and connect your
VOM to the pins. Turn the engine over and watch for brief closures, once per cycle, between each of the outer wires
and the center common wire.
TRIGGER UNIT CONNECTORS: Peter French claims to be one of the few people that still has reed switches in his
car rather than the Hall effect sensor. “I also had a good problem earlier with the 3-way connector to the injector
switches. The centre (0v) pin had two wires going to one pin and they were "over-crimped". One wire had broken such
that the reed switches had no common return unless the idle switch contact on the throttle switch was closed. Net effect
was that the car would start and idle fine but cut out as soon as the throttle was opened!”
TRIGGER BOARD SCREWS: As mentioned on page 140, Richard Dowling tapped out the holes in the distributor
body to take M4 screws. “My trigger board had 4 special rubber grommets with holes to take the screws. I had no
trouble with putting nylon M4 screws through.”
ROTOR: Yes, the distributor rotor is an ignition system part -- but in the Jaguar V12 with D Jetronic EFI, it's also a
fuel system part since there is a magnet in the tail of the rotor to trigger the fuel pulses.
Mike Morrin reports: “Beware, there are two types of D-Jetronic distributor rotors. The ones with the narrow magnet
(P/N 54422422) only work with the old style trigger units, the ones with the wider magnet (P/N 54400048) appear to
work with both old and new trigger units.”
MANIFOLD AIR PRESSURE (MAP) SENSOR: One man’s pressure is another man’s vacuum. Yes, the conditions
within the intake manifolds on non-supercharged engines are commonly referred to as vacuum, but engineers normally
refer to air pressures in terms of absolutes rather than relative to atmospheric, so the sensor measuring the air pressure
within the intake manifolds is referred to as the “Manifold Air Pressure” sensor.
Mike Morrin: “I would strongly recommend that all owners of cars with this system periodially check the manifold
vacuum sensor for internal leaks. I stress this because when I needed a replacement for mine, I was told that new units
are no longer available for the “early” calibration systems, and so I needed to find a good used one. This resulted in me
driving around London (I was officially in the UK on business) for 2 days sucking on manifold vacuum sensors at all
sorts of dodgy Jaguar parts shops. Of the dozen units I saw, only 5 did not leak, and only one of these was the correct
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calibration for my car. There are obviously a lot of cars on the road with leaky sensors.
“The sensor is the aluminium cylindrical thing right in the front right hand corner of the engine compartment. The test is
simple, disconnect the center hose from the tee piece between the manifolds (above the distributor) and suck on it as
hard as you can, there should be no hissing sound from the sensor unit. Then stick your tongue over the end of the pipe
while releasing the vacuum in your mouth. The hose should stick to your tongue for several seconds before it (the hose)
drops off.
“Internally the sensor has a barometer bellows, but there is an extra brass (?) diaphragm which provides the vacuum seal.
This diapragm flexes every time the manifold vacuum changes and it is not surprising that metal fatigue sets in and
causes a split around the outer edge. This is an example of Bosch design which would make Lucas look good (if Lucas
had not insisted on sticking their name over the Bosch logo!).
“If the sensor is leaking, then the engine will be running rich, particularly at part throttle, but this varies depending on the
size of the split in the diapragm.
“I did attempt to repair my faulty manifold sensor, both by adding a rubber diaphragm and by soldering up the split in the
brass diaphragm, but both of these repairs resulted in a significantly lean mixture.”
Roger Bywater of AJ6 Engineering (page 713): “If there is a break in continuity to either winding on the pressure
sensor the entire system will be dead. Really all that most people can do is check the two windings for isolation and
resistance (nominally 350 ohms between terminals 8,10 & 90 ohms between 7, 15) and the assembly as a whole for a
vacuum leak. Obviously that will cause excessive richness at light load whilst full load will be unaffected, although in
practical terms a minor leak may not be all that important. Electrical failure is extremely rare and I don't suppose the
aneroid bellows fail very often, unlike the full load diaphragm on the European version which is prone to splitting around
the edge (which can be repaired by careful soldering in the early stages. These devices come apart quite easily once the
4 rivets are drilled out. The pressure sensor being effectively a variable inductance transformer, function testing would
entail firing pulses or low voltage AC through the primary winding and measuring what happens at the secondary. In
fact the most practical way to test one is to link it to an ECU on a bench rig representing the vehicle installation (such as
we use) and measure injector pulses at different loads at a set speed. Obviously not many people will be able to use
either method.”
D-JETRONIC REPLACEMENT: Roger Bywater of AJ6 Engineering (page 713) says “it is not that bad a system and
shouldn't be that troublesome really if it is properly set up (correct throttle balance is vital). Although odd bits like
trigger boards and pressure sensors do fail occasionally, and injectors tend to jam if exposed to water contamination, the
ECUs don't often go wrong (unlike early H.E. 6CUs) and really the wiring and connectors are the main problem areas as
they age. It is a lot easier to go over the connectors, cutting back the wires and soldering them to the terminals, than to
strip the lot out and install a new system.
“If the system is beyond economic repair and really does need to be replaced then I would have thought that by far the
easiest route would be to simply fit all the hardware, including manifolds, plumbing and Constant Energy ignition, from
any H.E. engined car from 1981-88 and use a 16CU controller (1986-91) and have us install the correct program for the
early flat head engine (Super Enhanced option available). This setup has been used successfully on a number of V12 E
types converted from carbs to EFI and has the great advantage that all the parts are familiar and easily available.
“Aftermarket ECUs sound great but in practice involve a lot of time and effort to get right and would be hard to justify
for a standard engine. It would definitely involve rather more than "just wiring in a new processor" and any
improvement in performance or fuel effcicency would be minimal.
Cold Start Injectors
SCHEMATIC CORRECTIONS: In the Haynes manual 478/49015, you should mark Fig. 10.124 and 13.92 at the
thermotime switch #298 to show a ground connection on the line at the bottom between the heater and the contact.
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Without this ground shown, it’s really difficult to figure out what’s going on!
Also note that the thermotime switch contains a thermal switch and an electric heater. The schematics make it look like
a relay. It should show a resistance rather than a coil.
Note also that Section 19.22.32 of the ©1975 ROM shows a schematic of the cold start injector system that is poorly
labelled at best. It shows “12V” connected to 86C via a WR wire, when it would have been much clearer to mark the
wire “from starter relay” -- there’s no power on it except when the starter is engaged. The thermotime switch is at the
bottom left, unlabelled and no innards shown. The cold start injectors are at the bottom right, unlabelled and no innards
shown. The cold start relay is at top center, unlabelled with the innards shown incorrectly; since it shows five terminals
including an 86C, it is evidently attempting to illustrate the system with a bootstrap circuit (see below), but there are no
internal diodes shown and there is no internal connection to terminal 86. Ken Gray and Roger Bywater claim the
illustrations in the same section in other ROM’s such as the early XJ12 ROM show the non-bootstrap relay (four
terminals) largely correctly.
COLD START RELAY VARIATIONS: Basically all of the schematics showing the cold start injector system on the D
Jetronic EFI system show the cold start relay as a simple relay: one coil and one contact, 4 terminals. If the car is really
wired that way, the cold start injectors will only operate while the starter is engaged. This makes good sense; once the
starter is released, it can be presumed that it’s because the engine has fired and therefore there is no more need for the
cold start injectors to be spraying. In this configuration, the only reason the thermotime switch cuts off after a few
seconds is to prevent flooding in case the owner holds the starter on for a long time.
Ken Gray says the early cars were wired differently, though: “In reality, (76 model XJC5.3 Oz spec & also 75 Daimler
Double Six brit spec.) the relay is a five terminal relay. It has two internal diodes, and the extra contact is labelled 86C.
Diode 1 goes from 86C to 86. This allows current to flow to the relay coil from the start relay ie when the engine is
cranking. Diode 2 goes from 87 to 86. This allows current to flow into the relay coil from the main injection relay to
allow the cold start injectors to stay energised after the starter has been dis-engaged. Diode 1 blocks any current from
feeding back to the starter solenoid once the starter key has been released. The thermotime switch opens after it has
timed out and the injectors are de-energised.”
Basically, what Gray is saying is that the relay has a built-in bootstrap circuit; once it has been energized by the starter
being engaged, it will hold itself energized even after the starter is released until the thermotime switch shuts it off. If
your car has such a relay, the schematics should be altered to look like Figure 14.
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Figure 14 - Alternative Cold Start Relay Schematic
Interestingly, while the Jaguar cars with this system were reportedly connected this way, it would actually make more
sense to connect the wire to the heater in the thermotime switch to 87 on the cold start relay instead of 86. It would
function exactly the same way, but there wouldn’t be as much current going through the diodes. Roger Bywater found
schematics of other cars with similar Bosch EFI systems that were wired that way.
The diagrams that this schematic revision might apply to are as follows: In the ROM ©1975, the “Fuel Injection
Schematic” following Section 86, and whatever diagram shown in section 19.22.32, as discussed above. In the Haynes
manual 478/49015, Fig. 10.121, 10.124, 10.129, 13.92, and 13.96. Check your own car, and if it has the relay
described, mark the appropriate schematics accordingly.
Gray: “The relay is a Bosch manufacture with the Lucas sticker stuck on the side. The Bosch number is 0 332 003 028
- 12V, 10A. The Lucas marking is 25RA which I think is the series (not serial) number, because all the relays that are in
the same can configuration bear this number, and 33353A which I believe is the important part number.”
Gray goes on to point out that the Haynes manual clearly shows the 5-terminal relay he’s talking about in Fig. 3.50. He
claims this relay is also illustrated in his XJ12 ROM; “My ROM is the red covered Jaguar XJ12 /Daimler Double Six
version. Publication Part No. E190/4.” Section 19.22.31 of the XJ-S ROM ©1975 shows the cold start relay, but not
clearly enough to indicate how many terminals it has.
If your car has the relay Gray describes, it will be a large metal can that looks similar to the starter relay with individual
wires connected to spade terminals and it will have a terminal labelled 86C. If your car has the simpler system illustrated
in the schematics, it may have 5 terminals but one will be labelled 87a or some such; there will be no 86C.
Roger Bywater isn’t thrilled with the bootstrap concept used here: “I know what can happen when the cold start
injector(s) are allowed to spray with the engine running. A weak 'spit back' can ignite the fuel from the cold start
injector which then becomes a rather noisy blow lamp inside the manifold. A single plenum engine would immediately
stop then would easily restart probably without the condition even being recognised. A V12 could have one bank 'lit up'
inside but the other bank would keep it running, after a fashion, until the thermotime switch trips out when things revert
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to normal.”
COLD START PROBLEMS: William F. Trimble says, “My Haynes manual for the V12 (yeah, I know ... :-) suggests
to remove the thermo-time switch altogether if you have cold-start problems.” This author’s Haynes manual says “A
problem can occur on 1980 models causing stalling immediately after cold start. This can be overcome by removing the
cold start relay...”
John Braybrooks says, “I have a 1982 XJ-S in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. I keep my car in a garage and one
recent winter my son drove it out so that he could use the garage space to work on his 1929 Model A. When he finished
he returned the Jaguar to its rightful location. Next day my wife also moved the car to facilitate sweeping the floor and
again returned it. Next morning when I tried to start the car there was no life. I called local Jaguar specialist, Paul
McKay, and he immediately diagnosed the problem as flooding. He came to my house and replaced the spark plugs
which were the least difficult (5) and we were then able to get the engine running on those cylinders, later more and
more came on line until all was well. He informed me that this was a characteristic of this engine and it was not unusual
for the dealers to experience this problem with brand new vehicles loaded on and off transporters during the winter.
Under the right conditions the cars would not start when delivered to the dealer. Paul warns that if this does occur and
you are able to get the engine running of a few cylinders do not "gun it" otherwise the unburned fuel will be burnt in the
catalytic convertors and the excessive heat could cause a meltdown. If I have to move my car for very short periods in
cool weather I now always let the engine run until it is thoroughly warm.”
Roger Bywater explains: “That's a familiar story. Back in the early 1980’s they had new H.E.’s doing that even in our
mild winter after being shuffled around the factory car parks a few times before delivery. That's why they got rid of the
cold start injectors after a period of just having the connectors taped back for the dealers to hook up before delivery to
the customer.
“Whilst it may be the case that the H.E. V12 is more prone to cold plug fouling than some other engines, doing repeated
cold starts in very cold conditions without getting to even part warm is maybe asking a lot of an elderly car probably
with shaky HT leads and things. If I had to move any car, not just a Jaguar V12, repeatedly in severe conditions I would
at least let it run to near fully warm every other time then rev it up two or three times to make sure it was clear.”
Digital P
FUEL SUPPLY SCHEMATIC CORRECTION: Fig. 3 on page 19-3 in the ©1982 Supplement and Fig.13.18 in the
Haynes manual as well as the same diagram in the Handbook purport to illustrate the fuel supply system for the Digital
P. In fact, it’s quite accurate -- if you never had the fuel rail recall performed on your car. Since all cars should have
had the recall done, the left half of this illustration should look like Figure 15.
Figure 15 - Digital P Fuel Supply Schematic
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There are now two pressure regulators (although the bottom one in the illustration is actually the only one that regulates
pressure), and the cold start injectors are gone. Note that for the 1992 model year, Jaguar went back to having a single
pressure regulator.
Fig. 4, 18, 20, and 21 and sections 19.60.01, 19.60.03, 19.60.04, and 19.60.05 in the ©1982 Supplement as well as Fig.
13.13, 13.14, 13.22, 13.23, and much of the text in Chapter 13, Sec 5 in the Haynes manual likewise reflect the pre-
recall fuel supply system.
HOT STARTING: The fuel cooler works great when the engine is running, but is worthless after the engine is shut off.
The heat rising from the engine heats the fuel in the rail, which is not moving. If the engine is started about a half hour
after shutoff, it may have difficulty starting.
Jaguar has provided two different fixes for this problem. Both involve a temperature sensor in the boss on the left side
of the fuel rail; the boss has no opening into the fuel, but the sensor has a copper bottom that presses against the rail to
sense the temperature. The boss itself seems to exist on all XJ-S H.E.’s, since a recall replaced the rail after the hot fuel
problems were found.
The earlier type sensor is electrical, and is connected in line with the inlet air temperature sensor for the EFI system. The
later type sensor has vacuum connections, and is connected between the intake manifold and the left side fuel pressure
regulator. At least one of these sensors has been known to simply fall apart, but owners have had some success simply
gluing them back together.
If your car doesn’t have either fix (or if it does but still has difficulty with hot starts), there is a work-around for the hot
start problem. Turn the ignition key on and off several times before attempting to start, allowing the fuel pump to run
for two seconds each time. This will flow cool fuel from the tank into the rail.
CLOSED-LOOP OPERATION: The earlier D-Jetronic EFI systems were strictly open-loop. This means that the ECU
contains a schedule of values (a “map”) for how much fuel the engine gets at a given operating condition, and that’s
final. The Digital P systems in markets that did not limit emissions likewise were open-loop only. For North America
and other markets where emissions were regulated, however, the Digital P system featured a closed-loop fuel control.
There is still a map providing “baseline” fuel scheduling, but there are also oxygen sensors in the exhaust system that
monitor the exhaust for excess oxygen. If an oxygen sensor finds excess oxygen, the ECU presumes the engine is
running too lean and trims the fuel scheduling a little richer. If it doesn’t find excess oxygen, it presumes the engine is
running too rich and trims the fuel scheduling a little leaner. The oxygen sensors are essentially an on-off device -- they
either detect oxygen or they don’t -- so the closed-loop control mode is neurotic, always either correcting one way or
the other; it is never satisfied. When operating normally, it is constantly cycling from a hair rich to a hair lean and back
again. As a result of this constant feedback correction, the engine is always kept very close to stochiometric fuelling in
this mode.
Oxygen sensors are also known as Lambda sensors; Lambda (λ) is the Greek symbol generally used to denote relative
air/fuel mixture, with λ=1 corresponding to stochiometric, λ>1 meaning lean, and λ<1 meaning rich.
Of course, stochiometric is not necessarily ideal. For max power, you’d like it a little rich. At max power, it’d better be
a little rich, because running near stochiometric is a good way to burn pistons. So, there are two switches -- a roller
microswitch on the turntable and a vacuum-operated switch nearby -- either of which will kick the EFI system out of
closed-loop mode at high throttle. This causes it to run on the baseline map with no trim, which is of course designed to
be a little rich just for this purpose.
A photo showing the microswitch can be seen at:
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/Microswitches.html
Michael Neal sends this info on checking the Digital P EFI system: “Monitoring O2 sensor feedback voltage just lets
you know the EFI is in closed loop operation. This should be checked with a high input impedance digital volt meter.
A cheap meter will fry the system. Check the voltage at the O2 sensor connector with the sensor hooked up and the
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engine running. The voltage will fluctuate from 0 to 1 V. With a fairly fast updating meter you should get a voltage
swing of at least .3 V. A .1 or .2 V swing shows a problem with the O2 sensor, open loop operation, or a problem with
the sensor driver in the ECU.
Robert Dingli says: “It is pretty obvious when the system goes into closed loop control. While the open loop controller
may be tuned to near lambda = 1 the voltage output will ‘flicker’ around 0.5V or else sit at a low or high output. When
under closed loop control, the perturbation due to the closed loop system can be clearly seen as a low frequency
oscillation in the output.”
Before checking that sensor output voltage, take note: if your car has a red 2-conductor socket on the end of a wire
near the ECU with a jumper in it, you will need to remove the jumper to get it to go into closed-loop at idle in neutral or
park. See below.
Besides monitoring the oxygen sensor outputs, you could also check for closed loop operation by monitoring the
feedback voltages within the ECU itself. No, you don’t need to open it up -- Jaguar provided a 4-connector plug in the
trunk near the ECU specifically to enable monitoring of the feedback signals. See page 294.
OPEN-LOOP OPERATION IN PARK OR NEUTRAL: One pertinent fact regarding oxygen sensors: they have to be
hot to work. The Jaguar V12 at idle with no load and the timing properly advanced is turning over so easily that the
exhaust may not be hot enough to keep the sensors working. When the sensors quit working, the closed-loop control
will richen the engine up, and the idle speed will start to drop off. Sometimes the sensors will start working again, and
the closed-loop control promptly leans it back out, and the idle comes back up. You can end up with an unstable idle.
Typically, if you put the car in gear, the load of the torque convertor is enough to keep the exhaust warm and the
sensors working, so the idle is steady.
To avoid the unstable idle problem, early emission-controlled Digital P cars had the starter inhibit switch on the shift
lever also connected to the EFI system. In Park or Neutral (starter permitted), the EFI operates in an “open-loop”
control mode, where the oxygen sensors are ignored and the EFI controls to a fixed fueling map. When in Drive or any
other moving gear (starter inhibited), the EFI operates in “closed-loop” mode, adjusting the fuel mixture to obtain the
correct oxygen sensor feedback.
Owners subject to emissions testing need to be aware of this. The regulations require the car to meet emissions in D,
which it will if it’s running right -- but unless the idle mixture has been properly adjusted, it might not meet them in N or
P because the EFI system is in open loop and is not correcting for rich or lean fuelling. Of course, Jaguar’s stand is
simple: bring the car in and let our authorized service technicians adjust the idle mixture. Once properly adjusted, it
won’t matter if the system is in closed loop or not, since the mixture is right and needs no correcting. However, if they
test for emissions in N or P in your area and you don’t feel like having the idle mixture adjusted right now, you can just
pull a jumper from a red 2-connector socket near the ECU in the trunk to put the EFI into closed-loop mode in N and P.
If the emissions testing is done in D on a set of rollers or some such, you probably don’t need to worry about it, but it
couldn’t hurt to pull the jumper anyway.
Starting with VIN 134286, the XJ-S was fitted with “3-wire” oxygen sensors. These work the exact same way as the
single wire sensors, except that they have a built-in electric heater. The heater keeps the sensor working at all running
conditions. Eventually the circuit that puts the EFI into open-loop at idle in Park or Neutral was eliminated as well as
the jumper in the trunk, but this change didn’t happen at VIN 134286.
When the 3-wire sensors were first introduced, Jaguar wanted $150 each for replacements -- and even finding a generic
replacement could cost considerably more than the older 1-wire sensors. As a result, some owners installed 1-wire
sensors in their cars, and either just put up with unstable idle problems or fiddled with timing or idle mixture to avoid
them. If you have a car that should have 3-wire sensors but you find 1-wire sensors in it, you probably should go ahead
and install 3-wire sensors; they’re no longer expensive. At least put the right sensors in when the 1-wire sensors die of
old age. After you get the correct sensors in, you might want to check the timing and adjust the idle mixture just in case
they were fiddled with to deal with an unstable idle. And if you have to adjust either of those, you’ll probably need to
reset the idle speed afterward.
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OXYGEN SENSORS: First, a clarification: these sensors don’t sense oxygen; they sense the absence of oxygen.
Essentially, a Lambda sensor is a battery that generates a voltage based on the potential difference between the oxygen
outside the exhaust pipe and the oxygen (or lack thereof) inside. If there is oxygen on the inside, there is oxygen on both
sides, so the potential difference is zero -- no voltage. When there’s no oxygen on the inside, there is a difference
between inside and outside and the sensor generates a little under 1 volt.
What happens when your oxygen sensors go bad? Well, obviously they will put out no volts regardless of oxygen in the
exhaust pipe. The EFI system will either decide, based on the lack of voltage, that the car is running lean and will trim it
in the rich direction, or it will default to the baseline schedule with no trim. Roger Bywater: “Later fault logging
systems would just ignore a faulty signal, flag a fault warning and either run at mid-range as mapped or run 'safe rich'
depending on the strategy.” Either way, it’s gonna run rich. This is a relatively safe failure mode, as running rich can
cause rough running or bad fuel economy but it usually won’t cause permanent damage to anything. It sure will impact
your fuel economy, though.
Oxygen sensors are available at local parts stores. There is no need to insist on a Jaguar part; a generic replacement
sensor will work fine. Brian Sherwood suggests Bosch universal sensor p/n 11025 for the earlier one-wire sensor. Take
an old sensor in with you (if possible) to make sure the new ones are the right thread. Don’t worry if the fluted sensor
portion doesn’t look exactly the same. If the wire is the wrong length or has the wrong connector on the end, use a
crimp connector to connect the new sensor with the wire cut off the old sensor; the generic sensors usually come with
suitable crimp connectors for this purpose.
You really don’t want those generic one-wire sensors though. What you really want to do is retrofit the later 3-wire
heated sensors. See below.
A generic sensor may come out of the package with the wire wrapped tightly around the body of the sensor itself. Don’t
unwrap it yet! This wrapping makes it possible to use a normal deep socket to install this sensor, rather than the special
sensor sockets sold with a slot down the side for the wire. Of course, on the XJ-S it’s not too difficult to just use an
open end wrench.
The installation of an oxygen sensor is one of the most important places to use anti-seize compound -- see page 29.
Fortunately, the sensor manufacturers know this, and even the cheapest generic sensor usually comes with anti-seize
compound already on the threads and a little plastic cover over the threads to keep it there until ready for installation.
OXYGEN SENSOR WARNING LIGHT & SERVICE INTERVAL COUNTER: The package a generic oxygen
sensor comes in may say something like “Remove negative battery cable for 15 seconds to clear codes” but this won’t
turn off the dash warning light -- at least, not on the pre-90’s XJ-S. The dash indicator on the early 80’s XJ-S isn’t
really a “fault code” per se. There’s no point to disconnecting the battery on these cars; it’ll just force you to reprogram
your radio stations.
An oxygen sensor failure causes the engine to run rich, which results in high emissions. The EPA requires that emissions
systems have to work for 50,000 miles, but the 1-wire sensors needed to be replaced every 30,000 miles. To meet the
EPA requirements, up to VIN 134285 Jaguar provided a warning light on the dash that lights when the EFI system
detects a bad sensor -- right? Wrong. The light is there, but it’s only a counter that tells you that you’ve driven 30,000
miles since the last time the counter was reset -- which, hopefully, was the last time the oxygen sensors were replaced.
The “service interval counter” that turns on the light is connected to the speedometer sender, not the EFI system. Your
sensors may still be just fine when the light comes on -- or they may have given up the ghost 10,000 miles back! There
are reports of the oxygen sensors failing before the counter turns the indicator on. It is recommended that the sensors
be replaced when the light tells you to, and if the car doesn’t appear to be running correctly don’t overlook the
possibility that they have gone bad even though the light hasn’t come on yet. The test of the closed-loop operation
described above will tell you if they aren’t working. Another clue: the fuel economy will take a precipitous drop if they
aren’t working, like 2 mpg or more.
The service interval counter is in the trunk, hidden under the carpeted panel on the left side near the filler cap; you need
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to remove a carpeted panel in the forward left corner of the trunk to get to it. The rearward-facing end of the black
plastic box has an electrical multiconnector, a metal device that looks like a solenoid, and a single-wire connector. If
you lean your head in a little farther, you’ll see that towards the right (and hidden around the corner of the panel the
counter is mounted on) there is also a small protrusion pointing rearward with a tiny white plastic tit on top. To reset
the timer to zero when you replace the sensors, use a pointy object to push the center of this white plastic button in (a
long ways, like a half inch) until you hear the thing reset.
If all that wasn’t clear enough, you can look at pictures of the service interval counter at:
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/ServiceIntervalCounter.html
Another option, obviously, is to simply unplug the service interval counter. Or remove the light bulb.
Note that the service interval counter described only appears on cars with oxygen sensors up to VIN 134285 -- the end
of the 1986 model year. 3-wire sensors were introduced with the beginning of the 1987 model year, and they last
60,000 miles between replacement. Since the EPA only requires that the emissions systems work for 50,000 miles, the
service interval counter was omitted.
There was a different type of “service interval counter” behind the dashboard in the early pre-H.E. cars that obviously
has nothing to do with oxygen sensors since those cars didn’t have any.
The mid-90’s cars come with the OBD or OBD II features required by California law, and therefore have fault codes to
indicate when sensors aren’t working.
3-WIRE OXYGEN SENSORS: Starting with VIN 134286 -- the beginning of the 1987 model year -- the XJ-S came
with “three-wire” oxygen sensors with built-in heaters to keep them at operating temperature even when the exhaust is
relatively cool. Such sensors were expensive at one time, but Tomco part number 11014 is available at Discount Auto
Parts for only about $40 each. Rusty Beard found another generic: “The Part # is 341-90-06.”
Regarding wiring up the generic 3-wire sensor, Peter Cohen says, “I bought a pair of Tomco (boxed as Lucas) 3-wire
oxygen sensors. These come with 2 white wires and one black wire. The instructions say to hook black to black and
white to either of the white wires. Only problem is, there are no white wires on the Jaguar. It has one black, one G and
one NS.” Rusty Beard explains how to connect it: “Black wire to G (to ECU). The white wires to Black and NS (This
is just a heater circuit).”
RETROFITTING 3-WIRE OXYGEN SENSORS TO EARLY CARS: It’s a very good idea to retrofit the 3-wire
sensors into the earlier cars that came with 1-wire sensors. Even discounting the lower emissions, better fuel economy,
smoother idle, and other possible benefits of upgrading, installing 3-wire sensors can actually save you money; the 1-
wire sensors have a useful life of 30,000 miles, but the 3-wire sensors have a useful life of 60,000 miles -- apparently
because the heating helps prevent the buildup of deposits.
Randy Wilson reports on replacing one-wire sensors with three-wire sensors in his 6-cyl sedans: “I did it to get the O2
sensor up to temp, period. I run tri-Y headers on my cars, which puts the tap point for the O 2 sensor (the collector) a
fair distance from the engine. It’s enough distance that, combined with headers not retaining the heat in the exhaust
stream, the sensors would cool off too much at around-town cruise speeds.
“This will not get you into closed loop any quicker. The ECU will not go closed loop until the engine reaches a critical
temp. But it will help in making sure the sensor signal during low-load closed-loop cruising is valid.”
You will need to provide a 12V power source to each oxygen sensor heater. In the later cars that came with 3-wire
sensors, the power comes from the fuel pump relay -- which means it shuts off after two seconds if the engine is stalled
for any reason. Whether or not this is of any importance, it’s not difficult to use this same wiring scheme on earlier cars.
Even though the fuel pump relay is at the wrong end of the car, there is an NS wire from this relay to the supplemental
air valve at the front end of the right side air filter housing. The two heated sensors will draw less than 5 amps total, and
this existing circuit can easily handle that much additional load. Simply splice into that NS wire anywhere convenient
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and run leads to both oxygen sensors.
Once you have converted to 3-wire sensors, you can leave the open-loop circuitry at idle in Park or Neutral alone, or
you can pull the shorting plug in the trunk to allow the car to run in closed-loop at all times like the later cars. You also
can decide what to do with the service interval counter in the trunk; you can leave it there and merely reset it without
replacing oxygen sensors every other time it goes off, or you can simply remove it and throw it away and just remind
yourself to replace the sensors every 60,000 miles.
OXYGEN SENSOR TESTING: MOTOR/AGE Magazine gives the following instructions for testing an oxygen sensor
itself:
“An oxygen sensor can be tested safely with a digital voltmeter, but an analog (needle type) voltmeter will destroy the
sensor in a heartbeat. A simple bench test has been suggested by Tomco Carburetors to check O 2 sensor function. All
you need is a vise, digital VOM and a propane torch.
“Lightly clamp the oxygen sensor in the vise with the sensor flutes facing upward. Attach the digital VOM leads to the
sensor. If the sensor only has one lead, attach the VOM ground to the sensor body.” Ed. note: connecting the VOM
ground to the sensor body is the way to connect all sensors used on Jaguar XJ-S’s. If there are three wires, two are for
a heater; only the signal wire should be connected to the VOM.
“Set the VOM on the 2V scale, then light the propane torch (using regular heating tip) and apply direct flame to the tip
of the sensor flutes. The voltage should rise to about 0.8-0.9V within 60 seconds. Move the flame away quickly from
the sensor tip and the voltage should drop drastically; move the flame back and forth and the voltage should respond
quickly. If the changes aren’t almost instantaneous, it’s time for a new O2 sensor.”
David Littlefield says, “AutoZone claims they will check your oxygen sensors on their equipment for free as part of their
customer-friendly tool lending program. I think other parts places might do this as well, but I haven't tried it.”
FEEDBACK MONITOR SOCKET: Near the ECU within the trunk is a 4-connector socket on the end of a harness
with a dummy plug in it. Two connectors are a black ground wire and a KB wire with battery voltage on it. The other
two connectors provide a voltage between 0 and +5V (relative to the black ground wire) that corresponds to the amount
of correction the ECU is providing in its attempts to maintain the proper Lambda feedback. The GW wire (pin 4 on the
ECU) is for the A bank and the GK wire (pin 10) is for the B bank.
While there is a special Lucas tool that plugs into this socket, Roger Bywater points out that an ordinary voltmeter can
be used: “On a 6CU the monitors are voltage outputs. On a 16CU the monitor outputs are square waves which can be
converted to a voltage reading by placing a 47 μF capacitor across the voltmeter leads.”
Now, trying to make sense of what voltages you find. First off, you need to figure out whether the EFI system is
operating in open-loop or closed-loop mode. If the engine is cold, it will be in open-loop mode. If the car has a jumper
in a red 2-connector socket at the end of a wire near the ECU and the shifter is in P or N, it will be in open-loop mode at
idle. You will need to pull the jumper to get the system into closed loop at idle with the shifter in P or N. If the car is a
later model with no jumper near the ECU and is warmed up, it will be in closed-loop mode.
If the ECU is in open-loop mode, both connectors should be reading a rock-solid voltage; this voltage will be 2.5V on
the 6CU as well as the 26CU and later ECU’s, but it’s lower on 16CU ECU’s. Walter Petermann explains: “The μP on
the 16CU does not put out a 0-5V signal. I just checked it with the scope, and it's about 3.8v max.” Since the open-
loop voltage is at the halfway point on the range, it will be about 1.9V on a 16CU. Whatever the open-loop voltage is, it
is the voltage that indicates the ECU is providing no correction at all to the fuelling; whatever the baseline fuelling map
calls for is what the engine is getting.
If the ECU is in closed-loop mode and the system is operating correctly, the voltages should be fluctuating up and down
cyclically. Roger Bywater says, “print this out and pin it on the wall:
Low Lambda = weak exhaust = ECU corrects rich = monitor rises
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“Lambda voltage is low when fueling is weak so the ECU reacts by correcting rich. The monitor then moves high
(6CU), or increases the high part of the duty cycle until continuous high (16CU), with full rich correction. The monitor
outputs go low when the ECU is correcting by weakening (i.e. Lambda high = rich exhaust).”
If the ECU should be in closed-loop mode and the voltages are held solid against one extreme or another or are stable at
the open-loop voltage, something’s wrong with the car.
OPEN-CIRCUIT AT THE OXYGEN SENSORS: If you disconnect the oxygen sensors, the ECU will interpret the
lack of voltage as a sign of lean operation and trim richer, right? No. Roger Bywater explains: “There is some circuitry
which applies a mid-range bias to the inputs through some quite high value resistors.” What this means is that, when the
oxygen sensors are working properly, they overpower this mid-range bias circuit to send feedback signals to the ECU.
But when the oxygen sensors are disconnected, the mid-range bias circuit provides a backup signal for the ECU to work
with. Since it is mid-range, the feedback response is neutral, and the feedback monitor voltages will hold steady at the
open-loop voltages. In short, disconnecting an oxygen sensor effectively puts the ECU into open-loop mode.
Interestingly, if you have a 16CU ECU, the same cannot be said for disconnecting the ground shield on the oxygen
sensor wires. Bywater: “The bias network is grounded externally via pin 23 through the Lambda screen so if that
ground connection is lost the bias goes high and causes the 16CU to trim rich if the Lambda sensor is still connected. If
the sensor and ground return are both lost it all sits at mid-range. The 6CU does not seem to react at all to
disconnection of ground to pin 23, it still drifts to mid-range as do the monitor outputs.”
IDLE MIXTURE ADJUSTMENT: The Electronic Control Unit for the EFI system is in the right side of the trunk, and
there is an opening in the ECU casing -- usually facing downward near the rear end of the box as it is mounted. Roger
Bywater: “There is a rubber cap and possibly a metal tamperproof plug inside which can be persuaded out with a fine
screwdriver, a turning motion and a little patience. The ECU needs to be removed for this really. Then the spindle is
accessible.”
The real challenge, of course, is getting a tool in the hole to be able to turn the knob. Bywater: “It is exactly like a radio
volume control shaft - 1/4" diameter with a flat on it. If the correct tool is not available it just needs a short piece of tube
to slip over the spindle then just carefully indent one side to engage the flat. Travel is about 3/4 turn. You cannot do
any damage by turning the idle fuel adjustment (it moves in ratchet clicks either way) other than by excessive force.”
This adjuster affects the baseline fuelling map (before Lambda correction) at idle. If you’ve read the previous few
paragraphs, perhaps you have already figured out how to adjust it. First, you need to make sure your engine is actually
at idle; check the voltage at the throttle pot as described on page 297, and adjust it if it is not correct. Adjusting the idle
mixture will be frustrating if the ECU thinks the engine is actually off idle. You also should ensure that the idle RPM is
correct.
Once idle is established, you should look at the voltages at the feedback monitor socket while in open-loop mode to
determine what the open-loop voltage is -- it should be 1.9V on a 16CU (with the 47 μF capacitor across the
connections mentioned above) or 2.5V on all other ECU’s. Then, if the car has the red 2-conductor socket on the end
of a wire with a jumper in it near the ECU, you will need to pull the jumper to put the EFI system into closed-loop mode
at idle in P or N (with the engine fully warmed up, of course). This should start the feedback voltages cycling. Monitor
the voltage on one of the two feedback voltage connectors and adjust the idle mixture knob until the readings are cycling
around the open-loop voltage. Then reconnect your VOM to monitor the other feedback connector; if its voltage is also
cycling around the open-loop voltage, you’re done. If its voltage is cycling above or below the open-loop voltage,
adjust the mixture until both sides are about the same amount off in opposite directions. Now you’re done. If you had
to pull a jumper, reinstall it.
What do you do if the 1-wire oxygen sensors cool off and quit working during this operation? Good question. The best
advice -- short of retrofitting 3-wire sensors -- may be to rev the engine up for a few seconds to heat them back up, then
drop to idle and check the setting before they cool off again.
Bywater elaborates: “The need for adjustment in Lambda mode is because if the ECU has to apply a lot of correction
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the Lambda swings make the idle unstable and it hunts up and down in time with feedback.”
Note that the described procedure will result in nearly stochiometric mixture at idle without closed-loop correction,
which should pass emissions tests -- but might not provide the smoothest idle. For a smoother idle in P or N, you might
consider adjusting it a little rich, although in closed-loop mode (as soon as you shift into D) the ECU will just pull it back
to stochiometric anyway.
The idle mixture needs to be adjusted periodically as the engine wears. As the engine gets worn, it develops
progressively less and less manifold vacuum at idle. This reduced vacuum is picked up by the MAP sensor in the ECU
and interpreted as meaning the engine is drawing more air, so it responds with more fuel -- and the engine starts to run
rich at idle. Adjusting the idle mixture will bring it back into line.
ECU INTERNAL CONNECTIONS: The harness connects to the ECU with a 35-pin connector. However, within the
ECU itself, many of the wires from the harness are simply connected together. When trying to figure out how things
work, it may be helpful to know what wires are connected internally. To save you the trouble of opening it up to see, I
will provide the info here based on the ECU in my ’83 (part number DAC 2597). The following groups of connectors
are all wired together inside the ECU:
1-2-19 (ground)
8-9-27-28 (“B” bank injectors - open)
11-29 (“B” bank injectors - hold)
12-30 (“A” bank injectors - hold)
13-14-31-32 (“A” bank injectors - open)
16-17-34-35 (ground)
On the schematic in my repair manual, I have drawn boxes around each of these groups to remind me of these internal
connections.
ECU INTERCHANGEABILITY: The Lucas 6CU and 16CU ECU’s are “pin-compatible”, meaning you can replace
one with the other without making any other changes -- provided that everything else in the car is the same, such as
engine compression. Don’t try putting an ECU from a 12.5:1 spec car into an 11.5:1 car. The 26CU is not
interchangeable with the 6CU/16CU.
The 6CU has a reputation for poor reliability, especially in the fuel pump control circuit -- see page 254. Walter
Petermann thinks the fuel pump control circuit is just the most obvious symptom of trouble; “Most of my work comes
from wholesalers, so I get boxes of them without any reference to what the customer's problem was. In general, they
have any combination of the following due to solder joints:
A few % lean due to bad solder joints in the power supply
Full lean intermittance on Map sensor
One or both O² circuits not tracking properly
Dead or intermittent (chattering) fuel pump circuit
“A rough guess is that about 10% have only a bad fuel pump circuit. Out of these I'd say that on more than 80% you
can induce one or more of the other failures by just flexing the circuit board.”
“You shouldn't pay more than $100 for a used 6CU unless it's been rebuilt by someone who knows what they're doing.
The best replacement would be a 16CU. They are a much safer buy "used" than the 6CU's.” Not only do the 16CU’s
appear to be far more reliable, they also have significantly better processing and programming built in.
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HOT ECU’S: No, not stolen. Walter Petermann reports that some 16CU’s have microprocessors inside that get very
hot when running. Apparently several different type microprocessors were used, and one type in particular pulls half an
amp and therefore gets quite toasty. The good news: apparently it doesn’t hurt anything; while the 16CU has the
occasional microprocessor malfunction just like any comparable electronic equipment, there’s no significant history of
heat-related failure. Just the same, Petermann likes to take one of two actions when he finds one of these hot ECU’s.
His preferred fix is to replace the microprocessor with one of the type that doesn’t get so hot. “Unfortunately the thing
has 64 legs and they are soldered on both sides (and through the hole) of the board. Replacing them takes almost as long
as rebuilding a 6CU. It's something you never seem to get comfortable doing. There's traces running between the pads
on both sides of the board. If someone wants to try it, the replacement chip is an NEC D78C10AGQ.”
His other fix is to install a 12V cooling fan (commonly available for cooling computer CPU’s) inside the ECU. The fan
is installed entirely within, there are no openings made in the case; it merely circulates the air around inside the box,
thereby moving the heat from the chip to the aluminum case more efficiently. “Yes, it's a PC fan. It comes with a finned
aluminum heat sink and claws to attach to a chip. Unfortunately the uP in the ECU is not the correct size, so the heat
sink is not used and must be removed. You can glue the fan in place on the side of the ecu about 1/4" above the
microprocessor. There's a convenient small ledge running along the center line of the ecu case that it can also be glued
on for extra strength. Power can be taken from the filtered 12V source of ECU pin #22. This is on the yellow 'tubular'
cap C304 on the end that's close to the center-line of the ECU. Ground goes to pin #35.”
THROTTLE POTENTIOMETER: If your XJ-S has ragged throttle response as though it has a bad accelerator pump,
here’s some news for you: it doesn’t have an accelerator pump. However, the throttle potentiometer, located
underneath the throttle pulley on top of the engine, can cause similar symptoms when bad. When operating properly, the
resistance across this pot varies smoothly as the pulley is rotated. If it is breaking up, it confuses the EFI computer on
accels. The EFI computer, using inputs from the oxygen sensors, can usually keep the engine running reasonably well at
constant throttle, but it stumbles during throttle changes.
The original 1980-88 pot, 73200 or EAC2670, is both unreliable and expensive. Sounds like a Lucas part, but it’s
actually made by Bourns. Clearly, simply stamping “Lucas” on the top has an effect on reliability!
THROTTLE POTENTIOMETER ADJUSTMENT: When you replace the throttle pot, the Jaguar manual says you
must adjust it using their special electronic tester. Below is the alternate method.
The throttle pulley assembly must be unbolted from its tower to adjust the pot, meaning the linkages to the butterflies are
disconnected; but the idle stop is part of the throttle pulley assembly and therefore is unaffected. You can even start the
engine in this condition, as long as you don’t go above idle.
Have the ignition on, and the throttle pot assembly rotated to the idle stop. The engine may be running or not. Connect
a digital voltmeter (the old needle type just won’t do -- go to Radio Shack and fork over the $40) to the red and yellow
leads from the pot without disconnecting the pot from the harness. This can be done by pushing the probes under the
insulation on the connector.
Adjust the pot by loosening the three small mounting screws and rotating the pot until the voltage reading is within 0.32
- 0.36V. Tighten the mounting screws and reassemble. Make sure the reading remains within limits when the linkage is
all together and the engine is running at idle.
THROTTLE POTENTIOMETER REPAIR: If you wish to attempt to repair the throttle pot, Matthias Fouquet-Lapar
sends a procedure: “Carefully undrill 3 plastic melt points from the bottom. After about 2 mm you’ll see a screw.
Using a small screwdriver undo these screws.
“Open poti. It’s actually a very good quality poti, (double contacts), but clearly showed excessive wear on light part
throttle position. Using my VOM I could find several places where the carbon really had gone away.
“Mmmmh. I decided to cut off the 4 contacts, shorten them by about 1 mm and resolder them, so they would end up on
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the unworn surface. This is a pretty sensitive operation, be sure that you feel confident that you can handle it. You need
some good small tools, a fine solder iron, some PCB cleaner and a very quiet hand.
“Resolder everything, adjust contact height as before to have the correct pressure when putting it back together. Also
check if the contacts are really off the worn track.
“Put it back together, check again with a VOM. Smile, since you just saved a bunch of money.”
“Total repair time was about 2 hrs. However, I think one can do this kind of repair only once, or maybe a single contact
could be used instead of two, giving a potential of a third repair.”
This author has had two throttle pot failures so far. In one of them, the conclusion was that the problem with this pot is
that the wipers have little points on them so they contact the resistance track in a very narrow groove. Although the
track itself is quite wide, the wipers cut little narrow grooves through it until they’re riding on the ceramic below. I fixed
it by replacing the wiper in entirety! I made a whole new wiper out of brass stock (available at any hobby shop) and
fixed it to the plastic rotor with two tiny flush-head screws. The wiper configuration is completely different, with wiper
arms cantilevered from one end rather than the double-ended wipers of the original, but most of the difference was
simply to make it easier for me to make with hand tools. The significant difference was that each contact touches the
track with an area of metal about 1/8” wide rather than the point used before. Basically, the individual wipers were
shaped by bending the end to form a folded edge. The pot was temporarily assembled with a piece of fine sandpaper laid
over the track, and the rotor turned back and forth a few times to polish a smooth contact surface on the wiper.
Paul Bachman says, “this thread reminds me of a repair that I once did to a mechanical television tuner with a similiar
failure mode. I went down to the local jeweler and bought some small scraps of 24k gold (about $2) and soldered them
to the wipers. This provided a low resistance contact with very low wiper friction. Never had another problem.”
Of course, wiper modification doesn’t always work. Peyton Gill: “I had hoped to be able to repair the pot by relocating
the contacts on unworn surface. When the pot was opened I found that the contacts had worn through the conductive
surface. One set of contacts had worn so long on the ceramic substrate as not to be usable... As worn as the old pot was
I’m surprised that it didn’t cause more problems than it did. The nature and extent of the wear would lead me to
recommend that everyone check their pot with a VOM.”
In the author’s other pot failure, the resistive coating that the wiper slides on was properly positioned to overlap the
metal conductor at one end of the travel, but at the other end it barely touched the metal -- and was making intermittent
contact as a result. Solution: go to an auto parts store and buy a kit for repairing a rear window defroster. This kit
includes a remarkably tiny bottle of copper-colored paint, a tiny brush, and a template for repairing the conductor lines
on a rear windshield. Using the tiny brush, apply some of this paint on the metal conductor and overlap it just slightly
onto the resistive surface. The result is a very reliable connection.
THROTTLE POTENTIOMETER REPLACEMENT: If rebuilding the pot simply isn’t going to work, Jon Heflin
suggests you replace it with a better pot -- from Jaguar! From 1988 on, the XJ-S was fitted with a red pot, EAC9634,
that is electrically similar but has a much better reputation for reliability. While the earlier black pot was made by Bourns
and had Lucas printed on it, the later pot is apparently actually made by Lucas and has the name in raised letters. It is
not a direct replacement because it requires replacing a couple of other parts to make it fit, so if you go to the Jag dealer
and ask for a new pot for your model year they will still sell you the old style pot. However, the new red pot costs so
much less than the Bourns pot that you can buy the parts needed to make it fit and you’ll still be out less cash total.
Heflin says the red unit is “far superior in design and quality, it's even spring-loaded so as to assure it returns to exact
same starting position. I discovered that all that is necessary in order to use the updated unit is simply obtain the new
style throttle shaft, shaft adapter, press pin, and an aluminum adapter to which the pot mounts. The old style pot mounts
with 3 screws and the new with 2. The total for all the upgraded parts plus a new pot was right about $100.”
Kelly Spongberg says, “After many false starts, I did acquire all the necessary parts to put the new style "red" TPS on
the V12. The parts are as follows:
Part # Description
EAC-9634 Potentiometer
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EAC-9567 Adaptor
PA-103161/J Pin-Spring (came only as bag of two?)
EBC-3568 Coupling
EBC-3566 Throttle shaft
“One strange note, EAC-9567 fits, but with only two of the three bolt holes lining up. It works fine with the two bolts,
just seems odd they would make a new adaptor for this upgrade and it not be perfect. Perhaps it fits the 6.0L as well, or
is from that car's parts??
“Both the local Jaguar parts departments were caught unaware that the original black TPS has been discontinued, and
also that more than one part was required to install the red unit.”
The “throttle shaft” is the steel part visible on top of the turntable and held to it with two screws; you can remove the
two screws and slide it right out. The only difference in the one for later cars is the configuration of the bottom tip. The
“adapter” is a sleeve that fits the bottom of the throttle shaft and the top of the shaft on the red pot. The “pin-spring” is
a standard roll pin. You can see photos and illustrations of these parts at
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/ThrottlePots.html
Patrick MacNamara says: “The Bourns type throttle potentiometer is no longer available from Jaguar. The dealer did
not know if the two pots were interchangeable electrically and neither did British/Auto USA. The dealer actually had no
suggestion other than to try an aftermarket supplier for the old Bourns pot. Thanks very much! I actually had to
provide him with the part numbers for the upgrade.
“The 87-89 parts catalogue lists coupler and drive shaft for the new style throttle pot as EAC 9568 and EAC 9566
respectively, but these have been superseded by EBC 3568 and EBC 3566. The strange thing is that if you pull up EAC
9568 on the Jag parts computer it will list it as still available, but if you pull up EAC 9566 it says it has been superseded
by two parts EBC3568 and EBC3566 which are clearly the coupler and drive shaft.
“My 87-89 parts catalogue does not show the VIN changeover numbers for the new throttle pot, but does state engine
number changeover as 8S61794.”
THROTTLE POTENTIOMETER SUBSTITUTION: It’s a potentiometer, and potentiometers are available at any
electronic supply house for pennies. Right? Well, not right. The resistance range of this pot is no problem; the rotation
range is. This pot must run through its entire range in 90° of rotation, and most generic pots from electronic stores have
something near 270° of rotation. Because this pot is used as a “voltage splitter” with 5V applied to the full range and
the wiper picking off nearly zero volts at idle and nearly 5 volts at full throttle, you cannot merely use 90° of a 270° pot
-- no matter what the pot’s rating is.
AJ6 Engineering offers a throttle pot kit that involves a little gearbox. As the throttle turns 90°, the pot turns 270°,
allowing use of the commonly-available and cheap generic pots. Roger Bywater says their kit “just fastens in place of
the original and actually costs less than the factory potentiometer on its own. Then if a replacement potentiometer is
needed a few years down the line - not that ours is any less reliable than the others but none of them last for ever - it will
only cost £35 (at today's prices).”
Another solution for a misbehaving throttle pot is replacing it with a pot from another type car. Brian Sherwood relates
his experience: “From my spare parts pile I found a TPS from a Ford, an ’83 3.0L V-6, I think; part number E7DF-
9B989-AA. It turned in the proper direction, same degree of travel (90 degrees), and had the same resistance as the
original at both ends of its travel (from .05 to 3.5K ohms). But no, it doesn’t bolt right up. I cut a slot in a steel bushing
to fit the drive lugs inside the Ford TPS. The other end of the bushing I crimped down to fit the D shape of the shaft on
the bottom of the throttle pedestal, that the old TPS used to fit over. A piece of aluminum strap was used to clamp the
Ford TPS to the bottom of the pedestal. The TPS fits snugly in the recess underneath, and loosening the strap allows
adjustment. I cut the wire and plug from the old one, crimped on some female spade lugs to fit the terminals of the Ford
unit (would have been neater to use the proper Ford plug, too, but I couldn’t find that.) Red wire=wiper, green=high
side of pot, yellow=low side of pot. With new TPS plugged in and ignition on, I adjusted the TPS to give .36 volts
measured between red and yellow wires, at idle position. Bolted everything down, and went for a test drive -- worked
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great. Only difference from the original is that now it doesn’t surge at cruise anymore!”
Gill, having failed to repair the pot, then went looking for a replacement pot: “What type Ford is it for? That’s the same
question the guy at Pep Boys asked! I told him it was for a V12 Jag (always enjoy the expressions I get from these
counter guys).
“The pot I got at Pep Boys is a Borg-Warner part #EC1046. This was matching cross reference from Brian Sherwood’s
Ford part #. The only challenge was machining a coupling to go between the throttle assembly which has a shaft with a
flat and the pot which has a hollow shaft with two splines within. I took an old worn out 1/4 inch drive socket (5/16)
and drilled out the drive end so I would at least have a little flat on one side for the throttle assembly shaft. The other
end I took a file and worked a slot on each side to go up into the splined hollow shaft of the pot. Crude but effective.
“I reused the wiring and connector off the old pot. The replacement pot has three small male spade connectors which I
had the luck of having the correct size female ends. About 1/2 size of standard spade connectors.”
Despite all these success stories, this author was unable to find a workable Ford TPS at a local parts store. There were
many, many Ford TPS’s to choose from, and basically all of them had the requisite total resistance, but all had too much
resistance at the idle end of their travel -- the wiper was physically prevented from getting anywhere near the 0Ω end,
and in fact won’t get near enough to attain the 0.32-0.36V adjustment at idle. Of course, you can just forget about that
adjustment, which will result in the EFI system operating in “run” mode at all times, even at idle, and never actually
going into “idle” mode. This may be acceptable, although it may result in an unstable idle, especially in earlier cars with
unheated oxygen sensors.
A better solution appears to be to select a GM throttle pot instead. Some GM throttle pots have a simple metal lever on
the shaft, so all you have to do is devise a lever on the Jag turntable shaft to engage it and a plate to mount it on. The
GM pots all seem to have plenty of range for the idle adjustment. Be sure to select one that turns the correct direction;
some of them may rotate the other way!
Also try to choose a pot that’s relatively small and compact. If you select one with something hanging out the side too
far, then trying to adjust the pot’s position at idle may have it running into one of the four posts supporting the turntable
assembly. Interference can be avoided by carefully aligning the shafts when making the coupling so that the pot is
swinging in between the support posts, but it’s a pain trying to keep such things straight in your head; better to choose a
pot that could spin all the way around without hitting anything so you don’t have to worry about it.
Regardless of which pot you select, David Johnson came up with an excellent method of mounting it. Basically, unbolt
the turntable support from the four studs it stands on and take off the sleeves that establish the turntable’s height. Cut all
four sleeves into two pieces each. Slide one piece onto each stud, and then slide on a rectangular mounting plate you
have fabbed up. Slide on the remaining portions of the sleeves, and bolt the turntable support back on. “The kerf was
exactly the thickness of the aluminum sheet (3/16), so everything reassembles as if the plate was meant to be there.”
You can establish the vertical location of this mounting plate by choosing where you’re going to cut the sleeves in two.
And you can provide suitable holes and slots in the plate to securely support the pot and allow adjustment of the idle
position. In fact, it wouldn’t be too difficult to apply this method to installing the later Jaguar pot EAC9634 in case you
want to save the cost of their adapter, and it would probably result in a more professional-looking installation!
Roger Bywater of AJ6 Engineering reports, “Some years back when we needed a clean throttle signal we used a 5K
wire wound pot on a bracket attached to the LH air filter ahead of the throttle and connected onto the end of the throttle
spindle by a short length of 5/16 bore hose and clips. Might be a cheap solution to renewal of original.”
That idea of using fuel hose as a coupling is a good one -- regardless of where you mount the pot. A pot doesn’t take
much torque to turn, so the friction in a hose coupling will easily drive it. It doesn’t matter if the shaft has a flat or a pin
hole or whatever, just slide a length of hose over it and clamp. And the flex of the hose will correct for misalignments.
THROTTLE POTENTIOMETER UPGRADE: Matt Emmons thinks that using a potentiometer here is a bad idea due
to inherent wear problems on the wiper. He thinks a Hall Effect sensor would be more reliable because it has no wipers;
it works via a magnet moving over a circuit.
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Yeah, right. Where are you going to find a Hall Effect sensor that will go in here? And who’s going to figure out how
to connect it to the Digital P ECU so it works right?
Folks, you simply have to see this to believe it. It’s very difficult to find a generic potentiometer that can be adapted to
the Jaguar throttle linkage, but it’s no problem at all to find a Hall Effect sensor that will fit perfectly! Emmons provides
a few web sites:
http://sensing.honeywell.com/index.cfm?Ne=2308&ci_id=154326&N=3449&la_id=1
http://www.techbriefs.com/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=/Briefs/Oct99/MOC10991.html
http://www.wabashtech.com/SPD/852rps.php
“There are more. The Honeywell site was particularly informative about Hall Effect devices in general.
“Most of the manufacturers would not sell them to me in such small numbers, but the one I got is made by Clarostat. It's
called HRS100 Hall Effect rotary position sensor and I bought it from Allied Electronics." Here's a link to their catalog;
do a search for the HRS100 for details of the device:
https://www.alliedelec.com/CustomerService/Forms/Literature.aspx
Connecting it up? Believe it or not, you just connect it up. While the pot took the 0 and +5V leads from the ECU and
split off a voltage from somewhere in between, the Hall Effect sensors use the 0 and +5V to power the electronic
circuitry and generate a signal between 0 and 5V depending on position.
What’s more, Hall Effect sensors are apparently cheap -- cheaper than the OEM pot.
It would not surprise this author to learn that some of the Ford and GM TPS’s described above are actually Hall Effect
devices. Some of them don’t feel as though there’s a wiper involved when you have one in your hand.
THROTTLE POTENTIOMETER -- LATER CARS: Charlie Fritz says, “the 95 XJS has a double potentiometer in the
TPS with one signal for the transmission and the second for the ECU as before. It has six wires as in the attachment, but
I don't know which goes where or how to set it.”
HESITATION: Mark Sampson had a bad battery in his car. “I was also experiencing some hesitation when warm, it
has also gone away with the new battery. Interesting.”
Don Snyder: “My car would occasionally hesitate, and sometimes die, when accelerating while the engine was hot. I
replaced the oxygen sensors and added a bottle of injector cleaner, and have not had the problem since then.”
INJECTOR RESISTOR PACK CONNECTIONS: The resistor pack for the injectors seems to be fairly reliable, but
unfortunately the wiring to it is typical Lucas. Tom Amlie, who has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and entirely too
much time on his hands, relates an interesting failure mode that kept his car from starting: “Put an oscilloscope on an
injector. Instead of a clean negative-going pulse, it oscillated like crazy. Took the ECU apart and traced the circuits
until I understood how it works. There are four power transistors, two for each bank. The "ON" transistor slams the
injectors on with full voltage to overcome the inductance. The emitters of the "ON" and "HOLD" transistors are tied
together and go to a 0.2 ohm power resistor to ground. When the current to the injectors reaches about 3.5 Amperes,
the voltage across this resistor is fed back to a circuit which cuts off the "ON" transistor. Then (in theory) the current
through the "HOLD" transistor is adequate to keep this voltage to about 0.6 volts and keep the "ON" transistor off. All
of this depends on proper resistances and tight connections.
“Get real! This stuff says "Lucas" all over it! The four precision resistors in the pretty box on the right side just aft of
the radiator are connected with an 8-pin plug with round pins, far inferior to the American practice of using rectangular
blades with much larger contact area and heavier contact pressure. I must admit that the box is a pretty casting and
nicely finished. The "Lucas" decal must be worth a lot, but it is a piece of crap.
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“What happened is obvious: The "ON" transistor did its thing and turned itself off. The "HOLD" transistor couldn’t
pull enough current because the resistance was too high. The "ON" transistor comes back on, switches itself off, the
cycle continues, and no fuel flows.
“All is not lost. Clean the contacts and use a very sharp X-Acto blade to spread the split pins a thousandth or two.
Don’t overdo it and don’t cut yourself.
“Wonder how many ECU’s have been rebuilt because of this. To be fair, the workmanship in the ECU is superb. Must
be made by Bosch.”
EFI WIRING CHECK: Tom Amlie goes on to suggest a general check of the Digital P wiring: “Disconnect the ECU
and measure every pin going back into the car with a VOM. Using a long wire with a small alligator clip to reach to the
front of the car you can measure the continuity of every wire in the bundle. In particular, make sure that the pins that are
supposed to be ground are really ground. A little corrosion can cause a lot of misery. The pins for the "HOLD"
transistor should measure close to 7.2 ohms referenced to the power pin on the main relay which is also in the boot.
You can also easily tell if the injector harness or one of the injectors is open by measuring from the "ON" pins to the
same relay.”
AIR TEMPERATURE SENSOR: In the ©1975 ROM, page 19.00.07 and section 19.22.23 show charts of air
temperature vs. ohms for the purpose of checking the sensor mounted on the left air filter housing. These charts apply
to D Jetronic systems; if you have a Digital P system, these charts are not valid. The correct resistance for the Digital P
air temperature sensor, part number 73197, at room temperature is around 2800Ω.
COOLANT TEMPERATURE SENSOR: As opposed to the air temperature sensor discussed above, apparently the
charts of coolant temperature vs. ohms shown in the ©1975 ROM, page 19.00.08 and section 19.22.19, apply equally
well to both D Jetronic and Digital P coolant temperature sensors.
Ian Hooton: “If the car doesn't want to start, or when it does there is very little power with the throttle wide open and
there is a strong smell of petrol, check the coolant temperature sensor on the left hand bank, just above the stat housing.
Remove the connector and bridge the plug with a piece of wire, try and start the engine, you will find it will probably
start and run fine. Usually all that is wrong is that the contacts are corroded, clean them up and everything should be ok.
This happened to me late last year, and took quite a time to find the culprit. It would appear that the ECU thinks the
engine is constantly cold and over compensates by increasing the richness of the fuel/air mixture.”
According to the Jaguar literature, the coolant temperature sensor provides a “minor” trim to the fuel schedules.
However, when the sensor fails open circuit or the wires to the sensor are broken or disconnected, the trim turns out to
be major indeed. An infinite resistance tells the EFI system that the coolant temperature is a zillion degrees below zero,
so it responds by making it overly rich. Not just a little bit overly rich; the car may not even start, and if it does start it’ll
run very badly and pour out clouds of smoke. And it just gets worse as it warms up, if you can keep it running that long.
David Johnson: “When I had a bad wire going to my sensor the smoke was so bad I swore I blew the head gasket. In a
matter of 20 seconds there was so much smoke that I thought I had a fire!”
An open-circuit coolant temperature sensor failure happened to this author, and he was able to diagnose it quickly using
his own book! One thing that caused some consternation, though, was the fact that the smoke was a light gray color; as
any good mechanic knows, running too rich causes black smoke. Johnson: “When I took automotive theory (years
ago) the instructor told us white "smoke" meant water. Black smoke meant gas and blue smoke meant oil. I also
remember him telling us that on a really rich mixture the color is grey. Hard to tell from "white" but it was because the
engine is running almost as a fogger.”
One would think this would still be obvious due to the smell of unburnt fuel, but that wasn’t apparent either. Johnson:
“The smoke had almost no smell.” The smoke from this author’s car had an odor, but it wasn’t strong and not clearly
raw gasoline. The only plausible explanation so far is that the ignition within the cylinders burns the most volatile
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compounds most readily, pumping the less smelly fractions of the gasoline out as an unburnt mist.
Just the same, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to be smoking around the car. If the air pump is diverting (the engine
is warm), there’s no chance of fire within the exhaust system or catalytic convertors simply because there’s no oxygen in
there; it was all used up in the cylinder. But once the smoke clears the end of the exhaust pipe, there’s no shortage of
oxygen in the surrounding air. Things could look like the Hindenberg disaster if you get careless.
If the air pump is operating, it would make sense that the symptoms might be different. The engine wouldn’t run any
better, but the dense smoke could be replaced with a red-hot exhaust system or catalytic convertors. Just in theory,
mind you; there are no reports confirming this actually happening to anybody.
The coolant temperature sensor and wiring also suffers intermittent failures, with some Jaguar owners actually
monitoring readings while driving to confirm that the problems were caused by this sensor. One of the connectors
should give ~2.4 volts with the ignition on and the engine cold (the other one gives 0 volts) and gradually decrease to
~0.95 volts at normal operating temperature. Sudden changes in voltage mean the sensor is breaking up.
Michael Neal: “Don’t use Lucas brand. Get a Bosch part, cheaper and better.” Good luck figuring out which Bosch
part to get. The following part numbers have been suggested as being usable:
73198 -- original Jag part, 1979-89
SNB 802 -- often listed as a superceding number for 73198
0 280 130 023 -- what XK’s Unlimited ships when you order an SNB 802
EAC3927 -- what the 1987 Parts Catalogue specifies for all engines
DAC4737 -- Jag part, 1989-on -- reportedly offered as replacement for 73198 on earlier cars
0 280 130 055 -- reportedly an exact replacement, but available only in Germany and very expensive
0 280 130 026 -- apparently differs slightly in tolerance, but definitely works well
The sensor should cost about $30. If someone tries to charge you over $100, it’s time to look elsewhere.
Note that the D-Jetronic system uses sensor 73142, and it appears this is not the same critter, not interchangeable with
the later sensor.
MANIFOLD AIR PRESSURE (MAP) SENSOR (Digital P): The MAP sensor for the Digital P system is within the
ECU in the trunk, so a vacuum line is run the length of the car. On page 343 of Haynes manual 478/49015 it states,
“Commencing with... vehicle identification number XJS 107102, a vacuum reservoir has been located adjacent to the
ECU to eliminate resonance from the inlet manifold vacuum sensor pipe”. This reservoir is a plastic chamber about an
inch in diameter and three inches long, fitted in the line just before it connects to the ECU. Would installation of a
similar reservoir help earlier Digital P cars? Who knows?
ACCEL PROBLEMS: Vince Chrzanowski reports that his car wouldn’t start accelerating until a couple seconds after
he floored the accelerator, even if the tranny kicks down. Otherwise, the car seemed to run fine. “The vacuum line to
the ECU in the trunk was partially blocked. A shot of compressed air cleared it out, and everything went back to
normal.”
RICH RUNNING: Richard Chapman sends this tip: “If you're getting rich running and fouling check to see if the
pressure regulators mounted on both ends of the fuel rail are leaking fuel into the manifold via the vacuum line which
connects between the reg and the manifold. With the engine idling pull off the hose at the reg, the engine speed will
increase with the extra air entering the manifold through this pipe so block it with something. After running the engine
for a minute or so you may notice the presence of some petrol coming from the regulator vacuum connection. If so
replace it. They are not the same unit despite similar looks.”
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INJECTION SIGNAL FAILURE: Chrzanowski sends this report on a problem with his car: “It seems that the engine
revs information is sent to the ECU from an amplifier unit atop the engine. The signal is sent via a thin shielded wire.
Unfortunately, the wire is routed near some very hot areas and that heat melted the insulation between the center
conductor and the shield, shorting the signal to ground. Replacing the defective section of wire restored the signal. In
talking with some other local Jag owners, I’ve found that this is not an unusual problem.”
It’s not; in fact, this author had the same problem. One of the W/S wires from the Lucas ignition amplifier rearwards
towards the firewall connects to what appears to be a solid white wire but then disappears into a harness wrapping in
which it is the only wire. This white wire is actually a coaxial wire, a tiny conductor surrounded by insulation, a
grounded shield, and more insulation. Within that harness wrapping, the insulation gets brittle and starts cracking, and
the outer layer of insulation being cracked only encourages the inner layer to crack at the same spot. Eventually, the thin
conductor begins to short out against its own shield -- often intermittently. Sometimes you can wiggle that wire and
make the problem come and go. All the while, the harness wrapping hides the wire’s condition from view.
Since there is a resistor inside the ignition amp to limit the effect of such shorts, the ignition system continues to work,
but the injectors don’t fire since the signal isn’t making it to the EFI ECU. That’s why the problem is listed here in the
EFI section; you can review the related ignition system issues on page 154.
If you suspect trouble in this wire, you might unplug this connector from the ignition amp and the big connector at the
ECU in the trunk and check between pins 18 and 23 for continuity, which would indicate a short. However, since the
short is only too likely to be intermittent and therefore look perfect while you have a VOM in your hand, you probably
should go ahead and peel that wrapping off this wire near its connection to the amp. If you find the wire inside cracked
and brittle, keep removing the wrapping until you get to non-brittle wire, then cut it off and splice on a length of new
shielded wire. It doesn’t need to be as skinny as the original stuff, but it’d be nice if it was more heat-resistant. Don’t
ground the shield; it is grounded at the ECU, and grounding at two different places can cause ground loop problems
wherein the loop picks up interference and then transmits it into the conductor it’s supposed to be shielding.
IDLE STUMBLE: The mid-80’s H.E. tends to “stumble” at idle when warm, even when it runs perfectly smoothly
when cold or at higher throttle. This appears to be normal, although it is definitely disconcerting to an owner that spent
the kind of money this car costs and expects better from his 12-cylinder engine. Fuel injector cleaning and/or
replacement, spark plug replacement, and oxygen sensor replacement have no effect.
The only thing that might help is to readjust the throttle linkage as described on page 271, starting with the butterfly stop
adjustments.
SUPPLEMENTAL AIR VALVE / SOLENOID AIR SWITCH: In addition to the coolant-operated Auxiliary Air
Valve under the back end of the left intake manifold (page 265), the H.E. has an electrically-operated air valve at the
front end of the right side air filter housing to help control idle speed. The first challenge is to get the name right. In
most places in the Supplement to the ROM as well as in the Haynes manual and in the Electrical Guide, it’s called a
“Supplemental Air Valve”, but in the emission control diagrams it’s called Item H: “Solenoid Air Switch”. Most people
seem to prefer Supplemental Air Valve, so that’s what it’ll be called in this book. Please remember that it’s not the same
thing as the Auxiliary Air Valve. Obviously, these names are often shortened to SAV and AAV.
To avoid future confusion over the name, it is recommended that you go through all the emission control diagrams in
your manuals and scratch through the words “solenoid air switch” for item H and write in “Supplemental Air Valve”.
This would include page 17-1 in the Supplement to the ROM and Fig. 13.31, 13.32, 13.33, and 13.34 in the Haynes.
Also note that all these diagrams seem to indicate that the valve is physically nearer the rear end of the manifold, but it is
in fact near the front.
The Supplemental Air Valve allows air to go from the air filter housing directly into the right side intake manifold,
bypassing the butterfly, and therefore boosts the idle; the balance pipe serves the left bank. The original intention is to
serve as part of a cold start scheme; a timer operates solenoids in vacuum lines that kill vacuum advance to the
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distributor so the idle speed drops, and this valve brings the idle speed back up.
Operation of this valve is described in the discussion of the H.E. emission controls in the Supplement and the Haynes
manual, where it is item H on the schematics. On B Emission cars (UK and elsewhere) the timing retard system,
including the supplemental air valve, is operated for 15 minutes if the coolant was below 45°C at startup. This kills
efficiency and causes the engine to generate a lot more waste heat, apparently to help the 700-pound engine warm up
faster so the cabin heater works before you get to your destination. On A and C Emission cars (North America) it’s
operated for 45 seconds regardless of coolant temp. This short period of inefficient operation helps the catalytic
convertors light off. The timer -- either 45-second or 15-minute -- is located above the passenger side footwell, just
inboard of the fuse block.
Another correction to note: according to the Digital P EFI schematics (Fig. 13.9 and 13.11 in the Haynes), the SAV and
the “Vacuum changeover switch” are controlled by an oil temperature switch. As of yet, nobody has reported finding an
oil temperature switch in an XJ-S.
On later cars, somebody at Jaguar got the wise idea to use this existing valve to help stabilize the idle when the A/C
compressor kicks in. If the cold start timer activated the SAV by sending 12V to it, it’d be simple enough to connect the
wire from the A/C compressor clutch to it as well with a diode or two to prevent backfeed. However, that’s not how
the timer controls the SAV. The SAV is provided 12V whenever the fuel pump is running, and the timer provides a
ground connection to open it. So, just connecting up the wire from the A/C compressor clutch won’t work; instead, the
wire from the clutch goes to an “idle relay” and the relay in turn provides a ground circuit for the SAV.
But Jaguar went yet one more step. If the car is in Neutral or Park, opening this valve when the A/C compressor kicks
in boosts the idle too much. So they provided an “idle override relay” to prevent the SAV from boosting the idle when
the starter safety switch indicates the shifter is in N or P.
Victor Naumann adds: “Idle relay (black) and idle override relay (blue) are located on the left side of the radiator
support in front of the A/C suction hose.”
The system that controls the supplemental air valve is covered on page 135.
If your supplemental air valve is NFG, it’s not really designed to be repairable. If you want to give it a try, the way to
get it apart is to grab the two hose nipples and pull them directly apart. It’s gonna take quite a pull, it’ll probably require
a puller of some sort plus a good way to grip those nipples without ripping them to shreds.
Michael Minglin says, “Best price I could find on a supplemental air valve was $139. I decided that was too much,
considering it was a simple 12V normally closed valve with 3/8" hose nipples. Checked with a local industrial valve
supplier and found a 12V normally closed valve with 3/8" hose nipples for $26.70. These valves come with
interchangeable coils; 12V, 24V, etc.”
The Grainger catalog doesn’t have anything that perfect, largely because most of their stuff -- even with interchangeable
coils -- is either 24V, 120V, or 240V. You can get there, though: purchase their stock no. 2G485, about $32; the
catalog says it’s only rated for ambient temperatures up to 122°F, but it’ll hold up in the Jaguar engine compartment as
well as most of the other stuff in there. Plug the “exhaust” opening on the valve. Then drop by your local auto parts
store and buy two brass fittings with a male 1/8” NPT on one end and a 3/8” hose nipple on the other. These are Brass-
Tite number 43275. Screw these fittings into the valve, install it where the original was, and connect the wires. It
doesn’t look anything like the OEM valve and it may not provide exactly the same amount of idle boost, but it’ll work.
For a slightly neater appearance, replace one of those straight brass fittings with a 90° fitting. This will make the hose to
the bottom of the intake manifold shorter and more direct.
For a much neater appearance, purchase Grainger stock no. 2G491 instead. Buy only one brass fitting -- the 90° one is
best -- and a couple of suitable bolts and nuts. Yank the funny rubber bellows-looking grommet out of the air filter
housing and drill suitable holes and bolt this valve directly to the housing. Locate it carefully so it doesn’t interfere with
all the other stuff in the area. It might be nice to cut out a suitable gasket, but an even better idea is to install an O-ring
between the valve and the air filter housing. Make very sure the nuts can’t come off the bolts inside the air filter
housing.
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If you decide that your substitute valve -- or the OEM valve, for that matter -- provides more of an idle boost than you
need, it should be a simple matter to restrict the flow through this passage a bit. If you’re inventive, you can devise an
arrangement with a screw obstructing the passage that allows you to adjust the amount of idle boost.
This author found a really neat replacement: a valve from a Toyota. This valve, found in a junkyard and bearing a
Nippondenso number 084600-5510, is intended to serve as an idle boost solenoid. But not only is it much better made
than the OEM Jaguar part, it also has a thumbscrew for adjusting the boost. You can see this installation at
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/SAV.html
INTAKE MANIFOLD SHORTCOMINGS: Bill White, an expert on the Helmholtz theory of intake manifold design,
notes that the intake runners to the corner cylinders on the Jaguar V12 are longer than those serving the center eight
cylinders. He performed single-cylinder rig tests on the different runners and found that, at the tuned frequency of the
manifold, the corner cylinders produced 8% more torque than the other cylinders. This means that these corner
cylinders are getting a larger charge of air than the others. One would expect that at other frequencies the corner
cylinders would get less air than the others.
If this were a carburetted or throttle-body EFI engine, this wouldn’t really make much difference. However, being a
multi-port EFI, each cylinder gets the same amount of fuel. Since these corner cylinders are getting a different amount
of air, they are running leaner or richer than the other eight.
If your system has oxygen sensors, they will sense oxygen from the leanest cylinders and control the fuel supply to
maintain stochiometric there; the other cylinders will simply run a little richer than stochiometric, which shouldn’t hurt
anything except a little fuel economy and emissions.
Roger Bywater of AJ6 Engineering (and formerly an engineer with Jaguar) notes: “In this connection I would point out
that sample cylinder heads were regularly checked in the flow room at Jaguar and it was not unusual to find a variation
of 10% between the flow capacity of individual ports due to core shift on any one head... Also in about 1975 I
remember carrying out some tests with calibrated injectors which showed a wide spread of exhaust CO emissions largely
due to flow variations from cylinder to cylinder following no particular pattern. This was part of an investigation into
why B cylinder bank was always a worse HC emitter than A bank. In fact it had nothing to do with airflow or mixture
strength but was a result of the direction of piston rock at TDC relative to the spark plug position. These sort of things
are not at all unusual on any production engine of the period.”
What can you do? Actually, there is a fix for the intake manifold shortcomings -- offered by Roger Bywater of AJ6
Engineering! It’s called the Plus Torque Conversion, and is described on page 113.
Cold Start Injectors
COLD START INJECTORS: The schematics in the manuals show that the cold start injector system was carried over
to cars with the Digital P EFI. However, the only Digital P cars with cold start injectors today are apparently the 10:1
compression ratio pre-H.E. models. H.E. cars don’t ever seem to have cold start injectors; some early cars came with
them, but they were all removed when the fuel rail was replaced on a recall. The square cross section fuel rails now used
on H.E.’s has no provisions for cold start injectors; there is a different square cross section rail with connections for cold
start injectors that was retrofitted into the 10:1 cars. Some early H.E.’s may still have a harness and a relay in there
doing nothing. Early H.E.’s have little covers over the holes in the intake manifolds where the injectors once were,
while later cars don’t even have the holes.
If you have an H.E. with no cold start injectors, you can scratch through the cold start injection system consisting of the
thermotime switch 298, the cold start relay 299, and the cold start injectors 300 on the following schematics: In the
©1982 Supplement or Supplement A, the diagrams on pages 19-1 and 19-2. In the Haynes manual 478/49015, Fig.
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13.9, 13.10, 13.11, 13.12 and 13.93.
Early 3.6 AJ6 Engines
Roger Bywater of AJ6 Engineering (page 713) reports that the 1983-87 3.6 AJ6 engine with Lucas 8CU EFI has a
problem with worn engines. A worn engine draws less vacuum at idle, but since the 8CU bases fuelling on manifold
pressure, it believes that the lower manifold vacuum means the engine is drawing more air and responds with more fuel
-- making the engine run overrich. Since these cars lack Lambda sensors for trim it cannot correct itself, and the car runs
worse and worse. Bywater says owners complain of “shunting” in trailing throttle, bad idle, and failing MOT tests due
to excessive CO in the exhaust, even though the engine is not really all that tired and rebuilding doesn’t appear justified.
Of course, at full throttle the wear problems are insignificant and the engine runs fine.
Bywater suggests that disconnecting the vacuum advance from the throttle edge tapping and connecting it directly to
intake manifold vacuum -- and readjusting the idle mixture and speed accordingly -- may help as a temporary measure if
the engine isn’t too bad. For a more permanent fix, AJ6 Engineering offers an ECU modification wherein a trimmer
screw is added that can be used to correct for engine wear -- and can be corrected back in the event of an engine rebuild.
XJR-S
John Goodman reports that the XJR-S has Zytek ignition and sequential fuel injection -- see pages 172 and 721. “It
is essentially the same injection system off the '80's group "C" Le Mans race cars. Jaguar made a big thing about
publicising it. But I suspect TWR had a load of spare bits left over and needed something to do with them!”
“Also there are two power resistors on the R/H front inner wing.
“I thought Jaguar's claims for improved fuel economy was bullshine, but it is more economical than my previous
H.E.”
Emile DesRoches says, “The XJR-S Product Support Manual lists special software along with a serial port connector
whereby a laptop computer can be connected to the Zytek engine management computer (unique) fitted to the XJR-S to
perform various diagnostic, calibration functions. Apparently this software was originally provided to dealers upon
request from Jag North America for repairing these beasts.”
Goodman: “The ECU can be reprogrammed with different fuelling and timing if only we had the software! And it is not
Jag Dealer software, they only have the standard tune parameters!”
Fault Codes
The later cars come with JDS (Jaguar Diagnostic System) or OBD II (On-Board Diagnostics version II) as legislated by
the California Air Resources Board (CARB). When those fault codes appear they can cause consternation -- that’s
what they’re for. The owner’s handbook provides a list of codes, but of course it never seems to provide enough real
guidance. Hopefully some of the reports included here will help.
Defective relays and/or their connections are a known cause of fault codes, as mentioned in the section on relays
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beginning on page 562. Barry Ewen says, “When I bought my car 2 yrs ago it had fault code FF67 on it and we
swapped the air injection relay with the horn relay; the fault went away and the horn worked too.”
Charles Randle says, “I was out to my dealers today and read up on the EPA ordered recalls for all 6.0 V-12 cars. With
a ’94 XJS with JDS, all I get is a replacement of all major grounding connections. But all 95-96 OBD II cars get a free
Oil and Filter change; and replacement of all EPA components that have set an OBD II code. Also the EPA warranty
has been extended to 150K miles. So if anyone out there hasn't registered their after market car with Jaguar as the
present owner; don't pass this up.
FF 3 -- COOLANT TEMP SENSOR: Mark Barker reports on his 6-cyl: “Trip computer displays "FF 3" (Coolant
temp sensor failure), when the electric fan motor is dying. Just happened this evening. I suppose coolant temp is related
to cooling fan.
“Certainly was the motor -- brushes gone. I mean gone, too. Big pile of black dust fell out of dissasembled motor
followed by broken bits and pieces sticking to magnet. Found some brushes in scrap motor I had, oiled the bearings.
Back together, no more "FF 3". Strange, but true.”
FF44 AND FF45 -- OXYGEN SENSORS: Sam Emrick says, “Late-models (at least) seem to have a common problem
with bogus O2 sensor failure code reported (FF44 or FF45). My '94 had this problem.”
Charles Randle talks about a recall: “It plainly says for my JDS codes that FF44 and FF45 codes are being caused by
poor grounding connections rather than bad O2 sensors. I wish I had known that before changing them out a few
months ago.” Since grounds are a common cause of trouble in the Jaguar XJ-S, just go ahead and add a ground strap as
suggested on page 555.
FF67 -- SECONDARY AIR INJECTION SYSTEM: Charles Randle says, “My '94 6.0 started having FF67 set a
couple of months ago. I read up on it in the ROM, which tells me just enough to understand a dozen things that may
cause the problem. However, there is one ambiguous sentence that is a large gray area, so I took it to my local dealer
after talking to the Lead Technician on the phone. The simple things I could check myself I did. I determined the Air
was coming on and apparently in the right (as printed) sequences. The tech spent an hour verifying this on the JDS, and
called Mahwah. Two days later they faxed a "Decision Chart" and a possible problem/solution. It seems the PMCF on
all the 6.0's might have come from the factory with the PROM set too sensitive. During any of the secondary air
functions the PROM is looking for a certain voltage from both O2 Sensors. If it doesn't see a signal of this magnitude, it
sets FF67. And that is all it does. It doesn't go open loop or any other deregulating function. The bottom line is, the
dealer gave me the "Decision Chart" and said I really didn't want to pay him $78.00 an hour to verify 3 pages of decision
charts. He also gave me a mail for service procedure to send the PMCF to Delphi Diesel Systems for testing and
installation of a less sensitive PROM. To date I haven't either completed the Chart or contacted Delphi. The JAGUAR
NA procedure when the cars were under warranty was to have the dealer ship the PMCF to Mahwah, who then sent it
to Delphi and it was returned to the dealer COD for work/parts/shipping. For the time being, I am resigned to ignoring
the FF67 and dumping the code each time I won't be using the car for a while. There is no way to disable the PMCF
signal without disabling future serious codes that you might want to be notified of.”
Michael Hahne concurs: “My '94 XJ12 has the same FF67 deal. I replaced the O2 sensors and had the recall done, and
it still shows up once in awhile. I talked with several knowledgeable folks who said it's probably clogged Air Injection
rails. It's a nasty job to clean these out, but hardly necessary for the kind of driving we do. It's mostly an emissions
thing. I've driven mine that way, occasionally clearing the FF67 code, for 10's of thousands of miles. No troubles. I
drive my '94 XJ12 from Chicago to New Orleans almost monthly. My car now has ~90,000 miles. I drive it daily to and
from work, a round trip of ~160 miles. Just drive the beast, and don't worry.”
FF69 -- DRIVE/NEUTRAL SWITCH: Alan Baker says, “This is a common fault on the XJ40's of that era, (they use
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the same ECU). I'm told that the 'erroneous' Code 69 is caused by the battery voltage dropping too much during
cranking. It may be worth checking the battery terminals and connections for corrosion or possibly changing the battery
if it is of some age.”
Gregory Wells adds, “I was always told the FF69 involved the way the key is turned to start the car. If you grab the key
and turn it to the start position in one motion, the FF69 can be set. If you grab the key, turn it to the run position and
pause for just a brief moment before continuing on to the start position, the code won't set. I was told that the ECU
circuitry would not "see" the voltage level it was looking for if you passed through the run position quickly, rather than
pausing briefly, and this is what triggers the FF69 code.
“This isn't supposition, as we have many, many reports from customers that this procedure does keep the FF69 from
being set. The nice thing is that it costs nothing to try it.”
CLEARING FAULT CODES -- 6-CYL: Gary Penovich says, “On a ‘94, you can clear the fault code from the ECU
without disconnecting the battery. It's a piece of cake. Open the dash trim panel that's underneath the passenger airbag
by pulling down on it. Unscrew the passenger heater vent cover. Remove the small trim panel from around the heater
vent. You should see a purple connector attached to a yellow(?) wire. The connector has only one conductor in it, and
it isn't connected to anything. Short that conductor to ground for 3 seconds. It will clear the fault code. The process
may be the same for all AJ6 powered XJS, perhaps AJ16 as well.
“I have actually moved the connector outside of the trim by running the wire through the vent cover. Now, I can access
it simply by swinging the dash panel downward. It comes in handy after disconnecting sensors while the engine is
running. The ECU will flag a fault even if the key is on with the engine off!”
Passing Emissions Tests
If your car is too old and tired to pass a required emissions test, you should have it corrected. However, if you don’t
have the time or money to get this done right now, John W. Himes makes the following suggestion: “I add a gallon of
denatured alcohol to the tank. This makes a very clean burning fuel. The car does not run as good with that in the tank,
but it passes emissions very well.”
Harry Trafford says, “I have used 99% isopropanol at 12% with some success. Brings down the CO%. Yes, the
percentage is high and the idle had to be adjusted to keep running, but these were desperate people. I had them add 46
oz. to make 3 gal. of premium. After the test, they just bought more gas to dilute the alcohol and readjust the idle.”
“I used 2-propanol because it’s what was available at the time. I also had methanol, but it’s corrosive and not a good
thing to put in British cars.”
Alcohol tends to be hard on some rubber products in the fuel systems of earlier cars, and British non-metallic parts have
enough trouble without adding to their woes. Therefore, it is not suggested that you use this method more often than
necessary.
Another idea used by some is to retard the timing a bit before the tests. You can’t retard the timing by turning the
distributor on a car with Marelli ignition, but Jaguar thoughtfully provided a jumper that can be pulled to operate the
Marelli ignition system on a slightly more retarded map.
Trafford continues, “I bought a CO analyzer, too. It’s a “Gunson’s Gastester”. This unit is not a professional system,
and you need a lot of patience because it must clear to 0 after you make any adjustment. Says it reads in 1 minute, but I
gave it more. It looks and feels cheap, but it worked for me by just following the directions. It’s made in England.”
“Here is the address for the guy that sells the “Gunson’s Gastester” CO analyzer in Pennsylvania. He will answer your
e-mail.
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Ray at: r.d. enterprises, ltd.
290 Raub Road, Quakertown, PA 18951 USA
phone: +1 (215) 538-9323 fax: +1 (215) 538-0158
e-mail: rdent@rdent.com
Fuel System Upgrades
CARBURETORS: Replacing the EFI with carburetors is not recommended. Carburetors have several disadvantages:
First, a standard carburetor does not correct for changes in altitude, temperature, fuel density, or other variables that
make an engine run at less than optimum performance. Corrections usually require an excessive amount of complication
in the carburetor design.
Second, since the carburetor relies on a pressure reduction due to drawing air through a venturi, there is always a flow
restriction due to the venturi. Using a carburetor with a larger venturi reduces the loss, but the airflow at idle is so small
that they have difficulty drawing fuel consistently, and a rough idle and poor low speed performance is the result. The
American solution was the progressive 4-barrel, which uses one set of venturis at low speed and an additional set at high
speed.
Third, carburetors tend to have problems ensuring proper fuel/air mixtures at all cylinders. With most arrangements, the
corner cylinders on a V-8 tend to run leaner, because the path for the fuel/air mixture to get to them is more convoluted,
and the fuel gets left behind and drawn into a nearer cylinder. Such problems would be even more serious on a V12.
Problems occur when a cylinder runs lean; burned pistons usually result. In the old days, the engines would simply be
adjusted rich enough to avoid any problems. When environmental regulations and fuel efficiency demands rendered this
solution unacceptable, the incidence of burned pistons increased.
The time-honored solution to this problem was multiple carburetor systems. The intake path for each cylinder must be
similar, and sometimes even a dedicated barrel for each cylinder was used (Webers, etc.).
Obviously, fixing all these problems simultaneously would involve a truly elaborate carburetor system, possibly requiring
multiple, progressive barrels for each cylinder.
EFI systems generally come in two types: throttle-body and multi-port. Each type will correct the first and second
problem of carburetors, because all EFI systems automatically correct for variables and no EFI requires a venturi. The
throttle-body system, which consists of a single injector in the same housing as the butterfly valve, shares the same
distribution problems as carburetors, but is much simpler and cheaper than multi-port.
Multi-port EFI, what the Jaguar comes with, is the ideal fuel supply system. Since the injectors serve each cylinder
individually, there is little chance of a cylinder not getting its share.
The only disadvantage of EFI is the difficulty in modifying it -- which, of course, the EPA considers an advantage.
However, contacting AJ6 Engineering (see page 713) will likely alleviate all such concerns; they will modify ECU’s for
very reasonable fees.
EFI SYSTEM REPLACEMENT: Electromotive Inc. (see page 716) makes a system called the TEC-I (TEC stands for
Total Engine Control) that replaces the EFI computer and the entire ignition system as well. It’s got more modern and
comprehensive electronics than the Jaguar original, including an optional knock sensor. Also, it is programmable using a
PC-compatible computer, allowing the owner to customize the operation to suit his needs. It’s not cheap; but if your
ECU has already died and you’re looking at the cost of the Jag original to get running again, it starts to look cheaper.
And if you’re having ignition problems as well (this system renders the entire distributor superfluous, you might as well
put in a blank-off plate), it starts to look downright reasonable.
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If you are performing serious engine modifications, this system is just the ticket. Since it can be calibrated, you are not
restricted to the original response curves on your non-stock engine.
AJ6 Engineering (see page 713) also makes replacement EFI systems and components, and will modify the stock ECU
on an exchange basis. According to Jeffrey Gram, “if experimenting was wished they could do a single EPROM version
, which has up to 8 MAPs. It would be possible to switch between the MAPs if the ECU is depowered between
switches by means of a “dial”. AJ6 do such programmes to experimenters which then have 8 maps to choose from
trying to find the best setting.”
Scott Horner found an aftermarket system in New Zealand:
Link Electro
243D Annex Rd
Christchurch, ph +64 3 348-8854
“From them you can buy the ECU, Ignitors, Injector Ballast and Tuning Module (a handheld LCD interface) & the
Crank Angle Sensor... You still need to supply a lambda sensor (aftermarket Bosch will do), and the coils...On my car,
we used VN Holden Commodore (Australian GM car) coils, 2 coil packs. The Holden uses the Buick 3.8 liter engine,
so it’s presumable the coils would be available in the US in some form. I have heard these coils only last about
20,000km, but we’ll see.
“Any 3 or 6 pack coil combination would do, I have heard Audi have a very tidy solution...”
Robert Dingli reports: “Here in Australia there are many, many aftermarket injection ECU’s available. I’ve tested many
of them in cars and on the bench and have found most of them to be garbage. Common faults are production quality,
lack of temperature compensation and other instabilities, and general difficulties with setting up a system from scratch.
Basically you get what you pay for. A $2000 Motec or Autronics unit is highly recommended over sub-$1000 Injec,
Linx EMX, Microtec or Haltec. The expensive units also control ignition. The Motec, Autronics and Haltec require a
portable PC (to be added to the cost if not available) to make proper adjustments.
“As far as “high performance” chips are concerned, I’m rather skeptical as to their worth. The problem (??) with
modern day EFI systems is that they are very close to optimum, being a fine balance of performance, economy and
exhaust emissions. Some of the chips available advertise that the systems will still comply with pollution levels. The
specs reveal that power increases are only in the order of a few percent for most cars.”
“Systems where chip changes may actually make a noticeable difference are:
- Systems with electronically-governed rev limits.
- Racing use where pollution isn’t a concern.
- Turbo cars where the electronically-governed boost limits are raised.
- Electronic ignition systems without knock sensors where the timing maps can be advanced to take advantage of
better quality fuels.
- Electronically-controlled auto gearboxes where upshift points are raised.
- Older poorly-calibrated systems, e.g. SIII XJ6 Jags set up for cold climates but being run in warmer climates.”
According to Ken Wallace, “If you live in a regulated area the smog police will not approve of any of this even if it
improves your emissions. You can have your installation certified, but this is very expensive like more than $10,000
from what I hear.”
Robert Gee adds a warning about aftermarket EFI systems: “I worked for a car manufacturer who made their own
injection systems (Rover MEMS). One or two people had fitted MEMS to their own cars, mostly for competition use.
One guy had a modified peugeot 205 GTi with one in. He had spent a fortune on the thing.
“Now, given that this guy had access to rolling roads, vehicle calibration experts and the like, the driveability was never
perfect (an important Jaguar feature - low throttle response crucial on an auto). Also he went through about 3-4
tankfuls of petrol doing the calibration (not too bad at US petrol prices I suppose - more than the cost of an ECU at UK
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prices). And this was still with the very fine tuning carried out automatically (This was done with some special adaptive
software we were working on which used the lambda sensor feedback signals to adjust the fuelling maps).
“To cap it all, when he came to sell the car it was quite hard since it was non-standard and hence not supported by any
garages.
“Put it this way, I could have converted my XJ-S 3.6 to full sequential injection with fully programmed ignition for next
to no cost - but preferred to keep it standard and I probably would not have got it any better than the Lucas P digital.
“If there one thing I learn't at Rover it’s that the low throttle drivability is what separates a good car from a bad one -
and it also takes about 95% of the engineering effort. Anybody can make a car which goes well at full throttle - and I
suspect it’s the latter market at which the after market fuel injection systems are aimed.”
FUEL INJECTOR ORIENTATION: Strictly a cuteness mod here. Of the 12 fuel injectors on the XJ-S, some have the
electrical connector pointing rearward and some have it pointing forward. If you wish, it is possible to reorient any fuel
injector to point either rearwards or forwards, even the two front ones -- the connector will easily fit under the arc of the
fuel hose.
To reverse the orientation of an injector is not easy unless you happen to be replacing the hoses or the rubber seals, in
which case it’s a snap. While the large rubber seal is off or the hose is disconnected, take the plate that retains the
injector off and flip it over. Twist the injector around on the hose. The wiring harness will usually reach either side of
an injector, but note that some harnesses are really brittle and fiddling with stuff like this may be asking for trouble.
There’s not much good reason to do this. Perhaps you have an idea on how to make it easier to get to the spark plugs.
Or, maybe just for a symmetrical look, you’d like the front 3 on each bank to face rearward and the rear 3 on each bank
to face forward.
AIR INJECTION
The tubes on the air rails insert into holes in the intake manifolds leading some to believe it’s somehow involved with the
intake system, but it’s not; the lines go through the intake manifold mounting flanges into the heads and terminate within
the exhaust ports. The purpose of the air injection system is to provide oxygen in the exhaust stream to enable the
catalytic convertors to work.
AIR INJECTION PUMP: Roger Myers reports that the air pump on the XJ-S can be replaced with a GM unit. Take
the old one to your local parts shop and ask them to give you one just like it. Chuck Sparks says that A-1 (a rebuilder)
lists it as part number 32128.
GETTING THE AIR INJECTION SYSTEM TO ACTUALLY WORK: John Napoli adds, “I have had the opportunity
to see the air rails from Jag engines -- both 6 and 12 cylinder versions. Very often, the cars have brand new air pumps
and diverter valves and hoses -- so someone spent a good penny replacing all that stuff. And on every one, the air rail
tubes (where they stick into the head) were completely coked up. You would need some really ambitious air to get
through all this!! Moral of the story: if you are going to maintain your air pump system, don’t forget to do the obvious
and simple and remove and clean out the air rail tubes. Otherwise you are just wasting time and money.”
You’ll also probably need to clear out the passages within the heads. There’s nothing complicated about those
passageways, they are straight shots into the exhaust ports. You can clear them out with a drill.
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AIR INJECTION PUMP CONTROL: Roger Bywater says, “the 2-3 seconds delay on the diverter valve was because
of a controlled leak across the actuator diaphragm which allowed the valve to progressively reapply air injection while
the manifold was still under high vacuum. I seem to remember that removing the neoprene cover nipple from the
actuator stub pipe prevents this leak from building up a balancing vacuum on the reverse side of the diaphragm, thereby
totally disabling the air injection system. We sometimes made use of this to take a before-catalyst gas sample from the
air rails, fittings having been added for that purpose.
“In fact there can be more to this diverter valve business that is not readily obvious and it can have advantages even with
over-run cut off. In the over-run condition the injected air from the pump becomes quite a high proportion of the total
through-put so if no fuel were present, as would be the case with over-run cut off, the catalyst would lose temperature
quickly. Having a diverter valve to temporarily dump the excess air gives the catalyst an easier time, with less steep
temperature cycling and helps to maintain catalyst effectiveness when the fuel reinstates.”
AIR INJECTION PUMP WASTE OUTLET: On the H.E., the air pump only delivers air to the exhaust system during
warmup; once the engine is warm, it wastes the air into the right side air filter housing. Michael Aiken points out that it
is plumbed “to the engine side of the filter. Unfiltered air is being pumped directly into the engine - and this is very dirty
air coming out of this pump! I would recommend that the wastegate tube be removed from the air cleaner housing and
the opening in the housing blocked.” Aiken adds that the filth coming through this line was actually visible on the inside
surface of his air filter itself. He also points out that, in addition to the dust that the air injection pump may be pumping
into the intakes, the pump itself is junk and may start pumping bits of itself into the intakes at any time -- rust particles,
bearing bits, whatever.
It’s possible that the waste line was routed to the filter housing to reduce noise, but if noise is a concern it should
nevertheless be rerouted to the intake side of the filter housing, not the engine side.
AIR INJECTION NON-RETURN VALVE: Roger Bywater: “The reason for the check valve in the air rail was not
because exhaust back pressure could exceed the pump pressure, but to prevent exhaust backflow into the pump if the
drive belt should fail.”
Bruce Battles says that the Jaguar non-return valve “without the T-splitter is a GM part (check valve) Part # STI AV7.
Just keep your T-splitter and install on the new GM check valve.” Chuck Sparks provides a couple more part numbers:
Tomco 17001 and Std Parts AV-7.
AIR INJECTION SYSTEM REMOVAL: Removing this system is not recommended, as this would be a modification
of an emission control system and would be illegal in many areas. Too bad, too; this system accounts for a great deal of
plumbing under the hood as well as a belt-driven load on the engine. And on the Digital P cars, it only functions when
the engine is cold -- the pumped air is wastegated after the engine warms up to prevent interference with the operation
of the oxygen sensors.
Eliminating the load would be easy: just gut the air pump so it only serves as an idler pulley. The existing check valve
will prevent any backflow from the exhaust tracts into the gutted air pump. And there’s little chance an emissions
inspector would ever notice. Eliminating the clutter and weight is more involved: removing the air manifolds and piping,
plugging the holes in the intake manifold, and replacing the gutted air pump with an idler pulley. The emissions
inpectors are more likely to notice this if they look under the hood. None of this will affect a tailpipe test, though, since
such tests are typically done with the engine warmed up.
If you chose to install an idler pulley in place of the air pump, there are lots of pulleys available for use on automobiles;
you can ask for an idler pulley in any auto parts store and be presented a choice of several. You’d need to fab some sort
of bracket to position it, and remember that you’ll need to adjust the belt tension with it.
The neatest pulley installation would result from using genuine Jaguar parts. Peter Smith: “I removed my air injection
system and used a jockey pulley to carry the V-belt. These pulleys were standard equipment on English cars which did
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not have to meet emission requirements in the early days and some of these jockey pulleys may still be available in
wrecking yards in England.”
The 1987 Jaguar Parts Catalogue lists the part numbers:
EAC4185 Pulley
C37886 Hub
EAC3042 Bearing
C23128 Setscrew
EAC3041 Bearing Holder
C37875 Bracket
The pulley used as an idler is the very same part number that’s used on the air pump -- so you can skip buying
EAC4185, just use the one you have.
You can also probably skip buying the bracket C37875 if you’re willing to add a couple of inches of spacers around the
pivot bolt for the air pump.
John Napoli offers a suggestion for plugging the air injection holes in the intake manifold: “Buy 1/4” nail anchors from
Home Depot. They are aluminum and look like a large pop rivet. Get them 1” long. Cut them back to 5/8” long with a
band saw or hack saw (only cut the body, don’t worry about the ‘nail’). Put the two o-rings from each air tube on the
shank of the anchor. Smear on some engine-grade silicone. Insert into the manifold and hammer down the nail all the
way. Omit the ‘plates’ and retighten the intake manifold to the engine. Looks great and works great.” This mod is
likely to require an extra washer or two on each stud, since the studs may not be threaded far enough to tighten the nuts
down on the manifold flange with the plates omitted.
Napoli: “Here is the info on the nail anchors I used -- the ones I got at Home Depot:
Star Anchors and Specialty Fasteners
1/4" by 1"
2615-32178 (part number)
31916 26096 (number under bar code)
“This is for a box of 40. Enough for 3 V12s and 1 Opel Kadette.”
Michael Aiken’s local Home Depot apparently carries similar anchors in a different package: “"Red Head" light-duty
anchors. They are 1/4" x 1" hammer-set anchors used for anchoring to concrete. They are easy to install just as John
says. They come in a package of 14 -- perfect for a V12 as long as you don't screw up more than two. I have two
spares. The part number is 11234. They are in the fasteners dept.”
An addendum to Napoli’s idea: While Home Depot only carries 1” anchors, 3/4” long hammer drive anchors are
available at some other hardware stores, usually in the bin right next to the 1” ones. Since the flange on the intake
manifold is about 7/8” thick, these anchors can be used without cutting them shorter.
If you set about removing pump, valving, plumbing, and rails with the engine in the car, you will find it very difficult
indeed to remove the pipe that goes from right behind the air pump along the bottom right side of the engine and
emerges behind the turntable. Some have resorted to ripping this pipe to pieces to get it out. The easiest solution is to
simply leave it there. If you ever have the right side exhaust manifolds off for some reason, you can remove it then.
REPLACING THE AIR PUMP WITH A GM ALTERNATOR: If finding or fabricating an idler pulley to replace the
air pump is too fiddly for you, note that installing a GM CS130 alternator in place of the air pump is easier and probably
cheaper. This replacement is described starting on page 580. The GM alternator not only serves as an idler but also
eliminates the need for the Lucas alternator and its V-belt in the process.
AIR INJECTION -- 6.0 ENGINE: Charles Randle says the air injection system in the 1993-on 6.0 engine is different;
“Suggestions like do away with the system with an idler pulley is not an option.”
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EXHAUST SYSTEM
MANIFOLD/DOWNPIPE NUTS: The nuts that hold the downpipes to the manifolds look like an extra long nut. They
actually contain a self-locking helicoil, a special type of helicoil in which a couple of the coils near the center are
deformed to provide some friction when turning. These helicoils are held within the nut by a staking on each end that
deforms the thread just beyond the end of the helicoil. Whenever these nuts are removed and reused, it is recommended
this staking be checked, and re-staked if necessary.
The helicoil design means the parent metal of the nut is thinner than normal nuts. This is countered by the nut being so
long. If overtorqued, these nuts will split lengthwise, and internally grip the socket used to torque them. If this occurs,
of course, the nut must be replaced. The stud is a normal fine thread, so a normal nut will fit. It is recommended that a
stainless steel or brass nut be used due to corrosion problems at red-hot temperatures, and a locknut or lockwasher be
used since a normal nut lacks the self-locking feature of the original. Obviously, a locknut that uses a nylon insert for
self-locking is unacceptable.
Thomas Alberts says, “I have purchased the long nuts with the helicoil inserts from a Jag dealer, but since then I’ve seen
them at Western Auto hanging on the pegboard in a bubble pack.”
Some auto parts stores sell “stud nuts”, nuts intended for use on exhaust manifold studs. Generally, they are longer than
normal nuts and made of solid brass (no helicoil insert).
Another type of nut that looks right is the coupling nut sold in hardware stores for connecting lengths of threaded rod
together. These are typically coarse thread, but even if you replace the stud these nuts would probably not work well.
They are generally mild steel, so they aren’t very strong and will corrode something fierce on an exhaust manifold.
Getting the exhaust manifold/downpipe nuts on and off seems imposing, but it usually can be done easily enough. The
two outer nuts on each side can usually be loosened from above with a box end wrench and a lot of patience, and the
two inner nuts can be loosened from underneath the car with a socket, universal, extensions and ratchet. Michael
Minglin suggests, “For the outside studs I bent a box end wrench into kind of a “Z” shape so I could slip one end over
the nut from the top of the car. I welded an old socket onto the other end so I could use another wrench for leverage,
and use a torque wrench to put it back together.”
An even better idea: find a 9/16” “distributor wrench”. These wrenches are designed to tighten and loosen the bolt
underneath a distributor on American cars, and therefore have a deep zig-zag to them.
Be sure to use anti-seize compound when assembling, whether using original nuts or substitutes.
Jaguar provides four threaded holes in each header. In later cars, only two studs are used. If the threads in one pair of
holes get boogered up, it should be possible to install studs in the alternate two holes, and rotate the loose collar on the
downpipe 90° and reinstall. Rob Warnicke says his ’73 XJ12 had studs in all four holes per downpipe, eight per bank: “I
don't know when the changed the set up. I was surprised when I tore into my 87 and only had half the hardware to deal
with. The new flange and the old flange are essentially the same, with the new one having two fewer ears on opposite
"corners". They work the same, just with fewer bolts. One would think that since Jaguar dropped it down to two per
exhaust manifold, you could delete two on the older cars as well. ”
TRANSMISSION/EXHAUST PIPE BRACKETS: When considering the mounting of exhaust pipes, it must always be
kept in mind that the engine moves around on its mounts. When power is applied in low gear, the entire
engine/transmission assembly can tilt significantly to the right. Typically, exhaust systems are rigidly mounted to the
exhaust manifold and unsupported from there to the rear of the car, where they are supported by soft rubber mounts.
The intention is that the pipes will flex enough over this length that the engine can move without damage or fatigue.
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The XJ-S, of course, has a problematic transmission mount (see page 342). Problems with the transmission mount can
cause the engine to move more than intended, increasing the stress on the exhaust system.
The XJ-S also has several joints in the exhaust system around the catalytic converters, which happen to be in the middle
of the unsupported span. These joints can vibrate loose under the stress. Add to this the fact that the catalytic
converters themselves get very hot when running, and are made of a high-temperature, brittle material. There are
reports of the catalytic converters actually cracking within about 50K miles.
Jaguar’s solution is to add a pair of small brackets from the torque converter cover to the pipes. The intention is to
render the portion of the exhaust system between the manifold and the catalytic converter rigidly attached to the
engine/transmission assembly, thereby seeing no stress. The flexing of the system would have to occur from this point
rearward.
This solution is mediocre at best. On earlier models, the torque converter cover is made of sheet metal; it is not strong
enough for this load and generally ends up pretty mangled. The fix also causes noise; some of the vibration is
transmitted to the sheet metal cover, adding a tinny sound to the car.
Later, a beefier cast cover was used. This may represent a solution to the problems, or at least part of one.
EXHAUST PIPE UNIONS: The three-bolt flanged joint in the exhaust pipe just forward of the rear axle is a very
interesting device. The seal within it serves as a sort of ball joint. The angle of the pipes at the connection can be
changed by tightening some of the flange bolts while loosening others. This enables corrections to alignment so the
exhaust system doesn’t bang against anything.
Unfortunately, few muffler shop weenies have ever seen such a feature. If they just zip the nuts on those bolts with the
air wrench and proudly announce they finished the job in under 30 minutes, it’s not likely things will line up.
If you have disassembled your exhaust system at this point and need to reassemble it properly, you will find it most
helpful to have an assistant -- or a jackstand, if you are short of assistants -- hold the forward end of the rear muffler up
in its proper position while you tighten the three bolts on this fitting. When you think you are done, grab the pipe and
give it a good shaking. If it bangs anything, you’re not done.
EXHAUST SYSTEM ASSEMBLY: Jan Wikström sends this procedure for assembling each side:
1. “Hang the bent pipe in place. Make sure the insulating compressed-fibre bead is in place inside the rubber.
Smear Loctite exhaust joint compound in the joint and offer it up to the flange. Do the screws up looser than
finger-tight.
2. “Insert the second muffler and engage its hanger. Smear the Loctite stuff on the sliding joint and join it up.
3. “Push in a finger-thick stick (conveniently brought by crazy dog) on each side of the tail muffler to jam it in the
centre of its asbestos-lined pocket.
4. “Push the bent pipe clear of the brake calipers and jam in another stick between the pipe and the bleeding
nipple.
5. “Shove the front muffler over and up until it sits right with another finger-thick stick between it and the heat
shield. (memo: get a bone for the helpful dog)
6. “Look at the tail muffler to check that it isn’t sitting too high or low through the see-saw action of the pipe.
Waggle the pipe accordingly.
7. “While holding everything in place, tighten up the flange bolts about half tight.
8. “Fit clamp and slot cover piece, liberally smeared with you-know-what. And do up the sliding joint about half
tight. Check that both hangers have ample space for the pipe to move.
9. “Remove all sticks, hold your breath and check clearances. If the exhaust can shake normally on the hangers
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without touching anything, tighten flange and clamp fully. If not, first apply brute force as required...
“The Loctite stuff is great; when the heat comes on, it foams to maybe three times its volume and makes a tight seal. A
tap with a hammer will break it when you want to open the joint.”
IMPROVEMENTS IN LATER DESIGNS: Stefan Schulz reports: “I've just replaced pipes on the left side of my car's
exhaust system. Observations:
“Jaguar seem to have realized that some of the exhaust parts weren't brilliant and actually made some improvements, to
wit:
The intermediate pipe now has an extra kink so that it no longer prevents access to the gearbox sump bolts.
The locating pin arrangement for the over-axle pipe has changed so that it now looks a lot more reliable. Stress is
distributed over a much larger cross-section of the hanger-to-pipe joint now.
The old band clamps used in various places were labelled "Aeroquip". Presumably that points at use in flying
equipment. Which is a scary thought, as both which I removed used Nyloc nuts - not a smart thing to do on a hot
exhaust system! The new band clamps are actually different part numbers and sizes for different locations, and they
are designed like the mothers of all clamps. Extremely strong and wide - get the genuine Jaguar part for a change.
Well worth the money.”
HEAT SHIELDS: The Jag seems to have them everywhere: those hokey little pieces of sheet metal that seem to do
nothing but get in the mechanic’s way. Not so! While some performance cars are designed to go fast for the magazine
road test and never see 100 mph again, the Jaguar is designed for the Autobahn -- not just 140 mph, but 140 mph all
day. Under these conditions, the exhaust manifolds and downpipes can get red hot. Items that hot radiate heat (emit
heat as infrared light - you can feel it from a distance). The belts, electrical insulators, boots, hoses, O-rings, etc. (all of
which happen to be black) absorb this radiant heat and cook. The heat shields are not there for passenger protection or
to aggravate the mechanic; they are necessary to prevent the rubber and plastic parts from destruction.
Particular attention should be paid to the heat shields around the catalytic converters, because they get hot even when
you’re driving slow. If these heat shields are not in place, the boots on the steering rack ($$$!!!) won’t last long.
Heat shields are no more complicated than they look. You can easily make them out of scrap sheet metal. Hoses and
the like can actually be provided considerable protection by merely wrapping them with ordinary aluminum foil.
HEAT SHIELD BOLT SEALS: The heat shields over the exhaust manifolds on the H.E. are held on by two bolts of
different sizes. The larger rear bolt is actually a plug for a port into the exhaust tract, presumably because Jaguar used
the port in past models or anticipated the need for such a port at one time or another.
This fat, stubby bolt is sealed with a copper washer. If your local auto parts store has a rack of red cards titled “Help!”,
it probably has a package of two sealing washers that are the correct size: number 66265, “Brake Hose Bolt Washers”,
ID = 33/64”, OD = 45/64”. These same seals fit the banjo bolt under the oil pressure sender -- see page 46.
CATALYTIC CONVERTORS: According to Randy Wilson, the XJ-S has “two different types of catalysts in series.
The first cat after the engine is a three-way. The second is a single function reduction cat.” Since it is a dual exhaust
system, there are two of each for a total of four catalytic converters.
There is a honeycomb insert in the downpipe, immediately adjacent to the exhaust manifold. This is part of the catalytic
converter system.
Note that sometime in the 90’s, perhaps with the introduction of the 6.0 in 1994, the catalytic convertors were upgraded
with new designs that are far less restrictive. These new models reportedly do not have the honeycomb within the
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downpipes themselves.
CATALYTIC CONVERTORS -- MELTDOWN/FIRE: When a cylinder fails to fire, the unburned charge of fuel and
air is pumped into the exhaust system. If the catalytic convertors are up to temperature and operating, they will “burn”
this mixture, and get hot as a result. If there’s a lot of misfiring going on, there is a risk of a serious fire starting at the
cats and possibly destroying the entire car. Roger Bywater expounds at length on this concern: “Back in the 1970’s
when I was working in Emission Control Dept. at Jaguar one of my responsibilities was complying with Japanese Heat
Damage Tests. Amongst other things this meant having a catalyst overheat warning system (via a thermocouple in the
cat) and the test procedure called for one spark plug to be disabled while idling to prove the system worked. The
mixture from the dead cylinder would then be burnt in the catalyst which would obviously get a bit hot. On the old
oxidising catalyst systems this was not unduly dramatic, but even so because the carb XJ6’s had the cat well back under
the car, if driven any distance in this condition, they could end up with the rear seat springs popping through the top of
the seat!
“Now when we started using Lambda sensors on the 4.2 EFI engine the situation changed alarmingly. When a plug was
disabled the Lambda sensor would detect the spare oxygen from the dead cylinder and the system would react as if the
fuelling was too weak so swung to the rich limit in trying to correct it. The catalyst now would be getting a supply of air
and extra fuel and would start to glow in no time at all, even at idle.
“Of course the main reason the cat got hotter on the 4.2 EFI with Lambda was not so much because of having feedback
as because it was a lot nearer the engine than had been the case with the oxidising cats. Also one cylinder out on a 4.2 6
cyl puts through a lot more fuel than one out on a 5.3 12 cyl so the 4.2 cat had a lot more to burn.
“In fact on the carb engine with oxidising cat we had to disable 2 cylinders to provoke the cat to overheat enough for the
test. On the EFI with a 3 way cat one cylinder was more than enough and we had to keep reconnecting the lead
periodically during the test to stop the cat rear cone temp going over 1000°C, and remember this was at idle!!!
“I am sure this is far from unique to Jaguars and is made worse by the presence of a pressurised fuel supply with the
potential to make sure almost any underbonnet fire will have catastrophic consequences.
“Really if any catalyst car develops a misfire it should not be driven. It is a bit like when the oil warning light comes on -
driving another couple of miles could prove to be very costly! It is perhaps realisation of this sort of problem that
prompted California ARB to come up with OBD & OBD2 with the requirement for really powerful fault monitoring
techniques.”
See page 161 for warnings on how faults in the Marelli ignition system can burn your car to the ground and page 169 for
how overheating cats can cook the Marelli crank sensor.
CATALYTIC CONVERTOR TEMPERATURE MONITORING: The regularity of the Marelli distributor rotor
failures (see page 161) has resulted in suggestions for monitoring the temperature of the catalytic convertors in hopes of
avoiding expensive damage. This plan has a distinct advantage over monitoring the various possible causes of
overheating, since it will alert the driver to overheating problems in the cats irregardless of whether Marelli is at fault or
something else. A jammed fuel injector, a faulty fuel regulator, ECU problems, any number of things can cause a
catalytic convertor to run hot, and with a large engine such as the Jag V12 it doesn’t take too large a problem to cause
some serious overheating.
There are lots of ways to monitor cat temperature. Some sort of fusible link -- perhaps even homemade, like out of
silver solder or something -- could be installed on or near the cats that would melt and break a circuit when the link’s
melting temperature was reached. Some sort of bimetal strip or coil could be used to open and close a contact at a
certain temperature. A thermocouple or two could be installed in, on, or near the cats. There are optical sensors that
will detect and measure infrared radiation. For a really half-assed indicator, a pair of normal insulated wires could be
twisted together and installed so that a hot cat would melt the insulation and cause a short.
The first problem is figuring out what temperatures we’re talking about. Bob Gallivan forwards a guideline: “This is
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from "How to Tune & Modify BOSCH Fuel Injection" by Ben Watson: The minimum operating, or light off,
temperature of the converter is 600° F, with an optimum operating temperature of about 1,200-1,400° F. At a
temperature of approximately 1,800° F the substrate will begin to melt.”
In Japan and the Middle East, catalytic convertor temperature monitoring systems are required by law -- so you may be
able to obtain the necessary parts from Jaguar. Richard Mansell says, “Browsing through the '87 XJ-S parts manual I
have found the bits and pieces used for the catalyst monitoring on the Japanese spec cars. They appear to use a catalyst
mounted thermocouple, DAC1226, along with a little black box, DAC6943, known as "Module-catalyst switching".
Also listed on the same page are sensor-thermal, DAC1043, which appears to be bolted to the floor although it does not
say where. There is a harness, DAC3573, to plug it all together.”
Andrew Corkan and others have pointed out that you can “buy a commercial dual-needle exhaust temperature monitor
from Summit Racing. About $250 US, works but has a big goofy dial you will have to mount.” See page 720 for
Summit.
Michael Aiken suggests, “If people are serious about monitoring cat temperature there are relatively inexpensive probes
and gauges - they are used on snowmobiles to monitor exhaust gas temp for tuning. They even have digital gauges.
They can be found at any snowmobile (motorcycle) shop or snowmobile catalog.
“I looked into a setup in a catalog I have. A dual analog Westach gauge (one 2" gauge, two needles) goes for about
$85, a 3" gauge is $100. Two probes ($30 ea) would be $60 for a total of $145 to $160. The two needles in the gauge
point at each other and should register the same under normal operating conditions. One rising significantly above the
other would indicate a problem! The probe is mounted in a 3/16" hole with a stainless steel clamp (no welding). The
gauges read from 400°F to 1600°F. The only problem I see is the leads to the gauge from the probe are only 4 feet long.
It's not far from the exhaust in a snowmobile to the gauge panel.”
Corkan again: “A DIY thermocouple option accessible to everyone might be to get K type thermocouples (~$20 each).
Then get a specialized thermocouple amplifier (Linear Tech #LT1025 is a cheap option, ~ $10 each) and wire the output
of the amplifier to a comparator (a cheap one from Radio Shack) that will turn on a light when the amplifier output goes
above a certain point.”
Since there may be some question about just how hot is too hot, John Arthur suggests, “What we need is a reference
temperature. Fortunately the excellent design of the car means that one has already been provided at enormous expense.
That's right -- the other cat! What is needed is a measurement of the difference of temperature between the 2 cats.
There are industry standard thermocouples that are used in labs and workshops for measuring oven temperatures. Some
are simple and could be clamped to the outside of the cat and others have a threaded boss that would be best screwed
through the exhaust just behind the cat. Connect 2 of these thermocouples, one per cat, back to back and the voltage
developed across the ends will be proportional to the difference between the temperatures of the 2 cats. You have to
take the thermocouple wires back to the electronics but they are available with a length of 2 metres which should be
enough. These things are reasonably linear and a temperature difference of, say, 300º Celsius would give an output of
around 12 millivolts. Some enterprising electronics guy could doubtless produce a simple amplifier that would enable a
warning light or buzzer to sound. Two amplifiers and 2 gauges and you could read the actual temperatures. There are
even ICs available which compensate for the slight non-linearities of the thermocouple.
“I have found a reference to Analog Devices AD595 as a thermocouple amplifier for Type K thermocouples. However
these cost over 12GBP plus tax in 1996. A simple generic op. amp. such as a 741 or equivalent would cost pence/cents
and do the same job of alerting you to a major temperature difference.”
Note that monitoring only the difference in temperature may not be a good idea, since failure modes other than the
Marelli rotor failures may threaten both cats equally. The typical cause of high cat temps is a misfire, and a misfire on
both banks can cause cat overheating on both banks. In fact, such a failure mode is described on page 168.
CATALYTIC CONVERTOR NOISES: Gerald Foster reports, “The dealer is turning out to be not so dumb. If I had
gone with them I would have saved buying a power steering pump and water pump the independent dealer sold me.
(Yes, a bad cat can sound like a grinding power steering pump).”
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CATALYTIC CONVERTORS -- CHECKING: Greg Maddison suggests that you can visually check the front cats for
plugging by disconnecting the pipes between the first and second cat, unscrew the oxygen sensors, and insert a small
light into the hole. “I used a small Mag light with the shade removed.” Looking into the back end of the cat, you should
be able to see the light through the core.
CATALYTIC CONVERTOR REBUILDING: Greg Maddison says, “The original Jag parts are $800 each so you can
see how changing all four would be quite an investment. I found a company that rebuilds them for much less than new
ones cost, they are called Jag Services.” See page 694.
AFTERMARKET CATS: LaRue Boyce says, “Caution on the aftermarket cats! Both pieces were not "true" and
couldn't be joined together without a lot of modifications.”
GENERIC CATS: Generic cats are available from J. C. Whitney for, like, fifty bucks each. Sure, you have to figure out
how to plumb them up, but considering the cost difference you have plenty of incentive.
CATALYTIC CONVERTOR GUTTING/REMOVAL/REPLACEMENT: Catalytic convertors are not inherently
particularly restrictive in an exhaust system; in a properly-designed system, removing the cats has very little effect on
performance.
Unfortunately, this is not a properly-designed exhaust system. The general concensus is that the stock exhaust system
on the XJ-S is very restrictive, and the cats are a key part of that restriction. Simplest fix: take off the downpipes and
cats and bash all the innards out of them and reinstall.
Of course this will reduce the restrictions considerably, but for the optimal flow it’d be nice to have smooth pipes
instead. One possibility is to replace the US-spec downpipes with the European versions that have no catalytic
honeycombs inside. Unfortunately, they don’t have oxygen sensor ports either, and it’d be nice to maintain those.
However, oxygen sensor ports are commonly available from places like Jeg’s (page 717) or Summit (page 720) and can
be welded into the downpipes.
If you must face the emissions inspector, neither of those options will be acceptable. There are others that might be,
however. First, you could consider fitting some aftermarket catalytic convertors, preferably something broad and flat to
fit under the car and less restrictive than the originals. Or, you could consider retrofitting the later OEM cats to the early
car! According to John Napoli: “I happened to be at my local Jag dealer as someone was taking delivery of a new pair
of V12 head pipes. I noticed that these pipes did not have the corrugated metal inserts in each of the four down tubes.
These inserts are ostensibly part of the catalyst system, and are present on many V12s (including my ’82 XJ-S H.E.).
Anybody who has seen head pipes with these inserts in place would reasonably conclude that they add a lot of restriction
to the exhaust. The replacement pipes I saw today have a different shape to the cats -- more streamlined and seemingly
smaller than the cylindrical cats on the head pipes with the inserts. The parts man said that both types of pipes are
available (with the inserts and without), both are fully certified smog-wise, and that the design without the inserts is
considered a better performer because of the reduced back pressure. The downstream cats are required with both
designs. I did not inquire as to price, but it seems that anyone replacing their cats should consider these replacements, as
the Jag V12 rewards you for anything that helps it breathe better.”
EXHAUST PIPE TIPS: The XJ series Jaguars have a unique style of tip on the exhaust system, a sort of S-shaped
extension that places the outlets right out on the corners of the car. This is not a mere styling feature; these tips were
supposedly designed to correct a problem with exhaust fumes recirculating back into the car. The shape puts the outlets
out into the airstream coming around the car rather than into the dead air space behind the car. If you wish to replace
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these extensions with some generic replacement tips, be prepared for fume problems when driving.
Of course, the aerodynamics are significantly different between the various XJ models and all of them have the S-shaped
tips. While the fume problem may be the case with some of them, it’s not likely to be the case with all of them. Some
people claim to have no problems, while others complain bitterly of the odors. Pay your own money, take your own
chances.
You might not really want to replace them anyway. The generic pipe tips available locally are usually cheap chrome-
plated steel, and the chrome comes off quickly and the steel underneath rusts away to nothing. The stock Jaguar tips are
made of stainless steel, so there is no plating to flake off. No matter how dirty they get, they can always be made to look
new again with a little work with some Comet cleanser.
J. C. Whitney offers stainless steel exhaust pipe tips, basically a 9” long straight piece of stainless steel pipe cut off either
straight or at an angle at the end and held in place with two setscrews. The ones to fit “1-5/8" to 1-7/8" OD pipe” will
fit the stock XJ-S muffler nicely; catalog number 12xx0949U for the straight cut end, 12xx0952Y for the angle cut tip.
Note that the outlets on the mufflers are turned down slightly, so these tips will not sit horizontally but will angle
downward a bit.
TAIL PIPES: Ernie Laprairie reports: “Just had two dual-tip Pacesetter resonators installed instead of the bulky Jag
style. Looks great and still quiet, only about 8 inches long plus chrome double tips on each side.”
ADDING A CROSSOVER PIPE: One typical performance enhancement to dual exhaust systems is to add a crossover
pipe: a connection between the two exhaust streams to permit each exhaust pulse to escape through both systems. This
idea has been used with dramatic results on V8’s, and many cars come with them from the factory.
There may be precious little performance improvement from adding a crossover to a V12, though. First off, six
cylinders per bank results in smoother exhaust flow than four, so the pulse flow benefits of a crossover are smaller. The
exhaust pulses on a V12 alternate between banks while there are successive pulses on the same bank on a V8, which is
another reason the crossover helps the V8 so much.
There is another reason to consider a crossover, though: sound. Without a crossover, the note from each pipe is that of
a six-cylinder; with a crossover, each pipe sounds like a 12-cylinder. The Series III E-type was fitted with a crossover
pipe, and Roger Bywater claims it was strictly to make the car sound proper.
To avoid screwing up the EFI, a crossover should be installed after the oxygen sensors.
A crossover has two disadvantages: First, it can make the exhaust system, already a pain to work on, even more difficult
to assemble and disassemble. Second, being able to check the exhaust from each bank helps with engine fault diagnosis.
Both of these problems can be minimized by including a flat face flange in the crossover, and making a flat blank-off
plate that can be bolted into the connection when doing engine analysis.
Summit Racing (page 720) offers “balance tube kits” for less than $50. These require no welding to install; simply cut
sections out of each pipe, install tees with clamps, and install a connecting pipe with clamps.
MUFFLER REMOVAL: AJ6 Engineering (page 713) offers a pair of “Silencer Substitute Pipes” to eliminate the
mufflers forward of the IRS. They claim a 15-20 hp gain for this change; they also mention the inevitable change in
exhaust note.
Members of the xj-s@jag-lovers.org discussion list generally report that removing the mufflers forward of the IRS and
replacing them with straight pipes or less restrictive mufflers results in only a slight increase in sound, and the sound that
results is pleasant. However, removing the mufflers rearward of the IRS and replacing them with straight pipes or less
restrictive mufflers usually makes the car unacceptably loud, and the sound is not pleasant.
If your objective is the sound, consider modifying the intake system first as described on page 108. The sound that
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results is wonderful, and only appears at serious throttle; at light throttle or idle, it makes no sound difference at all.
LARGER PIPES: AJ6 Engineering (page 713) offers a “Large Bore Exhaust System” and claims improvements of 20-
25 hp. They mention that this may only be justifiable if the entire system needs replacement anyway. Keisler (page 718)
also offers a package. Both systems include downpipes that lack the catalytic convertor that’s integral with the OEM
downpipes on US-spec cars. Martin Karo says, “You can (and I did) section in a flat performance cat in the long
straight pipe section.”
Scott Horner, who has an extensively modified XJ-S, says, “I have 2-1/4" pipes the whole way from the exhaust
manifolds to the outlets....You do have to be careful adjusting these for clearance thru the cage, but I was able to bleed
the brakes at the weekend without any problems whatsoever...”
AJ6 notes the inherent difficulty with fitting anything really big through the IRS. If you’re that kinda guy, you can forget
about ground clearance and just run some big pipes under the IRS. This also eliminates several bends in the piping,
further reducing restriction. The Keisler system supposedly goes this route. Note that the IRS subframe is mounted on
rubber and moves around a bit, so pipes going under the IRS should not be attached to the IRS -- unless attached with
rubber mounts.
Roger Bywater of AJ6 Engineering adds that they also offer “a new V12 extractor exhaust system that is cheaper and
better than a conventional large bore system for road use.”
PIPE INSULATION: A performance trick popular with competitors is to thermally insulate the exhaust system. This
keeps the heat in the exhaust gases rather than permitting it to escape through the walls of the pipes and into the engine
compartment or under the car. The result is an improvement in exhaust flow, and thereby an improvement in
performance. In the case of a V12 Jaguar, there is another very significant benefit: lower underhood temperatures.
There are a couple of ways to accomplish such thermal insulation, including wrapping the pipes, coating the pipes, and
coating the pipes on the inside. Wrapping the pipes is probably the cheapest option, but it can be difficult to accomplish
in a cramped engine compartment with convoluted manifolds. It’s also potentially dangerous. Brian Schreurs says, “I
must advise against traditional "header wraps". If oil gets on them somehow, they can catch fire. It's happened in my F-
body club.” Back in the old days, the wraps were made of asbestos. “It could be that the wrap itself didn't catch fire; it
just acted as a handy absorber for the leaking oil, and only the oil burned. I don't care to learn which one it is on any of
my cars.”
Wrapping also makes the manifolds themselves run hotter, because they’re not getting the air cooling on the outside.
This might be harder on heavy cast iron manifolds than on headers; Tom Bennett says, “The material I had thought of
using is Cool-It from Therma-tec, just read the back of the box, DO NOT USE ON CAST IRON MANIFOLDS!”
Ed Hyatt says, “According to my books on turbocharging, header wrapping is only acceptable on race cars. Because of
the additional heat stresses they place on the header, deterioration is greatly accelerated and cracks are common.
Distortion was also severe and common. It was discovered that after a header was removed, it could not be used again
because it was distorted too much.” Coating might not cause the same issues simply because it’s not as effective.
Coating on the inside has the opposite effect, helping the manifold run cooler.
As far as coatings go, the word is that there’s Jet-Hot and there are cheap imitators. Greg Peters reports from down
under: “I found a company, which is also in the US, called Jet-Hot Coatings (www.jet-hot.com.au). They have a
ceramic coating product that I had applied to the cast iron exhaust manifolds, engine pipes and the intermediate exhaust
pipe before the first mufflers. This coating has had a dramatic effect on the heat generated by the exhaust, because this
heat cannot escape through the metal of the pipes it is contained within the gases and exits out the back of the car. Now
the floor doesn't get hot, the AC doesn't have to work as hard and the under bonnet temperatures are now negligible.
Basically I am very happy with the result and Jet-Hot products.”
Schreurs provides the US website and additional details: “The website is www.jet-hot.com. Here is the idea. Instead of
wrapping headers in wraps, we get our headers coated with something (other than paint, which burns off in a couple of
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minutes), generally a ceramic coating of some kind. The coating serves several purposes:
1) prevents rust; left bare, headers rust really fast.
2) controls heat by containing it, which is good in two ways:
a) by reducing the dissipated heat, underhood temps drop
b) by keeping the exhaust hot longer, it increases the velocity of the exhaust gases, the engine scavenges better.
This process has diminishing returns, there is a point where you want the exhaust to cool, but it is not in the
headers.
3) looks cool.
“Members of my F-body club have tried many different brands of coating, either by design (price sensitivity, usually) or
by happenstance (the headers occasionally come pre-coated). The only brand of coating that is consistently praised for
its quality is Jet-Hot.
“Jet-Hot takes your headers, cleans them for you (of anything -- rust, paint, previous coating, whatever), advises you if
they need repairs, then coats them inside and out. A lot of other places only coat the outside.
“Of course all this extra service, plus the quality of the product, makes it about the most expensive coating on the
market. But, where I know of several club members who had their headers recoated by Jet-Hot, I don't know of anyone
who has gone from Jet-Hot to another brand.
“It used to be that the only finish you could have was a chrome-like silver finish (except that the Jet-Hot coating doesn't
go blue like chrome does), but lately they've introduced several hues. The durability of the finish is excellent; a friend
put Jet-Hot coated headers on his daily-driver Mustang 18 months ago and they look as new.
“The cost is the only drawback. But I would strongly recommend Jet-Hot to anyone planning to keep their car a very
long time.
“I am looking at a diagram of the H.E. exhaust system. I think I would consider coating the downpipes as well as the
manifolds, but of course the cats would have to be gutted or replaced with straight pipe -- the coating would destroy
them.”
Jeb Boyd says, “I agree with Bry in a big way. The Jet-Hot process, albeit expensive, is a proven HP gain and it drops
exhaust temperatures. It also helps everything cool off quicker upon shutdown. I've used the stuff in my shop and on
my own cars.
“It is always best done on new parts if you can, but it does work very well on used parts such as cast iron manifolds as
well.
“I have used Jet-Hot for almost ten years and have been very happy with their product and service. They turn the stuff
around in a guaranteed 72 hours, and you can get rush orders as well. I believe that they have a certain amount of
popular stock on the shelf as well.
“My MGB GT has the satin black coating on its exhaust manifold for about two and a half years and it still looks stellar!
It is expensive, but if you're an anal retentive wacko like me, there's nothing like it!
“I have had them Jet-Hot the caliper halves on a couple of cars as well. Boy, is that cool! They will also coat
suspension parts, alternator shells, and other bits.
“No interest, yadda yadda, but I love the stuff!”
Jet-Hot:
Heat management coatings
55 E. Front St. Bridgeport, PA. 19405
order: 1-800-432-3379 tech: 610-277-5646
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DRIVETRAIN
The XJ-S was originally fitted with a Borg-Warner Model 12 automatic transmission, but in 1979 this was replaced with
the GM400 automatic. According to Ed Sowell, “If it's a BW12 the dipstick/filler neck will be at the left side of the
engine bay.” The dipstick/filler is on the right side with the GM400.
In the mid-70’s reportedly 352 XJ-S’s were fitted with 4-speed manual transmissions and the official Jaguar repair
manual dedicates an entire section on maintenance, but there is precious little information available on that tranny for
inclusion in this book. The XJ-S’s fitted with the six-cylinder AJ6 engine were available with a 5-speed, but there is no
info herein on that tranny either.
OVERHEATING: An automatic transmission generates waste heat as a result of the “slipping” of the torque convertor.
It always slips; more at low rpm and less at higher speeds, but the only way it won’t slip at all is if there’s a “lock-up
torque convertor” fitted -- popular on some modern transmissions, but not on the GM400 or Borg-Warner transmissions
used in the XJ-S. There is a cooler provided to deal with this waste heat; it’s in the end tank of the radiator, and
therefore rejects the transmission heat into the engine cooling system.
If there are faults in the automatic transmission, it can greatly increase the amount of waste heat generated. David
Hodges had a transmission that he knew was malfunctioning, and before he fixed it he did some careful testing. With
calibrated temperature sensors in each bank of the engine, he drove 125 miles at various continuous speeds. Then he
installed a small transmission cooler and made the return trip under nearly identical driving and weather conditions. He
showed conclusively that, with known transmission faults, the small transmission cooler lowered the engine
temperatures significantly -- from just a few degrees at low speeds to as much as 18°C above 100 mph. Hodges adds:
“At idle with the separate transmission cooler the engine cooling fan (electric) runs for shorter periods of time before it
switches off and the gap between switching back on is most definitely longer.”
Hodges’ conclusion: “Bearing in mind the V12's tendency for overheating and the trouble many have in curing it, a
faulty transmission could be leading many up the garden path. I only noticed the initial problem with the gearbox whilst
driving very hard. It makes you wonder if a gearbox that is 'iffy' and has gone undetected could be contributing to the
overheating problem so many have experienced.”
There is much discussion on keeping the GM400 cool on page 336. Much of what is said may apply equally to any
automatic transmission.
SHIFT CABLE -- ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS: William F. Trimble reports: “The Jag would not start -- nothing when
the key was turned to the start position. Shortly thereafter smoke started coming out of the shifter quadrant on the
console.
“We took part of the console apart and found that the shifter cable had melted, freezing the car in park. A check
underneath revealed that the lockout switch and wiring looked OK, and that there were no obvious problems with any of
the wiring under the car.” Eventually, the problem was found: a loose ground cable. “The high current load imposed by
the starter could not get through the loose ground cable. The current chose the next best available route, which was
through the shifter cable to the body.” This problem is reportedly common enough that some parts clerks are familiar
with it.
Avoid this problem and install an additional ground strap. See page 555.
BORG-WARNER MODEL 12 TRANSMISSION
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BORG-WARNER/GM400 BOLT PATTERNS: The bolt pattern for the transmission/engine attachment is the same for
the BW12 and the pre-1993 GM400, and apparently was the same for the Series III E-type with manual transmission.
However, when the GM400 was incorporated, the dowel pin arrangement was changed. Robert C. Warnicke: “I have a
'73 pre-H.E., '84 H.E., T400 and BW sitting in my carport. The bolt patterns appear to be the same. The H.E. has two
dowels on the back that are much bigger than the dowels on the pre-H.E. At least one of these dowels is in a different
place as well. I don't know how important the dowels are with all the bolts, but one will have to be removed off the pre-
H.E. for the T400 to fit, and the other will be loose in the T400 hole unless something is fabbed to make it fit tight.”
It is possible to remove the dowels and bolt a transmission to an engine despite dowel pin conflicts. However, the
alignment of the engine/transmission mating may not be as good. If misaligned, the flexplate may flex at each revolution,
and will quickly fail.
Scott Horner points out there is also a difference in the end of the crankshaft. The crank that mates to the GM400 has a
relatively large pilot diameter in which the protrusion on the front of the torque convertor sits. The crank that mates to
the BW12 has a smaller pilot diameter. When faced with this problem, he was able to machine the stub on the front of
his GM400 torque convertor to fit the BW12 pilot hole on the crank.
BAND ADJUSTMENT: Michael Neal offers this tip: “If you attempt your own band adjustment on the B/W don’t
overtighten them. The car will come to a very sudden halt. A quick adjustment: tighten them finger tight and back off
the adjuster 3 flats.”
WARMING UP THE TRANSMISSION?: According to a tip passed on from the Heart of America Jaguar Club, if you
have a Jaguar with a Borg-Warner automatic transmission (pre-1979 XJ-S), you should let the car idle in neutral for 10-
20 seconds before driving. This is because a one-way valve that prevents fluid from draining from the torque converter
is unreliable, and the torque converter may have drained. The fluid pump does not function in park, so it must be in
neutral to do any good.
FLUID: If you have the early XJ-S with the Borg-Warner automatic, the owner’s handbook specifies Type F fluid.
However, there are reports that some Jaguar dealers refill these transmissions with Dexron anyway, because they feel
their customers appreciate the smoother shifts resulting from the slipperier fluid. This might not be a good idea, since
firmer shifts cause less wear.
GM400 TRANSMISSION
REPAIR MANUALS: Craig Sawyers says, “I rebuilt my GM400 using just the ROM. However, I wish I'd bought Ron
Session's book on "The Turbo Hydra-matic 400" - tells how to take all variants to bits and overhaul using "real world"
tools. Includes performance tuning too.”
Richard Chapman adds, “I have it and it gave great insight into the internals. Some of Ron's suggestions do not seem to
get acceptance in the industry it would appear.”
George Balthrop suggests “Haynes Techbook 10360 "GM Automatic Transmission Overhaul", which covers both the
TH400 and the TH700, provides information on the function of this transmission, special tools, in-car repairs, testing &
trouble-shooting, full overhaul & modification.”
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GM400 AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION INTERCHANGABILITY: It is well known that the later XJ-S’s are fitted
with the GM400 automatic transmission. What is less known is that this transmission (through 1992) has a housing
designed specifically to mate with the Jaguar V12. Because the GM400 has an integral bell housing, a GM400 from any
other car will not fit.
The innards are interchangeable, though, so even though it’s not easy to replace your transmission, it is easy to have it
rebuilt. It’s not even particularly difficult to remove (as transmissions go) and there are several access panels under the
interior carpet to make maintenance easier.
If the tranny is apart, it is recommended that the sprags be replaced with high-performance aftermarket models. The Jag
is hard on even the trusty GM400, and has a tendency to tear it up.
As a result of a complete revamp, the 1993-on 6.0 liter V12 has a standard GM engine/transmission bolt pattern. Cars
with this engine come with a 4-speed version of the GM400 called the 4L80E; the E means it is controlled electronically.
It cannot easily be retrofitted to earlier cars. The earlier basic 3-speed GM400 was posthumously renamed the 3L80.
GM400 - MINOR DIFFERENCES: John Goodman reports: “I may be wrong here, but I think Jaguar revised the
tranny a few times throughout its history. My ’88 car shifted much faster with less “slurr” than my friend’s ’84.”
Richard Mansell says, “The Collectors guide does mention that "the GM400 transmission was recalibrated for improved
responsiveness" from 88MY.”
Goodman adds that the GM400 in the XJR-S has different shift characteristics. “The factory-modified GM400 came as
standard on the 6.0L XJR-S from ’89 to ’93 Part no. SPE 1027. The owners handbook says “JaguarSport modified
shift points”. In my car (’89) I would consider under normal driving the shifts to still be quite soft, under hard
acceleration they are by no means harsh, but seem to be a little quicker. However, what is noticeable is its ability while
in drive to kickdown into first at higher road speeds, (up to about 38-40 mph); this is quite useful.”
“The bell housings are different because it no longer needs the Marelli speed sensor. The valve body is changed and
recalibrated and a different spring in the rear accumulator (whatever that is). The XJR-S manual and all the other related
bumph I have collected makes a big point of stating it is unique.”
Richard Mansell says, “As well as suspension mods the SportsPack modifies the gearbox change points. This means that
the car will change down into first at up to 49mph (standard GM400 - 30mph) and down into second at up to 98 mph
(standard GM400 - 85mph). During full throttle kickdown acceleration the car will also hold first up to around 64mph
and second until around 105mph.”
Besides these functional differences, there are also physical distinctions -- including the shape of the pan and therefore
the shape of the gasket that fits. John Himes: “If you are looking to fit a new filter or shift kit on your General Motors
Turbomatic 400, check the serial number for the date of manufacture (first 2 numbers), or at least the shape of the pan.
Pre-88 models are a little different than 88 and newer.”
DEXRON II/III FLUIDS: John Horner passed along this info from “an applications specialist at Texaco’s lubrication
division.”: “Since Type A, Type A Suffix A, DEXRON, DEXRON-II and DEXRON-IIE fluids are obsolete, customers
with transmissions calling for any of these earlier vintage fluids should use DEXRON-III. DEXRON-III fluids are
designed to be back-serviceable for automatic transmissions used in passenger cars and light trucks manufactured since
1949.
“There are a few synthetic DEXRON-III ATFs available but they may be hard to find. They are also more expensive
than mineral-based ATFs. Synthetic transmission fluids basically share all the same advantages that synthetic motor oils
enjoy over conventional mineral-based oils. These include improved low-temperature fluidity, oxidation stability and
reduced volatility.
“Compared to the old Type A fluids (and even newer generation fluids such as DEXRON-II or IIE), a mineral-based
DEXRON-III fluid will help prolong the life of a transmission. DEXRON-III fluids retained the low-temperature
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fluidity of DEXRON-IIE fluids and incorporated major improvements to the frictional stability, high temperature
oxidation stability and material compatibility.
“For your information, and as a point of reference, when GM introduced DEXRON-III fluids they increased the drain
interval to fill-for-life under normal service and 50,000 miles for severe service.”
John T. Horner adds: “Mobil lists a Dexron type synthetic ATF. Check the web site at:
http://www.mobil.com/
“I think most of the other synthetic providers also have competing products.”
FIRMER SHIFTS IN A BOTTLE: The owner’s handbook specifies Dexron 2D or Dexron III automatic transmission
fluid for the GM400 transmission. Draining this fluid and refilling with Type F fluid will result in firmer shifts. The Type
F fluid is less slippery.
Alternatively, there are aftermarket fluids available that are less slippery than either Dexron or Type F, resulting in firmer
shifts yet.
DRAIN & REFILL CAPACITY: The repair manuals seem to agree that a drain and refill of the GM 400 transmission
will require 9.6 US quarts or 19-point-something US pints. However, Larry Barnes reports that it only took about 6 US
quarts on his car. Reason unknown, but it probably had to do with not fully draining the torque convertor or the
transmission cooler.
DIPSTICKS: Sean Straw says, “I snapped pix of the dipsticks on both my 1985 and 1988 XJ-S', and I was surprised to
find that the dipsticks are not the same length. The top handles are the same (except for the colour of the plastic), and
both are a spiral metal spring shaft, but the 1985 has a flattened metal tab at the bottom, while the 1988 has a plastic
gauge.
“The Jaguar part number for the complete dipstick is EAC 8313, which according to my local dealer is superceeded by
EBC 4037, which is listed as the part going through 1996. The parts catalogue does not list a separate part component
for the gauge at the end.
“As a comparative reference, the 1985 dipstick shows the HOT min mark at 27 1/8" (end of measure to the base of the
dipstick handle), and the max mark at 26 9/16", while the 1988 shows the same marks out at about 1 1/32" longer. Cold
on the 1985 is 27 1/2" and 27 1/4" (min, max), vs the 1988 at 28 11/16" and 28 5/16" (min, max).
Straw can’t say for sure that somebody didn’t put the wrong dipstick into one of his cars. It certainly wouldn’t be
difficult to find an incorrect dipstick; “My Buick and the Jaguars all have the same TH400 trans, and the dipstick on the
Buick is a good 3 inches or so shorter than on the 1985.”
PLUGGED FILTER: George Balthrop says, “If you have a turbine-like whine that is audible at idle when you bend
down to listen under the front door, that is most likely the transmission, caused by a plugged filter & gummy fluid. This
is particularly likely if the car has sat without regular use for months. The whine (from the transmission pump) will vary
with engine speed as you drive the vehicle.”
MOANING SOUNDS: In response to complaints about cars that will “moan” for a minute or two after cold startup,
Jim Schultetus says, “A trans filter that is partially clogged will make a moan noise when cold as the fluid is thick and
doesn't flow well. This was common complaint on the 400 turbo regardless of vehicle make.”
On the other hand, Stefan Schulz says, “Trans oil pump sucking air and cavitating. Can be alleviated by renewing the o-
rings and if necessary the intake tube.”
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Slightly different explanations -- but either way, the fix is exactly the same: Drop the transmission pan and replace the
filter, making sure to get the intake tube and O-rings installed properly when reassembling. Continue reading for more
concerns related to this same set of O-rings.
GM400 SLIPPING: It is occasionally reported that the GM400 transmission slips; sometimes when cold, in first gear,
or under other specific circumstances. Leonard Berk reported that his slipped until he deliberately overfilled the
transmission fluid, then it worked fine. Randy Wilson provided this explanation:
“On GM vehicles, a loose/fallen filter is a normal occurrence, and is known for causing weird problems. The most
common problem is the transmission briefly finding neutral right after a hard turn. Most THM transmissions, the 400
included, hang the filter low in the pan. The filter is supported by the o-ring on the pickup pipe (pipe from filter to valve
body), which snaps into a machined groove at one end and a steel clip at the other end. If the o-ring is bad, or the filter
has fallen, the fluid pickup point is effectively raised to the bottom of the valve body, about an inch up from the filter.”
Jim Cantrell provides more elaboration: “The o-rings on the filter and at the pump inlet are known to leak in cold
weather which results in pump cavitation. Pump cavitation can usually be heard - a whining sound of the pump. On the
400 in the cold (talking 40°F and below), it will usually last about 30-60 seconds. It still moves since it’s actually
pumping oil. It’s just sucking in air from the o-rings and this gives the cavitation.
“Second hypothesis is that once cold, the o-rings leak and air leaks into the oil pickup tube and drains the oil. The result
is the pump runs dry until oil starts flowing.”
Since the GM400 dipstick has warnings not to overfill, perhaps overfilling should be done only as a diagnostic measure.
If it fixes the problem, suspect a dropped filter. Just go ahead and change the filter (and O-ring!) and fluid.
Richard Chapman says, “I recommend using 2 O-rings on the oil pickup tube connection to the pump within the trans,
this is a common point where air can creep in. Also check that the valve body bolts are not loose while you're in there.”
Greg Meboe says, “The filter came with one O-ring only. The B&M shift kit came with 2 additional rings, and it said
that 2 rings should always be fitted to eliminate air being sucked into the pump. I was able to get three on, and still have
plenty of pipe engagement into the trans case. The pick up tube is held in very securely now.”
Mark D Young had similar problems, and watched as a mechanic worked on it: “He had indicated that he thought the
filter had dropped into the bottom of the pan and he was correct. There is little but a push-fit O-ring used to secure the
filter. He used two flat washers and a circlip to install a new filter securely. The O-ring fits over a pipe that goes up into
the tranny and seats in a recess. This chap cut a lip near the extreme lower end of the pipe and fiddled with a washer
that cleared the pipe diameter (just) and then he pushed this up to past the recess and slipped the circlip into the recess.”
Apparently sometimes it’s not the O-rings; sometimes it’s the plastic pickup tube itself. Craig Sawyers says, “If the tube
is cracked, it is dead easy to replace - it just pulls out.”
Slipping is not good on the transmission, and the sooner it is corrected the less damage will be done.
GM400 FLUID AND FILTER REPLACEMENT: Before buying a new pan gasket, note the shape of the gasket
needed; as noted above, they aren’t all the same.
Dale Green says, “If the transmission filter is dirty, then when the fluid is cold, there is a delay in adequate flow through
out the transmission, which in turn will delay the shift change. By either changing the fluid and filter or by having a flush
done at a shop with the flush equipment, you can then determine if this cured your problem, or if a rebuild is due.
“As the fluid gets contaminated with deposits from the wear of the internal parts, the fluid becomes thicker. As these
deposits are collected by the filter, the filter becomes clogged. These deposits also cause the internal parts to become
sluggish as they plug the clearances around the parts. Once the fluid is warmed up, there is a better chance of flow, but
the conditions mentioned should be used as a sign to change the fluid and filter.”
Since the GM400 has no drain plug, draining the fluid requires removing the pan. To remove the pan, the forward
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mounting bracket must be removed. Therefore, changing the fluid and filter in the GM400 transmission requires
complete removal of the transmission support -- see page 342. The correct reassembly of this system is not obvious, and
non-Jaguar (Aamco?) mechanics will often reassemble it incorrectly, and perhaps even omit some of the parts. Taking
this book along to the shop may be helpful; having an experienced Jaguar mechanic service your GM400 transmission
may be the best course of action.
Steve Kennedy adds worse news: apparently some shops have figured out that they can drain the fluid without removing
the transmission mount by simply bending the pan down. When all done, simply bend it back into place (probably with
some sealant, since you can’t replace the gasket this way), reinstall the bolts and refill. He suggests you question the
shop closely to make sure this isn’t what they have in mind.
This author once made a suggestion to replace the double-ended bolts at the rear end of the pan where the transmission
mount is attached with bolts and spacers. That way, perhaps the pan could be removed next time without disassembling
the transmission mount; just remove the bolts and slide the pan forward until the spacers fall out and the pan clears the
transmission mount. Patrick MacNamara responded: “When I got the Cat, someone had already replaced the double-
ended bolts with regular ones and spacers. The first time I changed the filter and gasket I tried the trick you describe. I
ended up with a leak at the back of the pan from too much compression and twisting trying to fit it back in place. There
is definitely enough room to slide forward and down but the replacement of the cork gasket and pan into the small space
spelled disaster. I did the job again two days later with the complete mount diassembly...”
If you’re doing this job at home, Brian Schreurs provides a procedure: “Prepare to get messy. I hope you have a nice
big drain pan.
“Remove the bolts along the back row. Loosen the rest of the bolts progressively from there: back side bolts a lot, front
bolts hardly at all. At some point as you keep progressively loosening the pan, the weight of the trans fluid will break
the gasket's seal and the pan will drop. Of course you were loosening the bolts progressively so the back edge of the pan
will drop rather further than the front, and most of the fluid will dump out the back where your drain pan is handy.
“Keep removing bolts progressively and the pan will keep tipping down, depositing more and more fluid into the drain
pan. As you get to the last few bolts there will not be very much fluid left to spill on you. (remember to do the bolts
progressively, you do not want the weight to be concentrated on the front of the pan too early, or you risk bending the
lip of the pan)
“As you undo the last few bolts with one hand, hold the pan in position against the trans with the other. Then carefully
lower the pan, only to suddenly discover that you missed a bolt, which unbalances the pan and dumps the remainder of
the fluid down your sleeve. Startled, you let go of the pan which is heavy enough to pull that last bolt free of the caked
gasket material; it drops into your drain pan and splashes the side of your face with Dexron III.
“After cleaning yourself off, see to it that you scrub the inside of the pan clean. Clean up the magnet too, and don't
forget to put it back in. Scrape the remains of the gasket off the trans and the pan. A gasket scraper works much better
than a screwdriver and is cheap. Change your filter even if it looks ok -- it is not. It never is. No matter how often you
change your trans filter, you do not change it enough.
“If you find little bits of metal in your trans pan that are large enough you can actually identify them as little bits of metal,
not just sludge, then count on something expensive needing to be repaced in the none-too-distant future.
“Getting the new gasket aligned right may seem like an impossible task, what with its odd shape and the fact that it was
no doubt balled up by the filter manufacturer. You'll find that the bolt holes are slightly undersize to provide a good seal
so if you jam 4 bolts (1 in each corner) through the pan & gasket ahead of time, the weight of the bolts will go a long
way in forcing it to keep its shape. Don't tighten any bolts till you have all of them started.”
Richard Chapman has a suggestion: “You can avoid alot of mess by pumping out the trans before you remove the pan;
this method does not get out all the fluid and leaves a bit less than 1" in the pan. This is enough to get it off cleanly if
you can keep it level. Method: disconnect the lower cooler line (beside the alternator) either at the trans pipe end or the
radiator end. Regardless the lower pipe from the trans is the outlet. The other end will dribble a bit, so have a plug
handy. Do whatever to run a tube from the lower line into a 1-2 gallon can. Run the engine at idle and the trans internal
oil pump will pump fluid into the container, when it starts to splutter, you're done - takes less than 1 minute.
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“Before doing this run the engine a few minutes if it has stood for a while. This will ensure there is some lube in the
trans. Do not rev the engine, idle only as the fluid returning from the cooler is used to lube the bearings in the trans and
with this all disconnected there is none.”
The lack of a drain plug is apparently deliberate; the designers wanted to ensure that mechanics would not change the
fluid without changing the filter. But it does make it very messy for the do-it-yourselfer to remove the pan. lan Jenks
reports that B&M Racing (see page 714) offers a drain plug kit (B&M #80250) which can be fitted while the pan is off.
Also, J. C. Whitney offers two replacement oil pans for the GM400 with drain plugs, one “original capacity” and one
that’s 1¼” deeper for “extra capacity”. They’re both chrome plated, and cost only about twenty bucks. Larry Barnes
reports that “...I purchased a J.C. Whitney chrome transmission oil pan (standard size) with a drain plug (“GM TH400
Original capacity”). It did not fit. Bolt pattern was correct, but the pan was not deep enough for the filter. So, if you
are thinking of getting the same pan, get the 1.25” deeper than original “extra capacity” oil pan.”
Steve Chatman retorts: “I ordered one of the chrome-plated over-size transmission pans from J. C. Whitney as
mentioned in The Book. At least with a Series II XJ12, it doesn't fit. The pan contacts the exhaust pipe and, even if you
try to insulate that, the bolts along one side would be inaccessible. I regret not ordering the regular size. Thinking back
to the comment in the book, the author said that it didn't fit over the filter, right? Well, neither does the original. I
believe that both push the filter up slightly.” Aaaargh! Maybe better just stick with the stock pan and add a drain plug
kit.
Peter Cohen says, “A few years ago, I was availing myself of the free half hour inspection that Jag dealers were doing to
try to bring in service revenue. The mechanic spotted the cork gasket on my oil pan, and commented on its
"aftermarket" nature. He said that the real Jag gaskets were better, because the cork tended to leak (mine was, in fact,
leaking in a minor way). Since then, I have used Jaguar trans pan gaskets, even though they cost more than the filter kit.
IMHO, it has been worth it.” Of course, if the cork gasket does the job... After all, there are a lot of Chevys out there
with transmissions that don’t leak.
The filter is held in place by the O-ring on the suction tube on one end, and a bolt at the other. This bolt is shouldered so
it cannot be tightened down on the filter, so the filter is free to rattle around a little. This is apparently deliberate; there
are no parts missing. Randy Wilson says “That bolt is shouldered for a reason, though I can not tell you exactly why.
All GM trannys of that general era use a floating filter that sort of lays in the bottom of the pan. At least the 400 has a
positive bolt. Others use a cheesy spring clip.”
FLUID LEAKS: Michael Pakonis looked for a leak for a while. “At first it looked like the pan gasket, so I changed the
gasket, refilled with fluid only to find it still leaking. After laying under the car with a rag and parts cleaner looking for
the leak, I found it, it was the detent solenoid plug in the side of the case; bad O-ring and the plastic plug work harden,
fell apart when I removed it. I would suggest anyone changing the pan gasket to replace this plug, GM Part number
8629503, $10.00.”
SHIFTING PROBLEMS: If your car isn’t upshifting properly, Robert Warnicke says, “One thing to check is what
happened to me. The little plastic elbow in the vacuum line to the modulator got too close to the pipes and melted
shut...”
Or, the modulator itself could be bad. Bill Freeman says, “the original vacuum modulators on the GM-400 transmission
get weak and will fail.” Being near hot exhaust components doesn’t help; see page 169.
GOVERNOR DRIVE GEAR FAILURE: I’ll let George Balthrop explain both the problem and the solution:
“PROBLEM: While cruising at 70, suddenly & without any noise or warning of any kind, the transmission kicked out of
top gear, and when I pressed the throttle, the engine just revved as if in Neutral. I coasted to a stop on the shoulder and
checked for transmission fluid leak -- level OK and nothing under car -- not wet. Got back in, and car would back up
normally, and pull forward normally, it just wouldn't upshift from 1st regardless of the selection: 1, 2 or D. It would
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freewheel in D or 2 when let off accelerator (no engine braking) so I limped back home via back roads.
“CAUSE: Nylon gear on shaft of governor had worn away in the middle of its length, where it rides on the metal gear
on the output shaft. This is believed to have been caused by rust buildup on the metal gear (above at-rest fluid level)
from the car sitting unused for several years. If the governor does not turn, its spool valve which is operated by
centrifugal force will never open to send fluid under pressure to the shift valves, so no upshift.
“FIX: The governor may be removed without getting under the car, accessed as follows:
1) Slide the right seat fully rearward & remove the carpet from the Right footwell floor;
2) Peel up the carpet & pad on the Right side of the transmission tunnel to expose the access cover, located just ahead of
the seat and approximately even with the shift lever.
3) Remove the access cover which is attached to the transmission tunnel sheet metal by 3 screws and 2 studs/nuts @
1/2". The uppermost screw is at the top & hidden by the carpet just below the leather console cap, but may be removed
with a #3 Phillips or Pozi-driv equivalent, without removing any part of the console.
4) Place a drain pan on the ground (not in the car) under the access opening & remove the four 1/2" bolts securing the
governor cover, on the right side of the transmission, above the right-rear corner of the transmission pan. All four bolts
may be removed using a 1/4" socket set with U-joint via the access cover opening. Remove the cover, & some fluid
may drain from the transmission case, but it shouldn't gush into the car.
5) The governor is the part just under the cover; grasp the top of this part and twist without pulling. If it turns, you have
found your problem. Now remove it by gently pulling as you twist. The governor should pull straight out through the
access hole. There is a nylon gear on the inboard end of the governor shaft. If this gear is worn so that the center is
dished or smaller diameter than either end to such an extent that the teeth are nearly gone in the center, then the
governor is not being turned by the output shaft gear and the shift valves never get pressure via the spool valve in the
governor.
6) Replace the nylon gear. I found a transmission parts & repair facility (County Transmissions in Vienna, VA) where
very nice & experienced personnel replaced my worn gear for $5 (no labor charge) took several minutes to explain how
the wear probably occurred (rust on output shaft gear) and even explained how to replace the gear again if this one goes
bad, and gave me a second replacement gear for another $5. Now that’s service!
7) Remove nylon gear by tapping out retaining split pin. Clean spool valve beneath & entire assembly. Fit new gear to
shaft, driving it fully home against the shaft end. Using a 1/8" drill bit, drill a hole for the split pin, half way through the
shaft of the new gear, then rotate and drill from the other side to meet the 1st half and finish the hole -- this to avoid the
shaft breaking. Tap in the new split pin and peen the ends to prevent slipping out.
8) Replace and top up with fluid as necessary, and smile when it upshifts. Carry that spare gear though, because there
are several possible causes for the original gear wearing, and the cause may still be present and do the same thing to the
new one. I figure several nylon gears ought to clean the rust off the metal output shaft gear though ;-)”
Balthrop advises that if your car won’t shift out of 1st, “It takes less than an hour to get to the governor (the first time
you do it--maybe 20 minutes once you've been there), so rather than mess with other tests, I would advise just pull it &
check it out.”
Martin Runneals adds: “The transmission mechanic that fixed mine said that it probably was caused by a worn bushing
on the output shaft. This allows the metal gear to skip and wear the plastic gear faster. The permanent fix would be to
replace the bushing. My '84 has been running fine for almost a year with the simple fix. Since the plastic gear is only $5,
I'll definitely pick up a spare gear.
“He also told me that the worm gears were made of brass at one point, but they would also strip. Then you would have
to clean the brass out of the teeth of the corresponding gear on the output shaft.”
KICKDOWN: Since there seems to be a lot of confusion about this term, I will first endeavor to define it. Kickdown
does not refer to the normal downshifting of the transmission due to increased throttle. Kickdown refers to the forced
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downshifting of the transmission by a very definite pressing of the accelerator pedal all the way to the floor, and pushing
it hard enough to operate a separate “snap” that the driver can feel when the pedal is moved the last quarter inch or so.
It is intended to be a distinct enough feel that the driver can easily choose whether he desires kickdown operation or
merely full throttle without kickdown.
In the case of the pre-1992 Jaguar with the GM400 transmission, kickdown is accomplished via a microswitch mounted
on the throttle cable attachment at the turntable. A photo of this microswitch can be seen at:
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/Microswitches.html
After the throttle is wide open and the turntable is against the stop, further pressing of the pedal can move the turntable
no more. Instead, the cable housing moves in the opposite direction against a very strong spring, strong enough to
ensure that the driver must really want it to move. When the cable housing moves against this spring, a microswitch
closes a contact sending current to a solenoid within the GM400. This solenoid causes the transmission to downshift
now. At any reasonable speed, it will downshift to at least 2nd; below 30 mph or so, it’ll downshift all the way to 1st,
and the engine will scream.
The results should be obvious and dramatic. Unfortunately, all too often this system doesn’t work, and the owner
doesn’t even know it; since the vacuum modulator will cause the transmission to downshift (gently!) under heavy
throttle, they presume that everything is OK. It is easy enough to check the kickdown operation, though.
The first thing to do is learn what that snap at full throttle feels like -- which can be tough if it doesn’t work! So, you’ve
got to check that operation first. With the car shut off, make sure pressing the accelerator hard operates the microswitch
on the throttle cable as it should.
If not, the mechanism might be jammed, and you’ll have to correct it before you can go any farther. David Peek says,
“This was quite an easy job given that I am a dedicated pen pusher with no socket set (yet). At the back (facing the
windscreen) of the housing holding the taper unit there is a small phillips head screw; remove it (be careful not to drop
it). This will release the spring which holds the taper in position (nothing falls out). A good dose of WD40 and a few
pulls on the throttle cable outer soon released it for me. Push the throttle cable outer back towards the housing to
compress the spring and put the small screw back in to retain.
“Apparently the best way of keeping it in working order is regular use of the kick down - what fun!”
Dennis Roberts says, “Flooring the throttle caused the sheath to slide and the switch to close, so I didn't understand why
it wouldn't downshift unless there was a problem with the transmission. Hoping to find a simpler solution, I put an
ohmmeter across the switch and saw that when the switch closed it still had a small resistance. Using my finger to move
the switch would cause the resistance to drop to zero. I concluded that the switch was really not closing all the way
until I pulled with my finger. So I examined how to adjust the movement of the sheath. First I lubed the sheath and
groove to see if this would cause the switch to close tighter; no change. So I adjusted the large nuts that attach the
cable/sheath to the bracket (same bracket that holds the switch). I moved the nuts closer to the end of the sheath,
tightening the cable. This caused the throttle to open farther with the same pedal position; and it caused the throttle to
hit the full open position before the pedal hit the floor. Further pressing on the pedal then caused the sheath to move
farther than it had before the adjustment. This caused the switch to close tighter than before and the resistance to drop
to nearly zero without help from a finger. Now the transmission downshifts every time I floor it without sticking my
foot through the floor.
“One word of caution: Be sure not to overtighten the cable since this will not allow the throttle to fully drop back to
idle. On mine this was a fairly close adjustment: Very little adjustment would cause the cable to be too tight to idle or
too loose to cause a downshift.”
There is, in fact, a common problem here. The throttle pedal consists of a steel bar that is bent at an angle with a pivot
at the corner. You push on one end of the bar with your foot, and the other end of the bar pulls the throttle cable
vertically downward. Unfortunately, spirited use of the kickdown feature has been known to bend that bar at the corner,
so that it is a wider angle than it should be. The result is the problem Roberts was facing above: pressing the pedal all
the way won’t operate the kickdown switch, because the pedal hits the rubber button on the floor first. If you just keep
adjusting the cable the way Roberts describes, you will eventually run out of adjustment altogether; it will become
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impossible to get kickdown and idle with the same adjustment.
The solution is simple enough: bend that throttle pedal back the way it’s supposed to be. Just crank the angle closed a
bit. Precision is not required, but it might help to take it out of the car and put it in a vice. It’s easy to remove. Of
course, once you’ve got it bent properly, it might just bend itself out of shape again. So, the author simply tied a piece
of steel wire between the two ends, positively preventing the angle from opening up.
Once you have the throttle pedal bent properly, Roberts’ contention that the cable adjustment is “a fairly close
adjustment” goes away. You’ll find you can adjust the cable all over the place and still get both idle and kickdown with
ease. It’s a good idea to adjust it so you get kickdown just as the pedal hits the button on the floor so you don’t
overstress anything stomping the throttle.
Oh, one other concern: sometimes you can’t get kickdown simply because the carpet has gotten out of place and is
keeping the throttle pedal from moving as far towards the floor as it should. Deal with it.
Once you’ve got that cable working properly, we can move on to actually road-testing the kickdown. Make sure you
know what it feels like to press the accelerator all the way without kickdown as opposed to with kickdown. Then, take
the car for a drive. If you have a hard time telling the difference between kickdown or no kickdown, it ain’t working.
There is nothing subtle or gentle about kickdown; it should provide a swift kick in the pants.
If the cable is moving the switch properly but the kickdown still doesn’t work, check fuse #5; there should be power to
the kickdown switch on the LG/W wire when the ignition is on.
Next, check that the kickdown switch itself makes good contact. Physical adjustment may be necessary, since problems
may be caused by the switch not positioned correctly or the roller arm bent. Obviously, the microswitch itself may be
defective; check it with a VOM. If it’s NFG, you can find a replacement microswitch -- complete with the little roller on
the lever -- at a good electronics supply house. It’s actually a standard configuration microswitch.
Next, check the inhibit switch on the shifter. One of the microswitches (hey, the car is covered with them) within the
console and operated by the cams on the shifter is a microswitch that closes only if the shifter is in D. This prevents the
operation of the kickdown solenoid in any gear other than D. Note that this same switch also prevents operation of the
cruise control in any gear other than D, and it does so by grounding a signal line from the cruise control through the
solenoid in the transmission! Problems with this inhibit switch may be mechanical in nature as well; it might not be
positioned properly for the cam to operate it reliably.
The next possibility, as Greg Meboe points out, may be that the wire at the transmission isn’t connected right. “The
kickdown connector on the outside of the transmission case had two separate connection points on it, in the shape of a
“T”. The vertical connector which “bisected” the horizontal connector was the kickdown one. I had been explicitly told
that the horizontal connector was the proper one to connect the kickdown wire to, so that’s what I did. When I took
apart the tranny, I saw that the horizontal connector went to what looked like some type of sender on the valve body,
whereas the vertical connector (which I hadn’t used), went to the kickdown solenoid.”
For the final test, it helps to be under the car with your ear near the transmission and all quiet in the area. Have an
assistant turn on the ignition, put the shifter in D, and operate the kickdown switch, and you should be able to hear the
solenoid within the transmission click. If there’s no click, make sure you are getting 12V at the wire to the connector; if
so, time to drop the pan and replace the solenoid.
Believe it or not, it can pass all those tests and still not work. It’s possible for the solenoid within the GM400 to audibly
click and yet not provide a kickdown. Tony Bryant says, “The solenoid in my trans would click, but the screen inside it
was blocked. A rinse in kerosene fixed that. Also gave an opportunity for a well needed fluid and filter change.”
Mark Johnson says, “Seems there's a small screen and a seal in the solenoid assembly, and on mine, lots of hot stop-and-
go traffic before I bought the car apparently had cooked the seal. The result was that the seal cracked and fell out,
allowing fluid to seep past it all the time. I finally found the problem and bought a new part at the Chevy dealer - presto!
Like getting a new transmission. If you get the click but still have kickdown problems, you might want to check this
out.”
Richard Mansell quotes from a Jaguar publication on the changes for the 1992 model year:
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“The kickdown switch is no longer located in the underbonnet area but is changed to the XJ6 type and is positioned under the
accelerator pedal.”
PLAYING GAMES WITH THE KICKDOWN: Hey, that kickdown switch just connects two wires together and the
transmission drops into a lower gear. Give you any ideas?
Al Askevold says, “My kickdown on my '90 never worked most of the time and clicked back off when it did engage.
Throttle cable stretch or bad machining on the indent for the switch roller I do not know but I gave up on adjustments
and tried a mod that another lister sent in.
“Very simple mod, just mount the switch on top of the mounting plate and run the switch off the throttle rod. Very
adjustable and I have my kickdown at just over 3/4's so I now have a normal passing gear when needed and a solid full
throttle kick in the pants.”
Matthias Fouquet-Lapar has another idea: “Simply add a button in parallel to the kick-down switch of the GM400. You
can mount it where the two switches of the power windows are, and if your arm is on the centre console, you hand
really "falls" on it.
“If you push it, it's like a full-throttle kick-down for the transmission, so the normal protection should work. You don't
need the shifter to find you pushing it into 'R' at 60mph :-)
“And it's really nice. If you want to bypass, click (and hold down) just 1 second before and then push. It really makes a
lot of fun. In normal driving situations you have almost always enough time for this gear change, and then you really
have the power. I'm even thinking to get this into the steering wheel, so I don't need to take the hands of the wheel.
Maybe I'll use the horn contaacts. Hey, this car really has power!!”
Steve Gallant suggests putting a switch in parallel with the kickdown switch -- the kind of switch that you turn on and
leave on, not just a momentary button. “The kickdown solenoid changes the shift characteristics of the transmission.
The reason most people think that the kickdown solenoid always forces a downshift is because to engage the switch in
the first place, you have to depress the throttle all the way to the floor. And this does indeed force the downshift, but
only because vacuum is sufficiently low to do so.
“Activating the kickdown solenoid all by itself (i.e., without depressing the throttle) does not cause a downshift, because
vacuum pressure is unchanged. You still must hit the throttle, thus reducing vacuum to force a downshift. However,
activating the solenoid changes the pressure at which a downshift will occur, so closing the parallel kickdown switch
makes the throttle more sensitive. Meaning that downshifts will occur with smaller throttle changes, or at a lower 'rate'.
The downshift does not occur at a fixed point, because it depends on the how fast you increase the throttle. If you
accelerate slowly, pressure does not change too fast and normal shifting occurs, but hit it, and you cross the pressure
threshhold resulting in a downshift.
“And if you do everything gently, you get upshifts (and no downshifts) just as you would without the switch
engaged...but it will downshift with less movement and hold a lower gear to a higher rpm. When you get tired of this
'sportiness' you can just disengage the switch. It's that simple.
“Anyway, best thing for you to do is just give it a try. Close the switch with a jumper wire and drive around.”
Justin Pashley: “I would just like to tell you how to make a neat job of the button. I got the bits from a local scrap yard
who currently have a 1989 XJ-S convertible. I used the electric window plastic switch plate that has space for an extra
button for the convertible roof (the XJ-S with a sunroof has the same plate). I also used the cruise control button from
the same year of car as the switch to enable / disable the sport mode. Note, this will only work from 1987 car onwards
as the earlier car did not have this switch surround.
“The whole job cost me £2.50 and took 10 minutes to fit.”
VALVE BODY REMOVAL: Tom Bennett passes on this tip, which he claims to have gleaned from a Chilton’s: “If
you leave the solenoid bolted and then undo the valve body bolts about an 1/8" and gently push on the steel spacer edges
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so that it just separates from the valve body, it is possible to remove the transmission valve body without the check balls
flying out! When you remove it completely the steel spacer stays in place and so do the balls.”
GOT BALLS? Some GM400 transmissions have six check balls in the valve body, and some have seven. Note that the
versions with seven balls, apparently 1987 on, also use different valve body gaskets. Compare your new gaskets to the
old gaskets very carefully to make sure you have the right ones.
CHEAP GM ACCUMULATOR: Sandy Gibbs reports, “My tranny (GM400, 1987 XJ-S) went belly up. I took it to
the shop for a rebuild. The mechanic showed me a small plastic cuplike looking thing which he said had caused my
transmission to burn up. He claimed this piece (called the accumulator) was usually the problem when a GM400 dies.
This information was confirmed by the owner of the parts place (which deals exclusively in transmission parts) where I
bought all my parts for the rebuild. GM knows about the problem and now supplies an aluminum accumulator which
won’t break. It seems to me that anyone who plans to have some transmission work done anyway might want to invest
in a new accumulator.”
Thomas Alberts adds, “You are talking about an accumulator piston. One of the two accumulators has a plastic piston
that can fracture with fatigue after high miles. It is a common failure mode. The piston breaks leaving a 1/2” hole that
hydraulically “shorts out” parts of the transmission logic and leads to clutch packs burning up. It prevents kickdown and
can cause second and (I think) first gear to engage simultaneously forcing one of the clutches to slip in second. It is
pretty easy to replace the piston with the transmission in the car. It involves removal of the oil pan and valve body. I
wouldn’t advise everyone to rush out and do this, but if you are ready to replace filter and fluid it would be worth the
extra effort to put in the aluminum piston.”
Greg Meboe had this problem: “As I was lowering the valve body, I could feel there was some spring force trying to
push it down on me. When the last thread disengaged, the valve body sprung down and stuff went flying. Turns out the
plastic accumulator piston had been broken, which is why there was a spring force pushing down on the valve body.”
Steve Barker tells all about doing this repair yourself: “NAPA supplies a plastic replacement. The GM dealer said he
can get the part, (parts departments don't actually stock parts anymore) the GM part is 8626883 about $20. I called a
transmission shop and he had the aluminum part, a valve body gasket and a 6 ball and 7 ball valve plate gasket and
photocopied a ball location sheet and gave me some hints, all for 21 bucks.
“When you drop the valve body, leave the two bolts in that hold the solenoid. This will hold a plate in place that holds
the balls. The two tubes on the valve body just slide into two drillings in the casing, there are no seals to replace.
Because the plate that is held in place by the solenoid bolts will have separated from the case, it is possible that the
gasket will be damaged. There are two different gaskets, one for a 6 ball unit and one for a 7 ball unit. Mine (89) is a 7
ball.
“Holding the plate up, remove the two bolts, let the solenoid dangle and keeping the plate level, put it in a clean level
spot. Now remove the old gasket from the case and discard. Put the 6 or 7 ball gasket on the plate and to hold the balls
in place while you reinstall the plate, put a dab of petroleum jelly that has been in the freezer on each ball. Then you can
replace the plate and hold it with the same two solenoid bolts. Keep those two bolts loose and run a couple of bolts into
their holes to align the gasket before you tighten the solenoid bolts.
“The piston is mounted in the back of the valve body. It's kind of confusing in that there is a servo piston assy on page
44-20 that goes in the case; this isn't the one. (The page numbers refer to The XJS Service Manual 4 volume set with
the Ed2 supplement.) The one we're after is item 34 of the Control Valve Assembly diagram on page 44-18. You push
the piston all the way in (watch it or it will spit fluid at you), and remove the c-ring and withdraw the piston.
“Installation is the reverse. To put the valve body back in, it helps to put two of the 5/16" bolts through and hold them
to keep the valve body gasket in place. You also might have to jiggle it a little to get the two tubes into their bores. I
managed to do the job without dropping the balls but you would definitely want a tub under there to catch them if you
tip the plate.”
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BAND ADJUSTMENT: Huh? There is no band adjustment on the GM400! Pekka Eklund clarifies: “You can adjust
the bands on GM400. You just drop the pan and the valve block. Then you have access to the accumulators. Open
them carefully and you'll find piston and "conrod", I don't know the right word for that stick.
“Jaguar did offer at least 3 different length sticks for GM400. By making this stick longer (I welded mine) you can
adjust the band. When you have the accumulator open, consider a change in the piston ring material too. That should
not be made of teflon, because it will leak after few thousand miles and allows the band to slip.
“The stick has the right length when the drive shaft turns when you push the accumulator piston up. And you should not
be able to turn the drive shaft by hand then.”
SPEED SELECTOR CABLE TRUNNION MOUNT: This is the little bracket that holds the shift cable housing to the
transmission housing. The bolt that holds the trunnion mount to the tranny housing goes in from above, and cannot be
removed from underneath the car. The only way to remove it is to remove the console, shifter mechanism, and a panel
underneath to get at the bolt. It is suggested that if you ever have an opportunity, cut a hole in the panel inside the
console and fit it with a rubber plug or cover, so the trunnion mount bolt can be removed by simply lifting the console
cover (three screws) and removing the rubber plug.
If you are trying to remove the engine/transmission assembly and must disconnect the speed selector cable, the above
trunnion mount problem may appear to be a real holdup. It is not, however. The attachment of the swivel joint to the
end of the cable is a removable clamped-on device. Simply loosen the two hexes from each other, and the entire joint
slides off the end of the cable. Then the cable can be slid through the trunnion, allowing the removal of the
engine/transmission from the car.
KEEPING THE TRANSMISSION COOL: Greg Meboe: “One other thing I did to prolong the life of this box was to
insulate the metal oil cooler lines which run 1 cm. away from the RH catalyst. I used a multi-ply aluminum foil wrapped
and stapled over loose fiberglass cloth weave.”
In the May 1995 issue of Australian Jaguar Magazine, John Pearson says “Most Jaguar engines run fairly warm...and
transmissions prefer cool running, so you may consider incorporating a neatly positioned transmission oil cooler...This is
especially recommended on V12 powered cars with the GM T400 ‘box...”
In stock form, the GM400 is kept cool by a heat exchanger in the end tank of the radiator -- the same setup used in
many other automobiles. It seems plausible that this method is used to take advantage of the thermostatic control of the
engine temperature; since the engine won’t run cold because the thermostats won’t let it, the transmission won’t run
cold either. If this is the case, then it might make sense to install any additional transmission coolers in the line before
the heat exchanger in the radiator, so that the heat exchanger can still control the transmission fluid temperature -- by
heating the fluid if necessary, which would mean that the added transmission cooler becomes an engine cooler.
Bill Fernandez says this isn’t so: “There is no such thing as too cold for an automatic, the colder the better. Routing
the trans lines through the radiator first and then through the cooler and back to the trans box will work just fine.
Routing the lines from the transmission to the cooler only and back will also work just fine.
“Some may think that a cooler is unnecessary in the XJ-S; I beg to differ for several reasons. A trans cooler is a must in
the XJ-S for long dependable transmission life.”
Fernandez puts considerable blame on the catalytic convertors. “These buggers generate a huge amount of heat and
nearly lay on the sides of your transmission, cooking the fluid and baking the clutches.”
Of course, one major factor in the durability of the GM400 in the XJ-S is undoubtedly the fact that the engine is prone to
overheating -- which means the transmission is as well, since their operating temperatures are linked at the radiator.
Getting the engine temperatures under control would go a long way towards making the transmission last longer.
See the note on transmission overheating on page 324.
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SOFT SHIFTS: Yes, those gentle shifts are suitable for the Jaguar image of luxury. Unfortunately, they are apparently
to blame for the GM400’s poor durability record in this application. Per Jim Cantrell: “Old transmission types know
this phenomenon well. Take a cadillac with the same transmission as a truck and the cadillac will last half as long. You
can tell when you pull the pans on those bux luxury cars - lots of transmission dust in the bottom (clutch wear). Seems
that grandma and grandpa would rather have to replace the transmission every now and then than to have their tushes
bumped during shifts. I guess that this allows them to have a deeper sleep while careening down the highway.”
If durability is more important to an XJ-S owner than the gentle shifts, use of alternative fluids (see page 327), boosting
the line pressure (see below) or installation of a “shift kit” may be in order.
RAISING THE LINE PRESSURE: Tim Blystone sends this idea in response to the suggestion of using Type F fluid on
page 327: “The F-Type fluid is somewhat thinner and is supposed to allow the tranny to shift faster and more positively.
It does no harm and neither have I ever been able to see any good it does either. I would rather use Dexron 3, remove
the pump and replace the pump pressure spring with a new red spring. Used in Corvettes. This will raise line pressure
and make the whole thing shift more positive.”
GM400 TRANSMISSION MODS: Helpful sources include B&M Racing (page 714), TCI (page 720), and Turbo
Action (page 720).
GM400 TRANSMISSION SHIFT POINT MOD #1: The 5.3 liter Jaguar V12 was designed prior to the fuel crunch of
1973 and has “over-square” engine dimensions -- the bore (90 mm) is considerably larger than the stroke (70 mm).
Such a design is conducive to high performance at high RPM and is therefore ideal for racing applications, but results in
poor low end torque. However, to optimize fuel economy, it is best if an engine is turning rather slowly, so the stock
GM400 automatic transmission is set up to keep the V12 in the RPM range where its performance is poorest.
The point at which the GM400 shifts is determined primarily by a governor that responds to engine RPM, and is varied
by two things: 1) a vacuum modulator that makes the car upshift promptly when vacuum is high (light throttle); 2) an
electrical switch on the throttle linkage that forces the tranny to downshift, and remain in lower gears until 5000 RPM,
when the pedal is pressed all the way to the floor (“kickdown”).
The vacuum modulator is a bolt-on device on the right side of the transmission. Some of these modulators are adjustable
by removing the vacuum hose and inserting a straight blade screwdriver into the vacuum fitting. Turning the adjustment
changes the preload on the spring, therefore altering the shift points.
The vacuum modulators are available in several sizes, and since they are a standard GM part, are found in any auto parts
store for reasonable prices. In general, the smaller they are, the more vacuum required to make the tranny upshift, so the
longer the car will remain in the lower gears. Of course, it is recommended that you make sure to buy one that is
adjustable.
Alan Jenks “fitted a B&M adjustable vacuum modulator (B&M #20234). This fits all TH400’s.”
Rather than buying a smaller modulator, Greg Meboe modified his existing one: “I needed to increase the spring
pressure against the diaphragm. I did this by collapsing the modulator body around part of the spring in a vise,
effectively shortening the working length of the spring. I imagine I took about 30% of the travel out of the spring. This
had the effect of increasing the effective spring rate. The vacuum modulator modifications produce an upshift between
500 and 1500 rpm’s higher than before, depending on throttle position.”
GM400 TRANSMISSION SHIFT POINT MOD #2: For absolute maximum performance, shift points should be
selected that surround the peak on the horsepower curve -- without exceeding the redline, of course. The engine should
be allowed to run past the power peak, so that when shifting the engine doesn’t drop back too far below the power
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peak.
The published stats rate the Jaguar V12 at 5000 RPM. With the large steps between gears on a three-speed
transmission, the engine should be taken to the redline of 6500 before shifting to optimize performance.
The GM400 slushomatic transmission, of course, was designed with the 1950’s-design pushrod V8 in mind. Not only
does it normally shift at relatively low rpm, it absolutely refuses to allow the engine to rev beyond 5000 rpm; it will shift
at this point even if you have selected low gear with the lever. The above modification to the vacuum modulator will not
affect the limit where the GM400 will force a shift.
The governor assembly is contained under a sheet metal cover on the right rear side of the transmission, and there is an
access cover under the carpet of the XJ-S to get to it. If you remove the governor and grind a little weight off of each of
the counterweights, the engine will shift at higher RPM under all conditions. This modification will allow the engine to
run faster than 5000 RPM, where the stock GM400 will force a shift no matter what.
It may make sense to modify the governor as described, and install a large vacuum modulator to keep the light-throttle
shifts at a reasonable RPM.
According to Chad Bolles, the GM400 in the 1991-92 XJ-S was programmed differently than earlier cars, providing
higher RPM shifts under power, better downshifting, and holding low gear forever if the shifter is held in 1st. It may be
possible to retrofit the changes into earlier cars (replace the governor, etc.) or to buy the later transmission and retrofit it.
GM400 TRANSMISSION SHIFT POINT MOD #3: If you want serious performance from your XJ-S, install one of
the many available “shift kits” for the GM400. Keep in mind when you select your kit that your objective is to allow
higher RPM shift points at full throttle (when the kickdown switch on the throttle cable is activated) or when manually
shifting; High RPM shifts when taking it easy are of little benefit and will hurt fuel economy and passenger comfort.
Many shift kits offer more firm shifting, some shift at redline at all times (!) and some even render your car a 3-speed
manual.
Most shift kits can be installed by simply lowering the pan from the transmission and removing the valve body within.
Replace a few springs and the like, and reassemble. See the notes on page 326 regarding the differences between pre-
and post-1988 GM400 transmissions.
Alan Jenks reports on a “‘Shift Improver Kit’ from B&M Racing to the Turbo Hydromatic 400 automatic transmission.
There are two kits, one for pre-1988 TH400 (B&M #20260) and one for post-1988 (B&M #20261). The kit can be
fitted in two forms, either ‘heavy duty’ (stage 1) or ‘street/strip’ (stage 2). Stage 1 provided firmer shifting without
compromising the quality of the ride, which is what I wanted.”
Per Chad Bolles: B&M makes a product called a Transpak, “with this you can set up the trans to shift like you want,
from very hard, to normal street.” B&M also makes a Racing Kit, “this is a race very hard shift kit (neck snapping).”
Finally, in what should probably be listed as GM400 Transmission Mod #3A, there is a replacement valve body. “The
B&M valve body changes the shift pattern to 123NRP instead of PRN321.”
Jim Hall says, “I installed a TransGo competition shift kit recently. In addition to very positive shifting, it has the added
benefit of allowing downshifts to 2 and L at any speed. I'm delighted with it.”
Jim Cantrell says, “The TH400 in modified form normally has a whine in first gear. This is the planetary gears. I don't
really understand why, but installing a shift kit seems to increase the whining. It is considered normal behavior and at
least on the one I have, has gone nearly 100k miles with no problems.”
Jan Wikström had his local tranny shop “lock up the freewheel on 1st gear, which gives me respectable engine braking
and a better “feel” in the really low-speed twisty bits. Caution: it’s now possible to engage 1st at any speed...”
Paul Burke reports on “some information regarding "tweaking" of the GM400 box. It describes removal of four of the
six balls, shift improver plate (different valve body transfer plate) and plugging one of the passages. The article was in
Musclecar Review, February/March 1997 starting on page 58.”
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TORQUE CONVERTOR REPLACEMENT: First off, you might wish to note Roger Bywater’s comments on the
stock GM400 torque convertor on page 33.
There are torque convertors available that have a higher “stall speed”, which sorta means they engage at a higher RPM.
This is wonderful for the Jaguar V12, but does require removing the tranny to change. According to Thomas E. Alberts,
“B&M tells you to try for 500-750 RPM less than the RPM at peak torque.”
Michael Kenrick reports that the torque convertor from a 3.8 Buick Regal Turbo can be used to provide a more suitable
stall speed.
According to Chad Bolles, the later model XJ-S uses the HI-Stall convertor. “It is the same converter used in the 427
L-88 and LS6 and LS7 Chev, flash stalls around 2600-2800rpm, the difference being the Jaguar converter has 6 lugs on
it where the Chev has 3.” He adds that a Chevy convertor may be used in the Jag, leaving the other three bolt holes
unused. Reportedly, some GM torque convertors use six bolts as well.
Bolles also explains the difference between stall speed and “flash stall”. Stall speed is the RPM the engine runs at
continuously if the brake is held and the accelerator is floored in gear. Note: this is very hard on the equipment, and
causes a lot of heat in the transmission; such tests should only be done for a couple seconds, and the car should be driven
around at normal speeds for a while afterward to allow the transmission fluid cooler in the radiator to cool the
transmission back down. “Flash Stall, hold the brake, trans in gear, quickly mash the acc pedal, watch the Tach, it will
flash to about 2500-2800 rpm, but if you just hold the brake and ease the acc pedal down the converter will not reach
the same rpm before it tries to spin the rear tyres. Don’t ask me why, I just know that that’s how it works.”
GM400 RATIO CHANGE: Thomas E. Alberts says, “...I agree that the standard gearset is poorly matched to the
XJ-S... Note that the modified gearsets, like TCI’s, lower the second gear ratio as well as first. Observe:
TH 400 TCI gearset
1st 2:48 2:75
2nd 1:48 1:57
3rd 1 1
I think it would make a very nice improvement and without any sacrifice of top end speed.”
ADDING OVERDRIVE TO THE GM400: John Goodman has heard about “overdrive units manufactured by
American Overdrive Inc. designed for autoboxes, GM400 included? This effectively changes your GM400 into a six
speed.
“Two possibilities here would give much better acceleration. The unit can be supplied with the internals reversed so you
have underdrive first, underdrive second and underdrive top. Or install a lower axle ratio and leave the overdrive in and
switch it out for “Sport Mode”.”
ALTERNATIVE TRANSMISSIONS
TH700R4: One way to deal with the shortcomings of the GM400 or BW12 is to replace it with the more modern
TH700R4. One large benefit is that the TH700R4 will provide much better performance from a standing start: the
torque convertor provides a larger effective reduction, and first gear is much lower than the GM400’s 2.40:1. Plus, it
has four gears, including an overdrive 4th. The overdrive 4th can enable the installation of a lower final drive ratio,
making the get-up-and-go better still without sacrificing the top end cruise.
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John’s Cars (page 717) provides the adapter hardware necessary to fit the TH700R4 to the Jaguar V12 5.3. Scott
Horner says that Dellow (page 715) does as well, and Chad Bolles of Jaguar South (page 717) announced his adapter:
“Just think, XJ-S'ers: 30% lower rpm at 80 mph -- that means about 1900 rpm. Gas mileage up around 20 to 30%. 0-
60 times in the 6 second bracket. Tyre smoke from the stoplite. A loss of about 30 to 50 lbs by getting rid of the Turbo
400.” XK’s Unlimited (page 697) offers a “conversion kit”.
If you have the ‘94-on 6.0 V12, you probably don’t need an adapter; the TH700R4 will probably bolt right up, since
those engines have a standard Chevy bolt pattern. You probably aren’t as interested in the swap, though, since the 6.0
also comes with the improved 4-speed GM400 and enough torque for respectable takeoffs.
MANUAL TRANSMISSION: The shift points, cruise speed RPM, fuel economy and top end can all be optimized by
replacing the GM400 or BW12 with a manual transmission. This is a major task requiring the installation of flywheel,
bell housing, clutch, clutch pedal, console modifications, speedometer fiddling, etc. Changing the final drive ratio
(differential gears) should be considered, since 5- and 6-speeds generally have an overdrive top gear and the final drive
ratio is already tall enough.
Jaguar did make a few XJ-S’s with a 4-speed manual transmission, but these were early cars. The transmission and
clutch were similar to those used in the SIII E-Type, but those cars are valuable today. Trying to obtain the hardware
needed to convert your XJ-S to a manual transmission from either source is likely to be difficult and expensive.
Besides, you end up with only 4 gears. For most people, it makes more sense to adapt a modern 5- or 6-speed from
some other model car.
The author of this book has performed this modification on his car, using a 5-speed Borg-Warner NWC transmission
from a Camaro and making a lot of components from scratch. Now such a task is much easier, because you can
purchase many of the necessary components or even entire kits for this conversion. General info for those
considering such mods follows, much of it provided by Mike Frank.
There are five transmissions commonly considered. One is the Borg-Warner NWC 5-speed, which comes in
Camaros, Mustangs, and several other vehicles; it has an integral shifter (no external linkage), and there are a couple
different locations for this shifter. Reportedly the Mustang shifter configuration is better for the XJ-S than the
Camaro configuration. This tranny is adequate for a stock XJ-S V12 but may be marginal if extensive engine mods
are done. There are lots of ratios available.
There are 5-speed conversion kits using the “JT5” transmission, which is supposedly the same thing as a BW NWC only
different. Only conversions for E-types and other older Jaguars are mentioned, but since the E-type SIII V12 is
included, it may be possible to figure something out for the XJ-S. JT5 kits are offered by Terry’s Jaguar (page 696) and
Vicarage (page 704).
Another possibility is the Borg-Warner 6-speed used in the Dodge Viper and the later Firebird, Camaro and Corvette
models. It has some advanced features such as carbon composite synchros. This is a massive tranny, and will probably
handle whatever a Jag V12 can be made to dish out. There are a wide variety of ratios available.
The third possibility is a Getrag 5-speed. It is supposedly also adequate for all conceivable uses. The Getrag is a novelty
in the US, but is reportedly fairly common in Europe. SNG Barratt (page 696) offers kits using this transmission; again,
only E-types are mentioned, but the SIII V12 is included.
The fourth possibility is the Tremec 5-speed, described by Jim Swarr: “Tremec is owned by Dana Corporation which is
well known worldwide for its transmissions and rear axles. The Tremec 3550 and TKO is their performance line of
transmissions. Tremec made the famous Ford “top loader” 4-speed. This is a modernized version of that with an
overdrive. It has a heavy duty aluminum case, rollerized gears and internal rail shifter. The gear ratios are 3.27, 1.98,
1.35, 1 and .68 . The only gear ratio option is a .82 overdrive. It is a very strong transmission; I have one in a
customer’s 750 hp drag car. I would suggest that you use the TKO because it has a bigger input shaft and output shaft.
A bellhousing needs to be fabricated (welding a plate to a stock bell) for your car to fit a Ford transmission, or if you can
adapt it for a Chevy 4-speed I can convert the Tremec to fit into the Chevy bell. If you have any more questions please
call me at 610-489-4029 anytime after 10:30AM EST.”
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Concerned about the toploader’s reputation for notchy shifting, Inder Singh says, “In a followup question on the subject,
Mr. Swarr assures me that Tremec has made a number of improvements to its shifting characteristics.”
Keisler Automotive Engineering & Electric (page 718) offers a kit using the Tremec TKO, and Conversion Components
Ltd. (page 715) offers a Tremec kit.
The fifth possibility is the Toyota Supra transmission -- but apparently there is confusion about which Toyota Supra
transmission. There are three general types. The first type is generally referred to as the W58, although technically there
were W55, W57, W58, and W59 transmissions differing chiefly in ratio only. This transmission is described as “an all-
alloy case 5-speed and can be distinguished by 9 bolts and 2 dowels holding the box to its bellhousing.” There are four
possible stick positions: 18”, 19”, 20-1/2” and 21”, as measured from the front of the box.
If you get your own Supra W58 tranny from a junkyard, note that before installation it is recommended to remove the
front cover of the transmission which holds the input shaft bearing and the input end of the layshaft and replace the light-
duty layshaft bearing with a generic industrial-duty bearing of the same size -- a five-minute job. Reportedly the bearing
that’s in there has 8 balls, and the generic bearing will have 12. Winston Good reports: “After much trouble I thought I
should include the part number that I found to do this 5 minute job: KOYO BLO6307NR C3. The box I got says 6307.
I believe the NSK number is HR6307NX. All the specs are at the NSK website. Mine took longer than 5 minutes since
the press is at the machine shop.”
Dellow (page 715), sells kits to install a W58 in a Jaguar. Note that, despite the fact that Dellow is located in Australia,
getting all the hardware needed from them might still be cheaper than buying the transmission itself locally.
Dellow also offers some Supra 4-speed boxes.
Conversion Components, Ltd. (page 715), also offers 5-speed kits using Toyota Supra gearboxes. They modify the
shifter location to make it more ideal for installation in the Jaguar.
There is also some history of the Toyota “steel case” 5-speed from Celicas, Crowns, Coronas, Cressidas, etc., being
used in Jaguars with success, even though it is described as not quite as strong as the Supra. This tranny has 7 bolts
holding it to the bellhousing.
W58 transmissions have a long and glorious history of successful use in Jaguars with 6-cylinder engines. They have also
been used behind V12’s and the owners have been happy with them -- at least, up until they broke. There are reports of
failure. If a V12 has a Supra transmission behind it that hasn’t broken yet, the W58 may in fact be up to the task, or
maybe the owner has just been lucky so far -- or maybe it isn’t a W58. Which brings us to the second type of Toyota
Supra transmission.
According to Tony Bryant, the W58 was only used in non-Turbo Supras and a 2L Twin Turbo model sold only in Japan.
From 1986 to 1993, the 2.5L Twin Turbo and 3L Turbo were fitted with the R154 transmission. “The R154 has huge
& wide gears. It has inch deep ribbing all over the case. It is 50% heaver than the W58. Makes the W58 looks like a
dinky toy. There is no parts interchangeability. Not even close. I've had them both apart at the same time. A friend
with a Tremec came over to have a look. He said the Tremec has noticably smaller gears.”
The third type of Supra transmission is the V161 six-speed used on the 3L Twin Turbo from 1993 on. Bryant: “The
V161 is different again, apparently even stronger than the R154.”
So, if you’re considering putting a Supra transmission in your XJ-S, there are people that will suggest a W58
transmission and even outfits that will sell you a kit to use one. But, really, if you’re going to that level of effort and
expense, it really only makes sense to insist upon the R154 or V161.
Once you decide on a tranny, there are details to deal with. John Napoli tells us about Tilton (page 720): “They cater to
the racers. They sell a full range of bellhousings for the V12 that accept popular manual transmissions. You can even
get a small-diameter, multi-plate clutch with a small, reverse-rotation, gear reduction starter that mounts backwards on
the bellhousing, alongside the transmission. Imagine -- starter changes in the XJ-S without removing exhaust pipes, and
from inside the car!! Be still my heart.”
Jaguar made a lot of manual transmission XJ-S’s -- with the AJ6 engine. Still, maybe some parts would be helpful for
the V12 conversion. Chad Bolles reports, “The pedal box from the 5sp XJ-S will fit any XJ-S, but the problem is it will
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only work on an XJ-S with ABS, and I have found no way to make it work on a non-ABS car.” Aaargh! Note that that
AJ6-powered XJ-S existed in Europe before the advent of ABS brakes, so perhaps there is still a possibility there.
Vintage Jaguar Works (page 697) offers a pedal box with clutch pedal and master cylinder.
AJ6 Engineering (page 713) suggests that the ECU needs the overrun cutoff disabled “to avoid driveline shunt at low
speed.” AJ6 Engineering also can remap the fuelling to deal with wide open throttle below 2000 rpm -- a situation that
simply cannot exist with the A/T so the original map may not have been optimized all that well in this realm.
One final note: The mid-80’s US-spec XJ-S EFI operates in closed-loop mode in D and in open-loop in P or N.
There’s a reason for this; it can develop an unstable idle in closed-loop without the load of the torque convertor. If you
install a manual transmission, you may need to operate in open-loop all the time (which is terrible for fuel economy) or
find some other way to switch from open-loop to closed-loop. Or, you can operate in closed-loop all the time and work
to minimize the idle instability; upgrading to 3-wire oxygen sensors might help. Adjusting the idle mixture trim on the
ECU may help.
TRANSMISSION MOUNT
Yes, the transmission mount in the Jaguar XJ-S deserves its own section in this book. This mount would have made
Rube Goldberg proud. The design utilizes a spring to take the weight of the transmission, as opposed to the rubber
supports used on most cars. It also has a vertical post assembly containing a “special washer with rounded edges”
within a rubber bushing. This assembly allows a very limited range of motion: some vertical travel to allow the spring to
work via the post assembly sliding up and down within the bushing; very little horizontal or axial travel, since the special
washer fits snugly within the bushing; and a little tilting (torque reactions) via the special washer behaving as a ball joint
within the rubber bushing.
The desire to use a spring doesn’t adequately explain the complexity of this assembly, however. It’s possible that there
was also a safety objective. In the 70’s Volvo was advertising that their transmission mounts would guide the engine
under the car in a front-on collision instead of the engine coming into the passenger compartment, and perhaps Jaguar
had similar intentions in mind. The part that connects to the bottom of the center post is sometimes called a “collision
plate”, although it’s also called a “tie plate”. Perhaps crash safety is a plausible explanation for the complexity, but it’s
certainly not obvious how this design makes the car any safer in a crash.
Note: If you disassemble the mount and lower the transmission significantly, Thomas E. Alberts suggests you take care
that the top of the engine does not damage the heater valve.
If you have the mount apart, consider servicing the driveshaft U-joints while you’re there. See page 348.
RUBBER BUSHING & SPRING CUP REPLACEMENT: Finding the rubber bushing (CAC3227) or the rubber spring
cups (CBC2517) in place and intact appears to be a rare occurrence. They are often missing, damaged or mislocated,
evidence of previous mechanics working in the area who didn’t understand how the support goes together. Even if the
parts were installed properly, they are often severely deteriorated, sometimes to the point where there’s little evidence
they were ever there beyond a puddle of rubbery goo in the bottom of the spring support. Some people claim their
original parts were made of foam rubber, but apparently this is a material breakdown of the solid British rubber that
makes it crumble so as to appear to be a deteriorating foam material.
To properly install a new rubber bushing requires removal of the spring support; you cannot simply jam the rubber
bushing in from below. With the spring support removed, install the rubber spool into the center boss so that one lip of
the spool is on top of the support and one lip is within the recessed opening on the bottom. It should be securely
snapped in place in the boss.
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If you are disgusted with the lack of durability of the spring cups, you can easily make substitutes by slitting rubber or
vinyl tubing lengthwise and slipping it over the end coils. Note that there are supposed to be spring cups on both ends of
the spring, but apparently the upper one is difficult to get in so mechanics leave it out. John Whitford, installing a new
CCC6759 spring, says, “There were seats on both ends of the spring I pulled out. The top one had been badly mangled
by the motion. I left off the top seat when I refit the spring. I tried to fit it (by itself) around the raised part of the spring
retainer and it was stretched and distorted when I got it all the way around. I'm sure the spring popped out of the old
one and then chopped it up. Everything went back together just like the book and as of the first test, I'm clunkless.”
Maybe the new spring was designed long enough to be used without the upper cup.
Paul Hackbart notes that John’s Cars (page 717) offers replacement bushings and spring cups: “The transmission mount
bushing from John's Cars is no different in design. Both the bushing and the cup at the end of spring are for sale in
polyurethane.” Polyurethane would seem too stiff for the bushing, but LaRue Boyce says, “I put in the John's Car
bushing last month and it works great.” Since this bushing must be squished to be installed in the support boss, having it
made of something as stiff as polyurethane would obviously make it more difficult to install. Boyce adds, “...it is a little
difficult. I tried a vice, etc., but the only way I could get it in was to use lots of oil on the bushing and angle it in and
press with a flat screwdriver. Not very scientific but it finally went in. Mine works great and I have no complaints,
much better than the handful of part that fell out. It appears to be made of the same stuff as John's steering rack
bushings.” Note that, if you must lube it to get it in, it’d probably be a good idea to use a special lubricant made for
polyurethane since some hydrocarbons will attack polyurethane. Hackbart adds, “The trans. mount bushing from John's
Car's does not come with that special red grease used with polyurethane however. It is the same type of grease included
with rebuild kits for brakes; you can get it at any auto parts store.”
XK’s Unlimited (page 697) also offers polyurethane spring buffers and center bushings.
POLY BUSHING FAILURES: Paul Hackbart also reports on a failure mode of the John’s Cars bushing. If the
transmission is forced to the upper limit of travel (such as by running over something that hits the bottom of the tranny
and knocks it upward), the washer (double washer on the GM400 mount) at the bottom of the post -- which is supposed
to provide a bump stop limit to upward travel by hitting the bottom end of the bushing -- can actually push the center
portion of the bushing right through the boss on the spring support, shearing off the outer flange of the polyurethane
bushing and leaving it rattling around the bottom of the post.
This problem may actually occur with the stock rubber bushings as well, we just wouldn’t know it because they end up
in too many pieces to figure out what happened. Such shear damage could probably be avoided with either type bushing
by replacing the bottom washer with a fender washer with a larger OD, so that it contacts the full surface of the end of
the bushing rather than just the center portion of it. Since the outer portion of the flange will be put in simple
compression in such a configuration, it should render the bushing safe from shear damage. Note that the washer used
shouldn’t be too big or it might contact the inside surface of the “dome” on the tie plate and make noise.
Note also that the reason the GM400 mount uses a double washer is probably to limit the upward travel to about 1/16”
less than it would be with a flat washer, so if you’re installing a flat fender washer you should do something to similarly
reduce upward travel. One idea would be to cut the sleeve on the post about 1/16” shorter and install a small 1/16”
thick washer on the post under the flat fender washer (just above the tie plate), which would work. Another idea would
be to cut a large rubber disk out of a truck tire inner tube, put a hole in the center, and install it on the post around the
lower sleeve. That way, when the transmission moves upward, the flat washer will hit the bottom end of the bushing
with a thin layer of rubber in between, softening the impact and limiting the upward movement. Most of the time, this
rubber disk will simply sit on top of the bottom washer and do nothing. If the hole in the rubber disk is made just a hair
smaller than the OD of the sleeve, it can be pushed onto the sleeve and will stay in place by itself while you install the
rest of the parts.
TRANSMISSION MOUNT SPRINGS: Mike Morrin: “The BW12, GM400 and manual springs are different parts; the
BW12 spring is painted black/yellow, the GM400 spring is painted black/red. The manual transmission spring is
black/blue.” See more info on the GM400 spring on page 346.
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Borg-Warner Transmission Mount
This author owns a car that came with a GM400 transmission, so the section on that mount is more comprehensive than
this one on the BW transmission mount. The concept behind the BW mount is obviously similar to the mount used in
the later GM400 cars, so it is recommended that the BW owner go ahead and read the section on the GM400
transmission mount and study the illustration. Maybe later versions of this book will contain a similar illustration of the
BW mount.
We’re not totally helpless on the BW mount, though; following are some notes. While the center post in the GM400
mount is attached to the transmission with two bolts through an aluminum base plate, the center post for the BW is a
simple double-ended bolt that threads directly into the transmission case. A dish-shaped spring seat is held in place by
the BW post, while the base plate of the GM400 post serves as its upper spring seat. Since the BW post doesn’t have
the shoulder that the GM400 post has, an additional sleeve must be used above the “special washer” to provide the
proper shape for the bushing to slide up and down against. Fig. 1.7 on page 24 of the Haynes manual, as is typical,
leaves one of the two sleeves and the special washer out altogether. However, Fig. 1.12 on page 29, although showing
the mount for a manual transmission, shows the two sleeves and special bushing correctly.
The upper end of the rubber bushing impacting the base plate of the GM400 post provides a downward bump stop limit
to the mount’s travel, but the BW post doesn’t have a base plate so a special “double washer” is installed between the
uppermost sleeve and the hex on the post itself to serve as a bump stop. As shown in the illustration on page 345, the
surface of the GM400 base plate is not flat but rather a bit conical, perhaps to soften the blow when the rubber bushing
hits it. The double washer used at the top of the BW mount has a similar shape, as Mike Morrin describes: “It is 2
washers spot welded together, the first is a 1/8" thick flat washer with 1/2" ID which fits the spigot, and a 2" OD. The
second has a 3/4" ID which just fits over the sleeve, a 2" OD. The second washer however has a profiled thickness
which is 1/4" thick near the centre and tapers down to a thickness of 1/8", 1/4" from the outside edge, and is flat from
there out. The same part is used on the BW66 in the XJ6.”
Don’t get confused by the various diagrams and exploded views, many of which are incorrect. Mike Morrin says, “The
problem is that the XJ-S and e-type parts books show the double washer on the top, but the XJ12 parts book shows the
double washer on the bottom. I have seen them assembled both ways.” Fig. 1.7 in the Haynes manual likewise
incorrectly shows the double washer at the bottom.
Both the GM400 and the BW mount schemes have a washer at the bottom end of the post to serve as an upward bump
stop limit to the mount’s travel. The one on the GM400 is a “double washer”, but it’s not like the one described above;
it’s a simple matter of two flat washers welded together. The bottom washer installed on the BW post is a simple flat
washer.
I’m sure you’ve been following all that perfectly, so I don’t need to explain how to assemble the mount -- but I will
anyway. For cars fitted with the BW automatic, the double washer must be positioned on the post before the spring
support is installed, since it cannot be inserted through the bushing later. Mike Morrin says, “I sat the double washer on
top of the bushing”; this may be an excellent method, since the spring support isn’t all that heavy and if the double
washer falls off you can simply try it again. After the spring support is bolted in and the jack is removed so the tranny is
sitting on it, the order of parts installed on the post is sleeve, rounded-edge washer, sleeve, double washer, collision
plate, nut.
GM400 Transmission Mount
The Borg-Warner transmission mount was complex enough, but when the same idea was adapted to hold up the GM400
transmission it got even more confusing. A picture is worth a thousand words here. Exploded views abound but many
seem to be missing a few parts, which doesn’t help someone trying to figure out how it goes together. Figure 16 is a
section drawing of the assembly, in hopes that it will be of some help.
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WASHER?
Figure 16 - Assembly of Transmission Mount (GM400)
345
Note that almost everything in this diagram is attached to the transmission itself, which means it moves up and down
with the transmission as it bounces on the spring. The only parts in this diagram that are motionless relative to the
chassis are the spring support, the bushing within it, and the bottom coil of the spring. There is a major support plate
rearward of the spring support that is not shown in this diagram for clarity, but it’s one of the most obvious things in
your way when you’re under the car.
Also note that the two rearward arms on the spring support attach to the support plate with 1” spacers.
SPRING: Michael Neal reports that the GM400 tranny support spring (CAC2327) does not hold up well, and
recommends it be replaced every 30,000 miles (when the tranny fluid and filter are supposed to be changed). Apparently
it gets weaker as it gets older.
Peter Cohen reports that the springs changed part numbers a few times, perhaps indicating Jaguar’s attempts to improve
this thing’s durability. “CAC2327 superceded to CAC2327/1 and then superceded to CAC2327/1*” He reports that
the CAC2327/1* “is a thicker coil!!!”
John S. Whitford says, “I bought a new spring because the one I pulled out was only 3 9/16" high. Jaguar has a new
part no. CCC6759 for the spring and it was exactly 3 3/4" high. It even had paint codes on it like the front road springs
do. Blue and Violet. No clue what they mean though.” Neal responds: “That is the number of the only spring I've
been using for a few years now. It is the latest and greatest unit but still collapses easily.”
John’s Cars (page 717) offers a replacement spring that is supposedly better than the Jaguar springs. Brian Radovich of
John’s Cars: “The only difference I spec is a high silicon steel which has a much better tensile life than the Jag bit.”
Unfortunately for John’s Cars’ reputation, the vendor making springs for them reportedly made a batch of the springs
out of the wrong wire, making the springs too stiff. This may seem counterintuitive, but imagine how your car would
ride if you installed springs in the suspension that held the car up in the air and the suspension hard against its stops.
This is exactly what happens here; the transmission mount only has about an inch of travel and the spring is supposed to
support the weight of the tranny in between the stops (as shown in Figure 16), but the overstrong spring held the
transmission up against the upper stop. This, of course, causes all the vibrations of the engine/transmission assembly to
be conducted directly into the chassis. Owners who installed the faulty John’s Cars spring have had to disassemble their
transmission mounts to reinstall the stock spring. A stiffer spring could be used provided it is also shorter so that it still
holds the transmission in the correct position, but such was not the case with this spring.
Radovich found the problem and corrected it, so you should now be able to get a usable spring from John’s Cars: “I will
warranty any spring I have sold - and any poly mounts that have suffered as a result.”
GOT A COUPLE EXTRA WASHERS? There have been several reports of washers being found between the vertical
post and the housing of the transmission (see Figure 16). Reportedly, with the mount assembled correctly it was still
possible for the forward U-joint on the drive shaft to hit the support plate, causing a “clunk”. The washers were added
between the post and the transmission housing to hoist the transmission by the thickness of the washers, just enough to
eliminate the clunk.
GM400 TRANSMISSION MOUNT REASSEMBLY: The two rearmost pan bolts should be double-ended bolts with
the head in the middle, so that after installing the pan there are studs available for holding the forward bracket in place.
If such bolts are missing and unavailable, normal bolts can be used by inserting suitable washers between the bracket and
the pan. The washers should total 3/16” thick. A better idea might be to thread nuts onto studs, screw the studs into the
tranny, and then tighten the nuts to hold the pan on securely while leaving the other end of the stud to hold the tie plate
in place with a second nut.
While apart, the spring support (CAC2438) should be cleaned to remove all the crud that has collected in it. The crud
often appears to be the dissolved remains of the original rubber parts, but we will endeavor not to draw any conclusions
about Jaguar’s materials engineers. The crud must be removed to allow the spring and lower spring cup to seat
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properly.
The transmission must be jacked all the way up into the tunnel before the spring support is installed. Once the spring
support is securely bolted into place, then the jack can be lowered, allowing the transmission to sit on the spring and the
center post to protrude through the bottom.
Easier said than done, of course. With the transmission jacked up hard against the tunnel, bolting the spring support in
place may still be difficult. Paul Hackbart came up with a nifty solution, but you need to have one of the better floor
jacks to do it: “Larger jacks have a removable/floating circular dish piece that raises the car. Well (Dummy!) simply
remove disk leaving 3/4-1" hole. The long bolt goes straight through the hole as the mount is jacked/pressed up and is
perfectly balanced allowing you to tighten all 4 mounting bracket bolts. So, allow one jack and 2x4 to hold up tranny
under sump and your larger one with dish removed exposing hole to jack up mount.”
Once the spring support is bolted in and supporting the tranny and the jacks have been removed, the assembly of the
parts on the center post is as follows: the first item to be installed should be a special washer that has rounded edges,
C29011; it will need to be crammed into the rubber bushing somewhat. Next is the sleeve, C30157. Third is a part that
looks like two washers welded together; it should be installed with the larger opening facing upward. Then the tie plate
is installed, followed by the large self-locking nut; there is no washer directly under the nut.
If the special washer C29011 is missing, a 1/2” splitring lock washer bent flat will serve.
Two small spacers should be installed between the tie plate and the forward bracket. If they are missing, 3/8” washers
totaling 1/4” in thickness may be used.
After assembly, there should be no more than 3/4” between the tie plate and the bottom of the spring support. Check
that the transmission moves freely on the mount; since the spring is soft, you should be able to bounce the entire
engine/transmission assembly up and down a little with your hands. If it appears to be immovable, something is not
right. It also should not clunk when moved.
Gerry Halpern had a howling noise coming from the transmission area on acceleration. “I got a copy of the assy drawing
from a local parts guy and reinspected it again this weekend, frankly hoping to find somthing that I had installed
incorrectly. Alas, I couldn't find a thing wrong. Laying there on my back looking up at the trans mount I pushed
upward to make sure that I got movement; sure enough, it seemed to move OK. However, I decided to loosen the 4
bolts holding the mount, then moved the trans up and down. I could see the mount move and realign itself. Voilà! I
could now move the trans quite freely up and down. I tightened the mount bolts and sure enough problem solved. Point
to be made is that the trans mount should be positioned so that the mount can be moved easily up and down against the
spring pressure. Two of the bolts are awkward to get at with the exhaust in place and there is a great deal of tolerence
in the bracket slots making it easy to misalign.”
Keeping in mind that the engine/transmission is entirely supported and positioned by the two motor mounts and the
transmission mount, misalignment of the transmission support might be due to problems with the motor mounts. If the
transmission support doesn’t wanna line up, maybe the thing to do is loosen the motor mounts and see if you can realign
them.
VARIATIONS: On page 49 of the Haynes manual, there is a picture labelled “49.5A Aluminum spigot bolted to
transmission” (all the photos in the Haynes manual reflect parts from a Daimler Double Six with a GM400 transmission,
obviously pre-1985). The post shown in Figure 16 is steel, so if this spigot is really aluminum it’s something different.
It also appears to have the entire external shape of the post incorporated in the post itself, so there’s no need for a
“special washer” or a sleeve. Mike Morrin says, “The GM400 mount in the pre-H.E. parts book shows the spigot with
the ridge machined into it, there being no part numbers for the "special washer" or sleeve.” If that’s actually the case,
the reassembly instructions above are correct except that you can leave the special washer and sleeve out of the order.
On the other hand, maybe what you really want to do is find the later design steel post; it’s unlikely the design was
changed without a good reason.
Sometime in the 90’s, the post design was changed again. This final configuration had the external shape of the early
aluminum post so no special washer or sleeve is needed, but it is made of steel.
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Paul Hackbart says there also may be a difference between the way the steel posts are constructed. They all consist of a
steel shaft pressed into a cast aluminum base, but some have a set of splines visible around the edge of this press fit. This
may reflect a problem with the shaft breaking loose and turning while the mechanic was trying to tighten or loosen the
self-locking nut -- but it’s also possible that all post assemblies have splines and it’s just that some extend up far enough
to be visible.
TRANSMISSION MOUNT SUBSTITUTION: If you simply cannot figure out how to get the transmission mount
back together despite all the guidance above, there are ways to substitute a more simple and basic mount scheme.
John’s Cars (page 717) offers a “no-nonsense” transmission mount, but you might not even need that; Chad Bolles says,
“The extension housing for the Turbo 400 in your car is nothing but a Chev part. On my car I removed all the nuts,
bolts, brackets, and the rest of the crap. I went to Parts America (Western Auto) and found a rear mount that fit a
Buick, had two (2) holes in it and one stud. I then made myself a new rear crossmember, and reassembled the whole
deal. Now I can change trans fluid without removing the rear mount.”
Of course, Jaguar didn’t provide such an involved mount scheme for nothing. One of their reasons was that a spring
absorbs vibration better than a block of rubber. Imagine, if you will, how well your car would ride if you took the
springs out of the suspension and replaced them with big blocks of rubber. Dan Jensen says, “I cannot comment on the
GM 400 mount offered by John's Cars. I can comment on the effect of a TH 350 in my '83 XJ6 with the John's Cars
rear transmission mount for this unit. There is noticeably more vibration transferred to the car. While John's claims this
should not be the case (transmission the cause?), I prefer the factory mount.” Other owners, however, claim they cannot
feel any degradation in smoothness with the John’s Cars mount -- perhaps because their original mount was assembled
incorrectly! We’ll never know for sure; you’ll have to take your own chances if you decide to go this route.
DRIVESHAFT
SLIP JOINT ALIGNMENT: Craig Sawyers suggests that when removing the rear suspension, it’s easier to just yank
the drive shaft apart at the slip joint than to unbolt it from the final drive unit. “There is a pair of arrows stamped on the
two halves so you get the splines aligned and end up with a balanced driveshaft. Both halves are balanced dynamically at
the factory. The arrows are faint; I marked mine before disassembly, before I noticed the arrows after cleaning it up.”
UNIVERSAL JOINTS: The XJ-S was clearly not designed with ease of servicing the forward drive shaft U-joint in
mind. Applying a grease gun to the zerk fitting, as well as removing the drive shaft itself, require the transmission mount
to be removed; if you have it out anyway, you may wish to address the drive shaft. However, drive shaft inspection also
requires that the main support plate be removed. Jaguar provided two bolts up within the tunnel to make sure this task
was as unpleasant as possible.
According to Chad Bolles, the U-joints in the drive shaft are a GM standard, and Spicer 5-153X or Tru Cross 153 will
fit. The U-joints in the rear axles are also a standard; Spicer 5-160X or Tru Cross 160 will fit. All of these should be
available at your local auto parts store.
Some mechanics claim that having a grease fitting on a U-joint does more harm than good. In theory, if the seals in the
U-joint are any good, it will never need regreasing; if the seals are bad, regreasing won’t help for long. And
undisciplined use of a grease gun is the best way to destroy the seals. Even if you’re careful with the gun, it’s more than
likely that the grease injected will all go to one bearing and leave the other three ungreased; it’s a path-of-least-resistance
kind of thing. If you believe all that, you might as well choose replacement U-joints that have no zerk fittings and save a
couple bucks.
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FLANGE BOLTS: The flange bolts are occasionally found to be loose. Craig Sawyers: “Yup. Par for the course.
However, the 15000 mile service for the car says "Check tightness of propshaft coupling bolts", so Jaguar obviously
recognises that they loosen. Actually, I think it more likely that the bolts stretch slightly. While you're under the car,
check the ones at the other end (gearbox). Betcha they're loose too.”
It’s also very important that the self-locking feature of the nuts is in good order. These bolts are too short to attain any
sort of anti-rotation action due to bolt stretch, and lock washers aren’t used here. If the nyloc nuts turn too easily on the
bolt threads, replace them.
FINAL DRIVE
REAR SUSPENSION/DIFFERENTIAL REMOVAL: It’s discussed on page 384.
DIFFERENTIAL TYPES: The XJ-S has apparently been fitted with at least two different differentials (“final drive
units” for you Brits). From 1976-1985, the differential was a Salisbury 4HU Powr-Lok that came with either 3.07:1,
3.31:1 (1976-1982), or 2.88:1 (1982-1985) ratios.
From 1985-1987, a 2.88:1 Dana unit was used.
Now, follow closely. From 1987 to 1993, the XJ-S was fitted with a GKN Power Lock differential with a 2.88:1 ratio.
The 87-93 differential is essentially the same item as the pre-85 differential (a speedometer sender was added; see page
593). According to Richard Griffiths, in the meantime Salisbury had been bought out by GKN. Later, GKN was bought
out by -- wait for it -- Dana! But this was apparently after the XJ-S changed to outboard brakes. Dana
(http://www.dana.com/) grew to be a huge corporation with annual revenues in the billions.
In this book, we will use the same convention that is commonly used among Jaguar owners: the pre-85 unit and the 87-
93 unit will be referred to as a “Salisbury”, regardless of whether it was actually made by Salisbury or GKN. The 85-87
unit will be referred to as a “Dana”.
From 1993 on, the entire rear end of the XJ-S changed. A suspension similar to that on the XJ40 was used, with
outboard brakes rather than inboard. Along with the engine being enlarged to 6.0 litre and the fitting of the 4-speed GM
400, a 3.54:1 final drive was used.
Apparently the AJ6-powered XJ-S’s, 3.6 or 4.0 litre, all have 3.54:1 final drives.
All XJ-S differentials are “limited slip”, although the feature has often been given different names.
The official Jaguar service department repair procedure for final drive units is to replace them as a whole.
SALISBURY VS. DANA: Differences between the Salisbury and the Dana include:
On the Salisbury, the bearings on the output shafts are held in the case with five bolts. On the Dana, the bearings on
the output shafts are held in place with three bolts.
The Dana has no drain plug.
The input flange on the Salisbury is circular. The input flange on the Dana is rectangular.
With the Salisbury, the inboard brake calipers are bolted to lugs on the flanges holding the output shaft bearings,
with the bolts installed from the inboard side outward. With the Dana, the inboard brake calipers are bolted to
bosses on the case itself, with the bolts installed from the outboard side inward. In order to access those bolts, the
Dana is fitted with brake rotors with access holes.
349
The limited slip internals of the Salisbury are the “disc type”, while the limited slip parts of the Dana are the “cone
type”.
Greg Wells of Coventry West says the gears from a Salisbury will not fit the Dana case.
DANA QUALITY: The Dana unit has a bad reputation. Apparently, the lack of a drain plug and the fewer bolts on the
output shaft bearings gave an initial impression that it was “cheap”, and Jaguar’s return to the Salisbury unit after three
years convinced many that there was something wrong with it. However, there’s no telling what supply problems Jaguar
was dealing with in the mid-80’s, especially with a buyout going on at Salisbury, so there may be other explanations for
the flip-flop.
Apparently, the real problems with the Dana are not in mechanical shortcomings in the unit itself, but rather in support
and maintenance. Ian Hissey says, “I have just removed the Dana diff from my XJ-SC, and replaced it with an
overhauled Salisbury. A number of reasons, including changing from 2.88 ratio to a 3.31 ratio, but also, here in Aus the
cost of replacement bearings, etc., for the Dana was extortionate, more than double the Salisbury, and also the Dana is
not a true limited slip, has a cone arrangement, which is not as effective as a Salisbury LSD.” Note that Hissey’s
preference for disc-type limited slip over cone-type is not universal; it’s apparently a good topic for argument among
performance buffs.
Greg Wells of Coventry West says, “The main problem with the Dana as we see it is that it is different and requires
special Dana-style rear brake rotors.” Note that the only difference between the rotors used with the Dana and the
rotors used with the Salisbury are the access holes, so the Dana ones could be used on the Salisbury. It would therefore
make sense to stock only the Dana style, but Wells says the ones with holes cost significantly more than the ones without
holes so they stock both. Obviously, you could buy the cheaper Salisbury rotors and drill access holes in them for use on
a Dana.
“That, plus the fact that it doesn't have a drain plug and people thus change the diff lube even less often compared to the
Salisbury. Our rebuilder, Dick Maury, says that the L/S clutch setup in the Danas is not quite as good as a Salisbury in
his opinion and that the carrier may not be as strong, but he also points out that we have seen Danas in 6.0L TWRs, so
they obviously can handle the power.” Apparently, the items that fail on the Dana are “those silly little clutch retainers”,
whatever that means.
DANA DIFFERENTIAL SERVICE: When working on a Dana unit, you can get the seals from Jaguar, bearings from a
local bearing house, and the clutches, shims, and those silly little clutch retainers from any performance shop that has
access to Dana rear end parts. When ordering, they will usually ask for a ring gear diameter and an “axle” spline count.
DIFFERENTIAL BREATHER: John Goodman reports on special parts for the XJR-S: “Looking through the parts list
I notice that there is a revised diff cover with additional baffles. <Quote manual> ..."the diff rear cover is redesigned to
improve breathing at high road speeds. The altered baffle plates direct oil flow so that turbulence is kept away from the
oil breather."”
DIFFERENTIAL OIL CHANGE: Getting the fill plug out is no picnic. It has been suggested that removing the center
reinforcing plate under the final drive unit (14 bolts, 6 with nuts) may be worthwhile. Don’t worry, the whole car won’t
fall apart while the plate is out.
Many Jag owners suggest a length of plastic hose and a squeeze bottle for topping up or filling up the final drive unit.
The hose should be long enough to feed out the right side wheel well so the oil can flow downhill.
Brian Sherwood points out that if you open the boot, remove the spare tire, and peel back the matting forward of the
fuel pump, there is a round metal plug; removal of this plug provides access to the fill plug on the differential. “I just
popped it out with a screwdriver, did my lube thing, then pressed the plug back in with some RTV around the edge.”
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Note that while the diff can be topped up with conventional gear oil, a drain and refill requires an additive for limited-slip
units.
According to a salesman at Quality Jaguar, the XJ-S final drive unit uses both natural leather and natural rubber seals.
Therefore, synthetic lubricants are not recommended. It is recommended that synthetics be avoided in the special
additive as well.
DIFFERENTIAL GASKET: British Auto USA (see page 692) offers a differential cover gasket (part number 3931)
that is supposed to be better than the original -- thicker and better material.
TEFLON: Dennis Hurvitz reports: “While having a quickie lube joint change the oil in my wife’s car (ok, I was pressed
for time), a guy pulled up in an older Mercedes to thank the manager. Seems the Mercedes guy had a differential whine
and the manager recommended replacing the differential fluid with some new mixture containing teflon. The owner
made a point of thanking the manager, because the problem (sound) mostly went away!!”
Unfortunately, lubricants containing teflon are not recommended for limited-slip differentials, and all XJ-S’s have
limited-slip differentials. Still, if you’re facing a diff rebuild anyway, perhaps you can add the teflon to quiet the whine
and do without the positraction until you get around to having the diff rebuilt.
INPUT FLANGE RETAINING NUT: It’s a really big nut, obviously it should be tightened down really tight, right?
Wrong. This nut is used to set the preload on the input shaft bearings. Between the bearings is a “crush sleeve”, and
during assembly this nut is tightened just enough to provide the proper bearing preload while compressing this sleeve. If
the nut is overtorqued, the entire final drive assembly must be torn down to install a new crush sleeve.
REPLACING THE INPUT SHAFT SEAL: The instructions are in the service manuals, but I'll repeat the main point of
trouble here: When you're done, the big nut does not get torqued! It gets returned to exactly where it was before,
which means you must mark where it was before you touch it!
Once properly marked, the rest of the job is reasonably straightforward. Mike Morrin fills in some details: "Holding the
flange was no problem, the handbrake did the job perfectly.
"I don't think the splines should have locktite on them, they are fairly tight to remove anyway. It is however a good idea
to put a little silicone sealant on the last bit of the splines in the flange to stop oil from creeping out along the splines. I
also applied a little silicone sealant around the periphery of the seal.
"The new seal I fitted was marked "National USA 9316" and "S-10048-1-28". The new seal is neoprene, the old seal
was leather (no wear on the shaft at all).
"Overall, it is a relatively easy job (particularly with the car on a hoist), but I think you do need a small puller to get the
flange off the splines."
DIFFERENTIAL OUTPUT BEARING FAILURE: One of the common failure modes of the Jaguar differential unit is
the failure of the bearings in the output shafts, possibly because these bearings take lateral loads imposed by the working
of the suspension. Whatever, the failure is usually indicated by clunks from the rear when driving or the tire rubbing the
wheel well where it formerly had clearance. Checking by grabbing the top of each rear wheel and shaking vigorously in
and out clearly indicates a problem. Closer inspection shows that the output shaft is free to move in and out, and the
only thing limiting movement is the brake disk banging back and forth within the caliper!
According to Jan Wikström, “it’s very likely that all you need to do is replace the bearings and seals. This is not
difficult, but you’ll need to take the rear subframe off your car. You can do it from underneath, but that probably takes
longer because of the difficulty in getting the brake calipers off and back on. Besides, taking out and dismantling the
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complete rear suspension gives you a great opportunity to check everything.”
The output shaft assembly for the Salisbury differential is available as a pre-assembled unit under a single part number:
AEU1802 for the right side, AEU1803 for the left. This simplifies repair considerably; by getting this assembly pre-
made, the mechanic doesn’t have to fiddle with bearing preload, crush sleeves, etc., he just removes the old assembly
and bolts in the new. Obviously, there is a core charge on the old assembly, so it can be rebuilt with new bearings and
seals.
CLUNK: Julian Mullaney shares an unpleasant experience: “I had a clunk on my ’87 XJ-S from the rear end. My clunk
was because the diff itself was loose in the mounts. The mounts in this case were 4 cone-shaped bolts which attach the
inner lower wishbone mounts to the diff casting. The bolts screw right into the diff, and are wired in place. These bolts
had just become a bit loose even though they were still wired together from the factory. The constant rocking with
power on/off had worn the fit between bolts and casting. You can easily check for this by jacking the car up high,
putting the trans in P, crawl under and look for movement in the joint while violently rotating the rear tires back and
forth.” This is reportedly a fairly common problem; it should be noted that proper torquing and lockwiring of these bolts
is very important. Many owners use Loctite on the threads as well.
Jan Wikström adds, “If the PO has omitted the security wires on the bolts, they come loose - and then the U-shaped
shims fall out and the diff is really loose.
“The inner pivot bracket is shimmed to the diff to line up with the pivot mounting holes in the cage; with the bolts tight,
the pivot spindles should slide in and out easily. If those inner pivot carriers aren’t correctly shimmed, it’s jolly well
impossible to get the trunnion bolts out without slackening the diff bolts - which is very hard to do because the trunnion
bolts block access to the bolt heads. You need a very thin open-ended spanner.”
“My second XJ had pivot spindles that couldn’t be moved; somebody had botched the assembly and just forced the
whole thing together without shims. I had the devil’s own time finding a thin enough spanner to loosen the mounting
bolts enough to slide the spindles out.”
“To get this right requires an extra step in the assembly procedure: you measure the space between brackets and diff
(bracket mounting bolts finger-tight, bottom plate out) and get spacers to that thickness. Now, there’s not a hell of a lot
of space between the suspension arms and the bracket-to-diff bolts; unless you have some extremely thin spanners (and
thin fingers to get the locking wire on), you now need to pull the inner pivot spindles. Put the spindles back in without
the suspension arms and tighten the bejasus out of those bolts (the torque is in the book); now try the inner pivot
spindles. If they don’t slide out easily, you need to tinker with those shims. Apply lock wires and assemble the inner
pivots.
“Now bolt on the bottom plate; you’ll find that the complete assembly is rigid.
“Another thing I noted on that car was that the final drive had been flopping around to such an extent that the rear sub-
frame was fractured on top, where the four top final drive mounting bolts are (invisible without taking it out). There’s a
(1/4 in? 5mm?) steel plate inside the double-walled top of the sub-frame (as I found when I welded fatigue cracks in my
first one); the retaining bolt heads have an underside taper matching a taper in this plate. With your diff slopping back
and forth, there is good reason to suspect fatigue cracks in the top.”
FINAL DRIVE RATIO CHANGE: There are many ratios available to fit the Salisbury final drive. However, be aware
that if the ratio is changed significantly, the differential carrier will also have to be replaced. Since the lower ratios
(higher numbers) require a smaller pinion, the ring gear needs to move closer to center to mesh properly. This could be
accomplished by making the ring gear thicker or adding a spacer, but instead a replacement carrier is used with the
mounting flange in a slightly different position. Unfortunately, the carrier costs more than the gears.
If you have the Dana final drive unit, Greg Wells of Coventry West reports that he can only get one set of gears to fit:
2.88:1. So, step #1 for changing the final drive ratio is to replace the Dana unit with a Salisbury. Wells adds that,
thanks to the popularity of that change, Coventry West can no longer offer core credit on Dana final drive units -- they
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have more on hand than they can use. So, changing the final drive ratio on a Dana-equipped car means buying an entire
new Salisbury final drive unit outright and simply discarding the Dana -- an expensive proposition indeed.
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SUSPENSION & STEERING
GREASE (ZERK) FITTINGS: Unlike the newer American “low-maintenance” cars, the Jag has zerk fittings all over
the suspension. Periodically it should be gone over with the grease gun, but please be conservative. It is tempting to
grease fittings too often and to pump too much grease, which will destroy the seals or gaiters on the joint.
The following is a list of the grease fittings on the car:
• All six universal joints -- good luck getting at the forward one on the drive shaft (see page 348). The
protective covers on the rear axle U-joints have openings for greasing, but they may not line up. You can
relocate them as necessary.
• All four corners of the flat plate under the differential (lower swingarm inner joints). There are holes in the
plate for access to the zerk fittings.
• The needle bearings in the lower pivot joint of the rear hub carriers; the fittings are just inside the rear wheels at
the bottom.
• Both front hubs. The fitting is on the side of the hub near the outer cap. With some wheel designs, the wheels
do not need to be removed. Rumor has it these fittings have been deleted in later cars.
• Both upper front ball joints -- remove the front wheels for access. If these ball joints have been replaced with
XJ40 ball joints, there are no grease fittings.
• Both lower front ball joints. The fittings point inward, underneath the car. If these ball joints have been
replaced with XJ40 ball joints, there are no grease fittings.
• Steering rack -- see note on page 374.
Also, the rear wheel bearings should be greased by removing the small cap on the hub carrier and spooning a little grease
into the hole. Don’t overgrease, because the excess merely spins out and coats the inside of your wheels.
The pre-1983 Jaguars also had zerk fittings on the tie rod ends, but the later cars were fitted with “improved” tie rod
ends with no such fittings.
The ball joint zerk fittings are designed with a relief system to prevent the grease gun from applying too much pressure.
Under the fitting itself is a plastic washer that covers the relief hole. When the joint is full of grease, any additional
greasing will force the plastic washer to bend, allowing the grease to come out adjacent to the fitting itself.
When installing the zerk fittings on these ball joints, note that overtightening the fitting onto the plastic washer will
deform the washer and open the relief hole.
Michael Neal sends this tip on lubricating the lower ball joint: “If the grease comes out from behind the plastic washer
as soon as you apply it then the passage is plugged. The best way to clean the passage is to remove the lower plate and
zerk fitting. Ream out the passage and apply some grease to the cup before reassembling. The grease in the passage
hardens after a relatively short amount of time and plugs the passage.” It is possible to remove this cup and clean it out
without getting involved in the access and rebuild procedures discussed on page 366; Put a jack under the spring pan on
the A-arm and jack it up, bend back the locking tabs and unbolt the cup, clean it out, regrease, and bolt it back on with
the same shims in place.
Craig Sawyers pointed out that it might also help to unload the ball joint. James Berry says, “The grease finally went in,
as Craig Sawyers suggested, if the car is jacked and the weight is taken off the hub. With the grease gun attached to the
zerk, under pressure, the hub was moved right and left until finally the grease gave up and went where it was supposed
to (I think).” It can be surprisingly difficult to get grease into this joint, even with the taper pin disconnected from the
hub carrier! The pressure of the grease itself tends to press the ball against the upper ball seat, totally sealing off the path
the grease needs to pass through. It may work best to have the weight of the car on the wheels and turn the steering
back and forth while greasing -- if you can figure out how to accomplish that.
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See the note on lubricating the water pump on page 212.
Don’t overlook the zerk fittings themselves as a possible source of trouble. Each zerk fitting has a tiny spring-loaded
ball check valve to allow grease in but not out. It is susceptible to corrosion and jamming. They are also easily damaged
by impact.
RIDE HEIGHT: XJ-S owners are often concerned about whether the car is actually supposed to sit that low, or if
something is wrong. The ROM describes a check, but it presumes you have original tires with full tread. It also
presumes you have “slip plates”, devices you set the front tires on so they can slide around and not bind the suspension
travel. The following is a derived procedure that subtracts the tire rolling diameter out of the equation in order to
determine if your car is sitting at the “correct” ride height for the tires you have on it, and all it requires is a level section
of concrete.
Position the car on level ground with nobody in it, no heavy stuff inside or in the trunk, a full tank of gas, the emergency
brake off and the shifter in N. Push the car back and forth a few feet. When pushing rearwards, push on the front
bumper and deliberately bounce the front of the car a little while pushing. When pushing forwards, push the rear bumper
and deliberately bounce that end as well. This is to make sure the car is fully settled in its position.
Measure the height to the center of the front wheels. With any luck, they should be the same, but if they vary slightly
determine the average.
Subtract 6-3/8” from this height. This gives you the correct height above the ground for the flat bottom of the cross
member between the front wheels.
If all four tires are the same, use the same front wheel center measurement (do not measure the height of the center of
the rear wheels) and subtract 4-7/8”. This will give you the correct height above the ground for the edges of the plate
between the rear wheels with a full tank of gas. If all four tires are not the same, what do you care what the correct ride
height is?
So much for the “correct” ride height. Now, to describe what you actually have, a story from B. J. Kroppe: “My
former supervisor (a Jaguar employee) did vehicle packaging for the F-Type. He started with XJ-S drawings and came
across some things which didn’t add up. So he went to the assembly plant and measured some XJ-S vehicles and
compared them to the drawings. He discovered that the cars being produced (this was mid-late 1980’s) were very much
lower than the drawings said they should be.
“After some investigating he learned that over the years more features had been put on the car, making it heavier, but
springs had not been changed to accommodate for the added weight, thus causing the lower ride height in the actual cars
vs. what the drawings were saying.”
In practice, it appears the XJ-S may ride about a half inch lower than the “correct” ride height, even when new. If yours
is significantly lower than that, however, it’s probable that either the shocks or the springs need replacing.
SAGGING FRONT END: If your Jag seems to be riding low on the nose end, a likely culprit to check is the front
shock absorbers. The XJ-S uses gas shocks, in which the damping fluid is held under pressure by a small amount of gas
within the chamber. A side effect is that the pressure causes the shock to try to extend. This extending force helps raise
the car a little, especially when the suspension is soft. The Jag was designed for these shocks, and if they lose pressure,
the nose sags. Since the pressure may be lost while the fluid is still present, the low nose may be the first sign of failing
shocks. Of course, the rear shocks are also gas type and may cause the same problem, but it doesn’t seem to happen as
often.
If the front sags and the shocks aren’t the problem, see Craig Sawyers’ comments on rust problems on page 372.
SHOCK ABSORBERS: To check the front shocks, jack up the car and remove the front wheel. From inside the engine
compartment, remove the locknut, nut, rubber doughnut and seat from the top of the shock absorber. Then reach into
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the wheel well, grab the top portion of the shock and pull it downward. If it is in good shape, it should move downward
smoothly with a hiss, and when released should move smoothly but forcefully back to its full extended position by itself.
If the motion is not smooth, or the shock compresses easily and quickly with no damping effect, or fails to extend itself
when released, replace the shocks.
The traditional tests of shock absorbers involving pushing the car down and noting its recovery or noting the car’s
reactions over bumps are not entirely applicable to modern gas shocks. If a gas shock loses its gas charge, it may still
appear to pass these tests; if it still has fluid in it, it will still provide some damping. The damping effectiveness is greatly
reduced, however, and will get much worse over a series of bumps. And, as noted above, the car’s ride height will be
affected. There seems to be no substitute for disconnecting the shocks and checking them by hand. Checking the rear
shocks will require a spring compressor to remove the springs from the shocks.
The original shocks on the XJ-S are Boge. Shocks are also offered by Unipart, Spax, Armstrong-Girling, Bilstein,
Monroe, Gabriel, KYB, and Koni, some of which are actually reasonably priced. The only consistent reports received
by this author regard the Gabriels -- consistently negative. They should probably be avoided, despite their lifetime
guarantee.
Monroe, sold by NAPA and many other auto parts outlets in the US, used to offer reasonably-priced, serviceable shocks
for the XJ-S. However, reports are that they came up with the “Sensatrac” design and it went to their heads, and their
prices are no longer reasonable.
Terry’s Jaguar Parts (page 696) offers some “competition gas-filled shock absorbers” with adjustable spring supports
and spherical bearing mounts.
Matthias Fouquet-Lapar points out that Bilstein is now online:
http://www.bilstein.com/
“There is lots of tech info.”
RIDE HEIGHT -- HESS & EISENHART CONVERTIBLE: The H&E seems to ride low even when the shocks and
springs are in good order, especially at the rear. This is apparently because the H&E is heavier than the stock coupe, but
the springs were not altered.
One possible solution is suggested by John Warr: “The shox recommended by Koni for the front of the XJ-S are gas
charged, those for the rear are gas charged, adjustable spring height.” Terry’s Jaguar also offers “competition” shocks
with adjustable spring supports. Coupled with the fact that Jaguar provides shims for the front springs, it may be
possible to set the ride height of both ends where the car looks right.
Of course, another possibility may be to use the springs from an XJ12.
VIBRATION AT PARTICULAR SPEEDS: This is a common complaint with the XJ-S, with owners frustrated that
wheel balancing or other efforts have no effect. Marty Sullivan fixed the problem on his H&E convertible with a correct
alignment; see below. The H&E also has some dynamic absorber weights mounted behind the headlights, so an
investigation of vibrations should include a check to make sure they are mounted properly. Chris Carley, who owns a
’91 (factory) convertible, fixed his problem by replacing “the S-rated Dunlop Qualifier tires 235/60 15 that came new
with car with Yokohama AVS V-rated 235/60 15. Well - why didn't I do this a year ago? The shakes are gone, the car
steers & brakes much better. Also rides smoother and sits at a better ride height. I noticed the shakes were less when it
was cold (read Florida 60ºF), so I can only assume they flexed too much when warm and went out of round?”
ALIGNMENT: First off, note that while many cars are aligned only at the front, the XJ-S requires that all four wheels
be aligned. Although there is really only one adjustment at the rear (camber), it is likely to take most of the mechanic’s
time if any adjustment is necessary; it requires that the driveshafts be unbolted from the differential unit and shims
changed.
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Randy Wilson sends a warning to be careful which alignment shop you choose to align a Jaguar: “The generic American
tank has shims to align the front suspension camber and castor. These shims are placed at both the front and rear pivots
of the upper control arm. By adding or subtracting shims equally at both ends, you change the camber. By adding or
subtracting shims at one end only, you change the castor. Jaguars do not work this way, but look like they do to the
uninitiated. The Jaguar has shims at the upper pivot just like the Chevy/Ford above, but they must be used as camber
adjustment only with equal amounts of shim change at both front and rear pivots. The castor adjustment is done by a
separate set of shims at the upper ball joint. If some hack jumps in there and adjusts camber and castor by staggering the
pivot shims, you will end up with a car with a sort of correct alignment (dynamic castor gain will not be as Jag intended),
but the car will just eat upper control arm bushings.
“The good news is that the XJ front subframe is one stout critter. Unless it has been seriously whacked, it is rare for
camber or castor to need adjusting. Alignment is usually just a matter of setting the toe correctly after the latest steering
rack change/rebuild.”
Peter Havas adds, “It is easy to remove the two bolts holding the carrier, and dropping the washers behind the spring
tower, or confusing the number which go on each side when you re-assemble. Additionally, I have taken some front
ends apart which have been re-aligned in the states, and "U" spacers were substituted for the originals to save time.
These fall right out when the bolts are loosened.” They also have a nasty habit of falling out when driving; if you don’t
believe that, just check out how many alignment shims you can find laying on any stretch of road.
The castor is adjusted by rearranging the shims either in front of or behind the upper ball joint -- but the total number of
shims surrounding that ball joint should always be four. Just move them from front to back, don’t remove any or add
any to the total.
There are reports that the spec books in the alignment shops consistently list the wrong alignment specs for Jaguars.
Just to be sure, take your own repair manual with you, and if the numbers that you have disagree with those they have,
insist they use yours. They shouldn’t care, it’s your car and your money.
The XJ-S really needs to be aligned according to the procedures outlined in section 57.65.04 of the ROM -- namely, that
the ride height must be restrained at a specified position for the alignment. The standard alignment shop shortcut of
aligning the car at whatever ride height it sits at is not acceptable; both the front and the IRS geometries change with
ride height, and many (most?) XJ-S’s don’t sit at the correct ride height by themselves. Failure to establish the correct
ride height during alignment may result in a shaking in the front end at 50-60 mph -- a notorious problem in the H&E
convertible, perhaps because the H&E convertible is also notorious for a low ride height.
If you’re gonna pay good money for an alignment, you might as well insist it’s done properly. Of course, it’s not likely
the alignment shop you choose will have the special tools used to establish the ride height on Jaguars -- unless you go to
a dealer. So, if you’re going someplace other than the dealer for the alignment, you’d be well advised to take the tools
with you -- and the instructions from the repair manual showing how they’re used.
The tools for setting the ride height of the front suspension are made from short lengths of tubing, and there’s enough
info to make them provided in section 57.65.04 of the ROM. The tools for setting the ride height of the rear suspension
are a pair of metal hooks, and are described only as Jaguar tool no. JD.25. These would be even easier to make than the
tubes, if only you knew what the key dimension was -- and just what is this book for, anyway? Figure 17 should provide
the info needed.
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9 1/32" (229mm)
1" MIN DIA
REAR CAMBER SETTING LINK JD.25
(2 REQ'D)
Figure 17 - Jaguar Alignment Tool JD.25
Note that although the official Jaguar tools are made from a single 9/32” steel rod suitably bent, there’s no reason you
shouldn’t be able to screw together suitable tools from eye bolts, threaded hooks, threaded rod, and some coupling nuts
-- all available at any hardware store for peanuts. Remember that you’ll need to make two.
These tools might actually be a suitable thing for local Jaguar clubs to keep on hand for the benefit of their members.
Apparently, these exact same tools have been used on all Jaguars that use the same IRS as the XJ-S -- which means all
E-types, all XJ6/12 SI/II/III -- basically all Jaguars made for about four decades. In fact, the dimension shown in the
drawing was provided by Michel Carpentier, who got it from a Mk10 service manual. At the time the Mk10 was made,
the tool was called a J25; the tool names were changed to JD after Jaguar bought Daimler.
When either end of a Jaguar is being aligned, the ride height setting tools should be in place on both ends.
In what must be considered a serious shortcoming, the Haynes manual does not discuss this ride height setting procedure
at all, and lists an incorrect tool number (JD21 -- actually the number for a bushing tool of some sort) without going into
any detail about using it. It suggests that alignment is not for the home mechanic, but provides a few generic guidelines
for what is done -- just enough to get you in trouble. If you have only the Haynes manual, it is recommended that you
obtain a copy of the alignment instructions from a Jaguar ROM or shop manual before having an alignment done by a
non-Jaguar shop.
Finally, note that most of the above info probably applies only to the pre-1993 XJ-S with inboard rear brakes. From
1994 on, a completely different IRS was used with outboard brakes, and it presumably requires different alignment
procedures.
If you’d like to try tackling the alignment job on your own, Tony Watts points out that there is a description of how to
perform your own alignment with simple tools on the WWW at:
http://www.vtr.org/maintain/diy-alignment.shtml
ANTI-ROLL BARS -- WHAT THEY DO: An anti-roll bar (also known as a sway bar, anti-sway bar, or stabilizer bar)
is simply a spring that resists one wheel from traveling up or down without the wheel on the opposite side moving
likewise. For a car to lean, one wheel must go up (relative to the car) while the other goes down, so the anti-roll bar is a
spring that resists leaning. This has many benefits, including reducing the shift of the center of gravity caused by the
leaning, and better traction and tread wear due to keeping the car, and therefore the tires, upright in a corner.
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It is a good idea for the roll stiffness to be balanced between the front and rear end of a car. If one end is stiff and the
other isn’t, then when the car tries to lean in a corner the outside tire on the stiff end takes all the load while the outside
tire on the other end takes it easy. Typically, this will cause the tires on the stiff end to behave poorly and wear rapidly.
In general, adding roll stiffness to one end of a car helps the handling of the other end.
If the front end is stiffer than the rear, then the car tends to understeer, or plow its way through a turn. This is the
accepted norm here in the US. In this case, when the car doesn’t seem to be going where the driver wants it to go, he
merely turns the steering wheel farther -- a design considered defensible in this age of litigation. If the car has balanced
anti-roll stiffness or is stiffer at the rear, there is the possibility that the car will oversteer in a corner -- the rear end will
swing out. The correction is to turn the steering wheel in the direction of the slide -- a design considered indefensible in
court, and possibly exposing auto manufacturers to liability.
For those who prefer to drive a car rather than have the car drive them, adding a rear anti-roll bar or replacing an
existing rear anti-roll bar with a stiffer one on an understeering car is a good idea. The car will have more neutral
handling characteristics. Also, there is a more “precise” feel to the steering, even when driving slowly. In general, the
car will feel more stable. And the front tires will usually wear much longer, and wear less on the edges and more
uniformly across the tire.
Ah, but what about the ride? When driving over two-wheel bumps (such as speed bumps), the anti-roll bar merely turns
on its pivots, and the ride is unaffected. When driving over one-wheel bumps, however, the motion of the wheel over
the bump will have a more pronounced effect on tilting the car. This effect can be quite noticeable. In cases where a
series of one-wheel bumps are encountered, the occupant can feel downright jostled, especially if the added anti-roll bar
is very stiff.
The above is a very brief discussion of anti-roll bars. A more complete discussion would include the effects on particular
types of suspensions, most notably suspensions with shortcomings that an anti-roll bar tends to compound. Also, some
cars have suspensions with an inherent anti-roll stiffness, and don’t require a separate bar. However, the Jaguar
suspension has no such situations, so there is no need for further discussion here.
Anti-roll bars are customarily described by their thickness, this being an indication of their stiffness. In general, the
stiffness of a typical anti-roll bar (solid circular cross section) is proportional to the 4th power of its diameter -- a 1” bar
is more than three times as stiff as a 3/4” bar! However, the thickness of an anti-roll bar can only be used for
comparison against the thickness of another anti-roll bar that mounts the same way on the same end of the same type
car. Because of differences in the leverage of the anti-roll bar linkage as well as in suspension geometry and center of
gravity, a 1/2” bar may be quite stiff on one car while a 1” bar may be barely adequate on another.
Aftermarket anti-roll bar kits often take advantage of the geometry issue to make their bars adjustable. While an OEM
bar typically has a hole or eye at each end where the end links attach, competition models will often have a clevis
attachment or “slider link” that clamps down anywhere on the end of the bar. By moving the attachment inward from
the end of the bar, the leverage is changed making the anti-roll bar stiffer. You could even move the sliders for an
autocross weekend and move them back on Monday. Some wise guys have even figured out how to sell you just the
adjustable end links that will clamp onto the OEM bar inward of the eye at the end, thereby allowing you to adjust the
OEM bar stiffer (but not less stiff).
It’s also worth noting that the anti-roll bar isn’t the only thing that flexes as a car leans into a turn; the inner mount
bushings, the end link bushings, even the tires themselves all flex, sometimes largely negating the effect of a stiff bar.
Aftermarket kits sometimes use this effect to provide a sort of poor-man’s adjustability: they will provide end links that
have springs behind the bushings that allow them to slip a bit before they apply the full effect of the bar. The result can
be non-linear, where the anti-roll bar seems very weak at first and then becomes effectively much stiffer after a bit of
lean.
It just so happens that this flex issue is critical in the Jaguar XJ-S. The way the rear anti-roll bar (when there is one)
attaches to the rear suspension is via attachment points on the radius arms. However, these radius arms attach to the
lower swingarms with a very soft rubber bushing. You can make the rear bar only so stiff before the bar isn’t flexing at
all, it’s these rubber bushings doing the flexing. To increase the rear anti-roll stiffness beyond that point, you’ll have to
replace those bushings with poly or something -- or completely revise how the end links attach to the rear suspension.
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Modern kits often feature hollow anti-roll bars. Compared to solid bars, a hollow bar of the same diameter would be
weaker -- but that’s not the comparison to look at. Here’s what’s important: Compared to a solid bar of the same
stiffness, a hollow bar will be larger in diameter yet lighter in weight.
ANTI-ROLL BARS -- WHAT YOU’VE GOT: Really good question, actually, since apparently there are a lot of
different configurations. Most of the info in the chart below was provided by Chad Bolles.
Front Anti-roll Bar Rear Anti-roll Bar
P/N dia. Bushing P/N P/N dia. Bushing P/N
1975-82 5.3 C36887/1 7/8” C32925 C42178/2 9/16” C44931/2
1982-87 5.3 C36887/1 7/8” C32925 None n/a n/a
87-on 5.3, 6.0 C36887/1 7/8” CAC4651/7 None n/a n/a
5.3 SportPack CBC5579 1” CBC5580 C42178/3 5/8” CBC4901
6.0 SportPack CCC7198
4.0 Coupe C36887/1 7/8” CAC4651/7
4.0 Convertible C36887/2 CAC4651/6
4.0 Cpe SportPack CCC7197 CBC5580
XJ6 C36887 3/4” C30502 None n/a n/a
Typically, the brackets holding the anti-roll bar bushings will not change with bar size; the outside of the bushing remains
the same, only the size hole through the middle varies, so the same bracket can be used throughout. Note that the
brackets for the front anti-roll bar on the XJ-S were originally C30500 (r) and C30501 (l), but after VIN 179737
changed to CBC5336 (r) and CBC5337 (l). Some of the same bushings were used before and after this change, so
either set of brackets is apparently compatible with any bushing.
ANTI-ROLL BARS -- SUGGESTED CHANGES: As noted above, the 1982-on baseline XJ-S has a 7/8” front anti-
roll bar only, and understeers accordingly. However, cars prior to VIN 106452 came with a 9/16” rear anti-roll bar as
well. These parts can be added to the later XJ-S, and were designed by Jaguar to provide balanced handling when used
with the stock front bar. The radius arm assemblies must be replaced to provide attachment points for the anti-roll bar,
or attachment points can be welded onto the existing radius arms. The mounts on the underside of the car were still
being provided as late as 1988 and possibly later: a reinforced area with two studs on each side of the car, just above the
radius arms.
For the pre-1982 anti-roll bar assembly, the part numbers and quantities are as follows:
ITEM P/N QTY
Radius arm assy C41831 2
Rear Anti-roll bar (9/16”) C42178/2 1
Bushing C44931/2 2
Bracket C42114 or C3054 2
Link C42907 2
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This is a really light bar, and the change in ride from adding it is minimal. It does help the handling considerably,
however.
While adding a light rear anti-roll bar can do wonders for the balance and handling of a street car, it by no means
eliminates body roll entirely, and certainly will not make an autocross champion out of the XJ-S. For those who wish to
get serious about cornering, an excellent plan is to replace the 7/8” front bar with a stiffer one, and to install a suitably
heavy-duty item in the rear to match.
“Sportspack” models come with a stiffer front anti-roll bar, and a rear anti-roll bar that is stiffer than the pre-1982 model
described above. The part numbers are as follows:
ITEM P/N QTY
Front Anti-roll bar (1”) CBC5579 1
Front bushing CBC5580 2
Radius arm assy C41831 2
Rear Anti-roll bar (5/8”) C42178/3 1
Bushing CBC4901 2
Bracket C3054 2
Link C42907 2
Addco (see page 713) offers a 7/8” rear bar, along with a 1” front bar. Note that a 7/8” rear bar would be almost four
times as stiff as the 5/8” bar that comes on the Sportspack! It is clear that the two Addco units are intended to be used
together; Addco does not offer a rear bar suitable for use with the stock front bar under the mistaken assumption that all
XJ-S cars come with a stock rear bar as the pre-1982 models did.
Unfortunately, since their kit assumes the existence of a rear bar, it doesn’t include the links and other parts needed to
connect the rear bar to the rear suspension of later cars. To use their kit it will be necessary to purchase the links from
Jaguar, and the radius arm assemblies will need to be either modified or replaced. When ordering, check that the Addco
kit comes with a bracket (a bushing will be included, since it is larger than stock); if not, the Addco “D” series or “W “
series are suitable brackets.
Gran Turismo Jaguar (now defunct) offered anti-roll bar kits for the XJ-S with two features of note: First, the rear bar
appeared to have an end link assembly that mechanically attached to the radius arm without needing to weld on an
attachment. Second, while their bars could be installed the same way the OEM bars were installed, they could also be
set up with slider links that provide an adjustment to the anti-roll stiffness.
POLYURETHANE SUSPENSION GOODIES: Polyurethane (or urethane) is much stiffer than the rubber used in the
OEM mounts and bushings. It is also more durable. And, due to the nature of aftermarket supply vs. original Jaguar
parts, considerably cheaper.
Craig Sawyers says that Classic Spares (page 693) offers several parts. “They are called Superflex, polyurethane, and
come from Australia originally. They are sort of a translucent purple colour. Bottom wishbone (i.e. swingarm) bushes,
top bushes, rack bushes and anti-roll bar bushes too.”
It would probably be a good idea to update all comparable parts on both ends of the car at the same time. Stability at
speed in a softly-sprung car requires a careful balance of compliance in suspension parts and tires, and making one end
stiffer while the other is still soft may result in dangerous instabilities.
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Front Suspension
CLUNKS - FRONT: If something in the front goes “clunk” when you drive over a bump, check the rubber bushings on
the top of the front shock absorbers. British non-metallics again. Any generic rubber shock bushing will do, and will do
better than the original. David Littlefield says, “Generic replacement bushings are available in the "Help!" section of
your local auto parts store. Look for the area with a variety of parts on red cards. The part number is 31018 and they
come two to a pack. The pack also says "Ford/Mercury" on it, so if you can't find the "Help!" products, perhaps you
can ask for a Ford/Mercury replacement. You will need two cards (or four bushings altogether). I paid $2.58 per card
at Pep Boys. I would describe them as being about the size and shape of a medium sized mushroom cap; only, of
course, with a hole through the center.
“Replacement is a breeze. I did both sides in a little over an hour. The biggest operations are jacking up the car,
removing the tire, and removing the hinged side of the air filter on each side. Removing the old bushings and installing
the new ones is a straightforward and simple procedure.” Note: you can easily compress and release the shock while
you’re there, thereby checking that it’s in good shape -- see page 355.
“The old bushings were the consistency of foam rubber after five years and about 25,000 miles. These were Jaguar
replacements done after the car had traveled 32,000 miles over four years on the factory installed bushings.
“Bottom line: About $5.00 and an hour and a half of my time for a fix that should hopefully last a long, long time. This
versus about $25 in parts and $75+ in labor to the dealer for a fix that would last, at most, about 30,000 miles.”
Note that the XJ-S has steel washers that fit between the bushings and the chassis; purpose unknown, but it won’t hurt
to put them back in with the new bushings. Littlefield says, “The real purpose of the washers seems to be to let you
know your bushings are bad by clanking around and driving you nuts until you replace them!”
Some people want to know just how much to tighten the nuts when putting in new bushings or new shocks. The
answer: all the way. The posts on top of the shocks have a shoulder, and the nuts should be tightened until they sit
down on this shoulder.
Another common cause of clunks is loose diagonal supports across the top of the engine compartment. Make sure the
bolts at both ends are tight.
Also check for a failed subframe mount. When the rubber within the mount is torn but still in place it would seem that it
shouldn’t make any sound, but it does. There are two doughnut-shaped mounts at the front, and two V-shaped mounts
near the steering rack. If the rubber is torn or otherwise damaged, they should be replaced.
FRONT SUSPENSION CHECK: You may be confident that your front suspension is just fine, but this test is so quick
and easy you might as well try it. Stand beside the car and grab the top of a front tire and shake it vigorously in and out.
If everything is OK, the only thing you will feel is the flexing of the tires, and you will hear nothing.
If you feel any slop, or you hear a “clunk” back and forth, your front suspension is not up to snuff. You should check
the following items, which are discussed in more detail below:
1) Adjustment of the wheel bearings.
2) Condition of the ball joints, upper and lower.
3) Wear groove on bottom of front axle.
4) Bushings at inner end of upper and lower swingarms.
5) Front subframe mounts.
Perform this test and correct any problems noted before having your car aligned. The repair or replacement of ball
joints, tie rod ends, swingarm bushings or subframe mounts normally requires realignment, and it’s a shame to have to
do it over.
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Peter Havas says passing the shake test doesn’t necessarily mean all is OK: “The suspension is too heavy to give any
accurate indication by shaking it. Okay, if we're talking metal to metal, then yeah give it a shake. But a dried out
bushing, frozen on the inside won't move. Bad lower wishbone bushes don't display any bad behaviour at all when
pushed around. I would suggest:
“Uppers: Remove the wheel. As the bushing is a mushroom shape and protrudes from the yoke of the wishbone, check
that the lip holding the metal backing plate is not torn or worn to the point that you can peel it back from the plate. The
plate at the end should be uniformly held in by the rubber. Check for obvious cracking, and if the bushing is rust
coloured, or seems to seep rust from the mating surfaces around the yoke, or the backing plate. Insert a longish bar
diagonally through the upper wishbone, and flex the fitting to check for any undue movement, water seepage, or
cracking.
“Lowers: On the steering wheel side (rhd or lhd) check that the rear bushing is dry. If it is oil soaked, dig around the
nut to see of the bush has become spongy. For the other bushes: ensure that the wishbone is centered on the fulcrum,
and no rubber is protruding around the castellated nut. Remove the split pin and nut on the front two bushes, and check
that there is no rust between the fulcrum (carrier) and the bush. With the car supported on jack stands, put a length of
2x4 under the lower wishbone and lift while an assistant checks that there is no play in the bushes. If no assistant is
available, feel for play or obvious shifting when the suspension is moved. Using the same longish bar from the upper test
pry the wishbone directly away from the fulcrum to see if there is any play.
“The lower bushes, especially in the front, tend to freeze to the fulcrum and "squash" for lack of a better term. The
constant chaffing heats the rubber so it starts to come out around the nut on the end. Usually after many miles, the set of
the wishbone on the fulcrum is evident. It really starts to show when someone has changed to nice sticky tires, and the
suspension is doing all the work it can. Because of their tendency to freeze up, they often don't display any movement at
all when static, and people tend to pass them up: "If it ain't broke don't fix it."”
It should also be noted that, contrary to common belief, a car will not periodically require realignment for no good
reason. If a car was correctly aligned at one time and no longer is, it is because parts are either worn or damaged, and
merely realigning without addressing those parts is unwise.
FRONT HUB REMOVAL: Michael Neal suggests the brake caliper not be removed when pulling the hub, to avoid
fiddling with steering lever shims (see page 435). Instead, unbolt the disk from the hub by inserting a socket through an
opening in the dust shield. Then, remove the hub leaving the disk in place.
That works, but really fiddling with the shims isn’t bad.
If you do separate hub and rotor, it’s probably a good idea to mark it first so you get it back together the same way.
Couldn’t hurt, and may help avoid brake shudder problems.
FRONT WHEEL BEARINGS: According to Chad Bolles, the XJ-S uses standard front wheel bearings, available in
any auto parts store. The pre-1977½ XJ-S outer is an A-2, the inner is an A-6. The 1977½-up car uses A-13 for the
inner, A-12 for the outer.
FRONT WHEEL BEARINGS/SEALS SERVICE INTERVAL -- ABS-EQUIPPED CARS: Bruce Segal reports from
Canada: “Jaguar was recommending that the front wheel bearing seals be replaced every 15,000 mi (24,000k). At the
same time the bearings should be looked at and replaced if there is any evidence of water ingress. I don’t know if this
applied anywhere besides Canada. We found that after going to this procedure front wheel bearing failures
disappeared.”
Stefan Schulz provides a possible explanation: “It could well be the likelihood of contaminant ingress that causes Jaguar
to specify the change interval. The grease seal at the inside of the front hubs was changed with the advent of ABS. The
pre-ABS grease seal looks like it will properly do the job, since it sits firm in the hub casing and its sealing lip rotates
(and presumably experiences friction and wear) over the relatively smooth surface of the stub axle. The post-ABS
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grease seal works the other way round, it sits on the hub carrier and its lip touches the hub proper which rotates relative
to it. The hub’s inside surface in that area is nothing like as smooth as the sub axle’s surface, so I’d expect that grease
seal to fail much earlier.”
“I have had my XJ-S for almost three years and 42,000 miles now. R&R’d stub axles and front wheel bearings when I
bought it and bearings again about 10,000 miles ago. They needed it.”
Segal again: “In my environment (winter, salt, water ) the new type seals do not provide a long term solution -- thus
Jaguar Canada’s very short replacement recommendation. We’ve found that quite often the bearings had started to rust
front the salt water getting past the seal.”
If you have an ABS-equipped car, perhaps while you have the hub off for an overhaul it’d be a good idea to polish up
the contact surface on the hub to help seal life.
FRONT AXLE WEAR: The inner races of the inner front wheel bearings tend to turn on the axles. As a result, they
eventually wear a groove in the axle, on the bottom where the load is. This allows the wheel to wobble even when the
bearings are adjusted properly, and your Jag starts driving like a Pontiac.
To check for problems, remove the front hubs and check the stub axles for a wear groove. Run your fingernail along the
bottom of the axle from the upright outward. If your fingernail catches at all, the axle should be replaced.
According to Richard Griffiths, the inner race is supposed to rotate on the axle. This distributes the wear evenly around
the inner race rather than concentrating it on the bottom. “With proper lubrication, heat treat and tolerances etc., the
effect of a "walking" inner race on the axle is a beautiful mirror-like burnished surface, not galling and wear as some
have noted.”
Well, there’s little an owner can do about heat treat or tolerances, and on the XJ-S inner race rotation is clearly a
problem -- and bearing wear is not a problem. So it makes sense to ensure that the inner races will not turn by using
Loctite 640 or some similar high-strength bearing retaining substance. This may shorten the life of the bearing by some
negligible amount according to some engineer’s theories, but in the real world it will positively eliminate the wear on the
stub axle. Use it on the inner race of the outer bearing, too, since it has been known to have the same problem. Adjust
the front wheel bearings as described below.
FRONT WHEEL BEARING ADJUSTMENT: Section 60.25.13 of the ROM, Step #4, indicates that the front hub
bearings should be adjusted to attain end float measurement of 0.002”-0.005” (0,05mm-0,15mm). However, Technical
Service Bulletin 57-15 revised the end float spec to 0.001”-0.003”.
If you don’t happen to have the type of dial indicator needed to measure end float, this author recommends the following
procedure: Tighten the retaining nut to perhaps 20 ft-lb while turning the hub to make sure everything is seated
properly. Loosen the nut then spin it back on until it seats, normally a very distinct point; continue to tighten about 1/10
of a turn while turning the hub. Fit the lock and install the cotter pin.
This may seem tight, and in fact may be tighter than the official Jaguar procedure (measuring end play) would result in.
Any bearing expert will tell you that proper operation of a roller bearing requires some preload. When tight, the weight
of the car is distributed among the rollers. When loose, the slop allows the load to be taken by only one or two rollers at
a time, and the unloaded rollers may slide rather than roll.
Another method that has been suggested is to tighten the nut to 25 ft-lb while rotating the hub and then back the nut off
one flat.
If you’re using Loctite on the inner races as suggested above, you might opt to apply the Loctite to the inboard race,
assemble, tighten the nut to 25 ft-lb while rotating the hub and leave it there long enough for the Loctite to set. Then
pull the nut and outboard inner race back out, apply Loctite there, and then do your final assembly and adjustment.
Note that having the bearings adjusted too loosely -- as well as having a grooved front axle, as described above -- would
be detrimental to seal life. And the seals on the ABS-equipped cars may be marginal already, as mentioned above.
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FRONT WHEEL BEARING CAPS: Apparently, some bearing caps are a total seal, while others have a small hole in
the middle. It is suggested that if you have wheels that don’t keep dirt out of this area, put a small piece of aluminum
tape over the hole. Or, just pry it off and take it down to the local auto parts store and buy a generic replacement.
CHECKING OF BALL JOINTS AND TIE ROD ENDS: To test joints such as these, it is helpful to find a convenient
way to “shake” them, or to move them in such a way that will cause them to slop one way and then the other. In the
case of tie rod ends, this is easily done by moving the steering wheel back and forth just a little. With ball joints, if the
front tire shaking described under FRONT SUSPENSION CHECK on page 362 caused a “clunk”, that same motion
will work for this test.
This test requires two people. Place a single finger on the joint in question in such a way that one side of the finger is
against the hardware on one side of the joint, and the other side of the finger is against the other side. While holding this
position (may be difficult, since the car should be sitting on its wheels) another person should provide the shaking
motion. If the joint is OK, no motion can be felt between the two parts. If the joint is loose, a human finger will easily
detect the slop. Typically, any slop at all is unacceptable, the joint should be replaced.
With either ball joints or tie rod ends, though, the more common indication that the joint needs replacement is that the
protective boot is torn open. On the joints on most cars, the boot is not replaceable, and the joint will last as long as the
boot -- so when the boot goes is when the joint gets replaced. This is true of the Jaguar tie rod ends as well, but not
necessarily the ball joints; since they have replaceable boots, it’s possible to keep replacing the boots until the joint itself
wears out.
ANTI-SEIZE COMPOUND: See description on page 29. This note is to point out that many suspension components
involve tapered fits, such as the ball joints and the front axle in the hub carrier. It is suggested that anti-seize compound
be used on the tapers themselves as well as the threaded nuts. It does no harm, and can make the assembly much easier
to get apart in the future. In tapered fit applications, care should be taken to ensure the entire fitting is thinly coated,
since the anti-seize compound will not be spread during assembly as it is on threads.
BALL JOINT GAITERS: The gaiter used on the original Jaguar ball joints is a Rube Goldberg assembly in itself, and
the parts are available separately. The gaiter itself (C43216) is a clear flexible plastic item, with a steel ring molded into
it to make the small opening fit snugly around the ball shaft. The gaiter fits into a plastic collar (C22970) which the
Haynes manual calls an “insert”, and a rubber ring (C22969 -- looks like a skinny O-ring) fits into a groove on the gaiter
to hold it snugly into this plastic collar. The plastic collar snaps onto the ball joint itself. If you are replacing the gaiter
and don’t have a rubber ring, you can simply tie the gaiter to the plastic collar with some wire. The same gaiter
assembly is used on both upper and lower ball joints.
Note that the plastic collar only goes on one way. There is a barely-perceptible ridge around the ID on one side, and
that side must be installed toward the ball joint. The ridge snaps into a groove on the ball joint, leaving the collar
situated such that it can be rotated on the groove. If you try to install it upside down, you will have to jam it hard
against the housing and you may still not manage to get it to snap into place correctly.
In the Haynes manual, Chapter 11, Section 10, steps 2 and 3 tell you to remove the retaining ring, gaiter, and collar
separately. You may be able to remove these three items together as one part -- or as a handful of chunks, as is typical.
However, during reassembly it may be necessary to install them separately because the collar can be a bit of a challenge
to get snapped onto the ball joint.
This author’s experience is that this transparent gaiter has a life expectancy of less than five years. The clear plastic turns
dark brown, then rots and falls out in crumbs. As with any grease-filled assembly protected by a boot, once the gaiter
rips open and sand and water get in, the ball joint itself is quickly ruined. Since the gaiters are available separately, you
can make the ball joints last almost indefinitely by replacing the gaiters before the old ones get rotten and rip open.
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The gaiter provided in the QH lower ball joint rebuild kit (see below) is different than the original. It is a solid black
rubber item with no metal reinforcement. A metal clip is provided in the kit to be used in place of the rubber ring on the
large opening. The QH kit does not include a new plastic collar, which leads to a question: are you supposed to reuse
the original plastic collar, or are you supposed to use this gaiter without the collar? It really doesn’t work well either
way. Here’s what seems to work best: using a small pair of snips, carefully trim the flange on the side of the collar that
ends up inside the gaitor down to about half its original breadth. Now the black rubber gaiter will fit it properly.
The black gaiters in the QH kits are also British, and don’t seem to last much longer than the clear plastic Jaguar
originals. They dry rot and start cracking at the seams. In addition, they are rather poorly designed; they are a simple
dome shape with a hole in the top, and this shape doesn’t really flex properly when the ball joint is swivelled to one or
the other extreme position. The pulling to one side tends to pull the small hole around the tapered post hard enough to
stretch it open and allow dirt to get in. Fortunately, this gaiter works well enough in the nearly centered positions where
the joint spends 99% of its time.
Chuck Sparks suggests that a thin layer of red Girling “rubber grease” (see the discussion on brake caliper assembly on
page 428) be applied to the inside surface of the gaiters prior to assembly. The idea is that this coating might help keep
the grease from your grease gun from contacting the rubber the gaiter is made of. Since the two may not be compatible,
keeping them apart may make the gaiter last longer. Well, maybe a shaky theory, but applying the red grease couldn’t
hurt.
There are better solutions to the gaiter situation here. One would be to find a non-British gaitor from some other
application that fits. Mike McLaughlin says, “Once again I'm reminded of a product out of marine catalogs... There are
available several sizes of black, flexible bellows that may be far superior to the automotive product. They are used to
route the marine steering arm, throttle and gearshift cable ass'ys through bulkheads to the outboard engine and in some
applications, house a u-joint and/or exhaust gasses to the outdrive (volvo, mercruiser). A poke about in a marine supply
house may well reveal the ideal product...”
If you can’t find a good gaitor that fits, you can fabricate your own gaiters from shoe leather or inner tubes or
something. It’s really not difficult, and it’s especially not difficult to do better than the OEM items.
The best solution, though, is to replace the ball joints in entirety with the XJ40 items as described on page 368.
LOWER BALL JOINT ACCESS: The overhaul procedure in 60.15.13 says to disconnect the brake line and the tie rod
end. Both are unnecessary unless you really prefer to work on the bench. Obviously you need to be careful not to stress
the brake line.
The Haynes manual, Chapter 11, Section 10, Step 1 tells you to remove the stub axle carrier as described in Section 8.
Section 8 tells you to remove the brake caliper and the hub/disk assembly, both of which are unnecessary for ball joint
work. It also suggests separating the upper ball joint from the stub axle carrier, but if you’re not working on that ball
joint at this time it would obviously be much easier to separate it from the A-arm by removing the two bolts and keeping
track of the alignment shims.
You can pretty much ignore the directions in the repair manuals and simply follow the following steps. Obviously, start
by putting the front of the car on jack stands and removing the road wheel. The steering must be turned back and forth
a couple of times, so it’s really easier (and safer) to lift the entire front end of the car and place on stands rather than
trying to lift just one corner. Note that the car will probably get lifted off those jack stands at various points in this
process and set back down on them.
Once the lower ball joint is apart, there will be nothing to prevent the road spring from snapping the lower swingarm
downward around its inner mount bushings. To keep the car’s weight on that spring, support the suspension with a jack
under the outer corner of the spring pan on the lower A-arm. Stay away from the lower ball joint.
Before disconnecting the upper ball joint, you need to make sure there’s no load on it. This is important when taking it
apart, but it’s even more important when reassembling; it’s really difficult to insert the bolts in the holes while lifting the
car with one hand! If the rubber bumpers in the upper A-arm are on their stops, the road spring may be pulling the A-
arms down and applying tension to the upper ball joint. Jack the lower A-arm up until the spring is compressed far
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enough that the rubber bumpers on the upper A-arm are not touching their stops. This may require jacking a pretty long
ways, nearly standing the car on its opposite corner. Dale Knaus says, “The way I change the ball joints is to start by
blocking the opposite rear corner of the car at the jack point. By blocking under the opposite rear, the jack will lift more
of the car and compress the spring more.” Others suggest adding weight to the corner of the car you’re working on,
such as placing bags of feed or cement on the fender.
Once you know the upper ball joint is unloaded, separate the hub carrier from the upper A-arm. You can remove the nut
and use a ball joint separator to pop the tapered pin loose from the hub carrier, but if you’re not planning on servicing
that upper ball joint it’s easier to simply remove the two bolts holding the joint to the A-arm (make sure to note where
the alignment shims go). You’ll need to turn the steering a bit towards that side to get the outboard bolt out.
Tilt the top end of the hub carrier outward to get access to the nut on the lower joint ball pin. Loosen the nut a few
turns but don’t remove it. You need to loosen the nut far enough to get past the nyloc insert so the nut turns freely;
once the tapered pin is popped loose it’s free to spin, which may make it difficult to remove the nut if it won’t spin easily
on the threads.
Use of a fork-type ball joint separator on the lower joint will not only destroy the old gaiter, but the plastic ring and the
upper ball seat as well. The fork type separator doesn’t work very well here anyway; better to have the screw-type
separator on hand. Even better, usually you can get it apart without using any separator tool; jam something between
the inner corner of the hub carrier (right next to the lower ball joint) and the A-arm, and forcefully rock the upper end of
the hub carrier outward. Once it pops loose, the hub carrier will fall, and if it still has the brake assembly on it it’s quite
heavy; that’s why you loosened that nut but didn’t remove it!
If you’re careful, you can accomplish all this without disconnecting the tie rod or the brake line; it might help to turn the
steering wheel one way or the other. Of course, this implies you’re willing to rebuild the ball joint right there. If you
prefer to carry the hub carrier to the bench, obviously you’ll need to disconnect the tie rod and brake line and bleed the
brakes once you’ve reassembled everything.
If you separated the upper end by unbolting the ball joint, use one of the upper ball joint bolts to connect the inner end
of the upper ball joint to the outer holes in the upper A-arm. This provides a convenient support for the hub carrier once
the lower ball joint is apart. If you popped the pin loose at the upper ball joint, you can slip it back together and install
the nut loosely, or use more conventional means such as hanging the hub carrier with wire. Once the hub carrier is
supported, you can remove the nut on the lower ball pin entirely and proceed to rebuild the ball joint.
LOWER BALL JOINT REBUILDING: The original lower ball joint is a rebuildable assembly, with parts books
showing part numbers for the individual components; apparently there is no single part number for the overall assembly.
Before the advent of the XJ40, Jaguar offered a rebuild kit for the lower ball joint, part number 12803. That’s not a
misprint; for some reason, there is no C or other letters before the number.
The lower ball joint from the XJ40 (the 1988-on XJ6) is a one-piece throwaway item (see below) that will replace the
entire ball joint assembly on the XJ-S, and costs less than the Jaguar rebuild kit. Hence, Jaguar reportedly no longer
makes such a kit, and authorized repair shops merely replace the joint with the XJ40 item.
However, an aftermarket parts company, Quinton Hazell, makes a rebuild kit for the original rebuildable ball joint; the
part number is QSJ221RK or something like that. QH’s prices for this kit are much more reasonable than the Jaguar
parts prices ever were, and it is cheaper to use this kit to rebuild your ball joint than to install the new XJ40 unit. It’s still
a better idea to go with the XJ40 joint, though, because it comes with a better gaiter.
The original, rebuildable lower ball joint is assembled with shims to provide a properly snug fit between the ball and the
socket. It should be noted that these shims are intended to provide a proper fit at assembly, not for removing the slop
from a worn joint. If a joint develops slop, it should be rebuilt with new parts or replaced entirely, not merely
readjusted.
The ROM, Section 60.15.04, describes re-shimming the lower ball joint without disconnecting it from the stub axle
carrier, but frankly this is questionable; you will have a difficult time determining the correct snugness of that ball joint
without being able to manipulate the ball pin by hand. Besides, you probably need to replace the gaiter while you’re in
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there anyway, so use the overhaul procedure in 60.15.13 instead.
When rebuilding the lower ball joint, don’t lose the shims that come out. Although the QH kit includes shims, there may
not be enough to provide all new shims.
Bernard Embden suggests: “I found that, under pressure, grease was spitting out between the shim and one lower ball
cup. Putting a straight edge against the ball joint surface at the knuckle revealed an uneven surface which had to be
trued up before completing the rebuild. I believe that these lower ball joints are subject to a lot of abuse as the car runs
over debris, etc. Checking with a straight edge should be part of any rebuild.”
It is recommended that you trial-assemble the ball joint dry (no grease) in order to establish the correct shimming. It’s
amazing how grease can make a sloppy joint feel tight.
Thoroughly grease the ball and socket parts prior to final assembly. Although the joint has a zerk fitting, its use is no
substitute for proper greasing at assembly.
LOWER BALL JOINT SUBSTITUTION: As mentioned above, the lower ball joint from the XJ40, part number
CAC9937, will replace the original ball joint on the XJ-S perfectly. This ball joint is made by Lemförder in Germany; the
Lemförder part number is 030 260 004 834. It has no grease fitting, it’s not rebuildable and the gaiter is not considered
replaceable (not available separately) -- but it’s still the better choice in ball joints! The gaiter built onto the Lemförder
ball joint is an excellent design, shaped like a bellows to allow the joint to move back and forth without stressing the
rubber or pulling open a gap. It also has metal spring rings at both ends to hold it snugly to the joint.
So, your choice seems to be: replace the gaiters on the original ball joints every five years, or replace the entire joint with
the XJ40 part and forget about it for some time -- perhaps ten years anyway.
The XJ40 lower ball joint also provides a bit more clearance for aftermarket wheels.
When installing the XJ40 ball joint, the shims from the original joint are not used. They were only needed to provide
internal clearance in the rebuildable joint.
When replacing the rebuildable ball joint with the XJ40 ball joint, note that the upper ball seat of the original ball joint
must be removed. It’s a metal ring, and it actually looks like it could be an integral part of the hub carrier, but it’s not;
it’s pressed in from below. Charlie Marino suggests using the old ball pin as a tool for removing it; “I placed the ball end
of the ballpin on the upper seat from the top and hit downward into the seat with a hammer. About 4 medium hits drove
the seat out through the bottom of the stub axle carrier.”
UPPER BALL JOINT REPLACEMENT: The official repair manual calls for “Steering Joint Taper Separator JD.24”,
but we don’t need no steenking separator! Put the car on jackstands and remove the wheel. Put a jack and block of
wood under the lower ball joint and jack it enough that the rubber bumpers on the upper A-arm are not touching the
subframe. Loosen the nut on the upper ball post several turns, but do not remove it. Lower the jack so that the rubber
bumpers sit on the stops and the full spring force is applied to separating the joint. If you’re lucky and the previous
mechanic used anti-seize compound on the taper, you’ll hear a pop as it comes loose. If more difficult, a little judicious
tapping on the side of the hub carrier may help.
Make sure to note where the shims are located between the arms and the ball joint. Even if you plan to have the car
aligned, at least it will drive better on the way to the shop. The shims are supposed to lift right out, but they weren’t
made quite right; they tend to catch the bolt on the inner corner on the hook-shaped end. If this corner is filed slightly,
reassembly will be easier.
UPPER BALL JOINT SUBSTITUTION: On the original XJ-S upper ball joint C23024, the gaiter C43216, plastic ring
C22970 and rubber ring C22969 are exactly the same parts as those on the lower joint -- see the discussion on page 365.
This means the gaiter is replaceable as it is on the lower joint, but it also means it will need replacing on a regular basis.
Other than gaiter replacement, this ball joint is not rebuildable like the lower joint.
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As with the lower ball joint, the XJ40 upper ball joint CAC9938 (made by Lemförder) is a better choice; in fact, many
parts houses may automatically ship you this part when you order an upper ball joint. The gaiter on the XJ40 upper ball
joint is just like the one on the XJ40 lower ball joint: not replaceable, but a much better design than the XJ-S gaiter.
Like the XJ40 lower ball joint, the XJ40 upper ball joint has no grease fitting. The Lemförder part number is 027 260
005 834.
UPPER BALL JOINT -- SLOPPY MOUNTING: Walt Osborne of Vintage Jag Works (page 697) points out that the
original upper ball joint on XJ’s was mounted with a pair of long 3/8” bolts while the XJ40 upper ball joint is mounted
with long 10mm bolts. As a result, when the XJ40 upper ball joint is installed in an earlier car using the original bolts,
there is about 0.020” slop in where it will get positioned as the bolts are tightened down.
This is not exactly the world’s most pressing problem. Wherever the ball joint is when it is snugged up, having the car
aligned will deal with it. There are only two situations where this slop can have a detrimental effect: 1) If you hit a
pothole so hard as to slam the ball joint against one limit of this slop or the other -- move it despite how tight the bolts
are holding it still -- it could affect your camber. 2) If you work on your front suspension for some reason and unbolt
the ball joint and reinstall it, it may not end up in exactly the same place. In either of these cases, we’re talking about a
worst-case scenario that the ball joint will relocate by 0.020” -- barely noticeable.
However, Osborne also points out that fixing this slop is pretty easy. Merely drill out the holes in the swingarms to
10mm, file the openings in the four alignment shims per side a hair bigger, and install the XJ40 ball joints with 10mm
bolts.
First challenge: finding a 10mm drill bit. In the US, good luck! Fortunately, you can forget it. Mal Stewart reported,
and this author has confirmed, that 10mm bolts will fit in the holes in the swingarms without drilling. They’re snug -- in
a couple of places, I had to polish the inside of a hole a bit with sandpaper -- but you certainly won’t need to use a
10mm drill bit. I did opt to chamfer the edge of the hole under the bolt head to make sure the head seated properly.
Second challenge: Finding suitable bolts. Of course, you could try getting the OEM bolts for an XJ40 from Jaguar.
Osborne suggests using generic 10mm bolts of the correct length with the head of the outboard bolt rounded off for
clearance as the original bolt was.
The two bolts are different lengths. 100mm is just about perfect for the inboard bolt; I found that Grainger (page 711)
has both 100mm and 105mm bolts, with the 105mm bolts being significantly cheaper! They work fine, the extra length
is no problem.
You’ll probably have to buy 80mm bolts for the outer bolts, but 80mm is too long; the correct length for the outboard
bolt is about 68mm. You might get away leaving the bolt 80mm long, but it might catch on the brake disc dust shield
near full steering lock, so just to be safe cut the extra off.
You will probably want Grade 8 bolts for this job -- but metric bolts are not rated the same way as SAE bolts. What
you want is Class 10.9, which is essentially equivalent to Grade 8. Don’t get confused by metric Class 8.8, that’s
essentially equivalent to Grade 5.
I had difficulty finding 10mm nuts in Class 10.9, so I used Class 8.8 nuts. The strength of the nut is nowhere near as
important as the strength of the bolt in this application. The Class 8.8 nuts are available in many places; I found nyloc
nuts at Home Depot.
You don’t care if the bolts are regular, fine, or extra fine thread as long as the nuts fit the bolts.
I had to file the alignment shims a bit to get them to fall into place properly. The slots are big enough to fit the 10mm
bolts, but it won’t fit both at the same time! The solution was to file the slot on the inboard end of each shim a bit
deeper, so it gets a little closer to the other slot. It took perhaps 30 seconds with a round file.
Both the bolt heads and the nuts I used fit 17mm wrenches. That’s considerably larger than the 9/16” OEM bolts and
nuts, and raises clearance concerns with the outer bolt. After installation and before reinstalling the wheel, have an
assistant turn the steering lock-to-lock while you watch the hub carrier rotate around the upper ball joint. The clearance
conditions vary somewhat with suspension extension, so place a floor jack under the lower ball joint, lift it up a bit, and
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have the assistant turn it lock-to-lock again. Also note that the clearance varies somewhat with the locations of the
alignment shims, so if you have the car aligned you might want to check it again.
Here’s an interesting option: replace only the inboard bolt on each ball joint with the 10mm bolt, leaving the original
3/8” bolt in the outboard location. The single 10mm bolt will eliminate all the slop in the horizontal direction and half
the slop in the vertical direction -- but the horizontal direction is the only direction that affects alignment. This will save
you having to buy 80mm bolts, shorten them and round the head, and worry about clearance.
Bob Higgs has another method: “You can do as I did, that is to take a strip of .010" stainless steel shim, wrap it around
the 3/8" bolt making a tube shape and inserting this in the upper ball joint mounting hole. You can then use the old 3/8"
bolts, no drilling no filing no rounding off required.”
Sounds simple enough -- but Higgs doesn’t tell you where to obtain .010” stainless steel shim stock. You can buy it at
Grainger or MSC or similar industrial supply outfits. It ain’t cheap -- but if you’re looking to save money you could get
the non-stainless stuff. FYI, the ball joints are a bit more than 1-1/8” wide, so that’s how long your tubular shims will
need to be.
Higgs also fails to mention exactly how you “wrap it around the 3/8" bolt making a tube shape”. This task is definitely
easier said than done. Maybe there’s a special tool available somewhere, but if you’re working with normal hand tools
you’ll probably end up wishing you had just sprung for the 10mm bolts.
One option there would be to cut a strip of stainless steel shim stock about 1/4” wide and several inches long and wrap it
spirally to form the shim you need. Since it’s just taking up space, the spiral form will work just as well.
Another idea would be to get some thin-walled metal tubing, such as brass tubing from a hobby shop, with an ID of
3/8”. Since the OD of such tubing is usually some even amount larger -- the OD of the brass tubing from a hobby shop
will be 7/16” even -- you can then just use a 7/16” drill bit to ream out the hole in the XJ40 ball joint. Slide the tubing
into the hole and mount the ball joints with the original bolts.
FRONT SWINGARM BUSHING CHECKING: The front swingarm bushings may be checked using similar methods
as the ball joints, except that the bushings include some rubber so there will be some slight motion even in a perfectly
good joint. Usually, the best indication that a swingarm bushing is bad is that some of the rubber is hanging out of it.
LOWER SWINGARM INNER BUSHING REPLACEMENT: Craig Sawyers provides some insight into removal of
the lower fulcrum shafts on this elite precision automobile: “Be prepared for a very sweaty hour or two. Get yourself a
four pound lump hammer and batter the living daylights out of it. Be of strong heart and right arm - the SOB's will
come out. They rust into the metal sleeve in the bushes. Once it starts to move, you will need a long drift to continue
driving it through the hole in the suspension (I used a loooong socket extension I have).
Of course, the bolt will be mushroomed at the end after the abuse you offer it, and you'll need two new ones - they are
about £15 each.”
“After I spent a cheerful day exercising my arm, and patience, removing mine, I happened to be at the Jag dealer. I was
collecting some parts, and chatting to Colin (the workshop head). In the background there was this fearful BANG,
BANG, BANG then a rest pause, then BANG, BANG...
"Good grief, Colin - what on earth are you guys up to?"
"Front lower wishbone shafts - sometimes takes hours of that treatment before they move. Sometimes we even have to
take it in shifts as each of us tires...."
Uhhhhh, do I even have to suggest that anti-seize compound would be a good idea when reassembling?
Clay Merritt suggests a saw: "Once you drop the crossmember you can get to the fulcrum shafts with a reciprocating
blade, then tap them out from inside."
Doug Dwyer presents a counterpoint: "I've done this job on two Jags and the fulcrum shafts came out with a few taps.
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If my experience means anything I wouldn't automatically assume that they'll be seized in place." Actually, being patient
and tapping lightly may be the secret, as really beating on it is only likely to swell the shaft and make it more difficult to
get out.
SPRING REMOVAL: If you’re working on the lower swingarm bushings, trying to adjust the ride height, or any of
several other operations, you will need to remove the front road spring -- safely. Needless to say, it is a very strong
spring, and care must be taken to either gradually release the compression on it or to hold it securely compressed so that
it cannot break loose.
Ideally, you should use a spring compressor that fits this assembly, but that may be difficult to find -- the front spring
mounts on the XJ-S seem designed to confound most standard spring compressors. The official Jaguar tool is a
threaded device that goes up the middle, but is reportedly so large and bulky that it requires the car be on a lift, not
merely on jackstands.
Carlos Artal says, “Get a thick, long threaded rod (size unimportant, but as thick as you can). Get 6 large washers that
will fit on the rod, and are at least 5cm diameter. Finally; get some nuts for the rod (if the rod is as thick as mine, the
nuts were size 16 metric). I got 4, and you'll see why.
“On the upper part of the x-member, just put some rag under the washers (3) and insert the rod vertically, then insert 2
nuts from the top, so they rest on the washers.
“From the underside, use 2 little blocks of wood, which fit into the "circular pan" the shock base has, and then put on the
other 3 washers, and 2 nuts.
“To disassemble, just tighten the lower nuts until you can undo the bolts in the pan.” Then back the nuts down to lower
the pan until the spring is completely free. “Just one warning!; when you think the spring is completely sprung, keep on
going, these puppies are big and dangerous (my first one jumped 2 meters!)
“To assemble, with the same setting as above, the problem is that the spring will make the pan wander from side to side.
I used 3 thin rods as "guides" for the entire pan.” Others use long bolts or threaded rod screwed into the holes in the
swingarm as guides, but note that having anything threaded tends to make the pan hang up on it; it’s better to have
something smooth.
Dennis Kindig used a similar procedure, and offers these variations: “You may want to fiddle with a piece of bar stock
cut at the proper angle and placed between the washers on the rod and the spring pan to help align the pan with the
wishbone. There is an angled section of cylindrical bar stock on the "official" tool ($420 US, by the way) that
accomplishes that. I also found that wedging the rod (I used a socket stuffed in there) so that it stayed at the outer end
of the oval hole in the spring pan gave me more leverage (it pulls to the inside under tension).”
Joe Bialy describes a totally different spring removal method: “Use three pieces of threaded rod about a foot long each.
3/8-24 fine thread. Remove three pan bolts, install the rod with nuts to hold it all together. Remove the other 3 bolts.
Slowly and uniformly back out the nuts on the three rods. The pan will back out with them. Reverse the process to
install.” The problem, of course, is finding threaded rod in fine thread; Bialy says McMaster-Carr (page 711) carries it.
Other suggestions include tying the spring in the loaded position while it’s sitting on its wheels and then jacking it up --
please be very careful tying it, and make good and sure whatever you use is strong enough for the job. And keep your
body parts outta the way anyway, just in case it breaks loose.
Michael McLaughlin says, “Herein is the no brain / no pain / no danger / no unusual tools (requires two jacks and a nut
splitter) front spring liberation. Find the complete story at:
http://www.jag-lovers.org/lists/archives/xj-s/199802/msg00542.html
“Chock rear wheels and jack car (not wheel). Turn steering to allow access (to left for right wheel). Remove front road
wheel. Insert "low" jack under spring pan; raise jack under spring pan and lower car jack until car weight is borne
entirely by road spring (and 3 other wheels!). With nut splitter crack in two places and remove upper balljoint retainer
nut (not the nuts on the two bolts holding the balljoint). Raise car jack and lower spring jack slightly. Secure axle stub
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upright to vehicle w/ shock cord or rope to protect brake line. Continue to raise car / lower spring until all is clear.
Spring can now be removed, noting position of spring spacers.” Obviously, you don’t really need to split that ball joint
nut, you can simply unscrew it. I don’t see why removing the two bolts holding the ball joint won’t work just as well.
Jan Wikström says, “I have removed and installed front springs with the jack method, unscrewing nothing at all except
the spring pan retaining nuts. The only difficulty can be compressing the spring enough when it goes in with spacers; a
couple of large volunteers (or four sacks of whatever) on the front wing will do nicely; the alternative is to use
temporary 4” long studs. This also helps guiding the spring pan on to the studs, which can otherwise be tricky as the
spring must be bent fairly severely.
“I stress that there is no risk at all of the spring going sproing; it is completely restrained by the spring tower and the
lower A-arm. Just make sure the jack is solidly based for the first part of the compression.”
RUSTY FRONT SUBFRAME: Craig Sawyers says, “The front sub-frame has a rust pocket at the top of the spring
mount. If it rusts through, the spring breaks through, and the car rides low, lower, lower still as the rust progresses.”
FRONT ANTI-ROLL BAR BUSHINGS: If you wish to replace the front anti-roll bar mounts with aftermarket units,
there are a couple problems to note. First, the top (bottom? It’s mounted upside down) of the arch of the stock bracket
clears the subframe by only about ¼”, and the subframe moves around a little on its soft rubber mounts so the ¼”
clearance is minimal to avoid banging. To be acceptable, the height of the arch of the bracket must be 1½” or less.
The second problem is that the bolt holes on the brackets are staggered, with the forward stud being located outward
from the centerline of the car and the rearward stud being located inward. As a result, the stock brackets have two
different part numbers; C30500 for the right side, and C30501 for the left.
The Addco (see page 713) catalog indicates their “D” series fits the front of the XJ-S, but these brackets definitely will
not work. The bushings themselves might be usable with the stock brackets, but it will require some serious trimming
on the bushings at least. Addco’s catalog does not seem too reliable.
Just when things are looking difficult, however, a solution comes along. Addco offers a bushing and bracket set that will
fit the front of the XJ-S perfectly. The brackets needed are their “S” series brackets, but that doesn’t tell the whole
story; their “S” series designation indicates only that the brackets have offset holes, but they have many different types of
“S” series brackets to fit different cars. The set that fits the XJ-S perfectly is the set that was designed for the 1967-68
Chevrolet Impala, although (hopefully) you can now merely ask for the ones that fit a Jaguar XJ-S and get the correct
items. The bushings themselves are their “W” series bushings.
Addco bushings come with no split in them, as though you are supposed to feed them on from the end of the bar. This
is really difficult, as the urethane is stiff indeed and the end of the bar has a formed eye. The bend isn’t easy to get
around either. It is a simple matter, however, to cut a split into one side of the bushing with a razor knife so you can just
spread it open and pop it into place around the bar. Addco includes a small package of special grease with each set of
bushings, and applying a little of this grease to the razor knife makes cutting even easier. Since the loads on the front
bushings are vertical, the ideal place to make the split is on one side of the bushing. Use of a saw is not recommended,
since you don’t want to remove any material, you just want to cut it. The bracket will hold the split bushing securely --
in fact, considerably more securely than the original Jaguar split rubber bushing was held.
If polyurethane still isn’t stiff enough for you, you can fab up “mounting blocks” that are basically two halves made of
aluminum with a hole through the middle the size of the bar.
POLYURETHANE ANTI-ROLL BAR END LINK BUSHINGS -- FRONT: J. C. Whitney, Addco, and many other
aftermarket sources also offer polyurethane end link bushings, again as a stiffer and more durable replacement for
original rubber items. These end link bushings are applicable to the front of the XJ-S, replacing C10996; it would be
necessary to cut about 1/4” off the back end of the bushing to make it the correct length. Addco also offers entire end
link assemblies, with the 3¾” size being the correct length to replace the parts (C10996, C46186, C33682, and C11045)
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on the front of the XJ-S.
Randy Wilson reports problems with using urethane end link bushings, however; the relative angles between the bar and
the end link and between the end link and the control arm vary considerably with suspension travel, and the rigidity of
urethane end link bushings apparently results in the end link itself being bent back and forth, resulting in it breaking very
shortly. Wilson has broken both the original Jag links and the aftermarket links by using urethane bushings. He claims
some success with modifying the urethane bushings by machining them to allow more room for flexing, but the jury is
still out on long-term results. Perhaps sticking with rubber items would be wise here. Generic rubber end link bushings
are available at most auto parts stores; again, it is necessary to cut part of the generic bushing off with a razor knife to
make it the correct length.
Both J. C. Whitney and Addco offer adjustable end links, which have a spring within the assembly that can be adjusted
to absorb some of the motion and soften the effects of a stiff bar. The spring may also allow the urethane bushings to
back away enough to avoid the end link failure problems described above.
Steering
SHIMS: The steering lever attaches to the hub carrier with two bolts. At the rear (longer) bolt, there is a shim (it looks
like a thin washer) that goes between the steering lever and the brake caliper. Don’t lose it! Omitting this shim at
reassembly screws up your alignment and distorts the steering lever. See the further discussion on these shims on page
435.
STEERING COLUMN INSTALLATION: If you have lowered your steering column, Rob Reilly sends this tip for
reinstallation: “When putting back the steering column use a little rubber cement to hold all the washers in place. Leave
the bolts loose and pull the column back about 1/4” before you tighten them; if you don’t, you will get binding in the
lower column universal joint and bumpy steering.”
STEERING COLUMN: The Jaguar Parts Catalogue lists the “upper steering column” as a safety item; it’s designed to
collapse in a collision. Apparently you’re not supposed to fiddle with it, just replace it as a unit. Richard Dowling says
there is a plastic section in here designed to absorb energy in a crash: “The plastic shaft appears to be moulded in situ
since it has spigots of plastic sticking out of it which lock it in position since they engage in small holes in the tube.
These are effectively shear pins, since a moderate force on the plastic shaft will push it up the tube.”
He found his to have been already sheared, he expects as a result of work he was doing in the area. “It was a year
ago so I do not recall exact details, but the jist of it was that at some stage I had probably sheared off the pins trying
to get the universal joint splines to line up at the bottom end of the column. That can be hard work in a very confined
space, but I am no Tarzan hence it is obvious that the shear pins are not real strong.
“Most of the mechanism is hidden inside the outer case of the column assembly. Design details are nonexistent in the
ROM, and fig. 11.34 in my Haynes manual is the best illustration. You can figure out how to pull the complete
assembly apart, no rocket science, but it is fiddly. If the shear pins are shot the column is still useable, since friction
tends to hold the plastic shaft in position. It will not ride up the column, since the universal joint and bearing at the
bottom prevent this. However, when my steering wheel became sloppy ( not dangerously, just a little disconcerting )
I found the bottom bearing had dropped out of the column outer casing since the plastic shaft had migrated
downwards. You can see in Haynes’ fig 11.34 a plastic bush just above the splines. The bush is a push fit in the
bottom end of the column outer case, but it can drop out if the shear pins let go. This appears to be the only problem
from failed shear pins. However, it needs a quick fix because if it drops too far it may bind up the 2 universal joints in
the lower part of the steering.
“The fix is to take a wormdrive clip that will clamp on the lip of the bush which is the same OD as the column case.
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This way you can almost clamp the lip to the case, but to make it better buy a flimsy clip and try and bend the edge of
the worm drive clip down so it acts as a shoulder to go over the lip. Maybe with a strong clip you could put a few
saw cuts around one edge and bend it down easier to make a shoulder. This is an improvisation with column still in
car. If the column is out of the car some other improvisation will be even more secure.” Another idea might be to
use the worm screw clamp to hold another strip of metal securely to the outer diameter of the housing and bend the
edges of that strip down over the lip of the bushing to hold it in place. All of this can probably be done with the
column in place, no need to take it out.
“One tedious way to fix this may be to strip the column assembly down again and put a few small screws or roll pins
through the tube holes to hold the plastic inner shaft, sufficient to hold the plastic in place while remembering they
have to shear in a crash.”
STEERING RACK LUBRICATION: According to the John’s Cars catalog, using the zerk fitting on the steering rack
does more harm than good, and they remove them during their rebuilds. Others have reported no problems, but
obviously one would be well advised not to get carried away with the grease gun. Stefan Schulz reports: “Perhaps even
Jaguar realized that eventually, mine (CBC5708) doesn’t have that fitting any more.”
STEERING RACK LOWERING: Contrary to the instructions in the manual, the steering rack can be lowered far
enough to work on the mount bushings without disconnecting either the hydraulic lines, the tie rods or the steering
column. The only difficult part is access to both ends of the three mounting bolts.
The steering rack is mounted on slotted holes. You’ll have to trust me on this, because they’re not slotted far and the
entire slot can be hidden behind the flat washers under the bolt heads. The intent is to be able to position the rack
properly with respect to the lower A-arm mounts, and there is a special Jaguar tool used to check for proper position
when reinstalling. Presuming that you don’t happen to have this tool laying around the house, it is suggested that you
carefully mark the position of the mounting bolts within the slotted holes prior to unbolting the rack. When reinstalling,
simply put it back where it was.
Any time the steering rack is lowered for inspection or repair, it is wise to disconnect the bolts mounting the power
steering cooler to the subframe. The pipes on this unit are very fragile, the hoses are short and often stiffened by age and
heat, and a new cooler is of course more than $100. It can generally be repaired by any reputable radiator shop,
however.
Chuck Sparks suggests that, while the rack is down, you spread the bosses on the subframe a bit to ease reinstallation.
Install a piece of 5/16” threaded rod through a boss with a flat washer, two nuts, and another flat washer in the middle.
Spin the nuts outward until they are holding the flat washers against the sides of the boss, then continue to turn them to
force the sides apart.
STEERING RACK MOUNT BOSS CRACKING: John Smith suggests you check the front suspension subframe for
cracking around the steering rack mount bosses while you have the rack lowered. “The kerbside (passenger side)
mounting was cracked along the inside (closest to car centre) 2 inch vertical weld to the subframe and also the half inch
horizontal weld on the subframe lip. In other words, the inner vertical of the mounting bracket was broken away from
the subframe.”
Smith’s local Jag supplier, as well as others, suggest this cracking is due to the stiffer aftermarket rack mounts. It can’t
be directly due to the stiffer mounts, since they won’t change the loads on that boss -- in fact, they probably reduce the
impact stresses since the rack isn’t banging around in there as it does with the OEM bushings. However, the cracks may
be caused by installers using the bolts to pull the sides of the bosses in to meet the aftermarket bushings rather than space
them properly with 5/16” fender washers. Or, since the car is actually driveable for a change, the driver may be driving it
harder. Whatever, the possibility of cracked bosses is certainly no excuse for sticking with the crappy OEM bushings;
have a welder repair and reinforce those bosses if necessary.
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STEERING RACK MOUNT BUSHING REMOVAL: John’s Cars offers a rental tool for removing the original
bushings from the rack. It is extremely helpful, especially when working with the rack hanging under the car where a
bench press won’t help.
You can improvise such a tool using two 3/8” drive sockets (one with an OD a hair smaller than the bushing, one deep
and large enough for the bushing to fit inside it), a long 5/16” bolt or piece of threaded rod with nuts and washers. It’s
not always a snap, though; getting them to stay aligned and not cock sideways or jam can be a challenge. John Tompane
says, “I was experiencing what others reported, the 'pusher' socket was getting out of line. My solution - I purchased
two bronze thrust bearings at the hardware store for a couple of bucks. These look like top hats from the side, or a
cylinder with a shoulder. This fit into the 1/2" socket and did two things, one it kept the 1/4" bolt in alignment. Second,
the shoulder rests firmly on the back of the socket providing a solid base to torque the nut/bolt. Result = worked like a
charm. Without the bearings I wasted hours trying to get the easy one out (passenger side) and quit for the night. After
getting the bearings, all three came out in a snap.”
Jim Warren went another route: “I used the two socket method. I ground the thrust edges of the pusher to remove any
roundness. There is very little of the bushing outer sleeve to push on, and with the factory rounded edges, the socket
can easily get cocked slightly and not push squarely.”
Another possibility: You can cut through the rubber and remove the guts of the original bushings and then use 1/2”
drive sockets with a 1/2” bolt! Or 3/8” drive sockets with a 3/8” bolt. Either should hold the tools together and aligned
more securely than a 5/16” or 1/4” bolt through 3/8” drive sockets, and obviously you’ll have less concerns about
strength with the heavier bolts.
Not everyone has to work so hard, though. Tom Bernett says, “The two socket method worked splendidly for me - no
tendency for the pusher socket to get cocked at all. I don't know if it helped, but after the initial tightening of the
bolts/sockets, I gave the bolt head a firm smack with a hammer as a little encouragement to break whatever bond there
might be. This is the kind of job that you expect to be a real problem. I pictured hours under there with
hammers/chisels/drills/saws/etc. You can imagine my delight as I watched all 3 bushings slowly slide out one by one.”
A method to avoid: Some people cut the rubber and center sleeve out, leaving only the outer sleeve, then insert a
hacksaw and cut through the sleeve on one side; the sleeve can then be collapsed and removed easily. If done carefully
enough, it appears to work fine, but a small nick on the aluminum boss on the rack can cause a stress crack later. Using
a drill or other means to destroy the original bushing involves similar risks.
Another method to avoid: using a hammer. You’re just asking for damage to that aluminum rack.
An obvious method to avoid: Heating the aluminum up to get the bushings loose. Unbelieveable as it may seem, some
people are willing to try this. The facts that the housing is aluminum which conducts heat very well, the seals inside are
rubber, and a rebuild costs as much as a three-day ocean cruise for two apparently never occurs to them.
STEERING RACK MOUNT BUSHING INSTALLATION: Don’t!!! The Jaguar steering rack mounts are crap, pure
and simple. Do not install any such bushings, period.
STEERING RACK MOUNTS: Even if the original Jaguar steering rack mount bushings in your car are in fine shape,
the steering response is awful. The stock mounts are very soft, which by itself is not necessarily bad. However, for
some reason Jaguar chose to position the mounts parallel to the steering forces, so they are loaded axially (shear) rather
than radially (compression). See Figure 18. There are bumpers (flat washers with a layer of rubber on one side) on
either side of the mounts to limit the side-to-side motion of the rack. This design results in a nonlinear response: When
you turn the wheel gently, the steering is somewhat unresponsive, since the mounts flex and absorb most of the steering
motion. When you turn hard enough that the bumpers are contacted, the steering suddenly becomes much more
responsive. The inconsistency of response makes it difficult to steer smoothly, especially when driving hard; the car
seems indecisive about how much it wants to turn.
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Besides providing lousy response when new, the OEM mounts are also known for a lack of durability, and of course
when they come apart they come apart all at once. Ray Johnson says, “everything was fine and then the next thing I
knew I was tacking a 4200# sailboat down the highway.”
On the XJ-S discussion list on the Internet, this author mentioned the possibility that this inconsistent response might
actually be dangerous, especially with drivers that never drive hard and therefore are taken by surprise in the first panic
situation they encounter. Of course, the first panic situation may rip the mounts apart -- but do you really care exactly
why the mounts don’t work right in the first panic situation? Jim Downes responded: “Many (too many) moons ago
when I was a student, I worked part-time at a Jag/Rolls dealership in Ireland. Occasionally, a customer's Jag would be
towed in after a very bad crash. Most customers complained of an apparent loss of directional control during (as Kirby
correctly identifies) a 'panic' situation. In almost every case, the bushings were worn and behaved exactly as described
above. Absolutely all of the senior mechanics there felt that the bushings were dangerous after a few months of use.”
The solution is to replace the steering rack mount bushings with ones that are not merely stiffer but of a totally different
design. This modification is so common that virtually every aftermarket business dealing in Jaguar stuff offers a kit. The
John’s Cars design (see page 717) subjects the elastomers to compression only, and eliminates the inconsistency in the
steering response. They use polyurethane, making the mounts stiff but not totally rigid. The entire kit is about $50, and
well worth the money. A similar kit is the Mackay Sure Trak A1598U, available from BPI (see page 692). XK’s
unlimited (see page 697) offers a kit of slightly different design made of delrin, but the function is similar.
STOCK AFTERMARKET
BUSHING BUSHING
DIRECTION OF
STEERING FORCES
Figure 18 - Original vs. Aftermarket Steering Rack Mounts
Folks, please take this recommendation seriously: even if the stock bushings have not yet failed, even if they are brand
new, replace them with aftermarket bushings as soon as possible. If you are determined to keep your car “original”,
please yank those original junk bushings out and carefully box them away for future concours events, and install some
good mounts for any actual driving you may do. Downes concurs: “Regardless of perceived 'quality' of feel, when I
move the wheel expecting a twenty degree turn, that's what I want, not fifteen or twenty five degrees depending on side-
loads, braking loads, road camber or any of the other variables that can influence the 'mood' of the original bushings.”
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The stock assembly includes a sheet metal U-channel that fits around both bushing assemblies on the driver’s side,
holding the whole mess together as you offer it up to the car. When you lower the rack, this piece might stay up there;
pull it out, it’s helpful for installation. The aftermarket bushing set from John’s Cars includes a new one of these pieces
-- very nice, since the old one might be a little mangled.
Because there has been some confusion due to inadequate instructions provided with these kits, one thing needs to be
made very clear: when these aftermarket bushings are installed, they should fit snugly within the bosses on the subframe.
There should be no gaps or spaces whatsoever. If the boss is wide enough that the bushing assembly fits with space left
over, some 5/16” fender washers should be installed to fill the gaps. The mounting bolts should be tight, compressing
the boss (Slightly! That’s why you need to add fender washers if necessary!) onto the ends of the metal tube within the
bushing.
Jaguar itself offers a stiffer mount scheme in its “SportsPack”, using one normal mount (CAC 1635) and two special
ones (CBC 5928 or CBC 9107). While an improvement, this scheme still maintains the lousy shear-loaded design, and it
is still a better idea to get the aftermarket kits instead; they are easier to install (no press fit required, since there is no
shear loading) and a good bit cheaper.
The urethane (red) mounts don’t last forever, however. Lee Opausky reports: “Installed 5 or 6 years and 40 M km ago,
John's poli bushing failed in the last 3 weeks at a very rapid rate. The steering wheel yesterday went to a "full half
turn/no change in direction" mode from somewhat loose steering 3 weeks ago. This part was very good to us for many
years since it first replaced the "British rubber" and I have no probs with the quality of the part. What I find intriguing is
the rapidity of the failure with practically no warning signs. 3 mos ago I had these guys out when the rack had to be
lowered to install a new starter, and a visual did not reveal any signs of fatigue. Now they are literally mushed with only
the outer rim in one piece - like a slice of orange peel.
“The poli bushings were of orange color and gave excellent service for 5 or 6 years. No oil or other chemical came into
contact with these parts (clean car) and all 3 seem to have been affected at the same time to the same extent.” Of
course, one wouldn’t expect just one or two to be affected; when the rack decided to move sideways, it must take out all
three to do it.
Larue Boyce: “I installed John's Cars steering rack bushings in my '91 in in January of 1998 at 98,368 miles. I replaced
them with the black ones from Welch Jaguar in Dec of 2001 at 140,439 miles when I replaced the rack with a rebuilt
from Coventry West. I think the bushings did a great job and were worn out after 42,000 miles along with the heat from
the motor and Florida. The bushings had worn, discolored and the end pieces separated into several "O" s.”
So far, durability seems to be an issue in urethane aftermarket mounts but not delrin (grey) mounts, and may be due to
this being a poor environment for urethane. Jim Cantrell says, “The melting point is about 350°F and the maximum
recommended service temperature is 250°F. Above this temperature, the esters boil out of the matrix and brittleness
follows. However, they rate poor in resistance to hydrocarbon exposure, acids, synthetic lubricants and hydraulic fluids.
Could be something there in the engine compartment besides heat that degrades the material.”
Bolles suggests that instead of replacing the original mounts, you merely insert washers on either side of them to reduce
the side-to-side travel; washers from mag wheel lug nuts work well. This makes the original mounts last indefinitely,
since they hardly move.
Another idea may be to cut out some hard rubber pieces -- preferably with some cord for strength, like old tires or drive
belts -- to install on either side of the original mounts, providing a compression member to restrain the side-to-side
motion. Make sure to fill the space, leave no gaps; for the rack to move at all, it should be compressing material. You
might consider removing the OEM rubber-faced washers on each side of each mount and installing fender washers
instead along with a broad flat chunk of hard rubber the same or larger OD as the mounting lug and perhaps 1/4” thick.
Since the three mount bushings work in unison, the stiffness of the rack mount system can be controlled by altering just
one, two, or all three mounts. However, this author recommends you treat all three bushings the same so as to distribute
the load equally on all three mount lugs on the rack rather than concentrating the load on one or two lugs. An
alternative idea is to stiffen the two mounts on the driver’s side and allow the one on the passenger’s side to remain
flexible; some suggest this will minimize stresses due to differences in thermal expansion, allowing the passenger’s end to
“float” a bit while the driver’s end remains firmly anchored. It’s not likely there are any significant stresses due to
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thermal expansion here, though; stiffening all three while making sure the fender washers are positioned properly to
avoid stressing the lugs when the bolts are tightened should work best.
STEERING RACK MOUNT BOLTS: If you happen to be working on the rack with either the engine or the front
subframe out of the car, you may be able to put the bolts in any way you wish. But for the benefit of those who work on
the car later, please install the upper mount bolt on the driver’s side from the outside inward, and the lower bolts on both
sides from the inside outward. This makes it much easier to install or remove the rack with the engine and front
suspension in the way.
If you must replace the mounting bolts, be careful not to use bolts that are too long. When complete, be sure the upper
bolt on the driver’s side does not protrude too close to the engine block, since the engine moves on its mounts and will
beat against the bolt. And the lower bolts should not protrude too closely to the lower A-arms, since they are likewise
mounted on rubber and may move during operation.
STEERING RACK REMOVAL: If you have to totally remove the steering rack, one problem is how to remove the
pinch bolt that connects the steering column swivel joint to the tower shaft. Remove the oil filter first, then turn the
steering wheel until the pinch bolt is positioned where you can get at it.
Also note that the pinch bolt must be completely removed for the swivel joint to be disconnected from the tower shaft.
The tower shaft has a recess the bolt fits through; merely loosening it will not permit removal.
You might find it helpful to carefully mark the relative position of these parts prior to disassembly.
STEERING RACK TOWER SHAFT SEAL: This seal is prone to leakage. John’s Cars (see page 717) offers an
aftermarket seal that is supposedly better than the original. It better be, it’s quite expensive.
Len Olsen offers another option: “OEM or aftermarket kits no longer include original 'steel cup' style seal. New type
frays quickly. Better than original can be purchased from Autozone, included in kit #7910 (cost $10).
“Power steering kit #7910 is for a 1980 Chevrolet Camaro, 350 V8, 5.7 liters. The number stamped on actual seal in the
kit is '1 PC 7808195', but AutoZone says that as far as they know it is only available as part of kit. Take my word for it,
it is better than original for the XJ-S (or any Jaguar sporting the same rack and pinion assembly) being that it is slightly
oversize and "beefier". It's been in there 18 months, after wearing out 3 other types of seals in quick succession. Burrs,
debris, etc. helped 'do in' the others, but this one's tougher.
“AutoZone had told me that that the unidentified "Powercraft" seal kit #7910 was from a '85 Chev 350ci truck, but it
also showed up on their system for a 1980 Chevy Camaro. Oh well, go figure! It worked for my Kitty.”
Tom Bennett adds another: “Go to your local seal store and ask for an oil seal with the following #22-30-6mm. The
I.D. is 22, O.D. 30 and the height is 6mm; this is 2mm more in height than the Jag "New" style but I can assure you
fitting it is no problem at all! The particular seal I bought was blue and flexible, no idea what the material was, not
rubber though! Cost about $3.”
Reportedly, one problem associated with the tower seal is incorrect installation by driving it too far into the housing. Be
sure not to drive it any deeper than it needs to go.
STEERING RACK REBUILDING: Judging from the experience of other XJ owners on the Internet, you’re going to
need a rack rebuild sooner or later. They start leaking power steering fluid out of the boots. Replacing the boots won’t
help, they have deliberate drain holes in them! They’re not supposed to hold fluid, they just keep dirt out. The fluid is
supposed to be kept in the rack by seals on each end of the power piston itself. If the boots are filling with fluid, rack
rebuild time. Of course, there are products on the market that you can supposedly pour into your power steering system
to stop leaks, but these will be a temporary fix at best.
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There is a “seal kit” available for the steering rack. Note that reportedly the tower shaft seal is not included in this kit;
check with your source and order the tower shaft seal separately if necessary.
A high percentage of people who have rebuilt their own steering racks have reported failure on the first try, and all for
the same reason: when installing the rack bar through the seal on the driver’s side end of the rack, the teeth on the rack
bar ruined the seal. This typically results in ordering an entire new seal kit to obtain this one seal, and greater care the
next try. The repair manual calls for wrapping the rack with tape prior to sliding the seal over it; apparently this is the
minimal precaution, experience says to lube it up as well and exercise extreme caution during assembly. It has also been
suggested that the seal and the part it mounts into be slid over the rack separately and then assembled, since installation
in the housing makes the seal more difficult to work with.
Even with care to not damage that seal on installation, your rack rebuild still might not be successful; you may still have
fluid in the boots within seconds after startup. Gregory Wells of Coventry West, Inc. (page 693) says, “We rebuild a
large number of Jag racks each month and we find that the wear causing the leaks is usually not just the seals; the sealing
surfaces wear, too. And unless these are checked and dealt with in one way or another, the rack will probably leak
immediately or sooner than you'd like. Modern elastomer seals tend to wear the metal sealing surfaces more than the old
natural rubber seals. We have polishing equipment we use to polish the seal surfaces; if they are too worn to polish out
the grooves without reducing the diameter of the shafts below what we feel are minimum specs, we replace the part
from the usable spares pile.”
POWER STEERING BOOST REDUCTION: Many drivers object to the inert feel of the overboosted power steering,
and seek ways to reduce the assist. One of the simplest cures is to install a smaller diameter steering wheel; Momo and
others make aftermarket wheels and adapters. The owner of a later car, of course, has a driver’s side air bag to contend
with.
John Goodman points out that the XJR-S has reduced power assist, and it may be possible to retrofit the valve body
onto the steering rack in the regular XJ-S. “I don't think the racks have changed much, the valve is probably
interchangeable. Reduces assistance by.... well, you need two hands to turn the wheel at standstill, normal round town
corners are OK. On the road it is noticeably heavier but much improved.
“SPC 1034 is the part no. for the rack valve from an '89 parts list.
“SPC 1286 is the part no. for complete rack from '92 parts list.
“SPC 1158 is the part no. for the rack valve again '92 parts list.
“The rest of the steering is std. Front springs/shocks are unique XJR-S items though.”
The XJ-S owner is advised to only consider the boost reduction mods after replacing the rack mounts with aftermarket
items. The rack mounts are the cheaper mod, they will usually provide the feel the driver is looking for -- and they make
it easier to take the rack in and out to make further mods like the valve replacement.
STEERING WHEEL ALIGNMENT: If your steering wheel is cockeyed when driving in a straight line, your problem
may be in the relationship between the steering wheel and the rack, or between the rack and the front wheels. Jaguar has
provided a nifty method of determining which. If you remove the grease fitting from the steering rack, a dowel (or
special Jaguar tool no. 12279) can be inserted to engage a notch in the rack. When the notch is lined up with the grease
fitting hole, the rack is centered. The steering wheel can then be lined up properly. Once this is done, a misalignment
when driving straight (be sure you’re on a level road, and not in the right lane of a road that is crowned) calls for
correction at the tie rods. If the correction is minor and you are confident that the alignment is otherwise OK, this can
be done by carefully marking both tie rods and adjusting both of them the same amount.
Franck Guilloteau says “that "special tool" can easily be replaced with a screwdriver (torx T20 for example) that has the
same ID of the zerk (sp?) grease fitting on the steering rack - remove the fitting, insert the screwdriver - move the
wheels until it drops in a rack groove - the rack is centered!”
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TURNING RADIUS: Dan Jensen reports, “I recently replaced the power steering racks in my ’83 XJ6 and ’84 XJ-S
with rebuilt units. After changeout, I noticed a significant, and undesirable, increase in the turning radius on the XJ6.
This often made it difficult to make U-turns without backing up, and complicated parking. A check with my local Jag
specialist revealed the source of the problem. Some point along the line, Jag added rack travel limiters as part of the
inner ball joint lock tabs. These were apparently installed to preclude potential rubbing of the tires on front end
components after Jaguar changed the recommended tire size from 205/70 to 215/70. I don’t know if this applied to the
XJ-S as well, which had 215/70s specified. By pulling back the inner ends of the rack boots, I could see the thicker
locking tabs. I unscrewed the inner ball joints and replaced the wide tabs with the narrower tabs. This caused no
noticeable change in toe-in since the thickness of the locking tab between the rack and ball joint is the same on both
varieties of tabs. This was a 10 minute job and fully restored the tighter turning radius I was used to. I have not noticed
any rubbing of tires on components with the 215/70’s on the car. If others have what feels like a wide turning radius,
you might want to examine one side of your rack to see what tabs are used. Apparently rack rebuilders are not always
careful about the VIN number and rack changes, but I cannot see how the limiters served any real purpose and, in fact,
created a bit of a hazard in my case when making U-turns.”
POWER STEERING PUMP: According to XKs Unlimited, there have been three different power steering pumps used
on the XJ-S. Prior to 1976½, the part number was C28457, and the pulley was retained by a single nut in the center.
From 1976½-1980, part number C45540 was used, and the pulley was bolted to a hub on the shaft with three bolts.
Also, the high pressure line connection is sealed with an olive, visible when the hose is removed. From 1980 on, part
number EAC3167 was used and this pump looks just like its predecessor except that the high pressure line is sealed with
an O-ring. This last pump is referred to as the “metric pump”. The same three units were used on other Jaguars of
similar years.
The XJ-S power steering pump is a standard GM Saginaw unit. However, it is uncertain whether the Jaguar system
operates at the same pressure as a GM; so, if you replace the original unit, it is suggested that you remove the pressure
control valve from the Jaguar unit and install it in the new one. The pressure control valve is easily removed by
removing the outlet fitting and shaking the unit until it falls out.
POWER STEERING PUMP TENSIONER BOLT: The eye end of the threaded tensioner for the power steering pump
is held to the engine with a double-ended bolt, C36196, through the timing chain cover. Several people seem to have
one problem or another with this bolt. Peter Havas says, “I happen to be past master at this one, having had my pump
come adrift at eye-watering speed. The beast is a long bolt, with a 13mm head 8mm shaft, fine thread. I had mine shear
off at the front cover. My fix was to purchase a length of 8mm threaded rod, and insert it into the hole, then double nut
the bolt to the front cover, and finally re-assemble the eye bolt adding another nut at the end.” Note that on early cars,
this is probably a 5/16” UNF bolt instead of an 8mm. Craig Sawyers: “Watch the nut though; the old one on mine was
(uniquely) BSF thread. The new replacement one was UNF. Don'tcha just love it?”
Havas: “As an aside, check the two big bolts holding the pump bracket to the engine. My back bolt sheared off
completely.”
POWER STEERING FLUID: According to the owner’s handbook, you’re supposed to put the same type fluid into the
power steering unit that you put into the automatic transmission. This is interesting, since the early cars with the Borg-
Warner automatics called for Type F fluid while the later cars with GM400 automatics call for Dexron 2D or III, and the
power steering system didn’t change. Apparently any ATF will do in the power steering system.
Apparently Type G fluid was called out in some owner’s handbooks for the power steering. “Type G is an obsolete
designator for Dexron. It’s so obsolete that nobody remembers what it was.”
See the discussion on Dexron ATF’s on page 326.
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On the other hand, maybe you shouldn’t use any sort of ATF in the power steering system. Jeb Boyd says, “I do believe
you would be better off using power steering fluid in your power steering system. I was led to believe a few years back
when they were experimenting with various formulae for ATF that the additive that was P/S compatible was no longer in
ATF. I have been using power steering fluid exclusively ever since with no problems.”
Joe Bialy concurs: “I can't speak for Jaguar, but I do know for a fact that late model Ford Escorts had different fluids
for the P/S and automatic transmissions when they left the factory. I was never able to get a technical explanation other
than it affected the long term well being of the vehicle.”
Jim Isbell says, “A neighbor was having trouble with a leaking power steering rack on a 1990 Continental. He is a
shrimper and on his boat he uses a power steering pump connected to the engine to drive a hydraulic motor for
retrieving his nets. In that pump he uses 30 wt motor oil. So when his cars steering started to leak he decided to try
30wt motor oil. It cured his leak. I was skeptical of the life of the system with 30 wt motor oil in it but his experience
with the boat made me take a "wait and see" attitude.
“Well, two months later it's still leak free and still working.
“But...something more interesting to me was that when I started reading on the fluids that were allowed in the steering
and autopilot on my boat I noticed that the list, which starts with automotive power steering fluid, goes on to include
motor oil of varying densities as well as almost any other semi-oil fluid you can imagine. In other words, its not very
particular what you put into it. So maybe using motor oil to cure leaks in the power steering isn't so crazy after all.”
DRAINING POWER STEERING FLUID: Craig Sawyers says, “In trying to find the source of my leak, I found if you
disconnect the hoses at the rack, it just obligingly trickles out (up your arm). I realise that is easier in the UK, where you
can get easy access to the unions, than in the US where they are well inaccessible.”
POWER STEERING FLUID LEAKS: If your power steering system leaks, you should fix it. Yeah, right! You’re just
gonna keep adding fluid, aren’t you? Well, there is no shortage of products that claim to stop leaks in power steering
systems -- but apparently there is only one product that actually will stop leaks in power steering systems. John T.
Richardson: “I've came across a product that worked well for me on stopping power steering leaks and want to share it:
Lucas power steering sealer. While the name might scare you off, their product contains no electricity so it should work.
Their product appears to be a really thick, red coloured oil.
“I recently purchased a '91 Ford Explorer w\143K miles and a massive power steering pump leak. It had to be filled up
daily and always left puddles of fluid when stopped. I tried this "snake oil" and the second bottle did the job. I never
expected such results! No more leaks and the outside of the pump seal is only "damp". Since then I have been using
Lucas power steering sealer to top off the Jag pumps on an as-needed basis and that frequency has gone down.”
Joe Montgomery: “Having tried about every power steering sealer made, forget them all except Lucas. I found Lucas
at the local Pronto Auto Parts. It is as thick as honey on a cold day.”
George Harris: “It works! As a last resort, just until I get around to finding those d**n leaks, I thought I would try a
bottle. I had to drive my '88 XJ6 (XJ40) because the 'S' was off the road for rad R&R. The PS reservoir was empty, so
I emptied the bottle in it. That brought it up to 'full cold'. Since then, 2 weeks ago, I haven't had to add any PS fluid!
Normally that's at least one complete refill. Since then I did the same to the 'S', and same story! Now does Lucas Oil
Products make a stop leak fluid for the tranny and engine?”
No, it’s not the Lucas we all know and love; the company that makes this stuff is:
Lucas Oil Products
13365 Estelle Street
Corona, CA 91719
1-800-342-2512 Fax: +1 (909) 270-1902
http://www.lucasoil.com
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The “Power Steering Stop Leak” is available in some auto parts stores, including CarQuest. When this author asked
about it, the salesman was very enthusiastic about the product, claiming that if your power steering pump was old and
worn and making noise you could add this stuff while the engine is idling and the noise will go away while you’re adding
it. The directions on the bottle are simple enough: whenever the fluid level is down, top it up with this stuff. Keep
doing that until the level doesn’t go down any more. The bottle claims that “Results are usually immediate.”
Lucas reportedly makes a good injector cleaner and hypoid oil, too. Greg Meboe: “The lady behind the counter swore
by them, and said that the store stocked them for trucking fleets.”
Dennis Kindig went another route: “I had been nursing a power steering leak for over a year that required topping up an
almost empty pump every week or so. I switched power steering fluids and the leak has gone away. I'm using Valvoline
semi-synthetic power steering fluid with conditioner and stop leak (I can't remember whether the name is SynChron or
SynPower, sorry). This looks like standard power steering fluid so I don't feel like I'm pouring oil in my system. It took
a few weeks for everything to dry up but it did eliminate my leaks.”
Peyton Gill didn’t fare as well. “I tried something similiar to what Dennis described. It may have been a different
product because it was clear and very low viscosity...like water. It was made by Valvoline and the label stated it was for
steering rack leaks. Well as usual I should have left well enough alone and added this product to stop a slight leak.
Guess what happened??? Starting leaking like crazy.”
POWER STEERING HOSE/TUBE CONFIGURATION: The Jaguar Parts Catalogue ©1987, page 1G 07R, shows
simple power steering piping for RHD cars in the illustration: lines go from pump to rack to cooler and back to pump.
On the author’s ’83 LHD, the lines go from the pump to a metal tubing loop across the bottom front of the front
suspension subframe and back, then to the rack, cooler and back to pump. Jon Schrock says, “Jaguar changed the part
for the XJ12 in April, 1978 (Service Bulletin 78-F-1) "to reduce high pressure noise" and presumably did it to the other
models about the same time. Specifically they went from a 14 inch line to a 40 inch one. Both my '85 XJ-S and '77
XJ12 have the longer line, but I suspect the latter acquired it after it left the factory.”
The author found it helpful to remove the screws holding this loop to the front of the subframe, put 1/4” spacers behind
them, and put them back in. With the loop held tightly to the surface of the subframe, dirt would get caked all around it
until you’d have to dig to see the tube. With the tube held 1/4” away from the surface of the subframe, the dirt seems to
fall away rather than build up. The loop is probably not intended to provide any significant cooling -- there is still a
dedicated cooler in the low pressure side of the circuit -- but improving airflow around this tube couldn’t hurt.
POWER STEERING HOSE/TUBE REPLACEMENT (US-SPEC LHD): Valery Danilov says, “The high pressure
hose next to the exhaust manifold was cooked, and although appeared OK, was leaking badly. After wiping it clean, I
was able to see the ATF come right through the surface (not a single crack, but rather sponge effect!!!). I would
recommend you guys check yours, if it's not leaking, then wrap it with aluminum foil or something.
William Earl says, “I just got my 1990 XJ-S back from the shop where I had two of the power steering hoses replaced.
When I brought my car in, there was a 1988 XJ-S getting the same hoses replaced, and when I picked up my car, there
was third XJ-S due in the next day for the same problem. I am adding these hoses to my periodic maintenance list,
probably at an 80000 mile interval. The problem seems to be heat in the manifold area, even with the insulation around
the hose.”
Danilov: “I bought a new hose from NAPA. It is a simple bolt-on, replacing 2-piece original with a NAPA 1-piece
design. The new hose is identical in all respects to the old pipe-hose-pipe assembly, except that it cannot be taken apart.
It came in a fancy box with a new o-ring included. Part number is NPS 7-1974.”
Jim Moore adds that Jaguar has apparently combined those two pipes too: “My high pressure side used to be a two-
piece arrangement. Six years ago I replaced the half that went from the rack to join up with the front half. Jag only sells
the one piece now, but it was worth it; car used to growl at low rpm and hard turning, like parking. The growling is
gone now.”
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Miles Milbank had to replace this line, too. “My problem is that my hi-press hose has been worn thru where it crosses
over the sharp (!) fluid cooler fins in the return line - what a monumentally stupid design.” Randy Wilson retorts: “The
faux-pas is with whoever did the last bit of work on the p/s hose. The factory hose, with the original interlocks in place,
clears the cooler just fine.”
Wilson goes on to describe the replacement procedure: “Disconnect the hose from all other points. Drop the rack down
and back until you can get at the fitting. I do not remove the cat. It is not easy, especially starting the new hose without
crossthreading the fitting. Make sure the interlocks hook together properly. Aftermarket hoses often do not have the
interlock, and require some serious bending to duplicate the OEM hose. If the steel tube at the rack end of the hose is
straight, it is wrong.”
Of course, if the problem is with the hoses and not the metal tubes or fittings, you can rebuild these lines using suitable
hose and EFI clamps, similarly to rebuilding the fuel lines (see page 243). Although the pressure in power steering lines
is higher than in the fuel lines, it’s no higher than any other hydraulic hose application; any industrial hose supplier can
provide hose suitable for use with power steering fluid. Greg Meboe says, “I just brought my old hose into a farm
supply place and they made a new one for me in a matter of minutes. Cheap too.” The low-pressure line from the
cooler back to the pump is nothing but hose and clamps to begin with.
POWER STEERING HOSE/TUBE -- THE METAL PARTS FAIL, TOO: Craig Sawyers says, “Mine seeps around
where the pipe unions go into the pinion housing. Fortunately on UK cars, these are easily accessible. However, I've
had them off a couple of times, and retightened them to varying degrees and it still leaks. I threw in the towel and took
the car to TWR Jaguar (Oxford UK) to have a chat with Denis, their chief technician. Without even looking, he
pronounced that the flared end of the pipe was cracked! "Common problem" quoth he; "I bet you found that the more
you tightened it, the worse the leak got." Yup. "and that it seeps around the pipe." Yup. "If you undo the unions, and
clean them you will see a very fine crack on the flare". Well, I haven't tried that yet, but I think he is probably right.
Looks like I'm in for at least one new hose.”
POWER STEERING HOSE/TUBE CHAFING (RHD): Stefan Schulz reports on chafing problems on his RHD car:
“...above the rack on the left is where the pipes go to the power steering pump. On mine there is a designed-in problem
where one of the pipes chafes against a bolt head. This cost me two replacement pipes before I figured out what was
going on. No way to get around it with the Jaguar original parts.
“My steering rack is a CBC5708N, which is the UK (RHD) sports pack rack. The pipe is part of the high pressure hose
assembly CAC3654 (same as the plain XJ-S). Calling it either hose or pipe is misleading because it consists of
alternating sections of hose and pipe.
“One of the pipe sections either constantly chafes on or occasionally rubs against a bolt head near the upper left side of
the rack, as seen from underneath the car facing forward. The severity of the chafe will depend to some extent on how
much either end of the hose assembly is twisted against its fittings during installation. The design fault appears to lie in
the fact that the offending section of pipe is dead straight (which is cheap) as opposed to having a slight bend to clear it
(which costs at least an extra GBP0.02 to manufacture).
“Funnily enough, inspection of hoses and pipes for chafes is a part of the 7,500 miles maintenance schedule. No prizes
for guessing why, in case any more such design gems lurk in the car.
“My workaround, which operates entirely satisfactorily, is to put a hose clip around the chafing area of the pipe, to
check it every time I get under the car and to replace it when necessary. So far I only needed to do it once, after about
two years of service. The pipe still is as new.
“A hydraulics shop could easily make up a properly formed section of pipe, probably at a fraction of the cost of a Jaguar
original as well.”
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Rear Suspension
REAR END ALIGNMENT: There’s no such thing as castor on non-steering wheels, and toe-in is not adjustable on the
rear of the XJ-S; if it’s off, something is bent. The only alignment adjustment available at the rear is the camber,
adjusted by replacing shims between the inner end of the axle and the brake disk. The more shims put in, the more the
top of the rear wheel tilts outward.
Note that there are usually some shims between the brake rotor and the differential unit. These are to locate the rotor
properly between the calipers, but also affect the camber as well. If working in this area, always make sure all shims are
reinstalled properly. If your objective is to relocate the brake rotor without affecting the camber, move shims from
inside the rotor to outside or vice versa, but do not add or subtract any shims to the car. If your objective is to alter the
camber without relocating the brake rotor, add or subtract shims from outside the rotor and do not disturb the shims
inside the rotor.
Randy Wilson offers this advice: “Camber is not a constant. The camber control is taken on two pivoted arms (of
unequal length) so that the camber can change on a predetermined curve based on suspension position.
“It is very unlikely for the camber to change from factory specs unless one of three things happens: either something is
bent, someone left some shims out during a differential or brake service, or the ride height is wrong. The #1 cause is the
last, sagged rear springs. So, when you are told that the rear camber is off, investigate the static ride height before
investing a lot of time/money in shim swapping.” Better advice: don’t make any decisions about adjusting shims without
ascertaining the alignment properly, which means to lock the suspension height using the specified tools; see page 356.
CLUNK - REAR: See the section on page 352.
REAR SUSPENSION SUBFRAME/DIFFERENTIAL REMOVAL: To work on the differential, as well as many tasks
relating to the rear brakes, it is necessary (or merely preferable) to lower the entire rear suspension assembly out the
bottom of the car. Fortunately, this is nowhere near as difficult as it appears. It is suggested you read through the tips
on removing the inboard rear brakes starting on page 438 before starting this job.
The basic idea is to put the rear of the car on jackstands, position a floor jack under the center of the IRS, unbolt it from
the car, lower it and roll it out from under the car. The first challenge: You need to get the rear of the car high enough
to get the suspension out from underneath. To get it out the rear of the car, the lowest point of the bottom of the trunk
needs to be higher than the height of your floor jack when fully collapsed plus 13”. Plus an inch for fudge, just to make
sure.
As soon as you get the car propped up and the rear wheels off, the next thing you should consider doing is removing the
grease fittings at the bottom of the hub carriers. They’ll get busted up sooner or later if you leave them in there.
The next challenge will be getting a jack that can get high enough to hold the subframe up while you take the mounting
bolts off, and then lower it far enough to get out from under the car -- which means a stroke of 13” or more. If your
jack isn’t up to the task, Jan Wikström says “You’ll need to shift the subframe in two lifts. I use a 5” thick wooden
block on the jack and rest the unit on two cement blocks halfway up.”
“You need a friend to stabilise the subframe as you move it down and up (and help you lift it to the workbench; that
sucker is heavy). To make the job a lot easier, take the spring/shock units out first and refit them last.”
When ready to lower the IRS, Jim Isbell describes locating the jack: “Make sure it is under to the point of almost being
too far forward. The cage will try to roll forward if the jack is too far back as it is front heavy.” The balance point
appears to be perhaps three inches forward of the axles.
Some owners have reported good results with putting the wheels back on during removal; that way, the assembly can be
rolled out from under the car. It will require positioning the car on even taller stands, though. Disconnecting the spring/
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shock units from the lower swingarm first helps because it allows the suspension to squat.
Note that the suspension assembly, standing on its wheels, will show a distinct tendency to roll over. If you try to keep
it from rolling over by holding onto the radius arms, you may find that the radius arms can swivel around their
attachments to the lower swingarms without warning and the assembly rolls over anyway, probably onto your toe or
some such. John Napoli suggests “let it flip upside-down. Now you can wheel it anywhere you like, wheelbarrow-style,
using the trailing arms as handles.”
If you’re going to position the suspension assembly upside down -- either during this rolling or later when working on it
-- you might consider capping the vent on the final drive unit so you won’t leak oil everywhere.
If you can’t get the car very high, the suspension assembly may need to come out the side rather than the rear. If you
position something with wheels under each hub carrier and lower the suspension onto them, you can then pull your floor
jack out the rear and roll the suspension out the side. Bob Gallivan says, “I dropped it onto my creeper on one side of
the center of the diff & a moving dolly on the other side. Worked like a champ. Rolling it out the side is the way to go.”
Craig Sawyers suggests you don’t use the kids’ skateboards, though. “My thought exactly the first time I tried this.
Miserable failure; totally unmanoeverable - works like two independent bogies. Impossible for one person to handle,
and requires an act of coordination beyond anything mere mortals can achieve if two try it. Complicated by the fact that
the top of the board is resiliently mounted to the wheels, so it tilts in wierd and unpredictable ways.”
Of course, just using the floor jack from the side instead of the rear might work. Sawyers: “I found just balancing it on
the head of a trolley jack and rolling it under the car worked just great.”
When several members of the online discussion lists tackled IRS removal, there was a lot of discussion of details. When
the smoke cleared, it turned out that several of the problems discussed were related to the XJ saloons rather than the
XJ-S; the IRS is identical, but a couple of detail differences apparently cause consternation when removing the IRS as a
unit.
The first issue discussed was the need to remove the stainless steel exhaust tips, apparently because they protrude
through holes in the bodywork on the saloon. Removal is one of the steps listed in the Haynes manual as a precursor to
removing the rear mufflers themselves. On the XJ-S, there is no problem here; you can leave the tips on if you want and
remove the rear mufflers with them attached. In terms of repair manual correction, this means that Section 28 of
Chapter 11 in the Haynes manual should include a note that Step 2 of Section 27 can be omitted in XJ-S work.
The next item was what to do when the rear mufflers won’t come off! If the pipes won’t come apart at the forward end
of the rear mufflers, the obvious solution is to remove the rear mufflers with the IRS. Again, removal of exhaust tips is
necessary on the saloon and not necessary on the XJ-S -- but you might choose to remove them anyway to keep them
from getting dinged up. Jim Isbell explains this procedure with the saloon: “It is complicated greatly if, like me, you're
not able to remove the tail pipes because it's then necessary to slide the cage forward as it drops so that the tail pipes will
drop free in the rear. As the cage goes forward it hits the front exhaust pipes and the drive shaft so those have to be
kept out of the way.” David Littlefield points out that none of this is a problem with the XJ-S: “The cage will just drop
straight down, the muffler/pipe/tailpipe combination won't hang up on anything.”
“This combination is best left in the cage until it is on the bench. Then disconnect the lower fulcrum pin from the shocks
and push down the axles. This will allow removal of the pipes without too many contortions. Replacement is reverse of
removal. I put the whole rear muffler/pipe/tailpipe assembly back into the cage before refitting to the car. The mufflers
actually provided some leverage to wrestle the whole thing around. It helped to temporarily hang the over-the-axle pipe
on its rubber mounts to keep the mufflers from dragging around and from accidently falling out.”
The next issue involved exactly how to disconnect the mounts holding the subframe to the car along the upper edge of
the wheel well. There are four mounts, two on each side, and the questions involve whether to unbolt the mounts from
the subframe so they stay on the car or to unbolt the mounts from the car so they come away with the subframe.
Littlefield explains: “In my correspondence with Jim Isbell, we determined that it is difficult to get at the rear mounting
bracket to chassis bolts (two in each bracket) on the XJ6 and that the Haynes manual recommends removing the
suspension cage to mount bolts (three on each bracket) instead -- but just on the rear. On the XJ-S, I had no problem
getting to the bracket to chassis bolts on all the brackets. Not a big deal, but I think it might be a bit easier moving
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things around if the bracket to chassis bolts are the ones undone.” On the saloon, Isbell seems to feel that it is important
to unbolt the forward mounts on both sides before working on the rearward ones; on the XJ-S, it’s hard to see how the
order would make any difference.
Franck Guilloteau says, “I believe that there is one important step that need to be added before dropping the cage.
Loosen the nuts that hold the half shafts to the differential. If yours are as tough as mine were when I did the camber
change (first time), removing them with the cage off is no fun exercise. I forgot to do it the second time when I dropped
the cage. Fortunately I hadn't removed the hand brake calipers and was able to use a long pipe clamp to compress the
calipers and stop the shafts from rotating. Even with anti-seize compound it was no picnic (air tools did help though). If
you have removed the brakes....well good luck!!
“Using a 20" extension and 11/16" deep socket (not to forget the long pipe to use as leverage at the end of the ratchet)
you can remove/loosen up 3 of the bolts that hold each half shaft (remove the u-joint cover and rotate shaft until you can
get to the nut - use the hand brake to stop rotation). The 4th bolt which has a zerk fitting in the way so you need a
shallower socket. It should come last in the removal sequence.” Of course, you might opt to temporarily remove the
zerk fitting to get the socket on the nut.
Littlefield: “Or, you can put an open-end wrench on the nut, turn the drive shaft until the end of the wrench contacts the
cage and stops the drive shaft from turning. Then take a breaker bar or other long lever and turn the hub by using the
lugs. With that kind of leverage, the nuts should break away pretty easily. It is a good idea to put the lug nuts on to
prevent damaging the threads. I own an impact wrench and an air compressor, which helped, but there is one nut that is
under a zerk fitting and I used the above method for it.”
GETTING THE RADIUS ARMS OFF: The ©1975 ROM, section 64.35.28, step 4, describes disconnecting the rear
anti-sway bar link from the radius arm. Most XJ-S’s don’t have a rear anti-sway bar, so you can skip this step.
The point where the front end of the radius arm attaches to the lug on the bottom of the car is a notorious spot for
difficulty of removal. There’s usually a goodly amount of rust involved. Mike Morrin describes his preferred method of
removal: “I have found that the "no muss, no fuss" way to break the bushes from the body involve the use of a lever or
pry-bar with the end shaped so that it will go through the hole in the bush, allowing a lot of leverage between the inside
of the bush and the mounting thingy on the bottom of the car. I tried most of my (extensive) collection of C spanners in
this role, and found a BSW spanner which looks about 60 years old, and has just the right curve on the outside of the C
that when one jaw is poked in through the hole in the bush, the outside of the C makes contact with the thingy. The
spanner handle is pushed upward (maybe encouraged with a BFH), and the bush just pops off. Because the joint is
tapered, it seems you need to apply enough pressure to start to deform the inner ring of the bush before it will move.”
Miles Milbank offers an alternative method: “Remove all the pertinent fasteners. Place a small hydraulic bottle jack on
top of the radius arm and unscrew the jack's adjuster to contact the underside of the subframe mount and jack it up until
the large rubber mount is well stretched. Spray liberally with Liquid Wrench or other penetrating oil from all sides,
including inside from underneath where the main bolt was extracted. Walk away and do something else for awhile until
you hear the assembly pop apart, and the bottle jack crash to the floor. Repeat for other side. If it doesn't work within
an hour or so, one can come back every so often and apply a bit more: 1) penetrating oil 2) jack pressure and, finally, 3)
a few helpful taps at the fitting to encourage it to give way. One time I have hooked a slide hammer to the lip inside the
fitting where the main bolt had lived, and the most stubborn radius arm immediately came off.”
John Napoli describes a method that works for him, but note that it involves removing the entire rear subframe: “The
car should be supported by 2 jackstands at the rear lifting points. Get the cage ready for removal: brake lines,
emergency brake cable, exhaust pipes opened (exhaust pipe(s) in front and the resonators in back -- the over-the-axle
pipes can stay in place). You don't have to remove the driveshaft -- it will pop at its slip-joint. If your car has a two-
piece shaft, remove the plate holding the carrier to the unibody.
“Place your floor jack under the cage. Remove the safety brackets and main bolts holding the trailing arms to the
unibody. Don't try to remove the trailing arms, though. Remove the bolts holding the cage to the unibody (the four
rubber mounts). The mounts will stay on the unibody for removal/replacement later if needed. Lower the cage so the
weight is on the trailing arms. You want 'a lot' of the weight of the cage on the trailing arms, but not all of it.
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“Take your air hammer, and put a blunt chisel in it. Place the tip of the chisel between the trailing arm and the body (you
and the air hammer are standing perpendicular to the car -- you do this from the side, not underneath!). Let the air
hammer rip, not enough to cut the metal, just enough to vibrate things a bit. The trailing arms will pop off as nice as
you'd please.”
If you intend to remove only the radius arms and leave the rest of the subframe attached to the car, you might be able to
modify this procedure and make it work. If you disconnect the radius arm at the swingarm first and find a way to pry it
downward, you’d be applying essentially the same loading to the attachment.
Obviously, during reassembly it’d be a good idea to use anti-seize compound on this connection to make it easier to get
apart next time.
REAR SPRING/DAMPER DISASSEMBLY: The obvious way to disassemble the springs from the dampers on the
rear end is to remove the damper with the spring installed, then use a spring compressor on the bench to separate them.
However, Ian Macfarlane provides an alternative procedure: “To change the rear shock absorbers without using a spring
compressor, the springs can be held in the compressed state by fitting four elongated “C” shaped brackets (two per
spring) over the centre 80% of the spring with the car jacked up under the suspension (preferably with a load in the rear
of the car to maximize spring compression). Then, when the car is jacked up under the body, the springs will remain
partly compressed and the shock absorbers can be replaced relatively easily.”
REAR WHEEL BEARINGS: Justin Pashley says, “A couple of weeks ago I posted a message asking for opinions for
what could be causing the rumbling noise coming from the rear of my car. Initially I thought it was a wheel bearing but
after jacking up all the wheels none had any excessive play. Well, everyone who responded said it most probably was
still a wheel bearing, even though there was no play. I have now had the rear wheel bearing changed and yes, the noise
has gone! So, to anyone else that has a rumbling rear end with no play in the wheels, it is probably a wheel bearing.”
Martin Lappin agrees: “I've had cars that sounded like the diff was toast, no play at the wheels, but change the bearings
and everything was quiet!”
Tom Bernett concurs: “Several years ago I had a rear wheel bearing go on my '87 XJ6 SIII. I didn't feel any extra play
in the wheel. But, if I remember correctly, I was able to determine it was the wheel bearing by spinning the wheel while
listening with a stethescope on the hub. Compare sides and I think you'll be able to tell if one's bad.”
Jerry Holloway reports, “When I disassembled the drive shafts from the diff and could turn them, it became obvious the
outer wheel bearing on the left side carrier was down. Interesting that it didn't show itself until I was able to turn it
freely parted from the diff. Showed no extra end-play or anything (couldn't feel it with it turning the diff. either) but man
was it starting to grind.”
Interestingly, if you do have play in the wheels, it might not be the bearings! See below.
According to Chad Bolles, the bearings in the rear wheel carriers are a Bower/BCA part number 18590-18520 for the
inner, and 18690-18620 for the outer; available in any auto parts store.
Getting the old bearings out is always fun. Jim Schultetus says, “A neat way to remove the bearing cups is to weld a
bead around them with an arc welder or a mig welder. Let it cool down a bit and they will fall out as the weld bead will
shrink the cup as it cools. Freeze the new cups and tap in.” Not sure I’d go this way in aluminum housings; use at your
own risk.
REAR WHEEL BEARING SLOP: I was thinking of adding an illustration here, but cannot think of how to draw this
so it’ll make sense. There is an exploded view in the Parts Catalogue and there are a couple of cross section views in the
ROM but neither makes it too clear how the stack goes together with shims to establish the proper end play in the
bearings. I have decided that a wordy description is probably best.
The stub axle, which is the section of the rear axle from the outer U-joint outward, has threads on the end where a
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“Jesus nut” (so called because that’s what you’ll be saying if it comes off!) threads on. This is the item shown in Figure
19. From the U-joint outward, the items held tightly by the nut are: The inboard oil seal track, a shim CAC3818, the
hub, and a washer under the Jesus nut itself.
Notice that I did not mention any bearing races! The inner races of the bearings fit around the outside of the hub and are
not compressed by the Jesus nut. The inner race of the outboard bearing is press fit while the inner race of the inboard
bearing fits more loosely over the hub. When the nut is torqued down and pulls the stack tightly together, the space
between the inboard oil seal track and the inner race of the outboard bearing is supposed to be exactly right to position
the inner race of the inboard bearing to provide .001-.003” of end play. The shim is selected accordingly; the thinner the
shim, the tighter the bearings get.
Note that the inboard oil seal track actually serves more purposes than simply as a seal track. It has a large chamfer on
the ID on one side to clear the radius on the stub axle between the shaft part and the yoke part. And it also provides a
flat surface that the shim is tightened against. The shim is tightened against the innermost portion of this flat surface,
while the outer portion has the inner race of the inboard bearing butted up against it.
All of which led to the problem that Sean McKee ran into. Since the inner race of the inboard bearing is not securely
clamped, it was apparently free to rotate in his car. As it rotated around the hub, it wore away the surface of the inboard
oil seal track. The flat face of the seal track was no longer flat; it was unaffected at the innermost area where the shim
was tightened against it, but the outer area was worn back several thousandths creating a circular step in the surface.
That isn’t all it created; it created a quarter inch of play at the top edge of his rear tire! Having the step in the face of the
seal track loosened up the end play adjustment, allowing gobs of slop. The protruding unworn inner portion on that face
is just like having a shim that’s too thick. He found the same problem on both sides of his car, so it probably wasn’t a
fluke.
The fix is obvious: replace the inboard oil seal track. Perhaps less obviously, you can fix the problem by simply grinding
the face of the old inboard oil seal track flat again. McKee reports that the seal track didn’t seem especially hard, as
though Jaguar didn’t expect that inner race to rotate.
Less obviously still, you could grind the old inboard oil seal track flat and then install an arbor shim in front of it. The ID
and OD of the arbor shim would need to be the same as the seal track itself. The whole point of doing this is that,
hopefully, the arbor seal will be made of something much harder than the seal track and hence won’t wear as quickly. It
doesn’t really matter how thick the arbor shim is; it won’t affect the bearing adjustment. However, any such playing in
here -- replacing the inboard oil seal track, grinding on it, adding an arbor shim -- should be followed by an alignment job
on the rear end of the car, as this all may affect the camber.
The part number for the inboard oil seal track in the 1987 Parts Catalogue is C.15232, but McKee says there’s
apparently a later part number CCC6807. Perhaps Jaguar made the part harder to resist wear!
By the way: if you actually expect that oil seal to seal against oil leakage, you’ll want to apply sealant between the
inboard oil seal track and the stub axle at assembly. Otherwise oil could sneak out along the surface of the stub axle
itself, bypassing the oil seal entirely. Of course, what’s in here is grease, not oil, but it still makes a mess when it gets
out.
Regarding selecting the shim: The ROM describes trial-assembling the hub with tool JD.15 and carefully measuring the
end play and subtracting to determine the shim you need for final assembly. The tool is effectively a fat shim, which
means you can skip buying the tool and just buy a fat shim. Using the stub axle for this trial assembly may be
inconvenient, but you can just use a section of threaded rod with some nuts and washers.
So, after all that fiddling, you finally get to put the shim on order! If you don’t want to wait on shipping, you can either
order an assortment of shims before starting or you could just order one really fat shim (you may have already!) and take
it to a machine shop and have it milled to final size when you determine what size you need. Mike Morrin says, “I was
unable (despite repeated attempts) to buy spacers from the local dealer, so got some sent out from the UK.”
Craig Sawyers says, “The shims (they look like either brass or bronze) are stock items. Part number CAC3818/xx,
where xx is the number of thou plus 0.1 inch (so if xx was 14, the shim thickness would be 0.114 inch). Price in the UK
is £3.70 each plus tax off the shelf. They are available in 2 thou increments (ie xx is always even), consistent with setting
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an end float of 2 thou.” Sawyers provides a later correction: “The part number has changed to CCC6806/xx, where xx
has the same meaning as my original e-mail. Available ex-stock in pack quantity of five pieces at £3.65UK per piece
plus tax.”
Apparently there’s an easier way: just reuse the shim that came out. Everyone who’s done this job confirms that
apparently the companies that make the bearings maintain excellent control of their tolerances so you just take the old
bearings out and install the new bearings and the same shim is the one you need. Jerry Holloway says, “I spent hours
(ok, too much time anyhow) dial indicating the new bearings on the hubs in. After just a few miles of operation I could
clearly see that the original spacer would have been fine. After consulting a couple of sage Jag people (who weren't in it
for the hourly base rate) I found that using the original spacer is exactly what they had done for years, with no
problems.”
REAR AXLE FAILURE: Jan Wikström reports on his problem and solution: “The stub axle in the hub carrier (the bit
that turns in the rear wheel bearings) is splined for the hub and has a large thread and castellated nut on its outer end.
This thread comes right down to the splined part with no fillet whatever and creates a horrendous stress concentration at
the end of the thread. Mine suffered a fatigue fracture in consequence; my local parts pusher tells me this is not
uncommon, as one would expect from such an elementary error, especially if the nut is overtightened. Accordingly, I
ground and polished a shallow rounded groove at the base of the thread of the new part... (see Figure 19 and Figure 20,
illustrations graciously provided by Wikström).
Figure 19 - Rear Stub Axle Failure Location
“The next time you do the rear wheel bearings or U-joints, I strongly
recommend having the stub axles checked and modified; any
competent engineering shop will know about stress relief. Modifying
parts of the Jaguar may be sacrilege to some of us, but fine as the
design is, it isn’t perfect...”
Figure 20 - Rear Stub Axle Modification
If the stub axle has already broken, it is possible to fix it by drilling
and tapping a hole in the end and using a bolt and washer instead of the nut. GT Jaguar (now defunct) offered a grade 8
bolt and a specially designed washer for this purpose, and you could easily come up with suitable parts from local
sources. This fix may also be used as a preventative measure, since cutting off the stub and drilling for the bolt
eliminates the stress concentration in the original part as well as the shallow groove does.
Perhaps one thing to note is that GTJ offered these parts at all; that would seem a serious indicator of just how common
this problem is, and how important it is to address it.
Sean McKee reports that the stub axles in his 1990 XJ-S already had a suitable radius in this corner when he got there.
Apparently Jaguar addressed this problem somewhere between Wikström’s mid-70’s XJ12C and McKee’s 1990.
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REAR HUB CARRIER CRACKING: Joe Bunik reports that the cast aluminum hub carriers on his car had a crack in
the area just above and outward of the fulcrum shaft. The crack was parallel to the fulcrum shaft, but just far enough
above it to be in the structural portion between the fulcrum shaft bearings and the wheel bearings. What with the rough
surface on the cast aluminum combined with the dirt and grime normally covering it, it is entirely too easy not to notice a
crack like this. There are some photographs of such a crack on the WWW at
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/HubCarrierCracks.html
Such a crack is disconcerting to say the least, and many owners will feel compelled to order replacement parts
immediately. However, the crack in the hub shown in the pictures at the WWW site does not appear to be the result of
stress; rather than starting at an edge and working across the part as one would expect of a stress crack, it appears to
start and end in the middle of the part. It therefore appears to be a casting flaw caused by cooling the casting too rapidly
or unevenly. Subsequent reports from owners and mechanics seem to indicate that these cracks are not uncommon and
haven’t been known to result in structural failure.
REAR SWINGARM OUTER PIVOT: The connection between the outer end of the swingarm and the lower end of the
hub carrier involves a pair of tapered roller bearings. These bearings are lubricated via a grease nipple in the bottom of
the hub carrier and are sealed with a felt ring.
The design of this pivot joint allows the bearings to be adjusted with shims to be tight. When correctly assembled, they
roll firmly; there should be no slop or rattling whatsoever. This pivot joint holds the alignment of the rear wheel; any
slop means that the wheel is sloppy in which direction it aims.
REAR SWINGARM OUTER PIVOT - GREASING: The grease fitting is obvious, dead center bottom on the hub
carrier. But just what good does it do? Patrick MacNamara says, “the relief port for the grease pressure is only about
1" away from the nipple (center of swing arm about 90° around the fulcrum from the nipple facing inboard) adjacent to
the hollow end pipe of the lower arm. When cavity is full, it just vents out of the hole and fills the hollow longitudinal
portion of the swing arm and no old grease will be pumped out. The only way to get rid of the old grease is
disassembly.”
On the author’s ’83, MacNamara is incorrect. There is a cast-in boss facing inboard, but the hole in it has a bottom; it
does not open into the pivot joint area. There is a grease relief, though, just above this cast-in boss. It points upward
and inboard at about a 45° angle. It’s a 3/32” hole, completely obscured by all the dirt and grime that has accumulated
on that surface of the hub carrier. In other words, MacNamara was in error regarding the location of the grease relief,
but he was correct that it was there -- and in its effects.
You might consider plugging the grease pressure relief port. A 1/4” long #4 self-tapping screw will work nicely -- two
per car. This will at least help keep dirt and water out.
If you plug the relief port and then use a grease gun to force grease in there under pressure, it’ll push against the felt
seal. Will it ooze through the felt seal? Maybe; at least, any air in the area will push through the felt. Hence, you might
actually achieve some beneficial lubrication with the grease gun. I wouldn’t count on it, though; you’re still not likely to
improve the lubrication in there without disassembly.
If you install oil seals as suggested below and plug the grease vent and then force grease in there with a grease gun,
you’ll probably destroy the oil seals. Your chances are a little better that the grease will just push past the seals if you
install them backwards as Ron Moore suggests, but not much better. If you feel compelled to use the grease gun, you
might be best advised to remove the vent plug first, then put it back in when done.
Better idea: Richard Dowling reports, “Of all the 24 bearings in the IRS and diff I only had 4 bad ones, namely the outer
fulcrum tapered rollers. There was plenty of grease in the bearing cavity, but that around the bearings themselves was
pretty old since the new grease goes in the zerk and out the vent next to it.
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“In my stripdown I put 2 zerks in for each wheel hub to force grease through the bearings, and a vent hole on the outer
side of the fulcrum bearings to ensure grease from the central zerk can exit only after going through those bearings. All
this is dead easy when the whole shooting match is cleaned up and on the bench. What about the fulcrum area on your
car which is probably like my XJ6, not giving any trouble, but a future concern?
“When I had my XJ-S fulcrum stripped I measured all the items accurately and made an Autocad file (see Figure 21) of
the bearing area. From that I could see a possibility of drilling a small hole through the standard assortment of spacers
and felt seals into the area next to the bearing race to make a vent, all without stripping the assembly. This morning I
tried it on my XJ6 and it works.
SEAL RETAINING CUP
FELT SEAL
SHAFT
3mm
DRILL @ 65deg TO SHAFT CENTRE LINE
START @ 3mm FROM FACE OF HUB CARRIER
DRILL APPROX 2.5mm DIA.
Figure 21 - Rear Outer Pivot Grease Vent
“You take the wheel off, and drill a hole about 2.5mm diameter starting at 3mm from the machined end of the alloy
casting. The drill must be at an angle of 65deg to the centreline of the 5/8" shaft running through the bearings. The
3mm and 65deg are moderately critical. I drew an angle of 65deg on a piece of paper and put it under the hub to give
me a guide as I drilled.
“On the first one I broke the drill because I was in a hurry. You drill about 5mm though alloy then you hit the mild steel
cup that backs the felt seal. You go through the first face of that cup which is parallel with the shaft since it fits the
bearing bore, then you hit the felt seal and a little further on you hit the return face of the cup which is at 90deg to the
shaft centreline. This latter face is hit at an acute angle of 25deg which is where I broke the tip off my drill. If you
exercise patience and take about 5 or 6 minutes to drill each hole, backing off as you break into the felt seal, then going
carefully for that return face, it is no problem. Total drill depth is around 12mm.
“As soon as I thought I had broken through I put my grease gun on the zerk and tried it. That also pumps out the swarf.
In any event, looking at the pounding on my XJ-S bearing, a small piece of swarf most likely would make no difference.
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However, if you grease the thing every 6 months you are pumping grease in a direction that takes the swarf out of the
bearing - that will be the least of your worries.
“Small self tappers were used to seal off the vents. I found on my XJ6 that as I pumped, no grease came out of the Jag
supplied vent next to the zerk; it must be well and truly blocked. I got plenty of grease out my new vent holes. At first
very old and stiff grease, then newer grease sitting in the centre of the cavity, then new moly grease. I also loosed off
the 5/8" shaft nuts and rotated the shaft to rotate the bearings which spreads grease and spreads the wear pattern.
“Now I know how it should be done, I guess an hour would cover the job for both wheels. You might want a spare
drill, it is not too hard to break one. That is no tragedy, it just means you have an extra hole which may or may not
penetrate the bore.”
Since lubrication is a challenge, it might help to use the most suitable grease rather than simply whatever’s on hand.
Richard Griffiths says, “EP should be fine; in my view grease for this application requires:
High viscosity base oil at operating temp.
Water resistant filler
Oxidation inhibitor additive
Corrosion inhibitor additive
“Other additives such as Moly are of no significance for this application. In my experience Moly was usually specified
for sliding applications; in this case the trick is to keep the rollers actually "rolling" under high oscillating loads while
maintaining the oil film. EP should do better here.”
REAR SWINGARM OUTER PIVOT - OIL BATH LUBRICATION: Getting grease right into the contact points
between rollers and races is an iffy proposition at best, especially the rollers that happen to be at the top. Unlike wheel
bearings or other applications, the motion of the bearings themselves cannot be expected to help move the grease around
to where it’s needed; these rollers don’t move as far as the spacing between rollers.
Richard Griffiths proposes a novel solution: “Two things we know for sure; EP additives work and channeling can
occur in "thick" greases leading to lube starvation failures. So if I had your set up with the better seals, I would consider
using a hi visc EP oil instead of grease. Highest stuff that will still pour at say -10°F.”
Obviously, having the oil seals installed on the pivot joint as described on page 396 is essential for this idea; the OEM
felt seals will simply allow oil to ooze out, and the last thing a Jaguar needs is another oil leak. The oil seals should be
installed flat side out, since they will used to hold oil in -- exactly what they were designed to do!
Also, you need to use sealant when assembling. Apply sealant to both sides of everything in the stack along the fulcrum
shaft to make sure oil can’t leak along the shaft to get out. And before the oil seal is pressed into the hub carrier, some
sealant should be applied in the recess.
Having an oil-filled assembly sealed airtight would not be good, so using a screw to plug the grease vent as described
above is not recommended. As with other containers holding oil such as the GM 400 transmission or the differential, the
ideal arrangement would be for the joint to be fitted with a breather that allows the chamber to be vented while keeping
oil in and water and dirt out. There are a couple of ideas here. One is to drill the existing grease vent hole out to a
larger size and then thread it to hold a fitting of some sort -- possibly the same fitting as the one used on the differential.
Another is to press in a small tube and connect a hose to a remote breather, similar to that used on the GM 400; such a
remote breather would need to be secured to the hub carrier so it doesn’t flap around too much when the wheel bounces
over bumps in the road. Remember to make sure the breather connection doesn’t interfere with the axle U-joint or its
cover; an elbow fitting may be in order. The simplest idea is probably to simply drill the existing grease vent hole bigger
but only part way down, not all the way through, and then jam a piece of felt or a cotton ball in the hole.
Richard Griffiths says, “One of those breather plugs with the sintered "filter" center piece would be neat also. See the
stuff from the Stewart Warner or Tedeco companies for example.”
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When devising a breather, remember that you will also need to be able to put oil into this compartment. If a really small
(1/8” or so) breather is devised, you’ll probably need to make a second hole so you can add oil to one hole while air
comes out the other. If you make the breather hole large enough, you may be able to feed a tube down through it so
you can feed oil in through the tube while air escapes around it; a capillary tube on a syringe would work well. If you
can figure out how to get the oil in via the zerk fitting, great, but otherwise you might want to remove the zerk fitting
and plug that hole with a screw. Again, the enlarged hole with felt or cotton jammed in it provides the simplest solution:
remove the felt or cotton, fill up the chamber with oil, and jam the felt or cotton back in.
When set up this way, you want the assembly full of oil; that’s the only way oil will get to the rollers at the top of each
bearing, since they don’t spin. Griffiths points out you want to keep the seal lips wet, too. So, add oil until it appears at
the breather. This will still leave some air pockets, but driving uphill or downhill will help make sure those upper rollers
get oiled every now and then. Driving over bumps may splash some oil around in there.
Tom Wilson says, “Thoughts on oil filled hubs bring back a time when Bell Helicopters figured out that the oscillating
movement of the pitch change on the rotor blades would tend to work the lube out of the needle bearings and would
allow metal to metal contact. They went to great lengths to seal the blade grip to yoke contact point, and even supplied
a clear reservoir so one could easily check the oil level in the grips. It was for the most part a failure and you will usually
only see a UH-1 with an oiled head in a museum. The point of this tirade is simply that on a worst case, that being an
oscillating load the oiled bearing was replaced by greasing. Replacing the felt wiper with a rubber lipped seal and using a
synthetic grease like Mobil (that horrible red stuff you always see being slung out of the heads of Bell helicopters) will
almost guarantee that the wheel bearings will outlast the rest of the car.”
REAR SWINGARM OUTER PIVOT - SERVICING: Do your pivot joints need attention? Probably. Patrick
MacNamara’s did: “Old bearings were completely shot. The worst were the ends closest to the front of the car. The
starboard side inner race was almost a rusted solid mass and the outer race was pitted and dented. There had been so
much movement that it had chewed and straightened one of the annular spacers. The yaw I used to experience when
letting off the gas at speed is now gone as well as a little rear end steer/swaying when changing lanes at speed. I think
these things should be disassembled and regreased as well as rotated a few degrees every few years.”
Greg Meboe had sloppy bearings. “This can be noticed as a light to medium growling vibration as you're driving on the
freeway. This occurs only during the transition as you gently press and release the throttle. This can be misdiagnosed as
a differential problem. To test, jack up one side of the car under the steel lower suspension arm, then remove the wheel.
Pry a flat-blade screwdriver between the aluminum hub carrier and the steel lower suspension arm. Try to wiggle the
carrier forward and backward, while the suspension is at ride height. Otherwise, you can look for evidence of scraping
between the carrier and the lower arm.”
If you only need to rebuild the outer pivot joint, here are some things you don’t need to do: You don’t need to drop the
rear suspension cage. You don’t need to fiddle with the shocks and springs. You don’t need to fiddle with the radius
arm. You don’t need to mess with the rear anti-sway bar, if you have one.
The fact is, working on the outer pivot is pretty easy; just slide the axle out of the hub and remove the fulcrum shaft
from the pivot, and you can work on the hub carrier on the bench while leaving the swingarm in the car. This hub carrier
removal is clearly described in Section 64.15.01of the ROM, but is not as clear in the Haynes where the section on
rebuilding the outer pivot itself follows a section on removing the entire swingarm from the car. This seems to imply
that outer pivot work requires removing the swingarm from the car first, and that would involve some serious work.
Removing the swingarm is totally unnecessary; if you’re using the Haynes, just follow steps 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and 8 of
Chapter 8, Section 4. Then you can begin taking the pivot apart according to Chapter 11, Section 22, and as soon as the
fulcrum shaft comes out you can relocate the hub carrier to the bench.
The hub carrier removal procedures call for removing the cotter pin and the castellated “Jesus nut” holding the axle in
the hub. If you just happen to have wheels that permit access to this nut, it’s easier to break it loose first while the car is
still sitting on the wheels.
The procedures also call for a special Jaguar tool JD.1D to get the axle out of the hub. A generic hub puller will do --
but you might not even need a puller at all, it might just slide out. If you can get the Jesus nut off while the wheel is still
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on -- or put the wheel back on afterwards -- you can yank outward at the top of the wheel to jar it loose.
Still sounds like too much effort? Then forget removing the hub carrier; rebuild the outer swingarm pivot right there on
the car! Patrick MacNamara says, “Very simple job to replace the fulcrum bearings without disconnecting the hub from
the splined axle. I just laid an 18" 2x4 across the lower arm fork and rested the hub carrier on its side on the 2x4 for the
pounding out of the old bearing cones.”
Section 64.15.07 of the ROM and Chapter 11, Section 22 of the Haynes manual provide step-by-step procedures for
rebuilding this pivot. However, many owners have expressed confusion; in fact, apparently Jaguar was confused,
because there are different procedures described in the manuals for different cars that all use the same rear suspension
assembly. John Napoli says, “I have opened up three fulcrum assemblies on three different Jags (my XJ6, my XJ-S and
another) and each had the parts in a different sequence, none of them matching the various and sometimes ambiguous
manuals.”
The confusion is also partly because you need something more than step-by-step procedures -- you need to know what
the hell you’re doing! There are two separate shimming procedures involved. Both are described in the following
pages; once the objectives are understood, the step-by-step instructions should begin to make more sense. Figure 22
shows the assembly, assembled at the right and the individual parts to the left indicating the order of installation. The
fulcrum shaft has been omitted, since it makes the diagram clearer and you know where the fulcrum shaft goes.
Figure 22 - Rear Swingarm Outer Pivot Assembly
Section 64.15.07 of the ROM includes instructions for rebuilding the outer pivot and for rebuilding the wheel bearings,
all in the same sequence. That only causes more confusion; although both bearing assemblies are within the same hub
carrier, they are unrelated operations and should have been described separately. If you are only rebuilding the pivot
joint, you only need concern yourself with steps 1-3 and 18-31. The Haynes manual does describe them separately -- in
fact, in separate chapters, as the wheel bearings are covered in Chapter 8.
Disassembly is fairly straightforward until right after you remove the felt seal ring itself. There is a metal ring with an L-
shaped cross section (looks like an oil seal with the rubber part missing) that the felt seal ring sits in, and this ring is
pressed into the hub carrier. There doesn’t seem to be any non-destructive way to get it out; you just have to put a
screwdriver in there and pry, which will usually mangle it beyond reusability. So, if you plan to rebuild using the OEM
felt seal scheme, you probably should order four new rings C20179 in advance; Craig Sawyers says, “this is an expensive
part - the price I have is £7 (about $10) each, and there are four on the car.” Better idea: rebuild using the oil seal
scheme described below, which doesn’t require these rings.
While you have it apart, take a flat file and file a small bevel on the inside corner of the outboard ends of the swingarm
fork. Don’t make it at 45°; rather, make it nearer to parallel to the flat inside surface of the fork tine, perhaps a 10°
angle. These bevels will make it easier to get the hub carrier back into place in the fork.
The outer pivot reassembly calls for a “dummy shaft”, JD.14. John Robison suggests you use a 5/8” wooden dowel.
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Cut it to exactly 6” long. Note that a 5/8” wooden dowel may not be machined all that precisely, so trial fit it through a
new bearing before you get started. If it fits snugly at all, spend a few seconds with some sandpaper on it. It needs to be
a slip fit, so it’s easy to slide in and out of the bearing assembly. If it’s humid out, you may need to sand it some more.
Richard Dowling had another idea: “In my collection of rubber items I had some 5/16" ID rubber fuel hose that was
near as dammit 5/8" OD. This made excellent dummy shafts, especially for the inner fulcrum shaft that needs a real
belting to get back into position. With hard dummy shafts that belting can easily propel the dummy out and drop a big
collection of seals and spacers all over the bench. The rubber dummy is much less likely to be inadvertently propelled
and thereby helps keep your blood pressure low.”
The fulcrum shafts in the author’s ’83 have a little dowel tip on one end. Purpose unknown. If installed pointing to the
rear, it may permit the use of a simpler ride height setting tool than the one shown in Figure 17 on page 358. Other than
that, the fulcrum shafts can be installed with this tip pointing forwards or rearwards, it won’t make any different to the
pivot joint itself.
REAR SWINGARM OUTER PIVOT - BEARINGS: Craig Sawyers says, “Jag supplied a couple of cut-outs on the
inside of the hub so you can get a brass drift in to knock them out. Of course, that will be buried in grease, so you have
to go by feel, but it is not a difficult job.” It helps somewhat to have a drift that’s shaped just right at the tip, so you
might consider grinding the tip a bit -- flatten one side, etc. Also, it doesn’t need to be brass unless you plan to reuse the
bearing; a steel rod will do. And make sure to switch back and forth between sides with every whack; you don’t want to
get that race cocked sideways.
Generic bearings can be used, of course. Gregory Wells says, “Inner cone and bearing is Timken 03062, outer race is
Timken 03162, for Jaguar p/n C-16029.” Duncan Williamson indicates that NSK bearings use the same numbers. Ron
Moore says “These are the same bearing and cap as those fitted to the Triumph Herald front wheel bearing outer.”
Moore is in New Zealand; if you’re in the US, it might be more useful to know that it’s also the same bearing as the
outer front wheel bearing on the Triumph Spitfire and TR6 which were actually imported to this country.
Wells, a Jaguar parts vendor, adds, “Don't assume that because these bearings can be ordered by numbers from a bearing
house that they will automatically be cheaper than from the parts peddlers like ourselves. Jag vendors will be cheaper
than bearing houses on the Jag-specific bearings a goodly percentage of the time.”
Sawyers: “Replacing is easy. Stick the hub in the oven (I waited until my dearly beloved was out) at 100°C. Put the
bearing track in the freezer. The two parts just drop together, and then tighten up as the assembly cools down. When it
is cool, give the track a knock or two with a drift just to confirm it is completely seated in the recess.”
Conversely, Patrick MacNamara -- who didn’t remove the hub carrier from the car so it couldn’t very well go in the
oven -- used a length of threaded rod with nuts and washers to pull the bearing races into place.
The author used a similar method, except using the fulcrum shaft and nuts themselves. You will need two 5/8” flat
washers with a 1-1/2” OD, and it’s nice to also have two 5/8” flat washers with a 1-3/4” OD. Use the 1-3/4” OD
washers to pull the races in until they are flush with the ends of the hub carrier, then switch to the 1-1/2” OD washers for
the rest of the way. The threads on the fulcrum shaft aren’t very long, so you have to stop a few times and add more
spacers. The old bearing inner races make fine spacers.
REAR SWINGARM OUTER PIVOT - REPLACING BEARINGS WITH BUSHINGS: Tapered roller bearings work
best when rolling continuously; the motion helps feed grease in between the contact areas, and the continuous motion
ensures a uniform wear track. But the bearings in this pivot don’t roll far enough. Hence, the wear is not uniform, but
rather in local spots on the race. And the grease can get pushed out from between the contact points, piled up between
rollers, and the contact points actually run dry. The result is a pattern of dimples on the bearing races.
Greg Meboe agrees: “As a mechanical engineer, I must say that the choice to use tapered roller bearings in the hub pivot
area is poor, really poor. A roller bearing is designed to roll continuously, not sit in a static position. This pivot has a
high amount of stress on it during acceleration, braking and cornering, yet never turns more than one or two degrees
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total! As a result the race become brinnelled, indented by the rollers which press but don't turn.” Note: the roller
bearings in this location are not only subject to brinnelling (impact damage), but also “false brinnelling”, which is a wear
pattern that looks like brinnelling but involves no impact. Doesn’t really matter which, either way the bearings are
ruined.
Gran Turismo Jaguar (now defunct) offered a kit to replace the tapered roller bearing idea entirely with brass bushings.
Concours West (page 708) offers urethane bushings. Either of these has the considerable benefit of being an order of
magnitude easier to install, since there is no need for adjustment and fiddling with shims.
However, whether or not going to bushings is actually an improvement is far from clear. First, note that the entire point
of renewing these bearings is to eliminate sources of slop in this joint, but you cannot adjust the slop out of bushings. If
the bushings don’t fit very snugly on the fulcrum shaft, the slop may get worse rather than better. And even if the
bushings are really snug, of course, any wear in those bushings would cause slop -- if you’re unlucky, more slop than
would be caused by the wear rate of the OEM tapered roller bearings.
There’s also the question of the quality of design and construction. For example, the OEM assembly provides a stack of
parts all the way through the assembly so that the fulcrum nuts can be torqued down tight without being concerned
about distorting the fork on the end of the swingarm. The same stack clearly won’t work since there are no longer any
inner bearing races, so a well-designed bushing set would either provide a single sleeve to surround the fulcrum shaft and
fit inside the bushings, or short sleeves for use with the OEM spacer tubes. Steve Stewart says, “The solid bushes I put
in the E-type were from Classic Jaguar in Texas (www.classicjaguar.com). No sleeves at all. The shafts fit straight
through the bushings which are a nice push-in fit to the hub carrier and wishbones.” Apparently you must be careful not
to overtorque the fulcrum nuts so as not to distort the swingarm.
Seals are apparently another issue. Stewart continues: “I don't believe that grease retention is as good as the roller
bearing set up though as there are no seals used. Also instruction to grease these every 3000 miles or so.”
Actually, urethane or nylon bushings might be better than brass or bronze. With plastic, it may be possible to assemble a
really tight fit, and wear could be minimal if the load distribution is within the capacity of the plastic. The plastic bushing
might serve as a seal without requiring a separate seal; it might even be molded with a sealing lip. It still should have a
metal sleeve around the fulcrum shaft, though.
All in all, it might be best to just maintain the OEM roller bearings properly and replace them periodically when they get
worn. They are not expensive, and replacement is pretty easy.
REAR SWINGARM OUTER PIVOT - SEALS: One common suggestion here is to reverse the felt seal and cup during
assembly, but this is probably because the exploded diagram in the Parts Catalogue shows the felt seal and cup
backwards and these people have just figured out the way it’s supposed to go.
Even installed correctly, there is considerable history of rust, corrosion, and water damage with the outer pivot bearings.
Craig Sawyers says, “The truly awful felt seal ships water like you would expect; it simply acts like a wick.”
In his column “Tech Talk” in Edition 82 of The Jaguar Magazine, Ron Moore recommends the seal C20178, its
container C20179, and its retaining washer C20182 be omitted; if you printed this book in color, these parts are shown
in magenta in Figure 22. In their place, Moore recommends a “common oil seal PR6354” be installed instead --
backwards, with the flat side of the seal facing the bearing.
More info on that seal: PR6354 is a Repco part number, and it cross-references to a Federal-Mogul/National 471652 or
a C-R 11124. Timken also calls this seal a 471652. The dimensions of this seal are 1.125 x 1.624 x 0.250. Duncan
Williamson says that Farrell Bearings Ltd stores in New Zealand provide a seal number TC12044 23560R. Sawyers
reports that Classic Spares (page 693) offers an “outer fulcrum bearing kit” that includes the bearings, an assortment of
shims, and suitable oil seals instead of the OEM felt seals.
Moore has a point about that backwards installation. Seals are normally used to keep fluids in, but in this case they are
used to keep fluids out. The main lip within such a seal, which has a spring behind it, will hold fluids securely in the
direction that would result in fluids coming out the flat side, but not as securely in the direction of fluid entering the flat
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side.
That wisdom notwithstanding, this author is going to recommend that you install the oil seal forwards, with the flat side
on the outside. Modern oil seals have two lips, the main one facing one way and a tiny one facing the other way, and
either one of these seals -- facing either way -- is likely to seal far better than the felt seal assembly ever dreamed of
sealing. But perhaps more importantly, installing the oil seal flat side out would seem to provide better protection from
physical damage; most of the delicate parts of the seal are enclosed behind the metal surround.
Moore also suggests that the spring on the seal be removed and replaced with an O-ring BS024. This is probably just
because, with the backwards oil seal installation, the spring will eventually rust away since it is on the side of the seal
exposed to the elements. A suitable O-ring sold at Discount Auto Parts is made by O-Tite!, number 64024; it is 1-1/8”
ID, 1-1/4” OD, 1/16” thick. It even comes in packages of four. Of course, you can omit the O-ring substitution and just
leave the spring in there; it’ll probably last ten years, perhaps long enough you’ll need to be back in there to replace
bearings anyway.
If you install the oil seal flat side out, you should not make this O-ring substitution for the spring. Rust won’t be a
problem, since the spring will be inside the assembly and presumably well greased. But the grease used may attack the
nitrile of an O-ring.
There is a spacer C20180 within the OEM assembly that holds the outer ring C20179 surrounding the felt seal away
from the bearing. A similar spacer is called for with the oil seal, but the oil seal is narrower than C20179 and therefore
needs a wider spacer. You have several options. First and perhaps easiest, you can wrap a length of 0.064” steel wire
(14 gauge) around a big socket to form a loop, and install it alongside C20180. Since C20180 is about 0.095” wide, this
will make the total about 0.160” wide, about right. Figure 23 shows the oil seal and the wire loop spacer in red.
Another option would be to cut a strip of sheet metal about 0.150” wide and wrap it around a big socket to make a loop
and use that -- and throw C20180 away.
Sawyers provides another option: “Classic's verbal instructions for their kit of bits is to throw everything away except
the seal track (C16628). You just tap in the new grease seal until it is flush, or slightly recessed from the face of the
hub.” That’ll work if you’re careful and don’t tap it in too far.
When you’re putting all this together, remember that water is sneaky. With a good lip seal keeping the water from
getting in between the seal and the seal track, that water might still sneak in there between the ID of the seal track and
the fulcrum shaft itself. Hence, it would probably be a good idea to put some sealant between the seal track and the
fulcrum shaft, although it’s not clear how to get any to stay in there through the process of inserting the fulcrum shaft
while driving the dummy shaft out.
A better idea may be to apply a sealant such as Loctite 518 to both ends of the distance tube, both ends of each inner
bearing race, both sides of each seal track and both sides of every shim. This way, when the assembly is tightened up, all
those joints will be sealed. Water could conceivably get in along the fulcrum shaft, but it couldn’t get from there to the
outside of the stack of parts along the shaft where the bearings and grease are. A workable plan, but be careful not to
slop too much sealant on any of those parts; you don’t want a lot of sealant squeezing out and getting into the bearings.
While you’re being so careful to keep water out, note that Jaguar provided a nice little hole above the grease fitting to let
in plenty of water. See the section on greasing these bearings 390.
REAR SWINGARM OUTER PIVOT - SHIMS: As described below, there are two separate and distinct shimming
procedures involved in rebuilding the rear swingarm outer pivot joint. These two operations require two different shim
designs; both need to fit on a 5/8” shaft and both require an assortment of thicknesses for adjustment, but the OD’s of
the shims need to be different. Craig Sawyers explains Jaguar’s shim numbering scheme: “The parts book has two
distinct types of C16626:
C16626/1 0.003" for fork centring
C16626/2 0.007" for fork centring
C16626 0.003" for preload
C16626/3 0.007" for preload
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Preload shims: O/D 7/8", I/D 0.695 (11/16" clearance)
Centring shims: O/D 1-1/8", I/D 0.695 (11/16" clearance)
“As you'll see, the preload ones are real skinny, with a wall of rather less than 3/32", as compared with the larger ones
with 9/32".”
“Centring” is gonna play hell with my spellchecker; why can’t the Brits learn to spell?
The shims used for setting the bearing preload must have an OD smaller than 15/16” or they will interfere with the free
movement of the bearing roller cage. Shims with an OD smaller than 1-1/8” would work as fork spacing shims, but they
will weaken the assembly somewhat; best to use the intended items.
A comment from the author as engineer: The guy at Jaguar who decided to give these two distinct and non-
interchangeable types of shims the same part number with different suffixes deserves a thump on the head.
Note that you will need some preload shims to do this job. The selection procedure involves assembling the bearings
with too many preload shims, measuring the slop, and removing shims accordingly. You can’t do that if you don’t have
too many shims to begin with. Just order a couple of each of the four shim part numbers while ordering the other parts
you’ll need, and just put it down as the cost of a rebuild.
Of course, you can find generic shims. Grainger (page 711) offers an “arbor shim assortment”, stock number 3L739, for
less than $10 that contains 19 different thickness 5/8” ID shims. The OD is 1”, which really isn’t right for either preload
shimming or fork shimming, but you could conceivably cut the OD down to use them as preload shims.
You could also make shims, of course, by simply cutting them out of steel or brass shim stock.
You need to know just how thick your shims are, so you know how many to remove to set the preload correctly. It’s
probably not a good idea to rely on Jaguar’s indication that its shims are 0.003” and 0.007”; Patrick MacNamara says,
“My C16626s came from the dealer at .004".” This author measured his brand new shims as 0.004” and 0.006”. If you
can, measure yours for yourself.
REAR SWINGARM OUTER PIVOT - BEARING PRELOAD SHIMMING: The first shimming procedure involved
in the rear swingarm outer pivot assembly is to preload the tapered bearings properly. When you tighten the nuts down
on the fulcrum shaft, you’re gonna be jamming the cones of both tapered bearings down tight into the cups, so there is a
“distance tube” -- or maybe two distance tubes end-to-end -- that space the cones apart. Shims C16626 (.003”) and
C16626/3 (.007”) need to be selected and installed to space the cones the precise amount necessary to provide the
correct amount of preload; too many shims and the bearings will be rattly, too few and they will be jammed too tight.
The shimming procedure is described in Section 65.15.07 of the ROM in steps 18 through 28, and also in the Haynes
manual, Chapter 11, Section 22, in steps 10 through 16. Basically, the idea is to put the assembly together with too
many shims, measure the axial play, and then take it apart and remove shims equal to the play plus .002” -- yes, the
assembly should be two thousandths tight when done.
Both the ROM (step 22) and the Haynes (step 14) mention using an inner swingarm pivot thrust washer in this trial
assembly; you measure the play between the washer and the edge of the hub carrier with feeler gauges. Obviously, if
you don’t have the inner swingarm pivot apart, that washer isn’t available -- and you aren’t going to want to take it apart
just to borrow that washer for a minute. All you need is a flat washer with a 5/8” hole in the middle and an OD of at
least 1-3/4”. Note, however, that it would be best to have a really good flat washer, as anything flimsy or with a rough
or uneven surface may affect the feeler gauge reading -- and you’re looking to get the shim measurement right, not just
close. You might opt to file or machine on the face of that washer facing the hub carrier to get it as flat and true as
possible. Also: mark both the washer and the hub carrier housing so that you are always using the feeler gauges at the
same spot.
Of course, you could measure the end play using other methods. You can set up a dial indicator, for example.
The shims can be installed anywhere in the stack between the bearing cones -- at one end, the other end, or in the middle
between the two distance tubes -- and it will accomplish the same thing. The manuals describe putting them in the
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middle between the two distance tubes (steps 27 and 28 in the ROM, step 11 in the Haynes). However, at some point
Jaguar figured out that manufacturing one long tube requires less machining than two short tubes. The Parts Catalogue,
©1987, shows it as a single long tube C.16623/1. In fact, every XJ-S owner who has reported says they found a single
long tube rather than two short tubes. So, just put the shims at one end or the other; it doesn’t matter which end.
The cross-section diagrams in the ROM show a shim in the center between two short tubes. If you have one long tube,
don’t waste too much time trying to figure out what that drawing is trying to show you there.
The ROM recommends tightening the trial assembly to 97-107 ft-lb, and the Haynes recommends 95 ft-lb. Basically,
this is final assembly torque. Here, I will differ with the official recommendations and suggest you do not tighten the
trial assembly that much; go to 40-50 ft-lb only.
Here’s the reason: at trial assembly, you will be turning the two nuts against each other, and somewhere in the stack
between them there must be slippage. This slippage will probably occur at the shims. In achieving full assembly torque,
the thin shims may decide they’ve had enough and get ripped out of the stack forcefully by the shear loads. This isn’t a
problem at final assembly, because the ends of the swingarm fork are involved; they positively prevent any twisting
within the stack, and force the nuts to slip on the swingarm fork faces as they are tightened. The shims won’t be harmed
by pure compression.
REAR SWINGARM OUTER PIVOT - SWINGARM FORK SHIMMING: The second shimming job isn’t as critical
as the bearing preload; the idea here is merely to make the bearing/seal stack nearly the same as the width of the fork on
the swingarm so that as the nuts are tightened down the swingarm doesn’t get distorted. Basically, insert shims
C16626/1 (.003”) and C16626/2 (.007”) until the hub carrier fits snugly between the ends of the swingarm; put in as
many shims as you can and still fit the hub carrier into the swingarm fork. And put some of the shims at the front and
some at the rear in order to position the hub carrier approximately centered in the fork.
This shimming procedure is described in the ROM in Section 64.15.01 in step 10. Or, I should say, isn’t described in
step 10. It just says to put the shims in. The description in the Haynes, Chapter 11, Section 22, steps 18 and 19 is much
better, brief as it is.
Richard Dowling says, “When it was time to check for the large shims which ensure the assembly is a neat fit in the
fulcrum fork, I first put all the bearings etc. into the hub and tried that in the fork. It is just too clumsy and difficult to
make sure the bearings are tight and at the same time check the end float for shim size. Instead I went back to just
putting the bearings, spacers and shims on the shaft and torquing it up with some spacers. I then offered the shaft up to
the fork and checked with feeler gauges. Of course the shaft is not fully into the fork but it is easy to handle and
measure. On final assembly it is simple to see if you got that wrong, either the hub fit into the fork is too tight or there is
obviously too much endplay.”
Both the ROM and the Haynes seem to imply that these shims get installed between the hub carrier assembly and the
swingarm fork, and the exploded diagram in the Parts Catalogue confirms it. Don’t put them there! Install these shims
inside the oil seal track, between the oil seal track and the bearing.
REAR SWINGARM OUTER PIVOT ASSEMBLY: Confused? Yeah, that’s understandable. So, here is a brief
summary of the assembly procedure using the oil seal in place of the felt seal. Refer to Figure 23, which shows the
assembly together at the right as well as the individual parts to the left -- indicating the order they should be installed.
This procedure assumes that all parts are clean and ready for assembly, and whatever you decide to do with the grease
relief vent has been done and any metal chips or whatever have been cleaned out.
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Figure 23 - Rear Swingarm Outer Pivot Assembly w/ Oil Seal
1) Install the outer races.
2) Trial-assemble the center stack using the real fulcrum shaft, distance tube, preload shims, bearings, seal tracks, one
5/8” fender washer, the inner races of both the old bearings as spacers, and the nuts. Use 0.010” more preload
shims than came out of it. Tighten the nuts to around 40 ft-lb and measure the end play.
3) Take it back apart, and remove preload shims equal to the end play plus 0.002”.
4) Reassemble the distance tube, selected preload shims, and bearings, using the dummy shaft this time.
5) Divide the fork spacing shims that came out of it into two nearly equal groups. Insert one group of fork spacing
shims against each bearing, and put the seal tracks in.
6) Trial fit the hub carrier to the swingarm fork again. If it isn’t a snug fit, you need more shims. If the clearances
between the edges of the hub carrier and the inside surfaces of the swingarm fork aren’t nearly equal front and rear,
you need to redistribute the fork spacing shims.
7) Insert the skinny spacer ring C20180 in each end against the outer bearing race, along with an additional spacer
made by forming some steel wire about 0.060” thick into a ring.
8) Remove one of the seal tracks. Push the seal track into the center of an oil seal, and check it carefully to make sure
the lips are positioned properly on the track. Install the pair together, carefully tapping the seal in until it seats on
the spacer rings. Repeat for other end.
9) Install the hub carrier in the swingarm fork. Insert the fulcrum shaft, pushing the dummy shaft out the other side. If
the fulcrum shaft starts to hang up on a shim inside somewhere, merely turn the shaft to screw the shaft past the
shim.
10) Install washers, the link to the shock absorber bolt, and the nuts, and tighten.
REAR SWINGARM INNER PIVOT: Unlike the tapered roller bearings at the outer end that are sealed with felt, the
bearings at the inner end are non-tapered needle bearings and sealed with rubber rings with an X-shaped cross section.
These seals don’t really seem to be a problem. The rubber sealing rings can be replaced with an O-ring in a pinch, but
the OEM rings C17213 are probably better.
The bearings will still have the wear problems associated with non-rolling roller bearings. Gran Turismo Jaguar (now
defunct) offered brass bushings to replace these needle bearings; you could probably have bronze bushings fabbed up at
any machine shop. Since the OEM roller bearings are not tapered and have no adjustment, you should be able to easily
attain comparable or less slop with bushings as with the OEM bearings.
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IRS UPGRADES: When searching the various sources for products to improve the XJ-S suspension, keep in mind that
the Jaguar rear suspension has been largely unchanged since the introduction of the E-Type. This assembly is very
popular with the hotrod and custom car types. As a result, ads for parts for improving this suspension can occasionally
be found in some decidedly non-Jaguar publications.
CHEAP REAR SUSPENSION UPGRADE: On the SportsPack, the bushings at both ends of the radius arms are
different. The bushings at the small end are made with a stiffer rubber. However, the bushings at the front end are the
same as on the standard XJ-S except that they are rotated 90º. These bushings have two holes through the rubber, and
on normal cars the holes are aligned with the radius arms so that push/pull forces apply directly at the holes. On the
SportsPack, the holes are aligned crossways to the radius arms, so push/pull forces apply to solid rubber. If you’d like
your IRS to be a little stiffer, you could apparently do some good with a press without even buying any new parts.
REAR ANTI-ROLL BAR BUSHINGS: If you are adding a 9/16” bar to the rear of a car with no rear bar or simply
wish to replace the existing bushings on a pre-1982 model, in place of the stock bushing C44931/2 and bracket C42114
you can use a generic 9/16” polyurethane bushing and bracket assembly available from many aftermarket sources. J. C.
Whitney (see page 694) offers “A” and “B” style “ProThane” bushing/bracket sets (see Dee Engineering, page 715),
with the “B” type being a little larger and more substantial. The “B” bushing must be modified slightly for the XJ-S by
cutting notches along the bottom edges, but polyurethane is easy to cut with a razor knife or hacksaw so it only takes a
minute and this makes an excellent installation. The “A” type would probably also work in this application.
If you are adding a heavier rear anti-roll bar or replacing the stock bushings on a Sportspack model, Addco (see page
713) also offers polyurethane bushing kits in sizes 5/8” and up and in several different styles. Their “B” series is their
“small shoulder style”; their “D” series is the larger, heavier unit with no shoulders; and they also have a “W” series that
is a large shoulder style. Any of these can be made to fit the XJ-S rear, although the “B” series requires that the slotted
holes be enlongated a little with a round file to fit over the studs. The “D” and “W” come only in urethane, while the
“B” normally comes with rubber bushings but can come fitted with urethane if you ask. The “W”, being similar to the J.
C. Whitney “B” type described above, may require the same minor trimming on the urethane bushing. Addco’s catalog
lists their “B” for the rear of the XJ-S, but the “D” or “W” are actually better choices.
As with the Addco front bushings, cutting a slit in the polyurethane rear bushing will make it much easier to install and
won’t hurt anything. At the rear, the loads are vertical but the bushings are mounted at an angle, so the cut should
ideally be made at an angle so it is located horizontally when installed.
ANTI-SWAY BAR END LINK BUSHINGS: If your XJ-S has an OEM rear anti-sway bar, the “dogbone” end links
(C42907) that connect it to the radius arms come complete with pressed-in bushings; when they are shot, Jaguar expects
you to purchase the entire dogbone. Joe Bialy found the individual bushings, though: “Try C10940. They're $3.57 each
from Welsh. I think they're an E-type part, but they are an absolute perfect press fit into the dogbone.”
If this is true, maybe somebody makes a urethane part for an E-type that could be used here. Or, maybe a larger bushing
intended for something else could be machined down for use here.
It isn’t all that important anyway; the OEM bushings are actually pretty stiff. The real problem is in the radius arm
bushings; see below.
GT Jaguar (now defunct) offered a rear anti-roll bar kit in which the end links appeared to be totally rigid, having metal
ball-and-socket joints at both ends. Note that, if a lack of harshness or noise is important, it may not be necessary to
have soft components at both the end links and the center mounts; rigid links at the ends may work fine for street use if
combined with rubber or poly center mounts. One would expect, though, that using rigid end links together with the
rigid blocks for center mounts might be best considered a competition-only configuration.
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REAR ANTI-ROLL BAR MOUNT STIFFNESS: While you are trying to stiffen the mounts of the rear anti-roll bar to
increase its effectiveness, note that the end links on this bar don’t connect to the hub carriers. They connect to the radius
arms, which in turn are connected to the hub carriers via a very soft bushing. Hence, even if you make the anti-roll bar
mounts and end links totally rigid, much of its effect will still be absorbed in the soft bushings at the rear end of the
radius arms. Conversely, if you replace the soft bushings at the rear end of the radius arms with something more rigid,
you will suddenly find your rear anti-roll bar more effective. Note that the bushings at the rear end of the radius arm on
the SportsPack models are stiffer than the basic units.
REAR SUSPENSION REINFORCEMENT: Among those who have developed more torque at the rear wheels of a
Jaguar, the rear suspension cage mounts are a known weak spot. If your car can smoke the back tires, it apparently can
also rip these suspension mounts fairly readily. According to Mark McChesney, “There are hard rubber mounts
available from SNG Barratt” (see page 696). British Auto USA (page 692) also offers a set “in a bonded neoprene of
higher durometer than stock.”
However, the problem isn’t really with the stock mounts; it’s a result of the way in which the rear cage is supported --
which is in turn a result of the way the rear suspension works. Since the lower swingarms swing about a pivot parallel to
the centerline of the car, the hub carriers need to move only vertically and laterally through the suspension travel range.
The radius arms, however, pivot around their forward mounts and therefore try to pull the hub carrier axially forward
and back a little as the suspension travels. If all of the mounts and pivots were totally rigid, the whole suspension would
seize up. Since the cage is mounted at the top with four rubber mounts that are fairly close together, the entire cage is
free to tilt slightly forward and back to allow the radius arms to pull the hub carriers forward and back a little. Also, the
rubber mounts at both ends of the radius arms are very soft, so they can give a little to reduce the hub carriers axial
motion.
This all works very well under most conditions, but doesn’t take to drag racing well. The radius arms are supposed to
absorb the forward loading at the hub carriers, and also prevent excessive tilt of the cage assembly -- they attach to the
lower swingarms, but those in turn are rigidly pivoted (needle bearings) at the diff to only move up and down and not
forward or back, so cage rocking should be effectively limited. However, the radius arm mounts are soft and a lot of
torque apparently causes the entire cage to flex and twist, and the upper cage mounts seem to suffer.
The best solution appears to be to add some sort of additional link to accept the torque loads within the cage while
allowing the stock mounts to deal with weight loading only. Several of the aftermarket outfits reportedly offer some
sort of kit along these lines.
REAR SUSPENSION GEOMETRY CHANGE #1: The combination of rigid needle bearings and soft rubber mounts
in the rear suspension assembly have a net effect of pulling the rear wheels forward a little as the suspension travels
either direction from normal ride height; effectively, the hub carrier rotates about an axis that is roughly a line from the
inner end of the lower swingarms through the forward mounts of the radius arms -- an axis that is at a rather severe
angle to the centerline of the car. In other words, as the wheel moves away from level, it also moves forward and turns
in a little, providing a little rear-wheel steering. The effect of this stock design is to provide a lot of stability on the
freeway, making the car impervious to crosswinds and the like. (And you thought it was just because the car is heavy?
Get real.)
In racing, such stability due to rear wheel steering is also desirable, but to a much lesser extent -- a lot of it tends to make
the car corner poorly when fitted with racing tires and driven near the limits of adhesion. So, the radius arm is often
altered to move the forward pivot closer to the centerline of the car. The axis of suspension travel is still a line from the
inner end of the swingarms to the forward mounts of the radius arms, but since the forward mounts of the radius arms
are closer to the center of the car, this line is much closer to parallel with the centerline of the car. This reduces the rear
wheel steering effect and allows the driver more control over how the car drives at the limit of adhesion. According to
Mark McChesney, “Terry’s (page 696) is now selling a full kit to convert to a diagonal radius link (with diff cage
supports). I’m not sure the kit will work on an XJ-S, I think it’s intended for E-types.”
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REAR SUSPENSION GEOMETRY CHANGE #2: The Jaguar IRS is commonly used on hot rods, Cobra replicas,
and other custom applications. In these applications, it is typical to mount the differential rigidly to the chassis of the car
and eliminate the radius arms altogether, in order to provide the cleanest and most visually attractive chassis. Some
people advocate making the same change to the stock Jaguar; the components are certainly strong enough to do this.
However, this is a radical geometry change from the stock IRS in the XJ-S resulting in no rear-steering stability
whatsoever and will make a quite noticeable change in the handling of the car. Also, having the diff rigidly mounted will
result in more gear noise and road noise transmitted into the car.
In both the hot rod and Cobra applications, the suspension is normally sprung so stiffly as to not move much anyway,
you’re driving a go-kart rather than a car, suspension geometry is not an issue. The Jaguar XJ-S is an excellent handling
car even though it is softly sprung. If you wish to maintain this, you should not consider eliminating the radius arms.
Wheels and Tires
ALLOY WHEEL SEIZING: Believe it or not, one of the places where Jaguars are known to have seizing problems is
between the alloy wheel and the hub. Robert Woodling suggests use of anti-seize compound on the mating surfaces,
especially at the hole in the center of the wheel.
If your wheel is already stuck, you might as well try loosening all the lugs about two full turns, take the car down off the
jack and drive it up and down the street. Swerve left and right a couple of times. Of course, if the tire is flat you won’t
want to do this -- so you might want to check if your wheels are stuck now and take corrective measures before you’re
stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire.
XJR-S WHEELS: John Goodman reports that the XJR-S uses “8" wide special alloys (the front and back wheels are
not interchangeable because of different offsets).”
SPOKE WHEELS: Yes, a Jaguar with real wire wheels really looks good. Unfortunately, it generally doesn’t drive
worth a hoot. The spoke wheels available have a reputation for trouble. Spoke wheels were a good idea in the ‘50s
when Jaguars needed to maximize air flow to cool their brakes. Since that time, two changes have conspired against
spoke wheels:
1. The advent of tubeless tires. Many spoke wheels won’t work with tubeless tires, so you must install a
tube. A tube installed in a speed-rated tire (the XJ-S should be fitted with V-rated tires) completely
negates the rating, and renders the tire unsafe at speed. Don’t drive fast with inner tubes in your tires!
2. The advent of low, wide tires. A spoke wheel is a reasonable structure when it’s tall and skinny, like a
bicycle wheel or the automobile wheels of the ‘50s. But it is a structurally poor design for modern
low, wide wheels.
Furthermore, Jaguar XJ wheels need an offset (distance from mounting surface to centerline of wheel) of around 1¼”,
which is not conducive to spoke wheel strength. It requires all the spokes to be crammed together near the outer edge
of the wheel rather than centered and optimally oriented for strength.
Spoke wheels tend to need truing on a regular basis. This is not a job for the home mechanic, and finding someone who
can do it right is a challenge. Often the wheels must be returned to the manufacturer for truing. Truing will obviously
require removing the tire, remounting the tire afterward, and rebalancing -- so it probably would make sense to plan on a
wheel truing whenever new tires are fitted.
Modern spoke wheels normally have stainless steel spokes, which is a big improvement over earlier designs. However,
spoke wheels generally still have chrome-plated steel rims and centers, leading to rust problems, flaking chrome, and
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associated air leakage at the tire/rim seal.
By the way, if it’s a weight reduction you expect, forget it. There is nothing lightweight about spoke wheels.
It should also be noted that since the spoke wheels are more flexible than alloy, the handling will suffer somewhat. With
a car this heavy, the difference in the way the car corners is noticeable. You may even get sounds, as the spokes strain
and creak with the load.
Note that older Dayton wire wheels had 60 spokes while later designs have 70 spokes, with the 70-spoke versions
reportedly better. John Tompane says, “The 70-spoke wheels weren't available until I think '89. I have 70-spoke
Daytons on my wife's XJ6 and they have been trouble-free for years. When I got the new XJS it came with the same
wires already on the car. Since I sometimes drive harder than my bride, I had planned to replace them with sport lattice
wheels like I had my '88. But frankly, so far they have been great. I've pushed them pretty hard and they have stayed in
balance. I think I'm going to keep them at this point. If I were going to race, autocross or really push the car hard for
long periods it would be stupid to use them. They aren't designed for that. But for everyday driving and little spirited
driving they're pretty damn good. Not great, but not nearly as bad as advertised. The 60-spokes were true nightmares
(or is it untrue nightmares?) and should be avoided at all cost.”
Peyton Gill counters: “The Daytons which failed on my '86 XJ-S were 70-spoke. The point of failure was the wheel.
Cracks formed between the spokes. In some cases the cracks meet from one spoke to another. The car had not been
subjected to any abusive or aggressive driving.”
“I bought my XJ-S from my sister who bought it new. She had one wheel self-destruct when a car pulled in front of her.
She did not hit the car but the action of hard braking caused one wheel to collapse.”
There are (or were at one time) also 50-spoke wire wheels made by TrueSpoke. Brett Kelien says, “I have had enough
problems out of 60-spoke Daytons and TrueSpokes to say they will never be on a car of mine. I have broken them
going down the highway. On the good side Dayton did make me a good deal on the 70-spoke wheels which I really
like.”
Actually, it appears that Dayton will make anyone with their 60-spoke wheels a good deal. Steve Gallant says, “I called
Dayton Wire Wheels and found that they would not repair the wheels under any circumstances. However, they would
replace them with new ones for a very low price. And these new ones had both a larger spoke diameter and more
spokes. Dayton was trying to get these wheels out of circulation by offering good replacement deals. I'm sure they
could see the liability issue coming to bite them in the ass sooner or later with wheels not sufficently strong for the
intended application.”
For more info, surf to
http://www.daytonwirewheels.com
and drop them a line. Or contact their warehouse distributor, Floristar, at 1-800-782-7050.
So, if spoke wheels are so much trouble, why did Jaguar fit the car with them? The answer: they didn’t. If you have
wire wheels, they were either installed by the dealer or by an owner. Jaguar wouldn’t wish those things on you, and
won’t accept responsibility for problems you have with them.
Now, despite the problems mentioned above, many XJ-S owners will use wire wheels anyway. They came with the car
and you don’t feel like paying for a good set of alloys; you bought them before you read this book; or you just like the
looks regardless of the problems. Whatever, I provide the following tips for those who insist on driving around on
wires.
Dayton wheels apparently come with stainless steel lug nuts. These sound like a really good idea, but for some reason
they tend to gall the threads on the Jaguar studs. The problem may be avoidable by the use of anti-seize compound and/
or chasing the threads in the lug nuts with a tap before use, but if you don’t want to take the chance you can purchase
generic 1/2” fine thread chrome-plated steel acorn nuts at just about any auto parts store. You will usually have a choice
of shoulder length, so you need to check the thickness of the flange on the wire wheel before buying. The chrome-
plated nuts match the chrome-plated center of the wire wheels better than the stainless steel nuts! Remember to make
sure that you have an emergency tire wrench in the boot that will fit your lug nuts, since the aftermarket nuts are likely
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to have a different hex size than the Jaguar OEM nuts.
If you need to buy replacement center caps for wire wheels, note that the center caps may be something that looks like a
big domed nut or it may look like a 3-bladed knock-off. The item used on the TrueSpokes looks like an 8-sided nut.
Regarding Daytons, Gallant says, “The 60-spoke wheels came with the hex caps, the 3-spoke knock-off spinner was
optional and could be purchased separately from Dayton.” Note that the knock-off style caps seem to get lost regularly,
so if you have this type you might want to check the attachment scheme. If they attach with a bolt, use Loctite or some
such, or even better figure out how to apply locking wire.
Note that there are at least two configurations of Dayton knock-off; Michael Mongelli explains: “I have, if you can
believe it, two different types of spinners on my wheels. The one that fits best is 2 1/2 inches in center diameter; the
blades are 2 inches. The other type is about 3 inches in center diameter with a shoulder; this one fits but it requires a
round shim that fits over the wheel center to make it tight..the blades are 2 1/8".”
CHROME PLATED ALLOY WHEELS: Nope, these didn’t come from Jaguar! Chrome plated alloy wheels, like
spoked wheels, are trouble; Jaguar would never provide them from the factory and won’t warrant them. The dealers, on
the other hand, are only too happy to take the wheels off the brand new cars in their showroom, send them off to some
disreputable plating shop, and pass the costs on to the new Jaguar buyer. If your chrome-plated wheels are more than a
few years old, you will probably note flaking chrome. Mark Stoner says, “My XJ-S has the chromed starfish wheels and
they are nothing but trouble. The chroming was done by the dealer and all chroming is not done with equal quality. My
problem is that the chrome starts to peel (mainly on the inside of the tire) and causes bad corrosion. I couldn't get one
wheel to hold air so I had the chrome turned off of the bead with a lathe. It still leaked so I put a nice bead of silicone on
the beads and it seems to be working as a temporary fix.”
Rod Fleming, who worked with chrome-plated alloy on motorbikes, says, “When you chrome a piece of steel, the first
layer you apply is copper, which sticks well to steel. This is very thin, and serves only as a bed for the next layer, in
order to make it bond well. This next layer is nickel, which is black until polished. This layer is quite thick and it is this
which actually protects the underlying steel. The nickel needs the copper layer; it won't stick to steel, but it sticks like
the proverbial to copper.
“In the early days of the car industry, the nickel was then polished to give a lovely silver sheen. However, nickel is very
soft, will wear through easily, and goes black with oxidation. So in the 1930's people started putting a layer of chrome
on top. Chrome is very hard and durable and will stay bright, but, and it's a big but, it's porous. It offers no weather
protection at all, and the layer that is applied is very thin. So "chrome plate" is actually a complex interaction of the
properties of several metals applied in very thin layers.
“Now the trouble is that you can't, try as you like, get that all-important copper layer to stick to aluminium alloy. So
you have to get the nickel to plate directly onto the alloy. This it is not very happy to do. The bond is okay for say,
engine components or interior applications, but leave it out in the salt and rain, not to mention the gritblast of road use,
and it will come off in short order. As soon as it is penetrated, the underlying alloy starts to swell and oxidise, popping
off more plate, and pretty soon you've got the shameful mess we all recognise.
“In addition, the thickness of the nickel layer is important; if it is not thick enough, then it will fail. Nickel is expensive,
and platers have been known to cheapskate...this is why you can leave a '74 Norton Commando out in the rain for years
and still have decent chrome, yet a '74 Moto Guzzi's chrome would have turned to brown lizard-skin after two weeks.
(Not that any you see today will be wearing the original stuff.)
“I doubt if the effect has much to do with differing thermal expansion rates; we are only talking about a few microns
thickness here. At least, no one ever mentioned it, and I would expect it to be more of a problem on engine parts -- but
these, as I said, seem to suffer less.
“As for rechroming/chroming, old chrome (and the nickel, etc.) is removed the same way it goes on: just by reversing
the electroplating current. The electroplater uses it again. Not really a problem.
“The real issue with any kind of chrome plating, by the way, (leaving aside the specific issues above) is polishing the
metal to be plated. The slightest blemish will show; indeed it will be greatly magnified by the plate. Also, a smooth
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surface is important to the long term integrity of the plate as it is very difficult to build up a decent thickness on high
points. Frankly the thought of polishing a lattice wheel properly fills me with dread!
“It's hard to find a plater whose work is good enough for restoration use, largely because of the polishing; it's all man-
hours, and they cost. Most platers are used to doing new bath taps and the like, not polishing the pits out of already well
used components.
“Stripping and lacquering wheels is definitely a better idea than chroming; in the UK at least there are many firms who
will do this very cheaply and who turn out a very high quality finish.”
WHEEL SIZES: Over the decades that the XJ-S was offered, tires were gradually becoming lower profile -- wider and/
or not standing as far above the rim (which requires a larger diameter wheel to maintain overall diameter). This is a
good thing; shorter and wider is more stable than taller and skinnier. Basically, Jaguar cars came fitted with the best
arrangement of tires and wheels commonly available at the time -- but as the best arrangement available kept changing
over the years, the tires and wheels fitted to Jaguars changed to keep up. In general, owners of older cars can improve
their cars considerably by moving to the later tire and wheel configurations.
The wheels used on the pre-H.E. XJ-S are 6” wide. The wheels used on the H.E., both the “domed starfish” pre-ABS
and the “lattice” on ABS cars, are 6½” wide. Owners of pre-H.E.’s, therefore, might consider installing later wheels
onto their cars. While ½” may not sound like much, a wider wheel provides the casing of a tire more stability. The
difference is noticeable, even if you reinstall the same tires.
The wheels on some late-80’s/early 90’s XJ6 (XJ40) models are 7” wide, and will bolt onto the XJ-S. This gives
owners of all XJ-S’s with 15” wheels an option for wider wheels yet. The 7” wheels work very well with the 235/60
tires.
D. C. Cook (see page Error: Reference source not found) offers some snazzy 7.5x16” and 8x16” wheels for Jaguars,
and you can also get 16” wheels directly from Jaguar; 90’s XJ-S’s and XJ12’s came from the factory with 16” wheels.
In fact, if you go shopping for aftermarket wheels, you may find that 16” is the way to go; the aftermarket shops seem to
offer more in 16” than 15”. But besides the wheel availability, it also may be easier -- and cheaper! -- to find speed-rated
tires in 16” sizes to fit the Jaguar. Specifically, the 255/50R-16 size is suitable, and is widely available for less money
than V-rated 15” tires. John C. Palm reports that “Corvettes used 255/50-16’s from ’83 to ’87. Camaros & Firebirds
have long used 245/50-16’s.”
And, yes, you can go beyond 16” and install 17” or even 18” wheels on an XJ-S. In fact, the Aston Martin DB7 --
which was based on the XJ-S floorplan -- comes with 18” wheels, and these wheels will fit the XJ-S. Justin Pashley
reports that buyers of DB7’s quite often opt to install custom wheels on their brand-new cars, so the OEM wheels are
commonly available in the UK as “take-offs” for reasonable prices. “I use a 225/40-18 tyre which look great. I have
had no problems with clearance.” Note that the DB7 wheels have a smaller offset (14.5mm) than XJ-S wheels, which
means that the 225mm tires are about the widest that will fit without flaring the fenders.
Paul Hackbart adds, “There is the Aston Martin wing emblem on the center cap. It is the same diameter as the plastic
Jaguar face on OEM center caps.”
James Dichter says, “Very important!!! If you are considering Aston-Martin DB7 wheels make sure they are stamped
"1G" on the inside back of the rim. If the rims are not stamped then they are defective! The wheels will bend out of
shape when driven over rough surfaces. This was just brought to my attention by an Aston-Martin/Jaguar dealership.”
Pashey looked into this and reports that “defective” may not be the right word; the earlier wheels are fine, but it was
found they can be damaged by hitting a curb or pothole at speed so AM beefed them up a bit. The 1G apparently
indicates the heavier version.
The bolt pattern on Jaguar wheels is the same as on some full-size Chevys. However, the offset (the distance from the
mounting surface to the centerline of the wheel) is 28.5mm, or about 1” greater than most Chevy wheels. If a set of
typical Chevy wheels is mounted on an XJ-S, they will stick out the sides of the car, since they will be located 1” farther
outward.
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The world of Chevy wheels is not that simple, though. Some Chevys have different offsets than others; some cars even
have different offsets in front than in back. And aftermarket Chevy wheels can be anything, since sometimes additional
width is added entirely on the inside, increasing the offset by 1/2 the additional width. With a little care, it is possible to
find aftermarket Chevy wheels that will work on a Jaguar. If the wheel has enough meat to it, it may also be possible to
machine off some of the mounting surface, thereby increasing the offset.
When fitting non-Jaguar wheels, it is highly recommended that the center hole fit snugly around the pilot diameter on the
hub. While some wheel manufacturers claim the wheel will be held satisfactorily by the lugs themselves, this is a much
looser tolerance arrangement and has been known to cause problems. If you buy wheels with too large a center hole and
have problems, it is possible to have a machine shop make a set of plugs that will provide a proper size center hole in the
wheel, and then you will need to get the tires rebalanced with these plugs in place.
The lower ball joint from the XJ40 (the 1988-on boxy XJ6) will replace the ball joint on the XJ-S. The part number is
CAC9937. According to XK’s Unlimited, this will provide more clearance for wider wheels. See page 368.
ALLOY WHEELS -- AVOIDING DAMAGE AT TIRE SHOPS: The specified torque on lug nuts on earlier Jaguar
alloy wheels is 45-50 ft-lb., and 75 ft-lb. on later ones. This impresses some people as not being very tight. However,
higher torque is unnecessary and causes damage to the aluminum wheels; this is true of all alloy wheels, and in this day
and age your tire store should know better. If the shop installs your wheels with an air wrench, tell them where to get
off and take your business elsewhere.
There are now machines in better tire stores that mount tires on wheels by gripping the wheel from the inside with soft
grippers and never touching the wheel’s pretty outside surface. Check out the price lists for new Jaguar alloy wheels
and decide for yourself if it’s worth finding a store with this equipment.
You might also want to watch how the wheels are mounted on the balance machine. Some shops will happily spin a
retaining ring onto the machine that presses down on the face of your wheel, sometimes leaving little dings whereever it
touches. The gorillas in the shops normally don’t consider this significant and act perplexed when you object.
WHEEL STUDS: The studs on the front end of an XJ are different than the studs at the rear. The studs at the front
work like Chevy or Ford studs, with a head and a knurled interference fit. To replace them, you have to separate the
brake rotor from the hub -- which means you might as well have the assembly on the bench and be repacking wheel
bearings while you’re at it. Thread a scrap nut onto the stud and whack it with a hammer to remove. To install a new
one, lube the threads well and use a nut and a couple of washers to pull it in.
If you need new studs for the front end, it is possible to find Chevy or Ford studs that will work. The 1/2”-20 threads
are common on American cars. What you’ll have more trouble with is the head; Chevy and Ford studs typically have a
square corner under the head, but the Jaguar front wheel studs have a countersunk style taper under the head. Chuck
Sparks points out that this really doesn’t hurt anything; find a stud the right length, right thread, and the correct shoulder
diameter and pull it in, it’ll work fine. However, it’s really not too difficult to chuck the studs up in something and grind
a small taper on the underside of the head so they actually fit perfectly. Tip: I found that the shaft holding my
grindstone was 1/2”-20, so I merely removed the grindstone and used a lug nut to hold a stud onto the end of the shaft.
Fire up the motor and hold a file or stone against it, voilà! Tapered head. It doesn’t need to be a full taper; just a little
bevel on the bottom corner so it sits flush against the countersunk hole will do it.
The studs at the rear are 1/2”-20 thread on both ends with a little shoulder about 1/2” from one end. These are
threaded into the hub and staked on the back side to keep them from coming out. In theory you need to have the hub
off to replace them, not to thread them in but to do the staking; there’s a shield in the way when assembled. You can
just screw them in on the car with Loctite studlock and they’ll work fine, but each time you have the wheel off make
sure the stud is fully seated and secure before putting the wheel back on.
With the hub on the bench, the way to do that staking would be to screw nuts onto all five studs and set it down on a
hard surface. Unscrew the nut on the stud getting smacked a little bit to make sure it’s firmly against the surface, not
held aloft by the other four nuts. That way, the force of a smack will be transmitted straight from the stud to the nut and
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to the deck, rather than stressing the threads in the hub. The original arrangement uses a cute X staking, like a chisel
whacked once and then turned 90° and whacked again, but really you can use a punch stake if you just make a little
circle of punches on the end of the stud.
There is one plausible scheme to use non-OEM studs here. Buy generic studs that have a very long 1/2”-20 end and cut
them to the overall length you need. Then cut a shallow rounded-bottom groove 1/2” from one end, making sure not to
cut beyond the base of the threads; the threads don’t really contribute to the strength of the stud, but you don’t want to
neck down the solid core of the stud any. Fashion a bit of 1/8” wire into a loop that will just fit inside the recess on the
hub. Cut this loop in half. Screw in your stud (with studlock on the threads) and hold the two halves of this wire ring
into the groove as it pulls into the recess in the hub. This will work sorta like the collets on a valve keeper and trap it all
together in the recess. You can stake it if you have the hub off. This all works, but really it’s usually easier just to buy
the OEM studs.
There are those who don’t care for the threaded-and-staked attachment scheme at all; there’s not much thread holding
the wheel to the car. If you need to replace the rear studs, consider drilling out the threads and boring the holes to a
suitable diameter to fit pull-in studs like on the front. You will then need to carefully trim the heads so they don’t
interfere with the shield on the back side. Even better idea: rather than bore out the threaded holes, drill entirely new
holes in between them, leaving the original threaded holes in case you ever want to return to the original configuration.
If the pull-in type of studs get loose in their press fit, the result is usually an obnoxious ticking when rolling slowly. This
isn’t normally a problem with the XJ with alloy wheels since the lug nuts should be installed with a torque wrench. A
gorilla in a tire shop using an impact wrench can screw them up, though. You can tell which ones are screwed up
because you can usually wiggle them a bit with your finger. The only solution that seems to work is to replace the studs.
Race cars often have the heads of the studs welded to the hub so they won’t get pushed out during a fast tire change in a
pit stop. It’s not recommended for street cars, though; welds can cause localized stresses and cracks in the hub, and may
also cause some distortion.
LONGER WHEEL STUDS: The OEM studs are kinda short; the fronts protrude about 1” from the wheel mount
surface. Whether or not you’d like longer wheel studs may depend on the type wheels and lug nuts you’re using. If
your lug nuts show, you probably have acorn or dome nuts and they may bottom out on longer studs before tightening
onto the wheel. You might still be able to use longer studs, but you’ll need to be careful and measure the depth of the
lug nuts you’ll be using with them.
On the other hand, the author’s car has a hubcap covering everything and would definitely be better off with longer
studs. The “Majestik” wheels (from a ’90 Vanden Plas) come with black nuts threaded clean through, but when tight
the end of the stud is still way down inside the nut! It’s better to use longer studs so they protrude through the nuts so
you’re using all the threads in the nuts.
For the front, you can find an auto parts shop that has a red-and-black metal cabinet of Dorman fasteners and look for
stud #258. As described above, it will work OK as is or it will fit perfectly if you grind a taper under the head. When
installed, these studs will protrude about 1-5/16” or about 5/16” longer than the originals.
For the rear, Chuck Sparks points out that XJ40 rear wheel studs are exactly the same as XJ-S rear wheel studs except
they are 1/4” longer. The part number is CAC 3878.
Of course, there are Chevy and Ford wheel studs in obnoxious lengths like 3”, apparently for racing applications. These
can be installed using the same methods described above, and then you can cut them down to whatever length you
desire.
WHEEL BALANCING: Incompetence is rampant in the retail tire industry, at least here in Florida. Left to their own
devices, most of the meatheads in a tire store will happily mount your Jaguar alloy wheels on a balance machine
incorrectly, give them a static balance only, then beat the weights onto the rim with a BFH.
The first challenge is getting the wheels mounted on the balance machine correctly. When you mount the wheel on a
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machine that spins it to check the balance, it must be mounted centered properly -- meaning centered the same way it is
centered on the car. On the XJ-S (and on just about any other car), correctly-fitting wheels will be centered by the back
side of the center hole fitting closely around a machined diameter on the hub. If the wheel is a style in which the center
hole is a couple of inches deep and has a motif cap clipped into the outer opening, note that the inner half inch or so of
the center hole of the wheel has probably been carefully machined, while the rest of it may not have been machined as
carefully or even machined at all. In the worst case, the two portions of the same hole might not even be concentric,
although one would hope that they are very close. The point is, the wheel needs to be held centered on the inside
portion of the center hole -- not the outside portion, nor any other part of the wheel. The inside portion of the center
hole is how the hub on the car holds the wheel centered, so it must be the basis for the balance machine to hold it
centered as well. As you watch the balance machine operator pick through the selection of adapters he has to mount
your wheels on his machine, you will understand why it is important to keep an eye on what he’s doing and raise
objections if he’s doing it wrong.
There are two basic types of imbalance. The old-fashioned bubble balancing, which engineers refer to as static
balancing, only corrects one type of imbalance -- the type that causes the wheels to hop. This is generally adequate only
for wheels that are very narrow, and should be considered unsatisfactory for any modern automobile.
The other type of imbalance, dynamic imbalance, is the type that causes wobble. A wheel that is statically balanced may
still be dynamically imbalanced by having a heavy area on the outside edge of the wheel and an equivalent heavy area
180 degrees away on the inside edge. Although the wheel would appear balanced on a bubble machine, when spinning
the two diagonally opposite heavy areas cause the wheel to wobble. It’s usually not too noticeable on the rear wheels,
but on the front wheels it can cause steering wheel shudder. And you may eventually wanna rotate the rear wheels to
the front, so it’s kinda nice to have them all correct.
To correct a dynamic imbalance requires that weights be placed in two separate planes -- usually (but not necessarily)
the inside and outside edges of a wheel. It requires more lead than static balancing. It also requires a machine that
actually spins the wheel; the bubble balancer is out. Use of these machines has come to be called “computer balancing”.
However, note that a switch on the machine allows the operator to specify a static balance only, so asking for “computer
balancing” does not guarantee a proper dynamic balance.
The meatheads generally understand that the owner of alloy wheels is not thrilled about balance weights on the visible
outside surface of the wheel. They will often ask: “Do you want the balance weights hidden inside the wheel?” and
when you answer “Yes” their response is to set the balance machine on “static” and apply all the balance weights to the
inside rim of the wheel. This actually makes the dynamic imbalance worse, since even in the days of the bubble balancer
the operator knew to put half the weight on the inside edge and half on the outside.
Insist on watching what is going on. The machines normally operate in “dynamic” mode, and there are two displays
showing the amount of weight that needs to be added to each side of the wheel. There is also a button or switch marked
“static”, and when selected the machine will read imbalance values on one display and the other display will go blank. If
you see this happen, you need to politely interrupt the balance operator and instruct him to put it back in dynamic mode.
At this point, there will probably ensue a discussion with the balance operator. He will often insist that you have two
choices: either you want a static balance, or you have to put up with weights that show -- but he is wrong, you are not
limited to those choices. If this discussion deteriorates into an argument, you may have to take your business elsewhere
until you find a balance operator willing to work with you to get the balance right.
Eventually, it will probably be necessary to show a balance operator how to do his job. Set in dynamic balance mode,
the machine will specify the amount of weight to be applied to each side of the wheel, but you’re not going to be
applying any on the outside surface. Instead, select a piece of “stick-on” balance weight of the size specified by the
machine for the outside edge, but install it on the ID of the rim as far outward as possible, right up against the inward
side of the center structure. Then install the weights on the inside edge using either clip-on or stick-on weights,
whichever you prefer.
If you have a 5-spoke wheel or some such, you can take this idea one step farther and hide the stick-on weights behind
the spokes -- even if the machine tells you to put them between spokes where they show. Simply split the balance
weight into two portions, and put portions behind the spokes on either side of the correct location.
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Usually, after spinning the tire once more, the machine will indicate that the wheel is balanced. However, in theory both
installing the outer weights a couple of inches inwards and splitting a weight into two pieces and spreading it actually
require slightly more weight to be used. You can either anticipate this and use a slightly larger weight than the machine
calls for to begin with, or you can wait and see if the machine tells you you didn’t install enough. Either way, always
insist that the balance machine indicates zeroes (0.00 or “Ready” or whatever) on both indicators before the wheel is
taken off the machine and installed on the car. At this point, the balance operator will probably be astounded; he has
never seen an alloy wheel get a workable dynamic balance without the weights showing, and is wondering why nobody
showed him how to do it before.
There are newer balance machines that actually have both of the procedures described above built into the machinery.
They can properly balance the tires by applying weights in any two planes, not necessarily the outer edges; the desired
location for the weights is a separate setting in the balance procedure. They also can “split” a balance weight callout into
two smaller weights, telling the operator where to put them both. But if you understand what’s going on, you don’t
need to find this fancy machine; the more basic dynamic balance machine will do the job.
Finally, if you are less than impressed with the competence of the shop balancing your wheels or of the condition or
calibration of their balance machine, you can ask to have one of your just-balanced wheels put back on the machine and
spun up again. Balanced is balanced, folks: if they’ve done it right, it should come up all zeroes again, even if mounted
rotated to a different position on the machine or even mounted on a different balance machine altogether. If it comes up
calling for weights, either their centering procedure for installing the wheel on the machine is NFG, or their balance
machine is out of calibration, or something else -- but you don’t really care what, you only know that you are not getting
a viable balance job here, you might as well head on to another shop.
BALANCE WEIGHTS -- STICK-ON VS. CLIP-ON: Steel wheels commonly use “clip-on” weights that are
hammered onto the rim. Some alloy wheels are designed with a rim that can accommodate clip-on weights, but they
may not attach as well to the thicker aluminum. And use of a hammer to install is not good for aluminum, especially if
the meathead responds to difficulty with a bigger swing.
When the steering on an XJ-S is turned full lock, the clearance between the inside edge of the wheel rim and the front
anti-roll bar is very small. If wider-than-original wheels are used, clip-on balance weights may actually hit the bar,
resulting in a blip-blip-blip as you roll around a tight turn. And, of course, the balance weights may actually get ripped
off.
The proper balance weights to use on alloy wheels are called “stick-on”, and are attached to the inner surface of the
wheel with a layer of foam tape attached to the back side of the lead weight. One problem is that they are not reusable;
once peeled off, the tape is not reusable, and the shops customarily throw them away. I guess using generic foam tape
has not occurred to them, or just isn’t worth it, even though they often complain loudly that these weights are expensive
and charge the customer accordingly.
The problem is exacerbated by the meathead not knowing how to use the machine properly and having to do a by-guess-
or-by-gosh balance job. With the clip-on weights, he can just keep prying them off and reinstalling them until he gets it
right, but he can waste a lot of stick-on weights. An intelligent operator, of course, will be able to set the machine up
properly and get the correct weight applied the first try.
Owners of alloy wheels should always insist on dynamic balancing using stick-on weights in two planes within the wheel
-- one near the inner edge, and one just inside of the outer face of the wheel. Since these planes are closer together than
the edges of the wheel, more lead will be required to correct imbalances. But the weights won’t show, and nobody will
need to use a hammer to install them. Always insist that the balance machine shows zeroes on both indicators before the
balance is accepted.
The only real problem with stick-on weights is a reputation for getting lost. Since clumps of mud and other debris
sometimes gets dragged around the inside of the wheel and jammed between the wheel and the brake caliper, the foam
tape can be ripped away. Two suggestions are in order, and neither is likely to be done by the tire shop, so the owner
should bring the materials necessary and do them himself while the wheels are off: First, mark the locations of the stick-
on weights with a permanent marker. Then, secure them with a piece of aluminum tape (available at air conditioning
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shops). Don’t use duct tape; it quickly dries up and falls off, often taking the balance weight with it. The aluminum tape
appears to be light enough to not affect the balance when added; or, to be safe, you could simply add a dummy piece of
tape on the opposite side of the wheel.
WHEEL MOTIFS: If you wish to replace the growler motif on an 80’s XJ-S wheel, you’ll find that the puddy tat itself
and the retainer holding it are two separate parts. The puddy tat is C42191 or CAC6502 or CBC2660, and the retainer
is CAC5073. However, in the late 80’s Jaguar switched to a single-piece item, CCC6347. The one-piece motifs also fit
the earlier wheels, but may not match the two-piece motifs well; you’d probably be well-advised to get a set of four.
Also note that Jaguar apparently had some really bad quality control problems with the one-piece motifs around 1990;
some of them look really bad, with the puddy tat face distorted as though it has melted, and some of the motifs even fall
apart and lose pieces on the highway. Within a couple of years after that, the motifs started looking a lot better, with a
clearly-defined and attractive puddy tat face.
The one-piece motifs are available in five different colors; if you need to buy a couple anyway, you might consider
finding a color you like.
TICK, TICK, TICK: Chip Lamb had an irritating tick from one of his wheels. He was all set to tear into bearings when
Roger Homer pointed out that it may just be the Jaguar logo in the center of a wheel cover coming loose. “Pulled both
hubcaps - it was the kitty on the right rear. Quick fix with duct tape and some black RTV!”
TIRES: If you want to maintain the originality of the tires on your car, you’d better take them off now and store them in
the attic! Tire manufacturers change their models regularly and discontinue the older designs. The XJ-S has been out of
production long enough that it’s unlikely you’ll be able to find an “original” new tire for any of them, even the mid-90’s
models. If you drive your XJ-S, you will have to find a modern tire to fit.
Be very careful when mixing tire types, sizes or makes on a Jaguar. The XJ-S and the XJ6 have a suspension design in
which the entire suspension assemblies are attached to the car with flexible mounts, and the relative stiffness of the
mounts is premised on all the tires being the same. Mixing tire types, even outwardly similar ones, can result in
dangerous instabilities in this suspension system. This is no joke; having one type of perfectly good tire on one end and
another type of perfectly good tire on the other can result in you being rudely introduced to a tree when you aren’t even
travelling that fast. If you must put different tires front and rear, take the car for a test drive and put it through its paces
away from traffic and trees before accepting the arrangement as safe.
The problems with mixing tire types, combined with the fact that tire manufacturers are constantly discontinuing tire
models as they design newer and better tires, means that you will probably want to keep an eye on your wear rates and
rotate tires as required to get them all to wear out simultaneously. If you wear out the pair on one end first, you are not
likely to find a replacement pair of the same model, so you will be well advised to replace all four tires with a new model
-- and you’ll end up pitching two tires with good tread still left on them.
When replacing tires as a set, you don’t have to stick with the brand of tire that came on the car. In fact, it may be better
to change brands according to Michael Neal, who works on Jaguars for a living: “I’ve seen hundreds of the 215/70
Pirelli P5s rip out at the sidewall near the bead. These are the original equipment tires on the US-spec XJ6 Series 3s and
early XJ-S’s. Sorry, but I would not even consider buying a set of these. The 235/60 P600s had the same problem.”
Reportedly the still-later Pirelli P4000’s were better.
If you have internet access, you can check for tire availability and prices online. Peter Cohen suggests
http://www.tirerack.com
and David Littlefield suggests
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/home.do
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“This is the website for Discount Tires Direct, an online version of Discount Tires stores. The Discount Tire site will
allow you to look up the right size tire for your vehicle..” Note that there’s an option for checking the local dealers or
Discount Tires’ mail-order service, and you want the latter; the pages for the local dealers only lists tires that are kept in
stock by the local dealers, and you want to consider special-order stuff for a Jag.
It is impractical to list the attibutes of particular tires in this book, because tire models change so often. All the tire
companies have been bought out by other tire companies anyway, it’s nearly impossible to tell which company is actually
making your tires any more.
TIRE SIZES: According to Mike Morrin, the pre-H.E. XJ-S was fitted with 205/70-15 tires mounted on 6” wide
wheels. A 225/60-15 tire would be effectively the same diameter and a little wider.
The early US-spec XJ-S H.E. was fitted with 215/70VR-15 on 6½” rims. Later models came with 235/60VR-15 tires,
still on 6½” rims. In theory these H.E. sizes are a hair larger diameter than the pre-H.E. tires, but there reportedly was
no corresponding change in suspension or speedometer.
If your car still has 70-series tires, when they wear out you probably should replace them with 60-series tires; the
additional width is beneficial for stability, and there is no appreciable disadvantage with modern tire designs.
Still later cars came with 16” wheels.
The tire size code works like this: The first three digits, such as 215, is the width (mm) of the tire at the widest point --
the middle of the sidewall. It is always rounded to a number ending in 5. The two digits after the slash, along with an
implied decimal point, gives the aspect ratio: the height of the tire above the rim divided by the width described above.
For the 215/70VR-15, this is .70, and the height of the tread above the rim is 215 x .70 = 150mm. If there is no aspect
ratio indicated within the tire size, the aspect ratio is .80. The R in the tire size merely indicates it is a radial tire; it is
sometimes omitted. The -15 indicates it fits a 15” wheel.
The one thing you normally don’t want to change is the overall diameter of the tire, since this would affect your
speedometer and odometer readings as well as your ride height. Changing the ride height can have adverse effects on
the suspension geometry, even if you don’t mind the altered ground clearance. To maintain overall diameter when you
go to a wider tire, you also have to change the aspect ratio to a lower value. It is easy enough to calculate the overall
diameter given the size; just multiply the width number by the aspect ratio, multiply that result by 2, and add the diameter
of the wheel (remember to keep your units straight!). However, remember that the number you started with, the tire
width in mm, was rounded to a number ending in 5, and may not even be that accurate. The aspect ratio is likewise
subject to some creative estimating by the tire manufacturer. Trying to draw conclusions about a quarter inch this way
or that is just silly. There are online tire size calculators that give you the results out to several decimal points, but don’t
be fooled into thinking that there is really any such accuracy involved. And remember that, once you figure out the
diameter, you’re gonna set the car down on this tire and squish it a bit, throwing all your calculations into the
wastebasket!
In general, tire manufacturers increase the width number by 20 while decreasing the aspect ratio number by 10 to
provide the equivalent diameter tire in a wider size; this is true even if the math doesn’t really come out right -- they
make the tires the right size and round the numbers to these sizes anyway.
Tire manufacturers list a “loaded radius” in their specs, the distance from the ground to the center of the wheel with
weight on it. This measurement is meant to include the deformation of the tire under load so the consumer can
determine the actual ride height, and is usually far more accurate than trying to use the tire size formula since there is no
rounding involved in the numbers given.
If you have access to the WWW, there is an online tire size calculator for determining which size tires will replace stock
sizes. The URL is
http://www.dsm.org/Fun/TireSize.html
Today, you really don’t need to worry about arithmetic. If you want to move to a wider size tire, you can merely opt for
a “plus zero” size on any tire selection listing.
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Regarding what will actually fit: In general, the widest tire you can fit on the XJ-S seems to be around 235 or 245,
depending on the profile details of the particular brand of tire. However, a slightly wider tire can be fit at the rear by
increasing the offset of the rear wheels. The XJR-S took this tact and used rear wheels with 33mm offset and is fitted
with 255’s at the rear -- but don’t try that without either going to the larger offset or flaring the fenders. Since you don’t
want to change the offset of the front wheels that way, this tactic requires two different pairs of wheels, and rotating
becomes problematic.
Within each wheel well at the rear, directly above the hub carrier is a rubber bumper attached to the subframe. At full
suspension compression, the top of the hub carrier smacks this bumper. The E-type guys (who have trouble fitting tires
wider than 180mm) remove this rubber bumper to allow the installation of wider tires. They then install rubber
doughnuts around the shafts of all four rear shock absorbers to provide a bump stop. This idea should work on the
XJ-S as well -- but you’ll need to increase the wheel offset to widen the tires in the inboard direction without widening
them in the outboard direction and rubbing the fenders.
TIRE SPEED RATINGS: If you live in some parts of Europe, you are required by law to fit tires with suitable speed
ratings for your car. In the case of the Jaguar XJ-S, that means a V rating or better.
Interestingly, the V rating has changed over the years. In the 80’s when many of our Jaguars were built, a V rating
meant the tire was rated for 220 Km/h, or 137 mph. Today a V rating means the tire is rated for 240 Km/h or 149 mph.
Just as well, since this rating better fits the capabilities of the Jaguar anyway.
The speed rating also used to be indicated within the tire size, as in 215/70VR-15; such were the specifications called
out in the glovebox and owner’s handbook for the author’s ’83. This has changed as well, though, and now the speed
rating is listed with the load index (see below) adjacent to the tire size, as in a 98V. There remains a special rating called
a Z rating that calls for the letter Z to appear within the size; sometimes this is called a ZR rating, since the Z is followed
by the R for radial. You can learn all about speed ratings and other tire specifications from dozens of places on the
internet.
For Jaguar XJ-S intents and purposes, a tire with a speed rating of V, W, Y listed with the load index and/or a Z in the
size is acceptable. Any lower speed ratings (H, U, T, S, whatever) will be illegal in some areas and should be used with
caution anywhere else.
Speed ratings are intended to indicate suitability for Autobahn-style driving -- continuous high speed. Generally, the
limiting factor is heat buildup in the tire. High-speed-rated tires either run cooler or are made of higher-temperature
material, or both. Much of the heat generated is dissipated to the air inside the tire and away through the rim, so inner
tubes invalidate the ratings (the flexing of the inner tubes themselves adds to the heat buildup). There are also concerns
about how patching holes affects speed ratings; it is recommended that the owner check the literature that comes with
the tires before opting for a low-cost “plug” repair to his tires.
Since the flexing of the tire is what generates the heat, tire manufacturers usually achieve a high speed rating by making
the sidewalls stiff. Therefore, the high-speed-rated tires drive differently than normal tires, even at low speed. For this
reason, many recommend the V-rated tires even to those who don’t drive fast. This is especially true for the XJ6 and
XJ-S, because the soft suspensions get downright mushy with the softer, lower rated tires. There are reports that S-
rated tires used on these heavy cars will flex so much that they will wear out quickly.
The heat buildup due to tire flexing is also the reason you must have fully inflated tires when driving fast. Blowouts
aren’t caused by the tire pressure being too high; they’re caused by the structure of the tire failing due to excessive heat.
If you’re going to go fast, it would be better to err on the side of too much tire pressure than too little.
As the tread wears, the speed rating of the tire will actually improve. A thinner carcass generates less heat when flexing
and dissipates heat better. There have been promotions claiming street tires were successfully used for racing; in these
cases, typically the outer half of the tread was shaved off before the tire was even put on the car.
The Pirellis and Goodyears that came with these cars were designed with a luxurious ride in mind. Most 60-series tires
with a V rating, however, are designed with performance in mind, which makes sense to everyone except a Jaguar
owner. The original Pirellis and Goodyears are NLA, so any suitable replacement tires are likely to result in better
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traction and handling but perhaps at some sacrifice in ride quality.
TIRE LOAD INDEX: The load index is a number between 0 and 270 that indicates the load-carrying capacity of the
tire at max pressure. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to the load index numbers themselves; you have to
find a chart to determine the rating in pounds or kg.
Iain Burgess says, “The 89 model owners manual says we need a load rating of 98 (745kg) for a 235/60R-15 and 97
(730kg) for the 215/70-R15.” It’s unknown why the requirement would be different for different size tires on the same
car, but the skeptical among us would suggest it’s because they are promoting a particular brand of tire rather than
providing an honest minimum specification. The fact that their specs would seem to be far in excess of what would
reasonably be expected may lend support to this theory: a load index of 98 means the tire is rated for 1653 pounds -- far
more than adequate for each corner of a 4000-lb car with 800 pounds of people and luggage in it.
Remember, though, that most of us don’t run our tires at the maximum rated pressure; we run them at pressures
considerably lower than that, so some margin in the load index would be a good idea. If you install tires with a load
index in the 80’s the rating is marginal for this car and you might want to keep your pressures up -- especially when
loading lots of people and luggage.
This is yet another reason to upgrade to 16” wheels. Burgess claims it’s far easier to get tires with adequate load
indexes in 16” sizes.
TIRE WEAR RATINGS: They sound useful, don’t they? Gary Penovich says, “You can't compare the wear rating
from one manufacturer to another. For some stupid reason, that number is relative only to tires from the same
manufacturer.”
UNIDIRECTIONAL: Some modern tires are “unidirectional”, meaning they are intended to roll in only one direction.
They have a distinctive tread pattern intended to efficiently clear water at speed. This must be a good idea, because
racing rain tires all look like this. The disadvantage is that you cannot rotate tires left-to-right without pulling the tires
off the wheels and remounting. Since rotating front-to-rear is usually what you want to do anyway, this doesn’t present
a problem.
Obviously, if you use a unidirectional tire as a spare it’ll be on the correct side on one side of the car and wrong on the
other side, so be careful about which side of the car you run over nails with! Seriously, they’ll work fine rolling
backwards, they just won’t clear water as well at speed. If you have one rolling backwards, be careful in the rain.
Typically, all four tires in a set of unidirectional tires are actually the same tire. They must be installed so they all roll
forwards, so the right side of the tires on the right side of the car will be visible while the left side of the tires on the left
side will show. This means the labelling on the sidewalls is the same on both sides of each tire so it looks the same on
both sides of the car; the manufacturer cannot put raised white letters on one side or some such and give you the choice
of mounting them facing inward or outward.
Despite the similar appearance on each side, the serial number -- which includes the date of manufacture -- is only on
one side of each tire, so they’ll be easily readable on one side of the car but you’ll need to look on the inside on the other
side of the car.
ASYMMETRICAL: Asymmetrical is not the same thing as unidirectional. Asymmetrical tires are different on the inner
edge than on the outer edge. Sometimes it’s just the tread pattern -- closer to a “slick” on the outer edge for cornering
with bigger grooves at the inner edge for water clearing -- while some tires actually have different rubber compounds on
the different sides.
If your tires are just asymmetrical, you could rotate them all around the car since once mounted on the wheels correctly
the inner edge will be the inner edge whereever you put them. However, most asymmetrical tires are also unidirectional.
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This means you cannot rotate them side-to-side, period; while you could rotate the unidirectional tires side-to-side by
remounting them on the wheels, doing this with an asymmetrical tire will put the inside edges on the outside.
Asymmetrical-and-unidirectional tires must actually be different tires on the left and right side; if ordering online or some
such, be sure to order two lefts and two rights.
TIRE AGE: You might want to be careful about buying tires that have been sitting on the dealer’s rack for several
years. David Littlefield says, “If you read the fine print in the tire warranty, it will tell you that the warranty for tread life
and defects is only good for a maximum of five years from the date of manufacture. Thus, when you buy a three-year-
old tire your actual warranty is only two years.”
The concern about buying old tires may be news to some people, but it’s a legitimate concern here. The tires that fit the
XJ-S with 15” wheels are fairly unique; in fact, the 235/60R-15’s appear to be a Jaguar-only application. Hence, it’s
entirely plausible that the tire dealer -- or the supplier he gets his tires from -- has had that set of tires sitting around for
too long waiting for a Jaguar owner to sell them to. While buying tires for your Toyota might not raise such concerns,
you might want to pay attention with the Jag. Fortunately, the tires that fit the XJ-S with 16” wheels appear to be
shared with Camaros and Firebirds, so old stock can be expected to be less of a problem. Opting for 225/60R-15’s may
avoid problems as well, since this size is reportedly used on Mustangs.
The date of manufacture is also included in the data written on the side of a tire. Prior to 2000, the last three digits
following the DOT serial number were two digits for week of year and one digit for year. If there is a little triangle after
these three digits, the tire was made in the 1990’s; if not, it was made in the 1980’s. Starting in 2000, it became the last
four digits, two digits for year.
15” TIRE AVAILABILITY: All of the above seems like a lot to think about, but when you get to the tire dealer and
actually try to buy tires you may find things get a lot simpler. The tire companies make tires to fit cars rather than in a
general range of sizes and specifications, so the tire dealer just types in your make and model and up pops the tires
intended for use on your car. For example, for the ’83 the computer will list all the 215/70R-15’s as original size,
235/60R-15’s as a “plus zero” size, and various 16” tires as “plus one” and 17” tires as “plus two”.
Once on that computer, you’ll find that most of the 235/60R-15’s have a load index of 98. That’s correct, the tire
companies intend them to fit Jaguars. Interestingly, many of these tires are not V-rated; they presume you don’t need
the speed rating in the US.
If you have trouble finding 60-series 15” tires, Wade Ramsey suggests: “215/65-15's will work as well. What I mean by
"work" is the outer diameter for both tires is almost identical. The 235/60-15 OD is 26.10 inches, 215/65-15 OD is
26.00 inches, while the OEM 215/70-15's OD is 26.85 inches. The reason I mentioned this is simply to let others know
that there is an abundant supply of 215/65-15's available in H and V speed ratings.”
Another option is to go to the plus-zero size tires appropriate for the pre-H.E. -- 225/60R-15. These tires invariably
have a load index of 95, apparently because they are intended for a Mustang and that’s what Ford says is the load index
needed on that car. This is still a load rating over 1500 pounds per tire, seemingly plenty for an XJ-S and possibly even
for a Jaguar saloon. And many of the tires available are V-rated or better, often Z-rated.
As of this writing, this author would recommend you go to the 225/60R-15 when you get a chance. Not only is the
selection far greater, but there is less chance that the tire model will be discontinued within six months of buying the set
leaving you screwed when you tear up one tire on a pothole.
It’s easier and often cheaper to buy tires with adequate speed and load ratings for 16” wheels than for 15” wheels. Since
this is likely to be more and more true in the future, anyone considering buying new wheels would be well-advised to opt
for 16” wheels.
TIRE PRESSURES: John Goodman says, “Most of us here (UK) have long junked our 15" wheels and run 16" or 17"
rims, but the less competitive drivers, or those who do a lot of city streets always keep the tyre pressures down quite a
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bit. We run them up to 8psi lower than the handbook stated figures. My handbook says 35psi front and 32psi rear, so I
run at 30 front and 27 rear. On 245/50 or 225/55 x 16" this gives only very slight loss of handling at extremes of
cornering, but a very noticeable improvement in ride comfort. Has no effect on tyre wear either. This was a local
Jaguar dealer recommendation!!!” Note: perhaps a workable plan for those who value ride quality, but high continuous
speeds should be avoided without full pressure. Also note that lower pressure will provide less protection for your rims,
so don’t drive over curbs at speed.
Goodman’s car is an XJR-S, perhaps explaining those high tire pressure recommendations; the earlier plain-vanilla
XJ-S’s recommended rather low tire pressures (on narrower tires to boot!) and then recommended you go to higher
pressures if driving fast.
Regardless of the peculiarities of one XJ-S vs. another, one thing must be pointed out: the nearly religious devotion
many automobile owners pay to the “recommended tire pressures” is completely uncalled for. As long as you don’t
exceed the pressure limit written on the side of the tire itself, tire pressures can be varied considerably to provide the
owner with the desired performance and ride. If the handling balance doesn’t seem right to you, you can also vary the
front/rear pressure distribution to alter it.
For optimum tire wear, an excellent plan is to keep an eye on the wear at the edges of the tires vs. the center. If they’re
wearing faster in the center, lower the pressure; if they’re wearing faster at the edges, raise the pressure. This helps
configure the car for the owner’s driving style, since a driver that corners hard will scrub the corners of the tire more and
should be using higher pressure. It even helps compensate for drivers that dive into turns as opposed to drivers that
accelerate through turns, since the different styles will cause different tire wear patterns and correspondingly altered
pressures. Of course, bad alignment or other complicating factors can easily screw up the data.
Rob Ward tried to follow that guidance and ended up with tire wear in the center of the tread of his Goodyear Eagle
NCT 235/60ZR-15 rear tires despite low pressures. In response, someone posted this excerpt from a discussion on a
Porsche list: “My info, which is slightly counter-intuitive, is that fatter tires need slightly higher inflation pressures to
stiffen the tire carcass and prevent the centerline bulge that causes premature wear in the middle of the tire. Apparently,
the theory is that no matter what you do, fat tires will tend to higher diameters at speed in the middle of the tread, due to
centrifugal force when you twist it up. Increasing the tire pressure tends to stiffen the tire, preventing the center bulge,
rather than accentuating it as one might expect. It's actually enough more complicated than that that you need empirical
data to come to any kind of useful conclusion. I put 42-44 psig in my 245/45x16 rears and they have always seemed to
wear evenly.”
If you can’t tell, the XJ-S is nose heavy, and one would expect that the front tires will always need more pressure than
the rears -- unless you’re carrying sandbags around in the trunk.
Paul Bachman says, “The strangest thing happened yesterday. I was checking the tire pressure on the XJS and
discovered that they were quite low at about 28 PSI. After bringing them up to proper pressure (32 PSI), the minor (but
irritating) shudder in the brake system completely disappeared! Coincidence? I don't think so.”
WINTER TIRES: In some US states, you are required by law to have either snow tires or “all season” tires on your car
during the winter months. According to Bill Weismann, “For a tire to be labeled "All-Season" it must be labeled (By
federal law...) "M+S" on the sidewall.
“It's a lot more than tread design that qualifies a tire as an all-season; the main problem with High Performance tires is
that they have to be at somewhat high temperatures in order for them to "stick". An all-season tire usually offers two
features for it to work in the snow.
1) A tread compound that will remain pliable in the cold (below 40° F or so..)
2) A tread design that will work in snow.”
Europeans laugh at the idea of all-season tires. For people in places like Norway, an all-season tire means it sucks in all
seasons. If you get only a couple of weeks of inclement weather per year a set of all-season tires is a good option, but if
you get a serious winter where you live you should opt for a separate set of wheels and tires for winter. Some tire stores
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and garages offer to store your alternate set of wheels for you.
As long as you’re going with a separate set of snow tires for the winter, you should also note that, in snow, the narrower
the tire the better. For the XJ-S you’d want to go back to the 215/70R-15’s and possibly even to a 195R-15. You also
will want to find some really junk wheels since snow, sand, and salt make both steel and alloy wheels look really crummy
very quickly. Stainless steel wheels would be ideal, but apparently the wheel manufacturers haven’t figured that out yet.
Carefully consider your options. Winter driving often involves snow, ice, mud -- as well as a far portion of nice clean
pavement, since many road departments are really good at keeping roads clear. One highly-rated type of snow tire is
called a Blizzak which has a porous compound that grabs snow and holds on until it looks like your tires are made of
snow; they work really well on dry snow, but are reportedly not much good in mud, wet snow, ice, or dry pavement,
and they wear quite rapidly on dry pavement.
Studs are another option that the owner might regret. Great on ice, but not particularly beneficial anywhere else. Also,
they will damage pavement, so they are frowned upon or banned outright in some areas. They also have a detrimental
effect on the rolling resistance of the car, so your fuel economy gets much worse and the car feels like the brakes are
dragging or something.
As far as speed ratings go, snow tires typically have a speed rating of Q. Don’t drive them fast. A rubber compound
that works in freezing weather will not like the heat generated by high speed.
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BRAKES
BRAKE FLUID: Use DOT 4. Period.
DOT 5 BRAKE FLUID: Many people swear by “Dot 5” silicone-based brake fluid, and others swear at it. Silicone
brake fluid does not absorb moisture, does not harm paint when spilled, and has a very high boiling point. It is also non-
toxic.
Some of the arguments are based on it not absorbing moisture. If there is no water in your brake system to begin with,
theoretically none will get in by being absorbed by the fluid in the reservoir. But if there is water in the system to begin
with, the silicone fluid will not absorb it, and it may puddle in local spots and cause corrosion.
Silicon fluid absorbs more air than conventional fluid, meaning that the brake pedal will feel spongier, even when fully
bled. Of course, this will not be apparent at first, since it takes some time to absorb air within the reservoir and for the
air to diffuse throughout the system.
It is important that the two types of fluid not be mixed. Silicon fluid is less dense than normal fluid and won’t mix with
it, so it is theoretically feasible to fill the reservoir with silicon fluid while bleeding the conventional fluid out at the
wheels. If you’ve had the calipers apart, you probably don’t believe this; maybe it’d be better to only change fluid types
in the midst of a full caliper rebuild.
The name is a deliberate misleader. DOT 3 and DOT 4 brake fluids are referred to as such because they conform to
Department Of Transportation standards. “Dot 5” silicon-based fluid, however, is a trade name, not a DOT standard.
There are even reports that DOT has now issued a standard #5, and it is not for silicone-based fluid but for something
else.
Older (pre-XJ-S, actually) Girling systems require DOT 4 fluid to keep the natural rubber seals pliable to seal properly.
Some components are reported to get hard when exposed to silicone fluid; others are reported to absorb too much
silicone and swell so much as to jam the works.
According to Jim Beckmeyer, who had a master cylinder resleeved: “White Post (page 703) said that the warranty
would be voided if I used DOT 5”. Draw your own conclusions.
WHEN TO BLEED BRAKES: Bleeding the brakes is essential after disconnecting brake lines in order to get air out of
the system and ensure a “hard” pedal. Bleeding is also a periodic maintenance action, sorta like changing the oil; brake
fluid absorbs moisture, either that was already within the system or from the air in the reservoir, and this moisture is not
good for the insides of the brake cylinders. Moisture also lowers the boiling point of the fluid. Also, the fluid eventually
becomes contaminated with tiny particles of metal from wear within the cylinders, and the particles only serve to
accelerate the wear. So it is beneficial to occasionally bleed the brakes even if there is no air in them, and to bleed them
enough that the entire system is filled with fresh fluid.
Steve S says, “In Delphi-AP Lockheed tech notes I came across the following quote:
In addition to regulations that define performance hydraulic brake fluids are required to meet international
standards with regards to their colour. The following classifications have been established:
less then 0.006 Abs Colourless
0.006-0.100 very pale straw
0.101-0.197 pale straw
0.198-0.296 straw
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0.297-0.397 very pale amber
0.398-0.530 pale amber
0.530-0.800 amber
The figures relate to Abs (absorbance units). Delphi Lockheed ensures its colours conform by using an in-
house absorbance scale at 455nm with a 1cm cell.
End quote.”
This means that the color of the brake fluid indicates how much moisture it has in it. So, it needs to be close to
“colourless”; if it’s closer to “amber”, it’s time to bleed that stuff out and get new, dry stuff in. Of course, you can’t see
the color of the fluid anywhere except in the reservoir, but that’s where moisture typically gets into the system in the first
place.
Modern brake fluid reservoirs are translucent white plastic. This is so that you can see not only the level but also the
color of the fluid without removing the cap, since removing the cap introduces more air and moisture into the system.
Of course, with the OEM reservoir on the pre-ABS XJ-S, the reservoir is vented anyway so it will gradually gain air and
moisture even if you don’t ever remove the cap; see the idea for replacing the reservoir on page 596 if you’d like to
correct this shortcoming.
BRAKE BLEEDING: Before beginning the bleeding procedure, remove all of the old fluid from the reservoir using a
turkey baster or something. And, of course, get any dirt or crud out that you can. It simply doesn’t make sense to try to
pump that crap through the system to get it out; get it out the easy way, and fill the reservoir with fresh, clean fluid
before starting.
Bleeding the old-fashioned way requires two people. One person sits in the car and “pumps” the pedal to get the pedal
up where it belongs, and then holds pressure on the system while the other person opens one of the bleed screws to
allow the fluid to squirt out. A small piece of hose routed into a container helps reduce the mess. When the bleed screw
is opened, the pedal will go to the floor, and the person in the car must keep it there until the bleed screw is closed once
again; if the pedal is allowed to rise, it will draw air back in through the bleed screw. After the bleed screw is closed, the
pedal is pumped back up and the cycle is repeated. If a clear hose is used on the bleed screw, it is easy to see when the
crud is gone and clear fluid is coming through. You must pause every now and then to top up the reservoir with fresh
fluid.
If you want to make things easier or require only one person, there are numerous gadgets available to help. Dan
Welchman suggests the “Eazi-bleed” kit: “I think they’re made by Gunsons but I’m not sure. This device uses your
spare tyre as a compressed air reservoir which pressurizes a large plastic brake fluid reservoir via a hose and footpump-
style valve connector. A tube dips into the bottom of this reservoir and feeds fluid up to an air-tight cap that screws
onto your brake fluid reservoir on the car (the kit comes with a wide range of different caps and rubber gaskets to fit
most cars).
“Once you’ve fitted this and got it air-tight you can bleed the brakes by just opening each of the nipples and letting the
fluid flow out until it’s bubble free (or longer if you’re changing the fluid). No pumping, no assistant needed, and no
worrying about having to top up the reservoir for fear of running out of fluid and pumping air through the system.
They’re extremely cheap and work pretty well.”
Many owners install Speed Bleeders, not only because it makes bleeding brakes quicker and easier but it also makes it a
one-man job. It's just a bleed nipple with a check valve in it.
Speed Bleeder Products, Inc
13140 Apakesha Rd. Newark, IL 60541 USA
Tel: 815 736 6296 Fax: 815 736 6297
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Toll Free Number 1 888 879 7016
e-mail: speedbleeder@earthlink.net
http://www.speedbleeder.com
BRAKE PAD WEAR WARNING SYSTEM: The XJ-S doesn’t have one! What a cheap car. Even the author’s mid-
80’s Hondas have little warning squealers on the pads; when the lining gets too thin, the squealer contacts the spinning
rotor, and the resulting racket is usually enough to get the owner to visit the shop and complain even if he has no idea
what the squealer is for. The Jaguar XJ40 goes a fancy-schmancy route, and actually has little electrical contacts in the
pads connected to a warning light on the dash. But the XJ-S has nothing, zilch, nada; the first indication the driver gets
that the pads are worn is the expensive sound of steel pad backing plate against iron rotor. Ray Thackeray says, “I was
shocked to find my 1995 XJ-S didn't have pad warnings - I just had to replace the disks because I started grinding.”
Of course, many Jaguar owners would replace the rotors when replacing pads as a matter of course, so saving the rotor
may not be an issue. But steel against iron also provides really lousy braking, so it is a good idea from a safety
standpoint to replace the pads before the linings are gone. Not only will steel on iron reduce braking effectiveness, but
the fact that it will probably do it on one wheel before the others may also surprise you with a violent pull.
The XJ-S owner would obviously be well-advised to inspect his linings every now and then -- even though it requires
getting under the car to inspect the rear ones. The lining on new pads is 3/8” thick. The Jaguar literature specifies a
wear limit of 1/8”; this is apparently conservative since the linings are only 2/3 used up, but they are cheap so replacing
them at this point is a reasonable policy. Note also that the rear pads could theoretically be used right up to just before
the steel backing plates hit, but the fronts have anti-rattle clips that sit against the pad and will be the first thing that hits
the rotor when the linings get thinner than the wire that clip is made of.
Actually, there may be another reason to replace pads with that much thickness left on them. Roger Bywater says the
1/8” minimum thickness is “to retain adequate heat barrier to the fluid.” In other words, the facing material itself serves
as a layer of insulation to keep the heat generated at the friction surface from getting to the brake fluid. Of course, if you
always drive gently enough that the brakes never get very hot, you might not care.
If you keep track of your pad wear rate and don’t change your driving style, you can usually predict fairly well when you
need to start checking for worn pads. Of course, it still wouldn’t hurt to check them every now and then; it’s a good
way to catch other problems such as leaky calipers or sticking caliper pistons.
CHOOSING NEW PADS: Choosing new pads is largely a matter of matching the product to your driving style --
which means that you, as the owner of the car, should be involved in the decision. Merely allowing a mechanic or dealer
to install whatever pads they normally provide is not necessarily the best way to maximize your driving pleasure and
safety.
Much of the discussion of pads -- and brakes as a whole -- centers on the issues of how well they perform when hot vs.
when cold. So, the first thing that needs clarification is just what is meant by “hot” and “cold”. We are talking about
when the brakes are hot or cold, not the engine. If you’ve been driving down the freeway at 70 mph for the past hour,
your brakes are cold -- but if you just used them hard once coming to a stop on the exit ramp, they are now hot.
Whether or not brakes are hot depends only on how hard you have been using them in the past few minutes. And they
cool down faster if you’ve been moving than if you’ve been parked.
It’s simply amazing how many “experts” miss this very simple point. If your brakes don’t work right the first time you
apply them in the morning but work fine the rest of the day, that has nothing to do with hot vs. cold. You have some
other problem, possibly a sticking caliper, but very likely either your pads or rotors are rusting and the first application in
the morning scrapes all the surface rust off.
Obviously, if you are going fast enough, the first application of the brakes could result in hot brakes by the time the car
comes to a stop. The most severe test on level ground, though, is in accelerating to around 60 mph and coming to a halt
repeatedly. If you accelerate to higher speeds, there is more time between applications to cool down, and more airflow
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around the car to help cool the brakes. Of course, the real torture test for brakes is going down a mountain, where you
can easily perform such a test without even using the engine -- or worse, using the engine to accelerate to 60 mph much
faster than you could on level ground -- and then using the brakes repeatedly or constantly to limit speed. It is not
reasonable to expect Jaguar -- or any automobile company -- to design brakes that will withstand whatever downhill
road you can possibly find. If you are going down a hill that is clearly beyond the norm, either proceed slowly (which
allows the brakes more time to dissipate heat), or downshift to a lower gear to use engine compression to absorb some
of that energy.
Just driving around town, gently applying the brakes when you come to a stoplight, etc., results in cold brakes at all
times. The only time Granny will ever experience hot brakes is if she goes down the mountain road, which of course
makes it all the more dangerous since she probably has no idea what she’s doing nor what to do when her brakes begin
to fade. Driving that Cadillac at 25 mph may make some sense after all.
From a safety standpoint, for street use it is of utmost importance that the brakes work well when cold. Your typical
panic stop is done with cold brakes. This should be kept in mind when considering new pads.
In simplest terms, people talk about three types of brake pads: organic, metallic, and semi-metallic. Organics are best
considered a cold-stop pad only. They have four advantages: 1) They generally require the least pedal pressure for a
given braking action, making them popular with Granny and her arthritic legs; 2) They wear themselves out without
doing much damage at all to the rotors; when replacing organic pads, not only may you not need to replace rotors, you
may actually get away without even having them turned! 3) They are quiet; you basically cannot hear the brakes in
operation; and 4) They are cheap.
Their disadvantages show as soon as they get hot, though. Organic pads have a relatively low melting point, and the
melting point is what results in “brake fade” -- the friction surface of the pad melts, lubricating the brake. When this
happens, the driver still feels a “hard” pedal, but the car doesn’t want to stop. Organic pad materials don’t conduct heat
very well, either, and this results in the fade being very sudden and complete; the brakes at one end of the car go from
working properly to basically not working at all very suddenly and with little or no warning. And when the brakes at
one end quit, the other end (which is usually pretty hot by now already) takes up the additional load and promptly fades
as well. The suddenness of the transition from good brakes to no brakes is arguably as much of the danger as the fact
that they fade at all.
The other extreme is metallic pads. The friction material on such pads is typically sintered iron or the like. Having the
melting point of iron, such pads are pretty much impervious to fade up to the point where iron melts -- at which point
your rotors are in trouble! This makes metallics the traditional choice for racing, but unfortunately they have
disadvantages for street use. First, they tend to build up a surface layer of rust -- which can cause really serious
problems on that first stop in the morning. Second, they require a good deal more pedal pressure to effect a stop --
which the racers actually consider an advantage, since the higher pedal force makes it easier for them to modulate their
braking. But Granny probably won’t like it. It was a much larger problem prior to the advent of power brakes, of
course. Third, their coefficient of friction is generally higher when warm than when cold (the iron gets “softer” as it gets
hotter, giving it more grip), so stopping the car when the brakes are cold -- which is basically every stop in typical street
use -- requires that much more pedal effort. Fourth, they make a considerable amount of noise. We’re not talking about
squealing here; squealing can be a problem with any pad, but is easily corrected with the proper application of anti-
squeal compound to the back of the pad. The noise we’re talking about here is a scraping sound, the sort of sound
you’d expect from metal-on-metal. Fifth, metallic pads play hell with the rotors; whenever the pads are replaced, you’ll
be replacing the rotors as well.
Semi-metallic pads have a friction material that is typically an organic material with particles of metal interspersed
through it. To a certain extent, this represents a cross between the organic and metallic pads; when the organic portion
fades is just when the metallic portion is getting heated up enough to work best, so with any luck at all (or careful design
on the part of the pad manufacturer) the pads will seem to work equivalently well either hot or cold. There’s more to
this than the simple mixture of friction materials, though: the metal particles -- which often look like shavings -- help to
conduct heat away from the contact surface, and therefore help keep the organic material cool and resist fading. Some
semi-mettallics appear to have copper in them instead of iron, apparently trying to maximize this effect -- or maybe just
to avoid the rusting problems. With either copper or iron, semi-metallic pads not only have far greater resistance to
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fading than organic pads, but when they do fade they seem to do so gradually, telling the driver that he’s getting close to
trouble and perhaps should take caution.
Of course, in this day and age this discussion must be considered oversimplified at best. There is also a type of pad
referred to as “low-metal”, apparently similar to semi-metallic only leaning closer to organic. Kevlar, basically a type of
really strong plastic, is available in pads. Asbestos is still around, but nowhere near as popular as it once was -- but you
can get pads made with ceramic fibers which behave very similarly to asbestos, some suggest even to causing similar
health problems. You can now get pads with carbon in them; carbon has a much higher melting temperature than iron
but doesn’t conduct heat well at all. You can even get carbon-carbon pads (carbon fibers bonded together with a carbon
substrate) which will hold together until the rotors melt -- which, of course, helps explain why many racing venues have
gone to carbon rotors as well.
In the US, the DOT now requires that new pads be marked with a pair of letters indicating their coefficient of friction
(CF). The first letter is the CF at room temperature, and the second letter is the CF at 600°F -- which is not really all
that hot as brakes go, possibly indicating DOT’s concern with panic stops rather than performance under severe or
racing conditions. Whatever, if you have power brakes it’s probably of little concern to you just what the letters are; if
the CF is low, you just push a little harder on the pedal to stop the car. Your bigger concern should be that the two
letters are the same. If the first letter indicates a higher CF than the second, these pads fade a little by 600°F, which is a
pretty low temp to be fading at. If the first letter is lower than the second, these pads don’t work as well when cold as
when hot. Of course, being only one letter off or so is probably not a big deal.
You might also note that the letter E in the DOT designation indicates a CF that is fairly close to bare steel-on-steel. If
you are the type that never checks for pad wear until disaster strikes, this might actually be important. The XJ-S has no
warnings of pad wear until the lining is gone, and when that happens you will be running steel-on-steel -- and probably
on one wheel first. If the linings have a CF a long ways from that of steel-on-steel, your brakes suddenly pull to one side
-- if it’s the front brakes, probably pretty severely. If the CF is E, though, it stops pretty well the same way it did before,
it just makes a lot more noise. Still, this is a minor point at best; the better idea is to be inspecting the pads periodically
and replacing them before they’re gone.
You also want the front pads to match the rear pads to maintain brake balance (the importance of brake balance is
discussed on page 431). This important criteria is confirmed by Jaguar; with VIN 109447, the XJ-S switched from
organic pads to semi-metallic pads from the factory, and notes in the parts list indicate clearly that if one end of an early
car is upgraded to semi-metallics, the other end must be upgraded at the same time. It is of considerable importance
from a safety standpoint that the pads behave similarly both hot and cold. At the very minimum, the CF letter
designations on the pads should be the same for the front and rear; better yet, just use the exact same brand of pads on
both ends of the car.
It has come to this author’s attention that many so-called experts consider it a good idea to use semi-metallic pads at the
front and organic pads at the rear, “since the fronts run hotter.” This dangerous concept is apparently so popular that
many shops don’t even discuss it with their customers, they just go ahead and install the pads accordingly! For your
safety, this is one place where you need to have a discussion with the shop working on your car. If they subscribe to this
idea, tell them in no uncertain terms that you do not, and insist upon matching pads front and rear. If they have a
problem with that, take your business elsewhere.
REPLACING BRAKE PADS: Replacing brake pads in Girling brake systems -- if you don’t need to turn or replace the
rotors -- is pretty easy: Just remove the retaining pins, slide an old pad out, squeeze the piston back into the caliper to
make room for the thicker new pad, slide the new pad in, repeat with the other pads, and reinstall the retaining pins.
There are a couple of tips to add here, though.
First, although you can just squeeze those pistons back and push the brake fluid back into the master cylinder, it’s a
better idea to open the brake bleeder and squeeze that fluid out of the system instead. This tip goes from being merely a
good idea to absolutely imperative if you have ABS brakes.
Second, it is recommended that you remove and replace one pad at a time. When pushing that piston back, even with
the bleed screw open, you may push another piston out if there isn’t a pad in its way.
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BEDDING IN NEW BRAKE PADS: The frequency of this complaint, on Jaguars as well as other cars, indicates that
the following advice should be followed closely. Allan Charlton explains: “My son works in a car parts firm, and they
have had disk pad bedding-in problems. It seems that the new asbestos-free pads need to be bedded-in properly or they
can cause damage. In their experience (mostly VW Golf, but also BMW and M-B) disks were blued and warped, but
the following procedure has eliminated the problem entirely.
“Accelerate to 60 km/h. Use moderate brake pedal pressure to slow to 5 km/h. Do not stop the vehicle, but accelerate
to 60 km/h again. Repeat ten times, with about 500 metres between applications, then stop and let the brakes cool.”
Note: it’s probably not really a good idea to stop. A better idea would be to continue driving for at least ten more
minutes or so, allowing the rotors to cool while turning rather than while parked.
“Use the brakes moderately for the next 300 km, and do not get them hot. After that, they should be OK. The
procedure is intended to be used when you first install the disks--it won’t repair damage already done.”
Peter Cohen adds, “Jaguar actually includes a paper with approximately these instructions in the box with their brake
pads.”
It’s not entirely clear just what this is supposed to accomplish. The iron rotors are not the problem. The cast iron either
has casting stresses, or it doesn’t; if it does, they’re gonna warp the first time they get hot, and a bedding-in procedure
won’t stop that. If they run straight and true, you can warp them by overheating them and then parking or otherwise
abusing them, but under normal circumstances they will work fine for their life -- even if used hard.
The problem is apparently in the pads themselves. One idea may be that the pads are not perfectly flat and mated to the
surface of the rotor to begin with, and such a procedure is needed to get them applying consistent friction across the
surface -- but it’s not clear why you couldn’t get there by just using them for a while rather than needing to do this
bedding-in procedure.
There is something about new pads that isn’t good. Apparently, the manufacturing process results in the surface of a
new pad that is different than the interior of the pad, in much the same way that the surface of concrete is smooth while
the interior is full of rocks. This virgin surface may not only result in different braking characteristics when new than
after bedding in, but it may cause some other detrimental effects. Apparently one problem is that this new surface may
deposit substances on the rotor, and only in some places rather than all over. Then, with continued light use, the areas
where the deposits are are protected from rotor wear while the uncoated areas wear, and from then on the inconsistent
wear patterns result in pulsing brakes -- even after the deposits are gone.
Starting with VIN 125760, the XJ-S came fitted with “scorched” pads. It is unknown whether or not this was intended
to address the new pad problems, but it’s not likely they did it for nothing! Various aftermarket brake pad companies
offer “burnished” pads or “machined” pads, either of which may be methods of getting rid of the virgin surface before
installation.
BRAKE HOSES: All automobiles have flexible hoses connecting the hard metal brake lines on the car out to the brake
calipers that are bouncing up and down with the wheels. Most cars have one hose per wheel, but Jaguars with inboard
rear brakes are a little different; since the brakes are at the final drive unit rather that bouncing up and down with the
wheels, a flexible hose to each rear wheel is not required. However, since the entire subframe is attached to the car with
rubber mounts, a single flexible hose is used to connect from the car to the subframe. Hence, there are three hoses on
the XJ-S with inboard rear brakes: two front and one rear.
As one might expect, such hoses won’t last forever. Like other items made of rubber in the car, they need to be replaced
periodically -- preferably before they fail in this case.
The OEM brake hoses come with a stripe down the side. It’s there for a reason: so you can tell if you’re twisting the
hose as you install it. Make sure you don’t.
The front brake hoses on the XJ-S come with a coil around them. This helps prevent kinking as the steering and
suspension move, and it also help protect the hose from abrasion if a tire manages to rub against it. On some of the
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original hoses, this coil was plastic. On replacement hoses, it’s often steel. Either seems to work fine. However, it’s a
simple matter to unwind the plastic ones off the old hoses, while the steel ones get thrown out with the hoses. If your
old hoses have plastic coils, you might want to keep them just in case you ever need to install them on replacement
hoses.
BRAIDED BRAKE HOSES: When replacing hoses, owners often seek something better than the OEM -- usually
deciding right off that braided stainless steel hoses simply must be better. Unfortunately, that is usually false; the OEM
hoses may look plain, but they are excellent and safe, and one should be very careful indeed that replacing with
something prettier isn’t taking a serious risk.
Mike Morrin says, “In this country (New Zealand), stainless steel braided flexible brake hoses are illegal.” Brian
Schreurs adds, “They were in the US as well, until quite recently, for the simple reason that they could not be made (or
no one was willing to make them) to federal DOT standards. Just in the last couple of years a company has started
making DOT-legal steel braided brake hose.”
Jim Downes explains: “I have seen steel braided lines being the cause of the suspension of an aircraft's airworthiness
certificate. This resulted from specific, documented cases of the line flexing due to movement and vibration. In turn the
braiding cut the internal material. The other argument against steel braid is that its presence is useless as a means of
containing any liquid, yet it prevents any kind of inspection of the internal components.”
Apparently, the DOT-approved lines are teflon tubing surrounded by braiding. The teflon tubing is fully capable of
holding the fluid pressure without the braiding, but is susceptible to stone damage so the braiding serves as physical
protection. The stainless steel braiding won’t chafe the teflon, either, it will simply slide back and forth on it without
discernable damage.
When ordering aftermarket brake lines, you need to double-check that what you are ordering will fit -- see
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/SSBrakeHoses.html
for details on why. For the front of the XJ-S, each of the two front hoses needs to be about 18” long tip-to-tip and have
10mm x 1.0 threads on both ends. For the rear of the pre-1994 XJ-S, the single hose used needs to be 10” tip-to-tip and
has the same 10mm x 1.0 threads. Besides the thread requirements, the fittings also must be “bulkhead” fittings,
meaning they must have the extra length necessary to insert them through a bracket and thread a nut down to hold them
securely and still have enough thread left to attach the rigid line without the coupling nut bottoming on the mounting
nut. Of course, if you plan to replace the hard lines that these hoses connect to or change the mounting scheme, you can
end up with whatever fittings and lengths you wish.
Note also that some suppliers provide braided brake hoses with AN fittings on the ends and some screw-on adapters to
connect to the fittings on the car. This is not really a problem as AN fittings are quite reliable, but nevertheless it would
obviously be preferable to get hoses with the correct fittings so adapters are not necessary. Walter Acker IV found a
company that will provide such hoses custom-made:
Baker Precision Bearing Company
1-800-959-7757
e-mail: Baker16@ix.netcom.com
http://www.bakerprecision.com
“The cost of the hose was less than the price of a new rubber hose.” In order to get them right, Baker Precision wants
you to ship them one of your old hoses.
Either the OEM rubber hose (which actually is a very tiny plastic tube surrounded by a very thick rubber casing) or the
teflon surrounded by braiding is probably an excellent hose material for the application, but the attachment schemes used
to fasten these hoses to the fittings seem to differ. Of the braided hose assemblies I have seen, the braid/hose is slid over
a barb and a separate sleeve is crimped down onto the outside of the braid to secure the hose to the barb. As a result,
the entire weight of the hose is supported by the barb itself -- and the barb is pretty tiny on a brake line. One could easily
envision this barb snapping off if the hose has been bouncing around for a while or something yanks on it hard enough.
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One could also envision the hose pulling off of that barb, or being blown off by high pressure. The chances of these
problems occurring may be small, and nobody has reported such problems, but nevertheless it’s something to think
about.
Conversely, the OEM hose has a vastly superior attachment scheme. The hose is once again crimped onto the barb, but
the sleeve that is crimped around the hose is not a separate item -- it is part of the fitting itself. Hence, the crimped
sleeve provides mechanical support for the hose and securely prevents it from being pulled off the fitting or blowing off.
If you hooked a tractor to this hose, you’d probably rip the hose apart before you got it to come off the fitting.
If you can find a braided hose made with the same type fittings as those used on the OEM hose, go for it. If you can’t
but nevertheless insist on replacing the OEM hoses with braided hoses, don’t try to use hoses that mount the same way
the OEM hoses mount. Instead, find a way to support the braided hoses by installing support clamps around the hose
itself rather than holding it by the fittings at the end. This may require devising some custom support brackets, bending
or replacing some of the OEM hard lines, and getting braided hoses a little longer than the OEM hoses.
BRAKE CALIPER JAMMING: Supposedly a fairly common problem on Jaguars, even though looking at the way the
calipers are designed it’s difficult to imagine how the pistons could jam. Jan Wikström says, “Crud in the cylinders. I
think the mechanism is that the crud settles to the bottom and gets sticky, so when pressure is applied the piston tilts and
jams -- and once it's jammed, more crud settles in the baps and keeps it that way. I had that on both front brakes, as I
discovered when the brakes started pulling to the right. I had to use the Big Bad-Assed Pry Bar to shift one inside
piston on the right and three out of four on the left. Once I had managed to shove them in, compressed air would
(reluctantly) move them back out, but to restore them fully I had to split the calipers and clean the bores as well as the
pistons. Mega-gunge, collected since 1977...”
I’d like to suggest that regular flushing of the brake fluid -- bleeding old fluid out and new fluid in -- would keep the
calipers free of this mega-gunge, but it is clear from the configuration of the calipers and ports that the stuff won’t come
out without a rebuild; the bleed port is at the top, so it will clear air, not mega-gunge. However, what regular brake
fluid flushing will do is help keep moisture out of the calipers. Moisture, absorbed in brake fluid that’s been in there too
long, causes the insides of the iron calipers to rust, and the rust particles undoubtedly contribute to the mega-gunge.
BRAKE CALIPER DETERIORATION: The author had a brake caliper fail after 17 years. Obviously, therefore, it
would be a good idea to rebuild the calipers before they are 17 years old to avoid nasty surprises while driving. I can
confirm that when the one failed, the other three on the car wouldn’t have been far behind if I hadn’t gone ahead and
addressed them all.
The pistons are chrome-plated steel, so the recess in the side facing the pads rusts big time -- but who cares? The
outside surface of the piston, which is where the seal rides, is completely enclosed behind a boot, and hopefully coated
with some red grease besides. Between the boot and grease outside the seal and the brake fluid (flushed regularly) inside
the seal, the piston should stay functional forever.
The boot, however, will not. Either from age or from the brakes running hot (or just from being British rubber!), the
boot will eventually deteriorate. Once it is old and rotten, it still might work a good long while if it never moves --
meaning the pads don’t wear so the pistons don’t come too far out of their cylinders. Once the pads wear close to their
1/8” service limits, the pistons protrude from the cylinders a bit, stretching the boots -- and pulling open tears in them if
they are old and rotten. Once opened to the elements, water gets in and washes the grease out. This, in itself, is not
noticed by the driver, since the seal keeps the water out of the fluid and the brakes continue to work fine. However, the
chrome-plated pistons start to deteriorate on the important outside surface; the chrome starts to flake off and the steel
underneath starts to rust, causing more chrome to flake off. If it doesn’t cause brake failure out on the road, it most
certainly will cause brake failure the next time the pads are replaced and the rusty exposed portion of the piston is
pushed back in past the seal.
If you rebuild your calipers and replace the boots before they tear open and expose the pistons to the elements, the
pistons might last forever -- which makes that caliper rebuild significantly cheaper. So, learn from my mistakes and
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subtract a few years from 17 and plan on a caliper rebuild when the boots still look good.
If you replace your pads before they get anywhere near their wear limits, you may be able to go longer between caliper
overhauls because you’re not stressing the boots as much. It’s probably not worth it, though; the boots probably won’t
last much longer, and pad changing isn’t that minor an operation since you need to remove the rotor and turn or replace
it each time.
BRAKE PAD RETAINING PIN CLIPS: Now that you are fully aware of the importance of the boots on the caliper
pistons, note that the little clips on the brake pad retaining pins tend to poke holes in those boots! Aaaaaargh! Basically,
the ends of the clip can hang over the edge of the boot, and then as the pads wear and the pistons protrude farther, the
boot is pulled into the ends of the clip.
At first blush, it seems easy enough to install the clips turned either this way or that and thereby avoid problems.
However, whichever way the clips are installed, the pins can still rotate far enough to poke holes in the boots. The only
way the clips could be installed to avoid boot damage is from the inside out, and that appears to be either difficult or
impossible to do.
Here’s the simplest solution: Take some steel wire, 16 gauge seems about right, and form a ring that fits snugly around
the pin. Slide it onto the pin and up against the head prior to installing the pin. Now, when the clip is installed, it will be
held close to the inner surface of the caliper. It will be held close enough that it will be beside the edge of the boot
rather than over it. Hence, you will have to turn the pin to the correct position to install the clip, and once installed the
pin will not be free to rotate.
Richard Dowling came up with another fix: After installing the clips, he tied the loops on the two clips to each other
with a thin piece of wire. By pulling those loops towards each other, the pointy ends are kept away from the boots.
Another idea might be to simply toss the clips and use lockwire in those holes. Or perhaps tiny cotter pins, if you can
figure out how to install them properly without damaging the boots.
On the rear calipers, there is yet one more possibility, and that is to buy or make longer pins and drill holes in the
opposite end from the head. Then you can install the clips on the outside of the caliper where they can’t do any damage.
Unfortunately, this idea isn’t as workable for the front calipers due to the configuration of the outside surface of the
caliper.
BRAKE CALIPER DISASSEMBLY: The repair manuals suggest using compressed air to get the pistons out. This
works pretty well on the first piston -- provided the pistons are not seized in the cylinders. Unfortunately, when a piston
is seized, the non-seized pistons will be the first to move, and you’ll be left with a piston stuck in a caliper and open
cylinders where the compressed air blows out. To get the stuck piston to move, you would need to securely plug the
empty cylinders (with the pistons) and plug all but one of the brake fluid passages while applying air to the one
remaining.
If you get into such problems, you’re probably going to want to separate the caliper halves anyway. If so, forget about
the compressed air trick. Once separated, turn a caliper half over and clamp the lip of the piston in a vice. Then
carefully twist the caliper back and forth as you slide it off of the piston.
The ROM says: “CAUTION: Under no circumstances must the caliper halves be separated.” The page of directions that
comes with the Lucas rebuild kits says the same thing, and since this appears to be a generic set of directions
(“Publication XZB214”), it probably indicates a general rule that you shouldn’t separate the halves of any brake caliper.
Nobody seems to know where this rule comes from, but it is clearly BS -- at least as applied to the calipers on the XJ-S.
Many people have chosen to ignore this warning because separating the halves is obviously necessary to properly clean
up the cylinders, and there have been no reports of problems. There is a seal issue on the front calipers, however -- see
page 436.
The tool of choice for removing the old seals from their grooves in the cylinders is a dental probe with a slightly curved
needle point -- but a straight pin is almost as good. Just stick the point into the rubber itself and use it to peel the ring
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out of the groove; you’re just throwing the seal away anyway. This method cannot possibly damage the surface of the
metal in the caliper unless you really screw up with the pin and scratch something, so with any care at all it’ll be perfect.
The same cannot be said for using a screwdriver or some such to try to get under it and pry it out.
BRAKE CALIPER RESTORATION: Old brake calipers are commonly restored to usable condition by the fitting of
brass or stainless steel sleeves. However, notice that this will serve no purpose on an XJ-S. First, sleeving is normally
done on aluminum cylinders where wear can be a concern in long-term use, but the Jaguar calipers are cast iron.
Second, sleeving is normally only called for when the caliper is NLA, because buying a new caliper generally costs less
than sleeving. At least as late as 2000, Jaguar XJ-S calipers were still readily available and reasonably priced.
However, the most compelling reason not to bother sleeving XJ-S calipers is because of their design! As Chad Bolles
points out, “Take a look at the design of the caliper. You will note the piston has no seal on it, the seal is in the body of
the caliper itself. Therefore if the bore of the caliper is rusted and pitted it would make no difference, 'cause the seal
rides on the piston not the bore.” As a result, the sealing surfaces in these calipers can be completely renewed by simply
replacing the pistons -- and the pistons are available separately for this purpose. Just ream any big chunks of corrosion
out of the caliper so the piston doesn’t hang up on them and reassemble; pitting or the like inside the cylinder does no
harm.
STAINLESS STEEL CALIPER PISTONS: The caliper pistons that come in the XJ-S are chrome-plated steel. On this
author’s ’83, a brake failure resulted when these pistons rusted and the chrome flaked off, causing a fluid leak past a seal
-- but the car was 17 years old when this happened, so it’s hard to fault the chrome-plated steel pistons for lacking
durability. Just the same, I will be using stainless steel pistons from now on, so I never have to worry about that
particular cause of brake failures again.
Greg Wells points out that calipers assembled with stainless steel pistons seem to go through seals quicker, though. An
investigation soon revealed the reason why. The chrome-plated steel pistons are as smooth as a baby’s bottom; they
have a ground finish, not commonly seen on chrome-plated parts (chrome is usually polished, not ground). The stainless
steel items, on the other hand, have an as-machined finish that, although very pretty, is quite rough; if you run your
fingernail down the side of the piston, it “sings” to you as the nail runs across all those tiny machining ridges. As these
pistons slide back and forth as the brakes are applied and released, they will file away at the seal.
At P&WA where this author once worked, the finish on parts that rubber seals moved against was considered critical,
requiring essentially a mirror finish. It is therefore recommended that, if you plan to install stainless steel pistons, take
the time to polish the outside diameter on them before installation. This will require a buffing wheel and some buffing
compound suitable for use on stainless steel; using a hand cloth and a jar of household silver polish won’t get it. When
buffing, hold the piston against the wheel so that the wheel is buffing either axially or diagonally along the surface of the
piston, not circumferentially; you want to polish those machining grooves out, not enlarge them!
About 30 seconds on the wheel makes the surface feel considerably different, although it doesn’t look much different.
The fingernail still sings, but it doesn’t sing anywhere near as loudly and it somehow seems less harsh -- sorta like the
difference between a new file and a worn file. This 30 seconds of work per piston would probably triple the lifespan of
seals in the caliper.
With perhaps ten minutes per piston, they actually look a bunch smoother; maybe not mirror finish yet, but the singing
when a fingernail is run down it is almost gone. The problem here is that the job takes patience, because the pistons get
too hot to touch after a couple minutes on the buffing wheel, so you’ve gotta set them down and go check your e-mail
or something. You could just dunk them in water to cool them, but I chose not to mix water with the polishing
compound.
I have been unable to measure any diameter change associated with this polishing.
Obviously, when done these pistons must be cleaned very thoroughly to remove all traces of that polishing compound.
Wouldn’t be good in a brake system.
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BRAKE CALIPER PARTS CLEANING: Using the wrong solvent here could be bad, and water might not be too
good an idea either. Fortunately, any auto parts store sells a spray can of brake parts cleaner. In fact, they often seem to
offer two types of brake parts cleaner, often made by the same company; one that’s a basic cleaner, and the other is
more environmentally-friendly or something. They both seem to work pretty well, and they evaporate quickly without
trace.
BRAKE CALIPER ASSEMBLY: FYI, the calipers in the XJ-S, both front and rear, correspond to illustration “D” on
the generic page of directions that comes with the Lucas caliper rebuild kit. The new seals go in either way, there is no
inside or outside to them. The groove itself has a tapered bottom, which tilts the inward edge of the seal up against the
piston so it seals properly.
The Haynes manual implies you should use only brake fluid when assembling pistons into calipers: “Dip each piston in
clean hydraulic fluid and enter it squarely into its cylinder.” Many mechanics concur that the only substance that should
be used when assembling pistons in brake calipers is brake fluid. It doesn’t work too well, though; brake fluid tends to
run right off of clean steel or stainless steel, leaving the assembly basically dry while you’re trying to slide the piston
through seriously tight new seals.
The ROM has a better idea: coat the seals and pistons with Girling disc brake lubricant. Time was when a Girling
rebuild kit came with a small packet of “red grease” for this purpose, but the modern Lucas rebuild kits do not include
such a packet; you need to buy some separately. Craig Sawyers says, “I have a tube of the stuff, and the data sheet for
the different greases right here. It is Girling PFG102, described in the table as:
Rubber Grease (red), For use on rubber items in or near to DOT brake fluid.
For use on hydraulic units in direct contact with brake fluid, providing extra protection
against corrosion and ingress of dirt e.e. packing dust covers of master cylinders and
brake piston dust covers.
Warning - not other grease to be used in these areas.
“It is, well - dark cherry red and greasy!”
Another tube of red grease was labelled “Genuine Castrol Girling Rubber Grease -- Specially prepared by Castrol for
Girling”. The only number on the tube is “Code 64947010”. It might be worth noting that this tube appears quite old;
Sawyers’ report above probably refers to a more recent product.
If you can’t find the genuine Girling red grease, be very careful about substitutes. There are substances intended to
lubricate pistons in calipers during assembly, and there are substances intended to lubricate pads in calipers or the slides
on floating calipers, and these are both commonly described as “brake caliper grease”. However, the latter substance is
usually black (it contains graphite) and will say on the package “Do not use on internal caliper parts.” Chuck Sparks
won’t even use packets of red grease if they’re not properly labelled from Girling; he’d rather use the stuff in the tube,
since he knows that is the right stuff.
It appears to be a common belief that silicone lubricant may be used for assembling pistons into calipers. Nobody seems
able to point to any official recommendation, though, and some mechanics suggest it is dangerous at best. Jeb Boyd
says, “I don't know if that would be from the same family as silicone brake fluid, but I do know that mixing silicone
brake fluid with glycol based fluid produces a gelatinous mess that will trash a hydraulic system in a hurry. I would steer
clear of silicone grease...unless you are using silicone fluid.” Play it safe and use the recommended red grease.
Although the ROM advises coating the seal and the piston with grease, you might consider coating more than that. If
you coat the inside of the cylinder, it should help the piston slide into place without scoring. And if you coat the lip area
of the piston, it should help the boot slip into place better -- but be sure to remove any grease from the surface that
contacts the pad, since you should be using a different substance there. If you coat the areas of the piston and caliper
under the boot but outside the cylinder seal, maybe it will help keep things from rusting, and perhaps catch any dust or
rust scale that happens to get in there and prevent it from getting into the seal. Finally, you might consider using this
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grease on the threads of fittings and bleeders.
Richard Dowling reports that there is one place you probably do not want to apply red grease. “The shoulder around
the bore, which takes the outer part of the boot, saved Girling a few cents by not having a groove machined onto it.
Hence the boot is retained by friction between the rubber and the shoulder, with the large circular clip applying the
force. No groove means if you grease the boot it slides off very easily, and I doubt if it would stay put for long.” It
actually might not be a bad idea to apply some sort of sealant here to help the boot stay in place. A sealant resistant
to brake fluid is not necessary since it should never see any brake fluid, so any sealant that won’t attack the rubber of
the boot will do.
CRC makes a substance called “Disc Brake Quiet” that is red and comes in a 4-oz. plastic bottle. This stuff is
intended to be applied to the back side of brake pads immediately before installation, after which it dries to a rubbery
glue that bonds the pads to the pistons. I do not recommend the use of this stuff on the pads in the XJ-S, because it
also bonds the pads to the boots -- and as Dowling says, those boots aren’t held down very well, so as the pads wear
they can end up pulling the boots off the calipers. However, it might make good sense to use this stuff when
installing the boots! Just apply a small bead around the shoulder before installing the boot with its clip.
WARPED ROTORS: The way to check for warped rotors is to mount a dial indicator on the upright or axle and
position the tip against the friction surface of the rotor. As you turn the rotor around, ideally the needle should stand
still. Moving less than 0.005” is good. Big swings back and forth are bad, and will result in pulsing or shuddering
brakes.
Some people suggest that warped rotors are caused by tightening down the rotor attachment bolts or the wheel lug nuts
too much. This is hogwash, pure and simple, but if you don’t think so it’s still a simple matter to avoid the problem.
Simply use a torque wrench to attach the rotor to the hub. If you aren’t already using a torque wrench to mount the
wheels, well, shame on you.
Warped rotors are usually caused by defective rotors. In the most obvious incarnation, the guys making the rotors
machined them crooked. Such mistakes should result in the rotors being returned for credit and a vow never to use that
supplier again. In a less obvious cause, the casting of the iron rotor itself prior to machining is faulty and results in
residual stresses in the metal. Then the rotor is machined straight, but the first time the rotor gets really hot these
stresses relax, and the rotor warps. It will shudder from then on. If the warp is in the friction area of the rotor, you can
merely have the rotor turned and it’ll completely fix it; the residual stresses are gone, it will never warp again. However,
if the distortion included the hub mounting area, you’ll either need to remachine that as well or toss it and get a better
rotor.
Casting iron is not rocket science; it’s been done for thousands of years, and every casting company knows how to do it
correctly to avoid residual stresses. The problems occur when they put their profit margin ahead of quality control and
start taking shortcuts in the casting process. If you buy rotors that warp the first time you get them hot, do us all a favor
and return them for credit. Allowing companies to get away with making substandard products doesn’t help anybody.
Yet another possibility involves rotors that are straight with no residual stresses, but have non-homogeneous metallurgy.
A little carbon here and there can make some portions of a cast iron rotor something closer to hard steel. Such hard
areas not only have different coefficients of friction that result in pulsing brakes, but they also wear at different rates.
When one area wears faster than another, they gradually become effectively warped and start shuddering.
It is possible to warp good rotors. Typically, it requires getting them very hot and then letting them cool with an
asymmetrical force or load on them. That asymmetrical force can be gravity, if the car is parked rather than rolling; if
you get the brakes really hot, make sure to drive a few miles to let them cool off prior to parking. Another possible
cause is a stuck caliper piston, which will first help get the rotor too hot in the first place and then hold a pad jammed
against it while it cools.
Of course, there are dumb things too. If you leave the car parked for years, the rotors may rust everywhere except
where the pads sit. When the brakes are next applied, the rust is all sloughed off, leaving high spots where the pads
were. If parked in a flood-prone area, the rotors may rust on the bottom half!
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ROTOR TURNING: Rusty Beard says, “I took the front rotors off to get them turned. I went to the NAPA parts store
(a reliable U.S. chain) to get the rotors turned, and the parts clerk looked up the Jaguar in his book. The book was
footnoted that the rotors could not be turned, but only replaced. Further, the minimum tolerances were not even
printed, just left blank. Thus, he would not do the work. I went two doors south to a brake shop and that man had the
book with all the minimum tolerances printed, and no further notes. He did the job, and I got my car back together.”
This problem probably stemmed from the bonded laminate rotors used at the rear; see page 437. It shouldn’t relate to
the front rotors, which are a conventional cast iron vented rotor design and can be turned like those on any other car. In
fact, it shouldn’t relate to the rear rotors if the original laminated rotors were replaced with solid rotors at some earlier
time, which would be obvious because they don’t have the loose iron ring around the outer edge.
BRAKE SQUEAL: Dean Gosselin sends this tip: “I have traced a major source of brake squeal on my 1991 XJ-S to a
tire clean/shine product called "Formula 2000". After 4-6 weeks of not using this product the brake squeal is nearly
gone. I traced this cause to the spray-on tire cleaning product after my father used the stuff on his Audi and it
immediately resulted in major squeal under braking.”
If you’re not using tire cleaners and still have a brake squeal problem, there are three distinct types of products available
to address it. One is a substance that you spray on the back side of the pads and allow to fully dry before installation.
Typically this stuff is blue. It dries to form a tacky layer that serves as a damper between pad and piston. The second
type is a red goo that comes in a 4-oz plastic bottle that is applied to the back side of the pad immediately before
installation, and dries to bond the pad to the piston; as mentioned under BRAKE CALIPER ASSEMBLY above, this
stuff is not recommended for the XJ-S. The third type is an aluminum shim material that is cut to shape and stuck onto
the back side of the pads.
Some owners, however, report that the final fix for squealing brakes was to replace the pads with a different type.
Notably, the organic pads tend not to squeal, while some types of semi-metallic pads squeal like crazy. Since organic
pads are undesirable from a performance and safety standpoint, there’s something to be said for insisting upon semi-
metallic pads from a reputable maker.
DIRTY FRONT WHEELS: Dust from the front brakes tends to get the wheels dirty, especially if you use them hard.
There is a device available to prevent this problem. It’s called KleenWheels, and it’s essentially a disk that seals the
wheel on the inside so the dust can’t come out through the openings. They are available at many auto parts stores. Ed
Avis reports that the no-name “turbo-vented dust shields” sold by J. C. Whitney, catalog number 78xx6976BF, are in
fact genuine KleenWheels. He also provides the info on the company itself:
KleenWheels
5000 Oakes Road, Suite H
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33314
+1 (954) 791-9112
It would be logical to assume that cutting off this airflow path would result in a reduction in brake cooling, and therefore
poorer braking performance under severe, repeated braking. However, most users don’t notice any detriment -- perhaps
because they never use their brakes hard enough for overheating to be a problem. The primary cooling airflow is from
the inboard side of the brakes to the inside of the hub and outward through the vented disk. The warmed air can then go
either out through the wheel or inward under the car. The use of KleenWheels prevents the first exit, so all the air goes
inward. So, the use of KleenWheels won’t reduce the airflow to the brakes, but it may cause more of the warmed air to
recirculate back through the brake again. Considering the airflow underneath the car during any activity where hot
brakes are a concern, this is probably insignificant.
BRAKE PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT: Brakes will get hot; that cannot be avoided, since the entire point is to
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absorb the energy of the vehicle’s forward motion and convert it into heat. The differences in how well brakes
accomplish this generally result from A) how much mass there is to absorb the heat (only works once, though; the mass
won’t help the second time if it’s already hot), B) how well the brakes dissipate the heat they have absorbed to the
surrounding air, and C) just how hot the brake components can get before problems occur. In general, automotive
brakes intended for street use are designed with enough mass in the iron rotors to absorb the energy of one stop, and
then they are supposed to dissipate that heat to the air before the next stop. If the rotors aren’t heavy enough, they’ll
fade during the first stop. If there isn’t enough cooling airflow, they’ll fade during subsequent stops. You can improve
brakes greatly by replacing parts such as pads and brake fluid with items that work at hotter temperatures, but eventually
you will only be able to improve so much without either increasing the rotor mass or the cooling airflow. Since makers
of road cars typically concern themselves with the first stop, it’s more likely that airflow is needed than additional mass.
Remember that the amount of energy brakes must be able to dissipate rises with the square of the vehicle speed.
Stopping a car from 120 mph requires dissipating four times the energy as stopping the same car from 60 mph. Slowing
a car from 120 mph to 60 mph requires dissipating three times the energy as stopping from 60 mph. If you plan on
stopping from top speed, keep this in mind. If you plan to soup up your car so the top speed is considerably higher than
stock, take note. Fortunately, when speeds are high is when there’s plenty of airflow around to help cool the brakes, so
with careful airflow and duct design you can obtain a significant amount of brake cooling during the first stop.
BRAKE BALANCE: Ideally, the relative action of the front and rear brakes should be balanced properly so that when
the brakes are applied hard enough to approach the limits of adhesion, the limits of adhesion at both ends are approached
at nearly the same time. Having one end lock up the tires while the other end is still not braking very hard is not good.
In the simplest arrangements, such balance is achieved by careful design. The designers of the car, hopefully using some
actual road testing as a basis, design the front brakes and the rear brakes properly to obtain the correct balance.
Typically, the diameters of the pistons in the calipers or the diameters of the pistons in the master cylinder are adjusted to
obtain the desired balance. This is the idea behind the design of the XJ-S brakes, at least in the author’s ’83.
The racer’s method of accomplishing the same thing is to install two separate master cylinders side by side, one serving
the rear brakes and one serving the front. A beam connects the plungers of the two cylinders, and the pedal is connected
to the center of this beam -- or a little off center. By moving the pedal connection closer to one side or the other, the
proportion of force applied to each master cylinder can be easily varied. The driver takes a few laps and then gripes to
the mechanic that one end or the other is locking up, and the mechanic adjusts the pedal connection accordingly.
Once the proper brake balance is established, it is important not to screw it up by doing something silly like using
different type pads on one end than the other. The brakes in the XJ-S were designed for similar pad materials at both
ends, so if you use metallic pads at one end and organic pads at the other, the balance will be a mess.
Of course, the proper balance is not a fixed thing. On dry pavement, heavy braking will result in a considerable shift of
the weight forward onto the front wheels, endowing those tires with better traction. So, the proper balance on dry
pavement is with the front brakes doing considerably more than half of the braking. But what happens in the wet? Or
worse, in snow or icy conditions? In such cases of reduced traction, there will not be as much shift forward of the
weight of the car, and proper balance would be closer to equal between front and rear. But such a simple system as that
found in the ’83 XJ-S will still provide the same balance as on dry pavement, so one could expect the front tires to lock
up first under icy conditions.
There are ways to deal with this. In many automobiles, there is a device called a proportioning valve that is incorporated
into the hydraulic line to the rear brakes. When the brakes are applied lightly, as one would do in snow or ice, the full
pressure from the master cylinder is applied to both the front and rear brakes. When the brakes are applied more
forcefully, however, such as when trying to stop quickly on dry pavement, the proportioning valve only permits a certain
amount of pressure to the rear brakes and no more. In such cars, it is appropriate to design the actual brake hardware
with the balance a little stronger to the rear. When applied lightly in snow or ice, the rear brakes will thus be stronger
than the fronts, which is helpful in such conditions. The proportioning valve then limits increased braking at the rear to
avoid locking the rear wheels under hard braking in dry conditions.
The author’s ’83 has no such proportioning valves. However, Figure 9.11 in the Haynes manual shows such a device --
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of course, the British can’t use conventional names so they call it a “Pressure Conscious Reducing Valve” or PCRV.
So, apparently some XJ-S’s or XJ12’s come fitted with such a device.
Yet another method to accomplish a similar benefit was used in two British sports cars owned by the author in years
past. Instead of having a brake booster between the pedal and the master cylinder as on the XJ-S, the pedal assembly
and master cylinder were the same arrangement as a non-boosted brake system. The Girling booster was an in-line
device -- pressurized fluid coming in one end resulted in boosted pressure coming out the other end. Neat, because it
could be mounted anywhere. But these boosters were mounted in the lines to the front brakes only. As a result, when
the brakes were applied lightly, the rears would come on strong first. But as more pedal pressure was applied, the
booster would increase the pressure to the front brakes.
Of course, modern cars all have ABS -- which doesn’t change a thing! It is still important to have a good balance on
your brakes, since you don’t want to lock up either end and get the ABS system involved before the other end is doing
its part.
Snow and ice aren’t the only conditions where the OEM brake balance might not be appropriate. If your car was
designed decades ago but you have mounted some modern super-sticky tires on it, you may be able to stop considerably
faster than the designers of the car expected you to. As a result, you will get more weight shift towards the front than
they planned for, and may end up in a situation where the rear tires are skidding while the fronts still have more traction
available. To optimize your braking system under such conditions, you would need to alter the balance to either reduce
the braking effect at the rear or increase it at the front.
It should be noted that proper brake balance is important for reasons other than avoiding wheelskid. When using the
brakes hard, as when going down a mountain road, the amount of braking done by each wheel is what determines how
hot each brake gets. If one end of the car isn’t doing its share of the braking, the other end is going to get hotter than it
should -- and possibly get into brake fade sooner than you would like.
When modifying or upgrading the braking system, many owners are justifiably concerned about effects on their brake
balance. Regarding the vented rear rotor upgrade described beginning on page 441, there is good news -- or bad news,
depending on your viewpoint. Since that upgrade uses the OEM caliper pistons to push the OEM pads against a rotor
that is the same diameter as the OEM rotor, it cannot possibly affect the brake balance of the car. The only way it could
is if the vented rotor were made of a significantly different material than the OEM rotor, but hopefully they are both
something close to basic cast iron. From a performance standpoint, the only thing the vented rotors accomplish is to
keep the brakes cooler so they can be used harder without fade. When used lightly, this upgrade should make no
difference at all. Of course, if your solid rotors are covered with oil and the vented rotors prevent oil from getting on the
friction surfaces, the upgrade will most certainly affect the brake balance -- putting it back where it was supposed to be!
If you wish to alter the brake balance, you will need to either A) change calipers to something that has a different
effective piston area; or B) change rotor diameter. You could also change pad material, but most people concerned with
serious braking select pad material for the best fade resistance they can get rather than to adjust balance. You can also
change the size of the pads or the breadth of the swept area of the rotor (either change will typically require a caliper
replacement) but such changes are more likely to affect the ability of the brakes to absorb heat than to actually affect
brake balance.
CROSS-DRILLED ROTORS: There are three topics that should never be discussed in polite company: religion,
politics, and cross-drilled brake rotors. Talking about cross-drilling brake rotors always seems to start an argument.
There is little doubt that cross-drilling rotors makes them a bit lighter, but other than that everything is opinion. Brian
Schreurs says, “I race GM F-bodies at the club level (i.e., budget). Improved braking on a car with a reasonable system
to begin with is found almost entirely in the pad selection, not the rotors. Those in my club who have tried drilled or
slotted rotors have switched back to normal ventilated rotors. The surface tricks are prone to premature cracking and
shortening the life of the pads, with no appreciable benefit in braking to make up for it. Outfits such as Baer will try to
talk a customer out of buying drilled rotors if the car is intended for the track.
“We (being my club) regard drilled and slotted rotors as appearance items only, harmless on the street but worthless and
bordering on dangerous on the track. Our formula is: race compound pads (or an aggressive street pad, depending on
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application), steel braided lines (for pedal feel and protection from debris), ATE Super Blue fluid (resists boiling), stock
ventilated rotors (durable and cheap), and whenever possible, ducting.”
Others, of course, argue that cross-drilling rotors helps clear dust from the face of the pads during heavy braking and
thereby improves braking. Still others argue that the objective is to clear gasses that are generated by the friction. And
proponents, of course, claim that their brakes were vastly improved after drilling, and point out that many exoticars
come with drilled rotors.
Whichever, cross-drilling should perhaps be reserved for solid rotors such as the OEM rears on the XJ-S. Christopher
Riek says, “Do not cross-drill your ventilated brakes! Doing so allows air to be sucked in through the holes and would
destroy the effectiveness of the venting. It's like putting a squirrel-cage blower in a chicken-wire housing -- it spins fast
but doesn't blow much air.”
Henry Fok adds, “When some motorcycles switched from solid rotors to crossdrilled (without changing anything else),
brake pad life decreased by half.
“It is also thought, in some quarters, that crossdrilling can eventually lead to worse brake performance if the drilled holes
load up with debris.”
GROOVED ROTORS: Providing grooves across the surface of a brake rotor supposedly has similar objectives to
cross-drilling, but with less tendency to cause cracking. However, it has the minor disadvantage that the benefits (if any)
vary with wear and resurfacing; as the rotor gets thinner, the grooves get shallower. It has the signficant advantage,
though, that it could conceivably be done to vented rotors without affecting the airflow through the internal passages.
BRAKE UPGRADE HARDWARE: For brake upgrade stuff, you can check AP Racing at
http://www.apracing.com/
or Harvey Bailey Engineering (page 714), or Rob Beere (page 714).
Master Cylinder/Reservoir/Booster (non-ABS)
BRAKE FLUID RESERVOIR CONNECTION HOSE: To make the brake fluid reservoir fit under the hood, Jaguar
uses a remote reservoir connected with metal lines and short pieces of flexible hose. If these hoses need replacing, do
not use conventional fuel line; the brake fluid attacks the fuel line material, and the result will be darkened fluid with lots
of crud in it.
The fact is, none of the hose commonly sold at an auto parts store will serve. Also, nylon tubing is unsuitable; the brake
fluid soaks right through it, and then it hardens and shrinks.
Of course, using Jaguar original hose is not recommended, as it is a British non-metallic product. After all, you are now
having to replace it. But there are other cars that also use hose to connect a remote reservoir to the master cylinder,
including Mercedes, BMW and Fiat, so you can check other dealers for suitable hose. Andrew Weinberg says,
“Volkswagen Beetles also use a remote reservoir, and the hose stocked for that application works perfectly... The hose
is available from any VW supply shop. The only hitch is it’s a (nice?) blue color.”
Non-automotive hose is also a possibility. You can visit an industrial supply store and attempt to find a clerk who
knows his stuff, or a reference manual that lists acceptable applications for different hose materials. Commercially
available air hose works well in this application; it is red with a black inner lining, and is sold in many hardware stores.
It’s so cheap that many Jaguar owners can’t believe it could ever work. The inner lining is EPDM, which is compatible
with brake fluid. Note that this hose will not withstand the pressures seen in other parts of a brake system, such as the
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lines from the chassis out to the brake calipers on the suspension; air hose can only be used on non-pressure portions of
the brake system such as the reservoir connections.
Keep in mind that this application sees no pressure, so high-pressure brake or hydraulic hose is unnecessary and will only
make it very difficult to install over the plastic fittings. Some suggest that you use lines that will hold perhaps 30 psi in
case you ever want to “pressure bleed” the system, but just about any hose will handle 30 psi.
While you’re replacing the hoses, you might consider tossing the original metal tubes and simply run the new hoses all
the way from the reservoir to the master cylinder. This makes for a cleaner appearance under the hood. You need to
take care, however, that the engine shaking on its mounts doesn’t cause the corner of the air filter housing to rub on the
hoses and eventually cut a hole in them. If it did, the reservoir would drain and the warning light would come on in the
dash before there were any operational problems with the brakes, but you still wouldn’t be happy with brake fluid all
over the engine compartment peeling all the paint off the chassis.
BRAKE FLUID RESERVOIR LOCATION: A brake fluid reservoir must be located above the master cylinder so that
fluid will gravity-feed into the master cylinder and air bubbles in the master cylinder will rise into the reservoir.
Unfortunately, the remote reservoir location on the pre-ABS XJ-S is stretching the definition of “above”. It works OK
when kept topped up, but if you ever have air in the hoses or master cylinder for whatever reason it is suggested that you
unbolt the reservoir from its support bracket and position it about six inches higher, merely allowing the hoses
connecting it to the master cylinder to flex. With it in this position, operate the brake pedal a few times. You might also
just wiggle it a little. With any luck at all, any air in the hoses or in the master cylinder will bubble up into the reservoir.
Once all the air is cleared, you can bolt the reservoir back onto its bracket.
BRAKE FLUID LEVEL SWITCH: Hey, it’s electrical, so it’s discussed on page 596.
BRAKE FLUID RESERVOIR CAP FAILURES: Apparently the cap occasionally breaks into a center portion and an
outer portion. According to Michael Neal, “This is a problem and tends to reoccur if you don’t modify the reservoir.
This is on the pre-abs XJ-S brake reservoirs. Usually just flattening the sharp vertical ridge on the reservoir with a file
will do it.”
Better fix: replace the entire reservoir with one from a Mitsubishi. See page 596.
MASTER CYLINDER REBUILDING: There was an “early” type master cylinder used before 1977½, and a “later”
type used up until the advent of ABS brakes. However, apparently not all of those “later” types were the same. In the
Jaguar manual section 70.30.09, step 14, a seal is installed on the secondary piston with the lip facing forward. In step
15, a second seal is installed in a second groove facing rearward. Chapter 9, section 7, steps 13 and 14 in the Haynes
manual say essentially the same thing. However, some master cylinders only have one seal on the rear end of the
secondary piston rather than two. The one in the first step is the one that was omitted; if only a single seal groove is
available, the lip on the seal should be installed facing rearwards. Of course, if you have purchased overhaul kit
#M7673, you will have one seal left over.
POWER BRAKE SERVO: The (non-ABS) servo assembly comes apart in the center, by twisting one half until the
retaining tangs line up with the cutouts. There is a special tool for this job, but Bruce Hayes reports the tool can be
improvised. He carefully mounted the master cylinder in a vice, and fashioned a tool to attach to the studs on the
housing to turn it.
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Front Brakes
FRONT BRAKE PAD GROOVES: Some of the pads offered for the front of the XJ/XJ-S have grooves across them.
Ferodo pads, for example, have two parallel grooves across the face of each pad the short way; each groove is about
1/8” wide, and they are about 1-1/16” apart. These grooves might help with cooling, or getting dust out from between
the pads and the rotor, or letting water get out on rainy days, but Chuck Sparks says the primary objective is to prevent
squealing; the grooves break up the long, solid surface of the pad into three separate shorter panels.
If you get pads without grooves, you might opt to cut your own grooves. Brake pad facing material is not difficult to
cut; a hacksaw will do it. The Ferodo pads are not grooved all the way to the backing plate; the grooves stop about
1/16” short of the base plate.
FRONT CALIPER REMOVAL: The front brake caliper is attached to the hub carrier with two bolts. The steering
lever is likewise attached to the hub carrier with two bolts. And, just to make things interesting, one of those bolts is
shared; there are a total of three bolts, two short and one long. Some of these parts are clearly illustrated in the ROM:
the hub carrier (also called a stub axle carrier) is shown at the beginning of Section 60 under “Accidental Damage”. The
steering lever is shown in Section 57.65.01. The way the three components come together is shown as clearly as can be
expected in Section 70.55.02 or Section 57.55.29.
When removing the long bolt, don’t lose the shim that falls out. See below.
The two short bolts are the same length. However, the short bolt holding the upper end of the caliper to the upright has
a smooth shank and safety wire holes in the head. The short bolt holding the forward end of the steering arm to the
upright looks like a regular high-strength bolt, threaded to the head and no wire holes. I guess brakes are considered
critical and steering isn’t.
Removing two bolts will get the caliper loose -- but won’t get it off. There is also a hard brake line wrapped in a
semicircle between the outer end of the brake hose and the port on the lower end of the caliper, and this line is firmly
attached to a bracket that is attached with the two bolts holding the steering arm. Hence, if your objective in being in
here is not to rebuild or replace the caliper you will want to remove all three bolts in order to get the caliper to come off
with its hard brake line attached. Otherwise, you’d need to disconnect the line and get involved in brake fluid. By
unbolting the bracket you can hang the caliper by a wire to avoid stressing the hose and just bolt it back on when done.
Remember to turn the steering back and forth while trying to remove and reinstall the forward steering arm bolt.
Otherwise, the shock absorber is in the way.
FRONT BRAKE CALIPER SHIMMING: As mentioned above, there is a shim (or a couple of shims) between the
steering arm and the brake caliper at the long bolt. The objective of this shim is to compensate for variations in the
thickness of the caliper mounting lug to avoid stressing the steering lever as the bolts are tightened. If your plan is to
take things apart and put them back together with the same hub carrier, caliper, and steering lever, you need to take care
not to drop or lose those shims when you take the long bolt out. If you put it back together with the same shims in
place, you should be OK.
If you do plan to replace something -- exchanging the caliper for a rebuilt, for example -- you will need to measure for
the correct shim thickness. Mount the steering lever with its short bolt tight and the long bolt threaded in but not
tightened; you may want to fit a flat washer on the short bolt between the dust shield and the steering arm to make up
for a bracket attached to the caliper being omitted here. Measure between steering arm and upright at the long bolt, and
subtract the thickness of the caliper mount lug to determine the shims needed.
New shims are available from Jaguar in two thicknesses: C44146/1 is 0.004” thick and C44146/2 is 0.010” thick. It’s
really nothing more than a thin flat washer, so you could just buy arbor shims locally or cut washers out of shim stock.
Whenever changing shims or anything else involved in this steering arm attachment, the car will need a new alignment
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afterwards.
It is apparent that the shimming between the caliper and steering lever was originally the only place shims were intended
to be used here. Step 4 of Section 70.10.10 and step 3 of Section 70.55.02 in the ROM clearly indicate this is the only
place to be looking for shims upon disassembly. However, apparently Jaguar decided that shims might also be needed
between the caliper and the upright, either to center the caliper or to align it properly. There’s no excuse for the
machining incompetence that would require shims here for either reason, but Craig Sawyers and others report that their
cars came with shims in these locations. Steps 10-14 of Section 70.10.10 and step 5 of section 70.55.02 discuss shims
between caliper and upright for centering and aligning the caliper.
The Parts Catalogue doesn’t list any shims for between caliper and upright, but obviously the shims intended for
between caliper and steering lever will serve.
It’s pretty easy to get shims in between the caliper and steering lever. Getting shims between caliper and upright is
nowhere near as easy.
If you add shims between the caliper and the upright, you need to be removing the same thickness of shims between the
caliper and the steering lever!
FRONT BRAKE ROTOR REPLACEMENT: Jaguar chose to bolt the rotor to the inside of the hub flange, rather than
the outside like some cars. As a result, the hub must be removed to get the rotor off.
The various manuals suggest unbolting the rotor from the hub during this process by inserting a tool through the opening
in the dust shield. However, Nance O’Neil points out that there is no need to unbolt the rotor before removal, and
instead the hub/rotor assembly can be removed as a unit and then disassembled on the bench. Either way, the brake
caliper must be unbolted from the upright.
John Himes adds a tip: “The 5 bolts that hold the rotor to the hub assembly can be very stubborn, especially when
working alone. If you place the wheel face down, then place the lug nuts through the holes, now you’ve got a nice big
vice to hold it in place without buggering up anything.”
Matthias Fouquet-Lapar has an alternative suggestion: “I actually took the hub out and put the disk in a large bench
vice. When I mounted the new disk, I simply used the old brake pads to protect the disk from the vice.”
If you intend to have the rotor turned, don’t separate the rotor from the hub. Leave them together; you get a more
accurate turning job by allowing the machine shop to mount the assembly by the hub.
FRONT BRAKE CALIPER SEPARATION: On the front calipers, fluid communicates between the two sides via
drilled passages through the caliper halves themselves. Hence, there are seals between the two halves to prevent
leakage. If you separate the caliper halves, you’ll want to put it back together with new seals. Note, however, that the
square-section O-ring seals used between the halves may be difficult to find, and the Lucas caliper overhaul kit SP2887
does not include them. A normal nitrile O-ring -- square-section or not --- won’t work; if you don’t believe me, put one
in a jar with some brake fluid and watch it for a few weeks.
Chuck Sparks says the seals are Lucas part number 67320782. The package these seals come in says they are .325ID, .
495OD x .070, but measuring one found it to be .079” thick. Basically, they are 1/2” OD, 1/16” thick (the ID doesn’t
really matter as long as there’s a hole). Each front caliper needs two, so you need four per car. The burgerflippers in
the local auto parts store are likely to give you a blank stare when you ask about such seals, but according to Rob Reilly
you can get them from John Farrell (page 710). John Robison says, “XK's unlimited sells the caliper seals separately.”
It’s also been suggested that you can find suitable seals at a Chevy dealer.
Coventry West (page 693) sells an O-ring, 1/2” OD and 1/16” thick and made of EPR. Apparently this works OK;
according to their rep, “The o-ring will seal better on uneven surfaces than the square seal. We've never had a problem
with the o-rings sealing. Not a single warranty or return.” Nevertheless, most mechanics would probably agree that the
original Lucas square-section seal is preferred. It does provide an idea for buying seals locally, since any industrial O-
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ring supplier can presumably provide EPR O-rings.
Brian Schreurs found that Motorcars Ltd. (page 695) lists a “caliper half O-ring” part number IN101648.
Joe Bialy says, “If you want to cut your own gaskets, McMaster Carr sells EPDM rubber sheeting, a 12" X 12" piece
1/16" thick is $3.78. Part #8609k31. I'm sure they'd have the cutters too. I don't know if it's applicable for this, but they
also sell 1/2" OD X 1/16" width EPDM O-rings.” See page 711 for McMaster-Carr.
On the rear calipers, the fluid communicates between the two halves via an external hard tube so there are no issues with
seals.
FRONT BRAKE HOSES: The front brake hoses have coils around them to prevent kinking and to protect the hose in
case of a tire rubbing against it or debris flying around in the wheel well. On the ’83, the coil around the original hose is
plastic about 1/8” thick. Replacement hoses, however, as well as the originals on some other year cars, come with a
steel coil around the hose. Obviously, the plastic coil won’t rust -- but if your steel coil is rusty enough to be a concern,
it’s probably time to replace your brake hoses anyway.
Ed Sowell says, “The new hoses I got came w/o coils. I reused my original plastic ones.” This is a workable plan, since
it is a simple matter to wind the plastic coil off the old hose. If your old hoses have steel coils, though, they apparently
cannot be removed without destroying them or the hose itself. Since it probably would not be a good idea to operate the
vehicle without coils at all, if you don’t have the plastic coils you should either make sure your new hoses come with
coils or try to get some plastic coils from a junkyard. And if you’re replacing hoses with plastic coils with new hoses
with steel coils, you may want to wind the plastic coils off the old hoses and store them away in case you need them next
time you replace hoses.
FRONT BRAKE COOLING -- ’92-ON: The 1992-on XJS comes from the factory with air scoops for the front brakes
built into the front spoiler. According to David Buchner, it also comes with an inlet built into the dust shields on the
front brakes themselves. To obtain the same sort of ducted cooling that race cars have, all you need to do is connect
flex ducts from the back side of the spoiler to the dust shields on the brakes, and tie them up so the front tires won’t rub
them when turned full lock. Simple. The opening at the back side of the spoiler is a rectangle, but you might actually be
able to find a section of flex duct sold in auto parts stores for engine intake ducts that has a rectangular end on it.
Otherwise, any place that sells air conditioning supplies can provide a small sheet metal transition piece for connecting a
round duct to a rectangular opening.
TWR FRONT BRAKES: Alan Heartfield owns an ’85 TWR, and relates the following info from a TWR brochure:
“This document states that the front rotors are 295mm X 35mm. The calipers are AP Racing 4 pot solid calipers.”
Obviously, this may provide some guidance to anyone looking to upgrade the front brakes on a non-TWR XJ-S.
Inboard Rear Brakes
REAR BRAKE HOSE: There is a single hose on the driver’s side connecting the line from the car to the line on the
subframe. This hose, CBC1393 or CAC6143 or GHP65, is unique to the XJ-S; the saloons use a different hose.
INBOARD REAR BRAKE ROTORS: The OEM rear brake rotors are described as “externally damped”. This means
they have an iron ring around the circumference that actually fits rather loosely. If the disk tries to “ring”, this ring will
rattle, and the rattling will absorb the energy trying to cause the disk to ring. IOW, the iron ring is to help keep the
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brakes quiet.
Michael Neal pointed out that the OEM rear brake rotors are a “sandwich” construction. This probably has something
to do with fabricating a disk with the external iron ring. “The stock rear rotors have the actual thin outer rotor surface
attached to a solid core. These thin outer surfaces are very brittle and break easily.”
There are also reports of the ring breaking and coming out and jamming things up.
When rebuilding, Neal recommends the use of aftermarket rotors made from a single chunk of iron. Often, when you
order new disks, suppliers will send you these aftermarket rotors without even asking; the aftermarket parts are what
they stock. The aftermarket rotors don’t have the iron ring, but nobody seems to have noise problems with them. The
aftermarket rotors are arguably quieter, since the loose rings on the OEM rotors sometimes jingle when you close the
car door or the like.
“Never turn the rear rotors, the oem style rotors are sandwiched construction and would probably self destruct when
you put a bit to them. The aftermarket style could probably take one light surfacing but it just isn’t worth it, price them
sometime, they aren’t that much.”
Randy K. Wilson concurs: “Don’t bother turning the rear rotors. It’s around eight hours of labor to get the things out.
If they are bad enough to require turning, the labor involved warrants replacing them with new ones. Besides, it’s rare
for those rotors to be torn up and still be turned down and remain in spec.”
INBOARD REAR BRAKE ROTOR REMOVAL: The instructions in the manuals are for removing and replacing the
rotors with the rear suspension subframe in place. However, many suggest dropping the entire subframe to make the job
easier -- and dropping the subframe is really easy, much easier than most people expect; see page 384. Note that,
regardless of whether the subframe is in the car or not, the lower swingarms will either have to swing down a long ways
or be removed altogether to get the rotors out. This means that the shock absorbers will have to be disconnected from
the lower swingarms, so you might as well get to it. It also means that the tie plate on the bottom center of the subframe
will have to come off, because the swingarms hit it before they swing down far enough. All in all, a case could be made
for leaving the subframe in place if you’re not doing other work that requires dropping it; at least, with it attached to the
car, you don’t have to worry about how to support it while working on it!
If you have the cage out, swinging the swingarms down far enough to get the rotors out means you have to get the cage
a couple of feet off the ground -- and supported in such a way as to allow the swingarms to swing down. Peter Cohen
suggests, “since the cage is out, just tilt the cage backward so that the input shaft is facing up, and then swing the
swingarms to your heart's content.” Note, however, that before doing this you will need to either cap the differential
vent or drain the differential, or it’s gonna drain itself!
The ROM, Section 70.10.11, Step 8, says that after you remove the nuts holding the axle inner U-joints to the brake disc
and output shafts, you are supposed to “Tap disc mounting bolts towards final drive unit.” Those bolts are welded to
the output shafts; if you manage to tap them towards the final drive unit, you have screwed up big time! The Haynes
manual, Chapter 9, Section 12, Step 8, contains similarly erroneous instructions.
The rotors will not come out without removing the calipers. Hence, before tackling the job of rotor replacement, read
on about two different methods for disassembly of brakes mounted on a Salisbury final drive unit as well as the
disassembly of brakes mounted on a Dana final drive unit.
DANA VS. SALISBURY: Much of the work on the inboard rear brakes is dependent on which type differential you
have; see page 349. If your car is in the 1985-88 range, check your differential before ordering parts or planning your
work. It’s fairly easy to check: if the differential has a drain plug, it’s a Salisbury; if not, it’s a Dana. If it’s ’84 or earlier
or ’89 or later, you can safely presume it’s a Salisbury. You have to check in the ’85-88 vintage because the official
Jaguar repair for a Dana is to replace it with a Salisbury.
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INBOARD REAR BRAKE CALIPER REMOVAL (SALISBURY): Removal of the left inboard rear brake caliper is
straightforward using the steps described in the manuals. However, removal of the right inboard rear brake caliper
might be considerably more tricky due to the proximity of the pinion shaft of the differential. The pinion is located to the
right of center so there’s lots of room on the left side, but the right side is tight. Specifically, the lower bolt holding the
caliper to the output bearing flange is trapped and won’t come out other than with the caliper itself, and it just barely
comes out with the caliper! If the bolt was a quarter inch shorter this job would be a snap -- but you don’t wanna
shorten the bolt!
The particulars here vary from car to car, so some people won’t even understand what the problem is while others will
have trouble. This author couldn’t get that caliper out for two days -- and then it finally came right out without doing
anything noticeably different! Peter Cohen says, “Correct! I have had experience with that bolt. There is a single
caliper position and bolt angle at which it will come out, and when it does, it happens so unexpectedly that you will not
remember what you did.”
Here are some tips that might help. When trying to get the caliper out, hold the upper end of the caliper rearward --
toward the disc. Once you’ve moved the bottom of the caliper forward and upward and reached the point where it
doesn’t want to move any more, twist the forward edge of the caliper (the edge where the pad retention pins go) in the
outboard direction, away from the differential pinion. If you can’t twist it far enough to get it to come loose, you may
need to remove the nuts holding the axle and rotor to the output shaft to allow the rotor to wobble a little.
INBOARD REAR BRAKE CALIPER REMOVAL (SALISBURY W/ BREMBO ROTORS): If you obtain Brembo
replacement brake rotors for a Salisbury, they come with a pair of large access holes drilled in the mounting flange -- and
no explanation. Tim Dapper figured out what they were for: Using the access holes, you can remove the five bolts
holding the output shaft bearing assembly onto the differential. Remove the exhaust pipe hanger attached to the top of
the cage with two bolts. Then slide the output shaft bearing assembly out of the car with the rotor and caliper still
attached! The caliper mounting bolts can then be dealt with on the workbench.
The shims between the rotor and the output shaft obstruct the access holes a bit. Before installing the shims, cut suitable
notches in them. Dapper suggests that if you find your car already has rotors with access holes but they are obstructed
with the shims, it’s easier to break out the Dremel and trim those shims in situ than it is to remove the brakes using the
method described in the ROM.
When working on the handbrake caliper, you’ll want to have the new rotor securely bolted to the output shaft. Since the
axle isn’t in place, the nuts won’t thread down far enough to seat on the rotor; you’ll need to provide some washers or
spacers.
Obviously you need new O-rings for reinstalling the output shaft bearing assembly. This should be considered a benefit
of using this method; any opportunity to seal that thing up better is good.
“But what good does this do me? The old rotors on my car don’t have the access holes.” Dapper nevertheless suggests
you get Brembo replacement rotors with access holes. That way, you can sweat and cuss and skin knuckles getting the
calipers and rotors off, then take the output shaft assemblies out, then assemble them all together with the new rotors on
the bench and reinstall them as a unit. “I must admit I was quite surprised when the whole thing just slid into place. A
little jiggling is needed to get the splines to align. This is so much easier than dealing with the caliper bolts and no
clearance!”
When installing the five bolts in the output shaft bearing assembly, you must screw each one all the way down before
turning the rotor to install the next. There is precious little room between the heads of these bolts and the heads of the
axle bolts on the back side of the output shaft flange. If you start turning the rotor around with the bolts only part way
in, you can get it jammed and have to struggle with an open-end wrench to get moving again.
INBOARD REAR BRAKE CALIPER REMOVAL (DANA): If you have a Dana final drive unit, trying to make sense
of the disassembly procedures in the ROM will only cause confusion. The manuals describe the Salisbury attachment in
which the brake calipers are bolted to the inside of the flange holding the output shaft bearings in the final drive unit, and
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therefore the bolts back out towards the centerline of the car. On the Dana unit, however, the calipers are bolted to the
side of the final drive housing itself, so the bolts point the other direction -- they back out towards the sides of the car.
There apparently are no Jaguar publications describing the removal of the brake calipers from the Dana differential.
Fortunately, it’s not difficult to figure out once you’re in there; in fact, it’s easier than working on the Salisbury. Jim
Moore says, “Bolt access holes exist in the rotors and you can see them if you slide back the dust covers on the axles.
Not mentioned in Haynes, not obvious whilst on your back with halogen lamp heating up the back of your head.” Use
these access holes to remove the two bolts holding the caliper in place. Once the caliper is off, you can then remove the
rotor.
If you’re ordering parts beforehand, make sure you get rotors with the access holes if you have the Dana final drive.
Such rotors are usable on the non-Dana cars as well, although the access holes won’t serve any purpose.
If you’ve ordered the wrong rotors and don’t have time to exchange them, Tony Bryant says, “you can use the non-
holed rotors on the Dana diff. It's just a royal PITA to juggle the caliper bolts into place, and then do them up with a
open ended spanner. But it can be and has been done...” Really, if you have the non-holed rotors you might be better
advised to take them to a local machine shop and pay them to put holes in them while you wait. There are dimensions in
Figure 24 that will help, even though the two-piece rotor hub looks different.
DANA VS. SALISBURY/BREMBO ACCESS HOLES: With OEM rotors, the difference between Dana and Salisbury
rotors is obvious: the Dana has access holes. With the aftermarket Brembo rotors, the difference is no longer so
obvious. John Wynne says, “I purchased both sets of rotors. Both sets had the access holes in them. The only
difference was the location of these holes.”
Charlie Welkie says, “Guess which (Brembo) rotors I got first! Yes, the ones with holes that didn't work -- they were
too close to the center of the rotor. They were completely on the flange surface. Try as I might I just couldn't get the
caliper bolts in. By now I had determined that I had a Dana and the rotors went back for exchange. The replacements
went in very smoothly (perhaps due to all the practice I had by now). They have access holes out further that are partly
on the flange and partly in the stepped portion of the rotor.
“The Altrom number for Brembo rotors for the Dana diff (hole spacing further apart) is 094-1106. The other - smaller
spacing - number is 094-1104.”
Both sets of access holes are shown in Figure 24; the holes closer to the center are for Salisbury diffs, and the holes
closer to the outer edge are for Dana. You can check the dimensions to determine which access holes you have -- or
you can just lay the rotor on the paper and see which holes line up.
5/8” SOCKET: Whether you are using the access holes to get at the caliper mounting bolts on a Dana final drive or to
get at the output shaft bearing bolts on a Salisbury, the tool is the same: a 5/8” socket. Various reports, probably
reflecting variations in hardware, describe the access holes as being anywhere from 7/8” to 1”. If they happen to be
7/8”, you will need the right socket to fit. A high-quality six-point socket will usually fit through a 7/8” hole with a bit
of wiggle room, but a clunky 12-point from Taiwan hasn’t got a chance. If the access hole happens to be located a hair
off so the bolt head isn’t perfectly centered under it, well, things just get harder.
I’d suggest you buy a thinwall socket, except that thinwall sockets are also usually deep sockets -- and you’d be better
off with a short socket here. It’s best to just shop around with a dial caliper in your hand and buy the smallest OD short
5/8” socket you can find.
Remember: 5/8” is functionally the same size as 16mm. So, check the other drawer in the toolbox for sockets that
might work before heading for the tool store. And while you’re at the tool store, that gives you more sockets to check
for a small OD.
Of course, you could just make sure that the access holes on your rotors are large enough -- by boring them out, if
necessary. Going to 23mm, 15/16” or even all the way to 1” will provide enough clearance for the bulkiest of 5/8”
sockets.
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ONE MORE DISASSEMBLY METHOD: In addition to the two disassembly methods for the Salisbury and one for
the Dana described above, there is one other method that should work for either: splitting the caliper. Remove the
bridge tube connecting the two halves of the caliper, and remove the pivot pin for the outboard handbrake caliper.
Remove the four large bolts holding the halves of the caliper together, which allows you to remove the outboard half of
the caliper from the car. Then you can remove the rotor, which will permit better access to the bolts holding the inner
half of the caliper in place -- whether Dana or Salisbury.
BRAKE COOLING: If you regularly drive your car hard enough to get the brakes hot, you would be well advised to
improve the cooling air flow to the final drive area. A scoop on the bottom of the car directing air up into this space
might help; the Series Three E-Type came with such scoops, and it was a lighter car.
UPGRADING TO VENTED ROTORS: Jeffrey Gram installed vented rear brake rotors in his car. The interesting
thing was his reason for doing so: to reduce the tendency for the brakes to cook the final drive seals. He expects that the
use of vented rotors, even if braking performance is insignificantly improved, will extend the life of his final drive unit.
Jan Wikström -- who drives a long, twisty mountain road to work -- also installed vented rotors: “They worked well.
The old brakes worked pretty well too, and I certainly never got them hot enough to induce fade, but the oil seals didn't
last, and they seem to last well with the ventilated disks.”
There is yet another possible reason for upgrading to vented rotors. The author noticed that the outboard pads were
much more worn than the inboard pads, and Andreas Boedenauer explained: “I owned a couple (about 15) of Citroens
with inboard front brakes. All of them had almost unworn inboard pads (lubed with oil from the diff) even when the
outboard pads where completely gone. You only had some wear on the inboard pads on a brand-new car (the first 2
years). I doubt that the differential -- especially the output shaft -- on a Jaguar is 100% dry and without any greasy
surface. Maybe I am wrong and there are Jags with immaculate bone-dry new or rebuilt differentials on the road -- if
yes, I want to see them.”
What does this oily brake situation have to do with vented rotors? Because vented rotors may avoid the problem.
When oil comes out of the differential output shaft seal, some of it runs along the shaft to the disc and ends up running
down the inboard disc surface. But with vented rotors, it will come to the inner end of the air passages through the
rotor before it gets to the inboard friction surface. The oil will then pass through the air passages all the way to the
outside edge of the disk, completely bypassing the friction surfaces. Hence, if your diff output seals leak, having vented
rotors can improve your braking considerably, even when cold.
If you’re interested in upgrading to vented rotors, there are kits available. See XK’s Unlimited (page 697), Terry’s
Jaguar (page 696), or Bob Greene Developments (page 716). All of these kits provide ventilated rotors (which
inherently must be thicker than the OEM solid rotors), spacers to put between the halves of each caliper to provide
clearance for the thicker rotors, and several small parts that are necessary as a result of the caliper widening.
Brian Schreurs says, “I talked to Terry's about their kit two days ago. According to them, their kit makes no
accommodation for the handbrake whatsoever; they assume you're not going to be using it.” So, if you’d like a working
handbrake, you might want to consider other kits -- or consider the possibilities described below for obtaining the
handbrake parts you need.
If you ask around, you may find negative reports on vented rear brake kits for Jaguars. This is because GT Jaguar (now
defunct) offered vented rear brake kits that were garbage -- they didn’t fit right, you had to grind on your final drive
output shafts to bolt them in, they came with distorted hubs that caused runout in new rotors, etc., etc. Perhaps this
helps explain why they are now defunct. Whatever, note that these problems have only been reported with the GTJ kits;
the kits from all other vendors reportedly fit and work well.
If you wish, you can upgrade to vented rotors without a kit. All you really need are the rotors themselves and a few
minor knickknacks. This has the potential of saving a little money or a lot of money, depending on your abilities to
fabricate parts yourself as opposed to employing a machine shop to do the fabrication work.
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This author has installed such a do-it-yourself rear brake upgrade (making small parts but hiring a machine shop for the
hubs), and will provide considerable detail here; if you’re not interested, skip the rest of this section.
The rotors described here are two-piece style -- as are the rotors in most (not all) of the kits mentioned above. Two-
piece rotors are largely unknown in production automobiles where obviously it is cheaper to set up a casting process to
create the entire rotor as a single part. However, two-piece rotors are very common in the performance and competition
arenas, where they are well proven. In their simplest incarnation, they provide a simple benefit: the outer portion of the
rotor, the part that has the cast-in ventilation passages, can be machined from a standardized casting (or even from brake
rotors designed for other cars) rather than requiring a custom casting for each application. The center hub portion of the
two-piece rotor assembly, commonly called a “hat” because that’s sorta what it looks like in most applications, is a non-
wear item that sports most of the unique features -- bolt patterns, offsets, pilot diameters, etc. -- that make a rotor
assembly a custom fit to one car or another. Not only does using a two-piece rotor make it cheaper to obtain the
custom rotor design needed, it also makes it considerably cheaper to maintain: when the rotors get worn, only the
standardized outer portion needs to be replaced.
There are other features often incorporated into two-piece brake rotor designs including aluminum hats to save weight,
“floating” attachment schemes to better deal with thermal expansion issues, carbon outer discs to save weight and work
at higher temperatures, etc. For our purposes, we’ll be sticking with a basic design to keep the costs within reason; the
ventilation is the feature we’re looking for here.
Alan Heartfield found a company that’ll provide special-order outer discs:
Essex Parts Services Inc.
125 Hampton Court
Cramerton, North Carolina 28032
Phone (704) 824-6030
Fax 800-335-7223 or 704-478-1030
http://www.essexparts.com/
There are other companies that can provide such discs, including Wilwood.
Ordering discs through Essex involves filling out a “Custom Brake Disc Order Form” which they can fax to you. In the
middle of the form there is a chart where you must fill in “Nominal Dimensions” of the discs you need. Fill the form in
as follows:
ØA B ØC ØD E MOUNTING HOLES APPROX.
WEIGHT
OUTSIDE THICKNESS EYE FLANGE OFFSET NO. DIAMETER ØM
DIAMETER DIAMETER INSIDE
DIAMETER PCD
10-3/8” 3/4” 6-3/4” 4-3/4” 3/8” 8 5/16” 5-3/8”
The rest of the form is fairly self-explanatory -- name, address, credit card number, etc. I recommend you opt for no
cross drilling and no face grooves. I also recommend opting for straight vanes, since curved vanes result in the left rotor
being different than the right, probably more expensive, and of dubious benefit in this application.
Essex will quote you a price once they get the form. I try to avoid quoting prices in this book, but you’ll be happy with
Essex’s quote.
Next you need a pair of “hats” to mount the discs on. For the Jaguar with inboard rear brakes, the term “hat” is not
appropriate; they are basically a flat disc with a step machined in one side. Just take a copy of Figure 24 to your friendly
neighborhood machine shop and ask for two, please.
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ø3 3/4
1/8
ø7/16
3/8 4 PL
ø4 3/4
ø4
80°
ø6
100°
ø5/16
8 PL
ø2 3/4 EQ SP
ø5 3/8
ø7/8 ø4 3/4
2 PL
ø7/8
2 PL
Figure 24 - Hub for Vented Rear Brake Rotor
Make very sure to clarify to your machinist that all three flat surfaces on this part must be flat and true, as close as he can
get them. That means that all three surfaces must be machined; you cannot hack this part out of a rusty plate with an
acetylene torch and expect acceptable runout when you install your discs. Also, insist that the flat surfaces be machined
on a lathe or turntable that rotates the part, not on a milling machine where the part sits still while the cutter moves back
and forth over it. Milling was one of the problems with the GT Jaguar kit, as the hub would warp a bit during the
milling and cause runout.
As a guide to cost estimating: When I had a pair made, the shop charged me for 5.5 hours machining time plus a
pittance for the metal. Mine were made from 1/2” steel plate; you might be able to save a little machining time by
starting with 3/8” steel plate, since the machinist won’t have to hog off so much metal. However, by the time the hubs
have been “skimmed” on both sides to make sure they are flat and true, they will be a little thinner than 3/8”. As a result,
you will need to add a couple shims C33440 to avoid altering the rear wheel camber.
You can make these hubs out of either steel or aluminum. Aluminum costs a few cents more in material, but the
machine shop might give you a break on the machining since aluminum is easier to cut.
The two 7/8” holes closest to the OD of the hub are helpful to those with the Dana final drive unit. The OEM Dana
rotors have two similar holes in them. Note that the Dana access holes shown are located differently than on an OEM
Dana rotor; they are rotated 90° around the hub. Brian Schreurs developed this idea for relocation to make it possible to
remove the calipers without removing the rear axles first. With the original location, the U-joint on the axle obstructs
the access hole. With the location shown, the U-joint still obstructs the access hole -- but once the axle is disconnected
at its outer end, you can swing it out of the way without removing it. The shims on either side of the rotor obstruct this
revised access hole location, so trim the shims prior to installation.
You might look for a 5/8” socket with an external hex on the back end so you can turn it with an open-end wrench.
Spark plug sockets have this, but they’re too long. There are some odd tool designs that feature an external hex on the
back end of a short socket for one reason or another, though. If you find such a socket, you might be able to snake it
under the U-joint and into these relocated access holes and turn it with an open end wrench, allowing you to remove the
caliper without having to disconnect the outer end of the axle from the suspension. Alternatively, you might just grind
flats on a standard socket, or drill cross holes in it and turn it with a bar.
The two 7/8” holes closest to the ID allow for removing the brakes from a Salisbury final drive as a unit along with the
output shaft bearing assembly, same as with the aftermarket Brembo rotors as described above.
Note that, if the vented disc has a continuous ID of 4-3/4”, it will obstruct all these access holes. To make them usable,
the disc needs to be scallopped between holes. Fortunately, Essex scallops their discs without even asking.
Read the notes above on making sure you have a 5/8” socket that will fit easily through these 7/8” access holes. If you
prefer, make the access holes a bit bigger in your hubs, like 23mm or 15/16”.
If you have a Salisbury final drive unit, you can omit the Dana access holes when making the hubs; they will do nothing
for you. If you have a Dana final drive unit, you can omit the Salisbury access holes; they will do nothing for you --
although you might consider the possibility that your Dana gets replaced with a Salisbury in the future. Finally, if you
have either the Salisbury or the Dana, you can omit all the access holes if you wish, since it is possible to rebuild the
brakes on either final drive without access holes; simply remove the bolts holding the outer disc to the hub and remove
the hub, leaving the disc in place within the caliper, and this will provide all the access you need to get to the bolts
behind the rotor. In fact, Alan Heartfield’s TWR came new with a Dana final drive and two-piece vented rotors with no
access holes. Having the access holes makes things easier, though.
Ask if the company providing the discs will also make the hubs for you if you send them the drawing. Brian Schreurs
found that Essex will, and for an excellent price, too. In addition to simplifying the procurement process and obtaining a
good price, they can also make sure the two parts fit together properly.
Note that if you keep this car long enough to wear these rotors out, the only thing you will need to renew is the discs
from Essex -- send that form in again. The hubs will last forever.
To assemble the discs and hubs, you will need 16 bolts and 16 nuts -- 5/16” Grade 8. 1” is the length needed, but 1”
bolts are typically threaded all the way to the head. Since it is good engineering practice to have a smooth shank within
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the joint between such parts, you’d be better off to find bolts about 1-1/2” long and cut them down to 1” to get a
smooth shank between 1/4” and 1/2” long. You need self-locking nuts, but don’t get nyloc -- things might get too hot
here for the plastic inserts.
There are other ways to obtain suitable rotors for this project. According to Chad Bolles, “The rear rotors on a Maserati
Quattroporte are vented and are the same pattern as the Jag. The calipers are the same as a Jag, but with a spacer to
make up for the wider rotor.” Unfortunately, a www search found a price for Maserati rotors well over $400 each.
There are reports that Aston Martins also use a similar rear brake except with vented rotors; Bill Sotiras says, “Aston
also moved the rear caliper setup from in front of the final drive to the rear, for better accessability (from under the car).
They used to have an inspection plate under the back seat.” Unfortunately again, there are also reports that owners of
these cars converting to the Jaguar solid rotors because their replacement vented rotors are so expensive! If you know
of any Aston Martin or Maserati owners, you might tell them about Essex and the two-piece rotor design described
above; it might fit their car perfectly and save them considerable money at rotor replacement time.
Terry’s Jaguar also sells their one-piece rotors individually, apparently as wear replacements for owners who have
installed their kit.
On to the other brake hardware you will need to use your vented rotors. You will need spacers to widen the calipers.
These can be made from 1” wide 1/4” thick steel stock, or from any 1/4” steel plate you happen to have lying around.
They can also be made of 1/8” thick or even 1/16” thick stock; just make more of them and stack them up. When you
split the caliper halves, it will be apparent where these spacers go and what shape they need to be.
You need 8 new bolts to hold the caliper halves together, longer than the originals. 3/8”-24, 2-1/2” long, Grade 8.
You need pad retention pins that are 1/4” longer than the original pins. You can buy such pins from Jaguar; the ones for
the front of the XJ will fit perfectly! They are part number 12798. Or you can just make some pins out of long 1/4”
bolts (you’ll need a smooth shank about 3” long) or even from 1/4” steel rod if you want. If you go with steel rod and
therefore end up with headless pins, you will need four more retaining clips just like the ones that are in there.
The main calipers have a bridge pipe that connects the sides. Since you have inserted a spacer, this pipe needs to reach a
little farther. Fortunately, it is a simple matter to bend the pipe a little bit to make it fit.
You’ll need to deal with the bronze fork on the handbrake calipers. This fork is supposed to hold the handbrake pads
away from the rotor, but just a little bit -- and to take a permanent “set” as the pads wear. Since you must cut this part
in half to get it on the widened calipers, you must come up with a way to hold each half still so it cannot turn around the
pivot pin, which would defeat its purpose. Jan Wikström just brazed in a spacer. Other ideas include fashioning a plate
to go over it with a lip that prevents the halves from turning, or ordering four bronze forks and cutting a long half from
each one in such a way that they interlock when bolted into place.
Alan Heartfield’s TWR has a bronze fork in which the holes had been slotted outward to the ends. I do not recommend
this; the tines of the fork are attached here, and cutting open the loop at each end of the fork weakens this attachment
and results in the fork bending here as the handbrake pads wear rather than bending over their length as they are
supposed to. Obviously, you also have to bend the fork to begin with with this idea. Better to cut the fork in half and
space it.
If Aston Martins and Maseratis came with similar brake calipers already spaced, perhaps parts suppliers for those makes
can provide a bronze fork of the correct dimensions.
You also need to address the issue of locking the handbrake pivot pins so they don’t unscrew; the original locking plates
won’t work. You can drill the heads for lockwire -- if you’re really good with a drill; for most of us, that job will require
a drill press. Or you can make your own locking plates from sheet metal. You can combine this homemade locking
plate with the plate needed to hold the bronze fork halves if you want.
Alan Heartfield reports that his TWR does have a locking plate. Apparently TWR either found or made a locking plate
to fit. No known Jaguar part number, though. Again, perhaps finding out what Aston Martin or Maserati did here
would be informative.
Some seem to feel that just omitting the locking plate and tightening the pins securely is good enough. I would not
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recommend this; the length of the pivot pin between the thread and the head is far too short to expect enough “stretch”
to ensure the pins won’t loosen during thermal expansions, and even if it was, this is not a good place to rely on simple
bolt tension to ensure nonrotation. The handbrake calipers are rotating around these pins; if they develop a little friction
in that pivot, they can be trying to forcibly unscrew the pivot pins! This assembly calls for a positive retention feature of
some sort. Lock washers or Loctite are better than nothing, but we are talking about brakes here, do you want to take
chances on something that might hold?
Regardless of whether you buy a kit or assemble your own vented rotors, the lower swingarms may contact the wider
discs during assembly. This must be corrected by some minor grinding on the arms themselves. The problem is obvious;
bolt the rotor to the output flange on the diff, try to swing the lower swingarm up into place, note where it hits the rotor,
and grind metal away from the swingarm until it clears. This doesn’t seem to cause any problems -- this swingarm has
plenty of strength to spare!
Chances are pretty good that your exhaust system looped through the rear cage very close to the bleed screws on the
calipers -- and you just moved those bleed screws 1/4” in the wrong direction. You will find it helpful to disconnect the
exhaust pipes at the adjustable joint just ahead of the IRS and at the front end of the rear muffler and realign them from
scratch. If you have the older style assymetrical exhaust pipe supports within the cage, as discussed in the ROM Section
30.20.02, you should install them the opposite way as shown in that section in order to position the exhaust pipes farther
outboard by about a half inch. Reportedly later cars have a symmetrical support, so it won’t matter which way it is
installed.
When installing the pads, install the new longer pins in the upper end of each caliper from the inboard side outward.
Installing the other way may make them difficult to remove later because the exhaust pipe is in the way. Install the pins
in the lower end of the caliper from the outboard side inward, since the nose of the differential will prevent installing the
other way.
This entire vented brake rotor upgrade is documented in photographs at
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/InboardBrakeUpgrade.html
MORE SERIOUS REAR BRAKE UPGRADE: The rear brake upgrades mentioned above involve a set of spacers and
other small parts to reassemble the OEM calipers wider to fit the wider vented rotors. Alternatively, any of several high-
performance brake manufacturers could provide a completely new rear brake system, complete with fancy racing
calipers -- all of which would obviously cost more. However, if your calipers need rebuilding or replacing, you need to
add the costs of repair to the costs of the upgrade kits before comparing to the cost of an entirely new brake system.
RETROFITTING OUTBOARD BRAKES: When the Jaguar XJ-S was raced competitively, sometimes the inboard
rear brakes were relocated to outboard (whenever such modification wasn’t against the rules, of course). The move to
outboard seems a bit odd since theoretically inboard should be the better configuration from a performance standpoint,
but apparently there were at least two other factors involved. First, the inboard location is prone to getting oil on the
brakes, either dripping off the differential or being blown back from the engine compartment. Second, in any race longer
than a few hours, a heavy car such as a Jaguar will probably need to replace brake pads during a pit stop -- and having to
replace inboard rear brake pads will result in a long pit stop indeed.
Moving the inboard brakes to outboard makes some sense to the everyday driver, too. It will certainly make brake
service easier.
If you feel the need, it shouldn’t be too difficult to retrofit the outboard rear brakes from the XJ40 or mid-90’s XJ-S to
the earlier cars. A cursory inspection of the rear hub carrier from an XJ40 indicates it is a bolt-on retrofit to the XJ-S
suspension. If you don’t have ABS, just leave the sensors out. Chuck Sparks says that this retrofit may require the use
of the XJ40 axle assembly, though. Or, perhaps just the outer stub shaft -- but Sparks says the U-joints are different, so
mating them up might be difficult. Just grab the entire axles while you’re in the junkyard.
Note that when the XJ-S went to outboard rear brakes, it was first fitted with solid rotors, and later upgraded to vented
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rotors. You might prefer to pirate parts from a later car with the vented rotors.
Retrofitting the outboard brakes should actually make the rear end of the car ride a hair higher, since it is taking the
weight of the brakes themselves off the rear springs and putting it directly on the tires. There also may be a slight
difference in the center distance between the outer swingarm pivot centerline and the hub centerline, with the XJ40 being
about 1/4” shorter -- which should also raise the rear ride height by about 1/4”.
Obviously, after all this fiddling is done, you’ll need to realign the rear suspension.
Handbrake/Parking Brake/Emergency Brake/Whatever
In the ROM, under “General Specification Data”, page 04-2, the handbrake is described as “Mechanical, operating on
rear disc pads”. Technically correct, but perhaps misleading; they operate on their own rear disc pads, not on the main
pads that are operated by the footbrake.
CABLE ADJUSTING: In short, don’t. The cable adjuster is right behind the lever under the carpet on the XJ-S
(different location on the XJ12, which has a pull handle under the dash), but is not intended to need adjusting as the pads
wear. The handbrake calipers have a self-adjusting feature and should maintain proper operation of the handbrake
throughout the life of the handbrake pads. If the handbrake seems to need adjustment, the self-adjuster has probably
seized. You should address this; don’t try to get by with adjusting the cable.
Gregory Wells of Coventry West concurs: “The vast majority of handbrake calipers we see in our shop on inboard rear
brake cars are seized and/or frozen up. The things rust up badly in service and whatever grease Jag used on the
handbrake calipers on the assembly line does a wonderful imitation of glue after a few years. I would suggest pretty
strongly that the handbrake calipers be inspected first before performing the cable adjustment.”
Of course, if the calipers have been out for service or some nimnul has been fiddling with the adjustment, the cable may
very well need adjustment. Section 70.35.10 of the ROM stipulates that the handbrake lever should be released and the
cable adjusted so there is some detectable slack. This is misleading. There are two different situations possible, and I
shall explain how to adjust the cable under both conditions.
If the calipers have just been serviced and reinstalled, the self-adjusters within the handbrake calipers are presumably
adjusted fully out and a new bronze fork has been installed in each side to hold the new handbrake pads well away from
the rotor. With the cable not yet in place, the handbrake caliper levers will be pulled outward against their stops by the
spring on each side. Note their position; in fact, you might simply measure the distance between the two cable clevises.
Install the cable, and then adjust the cable to just pull these levers off their stops. The tension of those two springs
should be applied entirely on the cable, not against the stops within the calipers. If the springs are permitted to pull the
levers against their stops, it tends to rock the caliper and pads such that one pad rests against the rotor, which can cause
squeaks as well as premature handbrake pad wear. And, of course, since the caliper will adjust to compensate for that
wear, it will continue to wear until it’s metal-to-metal.
Adjusting the cable this tight will not cause the handbrakes to bind if they aren’t binding to begin with. The self-
adjusters work when the travel of each lever exceeds a certain amount; it doesn’t matter if they start at their stops or a
little off their stops. If the levers never release past a given point, they will never adjust to be binding at that point.
If the system is together and operating but you just read that description above and now realize that your handbrake
cable is adjusted too loosely -- the levers are sitting against their stops when released and the cable is slack -- you’d like
to adjust the cable tighter. Unfortunately, presumably by now the handbrake adjusters have worked, so tightening the
cable adjuster now may cause the pads to drag -- and this is what the instructions in the ROM are warning against.
You have two options. One is to take the handbrake calipers back out and reset the adjusters back to fully out and start
over. Presuming you don’t wanna do that, your most viable option is to adjust the cable tighter gradually, making sure
not to cause the pads to drag.
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If the cable is really sloppy, you can take all the slop out of it right away. As long as you’re not pulling the levers off of
their stops, you’re not really making the handbrakes any tighter, you’re just taking slop out of the cable. Once you have
the cable tightened to the point where the levers are beginning to come off their stops, then you must be careful.
Tighten the cable adjuster only a little bit farther, and check that the wheels still turn freely. Then leave it alone for a
while, allowing the pads to wear a little; you might even opt to make some of your stops while driving by using the
handbrake to help it wear a bit faster. Try not to ever pull the handbrake handle hard enough to cause the adjusters to
tighten up. Then, when you can get the handle up to the first click without any noticeable drag, go back in and adjust it
a bit tighter. Repeat until the levers are just off their stops with the handbrake released.
By the way, the ROM fails to mention that the way to get at that adjuster is to unbolt the seat belt from the floor on the
driver’s side.
DISCONNECTING THE HANDBRAKE CABLE: In the Haynes manual, Chapter 9, Section 18, step 5 describes
disconnecting the handbrake cable from a caliper operating lever by extracting a split pin and a clevis pin. The
arrangement they are describing is illustrated in Fig. 9.18. Must be an XJ12 thing, because the handbrake cable on the
XJ-S isn’t attached that way. The ROM shows the connection correctly.
In the ROM, Section 70.55.04, steps 1 and 2 describe peeling back the carpet near the handbrake handle and backing off
the cable adjusting nuts. This is totally unnecessary; just make sure the handbrake is in the completely released position.
If the cable is adjusted properly, it should not require loosening in order to disengage or reengage the cable at the levers
on the brake. It should be possible to pull the levers together enough to pop the cable off or to pop it back on. Note
that it will require moving both levers, however; one is operated by the cable itself and the other by the housing moving
the opposite direction, but both movements will be needed to disengage the cable.
Step 4 in the ROM starts with “Using suitable lever...” in describing how to disconnect the handbrake cable from the
caliper arm. Any sort of lever is unnecessary; the cable is easily disconnected by hand without tools. Merely pull the
two levers towards each other and pop the cable tip out of the block at the end of the caliper arm on the passenger’s
side. Then pry the little rubber boot off the end of the cable housing at the block at the end of the caliper arm on the
driver’s side (as mentioned in step 5), and slide the cable housing back and out.
HANDBRAKE LEVER DAMAGE: As mentioned above, the cable attachments on the XJ-S don’t require the removal
of a split pin to remove; they can be engaged and disengaged by hand, slipping the cable into each clevis through a slot in
one side. The author found those clevises to be damaged, though. They get spread a little bit, which just makes the
ends of the cable fit loosely in the holes. But the clevis no longer pivots; it gets jammed, since it is spread wider within
the side plates of the arm. It actually spreads the ends of the levers themselves a little bit. This might not be a huge
deal, since they seem to get jammed in nearly the correct position.
This whole situation didn’t seem cause for major concerns; there are no known reports of the thing actually coming
apart in service. Just the same, though, while in there, I made two changes. First, I carefully squeezed the clevises back
to their original shape so that they would spin freely in the lever arms. Second, when refitting the cable, I turned the
clevises around so that the slot faced towards the lever rather than away. This makes cable attachment far more fiddly
since you must feed the end through the tiny gap between the clevis and the lever before sliding it through the slot. The
opening is so tight that it actually wouldn’t fit; I ground three flats on the sides of the cable tip to help get it to fit
through the levers. Once the cable is in place, those flats have no effect. With the clevises turned around this way, it
seems far less likely that they will spread open because the lever itself will prevent them from spreading.
Another option, of course, might be to convert to the other design attachment using the split pin -- but that would
probably require buying new handbrake calipers, and that would require finding them. Perhaps an easier fix would be to
simply cut the weak clevises out and fabricate some replacements with more meat to them.
DUMB MISTAKES WHEN CONNECTING THE HANDBRAKE CABLE: You got the cable off, but now you can’t
get it back on! It turns out that if you're fiddling with the cable end underneath the car and push the cable into the
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housing a bit, it applies the handbrake! Up at the lever inside the car, the same thing happens that would happen if you
pulled the lever up and set it back down: it doesn't look any different, but the handbrake is applied! Doesn't make any
sound, either, no clicks, nothing to tell you what you've done.
You can go into the car, pull up the handbrake, push the button, and lower it back down, and you'll put it back into
released position -- but it's hard to tell you've done anything until you get back under the car and find you have more
slack! And good luck getting the cable latched onto the ends of the levers without accidentally pushing the cable in a
little bit again, and have to get back out from under the car and manipulate the handle again.
HANDBRAKE CALIPER REMOVAL: Both the ROM and the Haynes describe how to remove the handbrake calipers
without dropping the rear subframe from the car. Jan Wikström describes the work: “It’s a fairly tinkery job, and
definitely easier the second time... If you have a reasonable manual with a good picture of the system, patience is really
all you need (you’ll be working by feel as you can’t see the upper side of the handbrake bits).”
Note that the reinstallation is considerably trickier than the removal. The pivot pins in the main caliper that the
handbrake caliper attaches to also hold a bronze fork with tines that insert into holes in the top of each caliper half. The
purpose of this bronze fork is to act as a spring to pull the pads back off the disk a little bit -- but just a little bit. As the
handbrake pads wear and the caliper moves closer to the rotor, it pulls the bronze fork far enough to deform it -- which
leaves it just the right shape to pull the pads back just a little bit again.
So, to ensure proper operation, this means that prior to assembly the tines on the bronze fork should be positioned to
hold the handbrake calipers away from the rotor a little bit. Simultaneously, the caliper adjuster itself should be adjusted
to hold the pads away from the rotor a little bit. So, after the calipers are in with the fork properly installed, the lever on
each handbrake caliper can be manually actuated a few times to allow the self-adjusters to bring the calipers back up near
the rotor -- and properly “set” the bronze fork to be applying the correct amount of retraction. Manually operating the
levers also serves to confirm that both adjusters are working prior to connecting the cable.
Several owners have reported errors in installing the pivot pins -- missing the entire inner boss on the main caliper,
apparently. Bob Gallivan says, “Not only will they thread in but they look to be correct while missing the lower hole
completely. Been there & have the crick in my neck to prove it...” After Carlos Artal was told this might explain the
problems he was having, he reported: “I put the car on ramps again, and proceed to take the h/b calipers off. Well, not
1 or 2 of the fixing bolts were out of place, but 3 of them were, with just one poor guy left there to do all the work!”
Another common problem is that the tines of the bronze fork end up on the disc side of the caliper -- against the disc
side of the pad backing plate -- instead of in the holes in the caliper where they belong.
Tip: Use a pair of 1/4” rods about 3” long to assemble the calipers instead of the pivot pins. This allows you to install
the calipers with these substitute pivots first, then finagle the bronze fork into place (since there are no heads on the
substitute pins), and finally to carefully remove the substitute pins one at a time and replace them with the actual pins.
You can grind a tapered end on the substitute pins to make insertion easier; in fact, you could use 3/16” or 6mm rods
just to make insertion really easy.
If you have the main caliper out, by all means take advantage of the situation and trial-assemble the handbrake calipers
on it before putting it in the car.
HANDBRAKE PAD CHANGE: Since the handbrake calipers on Jaguars with inboard rear brakes are separate from
the main calipers, they also use dedicated pads. Really, these pads should never need replacement -- what are you doing,
using them to slow going downhill or something?
The lining on new handbrake pads is about 7/16” thick, all the way across. However, since the calipers pivot around the
attachments on the main caliper, as they wear they become tapered. This is normal, don’t panic. If they get worn too
far, though, the rear end of the caliper will hit the rotor. The service limit of 1/8” on the main pads is probably a good
number for these pads as well, but you need to be measuring the lining thickness at the thin end.
Technically, the handbrake pads could be removed and reinstalled without taking the handbrake calipers out of the car.
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Unfortunately, that won’t do any good, because to install new (thicker) pads you will need to readjust the self-adjuster
and install a new bronze fork. In other words, the handbrake calipers have to come out.
Do you really need a new bronze fork, or can you just rebend the old one? Well, if the handbrake pads are not being
replaced, you only need to spread the bronze fork a little bit prior to reinstalling, and you will probably get away with it.
If you’re replacing the handbrake pads, though, you will have to spread the bronze fork all the way back to its as-new
shape. Mike Morrin says, “Really bad idea. I have seen a couple of cases where the fork has broken due to metal
fatigue. In itself not a big problem, but both times the rotor was destroyed before the fault was noticed. Always replace
the forks when you have the hand brake calipers off. They are cheap.”
When you go to removing the pads from the handbrake calipers, the ROM, Section 70.40.04, says “remove nut and
spring washer securing pads to brake pad carriers, remove pads.” The Haynes says the same thing in Chapter 9, Section
18, step 10. Removing that nut and spring washer is unnecessary; merely loosen it two full turns and the pad will slide
right out, leaving the bolt, nut and washer loosely in place. They even provided a little hole at the top center of each pad
to make it easier to grab and pull out. Of course, the new pads come with new screws in case you want to replace them,
but there’s really no need unless you strip them or something.
Just getting the nuts loose may be a challenge, though: The nut is 0.325” (8.25mm) across the flats. This isn’t even a
standard Whitworth size! Craig Sawyers says, “The nuts that secure the handbrake pads to the arms are 2BA. And
only a 2BA socket will get in there to remove the nuts.” Paul Burke says, “BA stands for British Association - believe it
or not. BA threads start at size 0 (zero) which is the biggest, and the bolts and nuts get smaller as the number gets
bigger.”
Well, at least you know what to look for. This author used an 11/32” socket which worked but didn’t fit too well; a
21/64” would have been better, if such a thing exists.
The bolt that this nut threads onto has an unusual head, but the threads are standard 10-28 fine thread. So once you get
those weird nuts off, you could put normal-sized nuts on to replace them -- but that might not work well, either. The
nut on the outboard side fits down into a well, and installing a nut with a larger 3/8” hex will probably mean you can’t
get a socket or wrench on it. This author found an excellent solution: the nuts used on military jet aircraft are extremely
high strength and high temperature, yet they are very tiny and require a 12-point box end wrench or socket to install. If
you can find a source for such nuts, they are highly recommended for this application. And you can leave the spring
washer out, since the military nuts are self-locking. You will need to find 12-point sockets or box-end wrenches in 1/4”
or 5/16” sizes; Snap-On makes them. I can guarantee they’ll be easier to find than 2BA -- at least here in the US.
The facing of the handbrake pads is a rectangular shape with a corner cut off diagonally. The end with the corner cut off
diagonally must go towards the rear of the car, or away from the pivots on the main caliper.
All agree on one important point: make very sure the fingers on the bronze fork are correctly in place in the little holes
when it’s all together. If one has slipped out, the handbrake pad will ride against the rotor, and this will damage the
rotor itself in only a few hundred miles.
HANDBRAKE CALIPER REBUILDING: Jan Wikström says, “The self-adjusting ratchet mechanisms in the pad
holders are quite likely to be clogged with semi-carbonized grease and dysfunctional; open the pad holders up, clean out
the ratchet mechanism and grease very lightly with high-temp grease or MoS 2 (molybdenum disulfide). Drowning them
in grease as the factory did is just silly; the ratchets may rotate one turn every few months and don’t really need
lubrication.”
Mack Kamna describes rebuilding the handbrake calipers on Jaguar inboard rear brakes: “In the past my parking brake
lever had to be pulled quite a ways to be effective. I found the self-adjusting nuts to be galled up with dry grease and
very tight on adjuster bolt threads. I cleaned them up and dressed the gear teeth with a small file, then greased both the
adjuster bolt threads (using C5A, anti seize), and the adjuster nut gear teeth (Hi-temp brake grease). I then installed the
handbrake mechanism assembly with new retraction plates, and adjusted the handbrake “system” per the manual. When
I pulled the handbrake lever, you could hear the adjusters smoothly clicking, and the pad assemblies tightened right up. I
make no claims on my choice of lubricants; none of my 3 reference books on this maintenance task mention lubrication,
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they have just worked well for me in the past.
“...With the lever released there is no drag on the rotors, yet it only takes three clicks to make the wheels unmoveable by
hand. I hope this can be of help to those of you who like myself have long suffered anemic handbrakes.”
This author went a different way with lubricants, and lubricated everything in the handbrake caliper self-adjusting
mechanism with graphite only. Graphite is good to extreme temperatures, won’t ever dry out (it’s dry already!), and
won’t collect dust and grit. The only concern is that it might not protect ferrous parts from rusting, and then the rusting
could cause the adjuster to seize up.
HANDBRAKE ADJUSTER LUBRICATION: It is possible to lubricate the adjuster too well. Peter Cohen: “Upon
refitting each handbrake assembly, it is an easy matter to operate the arm to check that the adjustment mechanism is
clicking, and, in fact, to adjust them up. The first one I fitted worked fine. The second one refused to click. I removed
the cover and refitted the mechanism to watch it in action. When the lever arm moves, it moves the piece of spring steel
that has a pawl that is supposed to catch the toothed wheel and drag the toothed wheel back a notch, if necessary. What
was happening on this one was that, when the spring steel moved, it was moving the toothed wheel in both directions,
accomplishing nothing. I couldn't figure out what is supposed to put drag on the toothed wheel to prevent this from
happening. Cleaning all lubricant off the threads wasn't sufficient. I finally applied a bit of dirt to the threads to add
more resistance, and now the adjuster works fine. I'm sure it is not what the designer had in mind, but it worked.”
THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION TO HANDBRAKE PROBLEMS: Some so-called “Jaguar experts” actually
recommend removing the handbrake calipers from the inboard brakes entirely and throwing them away. This is probably
because they can’t figure out how to assemble them correctly. Obviously, it is irresponsible to recommend that an
automobile owner simply remove a piece of safety equipment, but it is interesting to note that the handbrake calipers can
be removed without adversely affecting the operation of the foot brake. The Jaguar is a rare example of a car on which
this is possible.
SCRAPE, SCRAPE, SCRAPE: Ron Ickse describes the cause of a scrape, scrape, scrape sound that seems more
pronounced when turning one direction and goes away when turning the other direction: “I've had this now three times
on Jaguars over 20 years. In each case, it turned out that the retracting spring on the handbrake mechanism on one side
or the other had failed, allowing the handbrake pad to remain in contact with the disk. Eventually, the pad wears down
to the metal, so then you hear metal-to-metal contact. If the disk isn't quite true, you'll get the characteristic intermittent
scraping noise. Fiddly but not particularly expensive to mend, if you (or your mechanic) knows what's what with Jaguar
brakes.”
TWR Rear Brakes
The rear brakes on a TWR are essentially the same idea as the do-it-yourself mod described starting on page 441; in fact,
the www site listed includes a page of pictures of the rear brakes on Alan Heartfield’s TWR.
Heartfield used Essex (see page 442) just to get replacement disks for his TWR since it proved easier and cheaper than
trying to find genuine TWR parts. There are other companies that can provide such discs, including Wilwood.
Ordering discs through Essex involves filling out a “Custom Brake Disc Order Form” which they can fax to you. In the
middle of the form there is a chart where you must fill in “Nominal Dimensions” of the discs you need. Fill the form in
as follows:
ØA B ØC ØD E MOUNTING HOLES APPROX.
WEIGHT
OUTSIDE THICKNESS EYE FLANGE OFFSET NO. DIAMETER ØM
DIAMETER DIAMETER INSIDE
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DIAMETER PCD
10-3/8” 0.78” 6-3/4” 4.90” 0.39” 6 1/4” 5.50”
The rest of the form is self-explanatory -- name, address, credit card number, etc. You can opt for tricky stuff like cross
drilling or face grooves if you want. Essex will quote you a price once they get the form.
Note: the design shown starting on page 441 is not exactly the same as that used in the TWR -- 8 mounting holes vs. 6
-- so don’t use the Essex order form shown there for getting replacement discs for your TWR.
Heartfield’s TWR happens to have a Dana final drive unit. With the TWR vented rear brake design, it appears that the
calipers were offset inboard by about 1/8”. This may have been accomplished by milling 1/8” off the calipers themselves
or off the mounting bosses on the Dana final drive unit. If you need to replace either the calipers or the final drive unit
on a TWR, you should check these parts carefully to see if the replacements will need to be modified accordingly. If the
Dana final drive is replaced with a Salisbury (the standard repair procedure) it would appear that 1/8” spacers would be
required between the calipers and the output shaft mount flanges -- spacers that would probably be lots of fun installing.
If you run into stuff like this, you might opt to rebuild the calipers or final drive unit rather than replace them -- or you
might opt to machine a 1/8” step in the inner hubs of your rotors like the ones shown on page 443, since the purpose of
that step is to provide an assembly that doesn’t require offsetting the calipers.
Outboard Rear Brakes
Chad Bolles says the outboard brakes used on the later XJS are exactly the same as those used on the XJ40. Stephen
Gibson says, “Outboard brakes on the XJS started at VIN 188105 with the solid rear disc for the 4.0 and 6.0 litre. The
vented rear discs came in at VIN 198335.”
Handbrake/Parking Brake/Emergency Brake/Whatever
The handbrake used with the outboard brakes on the later XJS is actually a drum brake within the center portion of the
disk rotor. Stephen Gibson says, “The outboard handbrake mechanism and shoes are identical for the XJ40 and XJS
installation. When the vented rear discs came in the same handbrake mechanism and shoes were retained. They
naturally have the same part numbers.”
HANDBRAKE LEVER JAMMING: This has only been reported on the cars with outboard rear brakes. The
handbrake will not release, no matter what. Gary Penovich says, “One thing to try before you go through all this is to
make sure the hand grip is back as far as it will go on the lever, before pushing the button. It has a habit of moving
forward, and blocking one's thumb from pushing the button in far enough to release the brake.” Of course, you might
just opt to take the grip off and throw it away.
The problem probably isn’t the grip, though. “It can be fixed. But, unfortunately, to really get good access to the lever
assembly, you need to remove the four bolts holding the drivers seat to the floor, and tilting the seat up and away from
the lever.
“Once you have good access to the lever assembly, remove the plastic cover. I believe it is held on with only one screw.
Once off, you will see that the lever terminates at a flat, round metal plate. In the inner area of this plate is a slot. In the
slot is a relatively thin, curved, metal rod. That rod is supposed to move with the lever/plate, when you press the thumb
button and move the lever. Unfortunately, it appears that the lever can be over-tightened, causing the rod not to be able
to engage properly in the slot.
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“Take a large, flat-head screwdriver, and jam it into the slot, so that when you move the lever, the rod will move with it.
That will force the rod to disengage the brake. Once disengaged, spray some WD-40 around the whole mechanism, and
up inside the underside of the lever in the channel where the rod travels. Also, check the mechanism a number of times
before putting the cover and seat back.”
Brian Jamieson had the same problem: “I was able to remove the cover on the handbrake lever without removing the
seat.” He used a Pozidriv tip for an interchangeable-tip screwdriver. “It is only one inch long and with the seat moved
forward and the back tilted forward I could get this on the screw and turn it with a small quarter inch wrench. When I
got the cover off I pushed/levered the small rod that is connected to the button and then pushed down on the handbrake
cable which dropped down and released. I think the cable was binding where it goes into the outer cover. Anyway,
problem solved for the time being.”
ABS Brakes
Antilock Braking System (ABS) brakes have gotten a lot of press. Essentially, the system involves sensors in the wheels
that sense when a wheel has stopped turning and releases the brake on that wheel. When the wheel resumes turning, the
brake is reapplied. If the brakes are applied forcefully enough, this results in a “pulsing” as the brakes to each wheel are
cyclically applied and released.
When initially developed, ABS was expected to provide a considerable safety benefit; in fact, many auto manufacturers
pursued development of ABS in expectation that it would later be required on US cars. After a few years of voluntary
application (typically on higher-end cars such as the XJ-S), accident statistics failed to confirm any safety benefit, so
proposals to require ABS have been stifled.
In a straight line on dry pavement, ABS brakes do little good; a car with comparable conventional brakes can stop in
essentially the same distance. However, the application is different; on the car with conventional brakes, the driver can
achieve the best stopping distance by applying the brakes as hard as possible without locking the wheels, and many
skilled drivers are very adept at doing so. On the car with ABS brakes, the driver might as well simply jam the pedal as
hard as possible and let the ABS work. While this was originally expected to be one of the safety benefits -- the driver
no longer needs to be skilled at braking -- it is theorized that this is in fact one of the reasons the statistics haven’t
panned out; the driver is still trying to modulate the brakes carefully as before, and he and the ABS system don’t work
together well and result in longer stopping distances.
In a straight line on wet pavement, ABS has little benefit as well. Since the car does not stop as quickly, there is less
weight shift from rear to front, and a set of conventional brakes with fixed proportions between rear and front may lock
the front wheels. However, the vast majority of conventional braking systems had addressed this problem decades ago,
providing more rear braking at light pedal pressures with the emphasis shifting forward as the pressure increased.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of ABS here is control, since a car with the wheels locked may turn sideways on slick
pavement.
In a straight line with water or oil only on one side of the car, ABS offers a major benefit. If the conventional brakes are
applied hard, one side of the car will slide and the car will turn violently. Alternatively, if the brakes are not applied that
hard, it takes a long distance to stop. ABS allows the brakes on the dry side to be applied hard while the brakes on the
wet side are kept from sliding, and the car can be brought to a rapid halt in controlled fashion.
In a curve, ABS provides perhaps its greatest benefit. If conventional brakes are locked in a curve, the car will slide in a
straight line, which runs it off the side of the curve and into a tree or over a cliff. Skilled drivers know this and never
apply the brakes hard in a curve; they will aim the car straight, even if it’s aimed off the road, before applying the brakes
hard. With ABS, however, it is perfectly workable to apply the brakes hard in a curve, since the wheels won’t lock and
control will be maintained. Since the curve causes a weight shift to the outside, the outside brakes can be applied
forcefully without locking the lightly-loaded inside wheels. However, this is yet another possible reason that ABS hasn’t
lived up to its promise of increased safety; drivers may still refuse to apply the brakes hard in a curve.
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Loose-packed snow, gravel, or the like, may be one of ABS’s most notorious shortcomings. On such surfaces, the
quickest way to stop a car is often to lock up the wheels and let them dig in. However, ABS prevents this from
happening, so the car seemed to roll along forever, pulsing all the way. If the car ahead doesn’t have ABS and has dug
its wheels in and stopped in short order, this can be a real problem.
Richard Drozdowski says, "Shifting to neutral is almost a must for an XJ-S in the snow or ice. Leaving it in drive tends
to push the car ahead and plays havoc with the ABS. The immediate ABS chatter greatly increases stopping distances."
Of course, stunt drivers don’t care for ABS. When you see those guys in the movies spin the car around backwards and
take off in the other direction, rest assured they do not have ABS; that 180º spin requires that the steering wheel be
turned first one way, then the other way hard and the brakes locked. With ABS, they’d probably just drive off the side
of the road.
ABS SYSTEM TYPES: ABS brakes were introduced on the XJ-S in March of 1988 (midst of 1988 MY) with the
Teves Mk III system, and this system was used until early 1995. The Mk III system can be distinguished by having an
electric pump and an accumulator ball; they're on the right side under the hood on LHD cars. It also has no vacuum-
operated power brake booster; the master cylinder, which is a long, convoluted assembly, is bolted directly to the pedal
housing. The air filter housings on the V12 engine were shifted forwards to accommodate this master cylinder.
From 1995.25 on, Jaguar switched to the simpler Teves Mk IV ABS system for the XJ-S. There is no accumulator ball,
and there is a vacuum power brake booster. In fact, the power brake booster as well as the master cylinder look
remarkably like the pre-ABS components.
ALWAYS USE DOT 4 FLUID: Greg Meboe clarifies: “ABS systems call for (and need) DOT 4 fluid. Not DOT 3, not
“DOT 5” (silicone). This is not the same thing as the early British systems. The fluid required in the 50/60’s cars must
be compatable with the rubber used. The fluid readily available in the US for this just so happens to be DOT 4 spec.
ABS systems require the boiling point (wet) of DOT 4 fluid, and don’t care about being compatable with old British
rubber.”
Reportedly, Pat Goss, the host of the TV show Motor Week, said the following: “Never use silicon brake fluid in an
ABS system! [Silicon] brake fluid doesn’t like the pumping action of the ABS pump. The pistons move so rapidly that
it causes the silicon to foam and all of a sudden you have aerated fluid and you have a pedal that’s on the floor.”
PAD CHANGE: If the car has ABS brakes and the calipers are pressed back, fluid within the calipers is forced back up
the lines and into the master control system. Since the fluid that has been within the calipers for some time often has a
high degree of contamination (wear particles from the cylinder walls, etc.), when this fluid is backed into the controls it
tends to cause problems -- and very expensive problems at that. It is suggested that when pressing the calipers back
(like when installing new pads) to open the bleed port and allow the fluid to drain rather than pushing it back up the
lines.
Perhaps this isn’t a bad idea with any brakes.
ABS TESTING: Michael Neal writes: “I do extreme situation ABS test on cars during major services. I get quite a
few surprises. Even from a moderate speed of 45 mph I’ve had cars yank the steering wheel out of my hands and the car
ends up rotating 30 or 40 degrees. This is usually caused by a sticking piston or slide on a caliper.”
Pat Goss, the host of the TV show Motor Week, reportedly advised to “exercise” the ABS at least once a month on a
gravel road or in a wet parking lot -- meaning, jam the brakes and let the ABS kick in.
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Teves Mk III ABS system
TEVES Mk III ABS OPERATION: Here’s a brief synopsis of how the Teves Mk III ABS brakes work: There is an
electric pump and a pressure accumulator that provide pressurized fluid. When the brake pedal is depressed, the pedal
linkage moves a piston within a chamber in the ABS master cylinder. This piston directly applies pressure to the fluid
leading to the front brakes, which means the front brakes will work even if the pump stops working.
This leads some to conclude that the front brakes are not assisted, but they are mistaken. The force applied to this
piston also actuates a valve that allows pressurized fluid to enter the chamber behind this piston, helping push it forward
and applying the front brakes. The result is a 4:1 power assist on the front brakes when the system is working properly.
The pressurized fluid applied behind that piston to assist the front brakes is also ported directly to the rear brakes. The
rear brakes are therefore actuated entirely by the power assist to the front brakes. If the pump fails you will have no rear
brakes whatsoever, save for the handbrake. Combined with the loss of power assist on the front brakes, the fact that
something is very wrong with your brakes will be apparent immediately -- even without all those warning lights lit up on
the dashboard.
Now to the ABS operation. There are three systems here: the LF, the RF, and the rear. Each of these has two solenoid
valves within the valve block. If a wheel sensor detects that a wheel has stopped rotating, the first solenoid valve closes
off the line from the master cylinder so no further pressure can be applied to that caliper. Then the next solenoid valve
opens, relieving some of the pressure within that caliper back to the brake fluid reservoir. As soon as the wheel sensor
detects that the wheel has begun rotating again, the second valve closes and then the first valve opens, applying more
pressure to the caliper. In practice this all happens over and over very quickly, leading to the characteristic pulsing of
the pedal.
With the rear brakes that are fed entirely by the pump, that’s all there is to it. With the pedal-operated fronts, however,
this alternate relieving and repressurizing would quickly allow the brake pedal to fall to the floor. So there is one more
valve involved that applies pressurized fluid directly to the front brake circuits during ABS operation to keep the pedal
up.
ERRORS IN THE MANUALS: Page 70-4 of Volume 4 of the 1987-on Service Manuals (JJM 10 04 06/20) includes
diagrams of the ABS booster unit and a description of how it works. At one point it says "The control valve (3 Fig. 2)
opens the unpressurized booster chamber to the reservoir (9 Fig. 2);" The sentence is correct, but the reference to item
9 in Figure 2 is not. Item 9 is the master cylinder piston. There is no item number marking the booster chamber, but it's
the chamber surrounding items 2 and 4 in Figure 2.
Item 1 on Figure 2 is called an actuator piston several times, but farther down on the same page they call it an "actuator
plate". That's just to confuse you.
Later in that same sentence, the term "preset pedal force" is used. The word "preset" is there just to confuse you. Just
leave that word out and you'll understand the sentence better.
On page 70-9, the text says that item 2 in Figure 2 is the connection to the reservoir. This is incorrect; item 2 is the
connection to the booster circuit. The connection to the reservoir is unlabelled but it is to the left of item 2. I think. I
think Figure 2 is somewhat incorrect as well, showing the valve in energized position.
Mike McGaw and Brian Rice add another glitch: "The document in question is March 1991 XJS Service Manual
Volume 5 Section 90, page 90.5.10-1. This schematic clearly shows the switch states on the pressure switch as normally
closed (whether under pressure or at no pressure is not clear from the drawing). Furthermore, although the document is
dated 1991, the schematic does not show the presence of the Brake Inverter Relay, which is clearly on 1990 and later
cars." You can read about that Brake Warning Inverter Relay below under the Blue Top Combination Switch.
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OTHER RESOURCES: Mike McGaw points out that the Teves Mk III system in the XJ-S is similar to the Teves Mk
II system in the Buick Reatta, the Ford SC Thunderbird, as well as a few Lincoln models. There are very active
enthusiast sites for the Buick Reatta online such as http://www.reatta.net which even offers downloadable GM repair
manuals. This also presents myriad possibilities for obtaining replacement parts at reasonable prices.
ECU: The ECU for the Teves Mk III system is in the left side of the trunk. The part number is DAC10056.
BLEEDING: Stefan Schulz points out that the bleeding procedure for the Mk III ABS brakes is neither obvious nor
similar to normal brakes. “Details are in section 70.25.02 of the service manual. Most ABS repair operations refer
specifically to these procedures, so I guess they're kinda important.”
FAULT CODES: George Balthrop says, "The diagnostic connector in the boot, beside the ABS ECU, has 3 wires:
Black, Red/Black and Brown/Pink. On my '89, the diagnostic plug is a round, black cylinder, ~ 5/8" diameter, with
three female sockets.
"With the ignition OFF, put a jumper between the Black wire and the Brown/Pink wire, and the blink code will begin on
the warning lamp in 6 seconds from turning on the ignition to the run position.
"See page 70-22 of the Jaguar Service Manual for the procedure, and subsequent pages for the codes. Each code has
two digits. For example, if you see two flashes, then a pause of approximately 2 seconds, and then 3 flashes, that would
be code 23. There is a pause of approximately 6 seconds between codes, and you may have two or more codes.
"There are several dozen codes, and you need to determine where the fault is on your vehicle by using the codes. What
someone else had happen to them would not be helpful to you. Perhaps the most frequent fault is a dirty sensor (the
code tells you which wheel), or a damaged wire or corroded connector to the sensor."
Peter Cohen adds, "The ECU is only capable of dealing with one type of fault code at a time, e.g. code 21 will display,
but code 22 will not; instead the blink sequence will move to the next fault type, code 31 or higher. Therefore, on
completion of the required maintenance work, carry out the ECU memory erase procedure, then repeat the blink display
diagnosis procedure. This will indicate any remaining or new faults in the system.
"To erase memory, drive the car at a speed greater than 19MPH (30 KmPH)."
FIX THE EASY STUFF FIRST: Stephen L Abigail describes how he fixed his brakes: "I pulled the ABS relay (yellow
one under passenger side of dash), cleaned the terminals and everything's back to normal. I spoke to a Jag mechanic
about this and he said "Yeah, that sometimes happens"."
HEAT: Several owners have reported problems with their ABS systems stuck in traffic on hot days that went away
when things got cooler. That's clearly not good, but it's unknown at this point what causes the heat-related issues.
It is clear, though, that the pump itself is not rated for continuous operation. The manuals warn against allowing it to
run more than two minutes at a time, and it must be allowed to cool down in between. Perhaps, if these drivers were on
and off the brakes a lot (understandable in a traffic jam), they inadvertently caused the pump to run too much and quit
due to overheating.
RESERVOIR CLEANING: With a conventional brake system, the fluid in the reservoir just sits there. With the Mk III
ABS system, it is moving all the time -- and is subject to flow restrictions. Roger Calvert reports: “I cleaned out the
brake fluid reservoir because the outlet to the pump was blocked with sludge etc. After 18 years I guess that even with
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regular fluid changes there will be some 'stuff' that remains at the bottom of that lower part of the reservoir. The clue
was that the pump whine would change as some fluid got through, then got noisier as it could only get air. It wasn't that
difficult a job to do, just a bit messy.”
FLUID LEVEL: Peter Cohen writes, "The ABS cars do not have a problem with a poor quality float in the brake fluid
reservoir, but they are very sensitive to even slightly low fluid. Mine will flash while the fluid level is still above the
minimum line, but topping it up always cures it."
ACCUMULATOR TESTING: The Mk III ABS system includes a black ball that serves as a pressure reservoir to allow
the brakes to operate several times after the pump has been shut off. This accumulator contains a diaphragm and a
charge of nitrogen. If the incidence of failure reports on the online discussion list is any indication, if you have a Teves
Mk III ABS system you will be replacing this black ball sooner or later.
When the diaphragm charge is deteriorating, the pump will kick on more often. When it comes on every application or
runs constantly, you need a new accumulator. Rusty Beard: “This is a primary concern. I have had the brakes totally
fail due to my own negligence. The equipment gets hot, as the pump is not engineered for 100% duty. Please know
how active your brake pump is. If it is extremely active, call your favorite parts supplier and buy a new pressure bulb,
like right now.”
Just in case you have any doubts at all regarding the condition of your accumulator or the rest of your ABS system,
George Balthrop relates a comprehensive checkout procedure that was developed by the XJ40 guys:
"The data below is from tests on my '89 XJ-S which has a 5-year-old accumulator. I ran these same tests when the
accumulator was only 2 years old and got essentially the same results.
"How long your pump will run at startup depends in large degree on how long it has been since the pump last ran, as the
system slowly loses pressure after shutdown. The best way to get some uniformity in the results is to fully deplete
system pressure before testing. So before putting the key in the switch, press and release the brake pedal until the pedal
goes hard.
"Turn off the blower switch, the radio, and anything else that will produce noise, as you want to be able to hear the
brake electric pump hum from near the right A post, and hear the pump relay click from the right/auxiliary component
panel (above right footwell).
"Use a stopwatch to measure time and record as follows:
1. Turn key to run position and start watch; record seconds before "Brake" light extinguishes, but keep watch
running; this took about 40 seconds on my 89 XJ-S.
2. Continue to time until the pump hum ceases and the pump relay clicks (must listen carefully as these are hard to
hear); this took 52 seconds on my 89;
3. With the key still on, press and release the brake pedal until you hear the pump run/relay click (then quit
pressing the pedal), and time the pump run until the relay clicks again to shut the pump off; on my 89, the
pump began to run in 2 to 3 presses of the pedal, and ran for 4 seconds before shutoff.
4. Turn the key OFF. Press and release the brake pedal, counting the presses, until the pedal goes fully hard. On
my 89, about half-way through the process, the pedal feels like it is hitting a stop after it moves maybe two
inches, but this is not fully hard -- keep pressing and counting. My 89 took about 40 presses to go completely
hard.
"This last test (4) is the definitive test for the accumulator. The tests 1 - 3 are tests of the pump, pump control circuit,
and the combined pressure warning switch."
BUYING A NEW ACCUMULATOR: OK, so where do you buy a new black ball? It’s Jaguar part number JLM1907;
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the dealer will charge you about $200. You could go to the source; Peter Cohen says, “The ABS Accumulator Ball is
made by Lemfoerder Metallwaren GmbH, 28036 Bremen, Germany. Part Number is 834 000 008 if you happen to be in
a place where you can buy or order Lemfoerder parts.”
Note that the 1988-89 XJ40 uses a different accumulator, JLM11659, which will not fit the XJ-S. In fact, the entire
ABS brake system in the 1988-89 XJ40 is Girling rather than Teves. The XJ40 switched to a Teves system for 1990,
though, and uses the JLM1907 from then on.
But there are lots of cars that have ABS brakes, and there are even lots of cars that have Teves ABS brakes. Including
GM cars. Joe Calandriello says, “The original accumulator ball can be replaced with an AC Delco part #25528382. It
can be bought at any GM dealer for around $156.00, which is quite a bit cheaper than the original ball. Napa also said
they could order it, but their price was about $177.00. I replaced mine with the AC Delco and the #'s stamped on the
ball were the same and both said made in Germany; looked identical to me.”
Andrew Weinberg confirms it’s not just an interchangeable part, it’s the same part: “The GM part is identical to the Jag;
virtually every marking on the two parts (and there were about 4-5 different number sequences) are the same, including
a pressure rating- 210 Bar. I also checked the threads -- they are the same, and the GM part also has the same hex drive
in the top. It does have a spiffy yellow warning label on it that's different, but who cares? This is an original part for the
Buick Reatta. This was for my '89 convert, but I imagine it is the same for all XJ-S with the Teves Mk III system.
Check it out. And the price is only $87 or so.”
Bryan LaPlante says, “I not long ago replaced my ABS accumulator ball in the '90 XJ-S -- with a ball listed for the
Pontiac 6000. Probably same as the Reatta part, but a lot cheaper car! Took a bit of cross-number checking, but it
bolted up fine and looks identical.”
Hey, we’re talking Delco here; there are people selling parts cheap. Peter Cohen says, “You can buy the ABS
accumulator from Keltner's Automotive (800) 666-3311 (http://www.keltners.com) under AC Delco part number
25528382 for US $72.62.” Hey, don’t hold this book to the price, but clearly it pays to shop online.
Another option, believe it or not, is to have the original ball renovated. Alan Baker says, “I've recently had the sphere
re-charged by Pleiades UK (01487 831239) for about 1/3 cost of a new one. Note that they are more used to re-
working the XJ40 sphere which has a larger diameter thread, so be aware. The spheres lose around 10% pressure every
year. As long as they aren't completely de-pressurised they can usually be re-charged. Look into the sphere, the
diaphragm should be seen easily if there is pressure. If the diaphragm is all the way in, chances are the sphere is scrap.”
INSTALLING YOUR NEW ACCUMULATOR: Rusty Beard described how to remove the ball; basically, you apply
the brakes hard about 50 times with the ignition off to bleed off any pressure in the system. Then you wrap a rag
around the threads to catch fluid (it will leak some), then unscrew the old ball and screw on the new one.
Peter Cohen says, “When I did mine, I mistakenly took it to mean "put a rag underneath the threads". Since what
happens is that fluid sprays out from 360 degrees, Rusty's instructions are spot on. Just don't misread them.”
Schulz feels the spray is due to inadequate pumping. “The ROM says to discharge the brake accumulator by stomping
on the pedal twenty times before attacking it. I stomped on the pedal forty times for good measure and still, when I
unscrewed it, brake fluid squirted out far and wide. Not good. Make that sixty full-pedal-travel stomps next time.”
Cohen: “I don't think the number of times you pump the pedal has any effect. I think I pumped 50 times.”
Schulz adds, “The ROM also says that the brake pedal should go hard when the accumulator is discharged. With the
new accumulator the transition from soft to hard on discharge is sudden and noticeable; with the old one it wasn't.”
John S. Whitford says, "I pumped the brake pedal around 100 times. I had no pressure when I unscrewed it."
Kevin Darling says, "Pumping the brakes another few dozen times beforehand left me with no pressure or spray either.
Terrific! The Book should be changed to make that 100 times instead of just 50. :-)"
Schulz also notes that discharging the accumulator will raise the fluid level in the reservoir. If it’s too high to begin with,
it “results in a nice little fountain of brake fluid out of the valve in the reservoir cap when you discharge the
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accumulator.”
There's a little hex on the top of the ball. You might not need to use it. "I used a large C Clamp to hold aluminum
casting in place whilst removing ball w/ strap type filter wrench, worked great!"
Perhaps it doesn't work for everyone, though. Darling says, "I actually had tried the oil filter wrench thing yesterday...
all that happened was that I ended up with a very expensive wrench. :-) The hex bit did the trick, though. I bought a
Lisle #12560 8mm Hex Brake Caliper Bit and after some teeth gritting pulls, the accumulator ball finally went "snap!"
and broke loose."
Do you need to bleed the system after changing the accumulator? Cohen: “Prior to changing my black ball, I put the
question to the list about whether or not bleeding was necessary. The answer was "not necessary". That didn't seem
right to me, but, following ball replacement, the brakes worked fine without bleeding.”
Schulz disagrees. “The repair procedure in the ROM does not suggest bleeding anything after replacing the
accumulator. Since the pedal was ridiculously spongy after I did the work, I bled pump, fronts and rears anyway. Pedal
was firm afterwards. Bleeding should be part of the job.” Of course, it’s possible that Schulz’s system would have bled
itself within a few minutes of running if he had left it alone.
COMBINATION SWITCH: This switch is mounted on the same manifold as the accumulator. It controls the ABS
hydraulic pump and also turns on the malfunction indicator lamp if the pressure drops too low. There are two versions,
a "black top" P/N JLM1465 and a "blue top" P/N JLM1908. The black top switch was used on the ABS system in the
XJ-S through VIN 165790, and the blue top from VIN 165791 on. The blue top switch was also used in the XJ40.
Mike McGaw describes a failure of a combination pressure switch: "I began to see intermittent ABS lights, then
constant light. I could not find the problem initially, but it turned out that the pressure switch failed. And it failed in the
most peculiar manner: the case ruptured where the plastic body came into the metal housing. Evidently, fluid got past
the seals in the switch and managed to pressurize a region of the switch that should have never seen pressure. This
began innocuously enough, and the symptoms presented over several days before I got a constant red ABS warning
light."
BLACK TOP COMBINATION SWITCH REPLACEMENT: The black top switch is reportedly NLA. The blue top
switch is not the same; the contacts that control the pump are fine, but the contacts for the malfunction indicator lamp
are reversed logic -- one is open when the other is closed and verse visa. Some owners have figured out how to make
the blue top switch work by adding a relay, but don't bother with that; here's a better way to replace the black top
switch, courtesy of "Dave": "Over the weekend I installed a GM pressure switch on the Teves ABS pump in my 89
XJ-S. The GM part no is 25533700. Got it from gmpartsdirect.com for $88 including shipping (NAYY). My local GM
dealer wanted $130 + tax. The switch fits fine except that the electrical connector is different. I ended up buying the
mating connector from the dealer (discounted to $56 + tax, ouch!). The connector part no is 12117277, gmpartsdirect
has them for $40 + handling + shipping.
"The connector pins on the Jag part (my car used JLM1465) are numbered 1 through 5. The GM pins are numbered A
through E. I tested both switches by clamping them in a vise and gradually depressing the plunger while monitoring
continuity between the pins. Oddly enough, pins 1 and A correspond, 2 and B, etc. I simply noted the wire color code,
cut the Jag connector off and spliced the GM connector on (connector includes crimp splices). The GM part is slightly
longer, but does clear the side of the engine bay.
"I had suspected the accumulator was the cause of the ABS warning light coming on every time I used the brakes. Then
I noticed that the switch was leaking brake fluid around the threads, so at the very least the switch was bad. Glad I
replaced the switch first!"
BLUE TOP COMBINATION SWITCH REPLACEMENT: The blue top switch is easy enough to find; you just need
to fork over "about $550-$700, depending on whom you ask." Forget that, use the GM switch described above instead.
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"My wife's 1990 XJ-S developed a bad ABS accumulator and pressure switch. I replaced them with GM parts and
have a recommendation for the re-wiring to accommodate the different GM switch logic.
"Make a 2 or 3 inch wire link with a 1/4 inch spade connector at each end. Pull the ''Brake Warning Inverter Relay'' out
and set it in the spares box. In our US Spec car the relay was green in a red socket behind the driver's side knee bolster.
Stick the wires from your wire link in pins 85 and 30 of the relay socket. The relay was there to invert the signal from
the Jag switch which is inverted from the GM version. Doing away with the relay brings you back to function and
generates a spare part. Now how many Jag fixes can do that?"
STEENKIN' DIODE: Andpa says, "I have a 1990 5.3 that recently had abs failure. It kept blowing the pump fuse.
After replacing pumps and various items, I spent many hours tracing for a wiring fault and eventually found the diode in
the wiring where it goes through the inner guard had failed. After spending 50c AUS all is well."
Philip describes his analysis: "The fuse blows with the pump and the ecu disconnected. A brown with blue stripe wire
going to the pump is the same color as the one going to my blown fuse, also a black wire going to the pump. I checked
continuity on the black wire with bare metal, my meter beeps. Checked it on the brown/blue wire, my meter beeps!"
Peter Cohen responds: "No, don't tear the dash apart. It's not in there. Looking at my car, it appears that the wiring
goes under the right side fender brace and enters the firewall behind the transmission dipstick. If you look at the inner
fender just where the brace meets it, you will see several items hanging off the wiring harness. They are shrink wrapped
with the wires on one side and flattened on the other. The wrapping may or may not be red. These are diodes. I have
one that is labeled -/\/\/\--|>- which suggests a resistor diode. The wiring diagram suggests that the wires to the diode
will be white & blue.
"Keep in mind that cut insulation shorting the Brown/Blue wire will do the same thing as a shorted diode, so check the
condition of the wire carefully."
"If you want to jettison the existing NU wire circuit and re-create it, rather than finding where it is shorted, you could do
that. I would recommend re-creating it with the diode and ground connection, like it was originally, mainly because I
have to assume it was there for a reason, even though I don't know what that reason is." The reason is almost certainly
to absorb reverse voltage spikes from the inductive pump motor; see page 559. Without the diode it would work for a
while, but the control relay wouldn't last long.
PUMP INLET SCREEN: Mike McGaw reports, "I removed and disassembled the pump/motor; the assembly comes
apart with two cap screws and reveals, among other things, a very fine fluid filter. On mine, the filter was perhaps 5-
10% clogged with a gelled substance. I dipped it in clean brake fluid to clean it as best I could, and reassembled this unit
and reinstalled it."
PUMP TESTING: Ron R. says, "I can hear my pump come on, run and stop but I always have an ABS light on, this
wasn't of much concern until I got near the bottom of a long curvy hill and was using both feet on the pedal and pulling
on the steering wheel as well, all the while trying to look relaxed so the wife wouldn't panic! But we barely stopped
before some behaviour unbecoming to the Jaguar name occurred between us and an econobox.
"Anyway, I get no error codes from ABS ECU, but I followed the troubleshooting guide in the Jaguar service manual.
Brakes worked unless used frequently, pump cycled on/off, but the one light never went off. The ABS test from Service
manual section 10 step 9 led me to believe it was accumulator so I replaced it with one from GM parts direct. That
didn't fix it so I went to Hydraulic System pressure test section 70.00.00. The pressure never made it to 190 bar in 60
seconds or more for that matter. So continuing it says 1. Check pump voltage if greater than 10 volts renew pump, if
less than 10 insp. pump motor line. 2. Check for corroded contacts (mine had this, cleaned no change). 3. Check
reservoir filter, remove hose from pump and check for free flow through filter and hose if flow good and time to reach
190 bar greater than 60 secs renew pump. This is how I arrived at changing pump.
"I checked the pressure right at the pump outlet high pressure hose using a small length of bubble flared brake line,
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adapted to NPT and a hydraulic pressure guage. My original pump did not make the 180-200 bar even if I hotwired
pump to run manually. I purchased a used pump off ebay and the new one shot past 180 bar so fast I couldn't get the
wires unhooked fast enough before I hit 210 bar (3000+ psi). Note to self here, if you're going to pressurize a closed
circuit to 3000+ psi you should leave yourself a way to release pressure instead of 2 wrenches wrapped in a rag. No
harm came of it, just a little messy."
HIGH PRESSURE HOSE REPLACEMENT: Tom Bennett reports, "I have an '88 ABS car and recently needed to
change the high pressure hose. Any of you who have had to do the same will know how dammed expensive this
particular hose is! As I was doing my brake hoses in Braided Teflon I figured the same stuff would be ok to use for this
hose also; the only problem is the banjo, it's a special! Solution is to cut the banjo end from your old hose and drill and
tap it (I used a 3/8" unf tap, cause that's what I had). Then use a short 3/8" unf bulkhead male fitting on that end of the
hose. For the other end, the part is a "Female bulkhead fitting with a 10mm x 1.0 thread pitch " available off the shelf.
One could apply the same technique as the banjo end if you cannot find this fitting. Then get your hose made up to the
length you require."
COMPONENT REBUILDING: That actuator assembly full of control valves where a master cylinder should be can be
rebuilt. Stephen Gibson says you'll need a "Valve Block Repair Kit", JLM 11337. Prepare for sticker shock; the kit is
more than $500.
Peter Cohen says "Rebuilt ABS control modules are available in the US from Wagner (or resold from Wagner by A1
Cardone & Parts Master) and in the UK from BBA Remanufacturing. The hydraulic unit + pump & motor assembly are
also available in the US from the same sources. None of them are cheap, but they are a lot less than new ones."
WHEEL SENSOR ISSUES: Rusty Beard reports: "After start up, the '89 XJ-S would go thru normal light sequence,
then after a short roll down the driveway it would light the ABS light. From that point on, it would stay on thru the rest
of the trip. Heavy braking confirmed that the ABS was inactive, but brakes were present and fully active, just in a non-
ABS action.
"The ABS culprit was the front-left wire to the ABS magnetic wheel sensor. The wire is a simple shielded one, and the
shield was broken. One call to the local Jaguar Dealer indicated that the part has a retail list of $260 and my "Good
Guy" price was $214. (wowza!). I'm sure other vendors can get it for somewhat less, but I was trying to get this done
-- now, not later.
"Reeling in shock from the price, I started to closely examine that wire. Hmmmm. It's just a simple shielded wire, kinda
like a thin piece of coax. So, I treated it as a piece of coax, and I did a repair to the shield. I unplugged the sensor from
the connector while doing the repair, and did a quality shield repair that my dear ole dad would be proud of.
"It works! ABS is back, the lights go out, and the test-drive indicated that all is well."
WHEEL BEARING FLOAT: LaRue Boyce says, “If you have trouble with the ABS unit, check out the front wheel
bearing float; it will cause the sensor to report brake problems when it is working fine.”
Teves Mk IV ABS System
As mentioned earlier, the Teves Mk IV ABS system has no pump and no accumulator ball but does have a vacuum
booster just like the pre-ABS brake systems. The ECU for the Mk IV system is in the engine compartment, in the right
rear corner. The ECU part number is JLM12004.
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FAULT CODES: George Balthrop says, "The Teves IV (vacuum boost) brake system introduced during the 1995
model year no longer has the "blink codes" capability that existed on the earlier Teves (hydraulic boost) systems. The
ABS CM is linked to communicate with the Portable Diagnostic Unit (PDU)."
ABS System Removal
ABS SYSTEM REMOVAL: Some people, faced with the prospect of paying serious dollars to repair an ABS system,
opt instead to simply remove it and convert the braking system to the far more reliable and easily repairable non-ABS
power brake system used on the pre-ABS cars. Sean McKee did this job on his '90, which came with the Teves Mk III
system:
“Parts list:
Complete master cylinder/ vacuum booster/ pedal assembly
Check valve and vacuum adapter for RH intake manifold.
front steel brake lines
“There are really no tricks in the installation. The rear brake line screws into the master cylinder. The steel lines for the
front simply replace the existing lines. I used the fluid supply line from reservoir to pump to be used as a vacuum line
RH manifold to booster. A tab needs to be welded to the pedal to push on the brake light switch.
“Note: the ABS/brake light will remain illuminated, less a rewire, the bulb needs to be pulled.
“Pedal feel is identical to the ABS unit with the free play distance maybe slightly shorter.”
Why would you need to weld a tab onto the earlier design pedal? Surely it operated the brake lights, too? True enough,
but the pre-ABS brake light switch had a long lever on it that the arm of the pedal itself contacted. Perhaps, instead of
welding on the tab, you could retrofit the earlier brake light switch as well -- or just utilize a generic microswitch with a
long springy arm over the button. Paul Hanson says you can alternatively "use the cruise control switch up top of the
pedal box along with a relay to reverse polarity so the brake lights come on when brake is applied."
Hansen adds: "New non-kinking steel brake lines are available at NAPA, which are a joy to use! Connect the front port
of the Master Cylinder to the two front brake lines using a "T" connector and doing some flaring of the ends. The rear
port of the MC connects with the rear brake line at the Pressure Delay hexagonal unit on the drivers side inner wing."
Tom Hollingsworth did the same job: “The swap was not difficult. You do need to replace the entire unit, pedal to
master cylinder (the pedal/box is slightly different) you'll need a few metric pieces, and a small piece of bubble, not
doubled flared, brake line.”
Obviously, you’ll want to remove much of the ABS equipment such as the pump. Maybe you can get a good price on
EBay. The wheel sensors and associated wiring can be abandoned in place.
It might be considerably easier to remove the Mk IV system, since the vacuum booster and master cylinder appear
"normal". I have no reports of this having been done, though.
Really, you should inform your auto insurance carrier so they can delete any credit you may be getting for having ABS.
This author tried that once with no luck; the insurance company’s database showed that that particular model
automobile has ABS and there’s no way to change that in their computers.
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If you decide you want to keep the existing braking system but just disable the ABS function, well, be careful. You can't
just pull a fuse and be done with it. You must keep the pump, accumulator, and combination switch working -- and
those are perhaps the most failure-prone components! But if the pump and accumulator on the Teves Mk III are not
functioning, you have no rear brakes at all, and the front brakes require excessive pedal pressure to stop the car.
It might be more viable to disable the Mk IV ABS system in place since it has vacuum assist and a conventional-looking
master cylinder, but details are unknown at this time.
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BODY
1991: For the 1991 model year, the body of the XJ-S was significantly altered. The most obvious differences were the
totally different taillight arrangement with new “neutral color” taillights that don’t look red until they come on, and
rocker panels that flared toward the wheel wells rather than being perfectly straight. But despite the outwardly similar
appearance of the rest of the car, supposedly almost every panel was altered, so purchasing any replacement body panels
will probably require specifying pre- or post-1991.
The more significant change, as far as buyers of used cars are concerned, is that beginning with the 1991 body style
revisions the entire body was supposedly made from galvanized steel.
RUST: The following is a description of where to keep an eye out for rust on an XJ-S, courtesy of John Butler, Mike
Morrin and others:
• The joint between the rocker panel and the rear fender.
• Lower (i.e. closing) edge of boot (trunk) lid on the inside.
• Top dead center of rear wheel arches.
• Around rear bumper side-arm mounts (and along the horizontal seam behind them; Check inside the boot).
• The lower edge of the panel below the centre section of the rear bumper.
• Around tail-lights; just below them down the seam there and just ahead of them on the rear wing.
• If your back window rubbers are softening check for:
accumulation of water in the deep wells on either side of the boot (trunk).
water trickling down inside, down the back of the rear seat back and accumulating in the spongy
sound-deadening underneath.
• Around the radius arm mountings -- structural
• On the front wing, just ahead of the front door hinge and just above the rocker panel.
• The front end of the sills (or the front of the footwell), behind the front wheels.
• Front footwells under the carpets (wet carpet rust).
Now, about those radius arm mountings. The way most owners find out they have a rust problem here is that the car
starts wandering aimlessly at speed! The front mounting for the radius arm -- adjacent to the rear jacking points -- rips
out of the bodywork along with a large section of sheet metal, allowing the rear wheel on that side to pretty much go
where it wants. How does yours look?
John Nuttall adds, “I found two places where rust, if left untreated, could cause serious damage:
1. Chassis rail/tunnel area. By the chassis rails I mean two heavy gauge steel members that run from near the
back of the floor right to the front of the engine compartment. These rails from the backbone of the body. The
floor and tunnel are made from two separate pieces, one for each side, joined at the top of the tunnel. There is
a step in the lower part of the tunnel. The chassis rail is welded to three faces of this step. The lowest part of
the rail is horizontal and extends under the floor about two inches. The two are spot welded together. On my
1987 shell the rail was not formed properly so that the part of the rail under the floor slopes downwards to the
outside. Looking under the car I can see a gap between floor and rail that was not filled by sealer. Looking at
the floor from above I can see depressions in the floor at each spot weld where the tongs of the welder forced
the thinner floor metal down to meet the rail.
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The consequence of all this is that rust has started in the space between rail and floor and has spread to the
vertical part of the step in the tunnel to such an extent that rust is visible on this part of the step when viewed
from inside the car. The rust is eating away this part of the floor/tunnel stamping.
The serious implications to the structural integrity of the body are obvious. This fault appears to be caused by
improper manufacturing of the rail and lack of quality control, and it probably occurred on other vehicles.
2. Front lower outer seat belt anchorage. On the ’77 and ’79 cars this anchorage is a nut welded inside the
vertical face of the inner sill. Presumably it was thought that this was not strong enough, and at some point
before ’87 the anchorage was moved to the sloping part of the floor adjacent to the sill. A thick plate was
welded and bolted to the underneath of the floor to reinforce the area. Unfortunately, the floor has a ridge in at
this point and there is a gap between the floor and the plate here. The undercoating has proven inadequate to
stop rust between plate and floor. This rust has spread between undercoating and floor. Rust is visible from
the inside on parts of the floor, which means that rust has eaten through the floor. The strength of the
anchorage is clearly at risk. This fault is mainly due to poor design, I would think, and it is certain to be present
on many other vehicles.
“I urge owners of cars that might be affected by these problems to inspect their vehicles. Inspection from the inside
requires that carpet and insulation be removed.”
RUST AVOIDANCE - TRUNK LID: Julian Mullaney sends this tip: “Beginnings of rust under the lowermost lip of
the trunk (boot) lid. There are not enough drain holes here where the two sheets of steel are spot welded. I will drill a
couple more drain holes.”
RUST AVOIDANCE - TAILLIGHT AREA: Julian Mullaney points out that water may collect behind the taillight
fixtures, since there is no drain from this area. If it appears to be a concern, perhaps the best solution is to merely coat
the metal with something to prevent rust, since it doesn’t show.
The gaskets around lenses on cars generally follow one of two schools of design: they either attempt to totally seal
thereby not allowing water in, or they include a notch at the bottom to allow water to drain out. This author’s
observations and experience indicate that the second idea is more often successful. Jaguar, of course, uses the first. To
drain the water from the area behind the taillights, the gasket between the fixture and the body can be cut prior to
installation to form a drain channel. If done at the bottom corner near the boot lid, it will scarcely be noticeable.
RUST AVOIDANCE - GENERAL: Car enthusiasts generally recommend a product called Waxoyl (see Brit-tec, page
701) for treating the areas of bodywork prone to rust. According to Frans Hoekemeijer, “It can be painted or sprayed.
It can be thinned with “white spirit”, which evaporates rather quickly. Only a very thin layer is sufficient to protect
metals against corrosion as the molecules are polarized and cling to the surface through electrostatic action, in the same
way water molecules do unfortunately. It sets to a waxy substance. If used on the outside of the underbody of the car it
has to be renewed every so often.”
In the UK, Waxoyl sells a “pump kit” which screws onto to can of Waxoyl and you manually pump it and it becomes a
spray gun. It comes with a thin lance so you can poke it into various holes and get good coverage. Pete Hamel says
“It’s quite thick at normal temperatures so you can either thin it with white spirit or immerse the can in a bucket of hot
water to make it more sprayable.
“The beauty of it is that you do not have to completely clean all dirt off the surfaces you apply it to as it creeps into small
crevices and through dirt. It’s good for hard to reach areas. You can also apply it over surface corrosion (remove any
flaking rust). It does leave a slightly waxy/sticky surface though so you don’t want to use it anywhere that appearance
matters.”
There are some people advertising in Jaguar World who come to your house and treat the car for you.
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Another product favored for protection is called P.O.R. 15. According to Vince Chrzanowski, “A customer once
painted the exterior of a car radio with POR (don’t ask me why). When we tried to remove the stuff, we found it was
nearly like porcelain in hardness and durability. We had to change to a more aggressive abrasive in the bead blast
cabinet. I hope never to see POR on a radio again, but wouldn’t mind it on the frame of my Mark IX.”
PAINT: Jeffrey Gram reports: “Here in Europe many cars imported from the US are eventually repainted, and even
many professionals are not aware of a pitfall in this area. According to a local “spritzer” the paint used on US cars are
of a different and higher elasticity than Europe paint to be able to cope with extreme temperature variations causing
expansion and contraction of the body sheet metal. If a US paintwork is spraypainted with EU paint, cracks will appear
since the EU paint cannot cope with the expansion and contraction of the US paint layer. The solution is to either
repaint from bare metal, or to spraypaint the US paint with a couple of layers of “bridging paint” before the new paint
layer.”
FASTENERS: All fasteners on the exterior of a car need to be stainless steel. On the XJ-S, it appears that most of
them are -- if nobody’s been working on your car. If there’s a chance that some of yours have been replaced by some
repairman or PO that didn’t know any better, check all of them with a magnet (a magnet won’t attract stainless steel)
and replace any that are not stainless. This includes all the screws holding lamp lenses on. Here in the US, another good
indicator is to carefully inspect the cross drive head; if it’s Phillips, it is not the original screw -- the original screws were
Pozidriv.
This author was unfortunate in that the turn signal bulbs in my front bumper had not burnt out in a long time. I say
unfortunate because the screws that hold the lenses on had corroded and seized so badly they had to be drilled out --
four out of four, 100%. These screws were plain steel; since it is probable that Jaguar originally fitted stainless steel
screws to these lenses, I may have been a victim of a previous repair. If your screws are still removable, I highly
recommend you check to make sure they are stainless, and if not to purchase four 10-32 x 1-¼” Phillips drive oval head
stainless steel screws to replace them with. Even with stainless steel screws, be sure to apply some anti-seize compound
when reinstalling -- the clip nuts are not stainless.
Here in Bubbaland, 10-32 stainless steel screws are difficult to find, so I replaced the elaborate clip nuts on the bumper
with conventional #10 clip nuts (available at auto parts stores) and bought some #10 x 1¼” stainless steel Phillips drive
oval head sheet metal screws at a marine supply store. I never have to worry again about getting them out.
Stainless steel fasteners can be found at most marine supply stores and many better hardware stores, although fine thread
or metric sizes are often a challenge.
ADHESIVES: According to Charles Daly, “A call to 3M produced the following info: If it’s neoprene, as in a fitting,
washer, etc., then 3M-8001 (Neoprene) is best. If it’s weatherstripping type application and the rubber is EPDM
(Ethylene Propylene Dieme Monomer) (which is what most auto weatherstrip is) then use 3M-80119 (which is called
weatherstrip adhesive).”
WATER LEAKS - A/C SYSTEM: Bob Tilley investigated the cause of water leaking from his air conditioning system
during rainy weather. It turned out that the plastic cover over the windscreen wiper motor had deteriorated and started
breaking apart -- a common problem discussed on page 618. In Tilley’s case, the various parts of the cover found their
way into the drain pipes that feed from the wiper area through the engine compartment and out through the wheel wells.
The drains end with a rubber elbow, and the plastic parts got lodged in it and plugged it, causing the wiper compartment
to fill with rainwater and start draining into the air conditioner. Tilley recommends that the drains be fully disassembled
to ensure that all plastic scraps (as well as leaves and other debris) have been cleared.
WATER LEAKS - FLOOR: Hunt Dabney reports: “At some time in its past, someone lifted my car improperly. This
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caused the seams at the front of the floor, both sides, to become separated just enough for water to wick in during heavy
rains. No apparent structural damage, but lots-o-wet-carpet. I sealed this from below with silicone seal, and while at it
popped out the drain plugs from each floor section, cleaned them and reinstalled them, also with silicone.”
WATER LEAKS - DOORS: Ian Finlay suggests applying talcum powder to the seals, then closing the door and
applying a hose. The talcum should make the location of the leak obvious.
WATER LEAKS - A-PILLAR DRAIN: At the corners where the rain gutters meet the windshield, the seal appears to
have a gap underneath the chrome trim. This is deliberate, providing a drain for this area of the roof down the inside of
the A pillar. It’d be a bad idea to try to seal it up.
Pat Johnson was getting rainwater on the floor, and finally figured out it was coming from these drains at the top front
corners of the roof. Water that finds its way into these drains -- a goodly amount, to be sure -- is supposed to run down
the pillar between the chrome trim piece and the structure and through the bodywork in front of the door. Somehow, it
was being diverted inside the structure, and ended up in the carpet instead. The solution involved removing the chrome
trim piece covering the A-pillar. “Being a novice at this, I was a little (a lot) scared to start removing rivets. They look
so permanent! But I bit the bullet and started drilling. It was easy! I found gaps between the body and the molding.
After calling a glass repair shop and getting some silicone, I went to work. I filled all the crevices and opened the drain
hole. I then refit the chrome and put my first rivets in. I must say, I think I did a pretty good job. It looks just like new
and the lake is gone.
“It is supposed to drain in front of the door. Leaves and some other unidentifiable gunk were plugging it. The channel
was also narrower than I think it was supposed to be due to the black rubber material under the chrome spreading
toward the center.”
Harry Trafford elaborates: “After drilling out the little pop rivets, carefully pry the chrome off. It will come off. I used
a small stiff detailing brush to clean it all up under there. I took a very small screwdriver and ran the blade under the
gasket edges to clean them out. A lot of dirt was removed. I purchased a tube of Permatex Auto Glass Sealer, then
using the screwdriver end, I gently lifted the gasket edges, sliding the tip down the glass and followed right behind it
with the sealer. The sealer is thin and is supposed to run into the crevice. If you get the sealer smeared all over, use
acetone or nail polish remover to clean it up. Do not get acetone or nail polish remover on the car’s paint!
“I used small 1/4” to 3/8” sheet metal screws to reattach the chrome strips on the “A” pillar. Works fine.” Stainless
steel is recommended.
WATER LEAKS – FRONT WING ATTACHMENT: In the December 1996 issue of Jaguar Enthusiast magazine,
John Wood describes tracking down and correcting a leak from the “wing rail”, which made it into the area beside the
footwell and managed to soak the carpets. This particular problem was apparently aggravated by body work done on
the sill.
WATER LEAKS -- MIRRORS: Emile A. Des Roches says, “My wife's XJS had a seemingly "irremovable" white
mineral dripline under the outside mirrors -- the only blemish on her 16,000 original mile ’95 XJS coupe. After many
experiments with paint rejuvenation problems the blemish was removed -- until the next rainstorm. It seems that water
builds under the mirror, minerals gather from the various metals involved in the plating process, screws and blind nuts
holding the mirror to the body and the oxidized product finds its way out under the black plastic piece separating the
mirror from the door.
“The fix is to disassemble & clean the back side of the door mirror/plastic escutcheon assembly, then to put RTV or
similar sealant around the inside of the black plastic escutcheon. After a couple of months, it worked so well that I tried
it on my car too. Incidentally, the excess H2O will drain into the door and out the bottom drain holes harmlessly.”
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This author has never had this problem; when I first got the ’83, the black plastic gaskets were so badly deteriorated that
they were immediately replaced with pieces of rubber cut from an old inner tube. Since the rubber is more pliable than
the plastic ever was, it apparently sealed effectively without the addition of sealant.
Des Roches responds: “OK, I admit to cheating and using "black again" on the crappy-looking grey plastic escutcheon.
As I recall from my friend's mid-’80’s S, the newer cars have a thicker (about .4") escutcheon around the outside mirror.
Wish I had thought of the rubber however.”
SUNROOF -- FACTORY OR DEALER ADD-ON? The question of whether the XJ-S ever actually was fitted with a
sunroof from the factory always seems to generate more argument than definitive answers. Whether or not any sunroofs
were actually built into the car at Coventry, it is apparent that many of the sunroofs that came on new cars were installed
by dealers to boost sales. In this case, each one may be different. Steve Draper, who owns an ’88, says, “I note that in
my XJ-S manual, the sunroof switch is located on the center panel between the window switches, on the same plastic
panel. In my car, the switch is under the steering wheel, and when viewed closely has the aftermarket name on it. An
easy indicator of factory installation may be the switch (which I wish was on the center panel).”
“I, Chad Bolles, do hereby state for the record once and for all that Jaguar did offer a sunroof in the XJ-S and I do not
care what anybody else says. Quoting from Jaguar XJ-S Drivers Handbook publication part no. JJM 18 02 03/85, in the
index section 5: “Fittings - Sunroof-Coupe: page 71” and on page 71 we see how to operate same and on page 72 we
see how to operate in the manual operation mode. If those who know everything had taken the time to look in the parts
book, part no. RTC9888CE dated August 1987 on page 2J 11L you would see part no. BBC2682 and I will be damned
if it doesn’t look like a sunroof and even has the title “Sunroof” and uses part no. JLM440/ND Headlining Cloth. Then
try page 2J 11R and what do you know all the pieces for the roof are listed. Next try page 2J 12L and I will be darned
all the elec pieces are listed there.
“The roof was offered as an option in 86 and from then on as a kit.”
WATER LEAKS - SUNROOF: At least some of the sunroofs installed, as well as the ones fitted to the XJ6 at the
factory, use drains on the front corners to route water down the A-pillars and out the bottom of the car. These drains
are thin and easily plugged with debris. If a wire is used occasionally to keep them clear, the tendency of the sunroof to
leak water to the interior is greatly reduced.
There also may be some problem with the connection between the sunroof and the drain tube. It may be helpful to
inspect the connection and, if necessary, apply some sealant.
SUNROOF REMOVAL: Since sunroofs for XJ-S’s don’t exist, your ROM may not tell you how to remove it; so, here
are instructions provided by Murray Trotter. Note that these instructions actually apply to the XJ6, but apparently the
sunroofs are similar. Also note that when he says “hood lining”, he means the headlining. “To remove the metal outside
skin of the sunroof, slide back, undo the phillips head screws along the front edge, slide roof forward, on switch until
almost closed, lift up front of roof and pull forward, back edge is clipped in. Take care not to lift roof too high
otherwise you will mark it on the outside edge of the roof. Quite simple to remove with a bit of care.
“The actual body of the roof is a little bit more difficult, removal of the hood lining is required. First remove the outside
rim around the hood lining; this requires removal of the sunvisors, etc. Then prise all the covered mouldings off
carefully. This is hard to do and I always seem to end up breaking a clip or two. The actual lining can then be dropped.
It is glued around the outside edge. Careful with this one, it is easy to rip the lining. You will then see the the actual
sunroof is all one unit which has four metal brackets, like legs coming off it. These are pop-riveted to the inside edge of
the roof; drill these out, and you can drop the whole thing out as unit. Don’t forget to unplug the wiring.”
WATER LEAKS - CONVERTIBLE TOP: Julian Mullaney says, “I’ve never had a single drop come in my 1991 XJ-S
Convertible, but I did adjust the top to fit tighter. This is simple, just screw in the hooks a turn or two on each side of
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the top rail. This makes the top clamp harder to the windshield gasket. When I did it, it eliminated a small squeak when
body flexing over bumps.”
WATER LEAKS - WINDSHIELD: Most modern automobiles glue the windshield to the structure and then attach a
piece of trim over top to conceal the joint. You can tell such arrangements because the glass itself has a black pattern
printed on it; the black is to keep the sunlight off the glue, which would cause it to deteriorate. Supposedly the Jaguar
XJ-S went to this sort of attachment scheme in the 90’s.
On the earlier cars, Jaguar actually used a real rubber gasket that fits around a lip on the car and fits around the edge of
the glass, holding it in. The seal is called a Clayton-Wright type seal, meaning that it involves a locking strip; the seal
and glass are installed, and then a hard plastic strip is pressed into a groove in the seal which jams it firmly against the
glass. If you remove the four stainless steel trim pieces, the locking strip is hidden underneath. Once you remove the
locking strip, the glass can be removed and reinstalled fairly easily.
In an article in the February 2002 issue of Classic Jaguar World, Ray Storer of National Windscreens Romford points
out that water can get in between the laminates of a windshield and cause whitening of the glass. To prevent this -- or
prevent it from getting any worse once it’s already begun -- Storer applies liquid rubber to the edge of the glass itself.
If you’re lucky, you may be able to stop your leaks without removing the glass. Remove the stainless steel trim remove
the locking strip, and then it’s a simple matter to pry the edge of the seal away from the glass. Clean all the crud out,
clean it all really well with alcohol or some such, then apply some clear flowable windshield sealant and jam the plastic
strip back in. As the strip presses the seal hard against the glass, the flowable sealant will ooze out. Wipe off the excess,
reinstall the stainless trim strips, and you should be leak-free.
You’re supposed to use a small loop of metal wire to reinstall the locking strip. The loop fits into the slot and the strip
passes through the opening, so just sliding the loop along the slot puts the strip in place. You can buy a special tool, but
you can also just make one from a coat hanger.
WINDSHIELD SCRATCHES: Chip Lamb suggests: “I was told Bon-Ami household cleaner works great. Removes
pits and scratches. Removed the scratches made by my windshield wiper ends on my Saab 1991 900 2 or so winters
ago. Worked like a charm.”
Somebody else suggested toothpaste -- the abrasive kind, not the gel kind.
WINDSHIELD REPLACEMENT: Chad Bolles says, “What you really need is a glass shop that knows what it is
doing. The seal will not fit if you install it on the glass out of the car, it will be loose, but once installed will be tight.
The seal must be sealed to the body and to the glass itself, if the glass shop says anything different, then take your car
elsewhere, they do not know what they are doing. The factory manual says to seal it that way.”
Mark West concurs: “My experience with a new windshield in my ’89 XJ-S, installed by the dealer, was enough to
convince me that a broken windshield is equivalent to a blown engine in terms of severity. Three tries, two new seals, a
glass shop that claimed to know what they were doing but installed it with the seal in upside down once (gave the car a
sort of “Mickey Mouse” ears), and gallons of antacid later, I finally had a windshield that didn’t leak, seemed to fit okay,
didn’t make too much noise going around corners, and was generally 80% acceptable.
“Don’t think that Joe’s Local House of Glass can do the work. You’ll hate yourself in the morning.”
HOOD GAS STRUTS: If you’re tired of your XJ-S hood falling on your head, but don’t want to pay the $$ for new
Jaguar struts, Herbert Sodher provides a suggestion. There is a device made by Pylon called Lift Lock, and it is sold at
auto parts stores as well as Wal-Mart and Kmart for about $8. It is a device which is clamped onto the plunger of the
strut, and has an arm that slides along the outside of the strut housing as the hood is opened. When fully open, the arm
clears the end of the strut housing, falls against the plunger, and jams against the end of the strut housing to hold the
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hood up. To close the hood, the arm must be manually lifted to clear the end of the strut housing. Since the device is an
unobtrusive black, it is suggested that the arm be painted a bright color to make it more noticeable. Sodher judges that,
in the event a hamhanded mechanic does a pull-up trying to close your hood, the $8 device would break before the
$1200 hood suffered any damage.
Peyton Gill came up with another idea: buy a “split bolt connector” of a suitable size and install it on the strut plunger.
A split bolt connector is a device used to connect two copper electrical cables. They are made of solid copper or
bronze, so it probably won’t even scratch the strut plunger. Just raise the hood, slide the connector down, and tighten
the nut. When you want to lower the hood, just loosen the nut, slide the connector back to the far end and tighten it
down there.
If you want to replace your struts, you can use a reasonably-priced aftermarket strut intended for another type car that
will work on the XJ-S. Aftermarket struts such as Motormite’s “MIGHTY LIFT!” (lifetime warranty!) are available in
discount auto stores for about $20 each. Of course, you can have a discussion with your local junkyard as well. For the
late 1976-on XJ-S, the gas struts for a Chrysler LeBaron Hatchback (MIGHTY LIFT! no. 95018) are close to the
original length and can be made to work with a few 3/8” washers. Larry Barnes adds that the struts he fitted to his
wife’s ‘92 “are mfg. by “STEDY LIFT”, PN# D072-157, $19.99 and they come with a Life Time Warranty.”
Note that aftermarket struts are a good deal more powerful than stock struts. This is OK for most cars; customers are
happy when the hatchback on their LeBaron opens more forcefully than it ever has. However, it may cause minor
problems on the XJ-S. While you no longer will have problems with the hood closing on your head, you may have
trouble closing the hood; you probably will have to hold the hood down against the latches while operating the lever
under the dash, and in the worst case you may require an assistant on the other side of the car to get the hood closed.
You should always replace both struts together; one strut stronger than the other distorts the hood, and it bangs the
fender on one side when closing.
Note that the pre-late 1976 XJ-S used a different strut.
Michael Neal says that Jaguar is now making struts with a built-in locking device to hold the bonnet open even if the gas
pressure is gone. Your only remaining problem will be getting your fingernails under the edge of the bonnet to lift it up.
LONGER HOOD GAS STRUTS: With the stock struts, the bonnet doesn’t open very far, making it a pain to work in
the engine compartment. Jaguar apparently limited the range of opening because the bottom center of the grille contacts
the top of the front bumper. However, Michael Neal points out that the contact doesn’t appear to do any harm!
John Napoli figured out how to replace the stock struts with longer ones so that the bonnet opens a reasonable amount
without having to disconnect the struts. The first step in replacing the struts is to make sure your bonnet will open far
enough to use them; the alignment of the bodywork varies slightly from car to car, and breaking the front grille will not
make you very happy. So, with the aid of an assistant, disconnect the struts and gradually tilt the bonnet farther and
farther toward vertical, keeping an eye on the grille/bumper contact. See if you can open the bonnet enough that the
mounts for the struts are separated by 22-1/4”.
Note that there may also be a minor interference between the hinges and the plastic filler piece between the bumper and
the car. If there is a problem here, the openings in the plastic for the hinges can be enlarged slightly.
If this much opening presents no problems, go to your local auto parts store and purchase a pair of aftermarket struts
intended for a 1984-85 Honda Accord 3-door. They are made by Pro Lift, part number 92307, or by Motormite, part
number 95038. The ends of these struts are thinner than the stock Jaguar struts, so you should add some spacers to the
mounts to make sure the body of the strut doesn’t contact the mounting brackets. Actually, suitable spacers may come
in the package!
The XJ-S requires a strut that will collapse to 13-1/4” or shorter, and the application catalog lists the Honda struts as
having a minimum length of 13.4” -- too long. However, measuring the struts themselves indicates they will compress
as far as 13”, perhaps even a hair under. Therefore, they work fine, and hold the bonnet a lot farther open than the stock
struts. If yours end up not quite short enough, you should be able to make them work by elongating the holes in the
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ends a little with a file.
Note that the OEM Honda struts will not work. The struts needed are those sold as aftermarket replacements for the
Honda, not the original struts.
Here's the measurement from the corner of the opening for the hood to the corner of the hood when fully open with
these new struts: 46.5" Go measure yours!
PROTECTING THE HOOD STRUTS FROM HEAT: Michael Neal claims that heat in the engine compartment will
toast most aftermarket struts, and that only the Jaguar originals will do. Of course, the aftermarket struts have a lifetime
warranty and the Jaguar struts don’t. And the Jaguar struts seem to fail as quickly as any, while several owners have
reported long-term success with the aftermarket struts. However, heat probably is a serious concern here, and it’s easy
to provide any strut with a measure of protection by merely wrapping it with some aluminum foil. In this case, it is very
convenient, since the width of aluminum foil matches the length of the strut nicely; just tear off about six inches from the
roll, and wrap it around the strut, crimping it a little near the bolted end to keep it in place.
GETTING THE HOOD OUTTA YOUR WAY: On most cars, if the hood is in your way when working, the option is
to remove it. With the XJ-S, however, there are several options in between. Michael Neal found that if the gas struts
are disconnected, the hood can be opened to a nearly vertical position, greatly improving conditions for the mechanic.
The plastic grille contacts the front bumper, but that doesn’t appear to hurt anything; the grille simply flexes.
Neal commonly disconnects the struts when working on customers’ cars, holding the hood in a wide-open position by
removing a rubber plug forward of the strut mount and propping the bottom end of the strut, with the bolt, in this large
opening.
Jim Isbell points out that another option is to remove the grille first. Then, with the struts disconnected, the hood can be
opened to vertical, and the front edge rests on a rubber portion of the front bumper. Putting a cloth in between may be
wise, and providing a prop so the wind doesn’t blow it down on your head would be nice.
When using any of the above methods, keep an eye on the plastic filler panel just under the grille. It has openings for the
hood hinges, but the openings may not be large enough for the wider opening and the plastic may crack. It may be
helpful to remove this piece, or to enlarge the openings in it.
HOOD POP: John Napoli says: “Here's a cool mod for your XJ-S. It works best if you have good hood (bonnet) gas
struts, and really well with the generic (Honda) replacement listed in Kirby's book.
“Remove the hood safety latch. Just pull the pin and it comes off. There are not many failure modes on an XJ-S where
you need this feature anyway, so I wouldn't worry about it being gone.
“Now, when you want to show off your V12, just pop the release handle from within. The hood rises silently and
majestically. Everyone is impressed. Men stand in awe. Women weep. Children cheer. Way cool.”
HOOD LATCH: Up until at least 1993, the XJ-S was fitted with a hood latch that is closed from the inside; set the
hood down on the latches, and operate the lever on the inside to pull it shut. Starting in ’94 or ’95, the XJ-S was fitted
with a hood latch that works more like a typical American car, you slam it to shut it.
Of course, anyone familiar with the newer cars will now join the list of boneheads that will be slamming the hoods on the
older cars. Anyone meeting the engineer responsible for this revision, please give him a thump on the head for the rest
of us.
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HOOD ORNAMENT: The flat disk emblem on the hood with the puddy-tat face (commonly referred to as a
“growler”) apparently may be either blackened silver or blackened bronze in color, but it is supposed to be blackened.
The one on the author’s ’83 is metal so polishing may be possible, but Stefan Schulz reports that his is plastic and
therefore should not be polished lest the plating be removed to expose the bare plastic.
LEAPER: Most Jaguar owners feel that the “leaping cat” hood ornament looks really bad on the XJ-S. If you just gotta
have one, note that it would be wise to remove the disk emblem and install the leaper in its place, keeping any additional
drilling located so that reinstallation of the disk would cover it up. Also note that the leaper is available in a couple of
sizes, and the smaller ones will be less obnoxious in this application.
Finally, note that hood ornaments are regulated as safety hazards in some areas. In order to minimize harm to
pedestrians you run over, they may be required to be mounted on springs or some such. This not only makes installation
more complex, but it also makes it easier for a thief to steal the ornament.
Most leapers are made to be mounted on a nearly level surface, so on the XJ-S they appear to be leaping downhill.
However, Michael Kenrick reports on one made specifically for the XJ-S: “It’s modeled on the early MkV (?) version
and sits on a round base that is directly interchangeable with the authentic OEM bonnet badge, bolted from underneath.
And the plinth is beveled to take account of the sloping bonnet. Contact:
Bill Tracy
4050 Red Rock Lane
Sarasota, FL 34231 US
+1 (941) 924-9523
“I have one mounted on the hood: it certainly looks very good, and adds a subtly different character to the car.”
UPPER RADIATOR GRILLE: If you have a pre-1992 car, face it: your old grille looks pretty bad. The chrome is
flaking off, and it’s cracked in several places. And a new one is expensive. The solution: install the 1992-on grille.
The newer grille makes a substantial difference in the appearance of the car. Where the earlier cars had the all-chrome
plastic grille with chrome frame, three horizontal chrome ribs, two vertical chrome struts on each side, and the V12
badge in the center, the ’92-on grille is all black with a single chrome strip across the top edge. There is no V12 badge.
The chrome strip makes a match with the narrow chrome strip across the top of the bumper, surrounding the grille top
and bottom.
Another difference is the profile. The earlier grille forms a distinct angle from the nose of the bonnet downward and
rearward. The ’92-on grille is more “bulged” giving a rounded profile.
The ‘92-on car also came with oblong composite headlights that bulged, so the front of the headlights forms a
continuous surface with the front outline of the grille. How well the bulge of the new grille matches the non-bulged
four-lamp headlight bezel is therefore a point of concern. The bulge of the ’92-on grille results in the ends of the grille
protruding farther forward than the headlight bezel, so the edges of the grille are clearly visible. These edges of the grille
were presumably never intended to be visible, since they would be covered by the bulging composite headlamps.
However, the appearance of the ends of the grille are quite acceptable indeed, since the chrome strip continues around
the corner and the black plastic surface is still black there. The only problem -- and it’s a minor one indeed -- is that the
black plastic ends just a hair short of where you’d like it to, leaving a triangular opening at the bottom rear edge of the
end of the grille. You’ve gotta be looking for a problem to notice it. But having compared this configuration against
what the factory-designed earlier grille did here, I can’t say it appears any less deliberate or properly fitting.
Photographs of the ‘92-on grille installed on the author’s ’83 are available on the WWW at:
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/92Grille.html
As far as mounting goes, the ’92-on grille mounts a little differently but can be adapted. The ’92-on grille mounts with 5
screws, two on each end and one at the center top, all installed pointing towards the rear of the car. The earlier grille
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installed with 6 screws, two at the outer ends near the bottom pointing rearward and four along the top edge pointing
upward. These upper screws screw into plastic inserts that snap into square holes on the bonnet. The outer two inserts
correspond to notches in the ’92-on grille and can remain, but the two inner mounts interfere with the ’92-on grille since
there are no notches in the grille to clear them and the plastic inserts stick down from the bonnet 1/8” or so. Simple
solution: pry the plastic inserts out of the holes and throw them away. None of the four will be used again, so you might
as well pry them all out.
The next thing to do is trial fit the new grille. It should be held in position so that its top surface fits snugly against the
mating surface on the bonnet. With it held so, the necessary alignment of the mounting brackets will be apparent. The
outer bottom mounting holes on the ’92-on grille appear to be in the same place as on the earlier grille, but when fitting
one realizes that the grille is not in the same place. The bulge has resulted in these mounting holes being about a half
inch farther forward than the brackets the old grille mounted on. You can deal with this by stacking washers and using a
long screw if you want, but that’s not the way I do things. The mount bracket itself is an absurdly simple item bolted to
the hinges, so I merely unbolted them and made new ones a little longer.
Just behind the upper edge of the grille is a flange on the bonnet, completely hidden by the grille. Simply drill three holes
in this flange directly above the upper mounting holes in the new grille and fab brackets to screw to the flange. Add
standard clip nuts to these brackets and install the grille with 5 black trim screws.
With the ’84 Honda Accord struts described above, the hood opens a lot farther than stock. With this new bulged grille,
the bottom center of the grille most definitely does contact the rubber on the top of the front bumper when open.
Doesn’t appear to hurt anything. It flexes a bit, no problem.
One of the prime reasons to consider the ’92-on grille is that it is structurally a vastly superior item. Where the earlier
grille had spindly little ribs, this grille’s ribs are substantial, and appear designed to survive bird hits. Where the earlier
grille had chrome on plastic that flaked off, the only chrome on this grille is a separate piece of metal that is mechanically
attached to the plastic grille. Add to these facts that the ’92-on grille costs half what the earlier grille costs, and you
have enough data to make your own decision.
Another possibility is the JaguarSport XJR-S grille, which has no chrome at all. You could paint the chrome strip from
the ’92-on grille for similar effect; a really durable trim paint is suggested, since if you use ordinary spray paint every bug
hit will leave a shiny spot. You could also opt for the ‘92-on grille and find a way to cover the chrome strip with black
tape or some such.
HOOD VENTS: Lots of people feel that providing vents in the hood of the XJ-S might help with cooling problems, as
well as look neat. It probably wouldn’t do much for cooling when moving, but it might have considerable benefits after
the car is parked -- allowing all the residual engine heat to rise out of the compartment rather than just building up in
there and cooking the wiring and hoses.
Of course, cutting holes in the XJ-S hood is a non-reversible act, so a good job is essential; cutting rectangular holes
with a Sawzall and slapping on a pair of stamped steel residential air conditioning grilles with pop rivets ain’t gonna help
your resale value.
Marty Sullivan suggests that the hood vents from a Datsun 280Z might fit the XJ-S perfectly. They are separate parts
(not an integral part of the hood) so perhaps they could be removed from a 280Z in a junkyard and installed in suitable
holes cut in the hood of an XJ-S with little fuss. They could be painted flat black before installation so they'd look like
they match the center air grille, and you wouldn't have to paint the whole car.
Derek Spicer says, “I have seen an XJ-S with an early model Honda Accord hood vent fitted to its hood up near the
windscreen on the hood. It's a very natural fit and looks as if it was supposed to be there.”
Paul Bachman says, “I have been trying to lay my hands on some hood scoops from a 1988 Turbo Thunderbird. These
also appear to be of proper size and shape to retrofit in an XJ-S.”
Stephen Wood adds more details: “I looked at some different vents recently in a junk yard recently, that would /
wouldn't work:
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“79-83 280 ZX (FI Car): Description: Semi Triangular Black Plastic, but the plastic in them is not very good so if you
are in a sunny climate they will be brittle. Replacement part is pricey and supposedly not available from the dealer
( Nissan Dealers are scum...). However "Tweeks Ltd." does stock all of that stuff.
“80-83 280 ZX (Turbo-FI Car): I am still trying to find a 280 ZX turbo in a junk yard (I will be going again this
weekend) that has a different vent, and see how they attach. They only have one vent on the passenger side of the hood
but they look pretty neat, a NACA scoop followed by a grille. If you could find two of them, you could locate them
further forward in the XJ-S hood and have "Ram Air" (oooooh cool.)
“The 75-78 280Z vent is different right from left, and would require modification and "dremeling" and is really small, I'm
not sure if it would make a worthwhile difference (to vent or not to vent, that is the question).
“Idea: the 78-81 Camaro Z28 had some fenderwell vents on the side, top rearward portion of the fender; those may be
big, but you could mount them on the hood of the XJS.
“1989-92 Firebird: Small hood vents in front nose portion, could be cool. I need to get dimensions.
“1979-84 Mustang GT. Cowl hood type. Mounts with 4 bolts and allows removal of block off plate for a 1"x18"
opening. This is severe but could be helpful in hot climates.”
You should remember that openings in the hood will allow rain in. Many cars -- including Jaguar E-Types -- have rain
collectors underneath their hood louvers to divert rain into drains and out the bottom of the car. If you just cut holes in
the hood and call it a day, the rain may find its way to an exhaust manifold and create a large cloud of steam. That might
be a little more drama at the stoplight than you need. And that’s not to mention the effect of rain on electrical hardware
and other stuff in the engine compartment.
One other concern I can foresee is that add-on vents might protrude into the engine compartment an inch or so, and
maybe hit something -- like the diagonal struts. Best to double-check clearances before cutting.
FRONT SPOILER: Fido may have only cost his owners $10 at the local pound, but he becomes quite costly when you
run him over with the Jag. The front spoiler, when removed by force, often takes the bottom panel and the front section
of the two front wheel wells with it. The spoiler was expensive enough; the package of four parts starts getting into
some real money.
You will need to get the original spoiler BD45624 from Jaguar to make the car look right. However, the other three
pieces (BCC4462, BAC4350, BAC4352) really don’t show, so you can make substitutes. A tough plastic is
recommended, as any sheet metal or fiberglass would get banged up too quickly in this application. 3/16” black ABS
sheet plastic seems to be ideal, making these parts somewhat heavier than the originals.
For those who can’t find such plastic, it can be ordered from:
Freddie’s Plastics, Inc.
P.O. Box 1319
Plant City, FL 33564-1319
(813) 754-5567 FAX: (813) 754-0943
They sell it only in 4’ x 8’ sheets, enough to do several Jags. They may cut it into quarters for ease of shipping; this
requires that the bottom panel be made as two pieces, which may be preferable anyway. Some aluminum angle (used to
connect the bottom panel with the vertical wheel well panels), some screws, some clip nuts and a couple hours
fabricating are all that is needed to make a satisfactory installation. One such installation has already survived a ‘possum
at 100+ MPH.
DOOR HINGE SPRINGS: The springs in the upper door hinges that hold the door open tend to develop rust problems,
which in turn causes cracks to form at the stress points; they break and fall out with a clank, and then the door is always
closing on you when you’re trying to get in and out of the car. If your car has not yet developed such problems, you
should make an attempt to prevent rusting on the two lower corners of these springs. Paint them, coat them, grease
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them, something.
If your springs have already failed, you can buy a replacement hinge. With luck, maybe you can buy just the spring itself;
Robert Hyndman says, “I had a broken door spring on my ’87 XJ-6 when I bought it. I purchased a door spring from
Johns Cars...” (see page 717)
Of course, if you get more of the same springs, they may just break again. A better alternative may be to make one. To
make a replacement spring, buy some 1/4” music wire from a hobby shop. Normal 1/4” steel rod won’t do -- music wire
is extremely high strength, necessary for a spring. Suitable 1/4” spring material may also be available from a junkyard as
the straight springs used to hold the trunk lid open on many cars. Bend and cut the wire to the same shape as the
original spring, except replace the bottom two 90° bends with one continuous U-shape. This will reduce the stress
concentrations caused by the 90° corners. Be careful to get the distance between the vertical portions of the spring
right; a slight difference has a pronounced effect on how firmly the door stays open. Please be careful bending 1/4”
music wire or spring; it is extremely strong, and care must be taken when bending it to keep it from springing loose and
injuring you.
The door must be removed from the car to install the new spring. Don’t try to do this alone unless you don’t care about
your bodywork. It is best to have at least two helpers to hold the door while you remove the nuts and washers from
inside the footwell. Before installing the new spring, it should be protected from rust -- its biggest threat.
DOOR HANDLES: John Butler sends this tip: If you need to replace a door handle (apparently not that rare; they tend
to break) and try to buy a used one, be sure to get one with a key. If not, then there are two designs of lock. On one
you can spring a little shim in the barrel; the barrel withdraws and a key can be cut. In the other you can spring the shim
but the barrel won’t withdraw unless it is turned, meaning you must have the key already.
Alternatively, you can buy two locks, demanding a discount because there are no keys. On one, save the barrel by
destroying the handle; on the other, save the handle by destroying the barrel. Have a key cut and combine parts to make
one door handle assembly.
Mack Kamna says, “Always save the best key to have copies made from. In an ideal world one would save an original
"uncirculated" key for this purpose. Replace a key when it starts to show rounding of the edges, or any scarring. Keys
are much cheaper then lock assemblies.
“The only lubricant to use in the tumbler mechanism is molybdemum disulfide, as it does not attract dirt and allows the
naturally-occurring metal particles to dissipate. It can be found under the trade name Dri Slide and many other names. It
can also be purchased in both aerosol and "squeeze cans". I normally spray it in all my tumblers, (ignition, doors, trunk,
etc.) about every six to nine months. The process is as follows: Shake the can very well, as it tends to settle worse then
any other product I have seen. Using the applicator tube spray short burst(s) into lock mechanism, while moving the
applicator in and out. Immediately afterwards, insert the key and turn a full rotation, repeat the key insertion several
times. In addition, on some sticky locks I have sprayed it onto the key.
“Caveats: It is smelly stuff, use as sparingly as possible. It also helps to do it on a nice day so you can air the car out
afterwards. Keep a rag or paper towel handy, and make sure you check the key the next few times you use it for residue
before tossing it into your nice sportcoat pocket. I find the aerosol spray is messier, but it does seem to "free up" sticky
locks better then the other types.”
DOOR HANDLE LINKAGE CLIPS: The door handles and locks in the XJ-S involve rods that connect the inside
controls with the latch and the like. These rods have a 90º bend at the end which is inserted through a hole in a lever and
retained by a clip -- similar to just about any other car on the road. The clips on the XJ-S, however, are unusual. With
most cars, the diameter of the rod and the size of the hole in the lever are the same, and the clip is a carefully shaped
piece of spring steel that surrounds the lever, has the tip of the rod inserted through it, then snaps onto the straight
section of rod to hold it in place. With the XJ-S, there is a plastic bushing involved. The hole in the lever is therefore
larger than the diameter of the rod. Also, the clip does not surround the lever, but instead relies on the plastic bushing to
hold it to the lever. To assemble, the metal clip is offered up to the lever and the plastic bushing is pressed through the
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clip and the lever, snapping into place. Then the rod is inserted and the the clip snapped onto it.
The bushing probably would prefer to remain motionless relative to the lever, and simply let the rod rotate within it when
the parts move. The clip, however, is securely snapped to the rod and therefore moves with it, but is retained between
the bushing and the lever. Since the bushing hence has parts rotating both inside and outside, it tends to move with the
rod, and wears on its outside diameter. Of course, when it wears through, the linkage starts rattling, and sometimes will
even fall out of the lever since the bushing was the only thing holding it together.
If you drop into your favorite auto parts store, you will find assortments of metal door linkage clips for sale. None of
these clips will fit the XJ-S; all of them are intended for use without any plastic bushings, and therefore have the hole
where the rod is inserted the same size as the rod -- not big enough for a bushing. If you find a really big clip, it might fit
the bushing, but it’s too big to clip onto the rod. Besides, it’s probable that it’s the bushing you really need, not the clip.
It is possible to replace the bushing alone by purchasing some of those plastic nuts that press into a hole and accept a
self-tapping screw. You will need to bore the center out to the diameter of the linkage rod, and then slide the part onto
a #8 screw, hold it in place with a nut, and chuck the assembly up in a lathe or drill and cut the OD down to fit the hole
in the lever. You may also need to trim the flange down, since the plastic nut will typically have a large square flange
that won’t sit properly against the clip.
NAPA sells a “Door Latch Rod Retainer 735-2637” for “Ford, Lincoln, Mercury”. This one-piece clip is entirely made
of plastic, and functions very similarly to the combination of bushing and clip in the XJ-S. This particular part fits the
XJ-S rod diameter perfectly, but the OD of the integral bushing is too large -- about 6.5mm, as opposed to the hole in
the Jag levers being about 5.5mm. The simplest solution here may be to chuck the entire clip up on that #8 screw and
cut the OD down.
That may not be the best solution, however. It’s entirely probable that the OD of this bushing was established by
engineers at Ford who knew better than to make the walls of that bushing as thin as Jaguar made them. Note that you
are having to replace that Jag bushing. Hence, it may make more sense to enlarge the holes in the Jaguar levers to fit
this clip without modification. Unfortunately, most of the levers within the XJ-S door are not accessable for drilling
without a considerable amount of disassembly.
There are ten bushing/clips per door, including one in the inside locking lever that’s a little different than the rest. Also
note that the ones on the driver’s side are likely to be more worn than those on the passenger’s side.
SIDE MIRRORS: Martin Fooks wanted his car to look stylish, so he installed side mirrors from a Pontiac Fiero. “The
mirrors are fairly easy to fit as only one of the 2 bolt holes has to be slightly widened and the angles of the mirrors to the
car are just about perfect. My car used to have manual adjustable mirrors and the electric wires for the Fiero items come
through the hole that the manual rod used to use.
“The mirrors are bolted to the doors from the inside, thus (unknowingly at the time) removing that easy route into the
XJ-S. (ed. note: see “Breaking In” on page 476)
“As I did not have electric mirrors before, I used the complete Fiero harness and switch, although as you will be aware
electric mirror wiring is hardly a challenge...”
If you have WWW surfing capability, you can take a look at Fooks’ car at:
http://www.geocities.com/motorcity/8382
BREAKING IN: If you get locked out, Victor Naumann provides this tip: “you can unscrew the outside mirror, and
carefully reach through with a long blade and flip the lock handle to unlock.” This works entirely too well. If you
happen to have a Slim Jim (the long blade that is inserted between the glass and the seal -- standard car thief’s tool), it
works just fine too.
If it’s the boot you’re locked out of, Cliff Sadler says “The latch is held in by two sheet metal screws. If you ever need
to get into a locked XJS trunk, simply grab the handle, and pull straight up with a snap; then, replace the screws with
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bolts.” If you use really good bolts, maybe this won’t work as well next time!
WINDOW GLASS: Reportedly, some XJ-S windows have the metal “runner” riveted to the glass through two small
holes about 1/4 inch from the bottom; in this setup, pulling on the window is a very bad idea -- it will break easily, since
the rivet holes form a starting place for cracks. Later ones are glued, making the glass itself much less likely to fracture.
If you have to replace a window, make sure the correct one is ordered -- with or without rivet holes.
REAR QUARTERLIGHT REMOVAL: Both the Haynes manual and the Jaguar repair manual describe removing this
glass, but the descriptions vary. Both start by removing interior trim panels, but then the Jaguar manual says “Using
suitable tool prise rear quarter glass and rubber from body.” The Haynes manual says “With an assistant pressing the
glass outward, peel back the rubber weatherseal from the body at one corner until the glass can be pushed out of its
frame.” The Haynes method works fine, no “suitable tool” required.
SIDE VENTS: The vents on either side of the C-pillars (the “buttresses” on the XJ-S) are functional. When the A/C
system is blowing outdoor air into the interior, these vents are allowing air back out. They also allow air out when a
door is being shut, preventing that obnoxious problem of doors that won’t shut unless a window is rolled down. The
actual route the air takes begins with mesh grilles in the top of the cubby holes above the rear armrests. From there it
goes through the bodywork, through a set of three flaps on each side of the car, and then out the slot on the outside.
The repair manuals provide no information on how to get these vents apart. So, the following is from Mike Morrin:
1. Remove the quarter side window glass and rubber (see above).
2. Remove the little chrome corner corner piece at the bottom rear of the vent cover (nut reached from inside
boot).
3. Pry off the chrome strip at the rear edge of the vent cover.
4. Drill out the rivets which held the chrome strip and rivets which are behind window rubber.
5. Remove the cover piece.
6. Remove another 6 rivets holding the vent assembly into the car.
7. Lift out assembly and wonder why you went to so much trouble.
Note that the rivets under the chrome strip not only go through the center of the retaining snaps themselves, but also
through three tiny washers behind each one of them. Don’t lose the washers; they are there to keep the rubber seal from
being crushed by installation of the rivet.
Despite Morrin’s skepticism about the value of this job, the flap assembly within this vent may actually need attention.
Each of the three flaps consists of a metal plate with a layer of foam on the face, suspended from a piece of cloth. There
is a foam bumper on the back side to keep it from making noise when it opens forcefully enough to bang the housing.
All of this is British non-metallics, so the foam face has long since rotted away and the metal plate itself is closing over
the opening. This makes a quite distinctive racket, especially when closing a door.
The flaps themselves are also installed with pop rivets. It is a fairly simple matter to drill them out and rebuild each flap,
using materials that hopefully will be more durable and quieter. You might wanna have some headliner material handy;
it might make a suitable face material. The type of nylon fabric used to make backpacks and light jackets might work
well as the “hinge”, but I simply used vinyl upholstery material; make sure that whatever you use doesn’t crinkle or
otherwise make noise as it flexes. A can of 3M’s “Super Trim Adhesive” #08090 will also be helpful. For the bumpers
on the back side, some 1/8” thick 1/4” wide foam tape weatherstripping will do nicely, sold in building supply stores for
sealing windows and doors. Get the heavy-duty high density closed cell stuff, this is no place for the flimsy foam.
You might find it helpful or necessary to remove a cover from the flap assembly that is held on with staples. Therefore,
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you might want to have a box of 1/4” length Monel staples that fit your staple gun on hand. Monel staples are
considerably more expensive than normal staples and a lot harder to find, but they won’t rust.
There are (or were) a couple of strips of foam seal along the back side of the cover, but they have dried up and fallen off.
They can easily be replaced with some 1/4” thick 1/2” wide weatherstripping, similar to that described above except the
next size thicker.
To reassemble, you’re gonna need a lot of 1/8” pop rivets (1/4” grip length) -- at least 24 per side of the car. The
original rivets are a special type with a closed end, intended to prevent leaks. These type rivets are very expensive and
difficult to find, and it’s not like anything here is truly airtight. The only conceivable reason for using these rivets is to
avoid a whistle, but if you’re concerned you can accomplish the same thing by covering each rivet with a piece of
aluminum tape or some silicone sealant.
The four rivets underneath the rearmost chrome strip must fit inside the snaps for the strip, and chances are the rivets
you have won’t fit. It is a fairly simple matter, however, to chuck the rivets up in your drill and file the head diameter
down a little bit.
These same four rivets end up recessed within these snaps. This presents another problem, since the “anvil” of the rivet
gun must sit squarely on the head of the rivet when installing, and of course that anvil isn’t small enough to fit within the
snap. So, you will need a little sleeve to fit around the nail of the pop rivet when riveting, or a few very tiny washers will
serve. You must be careful not to lose them after each rivet pops.
TAILLIGHT REFLECTORS: Many people fail to realize the importance of the reflectors to the appearance of
taillights, turn signals, etc. Jaguar XJ-S reflectors are mostly chrome-plated plastic, which is fairly durable; but the
chrome sometimes deteriorates, and the neutral plastic color is only a fair reflector. Also, the metal panel that separates
the taillights from the brake lights can get pretty dull.
To make your taillights look good, you should restore the effectiveness of the reflectors. You can cover them with
aluminum foil or aluminum tape. The best method, however, is to mask the bulb sockets and paint the reflectors with
flat white spray paint. Flat white gives a more diffuse appearance to the light, which is prettier than the bright center
appearance of the original. If you want to make the light even more diffuse, you can paint a white spot on the bulb to
prevent a direct view of the filament.
BRAKE LIGHT LENSES: There’s a little panel with a chrome frame along the inside edge of each pre-1991 taillight
lens that may or may not have paint on it. David Cleary explains, “The center section of the boot lid was painted black
up to about 1977, at the same time the B posts were chrome, and the lenses were also black.” Mike Morrin says, “I
think that they only had the black paint on the boot lid between the tail lights for 1975 and 76. I presume the paint on
the lenses was deleted at the same time. The parts book shows that the part number changed at 2W4023(RHD) and
2W54660(LHD). I presume that this is the same change.”
What it changed to is not as clear. This author’s ’83 had silver paint, while later cars just left the underlying chrome
uncovered. Cleary says, “Both my 79 and 82 cars came with silver finish on the rear lenses. I have only ever seen the
silver finish lenses available from the factory. No spares or autojumble retailer has them, only the black or chrome.
“At a recent autojumble I wanted a pair of rear lamp lenses. I noticed that the early ones with a black finisher were
much cheaper than the ones with the chrome (£15 a pair rather than £25). With 10 minutes work and some careful
application of thinners you can save yourself £10 by removing the black paint to reveal the chrome - simple eh?”
The silver paint comes off just as easily. I said this author’s lenses had silver paint. They don’t any more -- one look at
someone else’s car with the bare chrome, and that silver paint was outta here.
The panel in question is actually a separate piece from the lens itself. The chrome plating is applied to a metal panel, and
then the panel is attached to the plastic lens assembly with press-on clips. If the nonremovable clips are removed (!), it's
a lot easier to work on getting the paint off -- you can dunk the whole thing in a can of solvent. Or, Cleary says you can
“Use masking tape to protect the chrome when using thinners. That way you don't have to remove the bit from the lens
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and chance breaking it.”
If you’re having the car painted, you might consider something really radical: mask off the chrome rim and the rest of the
lens and have them prime and paint those panels the same color as the car. This will give a unique look, since none of
the XJ-S’s apparently came from the factory with this panel painted body color.
THIRD BRAKE LIGHT CUTENESS: John Himes sends this tip: “If you wanted to get creative, remove the entire
housing and place a piece of custom cut metal or cardboard or something with the leaper cut out, paint black and place
against the window. Now when you brake, instead of just a light there, you will be showing a glowing red leaper to all
that you leave behind.”
LICENSE PLATE LIGHT LENSES -- PRE-1992: This lens is actually an assembly of two parts: the lens itself, and an
opaque white plastic hinge that the lens attaches to. The hinge is provided to facilitate bulb replacement, since it’s not all
that easy to get a screwdriver into this area. Both the lens and the hinge are often problem areas. Patrick MacNamara
says, “British/Auto USA flyer has an XJ-S license plate light repair kit which includes the flexible plastic hinge piece,
lens and bulb.” See page 692. Chuck Sparks points out that the lens is the same item as used for license tag light lenses
on the ‘74-76 MGB and the ‘75-76 Midget; it is offered by Victoria British (1-800-255-0088) as part number 0-6912 for
less than ten bucks.
The bulb holder is integrated into the lens, which is unfortunate; otherwise, it would be a simple matter to replace the
lens with any flat piece of transparent plastic. As it is, such a replacement of the lens requires figuring out some other
way to hold a bulb.
One repair possibility is to simply buy a suitable automotive light fixture, throw the original hinge and lens away and
mount the entire fixture within the space. The space is shallow, but the sheer variety of aftermarket light fixtures
available means that something can usually be found to fit. Be sure to check truck stops, which sell a wide variety of
“marker lights” for the corners of tractor trailers.
Alternatively, you can make something to hold the bulbs; this author simply made some connectors that clip onto both
ends of the bulbs the way a fuse is held in a fusebox and mounted them with suitable plastic cut to serve as insulators.
Remember, whether you buy or make, there’s no good reason to stick with the original style bulbs; any 12V bulbs of
comparable wattage that can be made to fit in the space should work.
Once you’ve fabbed bulb holders, you will need to provide lenses. This author purchased a small piece of plexiglass
(Lucite) at the local building supply store, 8” x 10” x 0.093”, for less than $2. It comes with either thin plastic or paper
on both sides to protect the finish (paper is better); leave the stuff on until after you have finished cutting and drilling.
It’s really easy to cut and drill. Trapezoidal pieces were cut with two holes each to replace the hinge and the lens with a
single piece. When done, one side was sanded with 320-grit sandpaper to provide a “frosted” appearance; the other side
could be done to make it even more frosted, but going to a coarser grit makes the individual scratches too prominent
and a finer grit seems to not do enough. Finally, the edges of this lens could be wrapped with strips of aluminum tape or
(better) stainless steel tape to make it look more professional, but in this author’s opinion the finished product already
looked neater and more esthetically pleasing than the original cobbled-looking assembly. These lenses are not all that
prominent, although they are plainly visible when the trunk is open and are apparent in the reflection in a well-cleaned
rear bumper as well.
Julian Mullaney: “I also made replacement lenses for my old XJS. It is better if you use polycarbonate (Lexan) instead
of acrylic (Plexiglass). Unlike acrylic, polycarbonate can easily be cut with scissors (or metal snips) without cracking. It
can also be folded along a straight line without heating.”
If your lenses are not that far gone, Ed Avis provides a fix for the hinge itself: “I removed the old flaps and used them to
trace the pattern onto a plastic VCR tape case and simply cut out new flaps. The nice hinged cover on the tape case
served the same purpose as the hinge on the original flaps. Total cost of the repair was about $1 for the tape case.
Mullaney has his own ideas for that hinge, too: “PET (polyethylene terepthialate sp??) is very good for this application
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too. This is what Coke bottles are made of. A good source for this is the large clear bottles with spring water at the
supermarket. Although a bit on the thin side this is what I used.”
CHROME-PLATED PLASTIC: If you ever find yourself needing to remove chrome plating from plastic, John
Goodman suggests: “You can probably remove the chrome by removing the paint underneath, with oven cleaner, or any
of those concentrated cleaners containing sodium hydroxide. Wear eye protection and rubber gloves. Liberally spray
the part with the goop, seal it in a plastic bag, and wait.
“I haven’t tried oven cleaner to remove chrome from plastic, but I have used it to remove paint from plastic. Works like
a charm, doesn’t harm the plastic. Model railroaders use it on their delicate miniatures”
See COTECH, page 702.
BUMPER VARIATIONS: In some countries that don’t require high-impact bumpers, the XJ-S has been fitted with
lighter, less obtrusive bumpers. The front bumper is fairly thin, and the turn signals mount on the bodywork rather than
in the bumper. The locations for the turn signals are clearly evident on US-issue vehicles, hidden underneath the heavy
bumper.
Scott Horner says, “if they are UK based, then the difference in Pre-’82 to post-’82 is in the bumpers...Pre-’82 (Pre-
HE's) used the impact absorbing bumpers without chrome tops...the same for all markets; but at the H.E. for all markets
(except the USA) Jaguar fitted slimline bumpers without the impact absorbers.
“This means that most trim kits like the TWR & XJR-S packages sit very close to the body and don't use the rubber
bumper beam cover - which I've seen on some US kits....”
For the US, the bumpers changed in 1982 as well -- but both pre-82 and 82-on were impact-absorbing type. Section
76.22 of the ©1975 ROM obviously applies only to the pre-82 bumper design, but the ©1982 Supplement covers the
revised design.
Note that the 1982 bumper change also entailed a change in the front turn signal assemblies.
LICENSE PLATE FASTENERS: No matter how pretty your Jag is, having streaks of rust on the tag streaming
downward from the attachment bolts doesn’t help. There is apparently no consistency in attachment schemes here, it
looks like each dealer fastened the tags whatever way he saw fit -- and rare indeed is the dealer that springs for proper
stainless steel fasteners. It shouldn’t be too hard to find some stainless steel fasteners that will serve. On the author’s
’83, the tag was held on with chincy sheet metal screws directly into the metal of the trunk lid, so a nice chrome license
plate frame was added with four stainless steel screws.
REMOTE TRUNK RELEASE: Bob Whiles says: “There are several “Trunk Release Module” kits on the market. All
you get is the actuator (solenoid), a button, fuse holder and wire. But Chevy has a pretty nice - heavy duty - one in
some of their “upper” models. Just look for a Monte Carlo or above in the junkyard. All you will need then is a
momentary button, wire and fuse/holder. Cheaper and better than the kits.”
REAR SPOILER: Welsh Enterprises (page 697) offers a rear deck spoiler for the XJ-S. JaguarSport does too, and
John Goodman reports: “There are actually two types of (JaguarSport) deck spoilers available. The post-’92 deck
spoiler has more “sweeping ends” to compliment the revised tail lights and I’m not sure, but maybe an integrated brake
light.” Several of the vendors listed starting on page 713 also offer spoilers, some with slightly different styles, so
hopefully you can find one that suits you.
Note that rear deck spoilers have a hole for the antenna to poke through. Also note that rear deck spoilers are attached
to the trunk lid while the antenna is attached to the fender, so opening the trunk with the antenna up won’t work. If you
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are concerned about this, the Jaguar fix is to provide a wiring change so that when the trunk is opened and the light
comes on, the antenna goes down. This could easily be done by anyone; it only requires a relay.
Now, if you have the earlier XJ-S, you know those springs that hold the trunk lid up when open? Do you think they will
still hold the trunk lid up with the additional weight of the new spoiler on it? Not likely! Reportedly, the fix is to fit the
earlier cars with gas struts, just like the later trunk lids have. Goodman again: “The struts and the relay with harness
come with the spoiler if you buy them from a Jag dealer.”
STYLING KITS: Several outfits, including Welsh Enterprises (page 697), JaguarSport (page 8), and several other
vendors in the listing starting on page 713, have developed styling kits with components to add all around the bottom
edge of the bodywork -- from the bumpers downward at both ends, and along the rocker panels under the doors. Some
kits cover the bumpers, while others mount underneath the bumpers with the bumpers protruding through.
The Welsh kit supposedly fits any XJ-S 1982-on, apparently due to some problem with bumpers on earlier cars. John
Goodman says (regarding the JaguarSport versions), “There are three different body kits, pre-’92 and post-’93 US with
rubber bumpers and ’93 UK.”
Michael Minglin reports: “I have installed a ground effects kit (body styling kit) that I purchased from the dealer. From
the pictures it appears to be the same kit Welsh is offering. The kit installs over the shock absorbing beams on my ’84
XJ-S. The chrome top trim and the black rubber end pieces are removed. I find this preferable to the newer kits that do
not have the shock absorbing beams protruding through the spoiler. It may not look as nice, but it provides excellent
protection in the event of slight bumps, like backing into a post I didn’t see. The kit is fiberglass and would easily crack
if it was not for the shock absorbing beams.
“The negatives on this kit are: You have to be very careful when pulling straight into a curb, or one of the concrete
parking curbs in parking lots. The front spoiler is so low it will hit the curb and break. This point must be stressed when
leaving the car at a shop or using valet parking. In addition I have noticed that the engine runs a little warmer on the
open road since I installed the kit. It seems to restrict the airflow somewhat. But, it sure makes the car look great.
“FYI, this kit is manufactured by Arden, a German company.” Arden is listed on page 713.
LUGGAGE RACKS: Herbert Sodher wanted to make his car look different, and found that a luggage rack designed for
a 1968-75 Corvette will fit on the XJ-S trunk lid nicely. He chose a really nice stainless steel model rather than the basic
chrome. He opted not to use the mounting scheme included, since it was intended for fiberglass; instead, he visited a
good hardware store and purchased some stainless steel flush head sheet metal screws. He carefully measured locations
and drilled some small pilot holes, and with very little effort was receiving complements on the appearance of the
installation.
MUD FLAPS: If you drive in mud, snow, slush, etc., you probably are sick and tired of cleaning the slop off the car.
The place to get mud flaps for your Jaguar is at the Jaguar dealer. In fact, the panel behind the front wheels already has
a set of square holes for mounting the flaps.
H.E. VS. V12 EMBLEM: If you feel that “V12” is a more descriptive emblem than “H.E.”, you may be happy to learn
that the V12 emblem is available as a stick-on item, and will perfectly cover the holes used to mount the original H.E.
emblem. If you purchase the V12 emblem (part number BEC4717 - don’t get the earlier 4-piece emblem), merely pry
the H.E. emblem out, clean the surface, and stick the V12 emblem on.
COLOR COORDINATION OF WHEELS: Coordinating the color of the wheels with the body color of the car -- via
some accents in the pattern or the like -- can make a dramatic improvement in the appearance of any car. This is almost
never done at the factory, presumably because tracking different colored wheels to make sure they end up on the correct
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color cars on the assembly line would require too much extra cost and effort. If you have to have your wheels repainted
or powder coated anyway, consider asking the shop to apply an accent color that matches the color of the car.
If your car happens to be red, green, black, or grey, this color coordination of the wheels might be easy! Just replace the
little growler emblems with ones that match! Richard Mansell points out that Jaguar offers wheel emblems “in the
following 5 colours: Silver/Green, Gold/Ruby, Silver/Ruby, Black/Gold, Grey/Silver (Jaguar), Gold/Ruby, Grey/Silver,
Black/Gold (Daimler).” Available at the dealer. The Silver/Ruby part number is MNA 6249EA.
Apparently Jaguar’s intent was not color coordination, which may explain the limited selection of colors. David
Buchner says, “each year model has its own color. '94 uses red...” Maybe more colors will be available in future years!
The early H.E. domed starfish wheels came with a two-piece emblem (growler and retainer) while the 90’s Jaguars use a
single-piece emblem, but the single-piece item fits the domed starfish wheels just fine.
WHEEL ARCHES: These are bright metal trim pieces that fit around the edges of the wheel wells; they are available in
either chrome or gold. They are another item about which opinions vary, with many owners finding them gaudy and
tasteless while others love them. Of course, if the edges of the wheel wells are where your car is rusting, you might
suddenly decide they look good!
John Dyson says, “I have the chrome wheel arches on my ’91 "Classic Collection." It is my impression that they are part
of the limited edition trim which includes chrome wheels, gold bonnet badge, leather interior with contrasting piping, and
"Classic Collection" badge on right rear.”
CONVERTIBLE RIGIDITY: In the old days, cars had a rigid frame and the body merely went along for the ride;
chopping, removing, or otherwise screwing around with the bodywork did not functionally affect the car. However, a
frame is now considered a waste of steel, space, and money, and the body of the car is usually the stress-carrying
structure.
About the same time this change was taking place -- early 70’s or so -- convertibles also disappeared, largely in
anticipation of safety regulations that never actually materialized.
In the 90’s, the convertible made a comeback -- including the lovely XJ-S version. Unfortunately, the stressed-body
concept doesn’t take well to a convertible; removing the roof removes a great deal of the structural rigidity, and such
cars often end up weighing considerably more than the hardtop versions due to added structural reinforcement needed
elsewhere to compensate.
Early XJ-S convertibles were structurally good but not great. With the bodywork revisions in mid-1991, mounting
points were added under the car for a system of front and rear cross-bracing to add rigidity. This renders the structure
truly excellent. Unfortunately, the 1988-1991 convertibles lack the mounts for installing the bracing.
The cross-bracing can be added to earlier cars. A kit including all the parts is available from Classic Engineering (see
page 715), but installation involves some welding. They are reportedly working on a similar kit for the rear bracing, but
the front is the more important.
According to Julian Mullaney, the rear brace is very similar to the front, but fashioning mounting points is harder. “This
brace mounts on the chassis in front of each rear wheel and crosses to attach on the opposite side, behind the rear end
cage on the bottom of the trunk (boot). This is where the problem is. In the new cars, the trunk well is stamped with
two downward pointing depressions to which a brace can be bolted. In the early convertibles some sort of stand-off
(about 2-1/2 inches deep) must be mounted to the bottom of the trunk-well in order to attach the brace.”
Meanwhile, similar cross-brace kits are available from Harvey Bailey Engineering, page 714, but theirs apparently
require no welding. Chris Carley installed both front and rear cross-bracing: “Heck knows why it works but it really
does make the car feel so much more solid. When you hit a bump you just get a normal tire thump - no rattles or
shakes. It also improves the handling, which surprised me; feels like much less roll and more firmly planted. Fitting:
front was dead easy; need 1-1/8" socket for subframe mounts. The rear fitting is just fiddly to get the thread started in a
blind hole (took hours and lots of 4-letter words).”
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MAKING YOUR OWN CONVERTIBLE: Discussing chopping the top off a coupe, Scot D. Abbott says “I’ve seen
several XJ-S coupes made into convertibles. I also saw several XJ-S bodies cut apart just for examination and have
experience evaluating convertible conversions. IMHO, changing the XJ-S unibody to open configuration must be done
with some care to minimize strength loss, and reasonable stiffening elements can be added back to make a sound car.
This must be done properly and can be done in many ways.
“Roof removal is not necessarily the main thing that can take away body integrity/strength in a conversion. I cut the roof
off an XJ-S, towed it on a dolly 2000 miles, and still the door gaps remained the same. I could raise the car with a jack
and not twist or deform it significantly differently from an XJ-S with its roof intact. Please note that I kept the
sundeck/rearward bulkhead intact.
“Compromise of the rear sundeck/rear bulkhead system or removal of the rearward bulkhead (i.e. the sheetmetal wall
behind the rear seats and between the rear wheel wells) from the XJ-S makes the car very flimsy, especially to torsion
stress, and it permits undue flexure during motoring which will likely fatigue the sill/floor joints with time.
“Removing the rearward bulkhead is done to make room for a large power top to fold down. An alternative to this is to
use a compact folding top and thus avoid creating the basic problem.
“A commercial version of this conversion design strategy is available locally (Driver’s Seat of Delaware, Inc., Box 542,
Montchannin, DE 19710, 302-998-7889).”
STATION WAGON: See Lynx Motors International Ltd., page 719.
XJSS: A radical kit car based on the XJ-S offered by Autostyle (page 714). Pat O'Keeffe got the literature, and reports
that the blurb says:
PREPARATION: The bonnet (hood), boot (trunk), bumpers, lights, front wings and doors are unbolted. The
rear wings and roof are removed. Note that the windscreen pillars and glass are not disturbed. The tubular
sill reinforcer, which is supplied, is fitted. The fuel tank is adapted. The rear boot lid support assembly, which
we supply, is fitted.
ASSEMBLY: The one-piece front body section is fitted. The bonnet is fitted. The one-piece rear body section
and sill covers are fitted. The boot lid is fitted. The XJSS door skins are fitted and the doors returned to their
original locations. The lights and number plates are fitted.
PAW PRINTS: Cats love cats; those flea-bitten varmits just love to stroll around on your freshly-washed Jaguar with
their filthy paws and leave little prints all over it. Aside from solutions involving firearms, the following suggestions
have been made:
Peter Cohen says, “There is a product called a ScatMat. You place it on the car, plug it into the mains and it administers
(chuckle) a mild electric shock to the little bugger. I actually own one of these devices. The bad news is: 1. The cat
figured it out and just doesn't step on it. 2. My wife drove off with it still on the car. I found it 2 weeks later in the
bushes, 3 streets away. My only workable solution is: the Jag goes in the garage, the cats may not go in the garage.”
Chuck Wood says, “I know some of you will laugh, but it really works if you have cats that know they should not be on
the car and get off when you come out or you yell at them. I took a motion detector which had two lights. I took one
light out and put a receptacle in it. I then recorded my voice on tape very sternly telling the cats to get down using the
word No and whatever other words that they are used to hearing when they are doing something they should not be
doing. The recording was about 5 minutes long. Set the motion detector for about the shortest time on and position the
sensor to pick up anything moving on top of the car. It should not go off when the cat walks on the floor any where.
When this is set correctly, the cat gets on the car which activates the sensor which turns on the light and activates the
recording telling the cat to get down or off.. It shuts off in about 5 seconds. The recorder is in the play mode all of the
time. It really works well if the cat is conditioned to knowing it should not be up on the car.”
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David Danvers says, “I have sprinkled red cayenne pepper around my carport to keep them away...it is a great deterrent
and cheap...go lightly so you don't track it in the house or car and re-apply after it rains....they'll get the point pretty
quick...” Apparently, the reason this works is because the first thing the cats do when they get settled on the car is to
start licking their paws.
Stefan Schulz suggests, “Dihydrogen Monoxide, the colder the better, and lots of it. Apply by slinging it with a bucket.
They will get the message. It also goes some way to remove the paw prints.”
Hess & Eisenhardt Convertible
VIBRATION: The Hess & Eisenhardt convertibles have chunks of lead mounted behind the headlights, probably to
address a resonance problem. Julian Mullaney says, “Actually, one of them had come loose and was rattling around in
the headlight cavity. This is a problem with a ~15 lb. lump of lead. It beat the sheetmetal in the cavity until it cracked
open, and the lead almost dropped out into the wheel well. I patched it up and bolted it back in place. I think the
vibration may have been slightly less afterwards, but not a huge difference.”
CONVERTIBLE TOP REPAIR: Steve Wilke reports: “Had problems when one of the hydraulic lines chafed its way
to oblivion. Resulted in a good bit of hydraulic fluid in the boot. I found that our local auto parts store carries a hard
black emissions control tubing, which looked very much like the original tubing. A couple of trips to Home Depot's
plumbing department got me the fittings I needed to splice the tube, and Home Depot also had hydraulic jack oil in
gallon jugs. After splicing the tube and purging the lines by raising/lowering the top several times, each time refilling the
pump with hydraulic oil utilizing a turkey baster, the top worked better than ever.”
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INTERIOR
Note: The instrument panel is discussed on page 590.
CHANGES FOR 1988: The interior was significantly changed for the 1988 model year. Changes included:
Chincy plastic door sills replaced with beautiful chrome-plated steel sills with “Jaguar” written in them.
Painted metal “ski slope” (panel surrounding the shifter) replaced with wood burl version. The cruise control
switch was relocated from the shifter pedestal down to the ski slope itself.
New seats with heaters and electrically-adjustable lumbar support. Switches are on the sides of the console.
New steering wheel.
LEGROOM: If you are tall, you may be pleased to know that the front seats in the pre-’88 XJ-S’s have two sets of
mounting holes. The cars came from the factory with the seats mounted on the forward holes. Simply unbolt the seat
rails from the floor, turn the seat over and unbolt the rails from the seat. Remount the rails to the seat using the alternate
set of holes, and the seat will adjust farther rearward.
Note that the ’88-on seats don’t have the second set of holes and are bulkier to boot, making it much more difficult for
the larger driver to fit. When Jaguar incorporated electric motors in the seat adjustments in the early 90’s, they got
bulkier still.
Tall people should also avoid the H&E convertible. Relocating the seat mounts rearward will do no good, because the
housing for the convertible mechanism limits rearward motion of the front seats.
SEAT RAIL SPACING: John Nuttall notes that the seat rail spacing on pre-’88 cars was 17½" while on later cars it
was 16½". Obviously, the seats will not be interchangeable.
SEAT MOUNTING BOLTS: On the early cars such as the author’s ’83, the four bolts that hold the front seat rails to
the floor tend to be aggravating. The front two bolts go into rectangular block nuts that do not hold themselves in place,
although it usually isn’t too difficult to hold them in place with a large screwdriver until you get the threads started. The
rear bolt near the door threads into a trapped nut that can move around for alignment. The rear bolt adjacent to the
console is threaded directly into a boss welded to the floor; since this is the only corner that cannot be moved for
alignment, this is the one that locates the seat. When putting the seat in, it is a good idea to get all four bolts started
before tightening any, and then tighten the rear one near the console first.
Mike Wilson reports that both rear nuts are firmly attached on the 1990 model, neither one can move around for
alignment. Still, it would probably be better to have all four bolts started before tightening any, and tighten the rear two
first.
To make the job a little easier, you can replace the two rectangular block nuts at the front with clip nuts that will hold
themselves in place. The clip nuts are described as an “extruded U nut, 5/16 Regular” or “Long”. The “regular” means
that the clip part is 5/8” deep, while the “long” has a clip about 7/8” deep. Suitable U-nuts were bought at Lowe’s and
made by Curtis Industries, Inc., Eastlake, OH 44095. The Curtis part number is 838758 for the regular and 838759 for
the long. Similar U-nuts are also sold by auto body parts shops, with the regular having a part number 4016.
The best course of action seems to be to have a selection of regular and long U-nuts on hand to do this job. On the
author’s car, the regular fit the locations near the doors while the locations near the console required the long. You
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don’t wanna use the long on the locations near the doors if you don’t have to, since they would protrude more than
necessary and possibly hurt someone’s ankle or run pantyhose.
Of course, strength here is of some importance; you don’t want that seat coming loose in an accident. However, even
though the U-nuts are extruded from sheet metal, they are probably stronger than the original rectangular block nuts --
which are made of something related to silly putty. Since the U-nut is a clip, it is made of spring steel and therefore quite
strong. And the extruded threads are perhaps twice as long as the threads on the rectangular block.
Since U-nuts seem to only come in coarse thread and the original mounting bolts are fine thread, you will have to replace
the front two bolts as well to get the U-nuts to work. The shape of the head of the bolt is crucial, since the wrong shape
may obstruct the adjustment of the seat. The bolt to use with it is a “socket head cap screw, 5/16-18 x 1”. Curtis part
number 835558, but this is a fairly common critter and can be found most anywhere. This is driven by a 1/4” Allen
wrench. The original lock washer may be used with this bolt.
On the earlier cars, these bolts were Pozidriv #3 head. This makes them quite difficult to get really tight, especially the
rear ones since it may be difficult to get a screwdriver to engage the bolt head straight on; if you have Pozidriv bits for a
changeable-tip screwdriver, you might try using one with a 1/4” box-end wrench or a 1/4” socket with a ratchet here.
Later cars use Torx T-40 bolts instead, a big improvement. The Allen drive cap screws also work quite well; if you have
the Pozidriv, you might consider picking up some 3/4” long fine 5/16” fine thread cap screws for the rear locations,
making all four removable with an Allen wrench.
SEAT DIAPHRAGM: If you take the seat out and turn it over, you will find that the bottom cushion is supported by a
rubber diaphragm stretched across the frame and hooked on with hog rings. This diaphragm is classic British non-metal
stuff and is rotten and torn, and that’s why you seem to sink farther into the seats than you did when you were younger.
Ron White says, “They are available for the Jag from BAS Ltd.” See page 699. Note that this is valuable information;
apparently many Jaguar suppliers (including the dealers) will not sell you the diaphragm, they want you to buy the entire
seat cushion assembly.
Still, installation is no picnic. The foam of the cushion is glued to the diaphragm, so replacing the diaphragm will entail
carefully cutting the foam away and gluing it to the new diaphragm. You’ll need good glue, like 3M Super Trim
Adhesive #08090.
Note also the above comment about the seat rail spacing change. It is unknown whether a different diaphragm is called
for between the two types of seat, but some owners have commented that the diaphragm was really tough to install,
requiring serious pulling -- but maybe it’s supposed to. Also, there are reports that the replacement diaphragm required
a somewhat different mounting hole pattern in the frame, so a few new holes had to be drilled.
This author took a different route and left the old tired diaphragm in place and reinforced it with a piece of plastic sheet
above it (between it and the foam) and a webbing woven of curtain rod cord underneath it. The webbing is remarkably
easy to do, just loop back and forth between the same hog rings that hold the diaphragm itself, stretch it tight, and tie it;
it might be advisable to do this while the diaphragm is still in good shape, thereby postponing the cushion regluing
considerably.
COMFORT: Some of us prefer the bottom portion of the front seat to be inclined somewhat; this helps hold the
occupant in position with less effort on his part, as opposed to having to brace one’s feet against the floorboard to keep
from constantly sliding forward. This is especially a problem if you like the seat back reclined somewhat.
The seats in the ’83 XJ-S have no angle adjustment on the bottom. However, a small amount of incline can be
permanently added by inserting a few 5/16” washers under the front end of the seat rails, around the front mounting
bolts. It wouldn’t be a good idea to add more than 1/4” or so since you may start distorting the rails, but 1/4” can make
a dramatic difference. If you need more, you can also insert washers between the upper rails and the seat itself. Beyond
that, you need to make some tapered washers to be able to bolt the rails to the floor without distorting them.
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LEATHER: Robert Olman of New York sends this tip. If your leather interior has areas where the dye has worn
through and the color of bare leather is showing, it can be re-dyed. The original leather, by Connolly Leathers, is painted
with dye rather than vat dyed like other cars -- if you look at the back side of the leather, you see the undyed color.
Connolly uses a lacquer-based dye; you’ll need 2-3 pints for the entire interior. Before using, you must determine which
pieces are leather and which are vinyl, as the lacquer-based dye will destroy vinyl (Some XJ-S’s are all leather, others
have vinyl in areas that don’t contact humans such as the sides of the seats). Or, you can use a non-original non-lacquer-
based dye.
You might want to remove seats, console, etc. from the car to make the job easier. Clean the leather with lacquer
thinner, sand it lightly with fine sandpaper to remove the shine, then clean again with lacquer thinner. Then apply the
dye evenly, perhaps in two coats.
If it is humid, it will take a long time to dry. Heavy coats will also require a long time. Heavy coats in damp weather
may require a week to dry.
If you would rather spray the dye, you will have to remove all items from the car, thin the dye with 5-7 parts thinner to 1
part dye, and apply many thin coats. It will require more dye due to waste. Many marine supply shops sell disposable
aerosol sprayers (about $6) with replaceable aerosols (about $3). You’ll need about three aerosols.
A complete restoration kit is available directly from Connolly (see page 699), with instructions.
Note that Jaguar has used at least three different colors called “biscuit”. To get the correct one, you must specify model
and year.
FOOT ROOM: The footwells are tight enough; does the brake pedal have to be so big? Of course not! It doesn’t have
to be any bigger than a brake pedal in a manual transmission car. John Ashcroft says, “Just a small mod: cut 20mm off
each side of the brake pedal to gain much needed foot room. What a difference it made!” Note that you don’t even
have to cut equally off each side: you can cut entirely off one side if you’d like.
Tip: Go to the auto parts store first and check out the sizes of replacement brake pedal pads available. Choose the size
you want, take it home, and then trim your pedal to match.
You can take the brake pedal out fairly easily, if it will make it easier for you to trim.
INTERIOR WOOD: There are two different types of wood commonly used in the XJ-S interior, elm burl and walnut
burl. The elm burl is a light honey color, while the walnut is dark. Neither type holds up well in direct sunlight, so it is
recommended that all XJ-S owners purchase sunshades to put in the windows when parking ina sunny parking lot --
especially if you have a later car with the wood ski slope, which is positioned to get more direct sunlight than any wood
trim in the earlier cars.
INTERIOR WOOD WORK: Gene Halaburt says, “An excellent article on wood finishing for Jaguars appeared in the
October 1996 issue of "Jaguar Enthusiast" Magazine. Written by John Sundberg dba "A&B Leather & Wood
Renovation." (see page 698).
INTERIOR WOOD TRIM REFINISHING: Rick Lindsay provides this suggested procedure for refinishing the wood
trim:
- Sand the veneered wood very carefully with 200 or 400 grit paper removing only enough wood to freshen the
surface. Even with 200 grit sandpaper it is easy to cut through the thin veneers used in britcars - especially on
edges. I’ve found it better to leave a bit of the ‘old finish’ than to sand thru the veneer and have to stain the
substrate. Pay particular attention to edges that should be left crisp - not rounded. It adds a professional look.
Always sand linearly, not in circles.
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- Clean and tack cloth the fresh wood. I use the vacuum cleaner to suck the sanding dust up out of the cracks
and pores in the wood. It’s remarkable how much comes out!
- Dilute into a clean glass jelly jar about a half jar of MinWax brand exterior Spar high gloss urethane. To that,
add an equal amount of new clean mineral spirits. Mix well (stirred, not shaken).
- With a small fine brush, paint the wood surface. The fresh wood will soak up the thin urethane mixture like a
sponge. This is, of course, the idea.
- Allow to dry 24 hours.
- Sand lightly (basically to remove high spots) with 400 grit paper.
- Vacuum clean.
- Repeat about 5 times to build up a thick coat. By this time the pores in the wood should be completely full; if
not, you’re not done with the diluted coats.
- Sand the last time with 400 grit paper to a matte finish.
- Here’s where things have to be really clean. In a clean environment away from all dust, spray the wood with
MinWax brand exterior Spar high gloss urethane straight from the spray can. A thin, smooth coat is fine.
- Allow to dry 24 hours.
- Carefully wet sand with 1200 grit paper. The kind used to ‘block’ or ‘color sand’ a new paint job is best.
After all, that is what you are doing.
- I only use two coats of spray because finish is all that you are adding.
- Block again carefully, polish as if it were a new paint job. Buff if you have the courage. I do it by hand as a
buffer in my hands is a license to screw up royally.
- Finish the job with a coat of Carnauba.
- Admire and drink beer.
Alastair Lauener provides an alternative method of stripping the wood: “I used a chemical called Nitromors, a paint
stripper, water soluble, to strip off all the old varnish, and washed under cold water. I tested on an old spare dash first.
Careful not to let the wood get too wet. Allow to dry out for a few days. Be careful not to scratch it.”
‘88-ON SKI SLOPE: Removal of the earlier metal ski slope was obvious, three screws. With the wooden ski slope,
however, the screws are hidden. Matt Dillon reports: “In order to remove it, you need to take out the lighter and cruise
switch. This gives you access to the bolt on each side that hold the ski slope in place.”
John Keppler: “I would like to suggest an alternative approach. The cruise control switch and the cigar lighter are held
in place with plastic tabs that are bevelled to snap on, but not to snap off. I don't believe you can reasonable expect to
pry these fixtures off without breaking at least one of the four tabs on each (as I ended up breaking one of mine). I
would suggest instead the the ashtrays be removed first. The bolts that secure the console lid are mounted horizontally
with their heads pointed toward the car's center immediately next to the electrical fixtures. They hold the console with a
vertical tab which has a slot that slips down over the bolt. The bolts only need to be loosened to remove the lid. Reach
back through the ash tray openings in the lid with a 5/16" wrench to loosen the bolts. Once the lid is removed, you have
a much better chance of removing the CC switch and cigar lighter without damage. Reinstall the ash trays, remove the
electrical items, and reinstall the lid. Then the bolts are easily accessible for tightening, and the wiring is easy to
reattach.”
The wooden ski slope is notorious for cracking and peeling, perhaps because it gets more direct sunlight than the other
wood in the interior. Dillon suggests a repair: “The ski slope is a piece of metal that has the wood veneer glued to it. I
took a belt sander to it to remove the old veneer. I ordered the veneer from Constantines and re-applied it as per their
instructions. The veneer was a little lighter than the rest of the wood, so I used a little stain to darken it up a little. I
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then found an epoxy based clear coat to put a thick shiny finish on it. Much easier than applying coat after coat of
varnish or polyurethane. This is a pour on finish and has held up very well so far. I did this about a year ago, so
obviously I haven't been able to duplicate 8 years of having the sun cook it, but am hoping that it will last.
“I did go to the dealer to price a new one. They told me somewhere around $250 and couldn't guarantee that it would
come even close to matching the rest of the wood. The wood veneer from Constantines cost me about $25 with the can
of veneer glue to go with it. The epoxy coating was about $10 more. Aside from being a whole lot cheaper, it allowed
me to get the color very close.” Constantines is on page 699.
“I called them and just asked them for a piece of their "premium" burl walnut veneer and gave them the measurements. I
specified a piece much larger than what I actually needed just in case the edges were a little rough. They sent me 3
pieces. In order to make it fit, I used 2 of the pieces with the seam running straight down the middle. It wasn't obvious
to me, but the original Jag piece also had a seam in the middle. The pieces are matched, so it looks really nice. The left
side is a mirror image of the right side. There were a couple of knots in the veneer, but I liked that. They're very
helpful, and I'm sure that if you send them a piece, they'll try to match it.”
CONSOLE PANEL: For those of us who own an ’83 XJ-S, removing the panel from the top of the console is easy and
obvious -- there are three clearly visible screws. However, John S. Whitford has an ’89 with one of those newfangled
wood veneer panels, and apparently somebody decided that visible screws would be passé. “The cruise control switch
and the cigar lighter can be pried out and that exposes a sheet metal bolt into the console wall locking down the lid on
each side. Getting those out allowed me to raise the lid and slide it back some and there are two pegs on the front edge
of the cover that fit under the radio-A/C cover.”
ADHESIVES: If you’re doing interior work, you need to know about adhesives. The following is from Timothy J.
Hesse; “I am the product marketeer for the ITSD Industrial Aerosol Adhesives and I formerly was the product
marketeer for Auto Trades Aerosol Adhesives.”
“74 Foam Fast Adhesive is an excellent foam bonding adhesive which performs well up to about 120°F. Above that
temp, the adhesive will soften, and with sufficient stress, you can pull the foam apart. It is possible to experience up to
150+ degrees in a closed car, and the seat part does see a fair amount of stress when a person is sitting on it.
“Another 3M product which is a good foam bonder and has 160° temp resistance is General Trim Adhesive, pn 08080,
which is sold by the Automotive Trades Division. This would be a better product to try for seat bottoms.
“76 is a good product---but does not have very good plasticizer resistance. Vinyl material is typically loaded with
plasticizing oils, and in time these plasticizers migrate from the vinyl to the adhesive, and they soften the adhesive to the
point the adhesive becomes very soft and gummy and “lets go”. 76 has 160°F temp resistance and would work on foam
bonding, but vinyl bonding would not be a long term success.
“A better product for bonding vinyl is Super Trim Adhesive, pn 08090, also sold by Automotive Trades Division. Super
Trim is a neoprene-based contact adhesive in an aerosol can. It has 200°F temp resistance, and is plasticizer resistant.
In fact, Super Trim is very good for reattaching vinyl tops, vinyl trim, etc. in auto restoration projects.”
HEADLINER: Apparently, if you don’t want to have headliner trouble with an XJ-S, you’d better get a convertible!
They all seem to fall down sooner or later, and the roof light is poorly placed to help keep the headliner off your head
when it does.
The material used in a headliner is a fabric bonded to a thin layer of foam. The failure mode of headliners (not just
Jaguar) is that the foam rots and falls apart. While it appears tempting to just find some way to glue it back up (and
there are people who are willing to sell you products to “inject” glue in there with), the fix will not last; once the foam is
shot, gluing it back together only makes it fall apart again above or below the glue layer.
The only real solution is a new headliner. Fortunately, this problem affects cars other than Jags, and a competent
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craftsman can usually be found locally to do this job well for a reasonable cost.
You will be given the choice of insisting on genuine Jaguar headliner fabric or just installing a generic material. You
should have learned about British non-metallic materials by now; if not, let me point out that you are replacing a genuine
Jaguar headliner! True, it appears that American headliners fall too, but it isn’t any sooner than Jaguar ones. The only
reason to get the original material is to match the color perfectly, but most of us aren’t that picky about headliner colors.
While this is a good example of work best left to professionals, there are those who want to try doing it themselves.
Frank Perrick says, “The trick is to buy only 3M spray adhesive and read the can. There is only one 3M adhesive
recommended for this job. The wrong can will say ‘not for head liners’, and the first hot day you will be wearing your
headliner. Headliner kits including fabric and clips are available at local auto parts stores.” The correct stuff is Super
Trim Adhesive #08090.
By the way, the headliner fabric in the XJ-S is bonded to a piece of stiff cardboard or fiberglass. It is somewhat of a
challenge to get this thing out of the car; the Jaguar manual specifies removing the windshield! Apparently, that isn’t
really necessary; Rob Ward reports: “You need to get someone to support the other side while you turn it through 90
degrees. Moved the seats back and lowered the headrests, moved steering wheel fully in. Mine came out through
passenger door no problems. (RHD)” Regardless of the methods attempted, everyone who’s tried it agrees you will
need at least two people.
Richard Dowling offers some guidance for fiberglass repair of that headliner structure: “I pulled the old headlining and
used a fibreglass repair kit to beef up the crumbling edges of the moulded roof panel. That was a big mistake, because
the rear edge of the moulded panel fits into a slit in the rear window seal. Now my panel is a bit thicker around the
edges and perhaps 5mm longer. It pushes the new and pliable rear seal outwards even with the window in place. This
has distorted the seal, although it does not leak. The problem is the distortion does not allow me to put the bright trim
pieces back in.”
FACIA: On the dashboard, just below the speedometer and tachometer on either side of the steering column, there is a
panel covered with a fuzzy black fabric intended to be nonreflective to prevent glare on the gauges. This fabric tends to
come apart after a few years’ exposure to sunlight. To replace it, visit any shop that installs automobile headliners.
These two pieces would qualify as scrap to them, you might even get it for free. Take the panels out, remove the old
fabric and install the new with contact cement.
GLOVEBOX: The lining on the inside of the glovebox is -- you guessed it -- headliner material.
MOTORMOUSE SEAT BELTS: John S. Whitford relates his experience: “The passive restraint shoulder belt (that I
hate), got stuck in the engaged position. I just unsnapped the belt and forgot about it. But it kept trying to return to the
disengaged position and that eventually ran down the battery. When I connected the recharged battery back up, I heard
it straining, and a little fiddling got it unstuck.”
Sean Straw’s motormouse seat belts went nuts. “I've noticed on more than one occasion the passenger side passive
seatbelt decide that it wants to freak out as it is closing - it reaches the (upper) stop point, then backs off as much as a
couple of inches, then reactivates to the stop point again. Back and forth. It'll do this as much as a dozen times (usually
less) then stop and act normal. The same thing has occurred on the driver side perhaps twice. Less occasionally, the
passenger seatbelt will not actuate until the driver side door has been closed. I can count the number of times this has
happened in the past five months on two hands. This seatbelt weirdness only occurs when the vehicle is at a stand still,
and just after I've inserted the key into the ignition -- it isn't as if I'm driving along and it freaks out.”
Bob Morazes says, “I have a 92 VDP with the same bizzare seat belts.”
John Wynne says, “I had a similar situation with my seat belts. Only the driver's side was affected, but not only did it
joggle the belt back and forth, it would also trigger the door open buzzer and activate the interior lights. The first time it
happened was late at night during a heavy rain storm and it scared the hell out of me. Lights coming on and buzzers
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going off are not an expected event on the highway.
“It was only occurring during and after heavy rains so I unwisely ignored it for a while, until the day the belt started to
move into its open door position and suddenly changed directions pinning me so hard into my seat that I thought it was
going to dislocate my shoulder. The retractable portion of the seat belt located to the rear and right of the drivers seat
had finally siezed from all the erratic passive belt movement. I was surprised to find that the belt motor had that much
force to pin me into the set like that. To top it off I was going about 45 mph into a pretty sharp turn. Talk about panic!
“Basically, what I'm trying to say is don't be dumb like me and let it act weird until a mishap like mine. I was really upset
with myself when I found that the cause of all the mayhem was the driver's side door plunger. You know, the one that
activates the open door buzzer, turns on interior lights and causes the seat belt to retract. I can't believe the symptoms
were so obvious and I ignored it for almost a month.
“It might be one location for you to check out before digging under the dash or inside the track mechanism. The way I
tested mine since things seemed fine with a multimeter, was to tape a quarter to the metal plate on the door which
contacts the door plunger. This forced the plunger to seat a little further and eliminated the problems. A local parts
store had a suitable replacement for about $2.”
The good news: According to John Alexander, since the motormouse seat belts are supposed to be a substitute for air
bags, they are “warranted for life in US -- had mouse motor repaired and car washed gratis by my dealer.”
Morazes agreed. “My Jag dealer replaced them for free. Yes, I said free. Its not every day that you get a free trip
through the dealership.”
Charles Maraia wasn’t happy with the warranty: “I took my '88 to the dealer and they said the motor is warranteed, but
nbo the other parts. Well, guess what? They found fault with all the switches and on. Cost me over $100 to fix a
warranteed item. And I still pull the fuse! That won't happen again.”
Maraia may have been ripped off, but it doesn’t always happen. Ned Wesley says, “I took my '88 in to purchase the seat
belt assemblies and was told move the car in line for service. The service manager attempted to operate the belts. When
they would not operate, the entire system was replaced at no cost to me. The right and left side seat belts had an invoice
of $1,900 for parts and labor. I believe that the motors are invoiced at $500 U.S. each.”
REAR SEAT SHOULDER HARNESSES: The 1983 XJ-S doesn’t have rear seat shoulder harnesses, it has lap belts
only. However, it has the mounts for shoulder harnesses, hidden behind the rear quarter upper trim pad. Since studies
have indicated that wearing a lap belt only in a rear seat is more dangerous than using no restraint at all, those who
actually have occupants in the back seat might want to consider adding shoulder straps.
MORE WOOD: Since more is obviously better, the tasteful touches of burl wood in the interior of the XJ-S can be
supplemented with other panels ad nauseum. The ‘88-on wood veneer ski slope reportedly will not fit the earlier cars --
the console itself was changed at the same time; however, Autostyle Ltd (page 714) can provide wood veneer ski slopes
to fit any XJ-S. They also offer burl wood panels to replace the radio facia, the little panels around the headlight switch
and ignition switch, and the panel surrounding the gauges within the dash, as well as burl wood shifter knobs.
DOOR SILLS: The ‘88-on metal door sills are a lot more impressive than the earlier plastic items. As soon as you see
one, you're going to want to retrofit a pair into your earlier car. Patrick MacNamara says, "I had to machine about 1/2"
off a center ridge the entire length of the underside of the plate to adapt it to my '82. It was either that, or cut
out/remove part of the carpeting and underlay where the sill plate sits. The center ridge does not allow for the plate to
sit flat and down tightly on the older cars."
While the plastic sills were one-piece, the metal sills have separate finishing caps at both ends and a series of clips
underneath. Richard Mansell provides a parts list: “The part numbers for the coupe are:
Tread plate RH BDC 4642
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Tread plate LH BDC 4643
Finisher end BDC 9742 (RH front, LH rear, 2 required)
Finisher end BDC 9743 (LH front, RH rear, 2 required)
Clip for tread plate BBC 9853 (total of 10 required)”
Note that the sills for the convertibles are different. On the other hand, one might presume that the H&E convertible
probably uses the same sills as the coupe.
Mansell also reports that there are aftermarket firms in the UK offering metal sills.
CUP HOLDERS: The XJ-S doesn’t have one! What a cheap car. Gary Penovich says, “I definitely needed a cupholder
in NYC. How else was I gonna drink, drive, and give somebody the finger at the same time?”
There are lots of cheapie drink holders available; a visit to any truck stop or auto parts store should reveal a wide
selection. One place to consider installing a foldable drink holder might be the inside surface of the glovebox door. On
the ’83, the glovebox door has a pop-up mirror on one side and nothing on the other, so you could install a drink holder
on -- or in -- that other side. But if it’s a surface-mount, you might even mount it on the pop-up mirror.
One of the best ideas is to refab the ski slope with simple recessed cup-shaped cup holders where the ashtrays are.
Suitable cupholders are available at marine stores, since apparently it’s common practice to cut holes in your boat and
slap one in. You need to be careful to find one of a suitable depth, but there’s one at
http://www.marineeast.com
that appears to be about right.
Your only problem then will be: whattaya do for ashtrays? But this is a much easier problem, since ashtrays can be
installed in vertical surfaces -- such as the door panels. It should be easy enough to find suitable ashtrays in any
junkyard. There are even ashtrays sold at
http://www.westmarine.com
that are designed to fit into a cupholder! Of course, if you’re a nonsmoker you can just forget it.
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CLIMATE CONTROL
PERFORMANCE CHECK: On max cool, this system should provide air at the center vent in the dash in the upper 30’s
F. Steve S says, “My '85 XJ-S with R12 achieved 35°F at the vents, at idle, doors open, fan auto, max cool on a UK
70°F day after I'd topped if off in July of this year.”
If your car ain’t getting that cold, it ain’t working right. There are a few things to check. First and foremost, while the
system is trying as hard as it can to cool, check the sight glass at the receiver/dryer along the front edge of the radiator
upper support rail. There should be no bubbles visible in the glass -- zero, zip, nada. If there are any bubbles, the freon
circuit is undercharged. See page 514.
If the charge is OK, other things to look at include the adjustment of the linkages on the Delanair MkII system (see page
535) and checking for leakage through the heater valve when closed (see page 495).
SYSTEM TYPES: From the inception of the Jaguar XJ-S until 1987, a climate control system known as the Delanair
MkII was used. In 1987, the Delanair MkIII was introduced, and continued in use until the XJ-S ceased production.
The housing within the dash was a sheet metal assembly painted gloss black in the MkII, while the MkIII is largely
plastic. The MkII is controlled by a single servo assembly via a conglomeration of linkages within the right side of the
console, while the MkIII uses multiple local servos and controls. Both systems underwent several detail changes over
their production lives.
The compressor and freon circuit is essentially common to both systems, as are a few other things. Within the dash,
however, the two systems are totally different. So, the climate control tips are divided into three sections: Things that
are common to all systems, things that pertain to the MkII only, and things that pertain to the MkIII only.
Was there a MkI? Yes, but it was used in SI XJ6 and XJ12 saloons only; it had been superceded by the MkII prior to
the introduction of the XJ-S. Hence, it will not be addressed in this book. Mike Morrin says, “The Mk1 system did not
have an electronic amplifier and servo, and relied on a thermostatic bellows controlling a set of vacuum valves for
temperature and air flow control.” It also had considerably less cooling capacity.
The 1995-on XJ12’s, which are based on the X300 body, use the climate control system that was introduced with that
body. It’s not Delanair. Obviously, it likewise is not covered in this book. It has an electrically-operated heater control
valve, as opposed to the vacuum-operated valve used in the XJ-S. It also features an electric pump in the heater line.
POLLEN FILTERS: Richard Mansell reports: “If you are interested you can get pollen filters for the ventilation
system. I have no idea how or where you fit them but according to a Jaguar accessories brochure from 1997 three
are available:
93.5-96 JLM11696
92-93 JLM11355
Pre-92 JLM11108
One might expect that these pollen filters would only fit the Delanair MkIII system, so that “Pre-92” probably really
means 87-92. If you have an older car, at least ask first before spending the money.
Common Features
WINDSHIELD FOGGING: If your windshield fogs up more than it should, the first thing to do is determine if the
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fogging is on the inside or the outside -- wipe your finger on it, or turn on the wipers. If it’s on the outside, the problem
is that your air conditioner is pumping very cold air through the defroster vents, chilling the glass and causing
condensation on the outside. There are two common causes for this malady:
First, the flap that is supposed to close off the defroster vents is not closing properly, or the sealing foam on the surface
of the vent has rotted away. In the MkII system in the XJ-S, the flap is operated by a vacuum capsule immediately to
the right of the center facia vent, but it’s really difficult to get to without pulling the dash (note that the MkII system in
the saloon is different in this respect, having a vacuum capsule on each side). The flap itself is basically impossible to
work on without a total disassembly of the dash, including purging the freon system and pulling out the entire A/C
assembly. Sometimes the problem is the hinge the flap moves on, a cheap plastic item that should be replaced with
something more substantial if you ever have the opportunity.
Fortunately, the second cause is more common (on the MkII, anyway): the linkage controlling the entire A/C system is
misadjusted, causing the air coming through the upper half of the system to be colder than it should be. Readjust the
control linkage as described on page 535.
If the fog is on the inside of the windshield, it is usually due to one of two causes: either the condensate drains are
plugged up causing the system to fill with water, or the heater core has sprung a leak. To determine which, John Shuck
sends this tip: “This sounds crude, but wet your finger and touch the window. Taste your finger now. If it tastes sweet,
that’s antifreeze that’s coming from guess where....heater core.”
CONDENSATE DRAINS: All air conditioning systems must have a condensate drain to drain the water that condenses
when the air is cooled. The XJ-S has two -- small plastic tubes protruding downward and ending well above the exhaust
system on either side of the transmission. When working properly, these tubes will be dripping water on the exhaust
pipes during muggy weather. However, when the lines plug up, the water fills up inside the A/C system, causing wet
spots on the carpet, reduced airflow, etc. It will sometimes dump water on the driver’s or passenger’s feet when
cornering. It also appears to be the culprit in a strong tendency to fog up the windshield immediately upon starting the
car after it was recently shut off.
From under the car, run a piece of stiff wire up through each of the tubes until it goes all the way into the A/C unit.
Compressed air might also work. Since Jaguar made these tubes entirely too small (they are twice this diameter on most
cars) they get plugged easily and need to be opened up regularly.
If your drains are plugged beyond this simple repair, Hunt Dabney provides a description of more serious work:
“Remove the side panels from either side of the transmission tunnel (the ones that have the vents in them). On the left
side, if you look at the front-most ‘corner’, all the way to the left when viewed from the side, you should see a rubber
reducing nipple attached to the lower portion of the compartment containing the A/C coils. This has a piece of 3/8” poly
tubing protruding from the bottom, down and through a grommet which passes through the top of the transmission
tunnel. This one is easy to get to and remove. To replace, use new hose clamps, and possibly silicone seal if the
grommet has problems (or a new grommet).
“Above this point is a duct, about 4” in diameter and which extends under the dash from the heater a/c unit to the left
side dash vents. By rotating the end a bit ccw, it may be withdrawn from the heater box. This will allow you to look in
the box and inspect for dust and debris. Clean out through here if you can.
“The right side is very similar, but the A/C servo linkages may get in the way and require removal. In fact, it may be
necessary to remove the servo unit. Getting in through the duct, as previously described, is workable, but you have to
remove the glove box.”
According to Larry Lee, the drains may be getting plugged with bits of the foam insulation used in the system; being
British non-metallic material, it rots and falls into the drains. The insulation itself is not worth replacing unless you’re
doing other major work, because it requires tearing the dash and A/C system apart.
Note that Technical Service Bulletin #8218 describes a problem with the condensate drains after the airbags were
introduced in 1989 and up to VIN 165565. Apparently a revision of the A/C system was necessary, and as a result
excess sealant on the drain separator plate may plug the drains. After VIN 165565, the sealing was omitted. Later, after
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VIN 168340, an additional hole was provided in the separator plate.
PLUGGED CONDENSATE DRAINS -- PREVENTING SECONDARY DAMAGE: Hunt Dabney says, “Last time
the drain tubes clogged up on mine, it dumped quite a bit of water over the servo and ruined the feedback pot. I made a
mylar shield to prevent this from happening again. I took a sheet of 6mil mylar (used to use for PC board layout before
CAD), cut it so that it would fold over the servo assy from the mounting surface side, with tabs folding over the corners
and openings where required to clear the operating levers, cable and tubing. Then, crease the folds, install over the
servo and reinstall the servo cover. I cut an opening where the foam "friction" piece that pads between the servo and the
mounting surface go, so that it would not slide due to the mylar.”
See also the note on the official Jaguar protection for the stereo on page 665.
HEATER CONTROL VALVE: The Jaguar heater control valve is a vacuum-operated pot metal contraption located in
the dead center of the firewall, under the rear loop of the fuel rail. It consists of a metal cylinder with a hole through it
within a ported housing; the cylinder is rotated to align the hole with the ports to allow flow, and rotated so the ports
face the blank sides of the cylinder for shutoff. This valve is expensive, difficult to get at, and prone to corrosion and
seizing.
Note that a heater valve should provide a total 100% shutoff of water when vacuum is applied; if it is leaking when
closed, even slightly, it introduces quite a lot of heat into the climate control system when it is supposed to be in full cool
mode. While the supply air from the vents may still seem cool thanks to the operation of the flaps bypassing the heater
core, the system won’t work as efficiently as it should. When in doubt, test it; connect the valve to a 5/8” garden hose
with a hose clamp, turn on the water faucet, and suck on the vacuum line with your mouth. If the flow doesn’t
completely shut off, you need a new valve.
It’s a fairly simple matter to remove the intake manifold crossover pipe, and doing so may provide vastly improved
access. On the ’83 XJ-S, the mount bracket is held to the firewall with two bolts that thread into nuts welded onto the
firewall. However, Michael Bain reports that some models use nylon nuts within the wiper motor area. In this case, it
may be easier to remove the intake grille/wiper motor assembly and unbolt the heater control valve from the back side,
but if the nuts aren’t nylon you won’t get anywhere going that route.
Do not simply eliminate the valve and plug the hoses. The hot water supply is necessary for proper operation of the
climate control system, even when it’s in cooling mode. A temperature sensor in the heater core will limit the blower
operation if the water isn’t warm enough.
When the Jaguar valve causes problems, whatever you do, don’t replace it with another valve just like it! That metal
thing is junk. A better option is to go into an auto parts store and ask for a heater valve for a Jaguar. Some stores may
stock the original, but most places -- notably the cheaper places -- will hand you a generic heater valve such as one made
by Factory Air, part no. 74803. This valve is made almost entirely of plastic, and costs only about $10. Although some
people don’t like plastic, the design of this valve is so superior that it is undoubtedly the most reliable choice. This is a
domed poppet valve rather than a rotating-cylinder valve, so the reliability of a total shutoff when closed is much better.
Discount Auto Parts and Pep Boys sell this valve, and they always seem to have it in stock.
Note that any vacuum-operated heater valve with 5/8” fittings that is open when there is no vacuum applied will work.
This valve does not throttle; it is strictly on or off, and the temperature modulation is controlled with flaps inside the car.
Note that the vacuum hose in the XJ-S is 1/8” while the connection on the Factory Air valve is 1/4”. You will probably
not want to try to stretch a 1/8” vacuum hose over a 1/4” connection, so plan accordingly and buy an adaptor and a
short piece of 1/4” vacuum hose while you’re in the store.
Also note that the plastic valve is so lightweight there is no need to mount it; it can be merely suspended in the hoses.
Take advantage of this fact and relocate it towards the passenger’s side of the engine compartment rather than trying to
put it anywhere near where the original was. This will require some 5/8” heater hose and clamps, and perhaps a “hose
repair kit” for joining two hoses together, so pick all this stuff up while you’re at the store as well. Note that, in addition
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to straight 5/8” heater hose, most auto parts stores have a large selection of “molded hoses”, 5/8” hoses with sharp
bends and curves formed in them. You might consider choosing a couple of these and using them to make your heater
valve relocation look more professional.
Getting to the OEM valve is a pain -- so Peyton Gill came up with another idea: abandon it in place. As long as it
doesn’t leak externally (they usually don’t) and it’s not stuck shut (they usually aren’t) then simply disconnect the
vacuum line (leaving it open all the time), cut the heater hose somewhere over near the right side, install a new valve,
and connect the vacuum line to it.
BLOWER FANS: The XJ-S uses two fans, one on each side. Therefore, there is one more failure mode possible than
on other cars. If your A/C is putting out cold air but doesn’t seem able to cool the car, check that both fans are
working. If one runs and the other doesn’t, the system appears to be working but capacity is severely reduced. Since
both fans feed a common plenum, failure of one fan reduces airflow at all outlets but does not affect one outlet more
than another. When both fans are working, airflow is quite forceful indeed at high speed, and cooling should be more
than adequate.
The blower assemblies are different between the earlier system and the Delanaire MkIII, but they are similar enough that
the discussions in the next few paragraphs apply to either.
BLOWER MOTORS DISCONNECTED: The wires to the blower motors go through a grommet into the blower
housing and then attach to the motor itself with spade connectors. Duncan Smith had troubles here: “The +12V spade
connector had detached from the post on the motor due to the wiring harness being too tight. Fix: unbind the harness,
pull the connector through further until there was a bit of slack and rebind.”
BLOWER FANS - REMOVAL: The blower housings are outboard toward either side of the car and connected to the
center core with flexible rubber ducts. To remove each blower assembly requires removal of the underscuttle cover,
fusebox, a couple wires, one vacuum line and two bolts.
In the Jaguar repair manual, one step in removing the blowers is to open the recirculation door and block it open. The
next step listed is to remove the bolts holding the blower in. Please do not infer from this sequence that the blower
retaining bolts are within the recirculation door; the door must be blocked open simply because it is linked to the
outdoor air intake, which must be closed to prevent hanging up while the fan is being removed. The blower retaining
bolts are on the outside of the housing and are obvious. Both steps are necessary but unrelated.
Duncan Smith says, “Clothes pegs are perfect for holding the lower door open.”
BLOWER FANS - MAINTENANCE & REPAIR: Take the blower assembly out (it’s easy), then take it apart to get
the blower out (also easy) and remove the impeller from the motor shaft. Look at the motor and see if there’s any
obvious damage, like wires hanging out, burnt windings, foreign object damage, etc.
The blower motors are not overhaulable. The motor itself is held together by peening over some tangs, and
reassembling would be difficult. However, it is possible to repair many problems the motor might encounter.
Since the British engineers saw fit to make these completely open motors exposed to whatever dust and debris comes
through the ventilation system, it may be helpful to remove lint and foreign objects from the inner workings of the
motors.
Since the bearings are exposed as well, some fresh lubrication will be welcome, but don’t over-oil the rear bearing;
excess oil may find its way onto the commutator, gumming up the works. Use a light machine oil, like sewing machine
oil.
If the motor looks OK but is seized, force it -- whattaya got to lose?
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Remove the C-clip from the shaft, and remove the stack of washers against the front bearing; be sure to keep track of
the washers and the order they are installed in. Turn the shaft and observe the front bearing, which should remain
motionless within the housing. If the bearing turns with the shaft, a positive anti-rotation modification is called for. One
method is to drill a hole through the steel housing and into the bronze bearing and install a tiny self-tapping screw. Make
sure the tip of the screw doesn’t contact the shaft itself, and that the head doesn’t interfere with the C-clip and washers.
Pull the little covers off the brushes and remove them. If they are too short, replace them; don’t bother trying to find
original Jaguar brushes, just find some slightly larger at a motor or vacuum cleaner shop and file them down to size.
While the brushes are out, use a VOM to check the continuity at the segments of the commutator. There should be
some form of continuity between any two segments you test. If you find a segment that doesn’t seem to connect to
anything, you’re in trouble. If you can see why (a winding disconnected or some such) you can decide for yourself if it’s
possible to fix. Don’t use any solder, it won’t take the heat, connections must be made mechanically or by tack welding.
If you’re like me, you’ll grind a small flat on the shaft for the setscrew in the impeller. I just don’t like setscrews on a
plain shaft.
Before reassembly, inspect the condition of the three rubber mounts. If they are dry and hard or crumbling, renew or
fashion suitable replacements from grommets, hose, whatever.
If your blower fans are toast, Vicarage (see page 704) carries replacements at reasonable prices.
BLOWER FANS - REINSTALLATION: The rubber duct may be a neat feature, but it can be a real pain to reinstall.
To make life easier, attach the duct securely to the blower assembly before installation. I suggest the use of aluminum
tape.
VACUUM: The control system relies on a supply of vacuum from the engine, and stored in a reservoir. As Tom
Wagner discovered, it pays to make sure the supply is working before troubleshooting the rest of the control system.
There is a check valve in the line to allow the reservoir to hold vacuum when the throttle is opened, and this check valve
stuck shut -- preventing either the reservoir or the control system from getting any vacuum.
VACUUM CHECK VALVE: One might expect that the normal failure of the vacuum check valve is that it fails open,
but Mike Morrin had the opposite problem. “My A/C system has always had marginal performance of the vacuum
actuators, with the heater valve (new) and centre vent flaps always slow to operate. I got tired of the centre vent taking
5 to 20 minutes to open.
“Tonight I decided to check the vacuum non-return valve, which seemed to be working. While trying to decide what to
do next, I was sucking on the non-return valve, and it occurred to me that I was sucking rather hard before any air got
through.
“On impulse I tried to pull the valve apart to see what was inside, but it was too tight (or glued together). I then poked
a piece of steel wire in the end where the air goes in, and there was a small click. That must have been the rubber thingy
unsticking from its seat, because the valve is now much easier to suck through (but only one way). After refitting, all the
vacuum actuators are now working like clockwork.
“That is the easiest repair this week.
“The XJ-S help book mentions that these valves sometimes block up completely, but this was only partial, and seems to
have been fixed by a poke in the eye with a blunt stick.”
CENTER VENT: The center dash vent on most XJ-S’s has three sections: a section on the left and right ends that can
be adjusted to aim where desired, and a center section with no adjustability that simply blows straight rearward. Here in
Florida where the weather is both hot and humid, this center portion can blow enough cold air straight back to cause the
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rear windshield to fog up -- which is a real pain, because the rear window defroster has a timer and won’t stay on
indefinitely, you have to keep turning it on and off to maintain visibility in the mirror! Those who don’t have fogging
problems still dislike that center vent blowing air to the rear, since only sadists ask anyone to actually sit in that rear seat.
Peter Cohen confesses, “Over the years, I have developed the unconscious habit of driving with my elbow resting on the
console, arm up, and my hand positioned as a diverter to direct the cool air toward me.”
Emile A. Des Roches suggests two possible fixes: “The Cheap Solution -- Lift off the surrounding wood (gently); the
plastic vent will come out with gentle even pressure. Cut a piece of relatively stiff black cardboard to the height of the
inside (towards inside of dash) vent and to a width roughly 2” narrower than the width of the center vent. Place same
(black side facing cockpit) in the vent and reassemble. This solution performs the same function as resting one’s hand in
the air to divert air towards the driver and is far more sanitary.”
This author made a similar modification to his center vent, except he used black plastic instead of cardboard and shaped
it into a V so it would more definitely deflect the air to the sides. Using the simple flat piece may cause more blockage
rather than deflection -- which may be desirable since it would result in more air flowing out all the other vents.
To all this, Franck Guilloteau adds: “While my car is an ’85, the wood trim is in immaculate condition and I found that
after several unsuccessful tries it wasn’t worth the risk of breaking or chipping the trim. I resorted to an alternative
method of removing the two directional vents of the main center vent. A small screwdriver, X-acto blade and minimum
dexterity will do the job in five minutes. Directional vents have a small leaf spring that increase the friction and hold
them in place; it can be pushed out prior to removing the vent. These openings allowed me to slide black cardboard (or
plexiglass covered with black felt in my case) and wedge it in place from behind. All told a really “cool” mod.”
Des Roches continues: “The More Problematic Solution -- Replace the center vent with one from a very late XJS. At
some point after 1993, the center vent design with moveable vanes at the edges and fixed vents at center was replaced
with a design that consists of two (no space between) adjustable vents. This is a direct (no trimming) replacement for
the earlier unit which presumably could be obtained from either Jaguar spares or a wrecking yard.” Dean Gosselin adds
that the part part no. is BEC-26361.
Dan Jensen adds, “I changed out the center vent on my XJ-S... It makes a dramatic difference in the amount of cold air
that can be directed over the driver and/or passenger. I would offer one additional note to the installation instructions.
While the replacement vent has the same width and height as the original in my car, it was approximately 1/8 in. deeper.
The extra depth resulted in the vent face extending out a comparable distance from the metal dashboard and prevented
the wood fascia from sitting firmly against the dash. As a result, I had to get out a wood rasp and file off 1/8 in. around
the inner perimeter of the vent. This took about 15-20 minutes, including the time needed to get all the little specs of
plastic off the louvers when I was finished. In addition, it was necessary to file two small central notches in the metal
dash to accommodate two added bulges in the new vent. This took no more than a minute or two with small round
file.”
Samuel Louw provides an incredibly detailed description of this job, in response to the concerns that many people had
about damaging their wood trim: “It is really simple and you don’t have to be an engineering genius to be able to do
this. The most scary part is actually to remove the wooden center fascia, since this holds the vent in its place. It really
sits tight. There are four metal springloaded pins that are attached to the backside of the fascia and are pushed into four
holes which are in the metal dash plate behind the nice wooden fascia. When the fascia is replaced, the four metal pins
are pushed into their holes and the springloaded clips are compressed, not in the direction of the pushing action but by
the sides of the holes, since the clips are V-shaped. Now when you want to remove the fascia, you first have to
overcome this spring action. Since you think the fascia is waferthin and will break, you might want to give up, but that
piece of wooden fascia is almost 8mm thick in places. You have to open the glove compartment and slide the blade of
typically a steel table knife underneath the fascia. Then you must start wedging it away from the dash. The right side
steel pins are app 5mm away from the top and bottom of the fascia and app 35mm in from the glove box side from
where you will be wedging. The left side bottom pin is also app 35mm from side, but the top pin is app 70mm from the
side and in the area where the fascia is only about 13mm wide. Be careful of breaking the wood there. I hope that by
knowing beforehand how things look at the back it will make you more comfortable to do the job.
“The new vent has four small plastic flanges with holes in it, two per side along the two long horizontal sides of the vent.
The flanges are about 10mm x 10mm. They have to be removed, since the pre-’93 cars do not have holes through
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which the vent is fixed in position. This is definitely not needed, since the vent is held in position by the center piece of
wooden facia, and that really sits tight. So, you have to remove those flanges (can be broken off carefully with normal
pair of pliers) and then just file the leftover away.
“The other small job is also due to a small difference on the new vent, but again, this is small and easy to do. The new
vent has has two small D-shaped bulges on both sides. This will most probably interfere with the metal plate of the dash
where you have to push in the vent. Just mark the position of those bulges and file away the notches in the metal plate
(About 5mm wide and 3mm deep and halfround shape; use small round file).
“I did not notice the problem of the new vent being deeper than the original, as was noted by Dan Jensen. Thus I did not
have to do that filing to make it less deep. My new vent pushed in all the way until it settled against the rectangular
sponge seal and there was no interference with the wooden fascia due to a bit of vent protruding. If you do find this
problem, just file away the required amount from the rear of the vent.
“The correct Jaguar part no for the new vent is BEC26361. Do remember to buy the new foam seal as well. You are
not likely to save the old seal, as it will have rotted and deformed.
“You will have complete control over the direction of air flow both up and down and to the sides. If you live in an area
with hot weather as I do, it is essential. You won’t believe the difference.”
AIR CONDITIONER COMPRESSOR: Up through 1992, the Jaguar A/C compressor was labelled “Harrison” but was
in fact the standard GM item referred to as an A-6 -- and therefore comparatively cheap to replace. In fact, it is
generally recommended to simply replace the compressor rather than attempt even the simplest repairs. After a few
years, the O-rings start to fail, and each time you correct a leak you must have the system evacuated and recharged.
With the current regulations on R-12 refrigerant, the cost of a single charge can exceed the cost of the compressor. If
you are having the system recharged anyway and the compressor is more than seven or eight years old, it might be wise
to simply replace it even when it is still working fine.
Although you can find an A-6 compressor really cheap, Randy Wilson says, “The compressors should be good for many
years. Continuous failures are not the fault of them being rebuilt units. It’s the fault of them being cheap quasi-rebuilt
units. This is a fairly major problem we fight in the auto industry. I can buy these A-6 compressors from a local
distributor for $49 per unit in very small lots... with no core return. These units, I can tell you from experience, have an
average life expectancy of around a month. Many fail the first day. I have found a rebuilt compressor that I like. It’s a
lot more expensive. But I haven’t had one of them fail yet.”
James Teston describes a quality rebuilt compressor: “There should have been a nitrogen charge under pressure in the
compressor that gave off a distinctive hiss when you loosened the cover plate. This is to prove to the installer that the
unit is 100% leak proof. Kind of like the tin vacuum safety lid on grocery jars in reverse.”
Before selecting a rebuilt compressor, read about the clutch below.
The threads on the replacement compressor are likely to differ from the original, in which case you will have to replace
the mounting bolts. In particular, the two mounting bolts at the bottom rear and the long bolt that holds the inlet and
outlet connections in place are 10mm on the OEM compressor and may have to be replaced with 3/8” bolts (either fine
or coarse, they vary) when installing a replacement. 3/8” is only slightly smaller than 10mm, so sleeving will not be
necessary. Also, the small front mounting bolts are 8mm x 1.0 (metric fine thread) and may have to be replaced with
5/16”.
Aggravating the thread situation is the fact that rebuilt compressors tend to be delivered with the threads all boogered
up, and covered with paint besides. This makes it difficult to tell which thread it is, since no bolt wants to thread into it.
It’s no fun getting to these bolts when they’re down in the vee, so you’re advised to determine what threads they are
while the compressor is on the bench and to chase the threads with a tap so the bolts go in easily.
The new A-6 compressor also may not fit the protection switch that was in the original compressor. Read the section on
the COMPRESSOR PROTECTION CIRCUIT on page 504.
The A-6 compressor is supposed to have a pressure relief valve screwed into the back end. If the rebuilt you get
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happens to have a plug in its place, transfer the pressure relief valve over from the old compressor. If the thread isn’t
right, Peter Havas suggests you just swap out the entire rear plate of the compressor! The XJ-S has a history of
problems getting enough air through the condenser/radiator to keep the high side pressures down, so this is one car that
really needs to have that pressure relief valve in place.
From 1993 on, a Sanden compressor was used. While many may bemoan the discontinuation of the excellent A-6, the
Sanden likewise has an excellent reputation among A/C mechanics. Note that fitting a Sanden to an earlier car would
probably require replacing the hood as well; the later hoods have a different shape primarily to accommodate the AJ6
engine, but they allow room for a larger diameter compressor on the V12 as well.
COMPRESSOR RELOCATION/SUBSTITUTION: Many owners feel it’s worthwhile to try to replace the all-iron A-6
compressor with some other compressor that weighs less -- for example, the Sanden used on the later models.
Obviously hood clearance is an issue -- unless the compressor is relocated around the side of the engine.
The capacity of a compressor is generally described in terms of the number of cc’s it moves per revolution. If you want
to compare the capacity of one compressor installation vs. another, you need to compare the cc’s per revolution and the
relative sizes of the pulleys in the belt drive. If you install a compressor with the same cc’s per revolution but a larger
pulley, the capacity will be decreased because the compressor is turning slower. Conversely, you may be able to achieve
adequate capacity from a smaller compressor by putting a smaller pulley on it -- or a bigger pulley on the crank, which
may be easier -- to turn the compressor faster. You must be careful not to overspeed the compressor before the engine
reaches redline, though.
All that said, one must suggest that the A-6 is probably oversized for this application. The system is rated at around 2
tons, but the compressor isn’t likely to be the limiting factor; it’s limited by the size of the evaporator and the ductwork.
Even if you installed a compressor that moves far less freon at a given engine speed, you’re not likely to notice the
difference except perhaps at idle.
There is a minor concern about relocating the compressor to a lower location. Having the compressor up high --
especially above that hot engine -- has the advantage that it will prevent liquid freon from pooling within the compressor
while the car is parked and then causing a compressor lock on startup. Compressors in household air conditioners
generally have a “sump heater” in them that prevents freon from condensing in that location. It evidently isn’t a great
concern in automobiles, because many come from the factory with the compressor mounted low. Since the condenser is
likely to always cool down faster than the engine and the compressor, perhaps the problem is avoided. Perhaps the
compressors mounted low are designed that they’ll just push liquid into the high pressure line rather than trying to
compress it.
In whichever case, it’s always a good idea to route the high pressure line so that it goes up high and then back
downward to get into the condenser. This prevents liquid in the condenser from draining back into the compressor
while the car is parked.
It’s also a good idea to have an electric fan that runs on after the engine is shut off. Besides addressing heat soak in the
engine, it helps to cool off the condenser quickly and causes the freon to condense and pool there rather than in the other
parts of the system.
COMPRESSOR CLUTCH: The assembly built onto the nose of the compressor is the clutch, the system that engages
or disengages the drive as the climate control system calls for cooling. When disengaged, the compressor is nothing
more than an idler pulley. When engaged, the drive plate on the very front of the compressor is turning with the pulley,
making it very easy to visually confirm operation. If the engine is not running, you can still confirm operation; when the
clutch is disengaged, you can turn the drive plate fairly easily, turning the compressor. When engaged, you can’t turn
the compressor by hand because it’s locked to the belt drive, you’d have to turn the engine.
The clutch is magnetic. Under the pulley is a coil that is energized when engagement is called for. This magnetizes the
pulley. The drive plate contains a rubber isolator to absorb vibration and also features three straps riveted at one end to
the rubber isolator and at the other end to the clutch face plate itself. These three straps can flex to allow the face plate
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to move forward and aft fairly freely, but they’re springy and tend to pull it forward away from the pulley. The
magnetism pulls this face plate against the front surface of the pulley, engaging the drive. This is a steel-against-steel
friction drive.
The clutch is serviceable separately from the compressor. A replacement clutch can be purchased from local auto parts
stores, and the old clutch removed and the replacement installed. This does not involve disturbing the freon circuit.
A replacement clutch may include the drive plate, the pulley, and the coil, or it may include just the first two items; if you
need a coil, you should ask. Note that the A-6 compressor has been used on lots of different automobiles (not to
mention road graders, agricultural machines, you name it) but there were several different pulley arrangements involved.
Since the replacement clutch includes the pulley, you’ll need to find the correct type. It’s still very common, since it was
used on several GM cars; the computer terminals in the auto parts store should bring up the correct item.
You can buy a new clutch, or you can buy a “rebuilt” clutch. A clutch having been rebuilt should mean at least four
things: First, the steel-against-steel friction surfaces on the drive plate and the pulley have been machined to render them
flat and new-looking again. Second, the rubber in the drive plate has been replaced; the rubber is bonded to the hub of
the drive plate on one side and to a flat steel disk on the other, much the way a motor mount is made. Third, the pulley
should have a new bearing in it. Finally, if it comes with a new coil, presumably that has new windings inside.
Why am I telling you all this? Because apparently you need to know. A properly rebuilt clutch costs as much as some
of the rebuilt compressors discussed above. When buying a rebuilt compressor, you apparently can get any of at least
four different treatments of the clutch on that compressor. One option is that you can buy a rebuilt compressor without
a clutch, apparently so you can install your own. This is probably for mechanics who want to make sure the clutch is
good and installed properly; it’s not likely anyone would opt to reuse their old clutch with a compressor replacement.
Second, you can get a rebuilt compressor with a rebuilt clutch. Third, you can get a rebuilt compressor with a new
clutch. And, finally, believe it or not, you can get a rebuilt compressor with a non-rebuilt clutch!
Yes, that last option is totally unacceptable. You can easily tell what’s up with the rebuilt compressor someone is trying
to foist upon you. First off, you can look carefully into the gap between the plate and the pulley and see if the surfaces
appear to be freshly machined. Second, you can look at the layer of rubber built into the drive plate. It’ll be coated with
new black paint, but don’t let that fool you. If it’s new, the rubber will be a neat shape with clean edges. If it’s an old
part with fresh paint, the rubber may be distorted, bulging on the sides, maybe even cracked. Send that compressor
back, and don’t consider any other compressors from that rebuilder.
The incidence of rebuilt compressors with non-rebuilt clutches may explain a couple of the other options available.
Getting a compressor without a clutch enables the mechanic to install one himself, so he knows what parts were going
in. Getting a rebuilt compressor with a new clutch is perhaps a response to mechanics getting rebuilt compressors and
having the clutches fail shortly thereafter; it’s possible that a rebuilt clutch would have been just as good, but they didn’t
realize the clutch on the compressor they were installing had not been rebuilt, so they conclude that a rebuilt clutch is
unacceptable.
Of course, it’s also possible that rebuilt clutches are unacceptable -- or, more likely, some rebuilt clutches are
unacceptable; perhaps some rebuilders don’t bond rubber to metal well or use weak rubber or some such.
BELT WIDTH: Automotive V-belts are commonly available in two different widths. The narrower belts, often used on
alternators and the like, are about 10mm wide and the edges of the matching grooves will be 10mm apart. The wider
belt, typically used to drive A/C compressors and other heavy loads, is 13mm wide. In modern parlance, the part
number of a 10mm belt will usually have a 15 in it somewhere, while a 13mm belt will have a 17. I hope that makes
perfect sense to you.
The other three digits are the length in tenths of an inch. So, a 58-1/2” belt 10mm wide is a 58515 from some makers, a
15585 from others. A 58517 or 17585 is the same length but a 13mm belt.
If you’re fiddling around with accessory drives, the crank pulley on the XJ-S has grooves designed to work with either
width belt. A 10mm belt will sit deeper in the groove, so the crank pulley effectively becomes a smaller diameter pulley
-- moving the 10mm belt slower than a 13mm belt would move in the same groove.
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COMPRESSOR CLUTCH REMOVAL AND REFIT: The SIII XJ6 ROM includes instructions on replacing the clutch
and so does the 4-volume XJ-S Service Manual. However, the author’s XJ-S ROM does not and neither does the
Haynes. Since these are the manuals most owners are likely to be relying upon, instructions are provided here. Of
course, these are presented differently than those in the Service Manual.
A warning, though: this is commonly regarded as a difficult task with considerable risk of failure. There are many
people with experience at this job thanks to this being a GM product, and you might be wise to seek out such an
experienced person rather than try this yourself.
First off, the Service Manual says you need to discharge the freon and remove the compressor to the bench. False --
although you may need to unbolt the compressor from the engine to move it around a little.
To R&R the clutch you will need two special tools: a puller to get the drive plate off, and an installer to put it back on.
Four Seasons and Factory Air both offer such tools with numbers 59509 (puller) and 59502 (installer), while Discount
Auto Parts offers Cool-Aid! tools 34460 (puller) and 34461 (installer). The tools are around twenty bucks each; the
installer is a bit more expensive since it includes a ball bearing. Both tools are also commonly included in collections of
automotive air conditioning tools, some of which use a couple of generic tools with lots of different attachments to adapt
to various types of compressor.
Some auto parts stores will rent or loan these tools to you for free. Or, maybe not. AutoZone includes the puller in its
collection of rental tools, but not the installer. They refer to the puller as their rental tool number 27002.
If you don’t have the puller, it might help to know that the internal threads the puller screws into are 7/8” x 14 TPI,
which is the same as a 1/2” NPT except for the taper. Hence, you can screw a piece of pipe into this hole. If the pipe
hits bottom before the tapered threads tighten up, cut a bit off the end of the threads. At this point, you may be tempted
to attach a slide hammer or other apparatus for yanking, but note that the Service Manual includes warnings that
applying loads to the shaft can cause damage inside the compressor. The thing to do would be to screw a fitting of some
sort into the hole and thread a bolt through the center of that fitting to make a tool that works just like the official tool,
pushing the shaft out the center of the drive plate.
If you don’t have the installation tool, you can use an internally-threaded sleeve and a threaded rod or stud to extend the
threaded end of the shaft and use a nut and some washers to pull the drive plate on. The challenge is finding a sleeve
with an internal thread of 3/8” x 24 TPI and an OD less than 1/2”. Good luck! You might find a long nut or coupling
nut, but you’ll probably need to grind the points off the external hex to get it to fit. Another idea might be to get a small
piece of tiny pipe or sleeve and use a tap to thread the inside.
Incredibly, there’s actually a plausible solution here. Discount Auto Parts sells a package of two “Shock Stud
Extenders”, Superior no. 13-6501, for about four bucks. These things are intended to screw onto the top stud on a
shock absorber for rednecks doing heinous things with the ground clearance on their pickup trucks, but the threads are
correct for our purposes. They have an external hex that will have to be ground down, but that wouldn’t be too
difficult. You get two tries, too.
You will also need snap ring pliers -- big ones.
First you need to remove the nut that’s down in the hole in the center front of the drive plate. It may be a 9/16” hex, but
on the author’s car it was a 14mm hex. The socket used doesn’t need to be a special thinwall model, but it can’t be a big
bulky thing or it won’t fit in the hole. The nut is regular right-hand thread, 3/8” x 24 TPI (NF).
Next you need to use the puller. If you’re lucky, the puller you have will fit between the compressor and the radiator
upper rail. If not, you’ll need to unbolt the compressor to tilt the nose up to work on it. That’s not too difficult to do,
and it gives you better access to what you’re doing anyway.
Once the drive plate is off, a large and obvious external snap ring must be removed to allow the pulley and bearing to
come off. The bearing is not a very tight fit on the compressor, so once the snap ring is off it shouldn’t be too difficult
to remove. Perhaps a few taps with a plastic mallet or a hammer and wooden drift will help.
The replacement clutch should come with a new bearing already in place in the replacement pulley, but if you need to get
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at it for some reason: the bearing is pressed into the pulley from the front and is held in the pulley with a barely-
noticeable wire snap ring. Walter Acker IV says “The bearing number should be an A/C delco 15-2802.”
Once the pulley is off, another large external snap ring must be removed to get the coil off.
It appears that the replacement coil could be installed with the terminals facing several different directions, so make sure
they point where you need them to.
Before installing one of these large snap rings, look closely at it. The flat side of the snap ring needs to go against the
part being held in place. The other side has a bevel around the ID, and this bevel not only makes the snap ring easier to
install but also helps it hold the part snugly. After installing, tapping around the circumference of the snap ring to make
sure it’s fully in couldn’t hurt.
If installing the replacement pulley requires tapping, do not tap on the flat friction face; the wire snap ring holding the
bearing in the pulley may not appreciate it, and neither will the bearing itself. You need to tap directly on the inner race
of the bearing, which means you need to have a sleeve with a 1-5/8” ID to use as a drift. A PVC pipe fitting worked
well for me.
The key that goes on the compressor shaft is square, 4mm on a side. It’s also bent. No, it isn’t damaged; the Service
Manual says that it is deliberately bent to hold it in its groove during assembly.
Before reinstalling the drive plate, you need to put the key in place. The Service Manual says to fit the key into the drive
plate, and then line it up with the keyway in the shaft during assembly. Unfortunately, if the key is installed in the drive
plate it will interfere with the installer tool. The key must be positioned in the keyway on the compressor shaft. And if
you do that, the key will probably fall out while you’re trying to install the drive plate. It appears that the most reliable
method is to position the key in the drive plate but as close to the back end as possible. Put the drive plate onto the
shaft, lining up the key, and use the installer tool (threaded onto the shaft as far as possible before it hits the key) to pull
the drive plate on just a little. Then remove the installer tool and use a hammer and a nail to drive the key back into the
groove on the shaft until the end is flush or below the shoulder on the shaft. Then screw the installer back on, being able
to thread it all the way down this time, and continue pulling the drive plate into place. The instructions in the Service
Manual say you’re supposed to install the tool, push the drive plate on a little, take the tool off, check the key to make
sure it’s in place, then reinstall the tool and push the drive plate the rest of the way on; perhaps they were inferring that
you should be driving that key into its proper position.
The thrust bearing that comes on the Cool-Aid installer tool is a real cheap POS and may not survive the first drive plate
installation. Here’s my suggestion: the first time you put the tool on, omit the bearing and use a 5/8” flat washer instead.
After you remove the tool to drive home the key, put the tool back on with the bearing and the flat washer -- perhaps
even two flat washers if you’ve got room, one on each side of the bearing. This will prevent the housing of the cheap
thrust bearing getting crunched and allowing the drive plate to get cocked during installation. Hold the washers centered
until the tool snugs up to hold them in place; if allowed to lay against the threads, they will scrape the threads as the tool
is used.
Of course, you could simply provide a good thrust bearing.
As mentioned above, applying axial force to the shaft is verboten. Standing the entire compressor in your press to push
the drive plate on is not recommended.
The instructions in the Service Manual indicate you’re supposed to use the installation tool to push the drive plate on
just until the gap between the friction faces is 3/32” or so, then remove the installation tool. The drive plate is pushed
the rest of the way into position with the nut. Forget that; use the installation tool to position the drive plate exactly
where you want it to end up. Don’t rely on the nut moving the drive plate on the shaft at all. Even if it would (which it
won’t -- see below), turning the nut against the front surface of the hub galls it up and may prevent it going on as far as
it needs to. There’s a reason the installation tool includes a ball bearing.
According to the Service Manual, the desired gap between the friction surfaces is 0.56-1.45mm (.022”-.057”) -- but
really, the objective is as small a gap as you can muster without the surfaces contacting when the clutch is disengaged. If
you close down the gap too much and the pulley starts dragging, use the puller tool to back it off a bit. In fact, that’s
really not a bad installation procedure: Install it too far until the pulley drags, and then install the puller and pull just until
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it spins freely.
The Service Manual says to install the nut narrow boss end first and tighten it down to 15 ft-lb. If you do this, the nut
won’t get within 1/8” of an inch of touching the drive plate. The diameter of the narrow boss end of the nut is small
enough for the center hub of the drive plate to pass right over it, and only the tiniest portions of the points on the nut hex
could actually contact it. Since the narrow end of the nut will contact the shoulder on the shaft and won’t go any
farther, the nut will be stopped long before the points get near the drive plate. The only plausible objectives would be to
“catch” the drive plate if it decides to slide off -- which it won’t -- or to prevent the key from sliding out.
If you’d like the nut to actually help hold the drive plate in place, look carefully at the shoulder of the shaft after the
drive plate has been positioned properly with the installation tool. If the shoulder on the shaft is within the hub itself, put
a flat washer on the shaft. This washer needs to have a 3/8” ID and a 3/4” OD. Then screw the nut on flat side first.
Tighten it down until it gets snug, indicating it has pushed the washer against the hub, and quit. Don’t even think about
tightening it enough that it might move the drive plate and close up the gap.
If the shoulder of the shaft is protruding from the center of the hub, you’d need to provide a sleeve that sits inside the
opening on the front of the drive plate and has an ID of at least 1/2” to fit around the shaft. You might cut a ring from a
piece of 5/8” copper pipe. You’ll probably need to cut a notch in this sleeve to fit around the key unless you shortened
the key before you started -- which isn’t a bad idea; the key being a little shorter won’t hurt anything. Install this sleeve,
then the flat washer described above, then the nut flat side first and tighten gently as described above.
You could reasonably opt to forget all that and just thread the nut on as the Service Manual says -- or even just leave it
off. The retention that matters here is the press fit. The pulley on the water pump is held only by a press fit, the impeller
in the water pump is held only by a press fit, the hub holding the fan clutch is held only by a press fit, clearly if a press fit
isn’t reliable we’re in big trouble.
FRONT SEAL REPLACEMENT: The Service Manual provides instructions for replacing the front seal on the A-6
without disassembling the compressor. The first step is to remove the drive plate of the clutch as described above. The
rest of the procedure involves several special tools. It’s doubtful that this would ever be a worthwhile undertaking, since
fiddling with that seal requires discharging the freon circuit -- at which point you might as well just slap in a rebuilt
compressor.
COMPRESSOR PROTECTION CIRCUIT: Just below the inlet and outlet connections on the A-6 compressor is a
sensor held in place with a C-clip, with a wire connected to it. On the 1983 XJ-S, this is a thermally-operated switch
that shorts to ground in the event that there is trouble with the freon system. The shorting causes a resistor within a
three-connector fuse assembly to heat up, which in turn causes a fuse to melt, breaking power to the clutch and
disengaging the compressor. This is a common arrangement on GM vehicles, and the fuse assembly is readily available;
Victor part number V-909, “GM Thermal Limiter”, is one common replacement. The fuse is usually attached to a
mounting hole on the compressor itself.
Do not connect the fuse backwards. There is a little tang on the center connector that is intended to indicate which way
the plug goes, but it’s not very foolproof. If you install it backwards, the clutch will not engage and the fuse will blow
immediately.
A replacement compressor is likely to have an aluminum blank-off plug in place of the fault sensor. It is probable that
you cannot install the thermal type sensor in place of the plug because there has to be a suitable opening underneath the
plug for the tip of the sensor, and there often isn’t. However, the sensor wire can just be left disconnected and the
system will work fine -- there just won’t be any protection for the compressor if the system loses freon. In fact, it is just
as well to remove the fuse assembly as well and run the power wire directly to the compressor clutch. Since the
standard procedure is to replace the compressor in the event of freon loss anyway, this may be acceptable.
There is a second type of protection switch available: a pressure-operated switch that supplies a ground to the
compressor clutch when the freon circuit pressure is normal. This second type is the best to use; the early system with
the thermal fuse is temperamental at best. The pressure switch has a plastic body, as opposed to the thermal type which
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has a metal body with a heat probe protruding into the compressor. Since the pressure sensor has no protruding probe,
it can be installed in a replacement compressor in place of the aluminum blank-off plug. According to Stefan Schulz,
Jaguars began being fitted with this type from the factory in the mid-80’s.
Note that the thermal type switch is normally open and connects to ground in the event of trouble, while the pressure
type is normally connected to ground and opens in the event of trouble. To use the pressure type protection switch,
modify the harness so the power goes straight to the clutch and the ground terminal of the clutch is wired to the pressure
switch; a three-connector fuse is not needed.
If you live outside the US, the A-6 compressor is anything but cheap. Someone could make a million buying
compressors in the US and selling them overseas. In any event, after paying top Euro or Rasbutnik or whatever for a
new compressor, you’re not likely to want to forgo the protection circuit -- but it may be difficult to find either type
sensor or the three-connector fuse. Mark Barker of the UK found a solution: “An alternative to factory (one-time
acting) thermal fuse is to fit a resettable thermal cutout. It's a small round thing with spade tags and a small red reset
button. You glue it (epoxy is fine) to the side of the compressor and it is wired in series with the clutch. Test the wiring
by running with one of the spade tags unplugged.
“In the UK it is available from RS Components (http://rswww.com) as stock no. 228-2513 (for a 70°C one) at 3 UKP.”
Sean Straw adds, “For worldwide (except USA) affiliates, check out
http://www.rs-components.com
“They list numbers for offices in different countries.” Robert Egerton adds, “If you are in the UK the retail outlet of RS
is called Electromail and you can get them on 01536 294555.”
Of course, 70°C is too low. “I found this can trip during a 'pull down' on a hot day.” Mike Morrin says, “The
compressor (at least on my car) routinely gets to 85°C. Everything in the valley is over 75°C on a hot day.” Barker
responds, “The sensor is also available as a 90° and higher too, on the same page. Similar part nos. What we need to
sort out now is which of the available trip temperature ones is best to use.”
Barker adds one last note: “Note that after I did all this, the air-con chap who gassed my system told me there was a
retrofit which had high (overload) and low (lost charge) pressure sensors which would be even better; sorry I don't know
any more about it.”
If your compressor is simply getting too hot, see the section on high freon pressures on page 516.
AIR CONDITIONER COMPRESSOR CONNECTOR & DIODE: It would be helpful to have a diode wired into the
compressor clutch connector; see the discussion on inductive loads on page 559. Of course, the Jag doesn’t come with
one. However, if you go into an auto parts store and ask for the special connector that plugs onto a GM compressor,
the connector comes with a diode built in. One such part is made by Conduct-Tite, part number 85143, found in an
AutoZone; another is made by Factory Air, part number 37201, found in a Discount Auto Parts. Dennis Kindig, who
owns an ‘87 XJ6, says, “I used this connector to replace my original wiring when I changed compressors and converted
from the thermal fuse arrangement to the high-side low pressure switch.”
Of course, you can accomplish the same objective by simply buying a suitable diode at Radio Shack and adding it in to
your existing wiring.
AIR CONDITIONER COMPRESSOR FRONT BRACKET - A-6: The front end of the A/C compressor is supported
by a plate bolted to the front of the timing cover. This plate is not symmetrical; it goes in only one way. If you put it in
backwards, your compressor pulley won’t line up right with the belt. The objective of the asymmetry is to position the
compressor a little to the left of center so that the drain plug on the A-6 doesn’t jam into the A bank head. The bracket
at the rear of the compressor is asymmetrical also, but you couldn’t install it backwards if you tried.
AIR CONDITIONER COMPRESSOR - MOVING OUTTA YOUR WAY: As in most cars, the compressor is
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connected with flexible hoses. This enables some movement of the compressor for such jobs as replacing the spark
plugs without disturbing the freon system. Several people, including Victor Naumann and Harry Trafford, have pointed
out that a block of wood positioned between the V and the top of the radiator can be very helpful to hold the
compressor forward and above its normal position while you’re working.
AIR CONDITIONER COMPRESSOR - REMOVAL AND REFITTING - A-6: In order to correct for tolerance in
dimensions such as the overall length of the compressor, the holes in the rear compressor support where it is bolted to
the valley cover are very slightly slotted, so the rear support can be slid back and forth a bit and then the bolts tightened
down. So, whenever the compressor is replaced with a different one or the valley cover has been removed, the proper
way to reassemble would be to leave these two bolts loose until the compressor is in place and the bolts at the back end
and all four bolts in the front support plate are tight, then tighten the two bolts holding the bracket to the valley cover
last.
When you are not fiddling with the valley cover bolts or replacing the compressor with a different one, lifting and
reinstalling the compressor without loosening those bolts seems to work well enough if you do things in the right order.
Always loosen the two bolts that attach the front mounting plate to the timing cover before lifting the compressor out.
During assembly, always have all four bolts at the front (two holding the plate to the timing cover, two holding the
compressor to the plate) in place but loose while tightening the bolts in the rear support. Be sure to reconnect the
ground wire.
COMPRESSOR HOSE CONNECTIONS: The freon lines connecting to the GM A-6 each have a hexagonal block on
the end that fits against the rear plate of the compressor. There is an O-ring in a recess on the back of the compressor
that this block fits against, and a single bolt between the two ports pulls a 1/4” thick racetrack-shaped bar against the
back side of the hexagonal blocks to hold them firmly against the O-rings and ensure a seal. This same bolt also holds
the bracket that mounts the cruise control actuator.
That 1/4” thick bar, C36983, sure looks like a sturdy and massive part -- but it’s not. When this system is worked on,
more often than not that part is found to be bent in the middle when removed -- and of course the mechanic turns it over
so it gets bent back the other way when reinstalled. People leaning over the engine compartment to work on the water
pump, etc., and pushing on the hoses apply a terrific amount of leverage towards tilting those hexagonal blocks and
breaking the O-ring seal underneath.
Why would GM design something so prone to leakage? Well, perhaps it was a mistake -- but it was a mistake they
corrected. Later GM cars don’t used these two separate blocks with a 1/4” plate holding them in place. Instead, they
make both connectors into one large connector about an inch thick that the bolt holds in place directly. That way,
there’s no way it’ll get distorted -- even if made entirely of aluminum, as most later ones are.
This author relocated the cruise control actuator elsewhere and made a thicker bar to replace the 1/4” thick bar. There’s
no need for the racetrack shape; simply take a piece of 1-1/2” x 1/2” steel bar, cut a 3” piece off, and drill a 3/8” hole in
the middle. With the large flat washer and the cruise control bracket omitted, the original bolt was the correct length to
hold this thicker bar. And there’s not a chance in hell it’ll bend; you can feel the difference just tightening it up.
If you are not relocating the cruise control, it still might be a good idea to fab a thicker bar for this retention. The entire
cruise control actuator will be relocated rearward by the amount of additional thickness in this bar, so if you go with
1/2” as I did the actuator will be positioned 1/4” farther rearward than before. Check carefully to make sure it all fits
without running into the distributor cap, as taking that bar back out entails discharging the freon circuit. You probably
should also provide a bolt that’s longer by 1/4” so you’re not relying on too few threads in the back of the compressor.
An even better idea would be to replace that bolt with a stud; seat the stud fully, then hold the plate in place with a nut.
An alternative idea might be to purchase a second 1/4” thick bar C36983 -- or make one. Then install the two bars with
the cruise control actuator bracket sandwiched in between, which will hold it in exactly the same place as before. Again,
you’ll need a longer bolt.
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AIR CONDITIONER COMPRESSOR OIL CHARGE: Section 82.10.14 of the ROM explains how to deal with a
compressor delivered with oil in it. However, a typical rebuilt compressor will nowadays be delivered without oil since
there are three different types of oil (mineral, ester, or PAG) that you may end up using. Read the tag on the rebuilt
compressor.
If it is dry, follow the directions in steps 12-15 of Section 82.10.20 -- but note there’s an error there. In step 15, it twice
refers to the amount of oil removed in step 14. It should refer to the amount of oil removed in step 13 both times; that’s
why you were measuring in step 13.
These directions -- as well as the directions that come with the new compressor -- involve draining the oil out of the old
compressor to measure how much was in it. Nowhere does it provide any clue how to drain the oil out of the old
compressor -- or from which opening. James Teston says it’s really all openings: “Pull the compressor off, keep it
horizontal, and drain the oil you have in it out from the drain plug on the bottom of the sump. Then flip it vertical and
drain it from the pressure and suction ports. Then put it any which way and rotate the clutch quickly to blow out
whatever oil might be left.”
They also tell you to add a similar amount of oil back into the new compressor, again with no clue on how to accomplish
this. If you don’t do it right, you may end up with oil all over the place -- and no idea how much is in and how much is
all over, which would be bad. This author recommends the following: Add no more than three or four ounces to the
compressor while it’s on the bench. This may be added through the drain plug or it may be added into the suction port
while turning the hub of the compressor to suck it in -- but don’t turn it more than about one full turn or it’ll start
pumping it back out the pressure port. Put the caps back on the ports, or go ahead and connect the hoses and cap the
ends of them. If time permits, leave the compressor sitting nose-down for a while so the oil can collect around the front
seal. Install the compressor. If you need to add more oil, disconnect the suction hose from the fuel cooler, hold this end
upward and pour the oil into that end of the hose. Turn the compressor by hand to get this oil into the compressor.
Teston points out that, since the oil circulates around the system, as long as you have some in the compressor when you
start it up you can add oil pretty much anywhere. “The A6 has a sump, so the correct amount of oil will eventually find
its way into it if you can't fill it all at once. Just add some to each section as you put them back together. Don't dump
any directly in front of the expansion valve or put a large slug in the bottom of the condenser.”
Finally, just before startup be sure to turn the compressor over by hand a dozen or more full turns to make sure it’s not
liquid-slugged with oil.
FITTINGS: When buttoning up parts of the freon circuit, please remember that the sealing of these connections does
not depend on getting the nut tight enough. As parts are assembled, an O-ring is compressed between the OD of the
tube and the ID of the fitting, and it’s this compression that provides the seal, not the tightness of the nut. The nut
merely keeps the assembly from rattling or blowing apart. Just tighten it down snugly and quit; there’s no need to be
grunting on it and many good reasons not to be grunting on it.
PLUMBING -- EARLY CARS: Bernard Embden says, “The fuel cooler on the air cleaner is standard equipment on the
post-H.E.'s I believe. Coventry West said that original A/C parts for the pre-H.E.'s were no longer available. Not
wanting to have hoses made up, I just scrapped my A/C system altogether and went with the hoses/fuel cooler etc. from
the 1988 model.”
In this day and age, it perhaps wouldn’t make sense to update to the hoses from the 1988 model which was also
originally fitted with R-12. A better idea would be to have the original hoses rebuilt with barrier hoses as described on
page 522.
FILTER/DRYER: The flow through the dryer is from left to right in the XJ-S. Be sure to install the replacement dryer
in the correct direction; they always have flow direction arrows on them. Do not simply install the new dryer so the
sight glass is in the same place as it was on the old one; the sight glass may be on either the inlet or outlet end of the
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dryer.
EXPANSION VALVE: The expansion valve on this system (at least on the ’83) is fairly standard; if you look through
an A/C shop’s parts book you will find there are several interchangeable part numbers, including some from Japanese
cars. But further, there are several other part numbers that represent similar expansion valves except that the capillary
tube and/or sensor tube are different lengths. The expansion valve called out for the XJ-S has very short tubes, since the
places they go are only a couple inches away. But it still may be beneficial to get an expansion valve with longer tubes
just to make it easier to install.
Also, some of the expansion valves have the capillary tube attached on different sides or at different angles. Selecting
the optimum arrangement here can also ease installation considerably.
The expansion valve may be a common configuration, but it’s certainly no fun to get at. I will provide a few tips that
hopefully will be of some help. Obviously, don’t even consider this job without removing the balance pipe between
intake manifolds first. If you still have a heater valve in its original location, you might choose to remove it -- and don’t
put it back, install the generic version elsewhere instead as described on page 495. Remove the hose that goes to the
fuel cooler, both to get it out of the way and to install a new O-ring in it while you’re here; advice on removing it is
under “Hose Removal” below.
The body of the expansion valve is L-shaped and has male threads on both ends. Hence, the line going into the
evaporator behind the firewall has a trapped nut on it. The hex on this trapped nut is 7/8”. To get this nut loose, you’ll
be having fun just finding a wrench to get on it. Chuck Sparks suggests an offset box end with a bit of the box cut out
to make it look like a flare nut wrench; slip it over the body of the expansion valve itself, then slide it rearward onto the
nut. It’s possible to do it with other tools, but this is perhaps the slickest way.
You’ll also need a wrench that fits the body of the expansion valve itself. There’s a hex on it, but for some reason it
doesn’t seem to be any standard size. You probably can’t get a monkey wrench on it, so the wrench to use is either a
5/8” or 16mm open end. It’s a bit loose, but it’ll work.
To break the nut loose, Sparks suggests you disconnect all the other lines to the expansion valve first. Then put your
modified offset box end wrench onto the nut and turn it to the right (facing the firewall) just enough to take up the slack.
Then, using the 5/8” or 16mm wrench, turn the expansion valve itself to the left. This way, Sparks argues, you’ll have
less chance of damaging the line on the evaporator -- which would be seriously bad.
The nut on the tube coming down on top of the expansion valve requires a 3/4” or 19mm wrench. A crowfoot works
great here. If it’s really tight, be sure to hold the body of the expansion valve; don’t just break the tube off the
evaporator. Some expansion valves have a hex below the threads, others have only two flats parallel to the sides of the
valve body; either way, it’ll be a 1/2” that fits. If you can’t get a wrench on it, perhaps you’d be well advised to grip the
body with a pair of vicegrips or some such, destroying it if necessary -- you’re taking it out, and you won’t be reusing it.
Far better to ruin a scrap expansion valve than your evaporator. And you won’t have a problem putting the new
expansion valve in, because there’s no need to get that nut that tight.
The nut attaching one sense tube to the return line requires a 9/16” wrench -- but you knew that already from checking
the one on the replacement expansion valve.
The other sense tube has a little coil on the end that must be installed against the pipe coming out of the evaporator, and
it must have some insulation put over it so that it senses the temperature of that pipe and not the surrounding air. On
most cars, this coil is merely strapped to the pipe with a tar-like stuff. However, on the XJ-S there is actually a little
boss built onto the evaporator outlet fitting just for this coil. Once you get the old tar stuff off, you must loosen two
Pozidriv screws to get the old coil to slide out. Fortunately, this clevis is positioned horizontally so the screw heads face
straight up, making it a fairly reasonable job to get a screwdriver on it.
New tar stuff would be good, but other methods of insulation would also work. You can wrap it with foam strip
insulation, or you can even spray Great Stuff around it and let it set up in a clump. You can carefully cut a piece of 1/2
pipe insulation (looks like a foam tube slit down one side) to fit, wrap it around and tape or strap it in place. Just make
sure that that little coil is as cold as the pipe (which is cold!), not as hot as the engine.
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REFRIGERANT LEAKS: Michael Minglin says, “A possible solution is a refrigerant additive available from Cryo-
Chem Int’l at 1-800-237-4001. It is called Cryo-Silane and reportedly seals small refrigerant leaks, without clogging the
system. It is guaranteed to seal and hold for one year any a/c system that takes longer than six hours to leak down. As I
said I have not yet tried it, and it isn’t cheap, but this may be the answer to small hard to find leaks.
“On the matter of hard to find leaks, with the a/c service gauges hooked up it is impossible to find leaks in the service
ports or valves. If your mechanic cannot clearly show you the leak, have him disconnect his service gauges and check
the the service port valves before starting to change out expensive hoses and parts.”
HOSES -- BARRIER VS. NON-BARRIER: How do you tell what type hoses you have? With this author’s ’83, the
two low-pressure hoses were non-barrier and the high pressure vapor hose was barrier -- probably indicating earlier
service work. The two large non-barrier hoses had a cloth surface -- black, but reportedly red became standard later on.
Barrier hoses, on the other hand, seem to always have a smooth black rubber surface. It may say “Barrier” right on it,
too.
Barrier hoses are nearly always attached to the metal tubes with a crimped collar. The high pressure vapor hose on the
author’s ’83, however, was attached with worm screw clamps -- worm screw clamps with a tang hanging off the side
that positions the clamp properly over the barb within. These worked fine on my car, and reportedly work fine in
general.
My non-barrier vapor hoses did not have crimped connections, although other non-barrier hoses may have. If a hose
connection is crimped, the crimped collar is usually steel. My hoses had steel tubes with aluminum collars, and the
collars had a big hex on the outside. These collars were jammed up against a smaller hex on the tube itself. This whole
thing is a threaded hose connection.
The large aluminum collar has a very coarse left-hand thread on the inside that threads onto the outer surface of the
hose. In the small end of the aluminum collar there is a very fine right-hand thread that the steel tube screws into. The
end of the steel tube, the part you can’t see, has a long smooth taper followed by fine threads right up to the underside
of that small hex. The collar is threaded onto the outside of the hose while the pipe is threaded into the center, jamming
that taper into the ID of the hose and compressing it within the sleeve. Very secure; in fact, you’ll probably have trouble
getting it apart. You need to hold the hose itself and the pipe still (clamp the hose in a vice and use a wrench on the
small hex on the pipe) and turn the aluminum collar in the direction that should unscrew it off the end of the pipe. This
is the same direction that will unscrew it off the hose, so turning the collar in this direction will pull the tapered end of
the pipe out of the hose.
That all may have seemed like useful info, but it’s probably not. The R-12 hose these fittings were designed to work
with is no longer manufactured (although there are generic hoses that will work just as well, if you feel the need to
rebuild an R-12 hose). The barrier hose will not work with these threaded hose connections.
The fourth hose on my ’83, the small section of hose on the liquid line, was completely different from the other three in
all respects. It was a funny type of hose with an inner layer of what appeared to be plastic tubing, a layer of strong cloth,
and an outer surface of hard plastic. It was crimped onto fittings, but it was an unusual type of crimp, probably
proprietary. The barb is brazed onto the tubes, and the crimp ring was formed anchored to a groove in the barb so it’s
not removable. The part number for the entire hose assembly is CAC.5596. It is unknown whether this was a barrier
hose or not, but it didn’t really matter; by the time I looked at it, it was clearly in need of replacement.
HOSE REBUILDING: If you need to replace barrier hoses because yours are old and rotten, read on. If you need to
replace non-barrier hoses, you should go ahead and convert to barrier hoses -- and that means you should flip to page
522.
There are four hoses on the freon circuit in the XJ-S. Besides the three obvious large ones up top, there is a small one
on the liquid line below the upper right radiator hose. If you’re planning to replace hoses, you might as well plan to
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replace all of them.
Most A/C shops claim to be able to rebuild hoses. Some hoses are more difficult to rebuild than others, and the more
difficult ones require a special crimp tool that, while reasonably priced as shop tools go (no power, hand operated), was
introduced later. If the A/C shop is working with the older style crimp tools, it cannot rebuild some hoses. The usual
result is that they will cut the fittings on your old hose and braze on sections of tubing that their tools can crimp a hose
onto. This looks like crap when done, but it does work.
If the tubes on your hoses happen to be aluminum, only the newer tool will work, since brazing is out and the older tool
will crush the tube. If the A/C shop doesn’t have the newer crimp tools, they will claim that the hose cannot be repaired
and order you a new one from Jaguar and collect their markup on the part.
How does any of this apply to the Jaguar? It probably depends on the vintage. This author’s ’83 had non-barrier hose
assemblies with steel lines with threaded hose connections (as described on page 522), so rebuilding with barrier hoses
required cutting and brazing. I suspect later XJ-S’s came with aluminum tubes with barrier hoses with crimped
connections, so brazing should be neither possible nor required to rebuild.
Peter Cohen provides these words on rebuilding hoses: “Take the whole car to the shop, not just the hoses. A/C hoses
have almost no ability to twist, and since all but one hose on the V12 have angled connections the odds are that the hose
shop will not get the angle right unless they assemble it on the car, put paint marks on the pieces to show the exact
positions, and then take it back into the shop to crimp it. The shop I used was reluctant to even make the hoses because
of all the come backs from wrong angles.”
Actually, you can avoid that problem. The angles at which hoses are crimped to fittings is only a concern when there are
angled fittings crimped to both ends; the relationship between the two ends must be correct or you’ll have to twist the
hose to get things to line up. If there’s an angled fitting at one end only, there’s no problem; you can simply rotate the
entire hose to fit. Of the three larger hoses on the XJ-S, the high pressure hose from the compressor to the condenser
and the low pressure hose from the fuel cooler to the compressor each have a straight fitting on one end, so there is no
problem. The only large hose with angled fittings at both ends is the hose from the firewall to the fuel cooler, which has
45° fittings at both ends. Solution: rebuild that hose with a 45° fitting at the firewall end and a straight fitting at the fuel
cooler end. It will fit better this way.
Assemble these parts to attain an overall length of 23”, measured in a straight line from end of tube to end of tube (a
corner on the end with the 45°). This is about 1-1/4” shorter than the OEM hose that came on this author’s ’83. The
length is somewhat critical, more critical than the lengths of the other two hoses. Ideally, find a way to either measure or
trial fit to find the correct length on your car, since your engine may be positioned within the engine compartment
differently than mine. Resist the compulsion to make the hose a bit longer “just in case”, because too long is a real
problem here.
You could forget about crimping and rebuild your own hoses using clamps -- if you have crimped connections to begin
with. Tony Bryant says, “I went to my local air con place, picked up 2 metres of R134a rated barrier hose in the correct
diameter for <$10, went to my local hydraulic hose place (who wouldn't/couldn't crimp the aluminium fittings), and
picked up some top quality stainless hose clamps. These are high pressure items, not worm gear clamps, and use a bolt
and cylinder arrangement to forcefully clamp. They also have a continuous band. Each <$5. I replaced the high side
hose using these items, after carefully cutting the old hose off the aluminium fittings. Holds pressure perfectly.”
Bryant lives in New Zealand where apparently you can get good clamps. Unfortunately, here in the US finding clamps
such as those he describes can be difficult. Try at a marine store; they offer something called a “t-bolt clamp” which is
obviously an excellent item, but unfortunately you probably won’t find one small enough for this job. Of course, EFI
clamps available at auto parts stores would work except that you probably won’t find one big enough for this job. In
general a worm screw clamp won’t work because the slots in the band dig into the rubber surface of the hose and
prevent you from tightening it far enough -- but there are better worm screw clamps that don’t have the slots all the way
through the band but rather just impressed in the outer surface so the inside surface is smooth. Worm screw clamps also
tend to have trouble applying consistent compression under the screw itself, but better ones are available with a shield
around the inside to address these problems.
Even if you have a shop rebuild your three larger hoses, you will want to replace the small hose in the liquid line
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yourself. It’s just too difficult to remove that assembly from the car. Once you get the old hose and crimp rings off,
you can install a new hose onto the barbs with clamps -- but getting the old hose and crimp rings off is easier said than
done. Cut the hose in the middle, disconnect one end of the line from the dryer and remove that piece from the car and
carefully work on the hose attachment on the bench. Grind through one side of the crimp ring, being careful not to cut
so deep as to nick the barb underneath. You’ll probably find things easier if you go ahead and grind through the crimp
ring again around on the other side. This crimp ring is retained in a groove at the end farthest from the hose, which
means you will need to use a cutting wheel down within that groove to fully cut through the crimp ring -- but
alternatively you can just cut the crimp ring all the way around 1/8” from that end and leave that tiny portion in place, it
won’t hurt anything. When you’ve figured out how to get the crimp ring and the hose off leaving a clean, usable barb,
then repeat the process on the end you can’t get out of the car.
Doing this job yourself, in place, also eliminates any worries about getting the length or alignment correct.
If you must get the liquid line out of the car, cut the tube at the RR corner of the engine compartment near the drain
from the wiper motor compartment. Then remove both halves of the line from the car, much easier as separate pieces.
While you’re having the shop crimp a new hose on, have them braze fittings onto the ends you cut so you can screw
them back together with an O-ring. Make sure to cut within a suitable straight section of the line, since they can’t braze
fittings into a curved section.
The high pressure vapor hose assembly is 1/2”, so the hose that fits it is 13/32”. The low pressure hose assemblies are
5/8”, so the hose that fits them is 1/2”. The liquid line is 3/8”, so the hose that fits it is 5/16”. Don’t ask me to explain
that.
HOSE VS. THROTTLE: Peter J. Havas provides a warning: “If you’re not careful, and I wasn't, you can push the low
pressure tube down and it will foul the left side throttle arm from the spindle, and lock open in traffic! Neat, huh? Use a
wire-tie to secure the hose to the diagonal brace for safety.” Please take this warning seriously; Havas isn’t the only
XJ-S owner who has found his throttle jammed wide open due to the hose fouling the left side throttle linkage.
Tying the hose to the diagonal brace would seem to be the obvious solution, but when working with the hose that goes
from the firewall to the fuel cooler remember that the firewall doesn’t move and neither does the diagonal brace -- but
the engine does move around on its rubber mounts. Strapping the hose to the diagonal brace would seem to be an
excellent plan for making sure the engine motion doesn’t stress the fitting at the firewall, but be sure to leave enough flex
between there and the fuel cooler for engine motion. If the hose assembly is short enough, it may be preferable not to tie
the hose to the diagonal brace.
The hose being too long, as this author’s OEM hose was, probably aggravates the fouling problem. Too long makes it
want to loop up high, but then the hood is closed on it -- forcing it both downward and contorted. If yours loops up like
that, you might want to try just pushing down on the high part of the loop with your hand and see what happens -- and
remember that the loop changes shape as the engine moves around on its mounts.
Perhaps a far better method of keeping the hose from fouling the throttle linkage would be to provide a shield over or
alongside the throttle linkage at this point. A small bracket could be fabricated from sheet metal to form a small shelf of
sorts that the hose can rest on and slide around on with engine movement and be absolutely prevented from getting into
the linkage. Such a bracket could be designed to be installed under the heads of the two upper screws holding the elbow
to the rear of the LH intake manifold -- see Figure 25. This can be fabbed from any sturdy sheet metal.
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Figure 25 - Throttle Linkage Shield
The sheet metal should be folded about 20° along the vertical dashed lines to form a zig-zag so the shield will bolt down
under the bolt heads which are not at the same level. It should be folded 90° towards the front of the car along the
lower horizontal dashed line to form a flat area for the hose to sit on, and then fold the edge downward along the upper
horizontal dashed line to form a little lip so there are no edges of metal to cut into the hose. If you’d prefer, you can
omit these last folds and just cut the panel off at the lower dashed line and slit a piece of plastic tubing and slip it onto
the edge to form a surface for the hose to ride on. This would require a bit stiffer sheet metal, since the folds add
stiffness.
Or, perhaps a better idea, a shield could be designed to be installed sandwiched between the elbow and the manifold with
an additional EAC2650 gasket. The gasket itself could be used as a template to fab the lower portion of this shield.
When done fabbing and installing a shield, be sure to dial the throttle back and forth to check for unobstructed motion
when done.
If Jaguar had decided to address this concern, it would have been a simple matter to design the plate holding the linkage
at that corner to include this foul-prevention feature.
HOSE REMOVAL: On this author’s ’83, the hoses on the low pressure portion of the circuit (either end of the fuel
cooler) has nuts on each end with a 27mm (1-1/16”) hex on them. Presuming you don’t have open-end wrenches in that
size, you’re going to be using the monkey version.
Problem: the connection at the firewall is gonna be a bear to get a monkey wrench on. It calls for a crowfoot wrench --
but you’re not going to find one of those in 27mm or 1-1/16” easily.
The solution is as close as the local hardware store. It’s called a basin wrench. Now, here’s what you’re gonna do:
you’re gonna peer down into the area under the balance pipe where this connection is, then you’re gonna go down to the
hardware store and look in the plumbing department at a basin wrench, and you’re gonna say, “Man, I gotta get me
wunna those!” And not just for this job, either; a basin wrench is quite obviously one of those tools you’ll wonder how
you ever got by without. It’s sort of a crowfoot version of a pipe wrench; it has a pair of jaws that will grip when you
turn it in one direction, no matter what. It’s quite handy at removing sensors, too.
There are three types. One has a shaft perhaps a foot long with a T handle at the top; the jaws at the bottom can flip
around the end to reverse direction. This costs about $15. Another type is the same thing, but the shaft is extendable;
this costs about $20. The third kind is just the jaws themselves with a 3/8” square hole so you can use it with your
ratchet and extensions; you reverse it by pulling it off the extension, turning it over, and inserting the extension the other
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way. Not only is this the cheapest version (about $10), but it also takes up the least space in your tool box.
An example of that last type is made by Superior Tool Company of Cleveland, Ohio (1-800-533-3244,
http://www.superiortool.com), Model No. 03820, “Ratchet Jaw Basin Wrench Attachment” and is sold at Lowe’s. It
claims to fit 1/2” to 1-1/4” hex and square nuts.
While you’re shopping, also note that basin wrenches come in at least three sizes. The one described is the smallest and
perhaps the most useful for Jaguar work, but it probably wouldn’t hurt to have the larger ones around.
A basin wrench works perfectly on that hose connection. Note, however, that you still need a 13/16” crowfoot on a
separate ratchet and extension to hold the fitting still while breaking this big nut loose; if you don’t, you may break the
fitting off the evaporator, and if that happens -- trust me on this --you will end up deciding that air conditioning is just a
frivolous luxury you don’t really need. Fortunately, a 13/16” crowfoot is not hard to find.
SERVICE PORTS: The service ports on the 70’s and 80’s XJ-S are a standard 1/4” flare fitting. Well, actually, no,
they’re not. They are a standard 1/4” flare fitting except there’s a Schrader valve screwed down into the center. Hence
you cannot slap together some hoses with standard flare fittings on the ends to service this system. You need the kind of
fittings that have a pin in the middle to depress that center pin to open the Schrader valve.
SCHRADER VALVES: ...aren’t particularly durable. Each Schrader valve has two items in it that are made of rubber:
the seat of the poppet valve itself, and the seal around the body that contacts the fitting when the valve is installed. Both
pieces of rubber are subject to the same sort of age and deterioration as an O-ring. Whenever the system is discharged
for whatever reason, it is recommended that the Schrader valves in both service ports be replaced as a matter of course.
If you’ve waited too long the old Schrader valve may come out without the seal that was around its body, leaving this
tiny ring of rubber stuck down in the hole. Just screwing the new Schrader valve down on top of it is not a good idea.
Before installing the new valve, take a good hard look at the old one and make sure it’s all there.
The guy who works on my A/C for me has a tool for replacing the Schrader valve in an R-12 service port without
discharging the system! It screws onto the port, then allows you to unscrew the valve from the fitting within a glass
housing so nothing leaks out. Put a new valve in, problem solved. Only a little squirt of freon is lost when you remove
the tool, the amount that filled the volume of the tool itself.
EVACUATION: Before charging a freon circuit that has been broken into, it must be evacuated. You can buy a
vacuum pump that operates on compressed air from Harbor Freight Tools (http://harborfreight.com) for $10 plus S&H,
but if you don’t have an air compressor (and this thing requires a pretty large one, 4.5 cfm at 90 psi or so), a suitable
electric vacuum pump will probably cost you more than it’s worth; you’ll opt to just take the car to a shop for this work.
Some suggest ripping the compressor out of a refrigerator and using it as a vacuum pump. This might work, but then
again, it might not; that’s a compressor, not a vacuum pump, there’s no telling how much vacuum it can pull. Squirting
a little oil into the suction line on the refrigerator compressor before connecting it up reportedly helps it pull vacuum
better.
Before you start you might want to connect your vacuum pump directly to your vacuum gauge and see what its
capability really is as indicated on that gauge. This can save confusion when trying to pull a vacuum on the system; if it
doesn’t seem to want to pull as far as you expected, you’ll know whether it’s the vacuum pump or something else
causing the holdup.
There are two distinct purposes of evacuation: to remove gaseous contaminants (air), and to remove moisture.
To remove moisture, it is only necessary to obtain an adequate level of vacuum and to hold it for an adequate length of
time. This is because the vacuum is causing moisture within the system -- including within the dryer -- to boil off and get
pulled out as vapor. Since some of the water vaporizing removes heat from the water remaining and causes it to get
very cold, it doesn’t want to vaporize. The vacuum must be held long enough for the remaining moisture to warm back
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up to surrounding temperature and boil away. Using a hair dryer on components of the system will help, especially if
you’re trying to do this job on a cold day.
The fastest way to remove the moisture, of course, is to fire up the vacuum pump and let it run continuously for at least
an hour, preferably several hours. You can accomplish the same thing by letting the pump run for a few minutes to pull
a good vacuum, then valving the system shut and turning off the pump, and coming back every hour or so and running
the pump a few more minutes. In fact, if you leave the gauge in place, that’s one way to tell when you’re done: when
you come back after an hour and the vacuum is still as low as you left it. Moisture vaporizing will diminish the vacuum,
so if the vacuum holds there’s no moisture remaining in the system.
Another way of knowing there’s no moisture remaining in the system is to pull a vacuum that would be unattainable with
moisture in the system. When pulling the moisture out of a system, you will gradually pull the vacuum down until you
reach the point where the moisture starts boiling off. The vacuum will then remain at that level despite additional
pumping until all the moisture is gone. Once dry inside, then the vacuum will start to move again. Taking advantage of
this fact of physics, the directions typically given are to pull a vacuum of such-and-such, with the specified vacuum being
lower than the boiling point of water at any reasonable ambient temperature. The only way you’ll ever attain that level
of vacuum is after boiling off all the water in the system and then continuing to suck. This is a simple and excellent way
to assure the system is fully dry. Remember, though, that for moisture removal, you only have to get the vacuum to the
point where the moisture has all boiled off; additional vacuum does nothing for moisture removal.
Just exactly how much vacuum is needed to remove the moisture? It depends on temperature of the system, and since
vacuum is normally expressed relative to outdoor conditions, it will also depend on the barometric pressure where you
are. As an example, if the surroundings are at 70°F, you will need to attain an absolute pressure lower than 0.74 in. Hg
within the system to boil the moisture off. If the barometric pressure outside happens to be 29.92 in. Hg (standard
atmospheric pressure), you’ll need to attain a vacuum of at least 29.92 - 0.74 = 29.18 in. Hg. Heating things up helps,
though; if you do this when the surroundings are at 80°F instead, you only need to attain an absolute pressure below
1.03 in. Hg, so at the same barometric pressure you only need a vacuum of 29.92 - 1.03 = 28.89 in. Hg. If you operate
your 12-cylinder heater for a while and get everything in the engine compartment up to, say, 140°F, water will boil off at
an absolute pressure of 5.89 in. Hg, so you only need a vacuum of 29.92 - 5.89 = 24.04 in. Hg -- although you probably
won’t get the evaporator behind the dash that warm, so you probably won’t get all the moisture out of the system unless
you pull to 29 anyway. Getting everything you can as warm as you can while evacuating is always a good idea, though.
To remove gaseous contaminants requires pulling as much vacuum as you possibly can. There is no time function; pull
it, valve it off and you’re done. If you have a vacuum pump capable of pulling to micron levels, the procedure is then to
turn it on and let it run until it reaches such a level. The vacuum level will pause along the way as the moisture boils out
of the system, and then once dry it will resume dropping until it reaches the limit of your pump. Valve it off, shut off the
pump, and begin charging.
If your vacuum pump can’t pull all the way down to the micron level, there is another way to help purge impurities from
the system. Pull the best vacuum that you can from one service port, making sure that it’s low enough to have removed
all the moisture. Then connect up a hose to the other service port and allow some non-contaminant gas to fill the system
and dilute the remaining gaseous contaminants. Nitrogen is ideal; refrigerant also works and is convenient, although
using R-12 this way would be irresponsible and expensive and the EPA would frown on you using any refrigerant this
way. Once the system has some gas in it, fire up the vacuum pump and suck it out again. This way, whatever the
vacuum pump fails to pull out is mostly innocuous gas anyway rather than contaminants. Of course, you could repeat
this two or three times to really get things pure in there, but that’s a matter of diminishing returns.
Many conscientious mechanics will do a nitrogen purge anyway regardless of how good their vacuum pump is. It can’t
hurt.
FREON CHARGING: It would normally not be within the scope of this book to describe how to charge a freon circuit,
since it should be common knowledge; almost every automotive A/C system is charged basically the same way.
However, here in the Big Bend region of Florida, it is somewhere between difficult and impossible to find an auto A/C
shop that will actually charge a freon system fully.
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Sometimes the shops install a specified weight of freon and declare it charged, apparently unaware that the sight glass is
the final say on the matter; if the spec says one amount and the sight glass says that ain’t enough, the sight glass is
correct. Other times they charge until they reach a specified pressure on their gauges and declare it charged, apparently
blissfully unaware that pressures are only an indication of temperature in a freon circuit, not of the amount of charge. If
the pressures are too high, it’s because something is too hot -- usually, in the case of the XJ-S, there isn’t enough air
flowing through the condenser in front of the radiator, so the condenser is getting hot and not cooling the freon enough.
But this is no reason to undercharge the system; rather, it’s a reason to investigate and correct the airflow problems at
the condenser; see page 516.
There are mechanics that advocate undercharging the freon system because it helps keep the engine from overheating.
An undercharged freon circuit will not operate nearly as effectively, so it won’t reject as much heat from the condenser,
so the air entering the radiator is not as hot to begin with. Makes perfect sense. And if your mechanic thinks this way, I
recommend you leave his shop posthaste and never return.
After a shop does work on your A/C system, you should check the sight glass to confirm that it is fully charged. If not,
you can go back and bitch about it -- but that’s not likely to work since they know it all and you are a lowly customer
who doesn’t know anything. If all else fails, obtain a license to purchase freon and “top up” the system yourself.
Michael Minglin found a page on the WWW “for those of you who would like to be able to purchase R-12, R-134a, or
just about any other kind of coolant, to do your own A/C repairs:
http://www.epatest.com
“At this website you can download the EPA section 609 manual free, take the test online for under $10, and print out an
instant temporary EPA certification certificate, if you pass the test. The actual certification card is mailed in about 30
days.” This author now has his card; the online test works just fine -- but the price had gone up to $19.95. The author
has also used his card to buy 12-oz. cans of R-12 at AutoZone, which also works just fine.
Note also that it is an open-book test -- which, when working online, means that while taking the test you can click a
button to review the manual. Since computers are very helpful, note that you can cut-and-paste a string of words from
the question and use it to “find in page” the exact same string of words in the manual in a matter of seconds. It is really
easy to pass this test.
R-12 is not cheap, but is available locally. The hose, valve, and fitting you’ll need to connect a freon can to the car and
charge it costs perhaps five bucks. All that fancy equipment you saw at the shop -- the set of two gauges on the long
hose, the vacuum pump, etc. -- is unnecessary for topping up.
So, allow me to describe the procedure for topping up a freon circuit: Connect a can of freon to the low pressure fitting
on the car. On the XJ-S with the A-6 compressor, the low pressure fitting is the one on the line from the fuel cooler to
the compressor. It is suggested that the valve on the filler hose be cracked open just enough to hiss a little while
connecting to the car, as this will help blow air out of the fittings themselves while connecting and therefore keep it out
of the circuit. With the system running at full cool (fans on high, doors open), hold the can upright and open the valve
and allow the system to draw the freon gas into the system. This will cause the can to get cold as the liquid freon in the
can boils off and is sucked into the car. The rate at which freon enters the system is a function of how warm that can is,
so if you heat it a little it’ll fill faster. Don’t use a torch or anything, but holding it in your hands (if you can stand it) will
work, as will holding it near warm parts of the engine. Keep filling until there are no bubbles visible in the sight glass,
then close the valve, disconnect the hose, and cap the fitting. If you wish, it won’t hurt anything to add a little freon
beyond the point where the bubbles disappear -- say, less than half of a 12-oz. can -- but don’t stop before the bubbles
disappear.
Don’t turn the can over. This allows liquid freon into the system instead of pulling gas in. It is a trick used by some A/C
mechanics to fill faster, but it risks getting liquid into the compressor -- especially with the connection as close to the
compressor as it is on the XJ-S. Just take your time and leave the can upright.
TEMPERATURE VS. PRESSURE: Within a sealed container containing refrigerant in both liquid and gaseous form,
temperature and pressure are interrelated. If you heat the container some of the liquid refrigerant will vaporize,
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increasing the pressure. If you cool it some of the gaseous refrigerant will condense, decreasing the pressure. If you
increase the pressure some of the gaseous refrigerant will condense, releasing its heat of vaporization, causing the
temperature to rise. If you decrease the pressure, some of the liquid refrigerant will vaporize, absorbing heat and
causing the temperature to drop. The net result of all this is that temperature is positively linked to pressure, and this
relationship is called the “vapor pressure” of that refrigerant. There are charts available for all of the common
refrigerants.
This situation exists in two places within a running freon circuit: in the condenser where vapor is condensing into liquid,
and in the evaporator where liquid is boiling off to become vapor. Within either coil, the pressure and temperature are
related according to the vapor pressure chart of the refrigerant used.
At any place in a circuit that contains pure liquid or pure vapor, it’s possible for the temperatures and pressures to be off
the vapor pressure chart. Specifically, pure gas can be warmer or lower pressure than the vapor pressure chart would
indicate (superheated), and pure liquid can be cooler or higher pressure than the vapor pressure chart would indicate
(supercooled). Being off in the opposite directions is not possible because it would cause boiling or condensing.
In general, noplace in a running A/C freon circuit gets too far from the vapor pressure chart. The pressure within the
condenser determines the pressure all the way upstream to the compressor outlet, and presuming there are no blockages
neither the pressure nor the temperature will change much along that route. After the refrigerant condenses into liquid in
the condenser, it’s possible to “supercool” it further so that the liquid in the dryer and liquid line to the expansion valve is
a bit cooler than the vapor pressure chart would indicate, but there’s not much point to doing that so systems typically
aren’t designed to supercool much. One might note, though, that any heating of the line along this route might cause
some of the liquid inside to vaporize. Specifically, any heating of the dryer -- say, by heat rising off the radiator or
condenser -- might cause bubbles in the sight glass if the sight glass is downstream of the dryer. This is a good reason to
make sure there is a box fan in front of the car when checking the sight glass, making sure heat from the radiator is
blown the other way and the dryer only gets cool air around it. It’s also a good reason to ask for a dryer with the sight
glass on the inlet end.
One place where a deliberate attempt is made to get away from the vapor pressure chart, though, is in the suction line.
After the refrigerant boils to become vapor in the evaporator, the system will usually be designed to try to squeeze yet
more cooling from this vapor, thereby superheating it. This is to ensure it remains pure vapor as it enters the
compressor. If something cooled the vapor a bit along the way, there could be some condensation, and you’d have
some liquid freon sucked into the compressor -- and that would be bad.
An evaporator is usually designed to provide some superheat to the vapor. In the case of the XJ-S, there is an additional
superheater: the fuel cooler. Plus, of course, all the lines from evaporator to compressor pass through the engine
compartment (and the upper part of it, too!) so it’s not likely anything will be cooling that line enough to cause
condensation inside.
So, the temperature in the suction line is usually a bit warmer than the vapor pressure chart would indicate. Don’t let the
term “superheat” fool you into thinking it’s hot, though; typically, the vapor pressure chart would indicate that it should
be around 30°F, so if it’s actually around 40°F it is superheated!
Also note that the line that comes out of the evaporator turns directly upward. This isn’t only to get over the engine; it’s
also to help insure that only gas comes out this way, any liquid remains in the evaporator until it boils.
HIGH FREON TEMPERATURES AND PRESSURES: When charging or checking a system, the A/C mechanics
keep an eye on the high side and low side pressures. From the relationship between the two pressures they can tell if the
system is working properly or if there are blockages in the circuit, the compressor is defective, etc. They can also tell if
the system is properly charged.
Unfortunately, an XJ-S sitting and idling is likely to develop the following indications: the low side pressures are about
right and the high side pressures are really high. These are symptoms of an overheating condenser. The pressures often
get high enough to concern the A/C mechanics and cause them to stop filling the system even though it’s not really fully
charged and the sight gauge is still bubbling, not clear. This is not a good solution, since an inadequately-charged system
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won’t cool efficiently and will generate excess heat in the compressor.
The way to lower high side pressures is to increase the airflow through the condenser coil in front of the radiator. The
airflow is marginal in an XJ-S at idle, since the engine turns slowly and the belt-driven fan doesn’t move much air and
the electric fan isn’t much help. Leaves and debris packed in the air path, notably between the condenser and radiator,
reduce airflow. But worse yet, the foam that originally surrounded the radiator and condenser is likely to be deteriorated
or missing altogether; the tendency of the XJ-S radiator to get plugged up means that it is removed for renovation
periodically, and some morons claiming to be mechanics deliberately leave the foam out during reassembly, claiming it is
unnecessary. As a result, the air the fans are pulling through the radiator is taking the easier path around the condenser,
and airflow through the condenser is nil. This can result in high side pressures that are not only high but rising with no
sign of stopping. Of course, when the car is moving at 60 mph the airflow through the condenser is fine, but this won’t
help get the system properly charged.
As you stand looking into the engine compartment, the problems of airflow through the condenser coil are not obvious.
You can see the fans turning, and most A/C mechanics naturally believe that if the fans are running the airflow is OK.
They are not likely to correctly diagnose the problem as missing foam packing, even though they may comment that the
symptoms resemble what happens when the fans aren’t working.
Make sure your condenser, oil cooler, and radiator are properly packed with foam to prevent air bypass; see page 226.
Make sure the fan shroud flaps are working, too, as described on page 226. Obviously, make sure your radiator fans
(belt-driven and electric) are in good working order, including the fan clutch which is notorious for looking like it’s
working fine while not moving enough air. If your car is an earlier model in which the supplemental air valve is not used
to raise the idle speed when the compressor is engaged, consider retrofitting that particular feature; a higher idle with the
compressor engaged will cause the belt-driven fan to move more air through the condenser. See page 304. If your car
is a later model in which the small electric fan doesn’t come on with the compressor, consider retrofitting that particular
feature. Finally, consider an electric fan upgrade; see page 219. All in all, any maintenance or upgrade intended to keep
the engine cool by improving airflow through the radiator will also help keep the A/C condenser cooler and therefore the
freon pressures lower.
Once you have the airflow moving through the condenser like it’s supposed to, have the system checked and fully
charged as necessary. Make sure the system is fully charged to the point there are no bubbles in the sight glass; if the
tech doing the charging has any hesitation about properly filling it due to excessive high side pressures, you need to do
more work on the condenser airflow.
To keep those high side pressures down while charging, you could put a box fan standing on the ground in front of the
car blowing into the front grille. You can even spray a garden hose into the front of the car, which should bring the
freon pressures down considerably. This might help convince you that you understand the problem, but it’s not a
solution; you want to be able to rely on this A/C system when stalled in traffic on a sweltering summer day, so you need
to make sure your system will maintain reasonable pressures without resorting to such measures.
FREON REPLACEMENT: Production of R-12 has been prohibited since 1995, the price for the remaining stocks and
recycled R-12 is high and can only be expected to continue to rise, and many XJ-S owners are finding it advantageous to
convert the system to an alternative refrigerant.
The most popular scheme is to convert to R-134a refrigerant. This decreases the capacity of the system somewhat, but
since the A-6 compressor is adequate to cool a Chevy van it’s not likely to lack ooomph in this application.
Another option is R-406a. More expensive than R-134a, but is not only a drop-in replacement for R-12, it also
increases the capacity of the system by a few percent. There is more info available on the WWW at:
http://www.autofrost.com/ORIG
Other possibilities include a host of substitute refrigerants such as Freeze-12, FRIGC FR-12, Hot-Shot or GHG-X4
(GHG in honor of the chemist who put the formula together, George H. Goble), supposedly direct replacements for R-
12 with little or no conversion necessary. Any search of the WWW is likely to turn up a flurry of information on R-12
substitutes. Or call McMullen Oil at 1-800-669-5730 or Monroe Air Tech at 1-800-424-3836.
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Tony Bryant touts the advantages of converting to “a non-EPA-controlled refrigerant”: “Use 30% BBQ propane and
70% camping gas (make sure it’s iso-butane, not n-butane). Or just buy a bottle of commercially available refrigerant of
roughly this composition. Some states don't allow these blends but they are available commercially and are apparently
quite popular, especially in Australia. They work very well, at least as well as R-12, and are practically free. Also they
have no problems with moisture contamination. Flammability is obviously a potential issue, but don't let that hold you
back. All vented compressor oil is flammable anyway.”
There is one overriding advantage to choosing R-134a over all of the other substitutes: it can then be serviced by any
auto A/C repair shop in town. Shops are required to have a separate refrigerant recovery system for each type of
refrigerant they deal with, and they all have such recovery systems for R-12 and R-134a. Peter Cohen says, “Since every
damn one of these refrigerants requires distinct fittings and separate recovery equipment, most shops will only service R-
12 and R-134a. People have been scared into believing that no one will fix their car if they have a problem away from
the shop that did it in the first place.”
CONVERTING TO R-134a: Converting the R-12 system in the XJ-S to R-134a is covered in some detail here.
Conversions to other substitutes are not covered at all; you’re on your own.
In its simplest incarnation, converting an R-12 system to R-134a requires the following four steps, outlined in any kit
available in any auto parts store:
Evacuate the system, recovering and recycling the old R-12
Install conversion fittings to the high and low side ports
Recharge the system with one 11-oz. can of ester oil and the proper amount of R-134a refrigerant
Apply a sticker indicating the conversion
In addition, many experts will tell you that you need to:
Replace the hoses
Flush all the old oil out of the system
Remove components (compressor, condensor, etc.) and manually drain the old oil out of them
Replace the O-rings
Replace the shaft seal on the compressor
Replace the compressor
Replace the expansion valve
Replace the dryer
Replace the condenser
Install a high pressure limit switch
Replace or adjust the compressor cycling switch
I hasten to point out that many of these additional requirements were originally touted by experts when the ban on R-12
was first proposed without any experience to back them up. Now that R-134a conversions have been done for many
years, experience has shown that each and every step is absolutely necessary and that each and every step is a complete
waste of time and money -- depending on the individual situation. Of course, many people will insist one way or the
other on each one, largely depending on whether or not they’ve ever had a problem doing a retrofit. In the following
sections I endeavor to explain each concern in enough depth that you understand how the concern applies to your car.
Note that shops who offer to do such retrofits face considerable risk when quoting a price for the basic steps; if it turns
out that some of the additional steps are necessary, they could be in for serious losses. Keep that in mind when you
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negotiate with a shop to do such a retrofit, and try to indicate a willingness to accept that additional steps may be called
for and to pay for them. If you don’t, the shop is only too likely to quote you an up-front price including all those steps
whether they prove necessary or not.
I also hasten to point out that the basic steps described in the kits presume that you are converting a perfectly working
R-12 system. I’m gonna go waaaay out on a limb here and presume that you are not planning to convert a perfectly
working R-12 system; the only reason you’re in here at all is because something broke. That being the case, note that
repairing a damaged system and recharging with a different refrigerant than it had before can result in inevitable
uncertainties about just what caused what if the system fails to perform as expected. Keep that in mind when negotiating
with a shop to do the repairs, remembering that they will be inclined to quote an up-front cost to cover any and all
contingencies -- including the possibility that you, the customer, will be dissatisfied with the performance of a perfectly-
functioning R-134a system.
Finally, note that -- as explained in the sections below -- there are some concerns unique to the Jaguar XJ-S when doing
an R-134a retrofit. Many shops may have had bad experiences doing such retrofits on XJ-S’s or have heard about other
shops that did, and may quote you an outlandish price or refuse to work on the car altogether.
Jaguar offers a retrofit kit; the part number is JLM 11610 for the 1993-94 XJ-S with a Sanden 709 compressor, and
JLM 11611 for the 1979-92 cars with the Harrison compressor. To quote from Technical Service Bulletin #8239: “The
primary changes involve the replacement of the existing compressor lubricating oil with an oil compatible with both HFC
R-134a refrigerant and with the residual R-12 lubricating oil. It is not possible to completely flush R-12 type lubricating
oil from the refrigerant system prior to changing to Ester oil and R-134a. Additionally it is necessary to replace the input
shaft seal of the compressor with a seal compatible with the R-134a refrigerant and oil.”
Retrofitting an R-12 system is not the same thing as building a system from scratch to use R-134a. For a comparison,
Richard Jackson provides the following excerpt from the August 1993 version of the ROM:
CLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEM INTRODUCTION
The climate control system fitted to the 1994 Model Year XJS has many features which make it
unique. These differences demand changes to current system maintenance and rectification
working practices.
Feature
1.. Refrigerant HFC 134A (Hydro flourocarbon, non ozone depletory).
2.. PAG (polyalkylene glycol) synthetic compressor lubricating oil.
3.. Dedicated and improved compressor for HFC 134A refrigerant.
4.. Quick fit/release self sealing charge and discharge ports.
5.. Dual pressure switch to control compressor (incorporated into liquid line).
6.. Clamp retained 'O' ring seals at the expansion valve and evaporator.
7.. All aluminium evaporator matrix and pipework.
8.. Aluminium receiver/dryer (without sight glass) and HFC dedicated desiccant.
9.. Parallel flow extended height condenser.
10.. Single muffler situated in suction hose.
11.. Improved electrical system connectors.
12.. Improved system control panel.
-----------------------------------
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“The key point to note from the above is that Jaguar have gone to some lengths to change the system for R-134a in
comparison with the earlier R-12 systems. In addition this updated system is fitted with a Sanden SD-7H15 compressor
with capacity of 155 cm3 / 9.5 cu inches per revolution (the same capacity as the Sanden 709 fitted to the R12 4.0L
XJS).”
If you’d like more information on R-12 to R-134a conversions, there is a Q&A at
http://www.aircondition.com
SERVICE PORT FITTINGS: Regulations require that a different and non-interconnectable type of service port be used
with each different type of refrigerant. So the service ports on an R-12 system are different than the service ports on an
R-134a system; the R-12 service ports are externally threaded, while the R-134a service ports are a quick-disconnect
design with an internal thread to hold the caps on. When you are converting an R-12 system to R-134a, you must adapt
the R-12 service ports or replace the hoses in entirety to provide R-134a ports.
If you’re buying new hose assemblies as part of your conversion, simply order the correct hoses and they will come with
R-134a service ports. If you’re intending to reuse/rebuild the R-12 hoses, you will need to screw adapters onto the
service ports to render them R-134a service ports instead of R-12 service ports.
This would be simple enough if there were only one type of R-12 service ports, but no such luck. Obviously, it would
make sense if the high pressure service port was different than the low pressure service port so you couldn’t mix them
up. It may be obvious to you and me, but apparently it wasn’t obvious to somebody way back when because up until
1976 the two ports on an R-12 system were exactly the same. In 1976 somebody’s lawyers pointed out the financial
implications associated with freon cans exploding in customers’ hands and the high pressure port on R-12 systems was
changed to make it different than the low pressure port. In the US, anyways. Then in the 90’s GM apparently decided
that wasn’t good enough and changed the design of the high pressure port again. Throughout all this, the low pressure
port remained unaltered.
You need the correct adapters for the type R-12 fittings you have. You have a mid-80’s XJ-S so you need the 1976-on
versions, right? Wrong. Mike Aiken says, “The Jaguar A/C fittings are pre-1976 standards. Both hi and low sides are
the same size, 7/16-20.” Jaguar may not be the only import that stayed with the obsolete standard; some kits to adapt
these fittings are described as “pre-1976 and Europe” or “pre-1976 and some late model imports”.
So, you need to check carefully that the kit you purchase contains the correct adapters -- specifically, that it has the
correct high pressure adapter. Note that “fits most cars” usually means it does not contain the correct adapter; their
definition of “most cars” apparently means “cars built after 1976 in the US” because such kits typically contain the 1976-
on adapter and the GM mid-90’s adapter but not the pre-1976 adapter. If both service ports are the same on your XJ-S,
look for packages of adapters that indicate they fit pre-1976 models.
Aiken goes on to point out that, for the initial charging with R-134a, you don’t even need the high side adapter.
Charging is done through the low pressure port and those are all the same on R-12 systems, so any kit includes a suitable
adapter. You’ll need to have the high pressure port adapter on there for future servicing, though.
Interdynamics offers a kit, part number CSR-7, that includes a single can of ester oil and an assortment of port adapters.
It includes adapters for basically anything, including the correct adapters for the XJ-S. Discount Auto Parts offers this
kit for about $24. It doesn’t include the freon itself, but perhaps more interesting is the fact that it doesn’t include the
valve and hose assembly you need to charge the system.
Interdynamics also offers several bubble packs of adapters. Their part number VA-LH9 includes only the correct
adapters for the XJ-S. Discount Auto Parts wants only $7 for this. Buying this package and a separate can of ester oil
is therefore considerably cheaper than buying the CSR-7 kit above.
There are also adapters offered with a 90° elbow in them. Just in case you need it -- which you could on some cars if the
R-134a fitting ended up in a position where you couldn’t jam the quick-disconnect on properly. That doesn’t appear to
be a concern on the XJ-S, however.
R-134a adapters are supposed to be unremovable once installed, and this is accomplished via some red glue on the
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threads.
Since the two R-12 ports are the same on the XJ-S, I will explain clearly which is which. The port on the line from the
fuel cooler to the compressor is the low pressure port and therefore should have the smaller diameter R-134a adapter
with a blue cap screwed onto it. The port on the muffler on the line going to the condenser in front of the radiator is the
high pressure port and should get the fatter adapter with a red cap screwed onto it.
LOW PRESSURE PORT ADAPTER: The R-12 ports on the car each have a Schrader valve (tire valve) that seals the
freon inside unless the pin in the center is depressed. An R-134a low pressure port is a relatively small diameter fitting,
smaller OD than the R-12 threaded fitting, so the adapter must hold the R-134a fitting out off the end of it. Of course,
that’d make pushing the pin within the R-12 fitting down inside difficult.
The solution used on the Interdynamics low pressure port adapter is to install a floating pin in the center of the adapter.
If you hold the low pressure port adapter up to your ear and shake it, you can hear it rattling around in there. There are
no springs or seals involved. When this adapter is installed, pressing on the end of this floating pin will depress the pin in
the center of the Schrader valve in the R-12 fitting below.
As mentioned above: it’s a good idea to replace the Schrader valves whenever the system is discharged, just as you
would replace the O-rings whenever working on an assembly. Of course, with that Interdynamics port adapter screwed
down over it with Loctite in the threads, that looks like it may present a challenge -- so by all means replace that
Schrader valve before installing the service port adapter!
If you’re already past that point and need to replace that Schrader valve, you could of course just force the adapter
loose, replace the valve, and reinstall the adapter -- or install a new adapter if you messed that one up getting it off.
However, it is actually possible to replace the Schrader valve through the adapter. The pin assembly within the
Interdynamics adapter can be unscrewed and removed, leaving an opening large enough to get a Schrader valve through.
It’s gonna be fiddly, though.
Look at the low pressure service port on your XJ-S V12 -- the port on the tube connecting to the left rear side of the
compressor, coming from the fuel cooler. On the author’s ‘83 it points upward, although reportedly it may have
different orientations on later cars. As discussed above, the R-134a low pressure service port adapter sticks off the end
of the R-12 port -- and then there’s a cap that screws onto that. Altogether, the adapter and cap sticks up perhaps 3/4”
farther than the R-12 port and cap did. If your service port points upward, you might complete the job and close the
hood on this project only to be rewarded with a dent sticking up in the middle of your hood! And just because it clears
when the hood is closed doesn’t mean you’re out of the woods, either; when the engine twists on its rubber mounts --
especially if the left mount fails -- the engine could jam that fitting into the hood when you trounce on the throttle. All in
all, there is a good argument here for ordering new R-134a hose assemblies, or at least this one, since that fitting will be
shorter.
Alternatively, of course, you could modify that tube while rebuilding the hoses, either replacing the R-12 port with a
brazed-on short R-134a port or at least relocating the R-12 port somewhere more convenient. Or just abandon that port
in place and add a new R-134a port somewhere else in this line. Or, considering how common the GM A-6 compressor
is, find a low pressure line from a different type car -- possibly in a junkyard -- and adapt it to the XJ-S.
You might be tempted to try rotating the hose assembly around the connection at the back of the compressor just a bit
to lean this fitting over on the side. The problem there is that you will be leaning the service port towards the 1B fuel
injector hose. Keep in mind that the quick-disconnect fitting that connects to an R-134a low pressure service port is
fatter than the one that fits an R-12 port, so you need more clearance around that port, not less. Also note that the R-
134a quick-disconnects come in brass or plastic versions, and the plastic versions are even fatter than the brass. You
may find that you need to roll that hose the other way to pull the service port farther away from the 1B fuel injector
hose!
Since the Schrader valve remains in place within the R-12 port, here’s the easiest solution: Carefully pry the O-ring out
of the low pressure port adapter and unscrew the floating pin device. Then use a pistol cleaning brush of an appropriate
size (about .41 caliber) to scrub all the red stuff out of the threads. Put the O-ring and floating pin device back in. Use
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some anti-seize compound for good measure, but apply it only to the male threads on the R-12 port to make sure it can’t
get inside the system. Service the system, then remove the adapter and put the R-12 cap back on. Store the adapter in
the glove compartment. Apply a label explaining clearly that the adapter needs to be removed before closing the hood.
Interdynamics is not the only company making port adapters. There are adapters made by other companies (sometimes
of brass or steel rather than aluminum) that, rather than using that cute floating pin idea, have a Schrader valve built in.
You must remove the Schrader valve in the R-12 port prior to installing the adapter. Hence that idea of removing the
adapter when closing the hood will not work. For adapting the XJ-S, it might be a good idea to insist upon the
Interdynamics adapter with the floating pin; listen for the rattle when you shake it.
HIGH PRESSURE PORT ADAPTERS: There are at least two types of high pressure port adapters that will work on
the XJ-S. The first type looks similar to the low pressure port adapter described above except larger -- but it works
completely differently. While the Interdynamics low pressure port adapter contains a floating pin, their high pressure
port adapter contains an actual Schrader valve. Shaking reveals no rattle, since a spring holds the valve firmly seated.
With this type, you are supposed to remove the Schrader valve from the R-12 port before installing the adapter.
Make sure the Schrader valve inside the service port adapter is securely tightened down (ask me how I know!). You
can try to blow through it before installing it to check for leaks. Using one of those tire valve caps with the Schrader
valve tool on the end won’t work here, the Schrader valve is recessed too far down inside the R-134a service port. So,
you will either need to make a suitable tool from some small tubing, or you’ll need to buy a tool. If you’re lucky, you
may have a pair of hemostats that will work well enough.
The fitting for the R-134a high pressure port is larger than the low pressure port, large enough to fit around the threaded
R-12 fitting rather than out in front of it. So, eventually somebody figured out that you could skip building a tall high
pressure port adapter with the Schrader valve inside and instead just provide a short adapter that screws around the R-
12 port and uses the original Schrader valve in its original location. Very slick, actually. This author actually found kits
on the shelf that showed the first type of adapter on the box and in the instructions but contained the second type of
adapter and a separate slip of paper indicating the substitution.
The high pressure service port on the XJ-S is located where either type of adapter should fit without hitting the hood. If
you are concerned, just make sure to get the second type which is no taller than the R-12 port, just fatter.
OTHER NON-STANDARD STANDARDS: Besides the test ports, there are two other connections on R-134a
equipment that differs from R-12. The connection on top of a freon can is different, having a threaded attachment. And
the connection between the other end of the test hose and the test equipment (valve or whatever) has a unique threaded
fitting. These differing standards are intended to help A/C shops avoid mixing up stuff used with different freons.
They can be a real PITA for the home mechanic, though. Connecting R-134a-compliant hose to your vacuum pump
may present a challenge. There are adapters made, but they can be difficult to find. The easiest solution may be to cut
one end off an R-134a hose and attach a suitable fitting using an EFI clamp.
HOSES: The concern here is that the molecules of R-134a are smaller than molecules of R-12 and may actually leak
right through the materials used to make R-12 hoses. So, even without being able to positively identify a leak, the
system seems to bleed down over time. The solution is the “barrier hose”, a type of hose that won’t leak R-134a and is
usable with either R-134a or R-12.
Bob Staff presents a dissenting view: “Barrier hoses are not required for a conversion to R-134a. Experience has
shown that the systems operate fine without them. The age of your car may lead you to consider hose replacement.”
Some suggest that while in theory the non-barrier hoses will leak, in practice the oil in the system tends to coat the inner
walls of the hoses and seals them. Others claim that the system will leak, but will only leak a few ounces per year, so it’s
cheaper to just top it up every now and then than to replace the hoses.
If you buy a hose today -- even one with R-12 service ports on it -- this is a non-issue; all modern automotive A/C hoses
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are “barrier” type. And at some point in time that probably became the case with the OEM R-12 hoses on a Jaguar
XJ-S. However, there was a time before that when the XJ-S came with non-barrier hoses.
Unfortunately, barrier hose cannot be installed using the threaded hose connections found on the non-barrier hoses on
the author’s ’83. Fortunately, as long as the tubes are steel, any industrial hose shop can come to the rescue. They
simply saw off that hokey threaded fitting and braze on a barb and crimp the barrier hose to that. It’s not even
particularly expensive. As an example, I had the two low pressure hoses rebuilt, and the only fitting they had to cut and
braze was the one that connects to the compressor with the service port on it; the other three fittings were replaced with
brand new aluminum fittings. The total for two new hoses, three new fittings, one braze job, and four crimps came to
less than $50.
I can’t prove it, but I highly suspect that if your XJ-S has aluminum tubes, it also already has crimped connections and
barrier hoses.
See page 509 for general guidelines on A/C hose rebuilding.
You can simply purchase new hose assemblies from Jaguar with either R-12 or R-134a service ports on them -- if you’re
made of money. Or you can purchase them from John’s Cars (page 717), reportedly much cheaper. Remember, it
doesn’t matter which type service ports it has, a new hose will be the barrier type.
OIL: There are three types of oils to discuss here. The oil used with R-12 is called mineral oil. There are two types of
oil used with R-134a called ester oil and PAG oil. There actually appear to be two versions of that last one, PAG 1 and
PAG 2.
Mineral oil is worthless in an R-134a system. The oil within a freon system is dragged around the circuit by the
refrigerant with the sole purpose of lubricating the compressor. In order to get to the compressor, it must mix properly
with the refrigerant and travel with it. Mineral oil will mix with R-12 and travel around the circuit, but it won’t mix with
R-134a; it just settles to the bottom of the condenser or whereever and the compressor seizes up. So, you must use
either PAG oil or ester oil in a system with R-134a.
If you leave the old mineral oil in there settled to the bottom and then use ester oil with the R-134a, you may be in
trouble. Mineral oil won’t mix with R-134a, but it does mix with ester oil. The result is that the ester oil ends up all
dissolved in the old mineral oil, and they both settle to the bottom -- and your compressor runs unlubricated. Just how
much trouble you end up in apparently depends on exactly how much mineral oil got left in the system. If you think
you’ll be leaving a significant amount in there, you should plan to use PAG oil -- which doesn’t mix with mineral oil and
therefore will lubricate the compressor no matter what.
The recommendations of “experts” fall into two camps here. The major automakers, laying out shop procedures for the
mechanics in their dealerships to conduct R-134a retrofits, recommend that the system should not be flushed and PAG
oil should be used with the R-134a. They claim, as in the excerpt from Jaguar above, that this is because it’s not
possible to flush all the mineral oil out. Skeptics believe they actually have other reasons. For one thing, not having to
even try to flush saves the shop time and effort. But perhaps more importantly, not having to deal with the solvents
necessary to flush an R-12 circuit keeps the EPA, the fire department, and the A/C component manufacturers off their
backs. In years past, substances used to flush R-12 circuits have included R-12, mineral spirits, and a host of other
substances, all of which were trouble one way or another -- and some of which were arguably of limited effectiveness in
getting the old mineral oil and contaminants out.
Everybody except the major automakers suggests that you flush the system and then use ester oil with the R-134a. For
one thing, suitable solvents for flushing are now commonly available -- although they’re not cheap. You can buy
flushing solution in any auto parts store for around $15/quart.
For another thing, the mineral oil takes up space within the system; the less mineral oil that’s in there, the more R-134a
you’ll be able to put in. Note that for some reason R-12 systems often seem to have a lot more mineral oil in them than
specified. Apparently each shop that works on the system tends to put more oil back in than they took out, probably just
to be on the safe side. The massive accumulations of oil over the years of service detract from the performance of the
system -- and adding in the ester oil on top of it may result in very poor performance indeed.
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There are also theories that the mineral oil, when not being suspended by R-12 any more, tends to coat the inside
surfaces of the condenser and evaporator, impeding heat transfer and reducing the effectiveness of the system. When
somebody complains that converting to R-134a resulted in less cooling capacity than R-12, it’s more likely they’re
experiencing these sorts of problem than seeing the true difference in the refrigerants.
Note that you’re not supposed to flush through either the compressor or the dryer. Plan accordingly.
If you intend to continue to use non-barrier hoses with the R-134a, it’s also not recommended that you flush the hoses.
The solvents will remove the mineral oil from the inside surface, increasing the likelihood that the hoses will leak R-
134a.
This system will require about 10-12 ounces of oil. Ester oil comes in pressurized cans containing oil plus some R-134a;
the 11-ounce can provides 8.5 ounces of oil, and the 4-ounce can provides 2 ounces of oil. If all you’re doing is
converting a working system, one can of each size would be a good oil charge.
If you’re replacing the compressor, it is generally recommended that you put some liquid oil into it prior to installation.
Ester oil is also available as an 8.5-ounce can of liquid for such purposes.
If the compressor has too much oil in it while it’s being installed, some of it may leak out when the caps are removed
from the suction and pressure ports to connect the hoses. Aside from being messy, having an unknown amount of oil
leak out means that you won’t know how much oil remains inside. James Teston suggests “Depending on what you are
taking apart, you may be able to connect the high and low pressure hoses to the compressor end before you install the
compressor.” He suggests you can tighten the attachment bolt enough to effect a seal but loose enough that you can
reposition the hoses the way you want them after the compressor is in place.
This author recommends the following procedure for adding ester oil to a dry compressor being installed in a flushed
system. First, with the compressor on the bench with the nose downward and the ports upward, put some liquid oil in
the suction port -- but no more than three or four ounces. You may need to turn the hub at the front a bit to get even
that much oil to go in, but don’t turn it more than one full turn because it’ll start pumping the oil out the pressure port.
Reapply the caps or install the hoses and cap the other ends of the hoses; ester oil will absorb moisture from the air, and
you want to minimize that happening. Ideally, let the compress sit nose-down for a while to allow the oil to seep down
towards the front seal. Install the compressor. Then with the suction line disconnected from the fuel cooler (disconnect
it if necessary), hold that end of the hose upward and pour the rest of the oil from the 8.5-ounce can directly into the
end. As it flows down towards the compressor, turn the hub of the compressor slowly by hand to help draw it into the
works. After the system is buttoned up and evacuated, add another 2 ounces of oil while charging by connecting a 4-
ounce can to the low pressure service port.
O-RINGS: Jonathan Sterrett says, “There is no incompatibility between the refrigerant types and the O-rings in
question, but rather between the early R-134a lubricants (PAG) and O-rings used in R-12 systems. The new ester oils
are compatible with the O-rings from R-12 systems.”
The O-rings used in an R-12 system will not dissolve when used with R-134a or PAG oil. That’s not the concern; the
concern is with the size. If you take two identical O-rings and use one in R-12 and the other in R-134a, the one in R-12
will end up a bit larger than the one in the R-134a.
Imagine the O-rings in your system are in good shape, rubbery and pliable, and are properly compressed between
surfaces in their respective installations. Then the R-12 is replaced with R-134a and the rubber shrinks a bit accordingly.
Will this cause a leak? Probably not. The compression of O-rings is generally far more than the shrinkage caused by the
refrigerant change. Hence, the kits don’t mention having to replace O-rings.
Now, imagine the O-rings in your system are old and tired. They’ve been in there for a few years being subjected to heat
soak every time you park the car in the sun on a hot summer day. If you could pull them out and hold them in your
hand, they wouldn’t have a round cross-section; they’ve taken on the distorted shape they got from being compressed.
They’re still not leaking, though. Now, when you replace the R-12 with R-134a and they shrink a bit, are they gonna
leak? You betcha!
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Before you go worrying a great deal about this issue, note that all of the O-rings in the XJ-S are relatively easy to get to
and replace. Well, except perhaps those at the expansion valve -- but you may be replacing the expansion valve as well
after you read about it below.
Yes, there are special O-rings made for R-134a conversions. They are typically blue or green -- but the color is merely a
light dusting of chalk, you can rub it off and the O-ring itself is black underneath. The color indicates that this O-ring is
a hair fatter than the standard O-ring, making it compress properly in grooves sized for standard O-rings exposed to R-
12. The dust also helps you get the parts together, which may otherwise be a little difficult with O-rings that are fatter
than the assembly was intended to fit.
Although the colored O-rings are generally easy to find, if you prefer you can use standard black neoprene O-rings.
Installed new, they will work fine. Apply a bit of compressor oil when installing to make them slide together easily.
You may be surprised at how few O-rings you need to buy. When this author rebuilt his system, the new compressor
and the new expansion valve came with new O-rings. The shop that rebuilt all three hoses returned them with new O-
rings for the standard fitting ends. The only component that didn’t come with new O-rings was the dryer, presumably
because it has female ends rather than male ends.
COMPRESSOR: There are two concerns in the compressor: O-rings and the shaft seal. The O-rings are discussed
above. You’re not likely going to take the compressor apart to replace O-rings, but as suggested before it’s not likely
you’re converting to R-134a for nothing -- you have probably decided to convert in the midst of a compressor
replacement! If so, don’t worry about the O-rings; any rebuilt compressor will have been assembled with suitable O-
rings.
Joe Bialy says, “Jag sez that only Sanden units need to have their shaft seal replaced for R-134a retrofits. The Harrison
does not require any modification at all.”
EXPANSION VALVE: The general discussion on the expansion valve is on page 508. The expansion valve is a
throttling valve that responds to pressure. As discussed in an earlier section, pressure within a closed freon circuit is a
function of temperature. The expansion valve is trying to hold the evaporator at a pressure corresponding to a
temperature in the 30’s F.
Now you go and replace the R-12 with R-134a. The pressure in the system is still a function of temperature, but it’s
now a different function of temperature. The expansion valve is still trying to hold the same pressure, but that pressure
no longer corresponds to a temperature in the high 30’s F. It apparently corresponds to a temperature in the 50’s, if the
reports from people who have done this conversion are any indication.
Once again, the switch to R-134a is blamed for a loss of performance -- but it’s not the R-134a’s fault, the wrong
expansion valve is in there! Regardless of “capacity”, the system should provide air in the upper 30’s F when lightly
loaded. If the wrong expansion valve is used, it’ll never get colder than 50’s F regardless of load. This isn’t a capacity
issue, it’s a control issue -- the expansion valve is not controlling the refrigerant flow properly.
Ed Sowell reports that the expansion valve he got for his conversion was clearly labelled as being for R-134a. It’s not
likely anyone would bother with such marking if the expansion valves weren’t different for R-12 and R-134a.
Again, the kits don’t mention replacing the expansion valve. Perhaps they consider 50°F air cool enough. It’s not really,
though, since it won’t dehumidify as well and it will require more fan speed to achieve comparable cooling. If you want
this system to work right, replace the expansion valve.
Having to replace the expansion valve might, at first blush, seem a powerful argument for going with Freeze-12 or one
of the other refrigerants that claim to be a functional equivalent of R-12 and therefore don’t require an expansion valve
change. Not only is the R-134a expansion valve perhaps $35, it’s also a serious PITA to get to in the XJ-S. There’s
one more factor to consider, though: if you’re replacing the compressor and the rebuilt compressor you get has any sort
of warranty on it, that warranty always requires that the dryer and the expansion valve be replaced along with the
compressor. Since the rebuilt compressors seem to vary greatly in quality and reliability, that warranty is important.
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You probably want to replace the expansion valve. And be sure to keep the receipts for both the expansion valve and
the dryer, especially if you buy them somewhere other than where you get the compressor.
DRYER: The general discussion on the dryer is on page 507. When converting to R-134a, the desiccant inside the
dryer must be compatible with R-134a. Apparently all modern dryers are compatible with either R-12 or R-134a, but
some original dryers may not be compatible with R-134a. At this point, if there’s still a dryer in there that’s old enough
it might not be compatible with R-134a, replace it.
Again, the kit doesn’t mention replacing the dryer. They are describing replacing the refrigerant in a perfectly working
system, one that hasn’t sprung a leak. They’re apparently also presuming the system is new enough that the dryer is
compatible with both refrigerants. If your system has been opened or sprung a leak and lost all the refrigerant, you
probably should replace the dryer anyway.
CONDENSER: Let’s say that in order to transfer enough heat to keep your sorry butt cool, the condenser in your XJ-S
must operate at 150°F. With R-12 in the circuit, this would mean that the compressor must produce 235 psi in the high
pressure line. Now, you convert to R-134a. To attain the same 150°F in the condenser in order to transfer the same
amount of heat, the compressor must now produce 263 psi in the high pressure line.
There are two things you can do about this. One is to upgrade the condenser somehow so that it moves the same
amount of heat at a lower temperature than before, so that the pressures are in line with what they were before. In this
particular example, getting the temperature of the condenser down to 140°F would do it.
The other thing you can do is -- nothing. Just let the system operate at the higher pressures. Obviously, there are
information sources that won’t suggest you do this because they don’t want to be liable if you blow hoses or destroy a
compressor. And there are other information sources that note that operating at higher pressures is not usually that big a
deal and perhaps not worth the hassles to address.
Before you latch onto the latter choice, allow me to remind you that excessive high side pressures are already a known
concern with the XJ-S. You should be so lucky as to be running at 235 psi with R-12; it’s more likely well over 300
already. You can review this problem on page 516. When you consider that the car may already be stressing the
compressor and lines to the breaking point, switching to R-134a is just begging for trouble.
If you have the stock belt-driven fan and everything else in the airflow situation is OEM, I would recommend that you
do not switch to R-134a without addressing the condenser situation. Sure, if your fan clutch is in perfect condition, the
idle isn’t set too low, the foam surrounding the radiator and condenser is intact, there are no leaves or debris in there
plugging up the airflow path, etc., etc., you might be able to get away with it. You’re still likely to have a system that
performs poorly, though.
There are two ways to increase the condenser capacity so that it can operate at lower temperatures. The first is to
replace the condenser itself with a bigger one -- commonly described as a “parallel flow” or “multipath” condenser.
There are many aftermarket businesses that offer such condensers. According to the documentation quoted above,
Jaguar went with a “parallel flow extended height” condenser when they introduced an R-134a system in the XJ-S in
1994; perhaps this unit can be adapted to earlier models.
The other way is to increase the airflow through the condenser. The cheap and easy way would be to add a “pusher”
electric fan on the front of the condenser blowing through it. You can simply wire a relay to operate the fan whenever
the compressor is engaged. Or, you can wire it to come on whenever the small OEM electric fan comes on, so it can do
double duty and help keep the engine cool as well.
Of course, you could go ahead and replace the belt-driven fan with a powerful electric fan or any of the other various
suggestions along these lines presented beginning on page 219.
If you have one of the later cars that doesn’t bring on the small OEM electric fan when the compressor comes on, by all
means revise that wiring so the fan comes on. This arguably should be done regardless, but with the conversion to R-
134a it becomes doubly important.
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Chuck Sparks suggests that, while you have the system torn apart anyway, take the condenser out and give it a good
scrubbing to get all the road grime off the outside. This will make it transfer heat better. Of course, one could argue
that it would merely give you false confidence in your system, since obviously it’ll have more road grime on it sometime
after you get this system together and running.
HIGH PRESSURE CUT OUT SWITCH: If you read that last section on the condenser, perhaps you understand why
some suggest installing a High Pressure Cut Out (HPCO) switch that disengages the compressor if the pressure exceeds
a certain value. If the condenser capacity problem isn’t addressed, such a switch will likely result in the compressor
cycling on and off. Basically, the condenser will get hotter and hotter until the switch shuts the compressor off, then the
condenser can cool off until the compressor comes back on. This will provide cooling, just at a reduced capacity. It
also may cause premature failure of the compressor clutch, what with all that cycling.
Of course, you really should address the condenser issues as described above. It won’t hurt to install the HPCO switch
anyway, but if you do the condenser job right it’ll never come into play.
If you’re not confident of your condenser/airflow situation, by all means install a HPCO switch. If the pressure exceeds
430 psi, the pressure relief valve on the back of the compressor will piss away your freon until the pressure drops to safe
values. After that your system will remain undercharged and never cool as it should, even when there is adequate
airflow through the condenser! With the high pressure switch, the compressor can be shut off to limit pressure without
losing any refrigerant which leaves it properly charged so it can cool properly when pressure isn’t an issue -- such as
when the car is moving at highway speeds and there is gobs of air flowing through the condenser. With any luck at all,
the high pressure switch will only come into play when the car is idling at a stoplight in hot weather.
“Muxika” describes the HPCO switch: “...a cut off switch connected in series with the A/C clutch set at 350 psi.
(GM/AC Delco part # 15-5514).” The GM part number is 15981985. A search of the www turned up switches that cut
out anywhere from 325 psi to 410 psi. As reference: Ideally the high pressure side should operate around 250 psi (17.5
kg/cm², 145°F, 63°C), and anything over 325 psi (22.8 kg/cm², 165°F, 74°C) should be considered overheating.
Any suitable HPCO switch has either internal damping or a wide dead band or both to make sure the compressor
doesn’t cycle on and off too quickly.
White Industries (http://whiteac.com) also offers such a switch, part number 03245-SP. You can also get one that’s
made by
FJC
Post Office Box 499, Mt. Mourne, NC 28123-0499
101 Commercial Drive
Mooresville, NC 28115
704-664-3587 Fax: 704-664-5522
http://www.fjcinc.com/
Their HPCO switch part number is 3245. Hmmm. Seems related to that White Industries number.
As long as you’re plumbing in an HPCO switch, you can plumb in a switch that does more. You can purchase a “binary
safety switch” which not only shuts off the compressor if the pressure is too high but also shuts it off if the pressure is
too low -- which would mean the freon has all leaked out. Later XJ-S’s come with a low pressure switch already built
into the back of the compressor, but if you have an earlier car with a 3-terminal fuse you might want to consider a binary
safety switch and abandon that 3-terminal fuse idea -- especially if your replacement compressor doesn’t have the correct
type port to fit the temperature switch that operates the 3-terminal fuse.
You can also opt for a “trinary switch”. Besides the two functions of the binary safety switch, the trinary switch will
also bring on an electric fan on when the pressure rises above 220 psi. That means it only runs the fan when truly
needed rather than whenever the compressor is on.
There are dozens of places that offer binary and trinary switches, often specifically intended for particular cars -- none of
which ever include Jaguars. For our purposes, you can use a generic. You can get one from
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Hot Rod Air, Inc.
9330 Corporate Drive, Suite 308
Selma, TX 78154
Orders: 1-877-693-3200
Tech: (210) 651-0040 Fax: (210) 651-0070
http://www.hotrodair.com/
E-Mail: sales@hotrodair.com
Once you pick a switch, you must connect it into the high pressure line. There are at least four ways to do this. One
option is to purchase a “saddle clamp” that clamps onto the outside of a tube and then a pin is screwed down to
puncture the tube underneath. GM dealers have such a saddle clamp, part number 15985307.
Another option is to purchase a tee that is fitted to the high pressure service port and provides a switch port and a new
service port. Conveniently, these are available that screw onto the R-12 port and provide an R-134a port, so it replaces
the high pressure port adapter. Make sure to get one that fits the pre-1976 R-12 high pressure port which is a 1/4” flare
fitting. White Industries offers a suitable tee, part number 02638-SP. FJC also offers the correct tee, part number 2638.
Hmmm, they seem related again.
As an aside here, several companies offer a selection of “service port extension hoses”. These are hoses about a foot
long that you screw onto a service port and leave in place permanently, and use the other end of the hose as your service
port. The intent is to deal with service ports that the automaker chose to put in totally inaccessible locations. There are
no such access problems on the XJ-S, the service ports are right up top -- but you might opt to use one of those service
port extension hoses to locate your service port adapter tee and HPCO switch somewhere where the hood won’t slam
on it!
Another method for connecting your HPCO switch is with a tee that is installed at a hose connection. On the XJ-S, this
would have to be installed at the right front corner of the engine compartment where the high pressure hose connects to
the line to the condenser. The hose connects to the tee, the tee screws onto the condenser line. It effectively makes the
hose a little longer, but that shouldn’t hurt anything. Hot Rod Air offers such a tee.
A fourth method is a tee that is spliced directly into the high pressure hose. It’ll require a crimping tool to install, but if
you have a crimping tool it may be the cheapest option.
Pressure is a function of temperature in a refrigerant circuit, so in lieu of a pressure switch you could install a
temperature switch. This might be easier as an add-on, since a temperature sensor can be strapped onto the outside of a
tube rather than having to be connected into the line itself.
COMPRESSOR CYCLING SWITCH: Some automobiles have a “cycling switch” that turns the compressor off when
the low side pressure gets too low. Pressure corresponds to temperature in a closed freon circuit, so what it’s really
doing is preventing the evaporator from getting too cold and possibly icing up. Since switching from R-12 to R-134a
changes the pressure/temperature relationship, you need to adjust or replace this switch so that it cycles the compressor
off at the correct temperature.
The XJ-S doesn’t have a compressor cycling switch. Instead, it uses a Ranco thermostat that directly measures the
temperature of the air coming off the evaporator and cycles off the compressor if this air gets too cold. So there is no
need to worry about this when changing refrigerants.
CHARGING EQUIPMENT: It would make sense to describe charging equipment in the general section on the A/C
rather than in this section on R-134a, but it’s difficult to find R-12 stuff any more and you need a license to buy it
anyway. The R-134a equipment is readily available to anyone in any auto parts store.
You will need a device to connect the cans of oil and refrigerant to the low side service port in order to charge it -- and
you can’t use the charging equipment that you used with R-12 because both the cans and the low side service ports are
different with R-134a. Cans of R-134a have a little threaded nipple on top to connect to.
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With R-134a, one basic setup is a brass valve that screws onto the top of the can with a little spike that punches a hole
into the top of the can, and a short length of hose with an R-134a-standard threaded end that attaches to this valve and a
brass quick-disconnect on the other end to connect to the service port.
There’s also a similar device made entirely of plastic.
There is a device that attaches directly to the can and you turn the can over and jam it down onto the quick-disconnect
port. No hose, no valve. I suspect you are not supposed to use this type to put refrigerant in the system, since you
could easily introduce liquid refrigerant into the low pressure port. It appears that this type is chiefly used for such
things as adding dyes or sealers to the system.
If you want to be more professional and careful about what you’re doing, you want to have a “manifold” which is an
assembly with three hoses, two gauges, and an assortment of valves. One hose connects to the low pressure service
port, another connects to the high pressure service port, and the third connects to the vacuum pump or the freon tank or
whatever you happen to be fiddling with. Once connected up, you just open and close valves to service the system.
Very slick. And, perhaps more than the home mechanic is interested in paying.
There is a happy medium solution for the home mechanic. There is a package offered by Interdynamics, Model No.
HGT-134A, that contains the short hose and can-tapping valve as in the basic charging kit described above. It also
contains a 500 psi pressure gauge. And it contains an adapter: a quick-disconnect that connects to the high pressure
service port and presents a low pressure service port to connect your hose to! That just seems wrong somehow, they
went to all this trouble to provide different ports so you couldn’t possibly connect the freon can to the wrong port and
have it explode in your hand, and then they go and make this adapter that allows you to do it anyway! But as a practical
matter it’s a cheap way to use one hose to connect that gauge to either port. Just don’t do anything stupid.
Note that the pressure gauge, being clearly intended for R-134a use, not only has pressure scales in psi and kg/cm 2 but
also temperature scales in °F and °C. Pressure and temperature have a fixed relationship in a closed freon circuit.
This particular package does not come with a vacuum gauge. However, the pressure gauge is made with a 1/8” NPT
connection at the bottom, and it comes in this kit with an adapter screwed onto it that allows the gauge to be connected
to the R-134a hose fitting. So if you happen to have a vacuum gauge laying around, you can unscrew this adapter from
the pressure gauge and screw it onto the vacuum gauge and hook it up.
CHARGING: Charging is fairly straightforward, and is described in the instructions that come with any kit. Note that
the instructions will include putting a large can of ester oil in via the low pressure service port, but if you’ve replaced the
compressor you should have already added 8.5 ounces of oil in liquid form so you will only be adding a small can at
most at the port.
The guidelines on R-134a is to plan on using 85% by weight of the amount of R-12 the system used. The Jaguar V12
with the A-6 compressor uses 2.5 lb of R-12, so it should take about 34 oz. of R-134a. Buy three 12-oz. cans.
Many people conclude that since it takes fewer ounces of R-134a than it took in R-12, you’re not supposed to fully
charge the system with R-134a until there are no bubbles in the sight glass. This is incorrect; no gaseous refrigerant in
the liquid line is a fundamental requirement of a properly functioning refrigeration circuit regardless of what type of
refrigerant is used. The reason we use only 85% as much R-134a is because R-134a is less dense than R-12; the same
quantity of fluid weighs fewer ounces.
There are warnings everywhere that the sight glass is not a reliable indicator of proper charge with R-134a. There are
two reasons for these warnings. First, PAG oil will tend to fog over the sight glass under certain conditions, which
means you won’t be able to see any bubbles whether they are there or not. Obviously, if you planned on relying on the
sight glass and neglected to keep track of how many ounces of R-134a you’ve been putting in, you’re screwed. So
warnings are in order: keep track of how much R-134a you’re putting in, because the sight glass is not a reliable
indicator of proper charge. You didn’t think about it meaning it that way, did you?
Fortunately, the fogging problem apparently doesn’t apply to systems using ester oil. It may apply to some of the stop-
leak products offered for use with R-134a, though, so it’s still a good idea to keep track of how much refrigerant you’re
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putting in.
The second reason does apply. If the condenser is inadequate for use with R-134a and you don’t install an HPCO, you
will end up with a system that is either undercharged or overheated. Undercharged is better. So, while ideally the
system will have an adequate condenser and run pure liquid in the liquid line, you may be compelled to undercharge the
system and put up with the (considerable) reductions in performance in order to limit the high side pressures. A better
idea would be to install a HPCO switch as described above and fully charge the system -- but if the condenser
shortcomings are not addressed, it’s going to be cutting off the compressor a lot.
Delanair MkII (up to 1987)
TRAINING MANUAL: Jaguar, back in the days of British Leyland control, issued a “British Leyland Service Division
Dealer Training” manual, “Aid # S1002” on the Environmental Control System. Although it’s described as intended for
the “Jaguar XJ6, XJ12 Series Two”, the same basic system was used in the pre-1987 XJ-S. This book is long out of
print, but if you happen to find a dealer or mechanic with one you definitely want to have a copy made.
SCHEMATIC CORRECTIONS: This clarification applies to the “Air Conditioning” diagram in at least one early-80’s
edition of the owner’s handbook as well as Figures 10.125 and 13.94 in Haynes manual 478/49015. There is a BU wire
that comes from the left connector on the M1, M2, and High speed relay coils and eventually ends at the low speed
switch (192D). Another wire, no color indicated but I’m betting it’s black, comes off the left connector on the Low
speed relay coil and wraps around the bottom of the entire schematic, clearly the ground for everything. At the top left
corner of this diagram, it appears these wires are connected -- but they are not. A little Liquid Paper is in order to make
this clear.
HEATER CORE REPLACEMENT: The heater core (“heater matrix” for you Brits) in the Delanair MkII has integral
pipes that extend through the firewall, where hoses connect it to the engine cooling system. To get it out intact requires
disassembling the entire dashboard and A/C system, including discharging the freon circuit.
Michael Neal recommends shortcutting the heater core removal to keep from pulling the dash apart. The instrument pod
must still be removed, and dropping the steering column down is required. But total disassembly can be avoided by
cutting the pipes and installing the new core using short pieces of hose with clamps. Neal is an official Jaguar mechanic
and highly recommends this method; there is nothing wrong with using heater hose for such an application, and
disassembly of the entire system is likely to cause further problems unless done by an experienced Jag mechanic.
Greg Price sends a detailed checklist: “To those who have to replace their heater cores and want to cut the pipes rather
than disembowel their entire interior, the procedure is pretty straightforward with the following caveats:
1. You don't have to take the driver's seat out, but it might make a more comfortable working environment.
2. The steering column must be removed in order to make room for the heater core to slide out. The steering
column is held up under the dash by four bolts. These bolts have spacers, washers, seating rings and a steel
piece that holds the nuts. Before removing the steering column, take out the tach and speedo, then look inside
with a flashlight to see where all of the little spacers and miscellaneous bits go. Take notes. As soon as you
start to remove the four bolts, all of those bits bail out.
3. Take a Polaroid picture of the heater mechanism area before you start taking things out. If you can't buy or
steal a Polaroid camera, draw a very detailed map of the area, and pay attention to what goes under or over
what.
4. As you remove the screws and such, tape them to a sheet of paper in the order that they were removed. It
makes the orderly reassembly that much more orderly.
530
5. Buy the best hose clamps you can find. Get those swedish jobs that you can torque down with an impact
wrench.
6. Use silicone to seal the hose to the pipes.
7. Cover everything. Twice. Brass shavings fly everywhere when you cut the pipes (especially if you use a
pneumatic cutoff tool). Silicone always ends up everywhere except where you want it.
8. Be mindful of the hazard light switch. It's easily mangled. I think mine will hold together (I hope).
9. Plastic wire ties are great for holding all of the excess wiring and plumbing up out of your way.
10. Don't drain your cooling system like the manual says. Pull off the heater hoses, plug them temporarily,
then blow the remaining water out of your heater core with compressed air. Keep your face away from the
outlet.
11. Watch out for the fiber optic line going into the ignition switch cover. Remove the switch cover and tape
it up out of the way with the fiber line before you drop the steering column.
12. If your cruise control doesn't work, now is a good time to check the steering column wiring and speed set
switch.
“The entire procedure took me about 3 and a half hours (including a short dinner break), which beats the hell out of
disassembling the dash and console.”
STUB DUCTS: The stub ducts that the rubber ducts connect to are easily removable; just twist CCW. This can be
really handy for getting to some things, such as the 12V terminals on the firewall. Richard Mansell says, “these can also
be pulled off to get at the top of the A/C drain tubes.” To reinstall, just offer them up to the holes and turn around until
they pop into place, then turn them CW to lock.
BLOWER FANS - INDIVIDUAL SPEEDS NOT WORKING: The four blower speeds are controlled by four relays
built into a single unit that is located adjacent to the left side footwell; the footwell register and the small padded cover
must be removed to get at it. If one of these four relays quits, one speed of the blowers no longer works, and the A/C
system just skips over it from the next lower speed to the next higher speed and back. The result can be a little
disconcerting, since the bigger change is speed is quite noticeable, and since it may be more change than necessary the
system can end up cycling back and forth between the two speeds a lot when it would have been happier just staying at
the middle speed. Even worse, if it happens to be the “low” speed relay that fails, the A/C compressor can be operated
without a fan running which is not good on the equipment and may cause the compressor to kick in and out on its own
thermostat trying to prevent iceup.
This four-relay assembly appears to be a common failure: this author has had three of the four relays inside it fail, and
others report similar results.
I took the box apart and fixed it each time. The unit is tough to get out of the car, but once out it is a simple matter to
bend the plastic edges back and pry open; you might even try bending the edges back and prying the base out without
removing it from the car, since the base will carry all the important parts and you’ll simply leave the plastic housing in
place. Be careful; the NW wires connecting to the terminal with the screw (and several of the components inside, if you
don’t disconnect this wire before opening) are hot at all times unless you have disconnected the battery.
The coils are designed to be on continuously, so they don’t burn up; the problem always seems to be broken
connections. The thin wires from the relay coils break off of the terminals, and soldering them back on makes it work as
good as new. However, there is a theory that these long thin wires spanning considerable distances within this assembly
are the cause of the problems; a vibration in the car, perhaps at a particular speed or engine RPM, may resonate these
wires like guitar strings and break them off.
So, instead of just reconnecting them, fix the problem. On each coil, the skinny coil wire comes out of the coil and is
531
wrapped a couple of times around a plastic lug on the side of the coil before running off to the terminal. Solder a larger
gauge wire to the terminal and route this larger wire to the plastic lug on the relay and wrap it around a couple times,
then solder the end of the coil wire and the new thicker wire together right next to the lug. Hence, the thick wire spans
the distance to the lug, and the thin coil wire is well supported.
Alternatively, just replace the individual relays that go bad. Brian Sherwood “Found a portion of the fan control relay
was inop, no fan on "low". Removed four wires from bad portion of relay block and plugged into a generic 12-volt
relay with spade terminals; fan works fine now. Fan control relay is located in center console, LH side under heater
unit.”
The four relays are located at the four corners of the unit. The “low” relay, at the bottom right corner as you look at it,
seems to be wired with four wires as Sherwood described. The other three relays, however, each have two wires going
to them, plus there are two commons going to the whole set of three. A large NW wire provides 12V power to all three
contacts to power the blowers. A small BU wire provides a common switched ground for all three coils. The signal to
the relays comes via BY, BG and BW wires, and the power to the resistor pack and blowers is via larger U, R, and GS
wires.
If the low relay fails, you can replace it with a standard automotive relay, such as those sold for driving lights; merely
remove the four wires from the box and connect the B and NY wires to the coil and the NW and Y wires to the
contacts, as Sherwood suggests.
If one of the other three relays fails, you can still replace it with a standard relay. Connect a wire from the BU wire to
one side of the coil (without disconnecting the BU wire from the other relays on the board), and simply pull the BY, BG
or BW wire off the terminal on the faulty component and connect it to the other side of the coil. Connect a heavy wire
from the NW wire to one side of the contacts (again leaving it connected to the other circuits), and pull the U, R or GS
wire from the terminal on the faulty component and connect it to the other side of the contacts.
Either opening the box and correcting the problems or replacing the relays with individual SP relays would probably save
a lot of money; generic “driving light relays” will work fine are only a couple bucks each. It’s likely to cause less
trouble, too; most of the aftermarket generic relays are quite reliable. You certainly don’t want to buy a replacement
four-relay unit from Jaguar -- after all, the original one is causing trouble, and the replacement isn’t likely to be any
better. In fact, it might not be a bad idea to simply yank the entire block out of the car and replace it altogether with
four generic relays at the first sign of trouble.
Note that British Leyland Service Division Training Manual S1002 on the Environmental Control System shows a
separate low speed relay and a box containing three relays; since the manual is intended for the XJ6 and XJ12 Series
Two, this probably describes an early arrangement. The wiring schematic appears unchanged, however, and the
replacement of individual speed relays with separate units will work just as well.
BLOWER FAN RESISTOR PACK: Component #188 on the schematics. Physically, this unit is mounted in an
opening high on the left side of the A/C system, above the heater core pipes. Access to the resistor pack is poor, to put
it mildly. If it must be removed, it is suggested that the left side blower assembly be removed first. It is also suggested
that a hole be drilled in a piece of structural sheet metal to allow a Pozidriv screwdriver to be used on the upper
mounting screw.
The speed of the blower fans is controlled simply by connecting the various resistances in series with the blower motors.
These resistor packs are installed in the airstream from the blowers so that the airflow will keep the resistors cool. If the
blowers seize or otherwise fail to move air, the result is often a cooked resistor unit due to lack of cooling combined
with the high current load due to the mechanical problem.
If one is really cheap or in a hurry, the unit can always be repaired using Nichrome wire from an old toaster or some
such, or even by twisting severed wires back together. Do not use solder, as it will melt; all connections must be
mechanically attached. Exact resistance values are unimportant, since being off a little will only make the fans run a little
faster or slower than original. Note that this unit is so difficult to get to that it would be nice to make real sure it doesn’t
fail again.
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BLOWER FAN RESISTOR PACK -- FUN WITH SCHEMATICS: Some A/C system schematics, including Fig.
10.125 in the Haynes, show the blower fan resistor pack (component 188) incorrectly. They show the GS wire to the
fan motors themselves being connected to one end of the three resistances, as though all three resistances operate in
series. In fact, the GS wire connects between the 0.85 and 0.425 resistances. In M1 speed, power is supplied to both
ends of the resistor pack (Y and U wires) so that the 0.85 resistor operates in parallel with the 0.425-1.275 pair. In M2
speed, power is supplied to the R wire in addition, so the 0.85 resistor is now operating in parallel with the 0.425 alone.
The “Air Conditioning” system schematic in the ROM at the end of section 86 as well as Fig. 10.130 in the Haynes show
the fan resistor pack correctly.
Also of note, the schematic in the ROM and Fig. 10.130 in the Haynes show one additional circuit by which the high
speed position of the control knob will, via diode #D4, operate the M2 relay. Reason unknown; it almost appears to be
a backup in case the high speed relay fails.
DEMIST DUCT VANE: The ROM, Section 82.25.21, step 35, says “Ease demist duct vane securing studs from screen
rail and recover demist duct assembly.” John Nuttall felt this was unclear, so when he finally figured out what it was
talking about he provided the following explanation. Note that this applies to his 1977 XJ-S.
“Removal of this vane uncovers a screw which secures the unit to the car body just below the windshield. The main
difficulty with the manual is that it does not make clear just what is the demist duct vane, and I don’t think the official
name is a very good description. It turns out that this object is a piece of vinyl covered rubber about 34 in (85 cm) long,
3/4 in (2 cm ) thick, and 3in (8 cm) wide in the centre, tapering at the ends. Along its back face is screwed (with 13
screws) a plastic air deflector to direct air to the windshield. This vane fills in the gap between the centre of the fascia
and the windshield.
“To remove the demist duct vane you must undo two screws placed vertically downwards at the ends. With the
windshield in place it is impossible to do this with a conventional screwdriver. I was able to turn these screws with vise
grips. The underside of the vane has two prongs about 17 in (44 cm) apart which engage slots in the unit below.”
CONTROLS: Rob Reilly provides the following system description: “Outside air is drawn in through the grille in the
center of the cowl between the bonnet and the windshield. Vacuum operated flaps on the fan motors close off this
outside air under certain conditions and draw air instead from inside the car (known as the recirculating mode).
“From the fan motors the air goes through rubber branch hoses to the front chamber of the heater unit. Here all the air
passes through the air conditioning evaporator and gets cold (if the compressor is on). Then there are four flaps
controlled by mechanical linkages which can be seen on the right hand side of the unit. These control what percentage
of the air passes through the heater core and becomes warm (if the water valve is open and the water is warm) on its
way out to the vents.
“The upper front (meaning toward front of car) flap (“upper bypass flap”) opens or shuts off cold air to the dashboard
side vents, center vent, and windshield defrost vents. This air has not passed through the heater core. Clockwise is
open, counterclockwise is closed, viewed from the right hand side. The center vent and windshield defrost vents also
have vacuum-operated flaps.
“The upper rear flap (“upper heater flap”) opens or shuts off warm air, which has passed through the heater core, to the
same upper vents as the first flap. Clockwise is closed.
“The lower rear flap (“lower heater flap”) controls warm air to the lower vents on the sides of the transmission hump
and to the duct hoses going to the rear vents under the center console armrest. Clockwise is open.
“The lower front flap (“lower bypass flap”) controls cold air to the lower vents. Clockwise is closed.
“On the left side is a vacuum actuator and linkage which, when the selector is on DEFROST, will be up (vacuum off)
and prevents the bottom heater flap from opening.
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“There is a servo motor on the lower right which operates some more micro-switches, vacuum line valves, and
mechanical linkages, and is in turn controlled by the temperature setting and several temperature sensors through the
amplifier and relay on the lower left.
“The left hand knob (temperature control) turns a variable resistor. The resistor should have a resistance of zero ohms
at the 85 degree mark and 10,000 ohms at the 65 degree setting. There are three solder pins on this thing, one of which
should not be used. If you had a high resistance in the circuit the unit would think you’re asking for cold air and would
turn the stepping motor to give it to you.
“The small device mounted on the lower tube of the heater core is a temperature-controlled on/off switch which disables
the blowers until the water warms up.” Actually, it limits the blowers to low speed.
CONTROLS -- VACUUM LOGIC: The following logic chart was graciously provided by John G. Napoli:
Jaguar Climate Control Vacuum Logic -- Representative of 1982 XJ-S HE
Compiled by John G. Napoli
Control: Vacuum Switch Cam Switch Vacuum
Solenoid
Item Screen Lower Water Center Blower
Controlled: Flap Heater Valve Dash Flaps
Flap Flap
FULL Control On On Open Open Energized
COOL Status:
Item Closed Open, and Closed Open Closed
overridden
Status: by flap
Vacuum Vacuum Vacuum Vacuum Vacuum Vacuum
Status:
FULL Control On On Closed Closed De-energized
HEAT Status:
Item Closed Open Open Closed Open
Status:
Vacuum Vacuum Vacuum No No No Vacuum
Status: Vacuum Vacuum
FULL Control Off Off Closed Closed De-energized
DEFROST Status:
Item Open Closed Open Closed Open
Status:
Vacuum No No No No No
Status: Vacuum Vacuum Vacuum Vacuum Vacuum
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Notes:
In FULL COOL, recirculation is enabled because the vacuum solenoid is energized.
A NORMAL A/C mode is therefore implied with the vacuum solenoid de-energized.
In FULL COOL, everything gets vacuum.
In FULL DEFROST, nothing gets vacuum (default system operation if system fails).
In FULL HEAT, only the items fed by the vacuum switch get vacuum.
The vacuum switch is attached to the right hand climate control knob (Positions: Low, Auto, High,
Defrost).
The cam switches are part of the servo. The servo is mounted on the right of the climate control unit
under the dash (next to the right hand occupant’s left shinbone).
The vacuum solenoid is mounted on the left of the climate control unit under the dash (next to the left
hand occupant’s right shinbone).
Water valve is located on center of firewall in engine compartment.
Dashboard may have to be removed to access flaps. Always check operation of and adjustment of servo
linkages when troubleshooting this system. There are two blowers (left and right). Check them both!
Some later XJ-S’s may have a manual override enabled by pulling the right hand climate control knob out
and turning. Reference to this feature was seen in a 1983 XJ-S Owner’s Manual.
CONTROL MICROSWITCHES: The right side control knob has microswitches behind it that are often found to be the
source of trouble. However, Ron Whiston points out that the problem is often not a failure of the microswitches
themselves, but simply that they are incorrectly positioned relative to the cam; turning the knob doesn’t move the switch
enough to make it click. Even though the mount holes are not slotted and are not intended to provide any position
adjustment, merely loosening all the mount screws and holding the switches inward while tightening them back down
will often correct all problems.
TEMPERATURE CONTROLLER: Reportedly, the wirewound pot has problems. See Exotic Auto, page 707.
CONTROL LINKAGE ADJUSTMENT: The ROM describes an adjustment procedure that is unclear and covers only
a couple of the adjustments needed. The illustrations are tiny and poorly labeled. Below is a procedure that should
enable a more complete adjustment of the linkage. See Figure 26 and Figure 27.
While performing these adjustments, keep this concept in mind: The difference between a flap being fully open and 90%
open is insignificant; there is a lot of airflow in either case, and the passenger will not be able to detect a difference. On
the other hand, the difference between a flap that is fully closed and one that is slightly open is huge. Therefore, the
objective of the adjustment procedure is to make sure that all flaps close fully, and how far they open will be of little
concern.
535
C LO S E
U P P E R
U P P E R H E A T E R F LA P B Y P A S S
A D J U S T A B L E L IN K F LA P
U P P E R
H E A T E R
F LA P
U P P E R B E LLC R A N K
C LO S E
LO W E R
H E A T E R M A IN B E L L C R A N K
F LA P
C LO S E
LO W E R B Y P A S S F LA P
A D J U S T A B L E L IN K
U P P E R P U LLR O D
C LO S E
LO W E R
M A IN
B Y P A S S
T E N S IO N
F LA P
S P R IN G
M A IN P U L L R O D
S E R V O LE V E R S
Figure 26 - Climate Control System Linkage -- Early MkII
536
C L O S E
U P P E R
B Y P A S S
F L A P
U P P E R
H E A T E R
F L A P
U P P E R B E L L C R A N K
C L O S E
L O W E R
H E A T E R M A IN B E L L C R A N K
F L A P
C L O S E
L O W E R B Y P A S S F L A P
A D J U S T A B L E L IN K
U P P E R P U L L R O D
F A C IA C L O S E
C O N T R O L
C A B L E
L O W E R
M A IN
B Y P A S S
T E N S IO N
F L A P
S P R IN G
M A IN P U L L R O D
S E R V O L E V E R S
Figure 27 - Climate Control System Linkage -- Later MkII
1. Remove the glove compartment, the “underscuttle casing” (panel above the footwell) on the right side, and the
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grille and padded panel on the right side of the transmission tunnel.
2. Remove the short steel duct that serves the footwell grille. Be careful not to drop any screws into the works.
3. Loosen the locking screw on the lower bypass flap adjustable link. Loosen the locking screw on the upper
heater flap adjustable link if there is one; if the car has a facia temperature control (a slider under the stereo), it
will not have an upper heater flap adjustable link as the facia control takes its place. Loosen the locking screws
on both pullrods where they connect to the servo control levers.
4. Move the servo to the full cool position, which is where the levers on the servo are held at their most
downward position. Note that the pullrods are normally held upward by the linkage springs; with the linkages
disconnected, the servo levers will fall down regardless of servo motor operation. You must pull upward on
them with your fingers to determine what position the servo is actually in. Note also that operation of the
servo doesn’t move the levers continuously from one extreme to the other, but rather goes back and forth
somewhat; be sure the motor has moved all the way to the extreme position that holds the levers in the
downward position before proceeding.
To move the servo, disconnect the main electrical connector to the servo unit, which is a 13-wire connector in
the same general area you’re already working in. Connect 12V power across the solid purple and solid red
wires; if the battery is connected, 12V power is available at the nearby fusebox, at fuses 2 or 3 (RHD cars) or
fuses 13, 14, 15, or 16 (LHD cars) so it’s a simple matter to run a jumper from the fusebox -- or simply from
the cigar lighter, and connect the other wire to ground. If the battery is disconnected, a 9V transistor radio
battery will also work well, running the servo a little slow but it gets there. To run the opposite direction,
reverse the power.
5. Turn the main bellcrank clockwise until the lower heater flap is held firmly shut; it may be easier if the main
tension spring is disconnected. Hold the main servo control lever up. Tighten the locking screw on the servo
lever.
6. If the car has no facia control, hold the upper heater flap in the fully closed position (clockwise) and tighten the
locking screw on the adjustable link.
If the car has the facia control, move the slider to the full right position. Loosen the clamp holding the cable
housing, and move the cable housing until the upper heater flap link forms a straight line. Lock the cable
housing into this position.
To check the operation of the facia control, move the slider to the left. The upper heater flap should fully
close, and further movement should be taken up by the spring in the linkage.
7. Move the servo to the full heat position (levers in their highest position).
8. Turn the lower bypass flap to the fully closed position (clockwise). While holding this position, slide the
adjustable link to its longest possible length and tighten the locking screw.
The lower bypass adjustable link has a slotted opening to allow the flap to be farther closed than the linkage
calls for. To check that this slider works properly, move the servo off the full heat position. Turn the lower
bypass flap towards closed, against the force of its spring. The lever should move smoothly in the slotted hole.
If it doesn’t move smoothly the linkage is probably misaligned, causing it to jam. Determine which way the
parts are misaligned. Take the lower bypass adjustable link apart by removing the locking screw entirely and
removing the screw holding the lever to the flap. Once out of the car, carefully bend the parts to correct the
misalignment. Reinstall, readjust, and check for proper motion again.
9. With the servo in full heat position, allow the spring to turn the upper bellcrank clockwise until the upper
bypass flap is closed. Hold the upper servo lever up and tighten the locking screw.
10. Reassemble and test drive.
Note that on later cars there is a vacuum actuator above the left side footwell that holds the lower heater flap closed
when the defrost is called for. Vacuum permits lower heater flap operation, lack of vacuum prevents it. To observe the
538
operation of this actuator, it will be necessary to remove the underscuttle casing on the left side. There is no real
adjustment necessary, however, since it is either on or off. Make sure there are no wires or anything obstructing its
motion.
Note that the connection of the pullrods to the bellcranks is a nut-bushing that is fitted into a slotted hole on the
bellcrank. The procedure above does not address location of the nut-bushing within the slotted hole. This position
determines the sensitivity of the system; if the motion of the servo causes the flaps to move too much, the nut-bushing
should be relocated farther away from the pivot so that the same amount of pullrod motion won’t turn the bellcrank so
much, and vice versa if the servo doesn’t move the flaps enough. It is recommended that these nut-bushings not be
tampered with. If their position is altered, the entire linkage adjustment procedure above should be repeated.
CONTROLS - RANGE PROBLEMS: Olov Carlsson sends this comment: “I had a problem with the temperature
control knob being out of range. Even when I put it in the coldest position, the system wouldn’t cool properly. It did
work, however, which I determined by using the cigarette lighter and holding it under the interior temperature sensor.
This sits in a hole that can be felt under the dashboard centre shelf. When doing this the system adjusted itself and
cranked out wonderfully cool air.
“There is an adjustment for this on the amplifier unit. I turned it to the cold end position, but this wasn’t sufficient to
bring the temperature control knob properly on scale.
“My final solution to this was to connect a 10 kohm resistor in parallel with the external temperature sensor, which is
mounted inside the right side external air intake. Careful analysis of the circuit diagram and the wiring allowed me to put
the resistor alongside the internal temperature sensor. I connected a wire to the appropriate lead on the amplifier unit,
the result being that the new resistor effectively was in parallel with the external temperature sensor. This one, by the
way, did measure the correct resistance (the same as the internal sensor, when they both had the same temperature).
This brought the adjustment on the amplifier unit into range making it possible to calibrate the temperature control
knob.”
TOO MUCH COOLING: Mike Morrin says, “If the system works properly for a while (10 minutes) and then drifts
slowly towards full cooling, then the fault is likely to be in the plumbing to the in-car air temperature sensor. This is a
reference to a couple of cases I have heard of where the rubber connector inside the dash had come adrift so that the air
temperature inside the dash was being measured. There is no cold air supply inside the dash, just heat soak from the
engine and heater unit, causing the measured temperature to creep higher and higher, and the A/C to pump full cold into
the car.”
TOO MUCH HEATING: Tom Bernett says, “Note that the function switch removes the supply from the temperature
control circuit when in the DEF position, and this causes the system to move to full heating, so a faulty function switch
can cause the system to stay on full heating. But, I was getting considerable air flow from the side and center vents
when it was in full heat mode.”
Mike Morrin explains: “Yes, because the function switch also has a vacuum valve which directly controls the demist
flaps, and is independent of the electric circuit.”
SERVO REPAIR: Mike Morrin says, “After cruising for an hour at about 70 mph. with the A/C on (of course), the
system all of a sudden went to full heat. I fooled around with the temp selector and after several minutes it went back to
normal operation.
“It turned out to be a faulty feedback potentiometer in the servo, so that the amplifier thought the system was on full
cold, so was sending the system to full warm. To check this you need to leave a voltmeter connected to the feedback
circuit (as per instructions) and see if the voltage goes the right way or the wrong way when the fault occurs.
539
“The actual fault on mine was that the feedback potentiometer is a wirewound type, and the wiper arm had worn
through the wire right at the end of its travel. I did a quick fix by painting some silver loaded paint onto the end of the
winding, and it has survived for 3 months so far, I expect another 10 years out of it.”
RELAY CHATTER: Mike Morrin, who owns a 1975 XJ-S, reports on “a tendency for the amplifier relays to chatter
after moving the servo. An oscilloscope across the supply lines showed noticable spikes when the amplifier relays
operated. I have managed to significantly improve this by fitting a 1000 uF 50V capacitor across the 12V supply close
to the amplifier. The amount of relay chatter is reduced by about 80%. I can confirm that driving the car today, the
operation of the servo system was smoother than previously.”
CONTROL AMPLIFIER REPLACEMENT: Aftermarket A/C control system amplifiers are available for those who
either don’t wanna pay Jaguar prices or don’t expect that a new one of the same type will last any longer than the
original did. See H. D. Rogers & Sons on page 712 or Welsh Jaguar on page 697.
CONTROL AMPLIFIER REPLACEMENT -- CHEAP VERSION: Mike Morrin suggests, “...a double pole switch
(like a window lifter switch) can be arranged to drive the servo manually.” Simply connect 12V power through the
switch to the red and purple wires on the servo connector; the two positions of the switch should provide power in
opposite polarities. Label the button “cooler” and “warmer” or some such.
NAPOLI MOD: The idea of this mod is simple enough: provide a switch to enable operating the climate control
system without the compressor when cooling is not needed. John Napoli says, “You are basically adding a switch in
series to the inline fuse for the compressor located on the transmission tunnel near the air flap linkages.” The wire in
question is a GN wire.
Note that operating with the compressor off will not only result in no cooling, but will eliminate the ability to
dehumidify as well. In high humidity situations, you will probably need to turn the compressor back on to prevent
window fogging and other humidity problems. You will definitely need it on if you use “defrost” mode to clear
condensation on the inside of the windshield.
Also note that operation of the system in hot weather with the compressor off might cause the “Auto” mode to
increase fan speeds, since it’s trying to cool and the servo is moving to ever more powerful cooling modes to try to
lower the temperature. However, normally the occupants will want to switch the compressor on long before this
happens. Even if it did happen, it’s simple enough to switch to “Low” mode.
There is a fuel cooler in the freon circuit, and shutting off the compressor will obviously result in a loss of fuel
cooling. According to Roger Bywater, “the fuel cooler was added as an emission device, not because of fuel handling
difficulties like vapour lock, although this could happen on early cars before the fuel rail temperature sensor was
introduced. The high underbonnet temperatures of the V12 always resulted in a lot of heat being transferred to the
tank with the recirculating fuel and I recall measuring over 60°C at the tank which means a lot of vapour can be given
off. To pass a full EPA emission test for certification there are strict limits on the evaporative emissions of the whole
vehicle (including adhesives, plastic mouldings, paint, etc.) and the fuel cooler eased this situation by reducing fuel
vapour loss. This is why all cars for the USA market had air conditioning - they were not certified for sale without it.
Also the convertible would have to have the compressor running continually because the air con would probably not
be used with the top down.” Hence, the Napoli mod might technically be considered detrimental to the emissions
control systems of the car. Note, however, that you would normally only switch the compressor off on days where
the weather was cool anyway; presumably, the fuel needs cooling the most on the same days that you do, when you
will have the compressor on.
The guys who have computers in their cars report that shutting off the compressor results in an instant fuel economy
increase along the order of 2 mpg. As always, your mileage may vary, and in this case some of that benefit may
540
deteriorate as the fuel in the tank gets warmer; warm fuel hurts engine efficiency. And if you roll the windows down,
all bets are off; open windows are detrimental to aerodynamics, and if you’re travelling at highway speeds the benefits
of turning the compressor off and opening the windows may be a wash.
One final note: The stock system will already shut off the compressor under either of two conditions: 1) the air
coming through the evaporator coil is too cold, or 2) the system is calling for max heat. Hence, the Napoli mod
should not actually increase the heating capacity of the system; when max heat is needed, the compressor is off
anyway. If this mod does noticeably improve heating performance, there is something wrong in the control system;
I’d recommend adjusting the flaps per the procedure on page 535.
GARDNER MOD: The system is clearly designed with the intention that you will always have the climate control
system on when driving; when the system control knob is turned to the “OFF” position, the fresh air/recirculation
flaps are moved to recirc position, positively closing off the intake of fresh air. Tony Gardner’s mod lets you drive
along with the climate control system switched off and still have nice fresh air wafting through the dash vents. The
Gardner switch removes the ground from the vacuum solenoid controlling the fresh air flaps, allowing the flaps to
open and fresh air to enter the cabin.
The vacuum solenoid in question is readily accessable; simply remove the grille and pad on the left side of the
console, and the vacuum solenoid is mounted just forward of the four-relay box. Simply disconnect the ground wire,
and connect it through a switch.
The Gardner switch will hold the fresh air vents open regardless of whether the system is on or off, but when the
system is on there isn’t much point. During normal operation, the system almost always keeps the fresh air intakes
open; the only time they are closed are during max cool and max heat, which are relatively rare. However, as noted
above, the Napoli mod may cause the control to run to max cool far more often, so the Gardner mod may come in
handy to use in concert with it.
For winter use, Gardner himself provides the following tip: “If the climate control is set to heat (to adjust the flaps)
and then switched off, warm air flows through the fresh air ducts. The vent mod does not replace AC, therefore it
actually works better in winter than summer.” Note that when the system is switched off, the heater valve remains
open for coolant to freely flow through the heater core; Gardner’s idea of setting the temperature to full heat and then
shutting the system off merely leaves the flaps in a position to guide the wafting air through the heater core. If the
temperature is set to full cool and the system is shut off, the flaps will remain in a position to bypass the airflow
around the heater core.
GARDNER/NAPOLI MOD COMBINATION: Tom Bernett was concerned about locating a profusion of switches
in his XJ6. “If you combine both of these mods on the same switch (double pole, the circuits must be kept separate!)
you can eliminate one of the switches and simplify operation. In one position the switch would make both the
Gardner and Napoli circuits (just as in the factory configuration), in the other position the switch would break both
circuits (invoking both the Gardner and Napoli mods). Here is the way this works under the 3 main operating modes
of the A/C system:
A/C System Off - The normal factory system configuration includes vacuum solenoid energized (fresh air
flaps closed), and no power to compressor of course (except late XJ-S convertibles). If you open the
combination switch (Gardner and Napoli circuits), vacuum solenoid loses its ground (fresh air flaps open).
Napoli circuit has no effect since there is no power to compressor anyway. If you close the combination
switch, the vacuum solenoid closes fresh air flaps (just like factory configuration), and makes the Napoli
circuit (which has no effect since the A/C system is off and no power is available to the compresssor).
A/C System On - Normal system configuration (except at full cooling) includes vacuum solenoid de-
energized (fresh air flaps open), and power available to compressor. Opening the combination switch cuts
power to the compressor (just like the solo Napoli switch), and has no effect on the vacuum solenoid which
is de-energized anyway (except at full cooling, see below). Closing the combination switch allows power to
541
the compressor, and makes the circuit for the vacuum solenoid (which is de-energized anyway so there is no
effect).
A/C System in Full Cooling - At full cooling the combination switch will be closed of course, so you’d have
power to the compressor and the vacuum solenoid energized to close the fresh air flaps for recirc and max.
cooling.
“As I said earlier, I’d rather not add another switch which isn’t necessary and which requires additional thought and
manual intervention (lessee... if I have the Gardner switch closed, should I open the Napoli switch, etc.? ) It seems
easier to say "I want fresh air only, open the combination switch with the A/C system off" or "I want everything but
compressor, open the switch with A/C system on." or "I want normal operation, close the switch."”
GARDNER/NAPOLI MOD COMBINATION SWITCH: John Smith sends this suggestion: “The interior drivers
lamp switch, the push on/push off switch next to the interior light switch is - you guessed it - a double pole switch. I
have seldom used this switch for its intended purpose as it only provides minimal lighting.
“I removed the switch, and to give it a `genuine` A/c switch appearance I installed the letters`A/c` behind the switch
window.
“To do this the switch must be carefully dismantled by drilling out the flaring of the small rivet and removing the
rivet. This will allow the small side cover to be removed. Do this carefully because there are three springs and two
copper contacts which will be loose inside and you need to note their position for reassembly.
“This will give access to the switch inner and allow you to gently prise off the front cover revealing the silhouette
indicator piece of plastic with the lamp emblem. You will also see three small rectangular opaque plastic light
diffusers. If you want a better looking and better lit switch - do not re install these. I also recoated the inside of the
poorly painted white areas with liquid paper.
“On my bubblejet printer, I printed `A/C` using an 18pt Ariel bold font with white print and black background.
“I carefully scraped away the lamp emblem, leaving a small cleared rectangle to allow enough backlight through for
the `A/c` label which I glued to the front over the scraped and cleared space. I sprayed the front with artist’s clear
fixing spray and reinstalled within the front switch cover and then reassembled the switch. Make sure you don`t put
the `A/c` label upside down. The little red window is at the bottom and the green at the top.
“When refitting the switch side panel, make sure the hook on the piece of spring wire attached to this panel, engages
in the in/out white plastic mechanism. A very small self tapping screw will replace the rivet.
“Wiring is as follows. Cut the connector wires about one inch back from the connector. Put the connector to one
side. Get hold of the cut loom wires and join the the purple and the purple/ blue wires together. Tape off the ends of
the black wire and the purple/white wire. These are not positive leads but it is best to tape them out of harm’s way.
“Now the connector. Prise the connector cover open and relocate the brass terminal loop attached to the purple/blue
wire from position 7 to position 9 alongside the purple wire. To check the wiring is correct, attach the connector to
the switch and make sure there is continuity between the purple and purple/blue, and continuity between the black
and purple/white when the switch is pushed in to the on position.
“To complete the wiring, hook up the vacuum (fresh air) wiring to the purple and purple/ blue wires and similarly, the
A/c clutch wires to the black and purple/white wires. I soldered the joints and insulated them with heat shrink tubing
to make a secure neat job.
“Reinstall the switch and it looks and works in a totally professional way.”
NAPOLI’S MOD TO THE GARDNER MOD (!): “Instead of wiring the Gardner switch to cut out the ground, wire
it to apply power to the solenoid. Then, whenever you want recirc, regardless of the mode the climate control system
is in, you can get it. You also preserve full Gardner functionality with the climate control off -- just switch off the
542
switch.” Essentially, the regular Gardner mod switch is OPEN/AUTO, while in this scheme it is OPEN/CLOSED --
complete manual control of the recirc flap.
SAWYERS MOD: The Sawyers mod is really another variation on the Gardner mod, providing improved control
over the recirc flaps. It requires a two-pole switch. Craig Sawyers says it “does exactly what you want. Position 1,
recirc under all conditions. Position 2, fresh air when mode = "off" and normal Delanair operation in any other mode
switch position.” Since “normal Delanair operation” means that the system is in fresh air mode nearly all the time but
will go into recirc mode under the most extreme circumstances, the switch becomes a “fresh air/recirc” switch that
the system has the capability of overriding when it really needs to in order to maintain temperature control.
“Unplug the pink connector at the solenoid (it has two pink wires going into it), and unplug the servo multi-way
connector on the opposite side of the car. Now chomp one of the wires going into the solenoid female spade
connector, and find out which one of the two wires you now have connects to the pink wire on the servo connector.
That is the wire you don't want - the one you do want actually goes to microswitch C in the mode switch assembly,
which you can't physically get to without dismantling the car. Note that you actually want a break in the correct pink
wire - so you might have to resolder the one you just snipped, and snip the other one.
“Now take your two-pole switch and common up the wiper. Connect that common point to the vacuum solenoid end
of the correct broken pink wire. Connect the NC (or NO) end of one pole to the other end of the pink wire. Connect
the other NC (or NO) to the brown wire mentioned in my earlier post. Now plug both spade connections back onto
the vac solenoid.
“Here's what the scheme described above looks like electrically:
“In operation, one switch pole interrupts the +12V feed that comes from the mode switch when in the "off" position.
It is really identical to the Garder mod but with the switch in a different wire. The second pole of the switch is used
to apply +12V to the solenoid when the mode switch is in any other position. So with both switches open, you get
no +12V to the solenoid with the system "off", and the solenoid under servo control with the any other mode position
(Gardner when "off", servo control in any other mode position). With both switch poles closed, you get +12V
through the pink wire with the mode "off", and +12V from the brown wire in any other mode switch position (recirc
no matter what). Just to complete the description, mode microswitch C takes a fused +12V from the fusebox and
either connects it to the pink wire when "off" and to the brown wire in any of the other four mode switch positions.”
BERNETT MOD: Tom Bernett explains his mod: “The Gardner mod opens the fresh air vents with the system
turned off. My mod disables the fans and compressor with the system turned on. So I have fresh air and control of
cabin temperature using the temp control knob.
“My mod requires switching open two circuits; one at the Water Valve Temperature Switch, and another at the feed
to the Water Temperature By-Pass Switch in the servo unit (the brown wire at connector P2 near the servo).”
Bernett describes how to test this operational mode by merely disconnecting two wires, so you can decide for
yourself if you like it well enough to go ahead and install a switch:
1.) Remove the left hand console side casing and the underscuttle casing. The Water Temperature Switch is
located above the black footwell vent. It's attached to a water pipe and has two connectors attached to it.
One connector has two brown wires, the other has two brown w/ yellow stripe wires. Undo the connector
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with the brown/yellow wires.
2.) Remove the right hand console side casing. Find connector P2. It's located down low and aft. It's a
circular white connector, maybe an inch in diameter with about 10 wires. Cut the brown wire between the
connector and the servo unit. Cut it in the middle so you'll be able to connect to it later. Careful, don't cut
the brown/yellow wire by mistake. You want the solid brown one.
“That's it. Try it out. Turn the ignition on and the mode switch to Auto. (If you have the Gardner and/or Napoli
mods, switch those off) The servo unit should respond to the temp control knob, the blowers and compressor should
be off, and if you're moving, fresh air, conditioned according to the setting of the temp control knob, will be flowing
through the dash and footwell vents. Defrost position on the mode switch should still function.
“Why it works: The system is designed such that the heating mode is disabled (no blowers or compressor) until the
coolant comes up to temperature. This prevents a blast of cold air in your face when you first start the car on a cold
morning. After several minutes of running, the coolant warms up and the system clicks into action. This is controlled
by the Water Temperature Switch. This switch closes when the coolant reaches 40°C/103°F and allows the system to
operate normally.
“Now, just as you don't want a blast of cold air in a cold car, you do want a blast of air immediately when you start
up a car that's been sitting in the sun on a hot day. This is accomplished by a Water Temp By-pass Switch and some
fan switches in the servo unit. These are powered when the system is in cooling mode no matter what the coolant
temperature is. So they override the above Water Temperature Switch. These switches are powered via the brown
wire at connector P2.
“So, opening the circuit at the Water Temperature Switch disables the blowers and compressor in heating mode, and
cutting the brown wire at connector P2 disables the blowers and compressor in cooling mode. In both modes the
temp control knob, in-car and ambient temperature sensors, servo motor, fresh air flaps, etc. still function.
“All that remains is to come up with a convenient way of doing the above switching. I'm presently operating the mod
with a double pole toggle switch. Opening the switch shuts down the blower fans and A/C compressor, but still
keeps the fresh air flowing and the temperature control knob and servo unit functional. Close the switch and the
system goes back to normal operation.
“I envision using this mod as my on/off switch. I'll leave the mode switch in Auto, and this switch open in all but
extreme conditions. When I need max heat or A/C, I'll close my switch and the system will operate normally with
both blower fans and A/C compressor.”
Delanair MkIII (1987-On)
PARTS: Parts for the MkIII system are notoriously expensive. Per Hal Rogers, “the Delanair heater unit is
made/supplied by Delanair of England. Many aftermarket companies have attempted to obtain parts directly from
Delanair but they cannot sell directly because of contractual obligations to Jaguar.”
PARTS CONFUSION: According to Technical Service Bulletin #8228, there is some confusion as to which A/C ECU
goes with which water temp switch and in which car. According to their guide, the trick is to check the wires at the
water temp switch on the left side of the evaporator case. If the wires to this switch are slate and black, the correct ECU
is CAC 8032, the correct water temperature switch is JLM 763 (red), and the harness part number is JLM 1170. If the
wires are green and black, the correct ECU is DAC 7601, the correct water temperature switch is JLM 2121 (black),
and the harness is either JLM 10393 (all convertibles and 1992-on coupes) or JLM 10394 (1991-92 coupes). We all
clear on that? Good.
544
VACUUM SCHEMATIC: Finding a vacuum schematic seems to be difficult, so I have included two here -- courtesy of
Victor Naumann.
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BLOWER FANS: According to Randy Wilson: “Jaguar doesn’t sell the blower separately. They sell the complete
blower unit: housing, motor, fan, and electronics! Yes, there are electronics buried inside that blower case. Plus, just to
add a bit more, the right hand box carries the ambient temp sensor. There are also two relays inside the box.” The
blower assembly is reportedly incredibly expensive.
BLOWER SPEED CONTROL REPAIR: Stefan Knappe saved himself a lot of money: “I noticed that the right fan
(it’s got two, left and right) did not work except when the fan speed was set to max. I took the blower motor out,
which is rather easy on the right side of a LHD car, finding a little solid state circuit located in the intake part of the fan.
This circuit gets information from the A/C computer and regulates the fan speed unless the setting is to max, which
actuates a little relay situated in the blower case too. I found out that the power transistor on this little circuit was
blown. I went to the Jag service asking whether this is available seperately. But, you might have guessed it, the blower
is only available as a complete assembly, being very expensive. So I went to an electronic store and bought a transistor
equivalent to the type built into the fan-circuit (Texas Instruments #2N6284). I soldered it in, put the stuff together and
the fan worked from that time on without problem.”
Martin Sellars adds, “Air con blowers: these devices contain an electronic circuit which gives speed control for all
settings but “high”. This comprises a Darlington transistor 2N6284, a 68 Ohm 2.5Watt resistor, a 1N5401 diode and a
small glass diode, probably 1N4148 or 1N914. All these parts are easily obtained cheaply from electronic component
outlets (example; in the UK Farnell Electronic Components, +113 2636311, but ask for a catalogue to get the right
order numbers). Blowers that won’t run at low speeds almost always have a failed transistor, but replacing that alone
won’t always fix the fault. The resistor is there to protect the transistor from voltage spikes produced by the motor, so
check the value and replace if it isn’t right (most hobby multimeters have an Ohms measurement feature). The small
diode feeds the blower motor voltage back to the A/C computer, and has steel leads which corrode away, breaking the
connection and preventing speed control from working. I replaced mine with 1N4004 types, which are much more
rugged, more easily handled, and cost just a few pennies more. These diodes are fitted with their cathodes (marked by a
bar on the body) towards the transistor collector (the steel case). The 1N5401 diodes are very rugged, and unlikely to
need replacing. When fitting new diodes or resistors, don’t try to fit them inside the blower interior, like the originals,
where they are prone to corrosion. Fit them on the solder side of the PCB (having snipped out the old parts) and then
cover them with the original plastic flap using some tape.
“I also fitted new brushes to the blower motors, using power drill spares filed down to the right size (Kirby’s tip!).
“Inside the blower assembly is the high speed relay, which is also prone to dirt and corrosion. Standard car accessory
shop units can be used here, but check the pinout - I think they are not standard, I had to rewire mine. Considering the
cost of a new unit, changing the parts mentioned above gives “as new” performance at a tiny fraction of the cost.”
COMPUTER PROBLEMS WITH BLOWER CONTROL: Stefan Knappe cheated on this one: “Another problem I
had on a friend’s car, on which one fan did not work. After checking the fan, I found that the A/C computer (located on
the right hand side of the centre console, take cover underneath glove box out) delivered signal to one fan blower only,
the other signal line being dead. Computer gone (at least in this respect). I asked for the price of a new one and decided
immediately to go for another solution. Since I’m not so deep into electronics to repair this difficult thing itself, I had
another idea. I cut the signal line which was dead and connected it (the line to the blower) with the good one for the
other side. Both fans worked again. Risk was that the computer will be damaged on the good side due to higher
current delivering two circuitries, but on the other hand the thing was already gone... This solution proved to be okay,
since it still works and the repair has been done three years ago.
“Caution: Don’t check power output anywhere in the system with a lamp or bulb, use a voltmeter 10 MOhm
impedance, otherwise you may damage the computer!!”
TEMPERATURE SENSORS: Martin Sellars says, “Temperature Sensors: the Delanaire system uses three, all are
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electrically identical. They measure ambient air temperature (mounted on the RH blower housing), in car temperature
(above the glove box, behind a small aperture in the dash) and on the evaporator. These have three wires to them,
power (5Volts from the ACC), ground, and the output wire. The output voltage is very closely controlled at 2.785V at
0°C and rising by 0.01V per degree C. So, a sensor at 20°C (about 68°F) should read 2.985V, and at 30°C (about
90°F) should read 3.085V, and so on. I found these can be measured reasonably easily with a standard 20k/Volt moving
needle “hobby” type multimeter, at least well enought for fault finding purposes.”
Richard Mansell quotes from a Jaguar publication on the changes for the 1992 model year:
“The air-conditioning in car sensor now uses the motorised aspirator/sensor from the XJ6 allowing a more accurate
reading of the true temperature of the cabin which will be less susceptible to drift or overshoot.”
DUMB PROBLEMS: Martin Sellars: “My car showed very erratic operation of the A/C, sometimes OK, sometimes
wrong settings (hot on hot days and vice versa!), sometimes no action at all. This fault might have been blamed on the
computer - but in fact it was due to moisture coming out of the evaporator, and running down the RHS of the
transmission tunnel onto the inline fuse holder that carries the supply current to the A/C computer. The contacts had
corroded slightly, breaking the supply current, and giving intermittent operation of the A/C. A new inline fuse, plus
fixing the drainage, solved the problem.”
WHILE YOU HAVE THE BLOWERS OUT: Martin Sellars: “While the blowers are out, access to the evaporator is
much easier. The four short tubes which couple the evaporator body to the rubber blower ducts can be twisted slightly
and removed. This allows slight access to extract some of the gunge and detritus that blocks up the drainage system,
causing wet carpets, rusty floors, and other problems.”
HEATER CORE REPLACEMENT: Those who must replace the heater core should thank their lucky stars if they have
the Delanair MkIII system. A major design feature of this system is the ease of replacing this core, a major task on the
earlier cars. The Delanair MkIII system has bolt-on pipes for the heater core, eliminating the need for the “shortcut”
pipe-cutting procedure devised for the earlier system. Also, Per Michael Neal, “The heater core is removable from the
right side. There is a large piece of black tape, similar to electrical tape, that covers the access panel. Removal of the
core is simple as unbolting the pipes, pulling the glovebox and access cover and removing the core.” This eliminates the
need for removing the instrument panel and dropping the steering column, as on earlier models.
HEATER CORE PIPE ATTACHMENT BOLTS: Per Julian Mullaney, “There was a problem of dissimilar metals
causing corrosion of the bolts which attach the pipes to the brass core. The pipes and heater core are brass, the screws
holding them together were steel. I guess stainless bolts would be better. You could replace them as a preventive
measure.”
HEATER CORE PIPE ATTACHMENT O-RING SEALS: Per Julian Mullaney, “The O-ring seal used at the
connection point appears to be of a terrible design. A mechanic once told me that these O-rings always go first.”
For anyone who doesn’t think the resultant leaks would be a big deal, Mullaney adds: “This leak really screwed up a lot
of stuff under there. The drips ruined the A/C amp, connectors, and my CD player.”
Apparently Jaguar realized the seriousness of this problem. According to Michael Neal, “Jaguar has a gasket to replace
the O-rings. It is shaped like the mating pipe of the heater core and is made out of a silicon/rubber type material.” The
part number for the gasket is JLM 759; you need two to do the job.
According to Mark Roberts, the “condensation deflector shield” being added to systems by Jaguar (see page 665) is
actually a result of these connections leaking on radios!
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HEATER CORE: Peter Cohen found this note: “When stock of this heater core is depleted use part number JLM
11343. The pipes that are bolted to the JLM 11342 must be removed and re-attached to the JLM 11343 because they
have a different angle than the pipes on the JLM 11343. This mild modification is necessary because of the price
differential between the JLM 11342 & JLM 11343.”
Steve Gibson explains: “Both parts are still listed by Jaguar at the present time. The JLM11342 Heater Matrix was
fitted to the XJ12 Series III 1985 onwards as well as the XJ-S 1987 onwards. The JLM11343 Heater Matrix was fitted
to the XJ40 1987 to 1993. The JLM11342 is just short of being twice as expensive as the JLM11343 unit, so I should
forget about "when stock is depleted" and if you have need of a replacement get the later unit and save yourself some
money.”
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ELECTRICAL
COLOR CODING: In electrical diagrams, this book uses the same wire color coding scheme as Jaguar uses in their
manuals. If two colors are indicated, the first is the base and the second is the stripe. If three are indicated, the third is a
spiral stripe. The color codes are as follows:
N - browN (not neutral!) - usually 12V power
B - Black - usually ground
U - blUe
K - pinK
S - Slate (British for gray)
G - Green
Y - Yellow
O - Orange
R - Red
W - White
P - Purple
Jaguar also throws an L in occasionally to indicate a Light color.
If you want to know more about wire color codes, perhaps you should consult BS-AU7a, “1983 Colour Code for
Vehicle Wiring”, British Standards Institution, 2 Park St., London W1A 2BS. Tom Bennett points out that an extract
from this code is available on the WWW at:
http://www.dimebank.com/tech/LucasColours.html
This site also says you can get suitably color coded wire for harness repairs from British Wiring (page 706), British
Pacific (page 706), and Narragansett Reproductions (page 707).
WIRING DIAGRAMS: If you’re going blind staring at the diagrams in the ROM, Michael Frank sends this tip:
“Wiring diagrams in the following sizes (prices in British Pounds):
500mmx353mm £9.95 + £1.50 postage
594mmx420mm £12.95 + £2.00 postage
840mmx594mm £19.95 + £3.00 postage
1180mmx840mm £34.95 + £4.00 postage
Available for most classic Jags, with XJ and XJ-S available soon. The diagrams are laminated in plastic and color coded
to match the actual wiring. The supplier is:
Classic Graphics
11 Springhill Grove
Stockton, Cleveland TS17 OYW
England
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ELECTRICAL GUIDES: Short answer: You need one for your car, and you can download it from:
http://www.captainjaguarscathouse.com/Electrical_Reference.htm
If that doesn't work for you, you get the long answer: The repair manuals are sketchy at best when it comes to wiring
diagrams and schematics; to make any sense at all of the wiring in your Jaguar, you'll need a separate publication. Jaguar
offers booklets full of schematics for the electrical systems; these don’t seem to have a title, but they are generally called
“Electrical Guides”.
One of these booklets says “Publication S 57”, “Revised 7/88”, and has a leaper on the cover. Inside, it has three
sections: Series III XJ6, XJ-S through 1987 MY, and XJ-S 1988 MY. Each has its own table of contents. Hence, when
you buy a copy of “Publication S 57” and tell the seller what kind of car you’re buying it for, you probably won’t get the
entire booklet; you’ll only get the section you need. Since the cover doesn’t mention the models covered, you get a
copy of the cover and one of the three sections and the impression that you have gotten the entire book. This isn’t really
a problem except that owners of pre-87 H.E.’s, ’88 H.E.’s and Series III XJ6’s all own “Publication S 57” and wonder
what the other guy is doing with it.
Also: that second section may claim it covers “XJ-S through 1987 MY”, but it lies. It only covers H.E.’s, so it really
covers only 1982-88. The web site above lists "wiring diagrams" and other electrical info for earlier cars, but the
publication known as the "Electrical Guide" didn't appear until the late 1980's. There is enough difference between the
pre-H.E. and the H.E. that trying to use Publication S 57 on a pre-H.E. will cause more confusion than it clears up.
Richard Mansell provides a comprehensive list of Electrical Guides for the XJ-S:
S 57 XJ6 Series III, 1987 & 1988 XJS Electrical Guide
S 57/89 1989 MY XJS Electrical Guide
S 57/90 1990-91 MY XJS Electrical Guide
S 72/92 1992 MY XJS Electrical Guide
S 72/93 1993 MY XJS Electrical Guide
S 72/94 4.0L 1994 XJS 4.0L Electrical Guide
S 72/94 V12 1994 XJS 6.0L Electrical Guide
S 72/95 4.0L 1995 XJS 4.0L Electrical Guide (thru VIN 198334)
S 72/95 V12 1995 XJS 6.0L Electrical Guide (thru VIN 198334)
S 72/96 4.0L 1995/96 XJS 4.0L Electrical Guide (VIN 198335-on)
S 72/96 V12 1995/96 XJS 6.0L Electrical Guide (VIN 198335-on)
Mansell also reports that all of these are available on a CD from Jaguar, and it also includes similar documents for
saloons. The part number is
S ELEC CD1
This author has the 82-87 section of S 57; it is a loose-leaf binder containing 25 pairs of figures. In each pair, the first
figure is a schematic of a particular electrical subsystem, and the second figure (on the facing page) is a plan view
drawing of the engine or car indicating where the individual components are located. Some of the illustrations are 8½” x
11” and some are larger fold-out pages. This is very useful information, but note that the publication does not include
any text at all; no descriptions of how systems work, no troubleshooting info, nothing. Since the supplements to the
ROM do include such descriptions and troubleshooting info, they are perhaps the more useful guides even though the
schematics are not as clear and complete.
Peter Cohen adds, “...the S57/year wiring diagrams are put out by Jaguar Cars of North America, and would not cover
RHD or be available in the UK. OTOH, they are just books, easy to ship (and light), and should be duty free. I'm sure
Jag Services would post one anywhere if you paid by credit card.”
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Regarding the electrical guide for his ‘90, Mike Wilson says, “They now come with a Supplement that includes
corrections for the following:
Fig 2.1: Added Diode to Neutral Switch circuit
Fig 2.2: Added Diode to Component location
Fig 6.2: Added Shorting Plug behind Fog Light Relay
Fig 11.1 & 12.1: Corrected the Titles for Coupe and Convertible
Fig 15.1: Ground Code Correction for heated rear window
Fig 20.2: Cruise Control, Resume switch and set switch locations reversed
Fig 22.1: Door Lock Terminal Identification added
Fig 25.1: Added Diode to EFI and Emissions diagram
Fig 25.2: Added Diode component location
Fig 6.1: New wiring diagram for Fog Lamps
Fig 20.1: New wiring diagram for Cruise Control
Both publications are numbered: S-57/90.”
Jeff Strom mentions another source of electrical info: “The Mitchell manual is a publication of all the wiring diagrams
for all vehicles. The older version that was printed had better information than the CD-ROM version out now. These
are bought by shops and customer service folks that need the electrical information and not the mechanical information.
Cost is in the $1200 range with quarterly updates, covers all cars and trucks.”
JDS: Later Jaguars are fitted with connections for an electronic diagnostic system. A knowledgeable mechanic, who
shall remain nameless here, sends the following words:
“JDS stands for Jaguar Diagnostic System. Basically it is a processor that ties into the serial ports in the car wiring.
However good this may sound, it is no more than a glorified wiring diagram. It sends you down the circuit you are
checking and you end up more often with a car that is torn apart and not fixed. All Jaguar dealers in the US were
forcibly recommended to purchase one of these $23,000 units back in the late 80’s.”
“The new P.D.U. diagnostic unit which is supposed to be the new JDS is a self-contained unit that can be taken on road
tests. Gen Rad is the manufacturer of both of these machines. The P.D.U., already dubbed as “Pretty Damn Useless”, is
a very complex unit. It uses CD-ROMs instead of 3.5 floppies. The screen is about 4” square, green display. It is a
very difficult unit to use. The techs that have been to school for the P.D.U. still have very little understanding of it.”
OPTICAL FIBERS: If the wire is solid dark gray, it may not be a wire; it might be an optical fiber. Illumination of the
air conditioning control panel is via a single light bulb in a housing in the console, with the light carried by fibers to the
various locations. This makes the whole panel dark with a single bulb failure, but it’s a cinch to replace the bulb; just
remove the ski slope (3 screws on early cars, see page 488 for later models) and replace the bulb inside the fiber optic
unit within the console.
Don’t cut those fibers; they’re not easy to splice. They are a little brittle, so don’t bend them too sharply either. They
tend to get in the way when working on the radio, so be careful.
If you need to disconnect one from the fixture at either end, don’t just yank. Insert a tiny screwdriver into the slot along
the side of the socket and twist to spread it a little, and the fiber will come out easily. It has a little brass fitting on it with
a lip. To put it back, simply press it in until it clicks.
Note that the sockets on the bulb housing are not all the same. If you open it up and look inside, you will note that some
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of the sockets feature a colored filter. Which socket used will determine what color light comes out the end of the fiber.
If you need to try to splice a fiber, Don Mathis of the Lightguide Media Department at AT&T Bell Labs says: cut the
ends of your plastic fibers with a razor blade. This should give a very smooth cut. You need to butt the two fibers
together while you epoxy them in that position. A “V-groove” works well. If you come up with a means of clamping
the two fibers together mechanically, index match grease between the ends helps to decrease the loss. Silicone grease,
clear, works well. Vaseline is not bad either.
If all else fails, Edmund Scientific has the fiber for approximately $.70/foot for 0.040” diameter. You can also get
genuine Jaguar fibers from several mail order outfits, but they aren’t cheap.
WIRE SPLICING: Making durable, reliable wire splices is essential to working on a Jaguar; there are a great many
electrical circuits, they tend to be rather complicated, and the Lucas components cause enough trouble. When
troubleshooting, it is important to be able to eliminate a previously-made splice as a possible fault.
First, it is helpful to have a pair of wire-stripping pliers around -- a good pair. A good wire stripper will remove
insulation from the tip of a wire neatly, doing much less damage to the conductors than you can do with a razor blade, or
your teeth, or whatever. However, a cheap wire stripper, especially one in which the stripping slots don’t line up
properly or are not sharp enough, can cut half the copper strands while removing the insulation.
When splicing wires together, the best way is to solder them -- if they won’t be exposed to a great deal of heat, which
may melt the solder. A soldering gun of about 140W capacity is recommended; soldering irons are intended for circuit
board work, and do not work well doing wire splicing. On larger wires, an iron may not provide enough heat to make a
secure connection. And, the intermittent nature of wiring harness repair makes the instant heating of the soldering gun a
big help. Even the little light bulbs usually found on soldering guns tend to be helpful in automotive work.
If your soldering gun isn’t heating like it should, loosen the nuts holding the tip and retighten securely. These are
electrical connections (a soldering gun is a transformer that provides low voltage and high current through the tip to heat
it), and they need to be tight.
Regardless of whether the solder used says “resin core”, you should use a separate tin of resin flux. The first time you
use it, you will know why this is recommended; relying on the resin in the solder doesn’t work nearly as well. Do not
use an acid flux; it is intended for copper pipe connections, not electrical work. And, before doing any soldering, always
dip the tip of the gun in the flux and apply a little solder to the tip as it heats up.
Another workable splicing method, and the method to use when exposure to heat is a factor, is to use a crimp-on
connector. If the crimp-on connector is the uninsulated variety, it may be possible to combine methods; crimp the
connector to the wires, and then apply solder.
Crimp-on connectors can be purchased in automotive stores, often in a package along with other types of crimp-on
terminals. Some of the connectors will have a built-in piece of insulation, while others are bare. Keeping a selection on
hand is a must.
Most of the available electrical connectors work well, but there are a couple specific types to avoid. One to avoid is a
tap connector that consists of a plastic device than is placed over an existing wire, a new wire is put in place alongside it,
a slotted metal guillotine blade connector is squeezed into place with a pair of pliers, and a cover is folded over and
snapped in place. While slick, this connector makes weak and unreliable connections, especially on unusual wire sizes.
Where possible, avoid the use of electrical tape. With age, it tends to harden, while the adhesive gets gooey. After
some time, tape on connections can be found to have fallen off or slid up the wire, leaving the conductor exposed. If
electrical tape must be used, it should ideally be stretched a little as it’s applied; the stretch will pull it tightly around the
conductors, helping prevent its coming loose anytime soon.
Please don’t use friction tape. Electrical tape is solid plastic, while friction tape is black cloth. Friction tape is not
intended for electrical work.
If you are connecting separate ends of wire or can slip something over the wire from an end elsewhere, the best
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insulation method to use is heat-shrink tubing. Heat-shrink tubing is available at some auto supply stores, hardware
stores, and building supply stores, but the best place to buy it is at an electronics store. At the better electronics stores it
can be purchased in 4-foot lengths and in a great variety of sizes. It also comes in various colors, including near-
transparent so you can see how lousy your soldering job was.
Select a size of heat-shrink tubing slightly larger than the insulated wire, and cut a piece a little longer than your splice
will be. Slide this piece onto one of the wires before you connect the wires together. After soldering, slide the tubing
over the connection and use a cigarette lighter or match to shrink it down snugly. Heat-shrink tubing can also be used to
insulate uninsulated crimp-on wire connectors.
CONNECTORS: Since the basic wiring connectors themselves are among the worst features of Lucas engineering, it is
recommended that the owner keep a supply of Molex connectors (such as those sold at Radio Shack) on hand. When a
connector is intermittent or is otherwise causing trouble, don’t try to clean it up; simply cut the sucker off and install a
suitable Molex connector in its place.
Some hardware or building supply stores carry a substance for preventing oxidation and corrosion of electrical
connections. One such substance is called Ox-Gard, by Gardner Bender Inc. of Milwaukee; it comes in a 1 oz. tube and
has the consistency of grease. Since Jag electrical connections tend to corrode, it is suggested the owner keep a tube of
this stuff around and use it. The first place to apply it is on both ends of each fuse you can find.
Tom Wagner says, “I have a number of associates that actually grease the lamp socket base. They swear that it keeps
the moisture out and prevents rust. I have no emperical data to confirm this and really don’t have the guts to try an
experiment. I have noted however that some cars (especially Fords) have a type of white grease packed into the
connectors. Unfortunately every time I have seen this material it is because I have been replacing the device, so I don’t
know if the device has failed due to it or whether it is just a normal failure.”
GROUNDS FOR COMPLAINT: This author has noted several places in the XJ-S where a ground connector is
attached to the chassis with a bolt or screw that also holds a harness strap. The harness strap is plastic, and is held
between the ground wires and the chassis. This is NFG for at least two reasons: First, it means that the only way the
ground connection can possibly be made is through the screw itself, which is less than half as reliable as a properly
seated ground connection. Second, since the strap is plastic, the screw simply cannot be tightened securely as that
would only crush the strap.
The car has enough electrical problems. It is recommended that whenever such a ground connection is found, it should
be revised. One method is to provide two separate screws, one for the harness strap and one for the ground. Be sure to
scrape all the paint away under the ground connection before reinstalling it. Maybe a little anti-seize compound would
help, too -- both in assuring a good electrical connection and in keeping the bare metal from rusting.
So far, such ground connections have been noted on the wheel wells just behind the headlight housings on both sides,
and inside both doors near the hinge end.
MORE GROUNDS FOR COMPLAINT: Colleen Melton says, “the front subframe is grounded to the chassis through
the ground straps (two straps, 1 from chassis to subframe, 1 from subframe to engine).” Mike Morrin responds, “You
just made the light go on for me. I always wondered why my car has a ground strap with both ends bolted to the
subframe. There is another strap from the engine to the chassis.” Morrin had been driving around with an ungrounded
subframe due to somebody arranging these straps incorrectly. There have been multiple reports of these straps being
connected incorrectly or missing altogether.
Having the subframe ungrounded may have little effect, but having the engine ungrounded is a disaster. Check out the
history of engine grounding problems through the throttle cable (page 269) and shift cable (page 324). Just go ahead
and buy a suitable ground strap and install it in addition to the existing one. Convenient places to install a new strap
include between a bolt on a front anti-sway bar mount bracket and anything on the bottom front of the engine on
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whichever side you choose -- power steering pump mount bracket, alternator mount bracket, whereever you find the
right size bolt. Remember to provide enough slack for the engine to move around on its mounts without straining the
cable.
SPADE TERMINAL INSULATION: In the places that the XJ-S has female spade terminals to connect to male spade
lugs on a device -- such as on the starter relay at the right rear corner of the engine compartment -- the female terminals
on the ends of the wires have a milky white plastic sleeve that snaps in place over the terminal to prevent accidental
shorts. These insulators are guilty of misleading in two different ways: 1) When the terminal is pushed onto the spade
lug on the device, the lug may enter the insulator between the flat side of the terminal and the sleeve rather than into the
terminal itself. This may actually feel like it was inserted properly, and will usually provide a connection when tested --
but it will be intermittent, and you will have problems sooner or later. 2) When the connector is pushed onto the spade
lug, the terminal itself may slip backwards within the insulator without being noticed. It looks like it’s in place, but the
terminal itself is actually only touching the tip of the spade lug, again making an intermittent connection.
A very workable plan is to take these insulators off and throw them away, and insulate the female spade terminals using
heat-shrink tubing.
If you are installing new female spade terminals on a wire, it is suggested that you use two different sizes of heat-shrink
tubing to insulate them. This works far better than the little plastic collars that come on crimp-on terminals, so it is
suggested you rip the plastic collars off and use this method instead. This also allows you to solder the wire to the
terminal after crimping for a more secure electrical connection. To insulate the terminals, take a piece of heat-shrink
tubing about 1/2” long and a diameter that will fit over the wire itself as well as the crimp end of the terminal and slide it
onto the wire before attaching the terminal. After crimping and soldering, slide this piece over the crimp connection and
use a match to shrink it down onto the crimp itself, leaving just the spade terminal exposed. Then cut a piece of heat-
shrink tubing of a diameter that will fit over the female spade terminal itself about 1/2” long and slide it on until the end
is flush with the business end of the terminal, and shrink it in place so that it covers the terminal and overlaps the first
piece over the crimp. The end result is a two-level insulation job that looks professional and even provides a measure of
strain relief to the wire connection.
It’s possible to do a similar two-level insulation job to a male terminal using a very short piece of the larger heat-shrink
tubing, but it doesn’t surround the terminal itself when disconnected, so unplugged terminals involve some risk of
bumping into things and shorting. It works just splendidly when plugged in, though.
CONTACTS: Vince Chrzanowski of Baltic, CT restores old auto radios for a living. He recommends Channel Master
COLOR contact Shield, Silicone Base, which is available at most electronic supply houses. Model 9101 is the 16-oz.
can; model 9100 is a 6-oz. can of the same stuff. He claims many rocker switches, even many of those that appear to be
broken, can be fixed by spraying this stuff through the cracks without even removing the switch from the panel!
Chad Bolles likes LPS 1. “It is greaseless and does not attract dirt and is made for elec systems.” Tom Wagner adds,
“CRC has a chemical for cleaning too.”
Tom Wagner warns against confusing electrical contacts with connectors and using the wrong product: “My major
concern is that folk will generically use contact cleaners without actually knowing that fuses and the like are actually
connectors. Never, I repeat, never use a contact cleaner on them. They are for rotary switches and will do more
damage than good. Often a cleaning with alcohol and a clean business card is all that is needed. There are chamois on
sticks for cleaning VCR heads at Radio Shack that are excellent. Never use a Q-Tip, they will leave material behind.
For pin connectors, clean all the dirt you can out and use alcohol followed by air to take any surface residue out. Then a
simple repeat removal and insertion of the connector a number of times is often all that is needed. Stubborn cases
usually require more drastic means. A typewriter eraser used gently is a very good burnisher. Round wood toothpicks
can be used to clean the female part of sockets.
“Check for broken or cracked parts. They can also show where failures might be; the electronic circuits very seldom
break down, but sometimes the plastic they are attached to allows the connections to fatigue, resulting in poor
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connections.”
SWITCHES: If you’re looking for generic switches to fit the existing cutouts in the console or dash panels, Craig
Sawyers explains your problem: “The aperture is 22.5x30mm, and you will find that the vast majority of rocker switches
are 22.5x27.2 (or very close). What you need is a switch specified as "European cut out", which is 22.5x30mm. Now
I'm in Europe, and why these switches don't dominate the market is anybody's guess.”
ROLLER MICROSWITCHES: The microswitches on the throttle linkage and on the shifter look tricky with their little
rollers and all. However, they are in fact a standard item, and are readily available at your local electronics store --
complete with identical rollers.
POTENTIOMETERS: Tom Wagner says, “There is another product for variable resistors like volume controls and air
position sensors. It is a pretty good “stop gap” solution for intermittant radio controls and sensors, but has to be
sprayed directly on the carbon track. It does work, have used it for years on noisy radio controls. Check the can and be
sure that it is for controls not switches. In the old days we used “carbon tetrachloride” (just tapped the shop fire
extinguisher), but that wrecks your liver and can actually be absorbed through the skin. Illegal and dangerous!”
ELECTRIC MOTOR LUBRICATION: Stefan Schulz and Chuck Johnson Jr. forwarded this procedure, originally from
Chuck Johnson Sr., for oiling a “permanently lubricated” electric motor: “It is possible to lubricate a ‘permanently’
lubricated bearing by oiling the wicking that surrounds the bearing. To do so take a sharp awl (punch) and with a
hammer punch a hole into the ‘bell’ shaped cover over the bearing housing. Do this through the vent holes in the motor
and not in the end of the motor itself. The wicking is housed on the inside of the motor in a ‘bell’ shaped tin cover so it
is easy to poke a hole in it. Then just take an oil can (I use a PLEWS oiler so I can get some volume in there but almost
any oil can that can put some pressure on the oil will work), and ‘flood’ the wicking. This way you do not have to take
the motor apart to get the bearing soaking in oil. After this you can periodically lubricate the bearing by just re-flooding
the wick through the hole you have made. This technique works with all motor types, auto as well as small appliance
and large appliance motors.”
The bearing cover that you are punching a hole in is very thin metal, much thinner than the housing of the motor itself.
If you punch near the center, you may hit the bearing itself, and possibly damage or misalign it. Punch the hole near the
outer edge of the cover; there will be nothing under there except the felt that’s supposed to hold oil.
Of course, some motors don’t have suitable vent openings, so you may have to open the motor anyway. This method
still applies, though, since the bearing inside is almost always retained by a permanently-attached cover of this sort and
oiling is almost impossible without punching a hole.
Another favorite item for applying the oil is a hypodermic syringe, preferably one with a fat needle. With a little luck,
you can buy one in your area without being arrested for drug abuse.
Now that you have a procedure, you can oil motors periodically or you can wait until they seize up. Your choice. Do
you really believe “permanently lubricated” means forever?
In the specific case of the XJ-S electric radiator fan motor, Schulz adds “the motor is of the “definitely no user
serviceable parts inside, so do not open me” variety. Then again, you can open the thing by forcing the pry slots at the
top and close it again be replacing the cover and punching down a bit more metal from the side. Look at one and you’ll
see what I mean.” Of course, bending the metal back and forth regularly might result in needing a new motor sooner
than not oiling it at all. In these cases, you might try a different idea: drill a hole through the housing itself, aiming for
the same area adjacent to a bearing, and apply oil without disassembly. If it is important to keep water or dirt out of the
motor, cover the hole with a piece of aluminum tape when you’re done.
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WIRING HARNESS RENOVATION: Richard O. Lindsay sends this innovative method: “Tie the harness into
position with tie-wraps thereby preserving all of the original bends and more importantly, break-out points. Remove all
of the jacket leaving the wires only in position. This is a good time to clean and degrease all of the insulation. Then cut
each wire, one at a time, about a foot or so back from the connector end. This cut should be well back into the jacket
away from the breakout point. This allows you to splice in a piece of generic wire of the appropriate gauge and turn the
original cut off wire around leaving the nice clean color-correct wire sticking out. The addition of a correct connector
makes for a functional harness that, when vinyl wrapped, will look new and be color code correct!”
Dave Covert sends the following: “The cloth cover is not something you can really buy, but must send your harness to a
shop and have it wrapped. The shop has a braiding machine that weaves 32(?) strands of cotton thread around the
bundle. Sixteen strands in a clockwise direction, sixteen strands in a counter-clockwise direction. The cotton strands
are usually black, but if your original harness had a colored tracer thread(s), send a sample along with the harness and
the shop will switch some of the 32 strands out for colored strands to match the original tracer. The shop will also want
you to mock up your harness with a few pieces of electrical tape to hold it in the proper shape.
“Cost is modest, and varies a bit from shop to shop. I had good conversations with two different shops, each with
different pricing schemes. The first shop was Class-Tech of Bend, Oregon, 1-800-874-9981. The second shop was
Harnesses Unlimited of Oreland, PA, (610) 688-3998.”
If a complete rewrap isn’t called for, Bruce Snyder sends these suggestions: “I’ve had a lot of success with the large
sizes of heat-shrink tubing available at electronics suppliers. It’s available in long lengths and a large variety of
diameters, and looks quite nice when installed. Of course, you have to be able to slip it over the wires. The other thing
that has worked well for me is the dry vinyl and cloth wrapping tape from Eastwood, and the cold shrink tape. These
work very well, and have no adhesive to make that sticky mess we all love so well. These all take a little time to install,
but look good, are durable, are considerable cheaper than a new harness and don’t involve extricating the old harness for
re-wrapping.”
If your problems happen to involve the injector harness, read all about it under the EFI discussion starting on page 276.
RODENT DAMAGE: One of the members of the XJ-S online discussion group happened to mention that his wiring
had been damaged by rodents, and it was simply amazing how many members responded with similar experiences!
Apparently Lucas wiring, along with all its other shortcomings, is found delectable by rats! The problems usually seem
to occur up in the V between the heads; it’s probably a nice, warm, cozy spot for a rat to curl up in, and there’s an
assortment of tasty wires to chew on. Simon Gray reports, “I spent yesterday replacing spark plug leads, you guessed it,
mice. It may have been a rat, either way it took one night to eat through four cables and totally ruin my day (I had
renewed them three months ago).” They don’t limit themselves to spark plug leads, either; there are also reports of
chewed fuel injection wiring and ignition pickup wires.
Matt Dillon suggests, “My solution was to leave a cheap radio on in my garage all the time. Apparently the mice don't
like the noise. My radio's been on for 2 years without any further rodent attacks. Until I started playing the radio, my
cat was attacked twice!!!”
Perhaps you should get a cat to protect your cat, Matt.
MAIN 12V BUS AND TERMINALS: On most cars, the battery is in the engine compartment, so it is pretty obvious
where 12V comes from and how to tap into it. On the XJ-S, however, the battery is in the trunk. There is a serious
cable coming from the trunk along the bottom of the car and up to a post on the firewall, directly under the rear bolt
attachment of the left side diagonal strut. From that point there is a short bus directly across to a similar post on the
right side. Both posts actually mount in plastic insulators through the firewall, and protrude through on the interior side
of the firewall to provide similar attachment points for electrical loads inside. Basically, everything in the car is powered
from these two posts. Both ends of both posts are covered with rubber boots. If you need to tap into a 12V supply to
power a new stereo or something, these posts are the place to connect to.
Note that there are no fuses in this supply; if you get a screwdriver between any metal on the car and one of these posts
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with the boot pulled back, you are gonna make some serious fireworks. It is highly recommended that the battery in the
trunk be disconnected prior to fiddling with those posts.
The nuts on these posts -- both ends of both posts -- have a hex that is 0.525” (13.3mm) across. That’s right, the only
thing in your tool box that will fit is a pair of pliers! Craig Sawyers tells us these nuts are 1/4” Whitworth - 5/16” BSF
wrench size, even though they are neither 1/4” Whitworth nor 5/16” BSF threads. See page 26 for help finding a
wrench or socket.
If you’re not interested in buying oddball tools, perhaps the easiest thing to do is to get the nuts off with pliers and then
file the flats down until a 13mm socket will fit. Or, just replace the nuts with normal coarse-thread nuts; the post is
5/16” with 18 TPI, the same number of threads per inch as 5/16” SAE coarse thread, although the thread face angle and
root details may be different. Brass nuts are recommended, even though the originals appear to be plated steel. If
you’re concerned about the perfect mating of threads, you might consider replacing the post in entirety, if you can find a
piece of 5/16” brass threaded rod and a selection of nuts.
CONTROLLING INDUCTIVE LOADS: This book is not intended to be a primer on electrics, but in this case a review
of some basics is warranted. Inductance is the characteristic of an electrical circuit that causes it to resist changes in
current flow. If the current is zero and trying to get to 3 amps, it will take a little time to get there because of
inductance; similarly, if the current is 3 amps and trying to get to zero, it will take a little time to get there, too.
Inductance can be thought of as “inertia” of electrical current; it takes time to get it moving, and it takes time to stop it.
Inductance is a result of the relationship between electricity and magnetism. When current flows through a wire, a
magnetic field is built up around the wire. Since the magnetic field is actually a form of stored energy, it takes some time
to build up that energy, which means it takes some time for that current to get going. Similarly, when the current is cut
off, the magnetic field remains briefly, but in collapsing attempts to maintain the current in the wire.
Once you understand the nature of inductance, you really don’t need to have written data on components to know which
ones have high inductance; it’s the ones that involve wire wrapped around an iron core to form a magnet. Such loads
are called “inductive loads”, even though they always have some measurable resistance. By comparison, a light bulb is
called a “resistive load” because it has lots of resistance and very little inductance. In an automobile, electric motors
(fans, wipers, pumps, etc.), solenoids, and the A/C compressor clutch are inductive loads; ironically, the relays handling
such loads are also inductive loads in themselves, although obviously on a smaller scale.
When you initially “turn on” an inductive load by closing a contact, things work well. The current is initially zero and
builds smoothly to steady current flow. When you shut it off by opening the contact, on the other hand, things can get
very messy indeed. The current in the inductive load attempts to continue flowing, but the circuit has been broken so it
has no place to go. The dead-ended current results in a sudden spike in voltage between the leads to the inductive load,
which means a sudden spike in voltage across the contacts. This spike has the opposite polarity of the power that was
previously connected; if it was +14.4 volts, it is now negative volts, and it can be many times higher than 14.4 volts.
This spike is really quick. So quick, in fact, that a set of relay contacts opening that may look instantaneous to the
human eye looks like a train slowly pulling out of the station to this spike. When the contacts first break open, the
voltage will rise so quickly as to jump the gap long before the contact has time to move a couple of thousandths of an
inch farther away. The result is arcing at the contacts as they open, which of course chars the surface of the contacts
and wears them away a little each time. Some electrical switches and control devices actually have two separate contact
ratings, one for resistive loads and one for inductive loads -- and the inductive load rating will always be lower, reflecting
the additional stress of breaking contact with inductive loads.
Is this a problem? Well, you might want to think about that. If the contacts controlling the inductive load are in a
standard relay in a place that’s easy to get to, probably not; the contacts within a standard relay are often much heavier
than called for and may last the life of the car, and if they eventually crap out a new relay costs $3. On the other hand, if
the contacts are within something expensive and/or difficult to get to (the climate control system, for example), you
might prefer that the arcing was avoided. The serious concerns arise when the loads are controlled by transistors rather
than mechanical contacts; some of those electronic control boxes are astoundingly expensive, and reverse voltage spikes
don’t do them any good at all. Problems also arise when a single set of contacts controls both an inductive load and
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something with delicate electronic circuits; disconnecting the contacts can cause a spike from the inductive load to go
zap the electronic circuits rather than jump the contacts.
Fortunately, controlling these reverse voltage spikes is really easy. All that’s required is a diode, which is an electronic
component that permits current to flow freely in one direction but blocks its flow in the other direction. Just wire a
diode across the terminals of the inductive load; when the power is disconnected, the current flowing in the coil will
simply come out one end of the coil, through the diode, and back in the other end of the coil. This provides a path for
the residual inductive current to take without having to jump the gap at the contacts. The voltage spike is almost
entirely eliminated, reduced to the gate voltage of the diode -- something less than one volt.
It is obvious which way to connect the diode; if you connected it the other way, it would form a bypass around the load
when the power was turned on (and usually a direct short to ground, so your diode vaporizes in short order or a fuse
blows somewhere). The symbol for a diode includes what looks like an arrow pointing in one direction; this is the
direction that current will be allowed to flow from + to -. So, the diode will need to be installed around a load with the
arrow pointing towards the +12V power source so current won’t flow through it when the power is on. Some diodes
are marked with a simple band at one end; this end should point towards the +12V power source.
Alan Heartfield says, “On modern cars with electronic circuitry, a diode should be placed around every inductive load,
even relay coils. In fact, P & B and Bosch sell 'ice-cube' relays with the diodes built in. These are used as standard on
most modern transit vehicles to protect the electronics. The diode doesn't only protect the switching device, but also
reduces RFI (caused by arcs) and eliminates large reverse polarity voltages from migrating around the car, potentially
(pun intended) punching pin holes in insulation and reducing the life of electronic parts.”
So: would it be a good idea for owners to add such diodes to earlier cars that didn’t come with them? Like they say
about chicken soup: it couldn’t hurt. Diodes are cheap; you can get small ones suitable for relay coils from Radio Shack
for 25 cents each or so. The biggest expenditure on your part would be the time and effort to install them. For that
reason, you might consider just buying the later design relays that Heartfield mentions and just swapping them out. Note
that a basic relay will work no matter which way 12V is connected to its coil, but once a diode is involved polarity
becomes important; you might want to check that the +12V connection is on the correct terminal before plugging in the
uprated relays. If not, you’ll need to reverse wires, which can usually be done by popping the 85 and 86 spade terminals
out of the socket, interchanging them, and popping them back in.
If you decide to buy diodes, you’re gonna want to know what to look for. Diodes seem to come with lists of
specifications as long as your arm, but many of them are unimportant in this application. One specification that is
important here is the Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV), which obviously needs to be higher than the 14.4V that the diode will
be subjected to -- but it’s difficult to find a diode with a PIV rating less than 50, so this isn’t a problem. The continuous
current rating is unimportant, this diode will never see a continuous current. The surge current rating needs to be at
least equal to the continuous current draw of the inductive load it’s attached to, but the loads on relays are some fraction
of an amp while the larger loads may be a few amps, and the surge ratings on even tiny diodes can be 30 amps or more.
All in all, it’s hard to go wrong; just select some tiny diodes for the relay coils and something more substantial for
motors and other loads, and they’ll work fine.
Finding a suitable diode for the A/C compressor clutch is especially easy. See page 505.
If you will compare the electrical schematics of early XJ-S’s with those for the 90’s models, this is one of the changes
you will note; circuits containing a diode and a resistor have been added around many relay coils. Why the resistor?
That brings us to more electrical theory. The magnetic field built up within the inductive load is a form of stored energy,
and sooner or later that energy must be dissipated. If a simple diode is wired across the load, then when the power is cut
off the current will continue to flow around the circuit until the energy is dissipated in the resistance of the wire and the
diode itself. This might actually take too long. Some inductive loads have relatively heavy wire and low resistance, and
so may take some number of milliseconds to decay. This can have detrimental effects. In the case of a relay, the slow
dissipation of the magnetic field may cause damage to its contacts as they slowly drag open instead of popping open as
they should. In the case of fuel injectors, Roger Bywater says, “Some years ago we measured injector closing action
which with injectors like those on the V12 normally takes about 1 millisecond. Putting a flywheel diode in slows the
injector closing down to about 3 milliseconds which is why you never see diodes used that way on injector drive
circuits.”
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If you install a resistor in series with the diode, the initial current flow when power is disconnected will be unchanged; it
is still the same amount of current that was flowing when power was on. However, this current is now flowing through
an additional amount of resistance, which means it is dissipating more energy. The current flow will drop off more
quickly. Electrically, the way to envision this is that the current through the resistor results in a voltage drop across the
resistor -- which means we have reintroduced the reverse voltage spike, only now hopefully at a tolerable level. Since
the initial current is a fixed value, the higher the resistance, the higher the reverse voltage spike. The voltage then acts
against the flow of current and brings it to a stop; the higher the reverse voltage spike, the quicker the current stops.
The ultimate case would seem to be an infinitely large resistance: leave the diode out altogether. Infinite resistance
results in an infinite voltage spike, which in turn stops the current in zero time. Doesn’t happen in practice, however.
What really happens is that, at the instant the contacts break, the voltage spikes high enough to jump the gap. As the
gap between the contacts continues to widen, the current continues to jump it (helped by the generation of ozone), until
the energy has been dissipated in bridging this relatively large resistor. In other words, the energy stored in the inductive
load has been used to vaporize a few molecules off the surface of your contacts. Meanwhile, the high voltage spikes
haven’t done any good for the insulation in the wiring, and it’ll eventually start to break down.
So, you don’t want too much resistance. If the resistance was about the same as the resistance in the inductive load
itself, then the reverse voltage spike would be about 14.4V -- which the electrical system is clearly capable of handling
without damage. In practice, you can always go with a resistance a couple times larger than that of the inductive load
itself, since the wiring and components will be designed to handle much higher voltage than 14.4V.
Note that the amount of energy dissipated in the resistor itself is exceedingly small and brief. Like the diode itself, the
resistor can be tiny. A 1/4-watt resistor or even smaller will do.
Keep in mind that installing a resistor with the diode only makes sense on inductive loads where it is important to quench
the magnetic field quickly, such as on relays. It shouldn’t be necessary on electric motors, since the momentum of the
rotor will keep it rotating several orders of magnitude longer than the effects of inductance will last. Similarly, the A/C
compressor clutch probably doesn’t need to disengage suddenly, since it will spin for a bit when disengaged due to
momentum anyway, and the coil releasing the engagement a couple of milliseconds more slowly probably won’t make
any difference.
Now, note that if the resistor is high enough ohmage and high enough wattage, you can leave out the diode and simply
wire a resistor across the coil terminals! This will waste electricity, because whenever the power is on to the relay coil it
will also flow through the resistor with no diode to stop it. The resistor now needs to be large enough to handle that
current on a continuous basis rather than just the instantaneous spikes -- but resistors are cheap, so this is plausible.
While a resistor with a low enough resistance to suppress the reverse voltage spikes on a large inductive load would
waste a lot of electricity, a resistor across a relay coil could have high enough resistance that the wasted electricity could
be considered insignificant. The scheme has the advantage of making polarity unimportant, so power can be wired to
the coil and resistor in either direction without blowing out a diode.
Bosch appears to have adopted this strategy on later relays, building a resistor right into the base of the relay. One such
relay, having a gray plastic housing and number 0 332 204 159, shows a device wired across the coil in the schmatic on
the case but doesn’t indicate what the device is; it’s shown as a simple rectangle rather than a resistor or diode symbol.
However, a dissected relay revealed that the device was a 630Ω 1/2-watt resistor. At 14.4V, this resistor would waste
only 0.023 amps. Such a resistor would theoretically permit a reverse voltage spike of about 107 volts as connected
across the 85Ω coil in the relay. Presumably, this spike is considered a reasonable balance; a lower ohmage resistor
would permit a smaller spike but would waste more electricity. Using a diode would permit use of a lower ohmage
resistor for a smaller spike without wasting any electricity, but requires care in connecting to observe correct polarity.
There are other ways to deal with reverse voltage spikes in inductive loads, including installing zener diodes (which will
“clip” the voltage spike at a particular level) and capacitors (which will absorb the energy and then send it back through
the inductive load, resulting in a resonance wave back and forth until the energy is dissipated by resistance in the
winding). Craig Sawyers likes the zener diode: “This might actually be an improvement over the resistor, for the
following reason. The reverse voltage is in direct proportion to the rate of collapse of current. With a resistor, the
voltage drops as the energy is dissipated, giving rise to an exponential fall in current and voltage. With a zener, the
current will collapse faster, because it will attempt to hold a constant voltage of (say) 36.7V until the current is truly
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minute (microamps).” Zener diodes are cheap, but a bit more difficult to find than simple diodes and resistors.
One application where the simple diode won’t do is on reversable motors, such as electric windows, electric seat
adjusters, automatic antennas, and electric mirror adjusters; the diode will conduct when the motor is running one
direction. One possibility is to wire in a resistor without a diode, as described for relays above; since most reversable
motor applications are only operated for a few seconds at a time, the wasted electricity can be considered insignificant
even if the current through the resistor is significant. You could actually put the diode back in if you want, just to
eliminate the waste of electricity in one direction.
Perhaps a more esthetically pleasing solution would be to install two zener diodes, each with a zener voltage somewhat
greater than the 14.4V that the motors run at, wired in series but arranged with opposite polarity across the motor
terminals. Any voltage spikes that exceeded the zener voltage plus the bias voltage of the other zener diode (about
0.6V) would be clipped; otherwise, the pair of zener diodes would do nothing. Offhand, going to such efforts might not
seem worthwhile; if you think so, please see the section on window switch problems starting on page 605.
There are a few specific inductive loads in the XJ-S you don’t need to worry about. One is the injectors. Bywater:
“The old V12 D Jetronic amplifier has a 'snubber circuit' on each of the injector drives consisting of a 6.8 μF capacitor
and an 11 Ohm resistor in series. This has the effect of softening the induced voltage spike but still allows the reverse
voltage to build up to oppose current flow. It might be expected that this arrangement would promote oscillation but
that does not seem to be of much consequence.
“The 6CU and later V12 systems have 47 volt Zener diodes which clip the induced voltage spikes. This is a good
solution because it provides rapid build up of reverse voltage, protects the output transistor from an excessive voltage
spike, yet does not provoke oscillation.”
Another non-concern is the fuel pump relay. Bywater again: “Both 6CU and 16CU have a protection diode on the
pump terminal already. Failure is usually caused by either a dry joint or a component failure and has nothing to do with
the relay.”
If you have the earlier solenoid type door locks, you don’t have to worry about them either. They are never connected
to system voltage! They are operated by power from discharging capacitors, so their current drops off gradually as the
capacitor discharges.
If you have an early car with the solenoid-park wiper motor, there’s one place you do need to install a diode. See page
623.
One final note: Even with diodes, resistors, zener diodes or whatever in the circuit limiting the reverse voltage spikes, it
is still unwise to have a single set of contacts operating both an inductive load and an electronic device. Alan Heartfield:
“The insulation will handle it, not being polarity sensitive, but if it finds its way back to any collector-emitter junctions,
they will not handle any reverse voltage spikes. Neither will the input circuitry of many integrated circuits. And the
effect can be cumulative. A semiconductor will deteriorate due to overvoltage and/or reverse voltage effects.” If you
must have a switch or relay control both an electronic device and an inductive load, it is advisable to select a double-pole
control device and use a separate contact for each.
Relays
RELAYS: There are relays all over the XJ-S. On the ’83, most are a Bosch 12V 30A SPST relay number
0 332 014 113, and are a small metal box with four spade terminals labeled 30/51, 85, 86, and 87. 85 and 86 are the coil
connections, 30/51 is the common contact, and 87 is the Normally Open (NO) contact. The typical layout of these
terminals is shown in Figure 39 on page 680.
These relays apparently conform to a standard, and are readily available at any auto parts store. Often, the aftermarket
relays are labelled for use in controlling driving lights, and may be found among the driving light kits instead of under
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general electrical components. They are usually entirely black plastic, and they often have an integral mounting lug.
And of course, an aftermarket electrical device is likely to be as good or better than a British original (although not all --
this author found a particular type relay made in Italy and sold at AutoZone that wasn’t worth a damn, three in a row
failed quickly).
If you are installing or relocating relays note that relays are not watertight, even when they appear to be. Bosch relays
have a distinctive little hole in the bottom. Their durability will be greatly enhanced if you will install them with the
spade terminals pointing downward, so that dripping water can’t get in and any moisture that does get in can drain out.
Unfortunately, the XJ-S is covered with exceptions to the common relay description above. Following are descriptions
of several components that look the same and will fit in the standard socket, but are not the same and exchanging may
cause problems or even shorts.
FIFTH SPADE TERMINAL: Many relays have a fifth spade terminal centrally located in the base in the middle of the
other four; Figure 39 on page 680 shows a terminal 87a in this location. When replacing relays, it is of considerable
importance that the new relay has the same type terminal in this central location. Common designations for this fifth
terminal include 87, 87a, and 87b -- and these are not interchangeable. In most cases, a relay with a fifth spade terminal
can be used to replace a relay with only four, as the socket or plug will usually have a hole or slot for the unused spade
to protrude through, and the basic four are nearly always the same regardless what the fifth terminal is.
SECOND 87 TERMINAL: Some relays in the XJ-S (and some of the aftermarket generic equivalents) have a second
terminal 87 in the center of the base. This terminal is connected internally with the first 87; it merely serves as a second
connection to the same contact. Although internally the same, one should be careful about replacing a relay with two 87
terminals with a relay having only one; the socket may have a wire that connects to the central spade, and it will not be
connected if the terminal is not there. At this point, the solution is usually a simple matter of trading one relay with
another to get a relay having both terminals where it is needed. It would also work to simply splice the wire going to the
second 87 terminal into the wire going to the first 87 terminal.
SPDT RELAYS: The radiator fan relay, SRB411, has five spade terminals on the bottom, and the terminal in the center
is labeled 87a. This relay is bright red -- Lucas’ way of indicating “Hey, dummy, this relay is different!”. A close
inspection of the schematic on the housing shows that this is in fact a SPDT relay, and the 87a is a Normally Closed
(NC) contact.
A SPDT relay might not be quite as common as the typical SPST relay, but it’s close. Finding substitutes is not difficult,
although a generic driving light relay won’t serve here. If you don’t wish to buy the Lucas original, you can look for a
Bosch, Hella, or Potter & Brumfield. Per Bob Whiles, the part number for the Bosch is 0 332 204 105 and for the
Potter & Brumfield is VF4-45F11; this author suspects Bosch numbers 0 332 204 109, 0 332 204 125, and
0 332 204 159 would work as well. Per Volker Nadenau, the Hella part number is 4RD003 520-13. All of these will
plug right into the red socket.
DPST RELAYS: Some relays, including Bosch number 0 332 015 006 and 0 332 015 012, have an 87b terminal. This
connects to a second NO contact. Note that this is not the same thing as having two 87 terminals; while the relays with
two 87 terminals have both terminals connected to the same contact, this relay actually has two separate contacts.
Here’s the distinction: when the relay is energized, the same connections are made as in the relay with two 87’s, but
when unenergized, the 87 and 87b terminals are not connected to each other. In some instances, this may make no
difference, and perhaps a relay with an 87b terminal can be used to replace a relay with two 87’s, but be very careful
replacing a relay with an 87b with a relay with two 87’s -- something might backfeed through the 87 terminals on the
relay and cause malfunctions.
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In addition to variations in the fifth spade terminal, there are other variations among relays -- and things that look like
relays.
EFI MAIN RELAY: On the Digital P EFI system diagrams, item #312 is the “main relay”. This relay is mounted in the
trunk near the ECU, right alongside of the fuel pump relay. Don’t mix up the two relays; the fuel pump relay is a
standard relay, but the main relay, Bosch #0 332 014 112, looks like a standard relay but it has a diode installed
internally in series with the coil. This difference is clearly indicated on the little schematic embossed in the side. They
also paint a colored diagonal stripe across the top to indicate it is unusual.
The purpose of the diode in this relay is reportedly to protect the expensive EFI system from boneheads hooking up the
battery backwards. If the battery is connected backwards, this diode will prevent the relay from operating, so the ECU
will not get any power.
In this case making a special relay was totally unwarranted; a normal relay can be used by simply adding a suitable diode
in the wiring to the relay.
FEEDBACK MONITOR RELAY: On the Digital P EFI system diagram for the North American “Emission A” spec,
item #355 is the “feedback monitor relay”. In the Electrical Guide, it’s called a “feedback inhibit relay” on the EFI
diagrams and it’s called an “inhibit relay” on the starter circuit diagrams. Whatever it’s called, you’re going to be very
interested in this relay when you try to start the car and nothing happens; this relay must close for power to get to the
starter relay nearby.
The feedback monitor relay is mounted under the black plastic cover at the right rear corner of the engine compartment,
alongside the starter relay and the cold start relay. The feedback monitor relay is the one farthest forward on the
author’s ’83, although there’s no telling if that holds true for other model years.
The cold start relay is a standard relay, but the feedback monitor relay is anything but -- don’t mix them up. On the
feedback monitor relay, Bosch #0 332 014 411, the connections on the base are rearranged, with one of the coil
terminals (#85) and one of the contact terminals (#30) being interchanged compared to standard relays. There is a
diagonal paint stripe across the top to indicate it is unusual.
The feedback monitor relay also has a diode mounted internally in parallel with the coil to absorb voltage spikes and
protect delicate electronics (see page 559) -- long before it became popular to provide such protection in most relays. In
fact, that may explain why the terminals are rearranged -- to make sure nobody substituted a standard relay without a
diode. Of course, the feedback monitor relay is illustrated in most Jaguar schematics as a normal relay; no diode shown.
The schematic embossed in the side of the relay itself shows the diode clearly, and it is also represented in the diagrams
in the Electrical Guide.
Even before such spike protection became common, there was never any need for a special relay here; a normal relay
with a diode wired into the harness would have worked fine. Hence, if your feedback monitor relay is acting up (the
starter fails to respond sometimes), it is recommended that you do not seek out the oddball relay to replace it. Rather,
use a jeweller’s tiny screwdriver or something similar to pop the 30 and 85 terminals out the back of the socket,
exchange them, and pop them back in. Then plug in a common relay (there’s even an unused hole in the socket for a
fifth terminal), making sure to use a modern one with built-in spike protection -- usually a resistor rather than a diode,
but either will work fine. If you want to make sure to protect the EFI ECU from someone later installing a relay without
such protection, hardwire a diode into the harness. Of course, you might also want to stick a label inside the plastic
cover over these relays explaining to Jaguar mechanics that this application no longer requires the oddball relay.
ELECTRIC FAN DIODE PACK: The electric radiator fan diode pack is the blue block at the left edge of the engine
compartment that looks like a relay, but isn’t. It’s described on page 224.
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As an engineer, I have to express an opinion here: the guy who decided it was a good idea to make several totally
different and non-interchangeable components all fit in the same socket should be dragged away and shot. There is
simply no excuse for this level of incompetence.
LATE MODEL RELAY PROBLEMS: Michael Neal warns: “I just wanted to advise the list of a known problem with
late model Jags, roughly ’93 and later. They have several Hella brand relays in various places for different components.
Underhood usage of them seems to be the worst problem. The XJ-S and XJ6 use them extensively on everything from
A/C clutch control to EFI main relays. Hella apparently came out with a replacement to “fix” the failures. They haven’t
been working. Whenever I have a strange problem come in, 90% of the time it’s been one of these damn relays.
Unfortunately I’m forced to replace them with what Jaguar provides so that’s what they get. The relays are developing
bad contacts and overheat, failure is usually intermittent. Most of these relays have a light blue case. You can
troubleshoot them by pulling the relay and jumping between the 30 and 87 terminals.”
Leonard L. Peake adds, “There is a Jaguar "Service Bulletin" in regards to all relays on 1993 cars that have a date code
before “183” stamped on the side.”
Gary Penovich says uppity relays cause fault codes. “To prevent it from happening again, you may want to replace the
blue relay(s) with the updated black ones. You should at least pull all your underhood relays, spray the sockets with
electrical contact cleaner, and buff the grunge off of the relay contacts with an emery board. I'll but they're covered in
grunge and corrosion.”
SHOPPING FOR RELAYS: Finding a parts store employee here in the Bubba Belt who even knows what a relay is,
much less whether or not it is the configuration you need, can be a challenge; “What kinda car is that fer?” as he
prepares to type on his computer terminal. Actually, the best place to look for relays is in a junkyard; just about all cars
use relays for one thing or another. They are often hidden inside fuseboxes or other compartments. European cars often
use Bosch relays. All European automotive relays seem to have a little schematic on the outside, so it is a simple matter
to confirm whether or not a relay has the desired terminals. This author had no trouble finding relays that have the 87a
(NC) terminal. If you need a relay with only a single 87 terminal and don’t care what the fifth terminal is or even if there
is one, almost any relay will work; they all seem to have the basic 87 terminal.
If you find relays from late model cars, the schematic on the side is likely to show an internal diode or resistor wired
around the coil (between the 85 and 86 terminals). No problem; in fact, this is likely to be an improvement! See the
discussion on controlling inductive loads on page 559.
Japanese cars often use relays with a totally different configuration, and sometimes they have no schematic on the case.
They are very reliable relays, though, if you can figure out which terminal is which. The layout of the base prevents
plugging the wrong type relay into the socket, and the case color indicates which type relay it is. Gee, some engineer
there musta thought about what he was doing!
If all else fails you can go to an electronics store and buy a generic “ice cube” 12VDC relay and solder short jumper
wires to suitable spade connectors to plug into the original socket. “Ice cube” relays are called that because they have
clear plastic rectangular housings so you can see the innards; no schematic on the case required, you can see what the
terminals are connected to! Ice cube relays may have as many as four sets of contacts, and they always have both NC
and NO contacts on each one. If you buy a relay with more contacts than you need, just wire them all up to provide
extra current capacity.
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Starting Circuit
STARTER RELAY: Also called the “ballast resistor starter relay” in the Haynes repair manual. Item 194 on Jaguar
wiring schematics. It is Lucas style 22RA, Lucas part number 33356 or SRB301, Jaguar part number C36611.
Most of the Jaguar schematics show this relay’s internals unclearly or even as a simple box with five terminals and no
indication what goes on inside. If you have a copy of Publication S 57, the “Electrical Guide”, the relay is shown in
painstaking detail in Figures 2.1, 3.1, 4.1, 24.1, 24.2, 24.3 and 25.1 -- incorrectly every time. The relay is shown as
having only a single contact connected to terminals C1 and C4, while in fact there are two separate sets of contacts
within the relay. C1 and C4 are not connected to each other when the relay is not energized. Also note that the C1
contact is heavier duty than the C4 contact, so even though schematically it appears you could interchange them, it
probably wouldn’t work long if you did.
If you’re having problems getting your starter to respond, perhaps the first thing you should do is attend to the spade
connectors that attach to this relay. See page 556.
Dick Broxon of Cincinnati reports that his ’88 XJ-S would fail to start on damp mornings. It wouldn’t even turn over, it
would just click. It would start later, though, when things had warmed up and dried out. He removed the plastic cover
from the relays under the hood on the right fender and sprayed them with a product called WIRE DRYER by Snap. He
has not had a problem since. The starter relay, of course, is under the cover mentioned.
Moisture is not the starter relay’s only problem. It often turns out to be the culprit in a car that won’t start, or will fail to
start sometimes and then work perfectly later. To test, take the relay out of the car and apply power between the W1
and W2 terminals; you can jumper from a car battery, or you can just poke a 9V battery down onto the terminals. You
should get a click. Then connect an ohmmeter between C1 and C2, and check that the circuit closes when the relay is
energised. On this author’s relay, the resistance measured was random: less than 1 ohm one time, 25 ohms the next
time, infinite ohms (open circuit) the time after that. Click that relay a few times to make sure it makes good contact
every time. Note that clicking it a couple dozen times seems to clear it up so it makes good contact each time, but you
probably shouldn’t rely on it staying good at that point. If it doesn’t seem to be making good contact the first few times,
it probably won’t make good contact the night you’re out on a date with the girl of your dreams.
It may be that the contacts within the relay get a little charred. It is possible to take the relay cover off, clean it up, and
reassemble. Unfortunately, this apparently doesn’t work for long. Bill Farnsworth says, “I did that first. A couple
weeks later I found myself in a parking garage, as the best dressed mechanic in Redmond, WA. bent over the engine
compartment wearing a tux...” This author tried it too, with a remarkably similar experience to show for it.
Just replace the stinkin’ relay. Your local auto parts shop can probably order it for you, and it’ll cost you only about
$60.
Ouch. OK, now we’re looking for reasonably-priced non-Lucas substitutes.
STARTER RELAY SUBSTITUTE (OPUS): Ask any auto parts shop for a starter relay for a Chrysler -- apparently
just about any Chrysler from the late 70’s. The particular starter relay this author found was made by Wells, number
CR620. This relay is electrically identical to the Lucas item; it’s just cheaper and better.
The terminals are not labelled the same, of course -- and they are not arranged the same way on the base either, so you
can't plug the wires on by location. Here’s how to connect things up:
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wire color Lucas terminal equivalent Chrysler terminal
BG W1 I
WY W2 G
WR C1 EGR/SOL
N C2 BATT
WU C4 BAL
The Chrysler relay is physically pretty similar to the Lucas, but the mount bracket attached to it is different. You could
just drill a new hole in your Jag and screw it down, but note that it’d probably last longer if it was mounted right side up
with the terminals pointing down. This author noted that the bracket on the Lucas relay was tack-welded to the casing.
I ripped it off, drilled some 1/8" holes in it and pop-riveted it to the bracket on the Chrysler relay. Then I bent the
Chrysler relay bracket down 90°, which put it in just about the same configuration as it had been on the Lucas relay.
An alternative idea would be to open the new Chrysler relay (looks easy) and pop-rivet the Lucas bracket right to the
case. The Chrysler bracket, which is held on by rivets, can be removed and discarded and the holes covered.
Reassemble and install.
The Chrysler relay is also a bit larger than the Lucas -- which may entail some fiddling if you want to get that hokey
plastic cover back over it. I managed to get the cover back on; it wouldn't go on the OEM mounting holes, but it wasn't
too difficult to move it over a bit, drill two new holes and screw it down. The upper edge is now not as close to the
wing as it used to be, so you can see a bit of the bracketry by peering down in between. But it looks OK.
An alternative idea here would be to simply fab up a new cover with a hair more space than the OEM cover. Just find a
plastic box and start cutting sides off of it.
One other minor difference of note: The Lucas relay appears to be a sealed box, but the Chrysler relay has a tiny filtered
vent on the side of the cover. Hmmmm.
Lucas starter relay: special order, sixty bucks. Chrysler starter relay: on the shelf, eight bucks. You decide. Wanna
guess which one will be more reliable?
John T. Richardson found yet another substitute relay: “a Sorensen SR-17 relay, cost was $6 at Checker Auto Supply.
While this is not an exact drop-in replacement, it does mount in the space available and anyone with a VOM can decide
the correct wiring terminals. Mine has been in service for over a year with no problems.”
If you want to get down to basics, the starter relay is nothing more than a 12VDC DPST relay with one high-current set
of contacts. As with any DPST relay, you can substitute two SPST relays. You can, in fact, wire up two standard
automotive relays together to do this job, one to send power to the starter solenoid and one to send power to the
ignition coil bypassing the ballast resistor. A 30A rating on the one controlling the starter solenoid might be enough, or
you might look for a relay with even higher contact ratings -- which will still be a sight cheaper than the Lucas starter
relay.
STARTER RELAY SUBSTITUTE (CEI AND MARELLI): The Lucas CEI and Marelli ignition systems control the
coil current electronically and therefore have no ballast resistor -- and therefore no need for a contact in the starter relay
that bypasses a ballast resistor. Nevertheless, Jaguar continued to use the same Lucas relay; in fact, parts lists seem to
indicate they used it throughout the production life of the XJ-S. So, you can still opt to replace it with the Chrysler relay
described above for the OPUS cars. There are some wiring changes from the pre-H.E. so here’s the connection chart
for H.E. cars:
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wire color Lucas terminal equivalent Chrysler terminal
WB W1 I
WY, WU W2 G
WR C1 EGR/SOL
N C2 BATT
WU C4 BAL
The C4 terminal doesn’t do anything on the Lucas relay, and the BAL terminal won’t do anything on the Chrysler relay.
Not only is the C4 terminal still there, but the WU wire that went to the ballast resistor is still there as well -- at least on
this author’s ‘83. In fact, there are two WU wires; one is connected to the C4 terminal and goes nowhere; this is the one
that used to go to the ballast resistor on the OPUS ignition system. The other WU goes to the cold start timer, but it
doesn’t connect to the C4 or BAL terminal; instead, it is connected to the W2 or G terminal along with the WY wire.
The G terminal on the Chrysler relay only has one spade, so while you’re at the parts store you might want to pick up
some of the doublers used to connect two female spade connectors to a single male spade terminal. Or you can simply
make up a short jumper with two male spade connectors and one female spade connector all tied together.
So, you have a C4 contact that does nothing connected to a WU wire that goes nowhere. That leads us to another
possibility in starter relays: a relay that doesn’t have the ballast bypass contact at all. Again, a Chrysler relay fits the bill;
just ask for a later year, somewhere in the mid-80’s or so. Chrysler likewise had gone to electronic coil current control
and done away with ballast resistors, so they deleted that contact from their relays. The terminals are the same as the
chart above except there’s no BAL. Just tuck that unused WU wire under something and forget about it.
Of course, once you’ve omitted the ballast bypass contact, you’re really just dealing with a plain ol’ SPST relay. Any
12VDC relay will work as long as the contacts are rated for enough amps. It’s not known how many amps the starter
solenoid pulls, but it’s entirely probable that a regular 30-amp automotive relay would work. The W1 and W2
connections become 85 and 86, C1 becomes 30/51, and C2 becomes 87.
OTHER SWITCHES AND RELAYS INVOLVED IN STARTING: If you are trying to use the EFI wiring diagram in
the ©1982 Supplement, page 19-1, or Figures 13.10, 13.12, or 13.93 in the Haynes repair manual to diagnose starter
problems, you may be getting very confused. These diagrams indicate that the only thing that disables the starter relay is
the “start inhibit switch” (on the shifter, also called a “neutral switch” or “automatic gearbox safety switch”, item 75 on
Jaguar schematics) via the “feedback monitor relay” (also called an “inhibit relay” or “feedback inhibit relay”, item 355
on Jaguar schematics). Why is a starter-disabling relay called a “feedback monitor relay”? Judging from the diagrams it
appears that the neutral switch on the shifter was originally intended to prevent starter operation in gear, but with the
emission-controlled Digital P EFI it’s also needed to switch the EFI from open-loop to closed-loop operation -- and the
neutral switch only has a single contact. So, instead of adding another switch or providing one with more contacts, they
installed this relay. Since the relay likewise only has a single contact, it is used to control the starter, while the signal to
switch the EFI -- being very low current -- is taken through the relay coil. When the neutral switch is closed, the BG
wire is grounded, the relay closes, and the EFI signal input sees 0V; when the neutral switch is open, the relay opens and
the starter won’t work, while the EFI signal input sees 12V in the ungrounded BG wire.
In the “UK & Europe” diagrams on page 19-2 of the ©1982 Supplement or Figures 13.9 and 13.11 in the Haynes,
there’s no such thing as closed-loop operation and therefore no switching it on and off, so the feedback monitor relay is
omitted and the starter relay is simply grounded through the neutral switch. The starter wiring circuit on page 86-7 of
the ©1982 Supplement shows this non-US layout with a simple connection from the starter relay through the neutral
switch to ground.
According to all of the diagrams mentioned above, the inertia switch will not affect the starter operation. On the North
American H.E.’s, though, the inertia switch does disable the starter. There is an error in the diagrams showing the North
American - Emission A schematic: At the upper left in the schematic, there are six circles with numbers in them
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indicating where wires go to. The leftmost one has the number 38, indicating either Ignition Switch Pin 1 (which would
be a Start contact) or Ignition Switch Pin 3 (which would be an Ignition contact). The fact that one number means both
things indicates how screwed up things are here. The leftmost circle should in fact be labelled 250, as it goes to the same
place as the fourth circle from the left -- to the Inertia Switch. On the Master Key, the second number 38 should be
scratched through, since the only remaining circle with a 38 in it goes to Ignition Switch Pin 1.
It appears that, with the U.K. and Europe H.E.’s, the inertia switch will not disable the starter. There wouldn’t have
been a convenient way to do that without adding a feedback monitor relay, which otherwise wasn’t needed.
The diagram for “Ignition, Alternator and Starter Systems” on page 86-7 of the ©1982 Supplement is likewise
representative of U.K. and Europe cars but not North American cars. For North American cars, the BG wire from 11
(the starter relay) to 6 (the “Automatic gearbox safety switch”, what everywhere else is called a neutral switch or starter
inhibit switch) actually should be a WB wire from the starter relay to the feedback monitor relay (not shown), and the
feedback monitor relay is in turn controlled by the neutral switch -- and the inertia switch (not shown).
There are other changes you can make to that diagram while you’re there. On item 11 the upper right terminal is W2
and the lower right terminal is W1, and these are the coil terminals. The upper left terminal is C1 and the lower left is
C2, and these are contact terminals -- and C4 is omitted from this diagram, which is just as well because it doesn’t do
anything. On item 7, the two terminals on the left are the coil and the two terminals on the right are the contacts. On
item 4, the six terminals, clockwise starting with top center, are 4-3-2-6-1-5. On item 12, the wire connecting to the
bottom terminal is WS/U, not WS.
The wiring is shown correctly for North American cars in Figures 2.1, 24.1, 24.2, and 24.3 of Publication S 57,
“Electrical Guide”.
STARTER SYSTEM TROUBLESHOOTING: MacDonald suggests the ultimate test to determine whether your
starting problems are caused by something in the relays and wiring or by the starter itself: “Try bypassing the thick
brown with the thick white/red wire at the starter relay. If the starter does not crank then it's your starter!” Or the
heavy cable wiring from the battery to the starter.
If the starter itself is working and therefore you must have a problem in the wiring to it, the next thing to try is to
disconnect the WB wire from the W1 terminal on the starter relay, and connect a ground wire to the W1 terminal
instead. If the starter now works like it should, your starter relay is OK (or intermittent!) as well as the wiring from the
ignition switch; you now need to be looking at the inhibit relay (under the same cover as the starter relay), the neutral
switch on the shifter, and the inertia switch.
Starter
Jaguar provided a new design starter beginning in 1988 that features a gear reduction drive. This starter will fit earlier
V12’s, and is much smaller, much lighter, more reliable, and just all-around better. If you ever need to replace the
starter, insist on the gear reduction model.
STARTER REMOVAL: Both the ROM and the Haynes manual list several steps involving the steering column. This
must reflect RHD cars; you don’t have to mess with the steering column at all in a LHD car.
David Johnson wants everyone to be aware that the upper bolt holding the starter in has a 12-point head, and therefore
requires a 7/16” 12-point socket. The manuals simply say to remove the bolts. “You can't really see the bolt head even
with a mirror. So because most bolt heads are 6 point, I tried for what seemed like days with several different size
sockets.” Note: Davide Frada says an 11mm 12-point socket worked on his 1980; 11mm is just a hair smaller than
7/16”. There are some who claim it’s a 1/2” 12-point head on early models. Whatever, it’s a 12-point head; keep trying
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until you find the size that fits! Some have suggested replacing this bolt, either with a longer bolt with a regular head
and a sleeve under it or with an Allen head cap screw, but really once you know it’s a 12-point head it works OK as it is.
“Also I learned not to remove the transmission dip stick and tube. What a mess! I guess with the car up on ramps the
fluid ends up being significantly higher than the bottom of the tube.”
Doug Maury wrote up a lengthy play-by-play on removing the starter. I won’t include it all here because it’d add
several pages to this book, but I will include some key points:
The front end of the car should be placed on jack stands so that the crossmember is at least 18” above the ground. And
don’t forget to disconnect the battery.
The RH air cleaner, RF wheel, and RH downpipe all get removed. Turn the steering wheel all the way to the left.
Remove the starter heat shield and cable retaining clips. Disconnect the big cables from the solenoid, including the one
from the alternator. An 8” extension and a deep socket are suggested here.
Maury suggests disconnecting the “ignition” wire (red and white -- the only small one to the solenoid) at the other end,
up in the vicinity of the transmission dipstick, and leave it hanging from the starter as it comes out. Remember to put a
wire onto the new starter before installation.
There are two bolts holding the starter in place: one that’s obvious and easy to get to, and the hard-to-get-at one with
the 12-point head described above. It’s a good idea to leave the obvious one in place to hold the starter until you get the
difficult one out. Disconnect the vacuum line to the modulator on the transmission. If you left the center section of the
exhaust pipe in place and held it up with a piece of wire, you might want to unhang it at this point so you can move it
around. Use of a couple of ratchet extensions and a swivel is recommended on that difficult bolt. Some prefer to keep
the ratchet handle forward of the transmission mount while others prefer to use really long extensions and feed them
through above the transmission mount to get a straighter angle on the bolt.
Once loose, the starter can be a tight squeeze to get out, but it’ll come out with some twisting and finagling.
Maury suggests replacing all the cables and wires, since they’ll have been well baked by the proximity of the exhaust
system. Good advice, although obviously the new cables will soon be baked as well. Going with something with high-
temp insulation would be good, but in the case of those huge cables the more likely tactic will be simply making sure
they’re not bumping anything that they could short out against.
Upgrading the cable to the alternator while you’re in there is highly recommended, just in case you ever replace the
Lucas alt with something that puts out serious amperage. See page 582. When Alex Dorne replaced the early heavy
starter with the later geared starter, the original alternator cable was too short to reach the smaller starter -- another
reason to replace that wire!
Dorne also fabbed a bracket to hold the original heat shield over that new smaller starter. “The bracket is installed on
the end of the starter, held by the two nuts that hold the starter together.”
Maury suggests you check the new starter before installing it, including checking the solenoid travel (see below). If
there’s anything outta whack with that rebuilt starter, you’re gonna kick yourself for not checking it before installing.
SOLENOID TRAVEL ADJUSTMENT: Apply 12V to the solenoid connection and watch the pinion move. Check
that the solenoid moves the pinion to the specified position so that a .005” feeler gauge will fit between the pinion and
the thrust washer but a .015” feeler gauge will not. If it’s out of spec, it can be adjusted by repositioning the eccentric
pivot.
Roger Bywater: “If wrongly adjusted the solenoid can reach end of travel without the power contacts being properly
made to complete the circuit to the motor. Because the power contacts can burn if not solidly home it is possible to get
a marginal condition where the effects of expansion can allow it all to work normally when cold but not when hot. I
suspect that a lot of starter motors have been condemned as failed when proper adjustment would have made them
serviceable.
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“Unfortunately the pivot adjustment faces the engine block so cannot be altered in situe. It is therefore a good idea to
check the end clearance adjustment on any starter whenever removed or when fitting even a new one.”
Hmmmm. Sounds like it might be a good idea to aim for the .015” end of that range.
SOLENOID TERMINALS: Walter Acker IV says, “There is one major design problem in the GM starter/ solenoid
system. The problem is that the top stud that holds the main cable that goes into the solenoid is too short in that the unit
does not have enough length to accommodate a split ring lock washer to keep it tight and reduce the amount of arcing
that happens in this unit. The answer is to go to a local hardware store and purchase a small package of 3/8” “inside
star” lock washers and use one between the nut and the Bakelite housing that is on the solenoid.
“I just checked my ROM and the starter system for the XJ-S uses this type of system also, but the size of the lock
washer may be a slightly different size.”
INTERMITTENT STARTING WHEN HOT: The symptom: the car will start every time when cold, but when hot
sometimes the starter doesn’t even budge. Phil Boylan says, “In my opinion you may be suffering from the infamous
"starter heat-soak" problem that is common to vehicles with a GM-style starter solenoid mounted with the starter motor
in the high-heat area near the exhaust manifolds. The heat weakens the solenoid electrically such that the relay does not
actuate reliably when starting current from the ignition key switch is applied.
“I went through two Lucas starters (one rebuilt, another brand new -- $$$), replaced the transmission micro-switches,
upgraded the battery and ground cables, plus a bunch of other desperation fixes that shouldn't have worked (and didn't).
“Finally, I bought a "GM hot start kit" for $29 that electrically bypasses the starter solenoid switch and adds a Ford style
remote starter solenoid. I mounted the remote solenoid in a convenient location on the passenger side firewall. The
factory solenoid stays put because it's required to actuate the starter bendix gear. All you're doing with the remote
solenoid is re-routing the ignition and battery cables first to the remote solenoid and then on to the factory
starter/solenoid terminals such that the high amperage relay switching occurs in the cooler location.
“That small, inexpensive mod completely solved my hot start problems and the symptoms have never returned. The
remote solenoid also provides convenient access to the ignition circuitry instead of having to feel blindly under the
engine manifolds.
“And since Ford now owns Jaguar it can be argued that the remote solenoid backfit is also correct in spirit. :^) ”
STARTER SLOW TURNING: Mike Morrin: “Check that the engine grounding cable (underneath on the left hand
side) is not loose or damaged. This is not particularly an XJ-S fault, but it was loose on mine, and I would have been
really mad if I had pulled the starter before discovering it.”
The fact is that lots of electrical gremlins have been traced to faulty grounds, a lot of them to this strap in particular --
see pages 269, 324 and 555.
Of course, when a starter is turning slowly, most mechanics will check the battery terminals for corrosion. On most
cars, one cable goes straight from the battery to the starter solenoid and the ground cable usually connects nearby, so a
bad connection would almost have to be at the battery. On the XJ-S, however, the power to the starter comes from the
battery along the bottom of the car and up to the left side terminal post on the firewall, then over to the right side
terminal post on the firewall, then down to the starter solenoid. Weak connections can therefore be at either terminal
post on the firewall as well as at the battery. See page 558 for more on those terminal posts.
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Alternator
If there is any indication that your alternator is having trouble (not charging, low voltage, etc.), you should have it
attended to immediately. If caught soon enough, it can be repaired or rebuilt. If left alone, it self-destructs and a new
one is required.
One indication your alternator has had it is that the alternator warning light stays on after the engine is shut off.
An automotive alternator can be more thoroughly checked using a VOM (preferably digital). Connect the VOM
anywhere that will show system voltage -- the cigarette lighter is convenient. If the engine is turning fast enough for the
alternator to produce adequate power, usually about 1500 rpm, the system voltage must be between 13.6 and 14.4 volts.
If it is not, either the alternator is defective, or there’s a problem with the connections to the alternator, or there is a huge
load somewhere draining all the power, or there is a problem with the belt drive turning the alternator.
Even if the voltage is between 13.6 and 14.4 volts, there still may be a problem with the alternator, because it contains
diodes that rectify 3-phase alternating current into the direct current the car uses. If one diode fails, it will still put out
13.6-14.4V, but far fewer amps. And the output gains a lot of “ripple”, meaning it looks less like smooth direct current,
it’s got some large fluctuations in it.
ALTERNATOR EXCITATION: The field on the XJ-S alternator is excited through the “ignition” warning light (fifth
from left on the author’s ’83, has a little picture of a battery), so if this light is burnt out or disconnected charging may be
intermittent. According to Randy Wilson, “A common enough design. Lots of alternators will respond like this... some
would never charge. Here’s what happens: the alternator needs a signal to indicate the key is on, and a power source to
boost itself into a charging condition... bootstrapping, if you will. This power requirement is low enough that a lot of
alternators use the power flow through the charge light for this purpose. This is called the exciter. And, in reality, key
on is not really an important condition to the alternator. You just don’t want to be driving the exciter full time, lest your
battery will go flat overnight. Once the alternator is charging, it becomes self-exciting, and no longer needs or uses this
external power source (oversimplification). Thus the light goes out.
“The exciter is used to induce enough of an electromagnetic field to start the current generation. However, there is
always some residual magnetism floating around in a used alternator. With this residual, the alternator can generate a
little bit of current, if you spin them fast enough. In the case of Lucas (and others) the current needed to self-excite is
fairly low -- low enough that the current from the residual magnetism can meet the demand. This usually happens at
2500-3000 engine rpm. And as soon as the alternator is up and charging, operation is as normal. You don’t have an
outside exciter source, but you don’t need it any more.”
Jaguar may have provided a fail-safe here. The electrical diagrams show a 100Ω resistor in parallel with the alternator
warning light, which would seem to mean it would get some excitation current even when the bulb is burnt out.
ALTERNATOR TROUBLESHOOTING: Michael Minglin says, “I really like the factory manual’s instructions for
checking maximum amps output. Even If I could reach down there to remove the plastic cover, I could not see to
connect a jumper between “F’ and “-”. My solution was to remove the alternator and attach wires from “F” and “-” and
run them out of the back of the alternator, up the inside of the fenderwell, with a male and female connector on the end
by the cross brace. Now to jump the regulator all I have to do is connect the connectors. I’m not sure it is worth
pulling the alternator just to make these connections, but I will never put in another alternator without this modification.”
If your alternator doesn’t seem to be charging like it should and you can’t find an electrical cause, don’t overlook the
mechanical problem described on page 91 -- especially if it’s a later car with a Bosch alternator and a ribbed alternator
belt, and especially if it’s a convertible.
RELOCATING DIODES: An alternator contains a full-wave rectifier, which is an assembly of six diodes that convert
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the alternating current produced by the windings into direct current for powering the electrical loads in an automobile.
Conveniently, these devices are built right into the alternator, so service is simple: just remove the bad alternator and
install a good one.
Unfortunately, the heat inside the Jaguar engine compartment is not good for electronic semiconductor devices such as
diodes. The alternator has a cooling fan and the diodes are built into a heatsink, but when it’s hot everywhere in the
engine compartment such efforts will do no good.
If you’re sick and tired of replacing diodes (or alternators), one possible solution is to open the alternator up, take the
diode assembly out, and relocate it to some remote location where things are cooler. You will need to provide a small
fan to keep them cool (they generate a good deal of heat on their own!), but a 12V computer fan is cheap and workable.
Craig Sawyers sizes the wires needed: “the current from each of the three phases to the diode pack will be around 1/3 of
the total output current. In the US, this would be known as 12 AWG, in Europe 3mm2. The output cables to the
battery post would have to be rated at the full 120A. A double run of 8 AWG (8.4mm2) would do this nicely (it will
handle 150A).”
Another nice feature of this mod is that you no longer need to use expensive Lucas diodes; you can buy a diode pack
used to rebuild any generic alternator of comparable or greater amperage -- the GM ones are really cheap in the US.
You could also opt to improve the alternator by using Schottky diodes, which have a lower threshold voltage and
therefore rob the alternator of less of its power and generate less heat.
And don’t forget: if you locate the diode pack somewhere convenient, it should be a lot easier to work on than the
alternator, which is a real pain to get to.
LUCAS ALTERNATOR: From the introduction of the XJ-S until engine number 8S57571, it was fitted with one
Lucas alternator or another -- 66-amp on the pre-H.E., 75-amp on the H.E. There are also reports of Motorola
alternators on these cars, possibly even fitted from the factory. Bob Johnson says the number is A5000/12.
If you’re interested, there is a performance chart for the 75-amp alternator at:
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/Lucas75Aalt.html
If a Lucas alternator seems to be charging intermittently (fully charging one minute, discharging the next as indicated by
the voltage gauge) or has simply stopped charging but has no shorts or burnt wiring, it might be fixable by replacing just
the regulator itself. This is much cheaper than replacing the whole alternator, and is easy to do by removing the plastic
cover from the back of the alternator.
LUCAS ALTERNATOR REPLACEMENT: Below you’ll find several pages on replacing the original alternator with a
GM alternator. Most of these were developed to replace the Lucas alternator -- before Doug Harper broke this news:
“My Lucas 75-amp alternator was suspect, took it to a rebuild shop to see what my options are. He ended up selling me
a rebuilt 1995 Land Rover 110-amp alternator, #13697 Lister or CAE A2051, that was a direct replacement for the 75A
Lucas, just bolted right in. Had to replace the pulley. Made by Marelli!! Using the Radio Shack 270-1509 lighter
adapter to the volt meter trick I was getting 14.2V at 1000 rpm, engine sounded better. The Lucas when working was
putting out 13.66 Volts. The needle now sits 1 bar above mid point, rock solid. 50% more power as a direct
replacement, no bracket required, no messing.”
“The unit has an internal fan, same hole locations for bolts, and appears to be volume-wise smaller. Beside the power
out and sense lugs is a timing output pin for diesels (?) and a 12VDC secondary power source on some units. The first
one they showed me had cracks in the metal housing where the regulator bolts connect, on all 3 bolts, one serious. The
second one they showed me was perfect - well, almost, but no cracks. Make sure you want the crack-free units.”
Frankly, if you’re replacing a Lucas alternator for any reason, you’d be well advised to go ahead and upgrade to this
Land Rover/Marelli alternator even if you don’t need the power. It’s one of those “couldn’t hurt” kinda things.
You probably should upgrade the power cables as described on page 582.
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BOSCH ALTERNATOR: Beginning with engine #8S57572, the XJ-S was fitted with a Bosch 115-amp alternator.
This alternator is driven by a multi-groove belt instead of the V-belt found on earlier cars. Since the alternator is driven
from the crank damper itself rather than from the pulley that bolts onto it, this change involved the replacement of the
earlier crank damper C36013 with one with the multi-groove pattern, EAC9248 (replaced sometime thereafter with
EAC9693 to fit a timing disk for the Marelli ignition). The pulley part number didn’t change.
ALTERNATOR LOAD DUMP MODULE: Reportedly, the 115-amp alternators fitted to the late 80’s XJ-S will not
begin to charge until the engine has been revved up. Although not really a problem, it is somewhat irritating to see the
charge light on when everything else seems OK. According to Michael Neal: “Actually, there is a fix for this. There is a
device called an alternator load dump module that was fitted to the later XJ40’s and XJ-S’s with the high output
alternator. Fitting the module will fix the problem. The load dump module will cause the alternator output to function
properly at idle without having to raise the idle speed.” The part number for the 115-amp dump module is DBC 5896.
NOISY ALTERNATOR BELT: If you have the later Bosch 115-amp alternator with the multi-groove belt, chances are
that sooner or later you will have trouble with that belt squealing. Neither tightening the belt nor even replacing it will
help for long. The problem here is a flaw in the design of the multi-groove pulley -- not just this one on the Jag, but
basically with all multi-groove pulleys. The author discovered this design defect on his ’84 Honda Accord (his ’83 XJ-S
has V-belts), but the problem has been confirmed on the later Jaguars as well.
V-belts and multi-groove belts work basically the same way: a V-shaped section of belt is wedged into a mating groove
in a pulley, and the load is transmitted by friction. The wedging action is what provides enough friction to handle the
load. A conventional single-V belt wears on the sides, making it narrower and therefore sitting deeper in the groove, so
it needs periodic tightening. This works fine until the belt either breaks or is so worn that it sits in the bottom of the
groove instead of wedging between the sides, in which case it will slip badly.
The multi-groove belts, unfortunately, cannot wear anywhere near that much before they begin to slip. In fact, after the
pulley itself has a little wear on it, they cannot wear at all before they begin to slip -- the brand new belt will slip almost
immediately. This is because the belt will contact the pulley on top of the ridges between the grooves and ride on these
edges rather than wedging down into the grooves. Sitting up on these smooth edges, it can barely transmit any power at
all without slipping. In fact, even when it’s not squealing it’s probably still slipping.
It is easy to confirm this is what’s happening: look at the alternator pulley with a flashlight. If the top edges of those
ridges are bright and shiny, you’ve found the problem. Usually, the inside surfaces of the V’s are much duller,
sometimes even rusty, indicating the belt isn’t even touching them.
The fix is easy, too, except that it requires getting that pulley out -- which isn’t easy. With the pulley removed from the
alternator, mount it on something that will spin it (a lathe, or find a way to chuck it up in a drill if you don’t have a lathe)
and grind the edges of those ridges down. See Figure 28.
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Figure 28 - Multi-Groove Pulley Correction
Don’t worry about grinding off too much. Yes, you are reducing the contact area of the wedge area, but the fact is that
once the belt is actually wedging rather than skimming around the ridges, contact area isn’t a problem -- the multi-
groove belt will easily handle all the load of the alternator and then some without complaint. Just make sure to grind the
ridges down enough that they won’t be a problem any more, even with a worn belt.
Obviously, the grooves on the damper pulley itself would benefit from similar treatment. It’s not really called for,
however; the larger diameter means that the belt generally won’t slip on this pulley, even when it is riding on top of the
ridges.
There is yet another possible cause of alternator belt squeal. See the report on failed crankshaft dampers on page 91.
RETROFITTING THE BOSCH ALTERNATOR TO EARLIER CARS: The alternator mount bracket EAC4181 was
replaced with EAC9320 at the same time that the Bosch alternator was fitted. Perhaps the purchase of this bracket will
permit the upgrade of the earlier cars to the Bosch unit. Since they all use internal regulators, the wiring connections
should be fairly straightforward.
To deal with the multi-groove pulley on the Bosch, you can either purchase and install a new crank damper, or you can
simply replace the pulley on the Bosch alternator with a V-belt type. Note that there might actually be some problem
with this latter scheme; historically, alternators driven by a single V-belt never exceeded 60-70 amps or so. Larger
alternators used two V-belts prior to the introduction of the multi-groove belt.
Scott Horner of New Zealand retrofitted the Bosch alternator to his UK-spec pre-H.E. XJ-S. “The Bosch alternator is
bigger than the Lucas and Motorola in most dimensions. This meant having to drill out the original mounting bracket
‘swing’ (technical term!) hole, definitely needs to be done using a drill press. Trying to find a replacement pivot bolt
with a larger diameter was entertaining; I eventually got a suitable bolt from a motorcycle store (but that could just be
good old NZ and the complete lack of parts).
“The unit I got had a grooved belt pulley originally (although the Jaguar parts manual lists both grooved and V-belt) so I
had to remove this and fit a normal V-belt pulley. The shaft size on the Bosch is larger than the Lucas and Motorola, so
you can’t use the original. I was lucky enough to be able to rummage through a collection of dead Bosch alternators,
which all have the same shaft size, and found a suitable replacement, even down to the offset (so the belt lined up with
the crank pulley).
“I was able to re-use the original power connectors on the back of the alternator (although I had to drill these out as well
to make them fit).”
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ALTERNATIVE ALTERNATORS: Regarding the whole general idea of replacing one alternator with another, John
Napoli offers a viewpoint: “It is a good idea, IMHO, to go with a common alternator for your geography. Volts are
volts, what you want is dependability and maintainability. A large Lucas infrastructure exists in Britain. In the US, a
large infrastructure exists for GM stuff. The same can probably be said for other marques, but I have GM experience,
and there is no shortage of ridiculously cheap GM components in the States!”
Alternators are rated according to the number of amps they can produce. There is no such thing as too many amps;
since the regulator will limit voltage to a set value, an alternator with excess capacity will simply put out whatever is
necessary to meet the load. The only reason to opt for fewer amps is to save money, since higher-amperage alternators
generally cost proportionally more. A good rule of thumb, obviously, is to provide at least as many amps as the
alternator the car came with was rated at. Before you decide how many amps are enough for you, you might want to
read the sections on high-wattage headlights (page 656) and electric cooling fans (page 219) and think about whether
you might add loads in the future. You might also think about whether you’ll be considering a high-power sound
system.
Note that in the old days when engines had carburetors and windows had cranks, a typical alternator might be rated at
40 amps or less. In modern automobiles with EFI and electric everything, the capacity of alternators has increased
considerably. Meanwhile, the designs have become more efficient, so they don’t appear any larger than their
predecessors -- often smaller, even.
Any 12-volt internal-regulator alternator of suitable amperage would serve in the XJ-S if it could be mounted. Because
they’re cheap and plentiful in the US, several schemes have been cooked up for installing a GM alternator as described
beginning on page 579. But first we’ll tell you more about GM alternators.
GM ALTERNATORS: There are lots of varieties of GM (Delco) alternators, but for our purposes there are six basic
“types” that we might consider for the XJ-S: The SI-10, the SI-12, the SI-15, the SI-17, the CS130, and the CS130D.
All six mount basically the same way, which is not the same way the Lucas alternator mounts. This is why such a
retrofit either requires the John’s Cars GMALT alternator bracket or fiddling with the air pump bracket.
When talking about GM alternators, positions of the tensioner lug and the regulator terminals are defined by clock
positions looking at the rear of the alternator with the pivot lug pointing downward (6 o’clock). Some GM alternators
have the tensioner lug at 12 o’clock (“straight across”), some have it at 10 o’clock, some have it at 2 o’clock; the CS130
is available with tensioner lugs at 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock. The lugs (both pivot and tensioner) can extend farther from
the centerline of the alternator on some models, termed a “long lug” case. However you decide to mount your
alternator, you might want to drop into an alternator rebuild shop and review the lug schemes available to select a
configuration that will fit best.
The regulator terminals can also be located in any of several clock positions, but who cares? Connect the wires to
whereever they end up.
The SI-10 comes in amperages up to about 70, and can be rebuilt to put out over 100 -- but the shops don’t recommend
this and even refuse to do it. Apparently when this alternator is set up for high current it won’t charge well at idle, and
they get nothing but complaints from customers.
The SI-12 looks to the untrained eye to be the same thing as the SI-10 -- in fact, many of the parts are interchangeable,
and one shop reported that they occasionally find rebuilds that have SI-10 and SI-12 parts mixed up in the same
alternator. One visible difference is that the SI-10 has a metal fan blade while the SI-12 has a plastic impeller that looks
like a solid disk with openings around the edge. The core parts of the SI-12 are much better than the SI-10, though; this
alternator comes standard up to about 108 amps, and can be rebuilt to put out 140 amps -- a very common rebuild for
folks that have high-power sound systems in their cars. It reportedly charges just fine at idle.
The SI-15 is physically quite a bit larger than the SI-10 or SI-12, and the SI-17 is difficult to tell from the SI-15. These
typically can be had up to about 108 amps as well. A suitable unit can be purchased by going into an auto parts store
and asking for an alternator number 70897. Note that if you’re planning to hang the alternator off the bottom of the air
pump bracket as described below, the SI-15 or SI-17 will probably not fit; it’s too big, it might run into the chassis,
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possibly when the engine moves around on its mounts. Better to choose an SI-12, CS130, or CS130D alternator for
such an installation.
When fitted with an internal regulator (the only configuration that should be considered for the XJ-S, since the Lucas is
also an internal regulator type), all four of the “SI” alternator types above will come with three terminals. The big one is
the main power terminal that is connected directly to the battery with heavy wires. The other two are 1/4” spade
terminals numbered 1 and 2. You can buy a standardized two-terminal plug to connect to these terminals on a GM
alternator at any auto parts store, but you can also use normal insulated female spade terminals. If you buy the
standardized connector, they always seem to use a black wire for terminal 1 and a red wire for terminal 2.
Terminal 1 connects either to the indicator light on the dash or to a switched ignition power supply, depending on the
alternator and the car, but apparently any of them will work connected to an indicator light. So, just connect this to the
NB wire in the XJ-S.
Terminal 2 is a “sense” connection; the regulator will control the alternator’s output to maintain a desired voltage
(13.6V or so) at this terminal. The simplest method of connection is simply to connect it to the big terminal mere inches
away on the back of the alternator, which will work fine; the Lucas alternator did this internally.
But this isn’t the optimum configuration. The reason a separate sense connection is provided is so you can run a
separate sense wire directly to the battery terminal; that way, the regulator will be sensing the voltage right at the
battery, and will push the alternator’s output a little higher to overcome the voltage losses in the cables between the
alternator and the battery. Going all the way back to the battery would be inconvenient on an XJ-S, but it’s not too
difficult to connect this sense wire to the main power bus post on the firewall. Since the cable between there and the
battery in the trunk is seriously massive, the losses there are likely to be minimal. However, the wiring between the
alternator and that post includes some marginal size wires (unless you’ve upgraded them) so sensing beyond these losses
may be beneficial.
Note that section 86.10.01(b) of the ROM describes a method for checking the losses in this line on the XJ-S; the same
test will work with the GM alternator, regardless of where the sense wire is connected. The Lucas setup merely accepts
losses up to 0.5V while the sense wire setup tries to overpower them, but in either case excessive losses in this circuit
are not good.
There are also a few GM “SI” alternators that come with one more terminal for connection to a tachometer.
The CS130 is a newer GM design, used on most GM cars from 1987 into the early 90’s; there is also a CS121, but it’s
hard to tell the difference, and apparently cars with fried CS121’s are often advised to replace them with a CS130. The
CS130 is physically smaller than any of the “SI” alternators described above. It has two cooling fans -- one external
metal fan on the front, and another fan inside the housing at the rear. These alternators are rated at 85 to 105 amps in
stock form, can be rebuilt to put out 140 amps, and charge like a sumbitch at idle. They are all internal-regulator type;
apparently they assume you know that, because none of the books or catalogs tell you.
I know you don’t think the physical size is a big deal, but let Arthur Blackwell improve your mind: “the alternator is
much smaller physically and did not require dropping front suspension pieces to put in place.”
The CS130 alternators come with some interesting variations in main power connections. Some have a basic stud, while
others have a protruding rectangular block that a screw is run through crosswise. Whatever, it shouldn’t be difficult to
finagle a connection to the battery in the XJ-S.
The CS130 comes with a special regulator connector: a rectangular block with four pins in it -- one large one and three
smaller ones. The big one is the sense wire, similar to terminal 2 on the earlier GM alternators. You don’t need to
connect it to the main power connection three inches away because GM has thoughtfully done that for you internally.
Apparently, if you connect up a sense wire, it will override the internal sense connection. Hence, it is an optional sense
connector; you can connect it to the main bus for optimum performance, or you can just forget about it and it’ll work
fine.
The small pin right next to the big one goes to the ignition switch on cars without a dash indicator light. The middle
small one goes to a dash indicator light on cars so equipped. It’s not known what the farthest small pin is for, perhaps a
tach connector.
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For clarity: you only need to connect up the main power cable and connect the middle small pin in the plug to the
existing NB wire in the XJ-S to get the CS130 alternator to work. If you get the plug with the alternator from a
junkyard, it’s probable the plug will only have that one wire!
If you don’t get a connector with the alternator, auto parts shops sell a variety of connectors to fit the CS130 regulator
socket. You will need to get one from somewhere -- generic spade terminals won’t work here. There are plugs
available with four wires, one to each pin. There are plugs with only three wires. There are adaptors (short harnesses
with a connector on each end) for retrofitting the CS130 into cars without dash indicator lights that originally had the
earlier alternators with 2-wire connectors. And there are adaptors for retrofitting the CS130 into cars with dash
indicator lights that originally had the earlier alternators with 2-wire connectors. Three out of these four will work on
the XJ-S (you won’t want the adapter for cars without dash indicator lights), so choose the cheapest one of the three. If
it’s the adapter you buy, just cut off the 2-wire connector and use the CS130 connector end.
If the CS130 in hand has the connections in an inconvenient position, the pulley can be removed with a 24mm socket
and an impact wrench, then the case separated by removing the three bolts using an E8 Torx socket. Then the front case
can be rotated to any of three positions and the bolts reinserted. Since the front case includes all the mounting lugs, this
effectively rotates the rest of the alternator, including all the terminals on the rear end, in 120º increments.
Note that GM alternators can be fitted with either a single-groove pulley or several different widths of multi-groove
pulley -- and of course most modern GM cars come with serpentine belts, so finding an alternator with a single-groove
pulley in the junkyard might be difficult. The pulley from the Lucas alternator will not fit. However, finding a single-
groove pulley for a GM alternator shouldn’t be too difficult or expensive, and they can be swapped out in a minute.
There are some reports that GM alternators all have problems with the rear bearing. SI units came with a needle
bearing, apparently a source of trouble. The CS130 comes with a ball bearing at the rear, a considerable improvement --
except that they used too small a ball bearing. The CS130 has also developed a reputation for lack of durability,
apparently frying something in the electronics every 50K miles or so on the American cars they are fitted on. This being
an American product, there are aftermarket fixes: J. C. Whitney (page 694) offers a “Quick Start ‘Iceberg’” rebuild kit,
81xx5780U, which provides improved rectifier cooling and a larger rear ball bearing for the CS130 alternator. If you
are paying good money for a rebuilt alternator from a reputable shop, you may want to insist upon such improvements at
the outset.
J. C. Whitney also offers a kit, 81xx5781B, to convert the CS130 to 140 amp capacity. This is not necessary with a
stock XJ-S, but if you’ve added loads such as an electric radiator fan or a big sound system, it’s something to consider.
Besides the SI’s and the CS130, GM also offers the CS130D, described on the Oakville Starter Alternator Ltd. “Tech
Talk” web page: “The CS130D is the revised version of the CS130 and uses the same alternator connections although
the connector has been slightly modified to reduce corrosion. Some GM vehicles as early as 1994 may have come
equipped with this alternator. The joke in rebuilding circles is that the "D" in CS130D stands for "Different" because
although the CS130D is supposed to be a close cousin of the CS130, internally they are totally "Different" - there are no
interchangeable components. In reality the "D" stands for "Dual Internal Fan". The CS130 also had dual fans - one
external (behind the pulley) and one internal (inside the alternator near the rectifier). In the CS130D, both fans are
internal - there is no external fan behind the pulley. This is the easiest way to distinguish the two alternators.
“One of the new features on the CS130D is the alternator's internal temperature sensor. The regulator will sense the
alternator's internal temperature and shut the charging system down if the unit reaches 280°F. The dash light will also
come on. This of course will prevent overheating and prolong alternator life. This also means that if this alternator is
overloaded (by a bad battery or an ear-bleeding stereo, etc.) it will shut off! No longer will roasted alternators be
returned to us for warranty. The downside of this feature however is that diagnostic problems could occur. Imagine, a
hot July day stuck in traffic - air conditioner is on full. Suddenly, the alternator stops charging and the idiot light comes
on. The customer pulls off the highway into your shop and sits for 45 minutes before you can check it. When you
check it you find that the alternator charges fine. The regulator had shut the alternator down after it exceeded 280ºF;
once the vehicle cooled, the alternator started charging again. There is nothing wrong with the vehicle or the
alternator.”
In NW Florida in 1998, the price for a rebuilt GM alternator -- of whichever type -- was in the vicinity of $1/amp.
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Actually a little less than that without core charge, but you might not wanna sell off your Lucas for the core value of a
Delco so you may prefer to pay the core charge.
Michael Aiken points out that if your car came with the Bosch 115-amp alternator instead of the Lucas, you might be
reducing your capacity installing a GM alt -- and the Bosch seems to be far more reliable than the Lucas, so you may not
be improving reliability significantly either. Of course you can opt for a GM alternator up to 140 amps.
ALTERNATIVE ALTERNATOR INSTALLATION: A non-Lucas alternator won’t simply bolt in where the Lucas
alternator comes out, so you’ll have to do something to mount it. The following sections describe several ideas for
installing alternative alternators -- all of which happen to be GM alternators. But the same ideas might apply to other
alternative alternator installations, even though details may differ.
GM ALTERNATOR INSTALLATION -- WHERE THE LUCAS WAS: One possibility involves making an entirely
new bracket to fit whatever alternator you choose. However, the existing alternator mount bracket is rather convoluted
and is involved in supporting the air pump as well, so it would be no simple task to fashion a replacement. It might be
worth it, though; the cost of a new Lucas alternator would pay for a GM alternator and a very expensive custom-made
bracket, and the next alternator replacement would be cheap.
Fortunately you can skip the fab work and just buy a new bracket. John’s Cars (page 717) offers a bracket to fit a GM
Delco alternator, complete with a suitable wiring connector. Their catalog number for it is GMALT. Michael Minglin
says, “A little pricey, but well-designed and went in without any problems.”
GM ALTERNATOR INSTALLATION -- HUNG OFF THE AIR PUMP BRACKET: It’s possible to hang a GM
alternator from the bottom of the air pump bracket instead of from the alternator bracket. The air pump bracket is steel
and can easily be altered to hold a GM alternator close enough to the original position that the stock adjuster can be
used. The attachment of the adjuster to the front of the engine is a block on a single bolt that can be loosened and
repositioned to accommodate the new alternator position.
Jim Schultetus describes the method he used: “the original alt bracket was removed along with the alt and a rough
dimension was taken from a reference point off the bracket to the alt pulley and from the front of the bracket to front
edge of the original Lucas pulley. With these dimensions the CS130 was positioned next to bracket and two straps
about 1-3/4 inches long were made of 1/4 in. steel about a inch wide with a 3/8 in. hole drilled in one end of each. These
two straps then where bolted to the Delco alt and positioned on the original bracket tube of about a inch in diameter.
Using the original measurements taken from the Lucas alt in original position I welded the 2 straps to the tube. Bolted
bracket back to block, installed CS130 and used original tensioner setup and belt. Took about 1 1/2 hours.”
Another variation on this idea would be to bolt or weld steel plates to the surface of the flanges on the air pump mount
extending downwards, and drilling holes for a pivot bolt through them.
Here’s another idea for modifying the air pump bracket to hold a GM alternator that doesn’t involve welding: Drill a set
of holes for a second pivot bolt, this set close (very close) to the bottom edge of the bracket and between the engine and
the stiffening tube in the bracket. Swing a GM alternator from this pivot, spacing it back from the forward face of the
bracket the proper amount to align the belt -- about 3/4”. A “long lug” alternator (see GM alternator descriptions
above) would probably fit best. The only problem with this idea is that the alternator probably won’t be able to swing
through many degrees between hitting the air pump bracket on either side of the pivot, so you’d need to select exactly
the right length belt. A little filing here and there may permit a few more degrees of swing.
The Lucas alternator, using the GM alternator terminology, has the tensioner lug at the 2 o’clock position. Since the
various methods of supporting the GM alternator from the air pump bracket position the pivot outward and upward
from the original pivot for the Lucas, using a “straight across” (6:00 and 12:00) lug arrangement should put the
tensioner lug in nearly the same position as original.
Don’t just run a pivot bolt through the bracket and tighten a nut on the back side; you’ll distort the sides of the air pump
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bracket. Insert the pivot bolt through the front flange of the bracket, through some spacers selected to provide belt
alignment, through the pivot lug on the GM alternator, through a washer , through two nuts, through a washer, then
through the rear flange of the bracket and into another washer and nut. First, snug up the rearmost nut, but don’t
overtighten it -- you don’t want to distort the bracket. Second, tighten the nut just forward of the rear flange back
against the forward side of the rear flange, so those two nuts are tightened down against each other with the rear flange
in between. Finally, after adjusting the belt tension, tighten the forwardmost nut forward, pulling the alternator lug
snugly against the forward flange of the bracket.
If your pivot bolt isn’t threaded the entire length, you may need to add some spacers between the back side of the
alternator lug and the nut that tightens down on it.
REPLACING THE AIR PUMP WITH A GM ALTERNATOR: If you happen to be using your car for competition or
other applications where the air injection system is unnecessary, ripping the air pump out and putting a GM alternator in
that spot to maintain tension on the A/C compressor belt makes sense. It looks especially attractive when you realize
that the mount schemes are similar; a small GM alternator will fit right onto the air pump mounting bracket, you only
need to add a few spacers on the pivot bolt behind it.
A short-lug CS130 alternator with a tensioner lug at 10 o’clock works just fine mounted on the air pump bracket in the
OEM location, and does not interfere with the tensioner clevis, radiator hoses, or thermostat housing. A CS130D
should fit just as well.
Alternators driven by V-belts, including the Lucas on the XJ-S as well as GM alternator applications using V-belts,
generally use a 10mm wide (15 series) V-belt. The air pump and the air conditioning compressor on the XJ-S use a
13mm wide (17 series) V-belt. If you install a CS130 alternator in place of the air pump and driven by the same belt as
the compressor, you need alternator pulley part number 24-1104. Other GM alternators probably need the same pulley.
Unfortunately, you’re not likely to find this pulley in a junkyard, but it can be ordered through any alternator shop for
perhaps $15. This pulley is 3-1/4” in diameter, which is larger than typical alternator pulleys for 10mm belts, which
means the alternator will turn slower -- which may have implications on charging at idle. That’s tough; this pulley is this
big for a reason, namely that a 13mm belt really shouldn’t be bent any tighter than that.
From Bernie Embden’s www site: “I was able to source a 3.25" wide belt pulley (1/2 inch) from Canton Racing
Products. At $32.00 US, this billet aluminum pulley cost more that the alternator, but it does look good.
The tips of the cooling fan on the alternator might hit the upper corner of the front leg of the air pump bracket. To
preclude this possibility, slip the pivot bolt through the air pump bracket with a washer under the head, mark a semicircle
around the edge of the washer, and grind off the portion of the bracket outside this mark.
The pivot on the air pump is 3-3/4” long, but the pivot lug on a GM alternator is only 2” long. You can fill the extra
space within the bracket with a stack of washers if you want. If you want a more professional appearance, drop into a
bicycle shop; many 10-speeds use a 10mm rear axle and have spacers on the derailleur side of the rear wheel that will
serve quite well here. Or you can get some more of the spacers used by Jaguar on the banjo bolt at the top right of the
radiator; it’s part number CAC4559. All of the spacers should go behind the alternator pivot; with it butted up against
the front leg of the air pump bracket, the belt lines up perfectly.
The rear leg of the air pump bracket has a sleeve fitted where the pivot bolt goes through -- just like any other similar
bracket. This sleeve is intended to be pulled through the bracket leg as the pivot bolt is tightened so that the air pump
(or whatever) can be snugged up without bending the bracket itself. Make sure that your spacers are long enough that
this sleeve is not pulled all the way through the bracket and the nut contacts the bracket leg itself. In fact, you might opt
to push that sleeve rearward in the bracket before you start fitting spacers to give it more capacity to take up slack when
tightening down the pivot bolt.
Unfortunately, the pulley on an alternator is smaller than the one on the air pump, which moves the portion of the V-belt
between the crank pulley and the alternator up a little -- possibly right into the idler arm for the belt-driven fan. David
Osborne didn’t have a problem. “I did the CS130 alternator-in-place-of-air pump conversion with great success. The
replacement (shorter) belt (Dynacraft 59017) successfully clears the idler arm by about 3/16 inch.” Alas, others haven’t
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been so lucky, and when you realize you’ve got interference there it can bring this pleasant little job to a screechin’ halt.
To avoid this interference problem, it helps to mount the alternator with its centerline as low as possible. That’s why
you want a CS130; its small diameter keeps the centerline closer to the mounting bracket. You also most definitely want
the short-lug version.
The 24-1104 pulley may also help with the interference problem. Using this slightly larger pulley will move the belt a
hair away from the interference.
You’ll need to figure out what length V-belt you’ll need; with the CS130 alternator and 24-1104 pulley, the 59017
mentioned by Osborne above (or a 17590, same difference) works fine on the author’s car with no belt-driven fan and
hence no interference concern. Going to the long side helps with the interference problem, as swinging the alternator
farther away to tighten a longer belt also moves the belt farther away from the idler arm. Going too long, however, will
bring the alternator close to the side of the engine compartment and possibly cause a whack when the engine twists on
its rubber mounts. That’s another reason to choose a CS130; it’s small size allows you to pivot it farther outward
without contacting the fenderwell.
Once you find a belt length that works, John Napoli says, “Note the number (length) of the new alternator belt and
scratch it into the fender of the car.”
You might also find that going with a different length fan belt may help the interference issue by moving the idler arm
out of the way. Of course, the best way to avoid the interference issue is to toss that belt-driven fan and idler hardware
over the hedge and install an electric fan as described on page 219. As long as you’re installing that big-amp GM
alternator, why not put it to good use?
With a CS130 with the tensioner lug at 10 o’clock, the existing tensioner arrangement for the air pump will work just
fine. If you use some other configuration and the alignment of the tensioner bracket gives you any trouble, take the
tensioner bracket off the front of the right bank and replace it with the tensioner clevis formerly used with the Lucas
alternator at the bottom right corner of the engine. This will require a 1/4” thick stack of washers under one end since
the alternator tensioner clevis was designed to sit on an uneven surface.
See page 313 for removal of the rest of the air injection system.
REPLACING THE AIR PUMP WITH A BIG-ASS GM ALTERNATOR: John Napoli doesn’t cotton to those
newfangled itty-bitty alternators, he prefers the earlier clunkers. So he installed a “large case” GM alternator, which you
can buy for a song since nobody else wants them any more. Mounted on the air pump bracket, the tensioner lug was too
high and cocked the tensioner rod in the clevis on the front of the right bank. It also interfered with the right side
radiator hose and thermostat housing. And the centerline of the pulley was so high that interference with the fan belt
idler was a definite problem.
Napoli solved all these problems by making a simple plate to relocate the air pump mount bracket downward. “Take the
steel bracket that supported the base of the air pump. Take a piece of flat steel or aluminum sheet (I used aluminum)
about 5/32” thick (you want stiffness but too thick and you’ll need longer bolts, and who needs the extra weight) to use
as an adapter plate. The piece should be as wide as the stock air pump bracket and twice as long (high).” That plate
will need to be 4” wide and about 5½” long. Of course, using a thicker plate and buying longer bolts (you’ll only need
two) will also work; the one thing you don’t want to do is use bolts that are too short, since they are threaded into
aluminum.
“The stock air pump bracket has four bolts that secure it to the side of the block (via an aluminum block bracket casting
itself attached to the block with two large bolts). The plate you’ll make will be drilled for six bolt holes, and is mounted
sandwiched between the alternator (via the steel air pump bracket) and the block bracket. The upper two holes are used
to bolt the adapter plate to the upper two holes of the block bracket. The middle two holes are used to bolt the air pump
bracket and adapter plate to the lower two holes of the block bracket. The lower two bolt holes of the adapter plate bolt
the air pump bracket to the adapter plate. Got it? Use the air pump bracket as a pattern for the bolt holes on the
adapter plate.
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“Bore a large hole in the top center of the adapter plate to clear the forward bolt that attaches the block bracket to the
block -- once again, use the air pump bracket as a guide. Polish the adapter plate to a high gloss to add several miles per
hour.”
REPLACING THE AIR PUMP WITH A GM ALTERNATOR -- OTHER IDEAS: If you’re removing the air pump
and need to install a GM alternator to serve as an idler, you can hang the alternator off the bottom of the air pump
bracket as described on page 579. The difference: with that installation, the air pump stays and the alternator is spaced
rearward from the front of the bracket to align the alt pulley with the groove on the damper. But with the air pump
removed you’ll want to install the GM alternator right up against the front of the air pump bracket so the pulley lines up
with the A/C compressor pulley.
You might consider flipping the air pump bracket upside down. This will require drilling one large hole to clear the head
of a bolt on the alternator bracket underneath.
ALTERNATOR POWER WIRING: After you’ve got your new alternator bolted in, you’ll need to connect the big
power lug to the main power line to the battery -- which means either to one of the two posts on the bus on the firewall
or to the post on the starter. The original alternator was connected to the post on the starter with two wires, but those
wires may not be long enough to reach the new alternator location. David Osborne says, “An extension of the power
cable from the alternator was required and a bubble-wrap Exide #6915608 6 gauge Quick Splice Battery Cable did the
trick.”
The wiring from the main power connection on the alternator needs to be suitable for handling the rated output of the
alternator continuously in an already hostile environment -- things are hot in there without any current in the wires! If
you are replacing a 66- or 75-amp alternator with something over 100 amps, you will be loading the wiring and
connectors with more current than they were intended to handle. You may find that the two large wires are already a
bit charred at the back of the alternator.
If you install a more powerful alternator, you really should upgrade these power leads while you’re at it. Just replacing
these two large wires with two larger wires would be tough, since they go through a conduit to the starter terminal; you
basically need to pull the exhaust system from that side to work on it! Better idea: simply install an additional heavy
wire from the main terminal on the alternator to the main bus on the firewall. Just route it along the right side wheel
well, making sure to leave enough room for the wire to flex as the engine moves around on its rubber mounts. Joe Bialy
provides some guidance on what size wire is adequate: “#6 gauge would be great, #8 is acceptable, #10 marginal.
Three #14's are a wee bit better than one #10. Three #12's would work like one #8.”
The wiring from the starter terminal to the main bus and then all the way back to the battery is already more than
adequate, of course, since it must handle starter current -- several times what alternator current will ever be.
Another idea: if you install an electric radiator fan with a control relay, you could run a wire directly from the alternator
to the power input contact on that relay. That way, the fan (usually more than 10 amps) is powered directly through this
wire, and the load in the other wiring is reduced accordingly. Of course, you can provide similar wiring to the OEM
electric radiator fan relay and the headlight and fog light relays.
ALTERNATOR GROUNDING: Keep in mind that the full rated amperage of the alternator -- 66 or 75 amps with the
OEM Lucas up to over 100 amps with the Bosch or GM alternators -- is expected to go through the bolts that hold the
alternator to the side of the engine. Believe it or not, these bolts are not always up to the task -- especially if there’s a bit
of oil, Loctite, or corrosion involved.
Rick Holland learned that there are reports of serious problems with grounding the GM CS130 alternator in particular.
“Alternators supposedly were failing because of insufficient electrical grounds to the rear case of the unit. My 2nd unit,
a rebuilt from an outfit named "Columbia", said to install a heavy wire from the case to ground and cited a service
excerpt allegedly from GM stating that a conductivity problem had been encountered with their "black oxide" mounting
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fasteners. The recommended fix was to install a heavy ground strap from the usually unused ground boss on the back of
the alternator (heat sink side of case) to an appropriate clean spot on the engine. I used a basket weave ground strap
with tinned ends.” This is a cheap and easy way to make sure your alternator can send full rated current to the car --
regardless of which type alternator you have.
Also keep in mind that the same current must then get from the engine block to the chassis; see the comments on adding
a ground strap on page 555.
Of course, even grounds that are not directly involved with the heavy current can cause flaky symptoms since they may
effect the alternator’s internal regulation. David Littlefield apparently had such trouble: “I found that my gauge showed
"discharge" most of the time. For a long time, I ascribed this to just being another unreliable gauge.
“On my '88 there is a black plastic shield covering a bracket with some electrical connections on the inside of the
passenger side (LHD) front fender, towards the back of the engine bay. I removed that cover and found a couple of
ground wires connected to the bracket. I cleaned a goodly amount of corrosion off these connections and off the brass
(?) screw that held the bracket to the chassis. Now, even at idle, the gauge shows "charge,". I wish I had figured this
out earlier, it might have saved me the cost of a new battery and a new alternator. I'm convinced the old alternator died
because of it, and it killed the battery, in turn.
“There was no indication that anything was wrong, besides the gauge reading low. Those of you that find your battery
going flat overnight or similar symptoms may want to try this fix before removing the alternator. Or if you are replacing
your alternator, be sure to clean up these contacts to keep from killing the next one.”
CHARGING VOLTAGE AND TEMPERATURE COMPENSATION: Irrespective of Napoli’s claim that “volts are
volts”, there actually is a design difference between British volts and Detroit volts -- or between early 80’s Lucas volts
and late 90’s GM volts, anyway. Section 86.10.01(c) of the ROM describes checking the regulator in the Lucas
alternator for holding output between 13.6 and 14.4 volts. When operating properly and within their load limits, the
Lucas alternators seem to hold voltage near the low end of this range, around 13.6-13.7 volts. According to Michael
Aiken, the later Bosch alternator behaves similarly; “My 115 amp Bosch on my 89 XJ-S charges at 13.67 volts measured
at the battery.”
It turns out, though, that the ideal charging voltage for the typical automotive lead-acid battery depends on the
temperature of the battery; the lower the temperature, the higher the charging voltage needs to be to maintain a good
state of charge. Modern GM alternators, including the CS130 this author installed, have “temperature compensated”
voltage regulators inside, meaning that the charging voltage is varied depending on the temperature of the air
surrounding the alternator. On the author’s car, the CS130 charges at 14.3V when started cold and the alternator is at
room temperature, and the voltage drops back to about 13.8V as the engine warms up. If the car ran hot, the voltage
would probably get even lower.
Of course, the reason GM alternators include this temperature compensation is that they presume the battery will be
seeing the same ambient temperature as the alternator because it’s in the same engine compartment. But the battery in
the XJ-S is in the trunk, so really you’d be better off without the temperature compensation. The original Lucas
alternator evidently had no temperature compensation, but it charged at only 13.6V all the time; apparently it was
designed for the battery to be in the engine compartment (as on Jaguar saloons and other cars using the same Lucas
alternators) since it regulates at the voltage suitable for hot engine compartment temperatures. Since there are quite a
few applications where the battery is installed in a cool location (marine applications, for example), perhaps Delco or
others actually make a regulator that lacks temperature compensation; if you find one, opt for it. However, just
installing the typical temperature-compensated GM alternator will generally work fine since the warmed-up voltage of
13.8V is still as high as the Lucas ever charged.
Combined with the sensing location difference discussed above, the installation of a GM alternator may result in the
entire electrical system operating nearly a full volt higher than it ever did with the Lucas alternator in place. This has no
detrimental effect since the electrical components were all designed to operate up to that voltage anyway, but it does
make lights noticeably brighter, window motors zip quicker, blower fans blow harder, etc.
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Don Neff says, “Jeep/Chrysler alternators also compensate for temperatures. My newer Jeep has a thermocouple under
the battery to measure its temp instead of relying on the alt's temp. This alternator with remote temperature sensing
might be a better choice for the XJ-S with its battery in the trunk.”
Battery
When your battery needs replacing, you will find that the XJ-S uses an unusual battery -- and that Jaguar wants $$$$ for
it. The Jaguar battery comes with an enclosed vent connected to a tube to route the vent out through the floor of the
trunk. Batteries are normally in engine compartments which are well ventilated, and things still corrode right around the
battery. A trunk is not ventilated at all, so the battery vapors will corrode the whole trunk. Harry Trafford reports: “the
DPO let the Jag dealer in Miami install a new one. The dealer installed a standard Interstate mega-something and
charged him $150 US for a $59 battery! The thing out-gassed into the boot and now I have a major rust repair job
ahead of me. And no, the little red plastic Jaguar vent cover does not work. There are large rusted out areas up in the
buttresses and along the boot area on either side of the lid, including the area between the rear glass and boot lid. The
only thing keeping out the rain is the paint. Push a finger into any of those places and you'll be looking at the spare tire.
We're not talking pinholes here.”
Worse yet, batteries emit hydrogen gas when charging, so you run the risk of blowing the trunk lid off your car.
According to Randy Wilson, an Audi 5000 battery will fit with the addition of a half inch plywood shim. Audi put the
battery in the passenger cabin, so it has similar venting provisions.
Wilson also reports that Interstate offers an add-on vent kit for their batteries. And there are some marine batteries with
vent provisions.
Charlotte Hand reports that the make of batteries sold at Pep Boys, Pro Start, offers a “group size 34” battery for the
XJ-S, complete with the proper vent provisions. There are apparently at least two to choose from, the cheapie and the
high end.
Robbin Lewis says, “Sears now sells an “International” DieHard Battery that is an almost exact match to the original
Jaguar battery, but at a much cheaper price. The only thing I had to do was move the 90 deg. fitting from the right side
to the left... easy to do. Just swap the blank plug on the left side with the angle fitting on the right.”
Delco Freedom batteries, as well as some Champion batteries, come with a flat top vent/cap assembly that has a vent
opening on each end. Each is sort of a flat oval shape, but it is possible to connect tubing to them. Hopefully this is a
trend among battery manufacturers; being able to remotely vent batteries is a plus, and it can’t cost them much to
provide the capability. Other Champion designs -- many of which are alongside on the same shelf, sometimes sharing
the same part number -- have obscure venting, apparently coming out of whereever around the vent caps, and clearly
impossible to properly seal.
A flat-top Champion model 78-2 fits the ’83 XJ-S perfectly. It is a simple matter to fashion a suitable vent scheme with
some 1/4” ID clear vinyl tubing and a plastic tee. This battery comes with an 84-month warranty, 24 month free
replacement, 36 months free jumpstart, and is rated at 950 cranking amps at 32°F and 770 cold cranking amps at 0°F.
The catch? Model 78-2 is a side-terminal battery! The original top-terminal cable ends must be cut off and side-terminal
cable connectors installed. They cost only a coupla bucks, the cost is no big deal. In truth, the XJ-S looks like it was
designed for side terminals; there is precious little room for top terminals, requiring an unusually short battery height-
wise. There’s plenty of room on the front, however, and use of side terminals allows this full-size battery to fit under
that plastic cover.
A more traditional design battery can be made to serve, but you must find a way to vent the fumes outside of the trunk.
Find or make a cover to completely enclose the vents on the top of the battery (being selective when you buy the battery
may help here), or an airtight container for the entire battery. Connect a vent tube and run it out through the floor of the
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trunk. B. J. Kroppe suggests “install a DIN cover over your battery. (DIN battery covers are found on BMWs and
Mercs).”
With careful selection, the vent cover from the old Jaguar battery can be used on a generic replacement battery.
Georges Krcmery says: “The EXIDE Mega-Cell # E42 50W has a rectangular slot around its filler caps which exactly
matches the vent cover with only a slight adjustment: I had to cut off about 1 cm of the slot’s lip to accommodate a
similar widening under the nipple of the vent cover. It then snapped right into place. The battery is about 1/4” too wide
to fit in the tray. Fortunately, the bottom of the battery has extra plastic on each side and it is possible to carefully saw
off 1/8” on both sides to make it fit.”
Michael Neal recommends an Optima battery (see page 707). This is a lead-acid unit but uses six separate coils instead
of plates; it uses a gel electrolyte and is sealed, no vent required. “So far they have proven nearly indestructible.” The
Optima is not cheap, but reports are unanimous that it is worth the money -- it lasts so much longer than a conventional
battery that its real cost is comparable.
David Littlefield elaborates: “Optima only sells two batteries for passenger cars, one with side posts (800U) and one
without (800S). Either will work fine in the Jag, since the one with side posts also has top posts. These batteries are
both red-topped; Optima also sells a yellow top battery that is designed for deep-cycle operation, such as in electric golf
carts. You don't want the yellow ones.” Optima also makes blue-topped marine batteries.
William Noorloos adds his experience with installing this battery: “...when I walked towards the trunk with the Optima
in my hands it jumped the remaining 3 feet all by itself into position, and just sat there waiting to be connected! It’s a
total fit. 100% No fiddling. As a bonus the original Jag venting thing (Non-metallic British part and Lucas, but it has
not broken yet) fits 100% over the Optima’s 2 emergency pressure relief valves. So in the event of an alternator
thinking it has to drive standard household appliances, and thereby blowing the battery, the (probably messy) inside of
your expensive Optima will not end up in your trunk.”
Whatever battery you use, you will want to reinstall the plastic cover over it. If you can make use of the original battery
hold-down bracket, it may make life easier. With the Champion 78-2 described above, it would fit except that it blocks
off the vents, and the tangs protruding downward on either end of the battery interfere with a built-in handle on the
battery. Easy enough to cut the tangs off. The vents require a little more care, however; cutting enough of the bracket
to clear the vents might render it two pieces! However, with judicious cutting, the top edge of the bracket can be
notched all the way around the corner and part way down the side, leaving a portion of the side intact. If the height
comes out too low it’d be a simple matter to put something under the battery to space the battery and bracket up
enough to hold the plastic cover properly.
Alternative plan B is to forget the stock bracket and simply fashion a bar across the top of the battery. Longer J-bolts
can be used, and two 1/4” holes made in the top of the original plastic cover. Then, after the battery is secured with nuts
and washers, the cover can be installed and additional nuts -- real pretty cap nuts or threaded knobs, they show within
the boot -- can be used to secure the plastic cover.
FYI: the battery compartment in the ’83 XJ-S is 10 inches by 6-3/4 inches. The ideal battery height must be shorter than
8 inches, terminals included. The height to the flat top of the Champion 78-2 is 7 inches, and it fits with room to spare.
It is highly recommended that you confirm the size of the compartment in your own car before shopping for a battery;
the various documentation on what size battery to use, including those cute computerized battery selector displays, seem
to be wrong more often than they’re right.
One general observation about car batteries and warranties: There are some excellent $60 batteries out there with 60-
month warranties (or longer). However, some $60 60-month batteries are actually a scheme to sell you a $40 battery
every 3 or 4 years; it dies, you bring it in and complain, and they happily install another battery just like it and charge you
the “pro-rated” cost based on how long it lasted -- about $40. If you think about it, you’ll realize they could just as well
claim the same battery is good for 20 years and charge you $240 for it -- you’d still end up bringing it back every three
or four years and paying about $40 for a replacement. The only thing you’re buying by paying more than $40 for the
battery is the “hook” that convinces you to keep buying the same battery rather than trying some other make to see if it
lasts longer. If you buy a 60-month battery and it dies without due cause in far less time, you might be well advised to
simply write off that warranty and buy another make -- unless, of course, you don’t mind having to replace your battery
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every 3 or 4 years.
There are some people who select batteries on the basis of cranking amps. The logic works like this: The car only
requires a certain number of cranking amps to start, and almost any battery will start the car when new. However, as the
battery ages, its cranking capacity diminishes with time, until eventually the battery will no longer start the car. The
more cranking amps the battery has to begin with, the more it can deteriorate before replacement is required. This
theory assumes a lot, including that different batteries deteriorate at comparable rates and that the battery doesn’t suffer
other types of failure such as internal shorts. As such, this theory probably doesn’t apply to unusual batteries such as the
Optima, but may be a fairly valid method of comparing conventional batteries.
But to this theory must be added another monkey wrench: In order to maximize cranking amps, the plates within
batteries must maximize surface area, which is done by making them look like grids or screens rather than plates. With
successive charges and discharges, these grids get more and more deformed (metal is etched away when discharging,
plated back on when recharging, possibly in a different place than it was before), possibly reducing the cranking capacity
faster than flat plates would. Also, the grids might fracture more easily with vibrations, causing internal shorts. There
are so-called “rough service” batteries available that go the opposite route: they sacrifice cranking amps in favor of a
rugged plate design that won’t go to pieces if you install it in a truck and drive it across the Baja Desert.
BATTERY TERMINALS: If your XJ-S has the original battery terminals on the ends of the cables in the trunk, the
5/16” nuts used to clamp those terminals down on the battery posts require a 1/4” Whitworth wrench size. See page 26.
BATTERY HOLD-DOWN NUTS: Also Whitworth.
DEAD BATTERY PROBLEMS: If your battery is dead after the car sits for a few days, it’s time to check for current
flow when everything is supposed to be shut off. The standard method for doing this is to disconnect the battery and
reconnect it with an ammeter in the circuit, and monitor the amps as you pull fuses one by one. The current with
everything off should be in the milliamp range; if it’s amps rather than milliamps, you need to find out what’s being left
on when the car is off.
Of course, the first thing you find out is that since the battery is in the trunk, the trunk lights are on while you’re fiddling
in there. So you’ve gotta shut off the trunk lights somehow to continue with the test. It is simply astounding how often
the test doesn’t find a problem -- because the problem was the trunk lights! The trunk lid isn’t securely pushing the
button on the switch, so the lights stay on with the lid closed. Or sometimes stay on with the lid closed, so sometimes
the battery dies and sometimes it doesn’t.
Craig Waterman fixed this problem by reinstalling the switch with a couple of washers under it to hold it up more.
Others have fixed it by bending the bracket it’s mounted on. The author went a slightly different route to address the
same problem. On the ’83, the flat metal surface on the inside of the trunk lid is supposed to be pressing that button. I
purchased a set of stick-on plastic chair feet from a hardware store and stuck one on. Of course, now I have three spare
chair feet left over. This fix can be viewed at:
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/TrunkLightSwitch.html
Then Stephen Edward Haley noted that on his ’89, adding a chair foot isn’t necessary because Jaguar already did. They
didn’t use a chair foot, of course; they manufactured a special part attached with two screws. Probably cost you half a
month’s salary from your local Jaguar dealer.
Note that the early cars didn’t have this switch at all. They apparently had the more simplistic light bulb in the trunk lid
itself with a mercury switch operating it. So, these cars don’t generally have this problem with the trunk lights killing the
battery.
TRUNK LIGHT CONTROL: On any modern automobile, the trunk lights have a little switch so you can turn them off
586
when you don’t need them. Jaguar forgot to provide that nicety -- but it’s simple enough to add it. Just purchase a tiny
toggle switch and mount it adjacent to the trunk lid switch and wire it into the same circuit. There’s plenty of room
there, and it’s easy to find in the dark.
AVOIDING A DEAD BATTERY: Scott Jarvis suggests: “You can order a Battery Buddy from Outer Banks, (800)
682-2225, part # batbud. It mounts to the side of your battery and monitors the voltage. When the voltage drops below
a set level, it automatically switches off to preserve the battery. You just reset a breaker and away you go! Many of the
Boating catalogs should carry this and you may find a better price.”
Kyle Chatman responds: “You can also try Priority Start from BLI International, Dept HR12, 17939 Chatsworth St.,
Ste. 521, Granada Hills, CA 91344, 800-780-8276. It monitors voltage drain when the switch is off and disconnects the
battery if it gets too low.”
Ned Blagojevic counters: “This is available in a kit form from Jaycar Electronics (Sydney), kit number KA-1739. The
kit was published in Electronics Australia (Jan 92 issue). It connects to the accessory line and measures line voltage. If
voltage drops to preselect limit between 10.9 and 11.9 it shuts off the flow. The kit includes a relay and specs.”
Sears also sells a battery with a switch on it, so you can switch to a “reserve” and get started.
Fuses and Fuse Blocks
If your XJ-S is old enough to have glass tube fuses, take note: the UK uses a different definition of the rating for these
fuses than the US does. The US rating is for how much current the fuse will carry without blowing; the UK rating is for
the amount of current to blow the fuse within a certain time. The difference is about 2:1. Simon S. Johnson sends the
following data: “...the source: a 1974 edition of “Buss Fuse Car and Truck List” which has on the back cover a section
call “Foreign Car Fuse Replacement Data,” -- foreign to the US, that is. It states that “English standards differ from US
standards. This accounts for difference in ampere ratings.” Then it provides a list:
English Type Buss Replacement
50 amp AGC 30
35 amp AGC 25
30 amp AGC 20
25 amp AGC 15
20 amp AGC 10
10 amp AGC 7 1/2
5 amp AGC 3
You may find that your fuses have a little paper label inside with both ratings; a Lucas rating (British) and a
“continuous” (American) rating.
If your car uses tubular glass fuses and the ROM specifies an amperage, it’s in the British rating; you will have to correct
per the chart above to use the correct American fuse.
UPGRADING TO PLASTIC FUSES: Older XJ-S’s have glass tube fuses, both in three main fuseboxes and in several
inline locations throughout the car. Later cars have plastic fuses, a type found on many modern cars with the amp rating
clearly marked on the top and color-coded as to amperage as well; these are called ATO/ATC fuses or “blade” fuses.
587
Now, there are those that will look at the plastic fuses and pronounce them “cheap” -- and they’ll be correct, they are
certainly cheaper to make than the glass tube fuses. But don’t confuse “cheap” with “inferior” -- the plastic fuses are
much better than the glass tube fuses. The small spade terminals make much more reliable connections with the fusebox
than the metal caps on the ends of the glass tube fuses do. And even when the connections are working just fine on
both, the plastic fuses cause less voltage drop in the circuit.
If you are new to Jaguar ownership, you’re probably thinking, “Yeah, right. The glass tube fuses worked just fine in all
sorts of cars for many decades, they can’t be that bad.” If you feel that way, go ahead and skip the rest of this section --
but remember it’s here. You’ll be back.
While you’re pondering the superiority of plastic fuses over glass fuses in general, allow me to point out the superiority
of generic fuse blocks over the OEM fuseblocks in the XJ-S. While the fuse blocks in most cars are something you
never pay any attention to, the fuse blocks in the XJ-S are a known trouble source. This author had troubles with the #1
fuse location in the headlamp fuse block in my ’83, the fuse that serves the small electric fan and the horn. It seemed
that every time I checked, this circuit was not working -- and I got to where I would tap the horn regularly to check.
When it quit, usually the fuse itself had failed -- not blown, but rather had lost continuity within one of the end caps.
Since the small fan was in fact a heavy-duty critter from a Mercedes, I thought maybe it drew too much power, so I
went to a bigger fuse. No help, quickly failed again, again not by blowing but by coming disconnected internally. Went
to a larger fuse still, and the fuse block itself started to melt and issue smoke! A fuse holder should never get hot -- it
should either say cool or the fuse should blow. I decided there was too much resistance in there somewhere and
abandoned this socket. I pulled that pair of wires out of the fusebox and connected them to a plastic 20A fuse. No
further problems.
Unusual problem? Iain Burgess: “I had similar problems with the A/C blower fuse in the main fusebox on my XJ6. The
plastic around the terminals that held the fuse eventually melted, for some reason, the contacts in the fuse box would
heat up, regardless of whether the fan was blowing maximum or minimum. The fuse would eventually fall out and the
blowers would stop working (Lucas's second line of defence??) The fuse never blew. Irrespective of the current draw,
there seemed to enough resistance between the fuse and the contacts to generate enough heat to melt the plastic. I
replaced the fuse a number of times, cleaned the contacts with contact cleaner, sand paper, you name it, but it still got
hot. I fixed it like you did, replacing that section of the fuse box with an inline spade fuse - no further problems. None
of the other fuses in the box were affected either.”
Donald Neff: “You are on the right track - the heat is caused by the resistance of poor contact. But as you know, since
you cleaned the fuse tabs and holder sockets, it is not the fuse contacts. They are probably the best contact in the system
at any time.
“I'll bet it is the wire-to-fuse holder connection. These are usually poorly crimped connections with no protective
covering. They work fine when new, but deteriorate slowly over time. Eventually the wire collects a high-resistance
coating of oxide between it and the metal of the fuse holder creating a hot resistor at that point.
“I cut the wire back to clean copper and pry the crimp open to remove the corroded section. After cleaning the crimp
tabs I insert the clean wire, recrimp it and then solder it. The solder not only provides more surface area for current
flow, it (crudely) seals the copper from oxidants. It has worked well for me for a few decades.”
Larry Lee talks about his 1979 XJ6: “The S2 fusebox can be the source of a variety of seemingly unrelated electrical
failures, thanks to an interesting design. Several circuits are supplied by one wire from the battery in some cases.
Electricity is supplied to adjacent fuse sockets through the ends of the fuses themselves. Corrosion can be a killer here.
Be sure all of your sockets and the ends of your fuses -- particularly the ends on the "supply side" -- are clean. I had a
glitch involving my A/C and wipers a while back that was caused by this.”
Walter Acker IV points out that it’s not that big a job to replace your old-style fuseboxes with new fuseboxes that use
the better plastic fuses. Obviously, one method for upgrading to the later style fusebox would be to obtain the fuseboxes
used in the later XJ-S. However, this might not be as helpful as one might expect. For one thing, the electrical stuff
apparently changed rather significantly over the years, and the later fuseboxes are likely to have fuses for components
and wiring that didn’t even exist in the earlier cars. Second, when Jaguar changed fusebox styles, they also changed the
mountings, so you may have to do more upgrading than you planned just to get them installed.
588
The best and easiest solution is to use generic fuseboxes. In fact, Walter Acker IV and this author recommend basically
the same type aftermarket fusebox in particular. One source is
Painless Performance Products
2501 Ludelle St
Fort Worth, Texas 76105
817-244-6212
http://www.painlessperformance.com/
Sales: 1-888-350-6588 sales@painlessperformance.com
Tech: 1-800-423-9696 tech@painlessperformance.com
or: +1 817-244-6898
This outfit offers several models of fuse blocks, with many having wires pre-attached and even pre-labelled as to which
fuse serves what load, and some even have a relay for providing a switched source without loading up the ignition
switch and existing wiring. But for our purposes, Acker recommends the part number 30002. This is a simple 4-fuse
block, but it costs less than $8 and it has a clever arrangement by which you can assemble blocks together to form an 8-
fuse block or a 12-fuse block or any multiple of 4. It also has no wires connected, just the terminals that snap into the
box, preferred by people like Acker and myself who would rather terminate wires than splice them.
A tip on acquiring such fuse blocks: Painless recommends you buy from their authorized distributors, and one of their
authorized distributors is AutoZone; they don’t stock the Painless items, but will order them for you. But if you just
walk back to the rack, you’ll find the exact same 4-fuse block -- except that it’s made by Conduct-Tite!, part number
115280, and sells for less than $4! Such a deal!
The terminals that are used in these fuse blocks come in a strip of four. Hence, if you’re dealing with one common
power source, you connect one wire and pop the entire strip into the block and go to work on the other four. If you are
fusing four separate power supplies, you merely snip this strip of four into four individual terminals and wire each one
separately and snap them into the block. However, Acker points out that you must be careful not to cut away too much
of the strip. It is the breadth of this strip that prevents the terminal from passing through the block, so if you trim too
much of it away you can end up trying to pull a fuse and getting the terminal and wire coming right out of the block with
it. Just snip about a 1/8” wide section out between the terminals to avoid them contacting each other and leave it at that.
“But the OEM fusebox has five fuses.” Well, you can use one of these 4-fuse blocks and add a separate inline fuse. A
better idea, though, is to install two blocks and use the extra fuse locations as places to hold spare fuses -- or replace
some of the inline fuses in the car such as the one to the radio or the one to the A/C compressor.
When done, be sure to use your computer to slap together a chart of your new fuse locations, print it out so it looks
professional, and install it adjacent to the new fuse block for future reference.
ADDING INLINE FUSES: In the author’s ’83, the inline fuses consist of a little tubular plastic container with a wire in
each end; when the two halves are twisted apart they reveal a glass tube fuse within, with a spring providing contact.
These work OK -- but there’s certainly no reason to use inline fuse holders of that type any more. Some modern
Japanese cars use a type of plastic fuse called a JCAS fuse. A JCAS fuse is a little plastic box with a clear window on
the top for viewing the condition of the fusible link and a pair of 1/4” female spade terminals in the bottom. So all you
need to do is attach 1/4” male spade terminals to the ends of your wires, plug them into one of these fuses, and you have
an excellent inline fuse arrangement.
JCAS fuses are available in 20A, 30A, 40A, 50A, and 60A ratings. They don’t seem to be available in anything smaller
than a 20A, but that usually isn’t a problem; any serious short will blow a 20A before toasting any wiring, even fairly
small wiring.
589
Instrument Panel
The illumination of the instrument panel is discussed on page 637.
VERTICAL VS. ROUND GAUGES: Earlier XJ-S dashboards have four small gauges that are rectangular and the
needle moves vertically. When the bodywork was revamped in 1991, however, Jaguar went with a revised dash with all
round gauges. According to Alan Akeister, “There is a company in the UK, however, who can convert older models to
dials. They are called Autostyle Ltd.” See page 714.
Unless stated otherwise, most of the tips that follow refer to the earlier style instrument cluster with four small vertical
gauges.
INSTRUMENT PANEL REMOVAL: Section 88.20.01 of the ROM and Chapter 10, Section 69 of the Haynes manual
describe how to get the instrument panel out. Note that both say you need to remove the underscuttle casing on the
driver’s side, but this really isn’t necessary unless you drop something. Both manuals also mention having to disconnect
the speedometer cable from the right angle drive, but they must be talking about early cars -- the ’83 has an electronic
speedometer, there is no cable.
INSTRUMENT CLUSTER SNAP-ON COVERS: At each end of the row of warning lights is a snap-on cover that
hides the screws that hold the warning light lens assembly as well as the screws holding the entire instrument cluster in
place. On this author’s ’83, these covers had distorted with age and lost their snappage, so they loosely rattled around in
the openings. Shipping crates are often banded shut with 1/2” wide straps made of really hard steel, almost like spring
steel; I cut a piece of that strapping about 2” long, bent it up 90º at each end, trimmed it a little to fit and inserted it
between the retention prongs on the snap-on cover. The metal thus provided a backing spring pressing the plastic
prongs back out to their original positions, restoring the snappage. Since I cut the ends just short enough that they
didn’t quite reach the end of the plastic prongs, the sharp edge of the steel dug into the plastic a little so the tension held
the metal piece itself in place -- although it wouldn’t be hard to add some double-sided foam tape between the center
section of the steel and the back surface of the cover to make sure it doesn’t go anywhere. My covers now hold
themselves firmly and properly to the dash.
GROUNDS FOR COMPLAINT: There is only one ground wire to the instrument cluster; it’s the contact on the
smaller of the two harness connectors that is separated from the rest by an omitted contact. This single contact provides
the ground connection for everything on the cluster -- gauges, indicator lights, illumination lights.
If you’ll trace the conductor from the socket, you’ll find that about an inch away it becomes a very narrow conductor
indeed. Without having done any analysis of the load carrying capacity of that section of copper foil, let’s just say that
having all the 2.2W dash illumination lights on might result in a measurable voltage drop in this area -- which would
screw up the gauge readings.
The fix is easy: provide an additional ground. Pick one of the several other screws on the flexible circuit that makes a
ground connection, and attach a wire to it and connect it to ground behind the dash. Use of a spade connector will
allow the instrument cluster to be removed and installed easily as before.
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Instruments and Gauges
FLAKY INSTRUMENTS: There are four vertical gauges in the center of the instrument panel on most older XJ-S’s,
and they are unreliable -- not because they quit working altogether, but because they never seem to provide consistent
readings. Brian W. Rice writes: “All gauges in my 85 XJ-S read low by 25% when I acquired the car several years ago.
I did some tests by lifting No. 4 fuse and applying a variable voltage to the dead end from a power supply, making sure
not to exceed 15 volts. With precisely 12 volts applied the voltmeter showed about 9V. The fuel gauge also only
indicated 3/4 with a full tank of petrol.” These problems are because the wiring to these gauges is a disaster, with at
least four likely locations for poor connections on each lead to each gauge.
Even if you don’t think you have a problem with the gauges, it is suggested you do a minor overhaul and cleanup of the
instrument cluster anyway. It’s really easy, anyone can do it, and it’ll only take a couple hours even if you’re really
milkin’ the job.
First, remove the instrument cluster from the dash -- see notes above. Second, remove five screws from the back side
and separate the front cover from the rear housing of the instrument cluster. This will give you access to all the innards.
Now, if you have a VOM, you should be using it. Check the ohmage of each circuit from the socket where the wiring
harness plugs in all the way to the brass nuts on the screw posts on the side of the gauge itself. Of course, these circuits
should read zero ohms, or maybe some really small amount like 0.1Ω if you have a sensitive digital VOM. Basically,
they should read pretty much the same thing you read if you just connect the leads of the VOM together.
You’re likely to find some poor connections indeed. This author found circuits with more than 2Ω. That may not sound
like much, but it’s a lot for a circuit that isn’t supposed to have any measurable resistance. Of course, if you don’t have
a VOM, just dive in and fix all the connections described below as though they are all bad.
The first likely source of trouble is the harness connectors themselves. The entire panel is wired with a clever flexible
printed circuit, and the harness sockets are formed by folding portions of this flexible circuit into a hole and pushing the
plugs in; the connections on the sides of the plug make contact with the bare copper on the flexible sheet. There’s not a
whole lot you can do here other than clean up the connections a bit (rub with fine sandpaper or the like) and perhaps
apply some Ox-Gard to prevent further corrosion, but if some of the circuits are really messed up, here’s a tip: places
that do stained glass work use thin copper foil tape, and some of this tape might be usable to fix a damaged connection
on that flexible circuit. Another idea is a hobby shop; places that sell stuff for model trains and the like sometimes sell
copper foil conductors for sticking down on a surface and then painting over so there are no wires visible.
Each of the four vertical gauges is connected to the flexible circuit with screws with stainless steel wavy washers under
the heads. Here’s the second likely spot for a bad connection. If you’re in a hurry, you might just loosen the screws a
bit and retighten, since that will usually make a good connection for a while. For a more permanent solution, there are
several suggestions. Besides polishing up the copper surface, you might consider replacing that wavy washer with
something with a little more “bite”. Basic steel is not recommended, though; this is one place you don’t need rust.
Some hardware stores sell bronze lock washers; if you find some in a suitable size, they’d probably work well. You’ll
need at least 29 of them. Alternatively, you might just take a pair of pliers to those wavy washers and make them more
wavy. Rice makes another suggestion: “I was able to repair by soldering tinned copper wire to the flexible circuit board
tracks being careful not to melt the plastic flexible board and fashioning the wire into circular washers to go under the
terminal nuts thus establishing good contacts again.” If you try this, you might want to go to the effort of removing the
entire flexible circuit from the cluster so you can solder on it separately, avoiding the possibility of melting the plastic
housing itself.
If you have trouble getting either of these first two type connections working reliably, you could just get PO’d, yank the
entire flexible circuit and throw it away, and wire the entire cluster with wires with loop connectors and the like. Your
biggest problem will probably be making connections to light bulbs -- and there are a lot of connections to light bulbs!
You might consider applying a small strip of that copper foil tape on each side of each socket and install a self-tapping
screw through it into the plastic to attach your wires to. You can dyke off the plugs on the harnesses and install generic
Molex connectors to connect to your wires.
591
The screws for the gauges appear to simply screw into a tapped hole in the plastic housing. How can that make an
electrical connection? Looking at the other side, each gauge is mounted on a small printed circuit board (this one’s
rigid) with three broad copper conductors. This PCB fits into a slot and is held in place with two small clips. When the
screws are threaded in from the back side, the threads dig into the copper conductors on the face of this PCB -- that’s
correct, the third likely place for a bad connection. Of course, one possible fix here is to use a longer screw so it screws
farther up the side of that PCB and contacts it with more threads; again, a screw that’s likely to rust is not
recommended, brass screws might be a good idea.
Remove the two or three connection screws and two clips on a gauge and lift it out. You will note that the gauge is
mounted to the little PCB with three brass nuts and wavy stainless steel washers. This is likely bad connection number
four; it may not appear as likely to cause trouble as the first three, but in fact on this author’s car these nuts were the
worst problem!
The fix for the last two types of bad connection is one operation. Remove the three brass nuts and separate the PCB
from the gauge itself, being careful not to drop the small panel behind the PCB or a mysterious clip around one post that
seems to do nothing but provide proper spacing. Set the gauge aside; if it’s been working at all, it’s not likely there’s
anything wrong with it. Polish both ends of each conductor on the PCB, then set it down on a flat surface and apply
some solder. It solders really well. Build up a ring of “tinning” around each post hole, and tin an area at the end of each
conductor for those screws to dig into. When cool, wipe away any excess resin and reassemble. You can easily do one
gauge at a time so you don’t mix anything up.
GAUGE REPAIR: All four vertical gauges are of similar design: two stationary coils at 90º to each other, and a heavily
damped rotor. Automobiles have always used damped gauges; not only does it reduce the likelihood of damage from
vibrations in the car, but gauges zipping up and down make drivers nervous.
Val Danilov reports, “Once I was sure that the oil gauge was faulty and not the sending unit, I pulled the gauge out of its
housing by removing 3 screws from the back of the plate the gauge was attached to, as well as 2 metal clips. It’s pretty
much self-explanatory once you get to it. Once the gauge was out, in good lighting, you can see several hair-thin metal
wires that run from the winding to 3 metal posts on the periphery of the gauge. The wires are soldered to the posts in
such a way that they appear to be misplaced (as if they should extend farther to some other point), when in fact they are
simply so small that you cannot easily see the points of attachment. When trying to move them with a tiny screwdriver, I
found one wire which was loose. I used a regular soldering iron to affix the wire back on the post. Voilà! Problem
solved.
“When the gauge is out of the instrument cluster, it is very easy to test it with a 12 volt supply by simply connecting one
of the electrodes to +, while grounding the other electrode. Note: the gauge has 3 electrodes (nuts on the threaded ends
of the posts), do not use the middle post. The post nearest the bottom of the gauge is ground.”
85 MPH SPEEDOMETER: Regarding why some XJ-S’s came with 85 mph speedometers, Randy K. Wilson says, “It
affected 80, 81 and 82. It may also have been in during 83... not sure.” This author’s ’83 has a normal speedometer --
but perhaps it was retrofitted.
David Berman adds, “It resulted from a regulation from the US National Highway Transportation Safety Administration
(NHTSA) during the leadership of "safety-czar" Joan Claybrook, during the regulation-happy Carter administration.
The purpose was to prevent kids from being enticed by the "century" mark. It was effective for the 1980 model year.
“The regulation was thankfully scrapped in 1983 as part of a regulation-reduction program of the first Reagan
administration. Most non-US vehicles returned to "real" speedometers for the 1984 model year, but US manufacturers
retained the 85 mph speedos, at least for their high-volume car lines, for a very long time.”
If you don’t like the 85 mph speedometer, it can simply be replaced with a normal speedometer from a different year.
John Napoli says, “I did this on my car about a year ago. Bought a 160 mph unit from a junkyard. Installed easily and
works great.” Of course, the replacement speedometer will likely have a different odometer reading, and you’ll just have
to deal with that.
592
INTERMITTENT SPEEDOMETER: Several owners have reported on electronic speedometers that work sometimes,
other times they sit at 0. Robert Louis Woodling says, “If the wires sag on the exhaust the insulation melts and the
speedo stops working. The intermittent symptoms could be the beginning of insulation meltdown or a poor
connection.”
SPEEDOMETER/CRUISE CONTROL/TRIP COMPUTER/SERVICE INTERVAL COUNTER SIGNAL: That’s
right, the speed signal goes to as many as four separate places. This signal got to its destination by at least three
different methods over the life of the XJ-S. The early cars had cable-driven speedometers and service interval counters;
a cable came off a small angle gearbox on the side of the transmission, went to the service interval counter, and another
cable went from there to the speedometer. Walter Acker IV says, “On my ’76 XJ-S the cable driven service interval
counter is behind the dashboard in the area of the radio.” The cruise control had its own sensor on the front end of the
drive shaft. Of course, there was no trip computer on these early cars.
The angle gearbox was apparently customized to utilize the same components with the GM400 that had been developed
for use with the BW12; it not only provides a ratio change, but it also converts to a different type speedometer cable --
the threaded coupling is different, and the size of the squared section on the end of the cable itself is different.
Early 80’s cars switched to an electronic speedometer that got its signal from a pulse generator that mounted on the very
same angle gearbox. The mechanical service interval counter under the dash was replaced with an electronic service
interval counter located to the trunk. The cruise control was altered to utilize the same signal, eliminating the need for
its own sensor. The two wires that connect to the pulse generator are 12V power and signal.
The pulse generator changed part number in 1984 with the introduction of the trip computer. Ron Whiston says the
differences are obvious, the color is different, the plug is different, but the dealer may still hand you the wrong one. It’s
best to take the old one with you when buying a replacement.
Peter Morris provides some suggested tests for this sending unit: “Check the transducer by getting under the car and
pulling the unit, spinning the drive while someone verifies speedometer movement. This is not a conclusive test,
however. If the there is no movement, another check, also performed under the car, is to disconnect the transducer, and
connect a pair of clip-leads to the chassis-side connections. Clip one clip-lead to a heavy screwdriver and the other to a
file. Drag the screwdriver across the file while someone watches the speedo. If there is speedometer indicator
movement, then you can reasonably assume the wiring and connections to the speedo (and trip computer) are good.
The next logical step would be to replace the transducer.”
From VIN 134286 on -- the beginning of the 1987 model year -- the 1-wire oxygen sensors were upgraded to 3-wire
oxygen sensors. This change eliminated the legal requirement for a service interval counter, so it was omitted. See page
292.
In 1988, the pulse generator on the transmission was eliminated in favor of a sensor on the final drive unit. While the
transmission-mounted pulse generator was a shaft-driven device, this later unit has no moving parts; it is a simple pickup
mounted adjacent to a toothed flange on the ring gear carrier inside the differential. The pickup does not produce a
usable signal by itself, however; it’s connected to a “speed interface unit” (so named to distinguish it from the “interface
unit” used to process fuel injector pulses for input into the trip computer), and the speed interface unit in turn provides a
signal to the speedometer, cruise control and trip computer. Doug Dwyer says "The speedo interface and diff mounted
speedo transducer began with VIN 144263, about half way thru the '88 model year."
SPEEDOMETER SENDING UNIT 90° ADAPTER: John Shuck sends this report: “I’ve actually repaired these little
expensive jobbies. Take apart the crimps and inside is a small square piece of metal that actually does the drive and is
probably sheared. Now go to a speedo shop and have them square you a piece of speedo cable about 2 inches long.
They put the round cable in a die.. hit it with a big hammer..bingo..square. Cut this to length with a die grinder and
reassemble.”
593
Another possibility might be to find the right size square key stock. Industrial supply houses usually have a good
selection.
SPEED WHILE STANDING STILL: Technical Service Bulletin J85/28 addresses “Speedometer Needle Movement -
Vehicle Standing”. This TSB was issued in April of 1985 (shortly after the introduction of the trip computer) and the
specified repair involves the trip computer, so apparently there was a spurious signal problem with the new speed
circuitry for the trip computer. The cure is to pull the trip computer out of the dash and splice in a capacitor between
the yellow wire on one harness connector and the black wire on the other harness connector. The capacitor is described
only as “Lucas 60600903”.
The yellow wire is the pulse signal to speedometer, trip computer, service interval counter and cruise control, and the
black wire is ground. A capacitor installed in this way is simply a filter for spurious signals that may be affecting all four
of those systems.
TACHOMETER ZEROING: Bob Gallivan reports that “my tach was out of whack, reading low ~ 750 rpm. Found
that it can be zeroed in by a white plactic lever that sits ~ at the 6-10 O'clock position on the back of the tach face.
While in the car it can be adjusted using some lock wire to pull the lever (up or down).” Note that Gallivan’s car is an
’84, and this author’s ’83 has no such plastic lever.
OIL PRESSURE SENDING UNIT: Many people confuse the two separate items on the XJ-S, both located at the top
rear center of the engine, just below and behind the turntable. The smaller item is the warning light sender, and is a
relatively cheap item. The larger part is the sender for the gauge, and it is more expensive and less likely to be available
at a generic auto parts store.
The sending unit is a simple variable resistor. Jim Isbell says “I have opened up one from a series 3 XJ6 and found a
mechanical diaphragm to wirewound pot contraption. It essentially acts as a variable resistor that shows high resistance
at low pressure and low resistance at high pressure.”
Mike Cogswell reports that earlier Jaguar senders were different than the later -- and they shouldn’t be mixed. “Turns
out that the S2 E-Types (and probably XJ-6s of the same vintage) used 80 psi gauges while the V12s used 100 psi
gauges. The gauges are identical except for the markings, but the senders are different since they are the same resistance
at different pressures.”
FUEL LEVEL SENDER: Gregory Wells of Coventry West, Inc., says, “Regarding the fuel level transmitters, I trust
everyone is aware that these are notorious for the floats becoming partially filled with fuel and thus giving a very false
reading. In the last three years, I don't think we have changed a tank or transmitter without finding that the hollow float
was partially full of fuel. I have seen people throw away the hollow plastic float and replace it with an appropriately-
sized cork to eliminate the problem.”
This author found some fuel in his float when lining the tank, but not much; perhaps 1/10 full. Still, it seemed the thing
to do to do something about it, so I drilled a very tiny hole in one end, squeezed the fuel out, then plugged the hole with
a #2 (tiny!) stainless steel screw. The screw was 1/4” long to begin with, but I cut it shorter so it was barely any longer
than the wall of the float was thick. Then I coated the entire float with the same stuff the tank was being lined with; the
tiny screw was backed out far enough to get some of the liner on the threads, then seated again.
I didn’t expect this to make any difference -- but I was wrong. It made a big difference in how the fuel level gauge read.
Previously, filling the tank resulted in the gauge reading on the F, perhaps a hair under. The level would drop fairly
quickly to 1/2 full, then drop more slowly for the bottom half of the gauge. After draining and sealing the float, filling
the tank resulted in the gauge reading quite a ways above the F, probably pegged. And it seems to move linearly from
full to empty. Similar results have since been reported by Steve Holst and others.
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Len Olsen provided an easier fix: go down to your local Ford dealer’s parts department and ask for part number C0AZ-
9202-B. This is a brass float that will fit the XJ-S sender with only minor spreading of the wire loop at the end of the
arm. It also costs less than five bucks. It reportedly comes in packages of two for some reason, so how much you’ll pay
may depend on whether you can convince the Ford dealer to break open a package.
Peter Cohen adds, “For what it's worth, the second character is a zero, not the letter O. In Ford part number parlance,
that is the first year that the part was used. In this case, probably 1990.”
This is perhaps one of the easiest fixes on the XJ-S. Drive the car until the tank is nearly empty, then peel back the
carpet in the trunk and remove the sender. Replace the float and reinstall.
Earl Huff says, “I replaced the fuel sender float on my 1985 XJ-S a few days ago with the recommended Ford float. The
good news is that it was easy, all went well, and the gauge for the first time reads as it properly should. The puzzling
part is that the original float appeared to be perfectly intact with absolutely no gas inside it. Does anyone have any idea
why the new float made a difference? I guess there is really no reason to seek an answer to this being that the problem is
solved. However, I would certainly advise anyone to go ahead and replace the float even if the old one looks fine.”
Apparently Jaguar became aware of this problem and did something about it. Around 1987-88, the hollow cylindrical
plastic float on the fuel level sender was replaced with a solid float that looks like a bicycle pedal. The Ford brass float
won’t fit -- but there shouldn’t be any need to fit it.
Also note that the fuel level senders used in the H&E convertible are totally different, and the Ford float can’t be used
there either.
Another plausible method of improving fuel level sender performance would be to fit a weak spring to the arm. The
spring should be weak enough that when you hold the sender in the same position it’ll be in the car, the weight of the
float will still overcome the spring and move the arm to the bottom of the stroke. But the spring should take some of the
weight of the float, so when it sits on the surface of the fuel in the tank it sorta bobs on top rather than being nearly
submerged.
VOLTMETER ACCURACY: If you’re not sure to trust your voltmeter, Michael Minglin suggests “Pick up a cheap
cigar lighter adapter, clip the leads and connect to a voltmeter. This will allow you to monitor the voltage, with
reasonable accuracy, under different driving conditions.”
If the voltmeter proves inaccurate, read the section on FLAKY INSTRUMENTS on page 591.
Fuel Guage: Hess & Eisenhardt Convertible
Mike Cogswell describes the system in the H & E convertible: “Each tank has its own fuel level sending unit. The
upper unit is apparently the standard XJ-S tank unit. The lower one is similar, except the mounting plate is horizontal
instead of vertical. The two gauges are wired in series. There is a small circuit board in the H&E harness that
theoretically turns on the low fuel level light.
“My gauge is wildly inaccurate. Because they are in series I’m guessing that my top one basically hits bottom well
before the bottom one starts to drop. As a result, my gauge is very non-linear.” Another owner says, “My H&E gas
gauge is like the stock market: sometimes up, sometimes down, always moving and seldom based on reality.”
The low fuel warning light is no help. Paul Hackbart says, “It is as unreliable as the gauge, as the signal is derived from
the gauge.”
One suggestion that’s been made is to disconnect the sender in the upper tank altogether and connect only the sender in
the lower tank to the gauge. In theory, this would result in a full reading for the first 14 gallons after a fillup, and then
linearly drop from F to E as the 11 gallons in the lower tank are consumed -- odd behavior, but perfectly usable.
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Unfortunately, this presumes that the upper tank is used first, followed by the lower tank -- but the various
idiosyncracies noted with this fuel system (see page 249) indicate this may not be a valid presumption. Indeed, part of
the reason the gauge fluctuates so much may be due to the fuel draining into the lower tank and then being pumped back
into the upper tank, so that both levels are fluctuating constantly and randomly.
Warning Lights
The sensors and circuits that operate the indicator lights are discussed here. The bulbs themselves are discussed on page
638.
IGNITION (ALTERNATOR) LIGHT: See page 572.
OVER VOLTAGE LIGHT: Yes, this is a different item than the alternator light. On the author’s ’83, the alternator
light is the fifth from the right and has a lightning bolt on it. The overvoltage warning light is the fifth from the left and
has a little picture of a battery on it. It comes on when the voltage exceeds some set value, around 15.6V according to
Joe Bialy. In other words, it tells you when the regulator in the alternator has failed causing the alternator to
overcharge. The voltmeter should confirm the problem.
Bialy provides some tests: “The OV unit looks like a big old time thermal blinker unit. It's mounted right by the main
fuse panel on the driver’s side, plugs into a three terminal socket. Take its R/B wire to ground and see the light come on
bright. If you have a variable DC supply, break the white wire and feed it varying voltages to see it in action.”
BRAKE WARNING LIGHTS: On the ’83 XJ-S, the parking brake light and the warning light for low fluid in the
reservoir are separate lights. Mike Morrin says, “On the earlier cars (XJ6 and XJ-S) they are different lights, but they
both come on with the handbrake as the bulb test for the brake warning bulb. My recollection is that the circuit that
drives them is shown incorrectly in the XJ-S manual.”
HANDBRAKE SWITCH CONNECTIONS: Alan Baker provides some guidance: “To check the wiring, (mine's a
RHD if that makes any difference), remove the black plastic cover at the base of the handbrake lever. The 3 wires on
the micro-switch, starting from the front, should be black/white, then black/yellow, then black followed up at the rear by
a ring connector earth. If the wires are switched, the warning light will remain on.” You can look at an illustration of
these connections in Fig. 9.22 in the Haynes manual.
BRAKE FLUID LEVEL SWITCH: The switch in the cover for the brake fluid reservoir is supposed to light an
indicator on the dashboard when the level is low. The rubber cover over the connectors has a bump in the center.
Pressing the bump forces the float downwards and closes the contacts, providing a circuit and bulb test.
Unfortunately, the switch is garbage and the indicator may never come on, or may stay on all the time. The float for the
switch is a piece of cork, which rots, soaks up fluid and sinks, etc. The protective metal cover over the cork float gets
full of junk and jams the float. The contacts within the switch are exposed to the air and fluid within the reservoir, and,
despite evidently being silver plated, get corroded and fail to make a connection.
The cork is easily replaced with one from a wine bottle, and the metal cover’s problems are solved by removing it and
throwing it away. The contacts themselves can be serviced by using a tiny screwdriver to pry the switch assembly out of
the top of the reservoir cover; don’t lose the little metal sleeves that keep the contact screws from tightening down onto
the plastic. But all such efforts won’t solve the basic problem: you should not trust your life to that switch.
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The Jaguar repair manuals indicate that either this switch or the pressure differential sensor will turn on the warning
light, but after VIN 107981 the differential pressure sensor was deleted and replaced with a couple of simple fittings on
the brake lines. So, the fluid level switch provides the only warning you are likely to get prior to actual brake failure.
This switch therefore needs to be ultra-reliable, since it is rarely tested and failure to work when needed can be fatal.
While it’s easy enough to get it working with the procedures above, there’s no good way to get it to keep working. The
switch is crap, pure and simple.
The only truly safe solution is to replace it, lock, stock, and barrel, with something reliable. Something reliable was
suggested by Walter Acker IV: the brake fluid reservoir from a Mitsubishi, which comes with the typical Japanese ultra-
reliable floating-magnet switch built in. A suitable remote reservoir is used on several Mitsubishis, including the 93-96
Mirage 1.8L 2-dr, the Gallant 89-2/93, some later Gallants, and all Eclipses 90-99 and probably later. Basically, find a
Mitsubishi in the junkyard and check!
If you happen to find a Mitsubishi with ABS, the reservoir is similar except that it has an extra part in it. Doesn’t hurt
anything; it will work too if that’s what you find in the junkyard.
If you want a new reservoir, the part number is MB534534, and costs less than $40 from any Mitsubishi dealer -- but
you’ll have to order it and come back to get it when it comes in, they don’t keep it in stock because it never fails. That
part number includes the reservoir itself, cap, diaphragm, float, and switch, but not the mounting bracket nor the hoses.
The Mitsubishi reservoir actually looks very similar to the OEM Jaguar reservoir. The wires for the fluid level switch go
to the bottom instead of the top, since the switch is magnetic and is actually outside the reservoir. Only the float -- with
magnet -- is inside.
The mounting bracket used to hold the reservoir in a Mitsubishi is not readily usable in the XJ-S; it will be easier to
fabricate your own. Joe Bialy says, “I mounted it in exactly the same place the old one was at. A simple "T" shaped
piece of sheet metal bent 90 degrees to mount in the 2 existing holes. Then wrap a 3" hose clamp around the whole
thing.” This is an excellent plan; this author used it in my ’83, but rather than a simple “T” I designed the bracket shown
in Figure 29 to hold the reservoir a bit more securely.
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1
1
1/2
FOL D
UP 90°
ø1/4
R 1-3/8
3 PL
1/2
7/8
1/4 1/2
1/2
FOLD
DOWN 90°
3/4
Figure 29 - Bracket for Mitsubishi Reservoir
If the MicroSoft gods are smiling down on us today, Figure 29 will print in actual size. So, just load a piece of sheet
metal into the ol’ inkjet and let ‘er rip!
The bottom of the reservoir should be flush with the top of the existing support bracket, but the hose clamp will need to
go around the reservoir about 1/2” up from the bottom; hence the two “legs” on this bracket being 1” tall. There is even
a little ridge on the Mitsubishi reservoir -- it’s actually the “MIN” level line -- that will neatly sit on top of one of these
legs so it cannot slide downward.
The asymmetric design of this bracket serves to mount the Mitsubishi reservoir about 1/2” closer to the power brake
booster than the original reservoir was. This provides more clearance to the throttle cable, as well as making it a bit
easier to wrap your hand around the cap when unscrewing it.
The bent-down tab at the lower left in the diagram is simply to provide a place to fasten the wire connector down. If
you wish, you can omit this tab and just slice the bracket straight across the bottom edge, and provide other means of
fastening down the connector -- or just let it dangle. A generic strip of steel with 1/4” holes can be used by merely
bending it 90° in the middle and mounting it under the same mounting bolt that holds the reservoir bracket itself.
The design shown above is for a LHD car. Those with RHD cars will probably need to make a mirror image of this
bracket -- which means cut out the exact same piece, but bend the two mounting tabs down instead of up and the wire
connector tab up instead of down.
The hose fittings on the Mitsubishi reservoir are 10mm, while the fittings on the Jag master cylinder are 1/4”. You will
need to devise a way to connect these sizes up. A 3/8” air hose will fit the Mitsubishi reservoir just fine. The simplest
idea is to use two different sizes of hose with an adapter in between.
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Another idea would be to take a short section of 1/4” red air hose and peel the red outer layer off, slide the black inner
layer over the 1/4” fittings, slide the 3/8” hose over that, and clamp.
Another solution might be to purchase some 5/16” OD steel tubing and some 3/8” OD steel tubing, both of which are
available at auto parts stores as pre-made fuel lines. Cut two 3/4” long sections from each. Slide a short piece of 5/16”
tubing over the reservoir end of each one of the 1/4” metal tubes used to connect the OEM reservoir to the master
cylinder, slide a short piece of 3/8” tubing over the piece of 5/16” tubing, and braze or silver solder both pieces in place.
Then you can connect the metal tube to the Mitsubishi reservoir with short pieces of 3/8” hose, and you can connect the
other end to the master cylinder exactly the way they were before. Be sure to check the braze jobs for leaks before
installing.
Yet another idea would be to obtain a set of the plastic elbows that fit the Mitsubishi master cylinder and find a way to
fit them to the Jaguar master cylinder. The elbows actually appear remarkably similar except for the fitting size and the
fact that the Mitsubishi parts have a tab through which a Phillips screw is installed to make sure they don’t go anywhere.
There’s no way to use that screw idea on the Jag, so the tab can either be cut off the elbow or just left there to hang off
the side doing nothing.
The Mitsubishi cap is clearly marked to use DOT-3 only or DOT-3 or DOT-4 fluid only, plus some stuff in Japanese. If
you wish, you can cut those markings off -- they are raised letters on a flat surface. Then you can print out a circular
label with directions to use DOT 4 only along with a Jaguar leaping cat on a piece of peel-and-stick label material loaded
into your inkjet, cut it out, and stick it down on top of this surface.
Connecting up the wires for the switch is not a big challenge. If you dyke off the connector from the Mitsubishi harness
in the junkyard, you can just splice it onto the Jaguar harness (cutting off the spade terminals). Many junkyards don’t
like you cutting harnesses, though. Still, this T-shaped connector must be a common shape, because many people
manage to find one that fits. If you can’t, don’t fret -- the female spade connectors on the Jaguar harness will actually
plug right to the Mitsubishi connector. It doesn’t matter which wire is connected to which terminal.
You can review this entire installation at
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/BrakeFluidReservoirFix.html
Besides having a level switch that will actually work when you really need it to, there’s another nice benefit of this
reservoir replacement. The OEM Jaguar reservoir is vented by letting air into the fluid, but the Mitsubishi reservoir has
a diaphragm in the cap. As the fluid level drops, this diaphragm moves with it, maintaining separation between fluid and
air. As a result, the fluid will absorb much less air and moisture, and require bleeding less often.
Also, installing a Mitsubishi reservoir will solve problems with the OEM reservoir cap cracking.
MITSUBISHI RESERVOIR PROBLEMS: Ain’t this a kick in the pants! You go through the effort of replacing the
OEM reservoir with the Mitsubishi, and find that it has problems too! Fortunately, its problems are not life-threatening
and are easily corrected.
As mentioned above, the cap used on the Mitsubishi reservoir has a diaphragm built in to keep air away from the brake
fluid. On Mitsubishis made before 1992, the cap itself has three small tangs inside and the diaphragm has three mating
notches around the outer edge to prevent the diaphragm from turning around inside the cap as you screw the cap on.
Unfortunately, what actually happens is that the diaphragm distorts at the notches while tightening, gets cockeyed, and
loses the seal. Result: air is allowed into the brake fluid. In other words, when this thing screws up, it vents the brake
fluid reservoir the same piss-poor way the Jaguar reservoir was designed to!
Mitsubishi’s solution was to redesign the cap and diaphragm, omitting the tangs and notches altogether. Who cares if
the diaphragm rotates a little while the cap is being tightened? If you happen to find yourself with a reservoir with the
old style distorted diaphragm, you can fix it by purchasing a new cap and diaphragm from your friendly Mitsubishi dealer
-- but the two parts will cost as much as a new reservoir with cap and diaphragm! If you wish, you can purchase just the
diaphragm and carefully cut away the tangs inside your old cap. The diaphragm part number is MB895813.
So, if you go scrounging in the junkyard for a Mitsubishi reservoir, you might want to check that the cap and diaphragm
599
are the updated design without anti-rotation tangs around the edge. There should be only one notch, for venting the
space above the diaphragm.
Interestingly, Mitsubishis have been sold in the US badged as Dodges -- and Dodge came up with their own redesign of
that cap and diaphragm. Walter Acker IV found a reservoir in a Mitsubishi-made Dodge D50 mini pickup truck with a
two-piece diaphragm: a rubber diaphragm with a hard plastic rim that snaps onto it. The hard plastic rim allows the cap
to be screwed down on the diaphragm without distorting it. It also makes it easier to unscrew the cap later. Use of this
diaphragm also requires a cap with no tangs in it.
You can review this diaphragm issue at
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/MitsubishiCapUpgrade.html
ALTERNATIVE MITSUBISHI RESERVOIR: Walter Acker IV went on to discover yet another type reservoir that
can be used to replace the pre-ABS reservoir in the XJ-S. This one is also from a Mitsubishi, but from their pickup
truck instead. The reservoir is rectangular rather than round, and is smaller than the round one, but will still work fine.
The cap is black rather than the white one found on the round reservoir, and the reservoir Acker found doesn’t have the
problem with the tangs around the edge of the diaphragm -- but it’s unknown whether that’s simply because the one he
found was a post-correction model or whether the pickup truck never had this design flaw in the first place. It still has
10mm fittings, so it will require the same hose adaptors described for the round reservoir above.
BRAKE WARNING LIGHT: Mike Morrin warns of another reason the brake warning light may seem to have failed in
the “on” mode: “When I got my car, the warning light was on, but the handbrake adjusters (on the rear calipers) were
seized. Fixing the adjusters put some extra tension on the cable, and the warning light switch then started working.”
PARK LAMP FAILURE SENSORS: There are park lamp failure sensors in the trunk up behind the lip on both sides,
as well as under the right side dashboard. The ©1982 Supplement says there is only one under the dash to serve the
lights on the front of the car, but it lies; there are two, one serving the front right and one serving the front left. They all
look the same: a small metal box with three terminals. The current to a light goes in one terminal and out another,
heating up a conductor inside. When it gets hot enough, a bimetal strip bends enough to break the third connection to
the dash indicator. This is why it takes a few seconds for the indicator to go out when you turn on the lights. If a bulb
burns out, the reduced current doesn’t heat the bimetal strip enough, so the indicator stays on.
If your dash indicator is staying lit for unknown reasons, the first thing to do is check that all the lights on the car are of
the correct wattage; a lower-current bulb can fool the sensors. Then, find each sensor and disconnect the indicator wires
(WS) one by one until you find which sensor is keeping the indicator on.
If one of the sensors isn’t working right, they can be adjusted. There is a tiny screw on the box near the terminals,
sealed with a drop of glue. When you’re absolutely sure all the bulbs are working right, leave the lights on for a couple
minutes. Turn the screw clockwise until the dash light comes on, then counterclockwise just until it turns off. Be
careful not to touch ground with the tool used to adjust the screw.
An owner reports on a late model: “My 94 XJS gave me a dashboard indication of a bulb out but going around and
around the car, all lights seemed to be working. This drove me nuts until I finally noticed the sexy little bulb that gives
the headlight assemblies a little glow when the parking lights are on. It was working on the driver's side but not the
passenger side. I didn't know it was even there and it has to be dark out to see it. Low and behold, I replaced the tiny
bulb (standing on my head to do so) and all is well again.”
The stoplamp failure sensor is different; see below.
The indication that a turn signal bulb has failed is that the turn signal dash indicator just blinks once, or not at all, while
the functional bulbs on the outside of the car continue to blink properly.
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STOPLAMP FAILURE SENSOR: The failure sensor on the brake lights works differently than the ones for the
taillights because having the warning light come on for a few seconds every time you hit the brakes would be
unacceptable. A brake light bulb failure shows up on the same dash indicator, though. With the ignition on, headlights
off, handbrake applied, and the brake pedal pressed, the indicator should come on; if it does not, there’s a bad circuit or
bulb in the brake lights.
Colleen Melton says, “My '79 XJ-S recently had a mystifying, extremely aggravating problem. At random, the fuse for
the brake lights (15A, #5 in fuse panel) & turn signals would blow. We isolated it down to the brake light circuit by
deliberately not using the turn signals and waiting for the fuse to blow... At no regular interval, applying the brakes
would cause the fuse to blow.
“After examining all accessible wiring and the bulb sockets, my husband concluded the problem was likely in the brake
warning relay, located in the center console under the rear portion of the ski slope. He removed the 'relay' and opened it
up. Sure enough, a blob of solder on the brake light input wire (14 ga green/purple) terminal was touching against the
steel case of the 'relay'. Closer examination revealed the rivet holding the outer spade terminal to the inner solder
terminal had loosened, allowing poor contact leading to high resistance producing heat, increasing resistance, leading to
even more heat... This apparently got bad enough that the solder connecting the coils of wire wrapped around two reed
switches (one for each brake light output) got hot enough to melt somewhat. In addition, a diode in the circuit was
cooked by the heat.
“We have no idea what a replacement unit costs; my husband (electronics tech by profession) decided to repair this
simple circuit. He cleaned up the dirty, overheated terminals, tightened (repeened) the rivet and soldered both terminals
to the rivet. Replacing the diode was also very simple, nothing special about that component he said, any small rectifier
diode would work there. Reinstalled the 'relay', everything works great. Brake lights are brighter than before (wonder
why?), and the IP warning lamp comes on when it should (either or both brake lights disabled and brakes applied).
“For those interested, the XJ-S Parts Catalogue refers to this part as "Stop Lamp Failure Transmitter" P/N C.42291
(actually this is a better name than 'brake warning relay', which is how the ROM puts it). For anyone who knows which
end of a soldering iron to grab, this would be a simple thing to repair. Aside from the aforementioned diode, there is a
transistor, a resistor, and two wire-wrapped reed switches inside the can. All components could be easily replaced with
like/similar items from any electronics store.
“In case of on-the-road failures, we made up a simple "Y" jumper with male 1/4" spade terminals at the three ends to
connect the three green/pink wires together. This would bypass the transmitter and continue to allow the brake lights to
work.”
WARNING LIGHT TEST MODULE: In several of the wiring diagrams, it is item #324, labelled an “invertor”. In Fig.
13.99 in the Haynes manual, it is item #1 and it’s called a “Failure unit”. In Fig. 22 in Section 86-22 of the Supplement
to the ROM (same illustration as Fig. 13.99 in the Haynes) it is item #1 and called a “Warning light failure unit”. Here’s
what this thing does: when the starter is energized, this thing provides a ground circuit for the brake fluid level warning
light, the handbrake warning light, and the oxygen sensor warning light. As you’re operating the starter, these warning
lights should glow. This is to test the warning light bulbs themselves.
Trip Computer
VARIATIONS: The trip computer for US-spec cars has a different part number than trip computers used elsewhere.
Since the Km/miles switch is readily apparent on all, Walter Petermann says, “It's probably due to the gallons. Inside the
trip computer there's a jumper labeled 'imp'. All the trip computers (US) I've seen have this jumper missing.”
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SPEED SIGNAL: See the section on the speedometer signal on page 593.
TRIP COMPUTER FUEL MILEAGE: The CATALOGUE reports that erratic fuel mileage readings can be caused by
a poor connection at the fuel injector resistor pack.
TRIP COMPUTER FUEL CALCULATIONS: Craig Sawyers: “One of the niggly things that didn't work was the fuel
related aspects of the trip computer. Mileage, fine; clock, fine; fuel, nada.
“The trip computer gets its fuel signal from an "interface unit" mounted near the ECU. It is a plastic case, with four
connections. Power (green) and ground (black), a line from the fuel injector feed for the resistor pack (yellow/green to
pin 29 of the ECU) on the B bank, and a line that goes to the trip computer (orange). When you get the lid off this box
(drill out four copper rivets), you find a more complex circuit than you expect, based around a quad op-amp and eight
transistors. (Op-amp is short for operational amplifier. The "quad" bit just means that there are four of them in one 14-
pin package.)”
“To cut a long story short, including tracing out the arcane circuit and rigging up a pulse generator to mimic the injector
signal, the op-amp was history. The op-amp is a LM2902N, and is a generic part (the one that came out was Texas, the
one that went back was Fairchild). I just bought mine from Farnell.”
“Cost of op-amp, £0.29UK. Result, source of joy! I don't know what Jag would have charged me for a new one, but it
certainly wouldn't have been within two orders of magnitude of 50 cents.”
Is there a way those without pulse generators, oscilloscopes and the like could determine that the op-amp or even the
entire interface unit is in fact their problem? “Not easy. The input signal is taken from the ECU, and is the injector drive
to the resistor pack. This goes from 12V to 0V for the duration of the injector pulse. The output of the interface unit
looks like a pulse-width modulated signal. Maybe the interface unit counts the pulses, and uses that to estimate the fuel
consumption. I haven't gone into that bit of it at too much depth; working is working.
“Assuming that the other functions of the trip computer are OK, that power is present, and that a connector hasn't fallen
off, I'd suspect the interface unit. Also given the low cost of the chip, and that everything else in there looks pretty bullet
proof, I think I'd advise stuffing a new chip in (the right way round!) and see what happens.”
The op-amp is soldered to the board. “The easiest way to get a chip out if you don't have a solder sucker is to use a
small pair of cutters to snip each pin at the chip package itself. Then pull each pin out of the board separately with a
small pair of pliers while heating the pad with a soldering iron.”
Edwin Hyatt tried this fix. “Thanks to Craig, I now have a fully functional trip computer, having recently fixed the fuel
consumption part of the display. The IC in the interface unit was the culprit, and at a cost of $1.29 at Radio Shack, it is
by far the lowest cost repair to date. If the fuel related part of your trip computer is not working, this more than likely is
the cause.”
EXTRA CONNECTORS: The author’s ’83 has two 3-conductor connectors behind the dash in the vicinity of the top
left corner of the glovebox, with blank-off caps on them. One is red with Y, O, and two G wires, and the other is black
with P, RU, and two B wires; the P wire is from an inline fuse connected to an N wire. These connectors are apparently
for the trip computer -- although this car doesn’t have a trip computer. There are also connectors near the ECU in the
trunk for connecting to the fuel interface unit, which likewise doesn’t exist.
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Electric Windows
There are reportedly three different types of window motor used in the XJ-S coupe: A Delco unit up to 1987, a
different Delco unit 1988-89, and a Bosch from 1990 on. The early Delco motor has a large cylindrical housing, while
the 1988-89 Delco unit has a smaller, more rectangular housing -- perhaps better described as a cylinder with two flat
sides. Both of these are held together with a pair of long bolts.
The convertibles, of course, have another motor operating the rear windows, and apparently have different units in the
doors as well.
Peter Cohen provides some part numbers: “The January 1987 - January 1989 parts book lists the non-convertible
window motors as: Left: JLM975, Right: JLM974, and the regulators as Left: BCC5775 and Right: BCC5774.
Convertible is listed as Motor: Left: JLM1496, Right: JLM1495, with the convertible regulator listed as Left: BDC5079,
Right: BDC5079.
“The right side Delco motor that I removed had a paper label with the number 20060098 above the numbers 121 and
30P8 (the left side label was illegible).
Unfortunately, problems are reported with all types, even though none of them are Lucas. Some of the problems
discussed below apply to all, and some apply only to particular units as noted.
ELECTRIC WINDOWS -- KEYLESS OPERATION: Some of us prefer the electric windows to be operable whenever
we’re in the car, not just when the ignition is on. If you share this preference, there is a “window lift relay” under the
passenger’s side of the dashboard that provides power to the windows whenever the ignition is on. All you have to do is
remove this relay and connect the power wire directly to the wire to the windows, and the windows will operate
whenever the buttons are pressed. Since the buttons are inside the car anyway, it’s not exactly a security risk.
SLOW-MOVING WINDOWS: The early Delco windows always move slowly. This tip is from Leonard Berk: His
windows operated very slowly, so he sprayed WD-40 down the frames without even dismantling the doors. The
windows operate like new. Perhaps WD-40 isn’t the ideal substance since the odor may be objectionable to some
people, but it is worth noting that lubrication may be in order. Victor Naumann says, “Try not to use oil in the channel,
it destroys the rubber. Silicone spray or graphite works OK. WD-40 is a great lube, but not for rubber, it makes it
swell. Jag makes a very expensive lube called Glietmo, but I prefer silicone.”
Paul Bachman says, “In my experience, lubricating rubber window guides is only a short term solution and seems to
aggravate the sticking in the long run (gets gummy as it enevitably dries out). I have had very good success lubricating
the guide rails on electric windows (including my 85 XJ-S) with graphite. It is difficult and a little messy to get it rubbed
into the right places, but once in place it works for a long, long time.”
On the author’s car, one reason for slow windows was that the little roller that slides in the track at the bottom of the
glass had gotten all screwed up -- see below.
John Himes talks “...about possible fixes to the drivers window not going all the way up without using their hand. On
my 88 XJ-S, the problems was that one of the screws was removed by a PO, or had fallen out over time that mounts the
window motor to the door & the others had become loose. The motor assy. would move when you raised or lowered
the window. After tightening the screws & new lock washers (with the window all the way up so it would fit correctly),
the window now goes all the way up & I no longer have the fingerprints on the window (inside anyway).”
John Setters reports: “Two problems caused my drivers side window not to close fully without assistance:
1. Window motor mounting had come loose.
2. The lift assist coil spring was binding on itself.
“Firstly remove the door trim panel - the hardest part! I found that I needed to close the window fully before tightening
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the motor mounting bolts. This is the way to assure correct positioning of the closed window. Do this by applying
upward lift with your hand under the slide rail at the lower edge of the glass. Then tighten the bolts.
“Complete lift was hampered by lack of spring tension. Although well lubricated by grease too much friction existed. I
applied spray CRC to the spring then operated the up and down movement to work the CRC into the spring coils. Heh
presto it all works fine now.”
John Napoli suggests adjusting the track at the rear of the window. There are two screws that hold this section of
channel in place; one is under the door panel near the bottom rear of the door, and the other is clearly visible on the end
of the door above the latch. The track is removable to facilitate replacing the glass. The bottom screw has a very large
washer on it and fits through a large hole in the door sheet metal, so the track can be moved around quite a bit before
tightening it down. The upper screw doesn’t have as much room to move, but can still move a little. It is helpful to
loosen both screws at the same time to fully investigate the range of possibilities.
Napoli also suggests “If you can’t find an adjustment that solves the problem, replace the lining of the rear channel. Jag
sells a replacement channel. I suspect that good old aftermarket channel felt can be installed in the old channel
assembly.” The problem with old channel felt is that the fur wears off, allowing the glass to rub directly on the rubber
underneath. The friction is hence much higher than it should be.
If you have the early Delco window motors, once you have addressed all the possible problems listed above, your
windows will still move slowly. The final solution is to install a relay control system; see below.
WINDOW/TRACK SEPARATION: John Napoli says: “I once had a weird window failure in my car. The PO had
replaced the rear window channel on the drivers side. One day I lowered the window and thunk -- the window drops
down out of sight. Opened the door up and found that the metal channel that the glass rides in had been pulled away
from the glass. It was as if the glass had a positive stop on the way down. The motor kept on pulling the glass down
after it hit the stop and pulled the arm off. Put it back together and it soon happened again. I solved the problem by
taking the glass out, supergluing the arm to the glass (in the correct location!) and installing a sophisticated support that
the steel arm would hit when the window was lowered. It was a carefully shaped chunk of 2x4. You need to glue the
channel to the glass in addition to adding the stop because if the channel is loose on the glass it will eventually slide
sideways and prevent the window from opening or closing properly. The glue locks the channel in position and the stop
prevents the window from dropping too far and allowing the motor to pull the channel away from the glass.
ELECTRIC WINDOW REGULATOR DRIVE ROLLER PROBLEMS: The little roller on the end of the motor arm
on one window in the author’s ’83 XJ-S was FUBAR. Basically, the shaft the roller turns on is attached to the arm like
a rivet, and this attachment worked loose, allowing the roller to cock sideways and jam in the track on the window. As
the motor forced it back and forth in the track, the edges of the sheet metal track chewed the plastic roller all to bits.
No, you can’t buy a new roller from Jaguar -- they want you to buy the entire window regulator mechanism. The ‘83
has the early Delco regulator, but all of the regulators have rollers of some type and may occasionally have similar
problems.
For anyone with a lathe and some plastic stock, it would be a simple matter to make a new roller. Unfortunately, I don’t
have either. I went to a building supply store and looked through their collection of rollers intended for sliding closet
doors, drawers, shower doors, etc. I immediately noted two concerns: 1) the roller in the Jag window was smaller than
any of these; and 2) the roller in the Jag window has a sort of offset -- the bearing surface isn’t in the center of the roller,
but over to one side. In the Jag, the pin is shaped like the head of a flush head bolt, so that no part of the pin extends
beyond the roller and jams into the track. Only a select few of the rollers in the building supply store had a similar
feature.
I selected a package of “Closet Door Hardware” described as “No. 8544, 7/16” Offset Hanger Pr.” and made by Door
Products Inc.; I’m sure there are generic equivalents in just about any such store. This package contains two hangers
intended for the top of a hanging, sliding closet door, each with a little roller to fit into a track. The 7/16” refers to how
much the offset is, no importance here. In fact, the entire hanger is forfeit except for the roller itself. There are probably
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several other types of hangers, with various offsets, all using the same or similar roller. It is necessary to grind off a rivet
flare to remove the roller from the hanger.
The roller acquired is the smallest I found, but still too large; it is about 20mm in diameter, while the Jaguar window
roller is about 17mm. However, it was a simple matter to mount the new roller onto a 1/4” bolt, chuck it up in a drill,
and grind off the outside edge until it was the correct diameter. This roller, along with the Jaguar original, is illustrated
in Figure 30.
This roller also had the offset bearing, although it was not as long as the Jag original. When assembling, it was necessary
to add a few washers behind it to space it out the same distance from the arm as the original had been. I made washers
out of plastic so they wouldn’t jingle. I also made sure their OD was small enough to not interfere with the window
track.
REMOVE MAT'L
JAGUAR (DELCO) CLOSET DOOR
WINDOW ROLLER ROLLER
Figure 30 - Original Window Roller and Cheap Substitute
I also was able to find a shoulder bolt, or “axle” bolt, that I was able to modify for use. It was an Allen socket head bolt
with a 1/4” diameter shoulder 3/8” long, and a 10-24 threaded end beyond that. If I had intended to use this bolt to hold
the original Jaguar roller, I would have had to grind a taper on the bottom side of the head to match the tapered surface
within the roller and allow the head to recess far enough into the roller so as not to protrude at all.
For this new roller, however, the problem was different. The new roller has a recessed opening for the head of the
original pin that held it, but it’s flat-bottomed, not tapered. There is therefore no reason to grind on the bottom side of
the head, but the top side protrudes entirely too far -- this head is much taller than the recess is deep. So I had to grind
about half of the height of the head off. This removed the entire Allen socket, leaving me no way to tighten it. So I cut
a straight slot across the top for use with a screwdriver.
When assembling, I put the roller and the homemade plastic washers on this shoulder bolt, screwed on a nut, inserted it
through the hole in the arm, and put another nut on the back side to hold it. When tightened up, this positioned the
roller about the same distance from the surface of the arm that the original had been.
I chose not to install this roller in the original hole in the regulator arm. Instead, I drilled a new hole 1” closer to the
motor itself, making the arm effectively 1” shorter, in hopes of improving the leverage the motor has moving the
window. This worked perfectly, but since the arm is 15” long to begin with, this provides only a small percentage
improvement in leverage. Still, it’s easy to do, and every little bit helps.
Of course, the window motor and regulator assembly is an AC Delco; perhaps you can figure out what other cars it was
used in and find a cheap replacement in the local junkyard.
ELECTRIC WINDOW SWITCH PROBLEMS: Reports of switch problems are more common with earlier Delco
units. That may be partially because the cars are older or that there are simply more of them, but the early Delco system
definitely suffers from overloaded switches. The switches are inadequate for the inductive load involved and the
contacts get burned. Even though the later Delco and Bosch motors are physically smaller, they still move the windows
at a good clip and probably draw a comparable amount of current; we’ll probably hear more about switch problems in
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later cars as the years go by.
Bob Colson of the Jaguar Club of Southern Arizona points out that the window lift switches can be taken apart. First,
remove them from the panel -- easiest to do by first removing the panel so you can push them out from behind. Then, by
spreading the housing slightly, the rocker itself can be popped out. Then the parts can be cleaned up and repaired as
needed. The two rocking contact plates are symmetrical but only one end of each gets worn, so the plates can be
reversed to extend their life. The cruise control on/off/resume switch is constructed similarly.
Phil Patton adds: “Usually it seems the plastic things on the ends of the springs wear unevenly for some reason. When
cleaning the switch replace the one from the left side to the right and vis-a-vis.”
Another solution is to replace the switches with generic double pole/double throw self-centering rocker switches with
better contact ratings. The difficulty here, obviously, is getting them to look right. Phil Patton sends this tip: “I have
found a switch which is less expensive, IMHO looks much better, and I am positive will last much, much longer. This
part fits the existing hole perfectly and has a small, coloured illuminated strip across it, making it easy to find in the dark.
It is rated at 20 amps @ 12 volts and is (unlike the Jag switch) completely sealed so that dirt cannot contaminate the
contacts. The part is GC number 35-3565 (green light) or 35-3570 (red light). They should be available from any
decent size electronics parts house. The only modification necessary to use this part is to cut off the plug on the wiring
harness and replace it with push-on lugs on each wire. If you don’t like the light then just don’t connect it.”
Stephen Wood says, “I replaced the power window and power lock switches in my ’76 XJ-S with ’82-92
Camaro/Firebird units, $10 ea. new and they work great. I had to make a wiring jumper and a sub plate for mounting,
but they function better than the Jag ones ever did.”
A preventative measure may be to install a pair of zener diodes at each motor. See the treatise on controlling inductive
loads starting on page 559.
Perhaps the best solution, and one that maintains the original appearance, is to install relays to operate the windows and
operate the relays with the stock rocker switch. See below.
WINDOW CONTROL RELAY INSTALLATION: Both the dragging windows and the burned switch contacts are
symptoms of the same problem: The switches are inadequate for the load. The high resistance, due to marginal,
overloaded, or charred contacts, results in less than ideal power to the motor and causes the contacts themselves to fail
often. This author measured the voltage at the window motor with the window trying to close, and it was less than 8
volts -- and dropping below 7 volts as the motor struggled. This operating voltage means the motor is only developing
about 45% as much power as it would at 12V.
A set of window control relays will provide full battery voltage to the window motors, eliminating the losses in the
wiring harnesses and switches. See Figure 31. Two SPDT relays will be needed for each window, an “up” relay and a
“down” relay, and each will need to have serious contacts -- at least 10-amp rating. Since the current needed to operate
the relays is minimal, the rocker switches should last forever -- even if they’ve already been abused and cleaned up a
couple times.
The XJ-S comes with a relay referred to in the Jaguar literature as a “window lift relay”; all this relay does is turn off
power to the windows when the ignition is off. I will continue to use that term when referring to that relay, and will call
the new relays being added in the following scheme “window control relays”. Try not to get confused.
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Figure 31 - Window Control Relay Wiring
Since window motors are permanent magnet motors, the direction they run depends on the direction of current flow.
The wiring within the motor itself is not grounded. To run one direction, the switch grounds one motor lead and applies
12V to the other. To run the other direction, the same switch grounds the second lead and applies 12V to the first. The
window control relays should be wired to do the exact same thing. In the wiring scheme shown, the normally-closed
contacts on the relays ground both leads of the motor when the relays are idle, and each relay switches one lead to 12V
power when energized.
A massive power wire -- 12 gauge or so -- must be routed to the window control relays directly from some heavy-duty
source (any big, fat brown wire). You can toss in an inline fuse for safety, but it’s probably a better idea to use the
original thermal circuit breaker; it will do a better job of protecting the motor from overheating if the power is left on
(somebody sets a book on the switch).
For the passenger’s side window, it is quite convenient to use the existing 12V power source and circuit breaker for the
windows, leaving the breaker mounted right where it is; just connect a new wire with a 1/4” spade terminal to the output
side of the breaker and route it to the new relays.
For the driver’s side, it may be preferable to just buy a new circuit breaker and power it from a lead to the fusebox; this
would eliminate the necessity to run a heavy wire from the existing breaker on the passenger’s side across the car to the
driver’s side. The original “Otter” circuit breakers are inordinately expensive and of unknown rating (apparently big
enough to allow both windows to run at once, probably too big to properly protect a single window motor), but generic
circuit breakers are available in auto parts stores in 10A, 15A, 20A, 25A and 30A ratings for around $5 each. The 10A
should work for one window motor; this author used one and it has never tripped. All of these generic automotive
circuit breakers are “thermal” type, as opposed to the electromechanical circuit breakers typically used in homes.
For the relays, 12V DPDT relays with 15-amp contacts from Radio Shack, cat. no. 275-218, will serve nicely. Since
SPDT relays will do the job, wire both contacts together; two 15-amp contacts working together definitely should
handle this job!
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The sockets that Radio Shack sells for these relays are not recommended; buy a handful of 3/16” spade terminals
instead. Radio Shack seems to only offer 3/16” spade terminals in a box with a lot of other connectors, and since you
need 16 of them you’ll be buying a lot of boxes. If you go to an auto parts store, though, you may be able to buy a box
with the correct “crimp-on” terminals alone. Even if the terminals come with plastic insulating collars, it is suggested
you rip the plastic collars off and throw them away, solder the wires to the terminal after crimping, and insulate them
with 3/16” and 1/8” heat-shrink tubing.
Since SPDT relays will work, automotive relays are another option -- if you can find some with an 87a (NC) terminal.
Most of the relays sold in auto parts stores (usually for controlling driving lights) have two 87 (NO) terminals and no
NC terminal, which won’t work. Suitable relays include the one used on the XJ-S electric radiator fan, SRB411, and all
of its substitutes listed on page 224.
Another option would be to use two normal driving light relays (no NC contacts) instead of each SPDC relay. Rocking
the button should operate both relays, and one should make the power connection while the other makes the ground.
This wouldn’t make any sense if relays were priced the way they should be, but the fact is that you might find two
driving light relays are cheaper and/or easier to find than one SPDT relay.
Automotive relays require 1/4” spade terminals, which are a good deal easier to find than the 3/16” terminals needed for
the Radio Shack relays. Again, insulate them with heat-shrink tubing, 1/4” and 1/8” this time.
The relays can be located anywhere between the switch and the motor; simply break into the RG and GR (right side) or
RU and GU (left side) wires from the rocker switch to the motor and wire in the relays as shown. Within the door itself
is one possible location; in this case, a massive ground wire should be routed back into the car -- relying on ground
contact through a door hinge is not recommended. Also, before closing the door up, it’d be a good idea to fasten the
relays down (possibly with foam tape) and tie the wires down, and run the window up and down and operate all the
latches to make sure the wires aren’t in the way of moving parts.
Another possible location is adjacent to the footwells; you can intercept the wiring near the door hinge by removing the
kick panel on the side of the footwell just forward of the door (2 screws). There is a pocket that looks like it was made
for these relays behind the kick panel. There is a door lock relay in the same space, but it isn’t taking up all the room.
The wires from the door all go through this space, and there are a lot of them -- stereo speaker, electric mirrors, puddle
light, door lock, and window. They are also plenty long enough, making it a simple matter to cut into the two window
wires and install the relays. This location makes it unnecessary to have to route heavy 12V and ground wires into the
door, or even to take the door panel off.
The relays can also go within the console if preferred, although that reuses a lot of the original wiring to the motors and
reduces the potential benefits of installing really heavy power wiring.
It doesn’t make good electrical sense to use the existing circuit breaker to protect the wiring to the rocker switches and
new relays, since that’s a heavy duty breaker and they are now a low-power circuit. Instead, provide an inline fuse to
the rocker switches; a 2A or 3A fuse should be plenty to power the relays. Physically, this means that the NU line from
the window lift relay to the rocker switches is disconnected from the relay and connected to a fuse instead.
Remove and discard the window lift relay, it won’t be needed any more; the window control relays themselves will
accomplish its task. Unfortunately, the window lift relay doesn’t have a NC connection, so it cannot be reused as one of
the four window control relays.
Where the power to the other side of the fuse comes from is a matter of preference. If you wish the system to work the
way it originally did (windows won’t move unless the ignition is on), then connect the WK wire that originally controlled
the window lift relay to the fuse, as shown in Figure 31. If, on the other hand, you’d rather the windows worked
whenever you hit a button regardless of ignition, just connect the fuse to a constant 12V power supply -- and there
happens to be one right nearby, connected to the input side of the circuit breaker.
A minor complication: One might assume that the window rocker switches are a center-off, DPDT operation, and the
wiring diagram for the window circuits in the ©1982 Supplement is obtuse enough to let you go on thinking that -- but
they are not. Each rocker switch is actually two individual SPDT switches, neither of which is center-off; both have NC
and NO contacts. With the rocker in the center position, the NC contacts on both switches happen to be connected in
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such a way as to send 12V to both leads to the motor. Since 12V at both leads results in no current flow, the motor
doesn’t move. When you rock the switch, one of the two internal switches disconnects the 12V source and connects
that motor lead to ground, while the other internal switch doesn’t move -- hence, the motor runs. Figure 31 shows the
switch schematically correctly, although it doesn’t really indicate the actual physical operation properly.
All of this is normally just fine, except that all those leads are hot all the time. Something to keep in mind while working
in the area, especially if you have bypassed the window lift relay so the windows are operational at all times with or
without ignition (see page 603).
With the window control relay installation, however, these hot leads cause the relays to be energized when the windows
are not moving. Rocking the switch causes one relay to unenergize, and the system will in fact work just fine; the relays
will just get warm. However, if you have wired the system so that the windows can be run with or without ignition (see
above), the relay coils would be draining the battery when the car is parked. Ungood.
The solution is to exchange the 12V and ground connections to the rocker switch so that both motor leads are
connected to ground when the rocker is centered -- just like you’d have expected Jaguar to do in the first place. You
can make this change by cutting and splicing wires, but an easier way is to move the connectors around on the block
connector that plugs onto the bottom of the rocker switch, putting the NU wires back where the B wires were and vice
versa. If you have the switches with six round posts on the bottom, it is a simple matter to pop the connectors out of the
block connector with a piece of 3/16" OD brass tubing (available at hobby shops); just insert the tubing into the round
hole around the outside of each tubular connector, and it will compress the tangs on the sides of the connector itself and
allow the connector to be pulled out the back side. Then they can merely be pushed back into the proper holes until they
snap into place. If you have the later style switches you should be able to do something similar. Note that, for operating
window control relays, the ground wires could simply be removed since they are not used.
Exchanging the power and ground wires may even be desirable without installing window control relays, since the
windows will still run exactly the same way; you just won’t have hot leads when working on the car any more.
When fiddling with all this wiring, rewiring, relay installation, etc., etc., trying to keep track of which circuit will move
the window up versus which one will move the window down will drive you nuts. Instead, just forget about it. When
you’re all done and everything is working fine, if the button must be rocked the wrong way to move the windows, just
turn the connector around on the bottom of the rocker switch. If you prefer, you can reassemble the console but leave
the rocker switches hanging out of it by the wires; when you’re ready to test it, just hold one rocker switch in your hand
and push it one way or the other and note which way the window moves. Then turn the switch whichever way is correct
and snap it into the panel.
This author has installed window control relays in my ’83 XJ-S. I can report that the modification is a resounding
success; the windows now zip up and down like they should. It is now clear to me that this is yet another modification
that should be done by all XJ-S owners ASAP, before their stock window switches bite the dust from overload.
ELECTRIC WINDOWS -- EARLY CIRCUITRY: According to the ©1975 ROM, “Selections can be made on one
switch at a time, the driver’s switch over-riding the other panel switch”, possibly to avoid overloading the circuit
breaker. However, the ©1982 Supplement shows no such override and both windows on this author’s ’83 run at the
same time. Randy Wilson says, “The SII XJ6, and early XJ-S, were set up in the manner your book describes. The
switches are double pole, triple throw (down, pass-through, up). With this early system, you could only run one
window at a time. And, if a switch failed such that the pass-through didn’t work, all windows downstream also quit.
Since the most used window, the L/F, is also first in the daisy-chain, it’s not uncommon to see a SII with no working
windows. This went away (all switches wired in parallel) with the SIII. I’m not sure exactly when the S changed over,
but it was certainly by the time the H.E. was introduced.”
If you have an early car and are having trouble with this system or these switches, the ideal solution might be to simply
install the window control relay scheme described above and delete that daisy-chain nonsense. If your original switches
can be made to work at all, they can be wired to operate the relays, and you will no longer be limited to one window at a
time. Since you would be providing new and substantial power wiring to the window motors, there’s no risk of
overloading any existing wiring.
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PRE-88 GEARS: Replacement gears are available separately. The motor/regulator assembly consists of a motor with a
worm gear built into the output shaft, a housing that holds a gear/coupling assembly, and an arm with a gear rack. If
your problems happen to involve that gear/coupling assembly, you’re in luck! Chuck Sparks found out that the part is
available in auto parts stores. It’s called a “window lift gear kit”, and it’s made by Pronto, part number 42-90. It is
described as applying to “any GM window regulator using a 46-spline, 12-tooth gear”. It is described as fitting GM
electric windows in cars and trucks from 1956-80.
There are no splines involved; there are two gears, a metal 12-tooth gear that engages the arm and a plastic 46-tooth
gear that the worm gear drives. In between the two gears is a coupling assembly with a rather massive spring in it. All
mounted on a short shaft. It’s this entire assembly, both gears and the coupling mounted on the shaft, that comes in this
kit. Cost is about $20.
A real cinch to install, too -- once you get the regulator out of the car. It’s obvious, just take a cover off the housing,
remove the old gear, install the new, reassemble.
PRE-88 WINDOW MOTOR REPLACEMENT: They are Delco, so you can get them from a Chevy in any junkyard in
America, right? Apparently not. The window motors in the XJ-S are made by “Delco of England” and seem to be a
little different than generic GM stuff.
Still possible, though. Don Lawton: “My Jag had the cylindrical Delco motors. I found that I was able to replace the
motor/gearbox assembly with a Delco module off GM/Oldsmobile cars from around the mid-1980's. The unit is not the
same as the Jag one, but the pinion has the same gear size; i.e. it fits the jag regulator sprocket. The unit also has a
slightly different bolt mounting pattern, but a few minutes of work with a round file on the regulator plate enabled it to
fit just fine.
“Another good point is that the passenger side GM regulator motor fits the driver's side on the Jag; i.e. you can get one
that is less used and in good shape. The GM unit is slightly longer than the Jag so it sticks up a bit higher in the door,
but tucks in nicely behind the mirror switches.
“I picked up several good GM regulator units from a local 'dig-it-out-yourself' auto wrecker for CDN $10 each, so I
anticipate unstuck windows for the remaining life of my car!!”
Since the indications are that GM changed their window motor design in 1981 and Jaguar followed suit in 1988, it’s
entirely possible that a junkyard window motor from a pre-81 GM car would fit the pre-88 Jaguar even better -- maybe
with no modifications at all. On the other hand, perhaps it’s a good idea to upgrade to the later style motor.
1988-89 ELECTRIC WINDOW MOTOR FAILURES: On the ‘88-89 Delco units, the housing on the motor itself gets
loose and jams the rotor, or lets water in. Victor Naumann says, “I have replaced a lot of motors that the back has fallen
off of and water has ruined.”
Steven Draper reports, “After taking the door apart, I noticed that the case on top of the window motor that holds the
magnets is held on by only two bolts. The rear bolt had slipped some, and could not be tightened completely because of
the soft metal. The bit of play between that casing with the magnets and the internals of the motor that spin about was
enough to cause the motor to only work when you beat the side of the door. I inserted a slightly larger bolt with a nut
on the bottom. I was able to put the new bolt in without taking the motor out. Believe it or not, the window now
rockets up and down. If you've got a window that doesn't want to go up and down and tapping on the door helps, this
could be your problem.” If you can’t find a suitable long bolt, consider threaded rod with a nut at both ends.
“It was interesting because the case had four bolt holes but the motor part with all the gears in it only had two holes for
the case to attach to.” It might not be a bad idea to put some aluminum tape or silicone sealant over the unused holes to
keep water out.
“BTW, on the Delco motor, if you put the stator on reversed from how you took it off, the motor does the opposite of
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what the switch intends.” Actually, this is probably true on any window motor. Might be a good idea to mark which
way the case goes before disassembly, although you could conceivably just turn the switch around in the console.
1988-89 ELECTRIC WINDOW MOTOR REPLACEMENT: Peter Cohen reports, “'88's & '89's are known to have
problems with the window motors. I have an '89 XJ-S and have replaced both window motors with the new style Bosch
motors. I highly recommend them. The windows just zip up and down like they never did with the Delco motors. If
you have an extended warranty, this should be a no brainer -- make them buy you the new motors. If the warranty
company won't come through, sue their no good ass in small claims court.
“Some other insights into the window motor upgrade:
“1. When this upgrade first came out, it was only sold as a complete motor/regulator assembly. It is now available as
two separate parts.
“2. When I bought my left side assembly a few years ago (about $325 then), two of the holes on the motor seemed not
to line up with the holes in the black sheet metal panel in the door, & I had to drill new ones. This was not a problem
with the right side, separate motor & regulator assembly which I bought in April, but I did have another problem: Both
the regulator and motor shipped to me as right side were actually left side. The regulator assembly was in a sealed
Jaguar package with the correct Jaguar part number for the right side. I took this to the local Jaguar dealer who
cheerfully swapped it for a left side regulator, without my asking, and without asking where I got it. Being so successful
with the regulator, I took the motor to another Jag dealer. Now, here's where it gets interesting. The motor came in a
Bosch box, so I was a little nervous about trying to swap it at a dealer. I brought in the motor without the box, and
again, the dealer swapped it without my asking. However, the number on the motor was different enough from the one
I brought in that it wasn't just the difference between left and right. Also, the motor from Jaguar comes with 3 torx
screws, and while the Bosch unit had no external wiring at all (just tabs to connect the wires), the Jaguar issue not only
has the wires, but they are potted onto the motor. This leads me to believe that there is a standard issue Bosch motor
that we can buy and adapt, even if Bosch won't sell the Jaguar number.
“3. There is a different type of plug on the Bosch motor (although still only 2 wire). You can cut & splice your old
wires, or Jaguar sells a clean little adapter assembly to do it right. I have done it both ways, and both work. The adapter
is $40, so you really have to want it.”
“A few weeks ago, I found myself in a Mercedes repair shop, and noticed a window motor lying on the table. Dang if it
didn't look exactly like the one I put in my XJ-S. Which leads me to speculate: How many other cars use the same
motor? Audi? BMW? Volvo? Saab? Opel? A wrecking yard Bosch motor in conjunction with a new Jaguar window
regulator may be just the ticket for replacing those crappy Delco motors without bleeding from the ears at Jaguar's
price.”
“The Bosch motor's drive gear has a different number of teeth, so the regulator gear of the Delco won't mate with it,
thus the need to replace the regulator.”
BOSCH ELECTRIC WINDOW GEAR FAILURES: On the 1990-on Bosch units, the gears strip. Matthias Fouquet-
Lapar says, “I almost fell flat on my face when the workshop told me that the window motor for a ’91 XJ-S was more
than $800! They found a way to adapt the older motor type. They told me that there is some nylon drive gear which
easily breaks and there is no good fix available, so they retrofitted the older type motor. It seems to require some major
rework to the window mechanism though.” Considering all the trouble Peter Cohen went to in upgrading his Delco
motors to the later Bosch (see above), he probably doesn’t want to hear that shops are doing the reverse.
Hugo Guerra reports that the window motors from a ’76 fit just fine in his ’90.
ELECTRIC REAR WINDOWS -- CONVERTIBLE: Trish Duffy says, “On the convertible, the two back windows
automatically retract when the hood/top is lowered, and close when the hood/top is raised. These back window motors
can burn out if the top raise/lower switch is held "on" for too long.”
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Larry Barnes says, “My 1992 convertible has a "Delco of England" window motor for the Rear\Side windows. I tried to
order just the motor, but Jaguar wanted to sell me the whole shooting match (with regulator) for $360. I found a local
motor shop the would rebuild the motor.”
There apparently are other problems with these windows, though. Andrew Corkan says, “I have a ’91 XJ-S convertible
and the rear window, lowered automatically when the hood (convertible top) is lowered, stopped working. The window
remained up, but otherwise the operation of the hood was not affected. I tested the usual, relay and fuse, etc...
“Following the Jaguar service manual, 1974-88, vol 4 page 76-11, I removed the rear quarter trim panel. I then
removed the plastic motor cover. It is held in place by both adhesive and three plastic button fasteners. I missed one
fastener and broke the thin plastic cover. I also unplugged the two motor wires.
“The failure was in the gearbox on the motor. The gearbox has a thin metal plate that covers a worm gear on the motor
coupled to a plastic gear that couples to the window movement linkage. I removed the four bolts that hold the window
linkage to the body. I lowered the window half way by hand and rotated the linkage to remove it from the recess in the
body. ( I did not remove the rear storage compartment or the hood lift linkage as stated in the service manual. )
“I don’t know why the gearbox failed. The gear box contains a rubber coupling consisting of 6 pie-wedge shaped
sections that couple a three-pronged part on the plastic gear with a three pronged part on the metal shaft that runs out
the back of the gear box. These wedges had popped out and knocked off the gearbox cover. It appears that the
window motor is just run for a fixed amount of time and there is no switch to stop it, so maybe the rubber parts were
just squeezed out when the motor stalled at the end of the travel. I saw no limit switches.
“I jammed the rubber back in place and replaced the metal cover and peened that back into place. When reinstalling the
motor it is important to run the hood up or down so that the other window is in the halfway position (as per the service
manual). This puts the window linkage in a position that allows access to all three mounting bolts for the gearbox. I
repacked the gear box with general purpose grease, and added lithium grease to the linkages.
“It worked fine 6 times (up or down) last weekend. So far so good.
“The critical and possibly breakable part appears to be the plastic gear in the gearbox. All other parts are robust metal or
easily cut rubber. If you find these gear boxes, keep the parts.
“The motor looked generic. If it fails it should not be too tough to find a substitute, just be sure you save the worm gear
that is on the shaft.
“My time was 3.5 hours, mostly trying to figure out which screws to remove and how to remove the linkage. Next time
it will take about 1 hour.”
Larry Barnes says, “I just got to repair the left rear window motor on "her" '92 Convertible. I also had this same
problem with the right rear window motor. Dare I say it, "a design flaw"??? No, couldn’t be...
“Seems in the gear box (the flat lid pops off for easy access) there is a ring gear and a worm gear and a output linkage
linked to the ring gear with a 1/4" flat/round rubber pad/shock absorber. Well, there are three little "ears" on the rubber
shock absorber that will break off and, get caught in, and jam up the works (always with the window in the down
position when you are 40 miles from home and it's pouring down rain). They seem to have no other practical use!
“The fix is: Remove the FOD, spin around 3 times anti-clock wise, and reassemble. Everything works great again...”
ELECTRIC REAR WINDOWS (CONVERTIBLE) -- ACCESS: Julian Mullaney says, “I was buggering about with
my XJS Convertible rear windows which wouldn't work properly (just like everyone else's) and noticed that the panel
that covers the motors is held in by several screws, one of which is behind the window glass. If the window ever gets
stuck in the up position, or any position except all the way down, this screw would be utterly inaccessible, i.e. behind the
glass. This means that the interior leather panel could not be removed and the motors could not be accessed at all. One
would be truly screwed if this were to happen. I think I will leave these screws out next time. There are enough other
screws holding the panel in place.”
Andrew Corkan responds, “It happened to me. I went to my basement and found a philips screwdriver tip, the kind you
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buy in packs of 6 for driving drywall screws with your electric drill. I then went to my local Service Star store and
bought a strip of steel, 1/2 inch wide and 1/8 inch thick. I cut the philips part off the driver and drilled a hole in the strip
of metal and brazed in the stub of the philips screwdriver into the hole. This gave me a right angle screwdriver, with a
bend able handle, that was flat enough to get into the space. I could rotate the screw 90 degrees at a time and it took 15
minutes to get it out! If you do this be sure to file all the sharp edges off the metal; I then wrapped the metal in plastic
tape to prevent damage to the leather. Before I replaced the screw I cut it off so it will only take two rotations to get
out of the hole. Now that I think about it, maybe I will replace it with a hex head screw, easier to turn.”
Electric Mirrors
ELECTRIC MIRROR DISASSEMBLY: Somewhere in the early 80's the outside mirrors changed. Alan Heartfield
compares the '82 to the '85: "The '85 glass and backing frame will pop out of the housing, but the '82 will not. The
backing frame is held to the motor with a screw behind the glass. However, the glass can be removed with careful use
of a hot air gun."
Here’s how the electric mirrors on this author's '83 were put together: The plastic rim was put into place, then the
motor assembly was put in over it, and then three screws were put in through holes in the mirror platform to hold all that
to the housing. Lastly, the glass itself was mounted on the platform with foam tape -- completely covering the access
holes to the three screws.
Fortunately, you can easily see just how difficult it is to get to the screws before you even start. Run the electric mirror
to the full up position, and pry it upwards a little more with a screwdriver and look under it. You will see two Phillips
head screws. These two are not that difficult to get to. Run the mirror to full down and look between the top and the
edge of the housing, and you should see the third Phillips screw dead center. This one’s a real pain, since it’s farther
away from the edge than the lower two. Getting these three screws out and back in is the only difficulty with removing
the motor assembly; if you can do that, the rest is cake. The mounting lugs on the motor assembly are open slots, so
removing the two bottom screws and just loosening the upper one may work.
As long as you have the thing out, a couple of suggestions: First, the plastic rim may have flashing tabs around the edge
of the inner rectangular opening, notably at the 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock positions. These tabs may interfere with
operation of the mirror, and should be cut off. In fact, it isn’t a bad idea to use a sharp blade to cut about 1/8” off the
right side of this opening, enlarging the entire rectangle.
Second, the motor assembly mounts with three lugs, but there is a fourth unused lug that gets in the way during
assembly. You may want to just cut this fourth lug off to ease reassembly. It does nothing for operation, though, so
you also might just leave it alone.
Third, the bottom center portion of the plastic rim distorts, so the screws tend to pinch the mounting slots right on the
edge rather than getting a secure grip. My solution for this was to attach a 1½” length of popsicle stick to the bottom
center of the housing with a piece of aluminum tape. This holds the plastic rim up into the proper position while the
bottom two screws are tightened.
Note that the motor assembly itself is also permanently assembled, by melting tabs. You’ll have to grind them off to get
it open, and then contrive some other method to hold it shut again.
The motor assemblies for the left and right sides are exactly the same, not mirror images or anything.
ELECTRIC MIRROR ADJUSTMENT SWITCHES: When the parts man at a Jag dealer was asked about these
joystick switches, he had the part number memorized! We’re talking junk here, and they charge $85 each for the two of
them. Note that for ’92 the joysticks were replaced by a fancy electronic adjustment scheme, and the following ideas do
not apply.
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Note: The mirror circuits are always hot, even with the ignition off. 12VDC won’t electrocute you but it may cause
burns or blow a fuse, so you may want to remove the appropriate fuse or disconnect the battery before working in this
area.
Glenn Waterfield sends a description of how to rebuild the joysticks: “I was able to very carefully remove the pins
holding the body of the switch together and strip down the pieces and clean the corrosion off them. To re-assemble the
switch I did not want to try to reuse the metal pins that originally held it together since I will probably have to clean
them again, so I found a tap just barely larger than the pin hole, a 4-40 I think, and carefully tapped the hole and put in
three 4-40 nylon machine screws. If you try this I would recommend a clear work area with no carpet to drop the
unbelievably tiny bits and pieces into.”
If you’d rather just get rid of the junk switches, the following is a replacement scheme.
1. Make a flat rectangular panel to replace the original chrome escutcheon. You can make this out of
anything you think would look good in your car -- chrome-plated steel, sturdy plastic, sheet metal
covered with leather, elm burl, etc.
2. Go to an electronics supply store and buy four toggle switches. They need to be “mini” or “submini”
(“micromini” will also work if you find any, but you need to drill smaller holes in the panel), “DPDT
momentary center off”. This means that they not only need to have three positions, but need to return
to the center position by themselves when released. The current here is very low, a 3-amp rating will
do. Once you find such switches, they should be only about five bucks each. Technically, a DPDT
momentary center off rocker switch would also work -- if you can find one small enough to fit four of
them in the car.
3. You may also want to buy some Molex connectors, such as Radio Shack catalog no. 274-236 and
274-226, to replace the hokey originals.
4. Mount the switches on your panel. The upper two should be mounted vertically and the lower two
horizontally, since there will be one up/down switch and one left/right switch for each mirror.
5. A soldering iron or gun is required here. Connect wiring as shown in Figure 32. Note that each wire
connects to two terminals.
If you’d like to see a photo of the author’s installation, go to:
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/MirrorSwitch.html
It is also possible to use only two DPDT momentary center off P
switches instead of four by adding a DPDT switch (non- PKS
momentary) to switch from left mirror to right. With this
selector switch, a center off position provides a “lock” so the PNS
mirrors cannot accidentally be moved; while not strictly
necessary, it wouldn’t cost anything, either type switch is readily
UP
available.
Glen E. MacDonald went this route. “Not wishing to junk the B
DOWN
chrome escutcheon, I used the three switch alternative, ie. two
of RS 275-637 (one each for vertical and horizontal adjustment)
and one of RS 275-626 (to switch between left & righthand PGS
mirrors). I found that the former switches could be very tidily
mounted where the original joysticks were (in the escutcheon) PUS
by utilizing suitable diameter caps from magic markers, pared
RIGHT LEFT
for length and drilled to accept the switch. The mirror selection
switch is small enough to mount unobtusively in the leading
edge (front portion) of the escutcheon. It works like a charm Wiring for left mirror shown; wiring
and, in my opinion, looks quite professional!” Figure 33 is for right mirror is identical.
based on MacDonald’s input for wiring these switches.
Figure 32 - Electric Mirror Switch Wiring
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MacDonald cut the connectors off the original switches, and therefore the illustration shows the connectors and the wire
colors from the original switches as well as the harness wire colors -- note that some mirror joysticks may have P wires
instead of R.
PKS
PGS
PKS
PGS
PUS
PNS
PUS
PNS
G W U Y G W U Y
R
P (12V)
B (Ground)
B
UP
RIGHT DOWN
MIRROR
LEFT
R
MIRROR P (12V)
B (Ground)
B
RIGHT
LEFT
Figure 33 - 3-Switch Mirror Wiring
Note: the author’s local Radio Shack claims they no longer offer the 275-637 momentary switches nor any acceptable
substitutes, but similar switches are available at most other electronics supply houses. A suitable switch is made by GC,
part number 35-018.
It may also be possible to utilize the mirror switches from some other car. More and more cars use electric mirrors these
days.
Once your mirror control switches are operational -- original or replacement -- it would be a good idea to wrap some
plastic around the assembly before installing to keep rain that gets past the window seal from getting into the switches
and corroding the contacts.
Door Locks
There have been at least three different electric door lock schemes used on the XJ-S. The pre-H.E. had solenoid-
operated locks powered through a pair of relays, one for lock and one for unlock, and controlled by a center-off rocker
switch on the console. One relay is located on each side of the car within the footwells. It is this system that is
described in Section 86.25.00 of the ROM. This system was apparently worthless from outside the car, but Mike
Morrin says it isn’t too difficult to add an aftermarket remote control locking system to it.
With the H.E. came a more automated version of the same solenoid scheme. Each solenoid had an arrangement of
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microswitches, capacitors, diodes and resistors added so that each solenoid could control the other solenoid. The relays
that formerly were controlled by a rocker switch were now activated by a capacitor discharging through the coil. As a
result, the rocker switch on the console was eliminated; moving either lock, either by the key from the outside or by
moving the lever on the inside, would actuate both locks. This is the system that is described on page 86-23 of the
©1982 Supplement, although it also shows a boot lock that apparently didn’t really exist until much later.
Finally, the solenoid type locks were replaced with motorized locks. The difference is readily apparent; before the
change, the door locks operated with a clunk. After, there is a quick whirring sound as they lock and unlock.
Robert Warnicke: “If you care, some of the early saloons didn't have electric locks at all, or at least my '73 XJ12
doesn't.”
Note that the Haynes manual is totally worthless on door locks.
If the locking system isn’t working right, one obvious thing to do would be to remove the door panels and lubricate all
the joints in the linkages and make sure they’re all adjusted properly and moving like they should. Mack Kamna says,
“As in the case with all lubrication, use the stuff sparingly. If you use excessive amounts, by giving the "grime"
something to stick to, you are creating the very thing that you are trying to prevent: abrasion and thus wear of the
parts.” See also the note on the linkage clips on page 475.
There have been a couple reports of people getting out of their Jags while leaving the engine running, and when they
closed the door they could hear the click as the car locked them out. The cause is unknown, but be forewarned. Also,
see “Breaking In” on page 476.
MOTORIZED DOOR LOCKS: Julian Mullaney reports on the locks going nuts in his ’91 convertible, apparently the
motorized type: “All three solenoids went rapidly from lock to unlock for about ten seconds, even after I removed the
key from the barrel!! This wouldn't stop until I replaced the key in the lock and forced it to stop oscillating. I almost
expected it to blink its lights, start up, and drive away without me. Weird.” Randy Wilson explains, “Nah, not weird.
It's fairly common with that era XJ-S, and more than a little amusing to play with. On those cars, the power lock
sensors are not position dependent; rather, they are motion dependent. What happens is a lock mechanism gets a bit
stiff. You unlock the door, the sensor detects the motion and all drivers go towards unlock. The stiff mechanism causes
the lock linkage to deflect a bit from the load. When the driver deactivates, the linkage springs back a bit. The sensor
sees this motion as travel in the lock direction, and kicks the drivers into lock mode. Linkage deflects, drivers disengage,
linkage springs back, sensor sees motion in unlock direction, drivers go to unlock.... repeat until end of battery. Or until
you jam down on the linkage long enough to ride out the cycle.
“The cure is to remove both door panels and clean and lube the lock system. The gumminess is usually in the striker
assembly.”
Nigel Spratling says: “The door lock actuator is actually a sealed motorized unit made in Germany. I had a problem
with mine and I took the unit out and very carefully cut it open along its seams. Once apart I took out the electric motor
and carefully disassembled it by prying open the lock tabs next to the brush carrier. The motor is actually a Japanese
Mabuchi 12volt device and they are prone to developing 'dead' spots on the armature when used infrequently (i.e., when
used for a door lock). After extracting the brush carrier, I cleaned the brushes and also cleaned the armature contacts
with some fine emery paper followed by washing with alcohol.
“Once the motor was reassembled I applied 12 volts to it to test it and it ran like a champ. I then reassembled the whole
mechanism and refixed the two halves together with glue and duct tape (you can't see the lock mechanism inside the
door, so duct tape is perfect ☺).
“The locks have been working perfectly for over a year since the repair and it cost nothing but time and patience. If it
fails again I will buy a new Mabuchi motor from a hobby shop.”
Considering the nature of Spratling’s problem and solution, the motorized door locks might be yet another place where
using the system on a regular basis might help keep it working longer.
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BOOT LOCK: According to Mike Cogswell, electric boot locks were introduced in 1989 models. According to his
dealer, they cannot be retrofitted to earlier models.
Note that the later cars with electric boot locks have a 3-position keyhole. This is explained in the owner’s handbook,
but who reads those things? If the battery is dead and you obviously need to get into the boot to do something about it,
turning the key either left or right won’t work; you need to turn the key to the middle position, straight up. Mark West
says, “The lock has two functions. The first is to override the electronic lock, in case you want to keep a nosy valet out
of your goods. The second is to allow you to actually open the trunk using the trunk latch without having to operate the
door locking mechanism. When the key is turned to the middle position the trunk latch may be operated independently
of the electronic locking mechanism. Using the key in this manner, you can open the trunk without unlocking the rest of
the car. It's a time-saver if you haven't installed an auxiliary alarm system. If you do have an alarm, don't try this
without disabling your alarm. It makes a very loud noise... kinda embarrassing in a shopping mall parking lot.
“It will only work with the larger of the two silver keys. One is the "valet" key and only opens the doors; it is smaller
and has the concave butt end. The other key, which is larger and has a convex end, will operate the trunk lock, gas cap,
glove box, etc.”
KEY FOB LOCK: According to Mike Cogswell, the key fob security systems were introduced in 1989 as a dealer-
installed option. Apparently these cannot be fitted to earlier models.
ALARM SYSTEM RESET: Victor Naumann provides a resetting procedure: “Each year is different; try disconnecting
the battery, wait 1 minute. Reconnect the battery. If the lights flash and sounder beeps every few seconds you are
halfway home. Have all your remotes, security looks for five signals. You must press each remote at least once and all
of them for a total of five presses. The security should work then. If the sounder does not sound , you may need to
disconnect the security backup battery next to the security ECU and the do the process.”
Windshield Wipers
There have been three distinct types of wiper motor used in the XJ-S. In the earliest models, a Lucas wiper was used
that incorporated a parking solenoid inside that pulled the wipers into a parking position that was beyond the regular
wiping limit. Later models used a different Lucas motor that had no parking solenoid but ran the motor in reverse to
park. Finally, around 1987 an Electrolux motor was introduced.
Note that Jaguar made a regular practice of replacing the early solenoid-park Lucas motor with the later reversing-park
Lucas motor. They do not simply plug in, so Jaguar dealers were provided a “blue box” that allowed the earlier controls
to operate the later motor.
BLADES: First, a clarification of terminology. “Wiper blade” means the entire apparatus at the end of the wiper arm.
The little rubber strip that actually contacts the glass is called a “refill”. Don’t blame me, I didn’t come up with this.
The OEM blades on the author’s ’83 were really garbage: a simple pair of levers with a spring at the pivot point. These
were replaced with some Anco aftermarket units which are much better, having a multiple beam arrangement to
distribute the load over the blade edge.
The OEM blades on the ’83 have a pin protruding from the side of the center hinge that clips into the side of the arm. A
perfectly workable attachment, but unfortunately largely unheard-of today. However, it was common enough at one
time that some aftermarket blades came with little pins that would snap into the blade and allow it to be attached to these
arms. This is no longer popular, but many auto parts shops still have a collection of these pins in a drawer behind the
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counter. After all, 99% of the customers buying replacement blades didn’t need the pins and just tossed them over their
shoulders on the way out of the store. Once you have a pair of pins, you’re good for the life of the car; the pins won’t
wear out, so you can use them with whatever blades you ever install in the future. Most of the pins are steel, but some
were stainless steel; if you’re going through a box in an auto parts store, you might opt to keep looking until you find a
pair of the stainless ones.
The OEM blades were both the same length, but when I was buying aftermarket Anco blades I installed a 14” blade on
the driver’s side and a 15” blade on the passenger’s side. The 14” blade allows the driver’s side wiper to park without
contacting the A pillar. Also, having wipers of different lengths reduces the tendency to chatter -- which is one reason
why many modern cars come with two different size blades from the factory.
The Anco blades held the edges against the windshield better and wiped better when it was raining -- but when it started
to dry up, the wipers wouldn’t park! The motor didn’t have enough ooomph to move them. This led to a relay
installation, as described on page 627, which fixed that problem.
Reportedly the OEM wiper blade design was changed shortly after ’83.
WIPER MOTOR REMOVAL: Removing the wiper motor involves removing the entire intake grille assembly in front
of the windshield. It doesn’t look hard, but there may be trouble; the two fasteners closest to the windshield actually
involve a rubber isolation mount, and trying to unscrew the nut may just rip the mount apart if you are unlucky today.
Fortunately, it isn’t too difficult to improvise a replacement mount scheme using a small bolt, a couple nuts, and a rubber
grommet or two. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to rigidly mount the grille, though; Jaguar probably used the
rubber mount for a reason.
WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR COVER: Under the grille, Jaguar provided a cover over the wiper motor to keep the
rain off. If you’re wondering where your original cover went, you need to read about water leaking in through the A/C
system on page 466. This plastic part does not hold up in sunlight.
Providing a new plastic cover from Jaguar over the assembly would help for a while, but then it will just break up and
plug the drains again. The aluminum tape suggested below is likely to be the prime protection for the motor in the long
run. This author didn’t even bother installing a cover and simply relied on the tape, painting it black so it would look
OK from outside the car. It has worked for a decade.
Chuck Sparks suggests that you can buy a new cover and fiberglass it before installation to render it impervious to
sunlight. Just coat it with resin, sprinkle on some loose fibers, and apply another coat of resin. Trim the edges up to
make it look pretty, then paint it.
Jim Belkoff says, “John's Cars sells a replacement cover made out of genuine American plastic. I think it's worth the
nominal cost.” John’s Cars is on page 717.
Chuck Roach says: “I went to my Jag dealer to pick up a new cover and the parts/service manager told me to forget it
and just use an old one-gallon plastic bottle and cut it to fit and hold it in place with cable ties. Worked great. Will
probably last as long as the original.” I disagree; it’s likely to last a good deal longer than the original.
Of course, you could probably fashion a cover from a thin piece of aluminum. Or find a metal can about the right size
and shape and cut it out to make a metal cover. Or fashion a cover from a section of aluminum rain gutter. Or simply
coat the motor with a layer of mastic. The possibilities are endless, just use your imagination.
WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR REBUILDING: The housing of the Lucas wiper motor is not waterproof, and it’s
sitting right under the grille, exposed to the elements. To protect it, Jaguar provides a plastic cover over the motor to
keep water from falling on it. There are also two large drains from the wiper motor compartment out through the
engine compartment and out into the front wheel wells that should prevent any standing water from accumulating in this
area. Unfortunately, the cover is usually history (see above), the compartment drains are often plugged because that’s
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where the cover ended up (see page 466), and the wiper motor has ceased functioning due to water damage.
If you have trouble with the wiper motor, it’s not too difficult to rebuild. The ROM doesn’t include any instructions for
overhaul, but the Haynes manual does. Note that the instructions in the Haynes, including Fig. 10.101, don’t accurately
reflect the Lucas reverse-park motor found in the author’s ’83; perhaps they are more representative of the earlier
solenoid-park motor.
Typically, a wiper motor “assembly” consists of the motor itself and the gearbox, with the gearbox integrated with one
end cover of the motor. The instructions in the Haynes manual talk as much about getting the gearbox apart as the
motor, but really you can usually tear apart one without disturbing the other. If it’s the motor itself you wish to
disassemble, it’s a simple matter of removing two long screws. Note that the illustration in the Haynes shows the
housing (it’s called a “yoke” in the Haynes manual) as a single piece, while the author’s ’83 has a cylindrical case plus a
separate end plate. Once the housing is off, the rotor can be removed by “unscrewing” it, allowing the worm gear to
disengage without moving the wipers.
While apart, remove any accumulation of rust off the large cylindrical diameter of the rotor, the surface that passes very
close to the magnets in the cylindrical can. You can use sandpaper; it’s just iron. Use a phosphoric acid-containing rust
treatment on this outermost surface to stabilize it and help prevent future rust, but be careful not to get the acid on
anything else -- the wiring, the commutator, etc. Also clean all rust particles out of the cylindrical can, which will
require some patience since they will stick to the permanent magnets inside so you must grab each particle to remove it.
Masking tape is helpful; just stick it down and peel it off and it takes away a layer of the ferrous dust.
Clean up the brushes, which tend to jam when they’ve been wet for a while; make sure the brushes slide freely. If the
brushes are worn (too short), replace them; there’s no need to go looking for genuine Jaguar parts, just find any place
that sells electric motor brushes (vacuum cleaner repair shops, starter/alternator shops, etc.) and buy some brushes that
are a bit larger and file them down to fit. Carbon takes only seconds to file to size, although these will require some care
since each brush has slots down the sides. The original brushes have brush, spring, brass guide and wire all bound
together as one piece, but you can reassemble with separate generic pieces any way that forms a proper electrical
connection. Note that the “third brush” in the Lucas wiper motor is a tad unusual in that it has one half of the tip cut
away; make a similar notch on your homemade replacement.
If you’re not up to that sort of work, Walter Acker says, “The brush plate is available from the dealer. It is normally a
special order that takes time to get.” Apparently, the same brush plate fits either the Lucas solenoid-park or the Lucas
reverse-park motors.
Usually the best thing to do with the commutator, the segmented copper arrangement on the rotor that the brushes
contact, is to leave it alone. However, if it’s gouged, eroded, or otherwise in need of attention, the thing to do is to
chuck it up in a lathe and file, grind, or otherwise machine the surface to clean it up, and then polish it as smooth as
possible. Smoothness is good for brush life.
Use an ohmmeter to check for continuity at the commutator. There should be some continuity between any two
segments, so you can check them all quickly by just connecting to any one segment and then check for continuity to each
of the others from there. Also check that there is no continuity between a segment and the steel core of the rotor. If
there’s any segment that lacks continuity or a short to the core, you probably won’t be able to fix it yourself; either
contact a motor repair specialist for guidance or just buy a new wiper motor.
Lubricate the bearings with something that won’t dry out and get gummy. Synthetic motor oil is probably as good a
lubricant as you will find. However, take care not to get too generous with the lubricants at the commutator end of the
motor; if the lubricants ooze their way onto the commutator, it’ll screw up the motor and you’ll have to come in here
again and clean it up.
The most difficult part about reassembling a commutator motor is holding the brushes in a retracted position while you
slide the rotor into place. Fortunately, on this motor the rotor goes in first and the case goes on afterward, which makes
this task easier than on motors where it all must go together at once. Still, the fact that there are three brushes may
make you run out of hands; you might use small pieces of wire to hold the brushes back during assembly.
If the long screws strip out of the threaded holes in the gearbox housing, you can install slightly longer screws and put
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nuts on the back side.
This being a worm screw drive system, there is a setscrew and locknut on the gearbox that contacts the tip of the rotor
shaft. When assembling the motor, loosen the locknut and back the setscrew out a bit. After the motor housing is
securely bolted into place, tighten the setscrew until it snugs up, then back it off a quarter turn and tighten down the
locknut.
After reassembly, it wouldn’t hurt to seal the top of the motor with aluminum tape (available where air conditioning
supplies are sold -- it’s used to seal ductwork) to help prevent water from getting in. You also might want to cover the
center bump on the end plate; on the author’s ’83 there’s a thrust insert behind the bearing that sticks out a hole -- it
doesn’t move, but it’s not sealed. Don’t cover the bottom of the motor; leave the openings uncovered on the bottom so
that condensation drains out. And, of course, attend to the cover and compartment drain problems so you don’t have a
repeat of your troubles.
The solenoid-park Lucas motor, the reverse-park Lucas motor, and the Electrolux motor differ in detail, but the same
type of repair and renovation should work on each.
WIPER MOTOR MAGNETS: Herman Green: “I took the motor apart and found that one of the magnets had come
loose and had jammed the armature. The magnets are glued in with what seems to be some kind of silicone. Rust had
crept under the bond and it gave up. I marked the location of the magnets with a file and measured the distance from the
end of the housing to the top of the magnet, so I could put them back in the correct position. I also marked the magnets
as to their location and orientation. If they're put in wrong, the motor will either run backwards or lock up. I then
removed the magnets and cleaned them and the inside of the motor housing with a sanding flapper wheel in a drill motor.
I then mixed up some JB Weld and glued them back in place. When gluing the magnets in, use a clamp of some sorts to
snuggle them in tight. If not, you may not be able to get the armature back in! Once cured, I painted it with rustoleum
to prevent further rust, and put it back together. Works great and should last a long time.”
The author had the same problem. The white glue used is apparently just fine, Lucas didn’t screw up there. The
problem is water damage, due to the various water problems already noted -- lost motor cover, jammed compartment
drains, etc. Eventually the motor case rusts behind the magnets, popping the glue loose.
Interestingly, the author’s motor still ran with one magnet loose. The magnet is somewhat trapped between the case, the
rotor, and the two long bolts holding the motor together. It can slide back and forth a little, but can’t go anywhere.
Apparently the motor just ran with the rotor rubbing on the face of the magnet without damaging anything. Of course, it
didn’t run well and occasionally it didn’t want to start, which is why the overhaul was undertaken.
If you’re as lucky and the magnets are intact, you can glue them back into place with JB Weld as Green described. If a
magnet is neatly broken into two or three pieces, you can still fix it -- just glue the pieces together with JB Weld. If drop
a magnet on the garage floor, though, it will probably shatter into hundreds of pieces; the magnets are made of ceramic.
In this case, you’ll be needing a new motor.
If only one magnet came loose, just put it back in directly opposite the one that’s in there. If both are loose, you need to
figure out where they go. Since the author has been in there, some specific guidelines for where the magnets go in the
Lucas reverse-park motor are given on page 627; if your motor is the same, use those tips. If your motor is different,
try the ideas below.
Since the magnets can’t go anywhere, you should take note when taking the motor apart. If both magnets are loose,
immediately stop what you’re doing and mark which magnet goes in which side of the case. Installing them backwards
will make the motor run backwards, and that means the reverse-park system will be trying to park when it’s supposed to
be running and run when it’s supposed to be parking and the like; things will be all screwed up.
If you failed to note which magnet goes in which side, you might as well try the guidelines for the reverse-park provided
on page 627; the chances of being correct are at least 50/50, perhaps better if Lucas kept the same magnet orientation
from model to model. If you reassemble everything and it doesn’t work right and you figure you’ve glued the magnets
in backwards, there is one possible easy way out: remove the screws from the motor and rotate the entire case 180º and
put the bolts back in. If there is an alignment notch or keyway, you may need to file a new one -- but the author’s ’83
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didn’t have any such devices, only an alignment mark. So you will be deliberately not lining up the alignment mark.
Other guidelines for magnet reinstallation: they should be equally spaced from each other within the case. When the
motor is assembled, they should be aligned with the pair of brushes that are directly opposite each other. Obviously, the
long bolts will end up between the magnets. Axially, the magnets should be centered over the core of the rotor, so with
some careful measuring you should be able to locate them well enough.
If you only had to reglue one magnet, you know you really want to go ahead and knock the other one loose and reglue it
while you’re in there. I recommend against it. Shove on it a bit and see if you can get it to pop loose, but if it doesn’t
come off easily just reassemble the motor and forget about it. It’s not all that difficult to get this motor apart and reglue
it if it comes loose later. But if you get forceful trying to get that magnet loose, you’re only too likely to break it -- and
then you’ll need a new motor.
WINDSHIELD WIPER PARK POSITION: On the author’s ’83, the wipers park to the left. Apparently some other
cars have wipers that park to the right, but there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to it.
The XJ-S wiper pivots are symmetrically located in front of the windshield, unlike any automobile on which an engineer
thought about it for two minutes before designing it. As a result, the tip of one wiper bumps into the windshield frame
when parked. Page 214 in the Haynes says to install the arms so the blades are parallel to the bottom edge of the screen
when parked; that may work on the XJ12 but you really can’t do that on the XJ-S on the side the wipers park pointing
towards; the bottom end of the blade hits the chrome trim and the tip hits the A pillar. Avoiding these contacts requires
positioning that wiper to park up high so it doesn’t hit the frame; in the “Supplement for Later Cars” section, the Haynes
actually provides an illustration with dimensions for positioning the wipers this way. Unfortunately, it looks stupid and
obstructs the line of sight.
One way to improve this is to modify the wiper arm that points toward the A pillar to be shorter. This requires carefully
unfolding the sheet metal where it is wrapped around the strut and drilling out the rivet just above the spring attachment.
Then the strut can be cut about an inch shorter, drilled and bent to form a new spring attachment, a new rivet hole
drilled, and then the strut can be reattached with a new rivet (a pop rivet will do) and the sheet metal re-crimped around
the strut. A little flat black paint, and no one will know the original design was so poor. With the shorter arm, the wiper
can be positioned much closer to the bottom of the windshield. Note that the shorter wiper will not reach as far toward
the top of the windshield either, but this doesn’t seem to pose a problem.
You can accomplish very close to the same effect by merely installing a shorter blade on that arm. A blade one inch
shorter will pull the tip away from the A pillar the same amount as shortening the arm by 1/2”. Unfortunately, it also
reduces the area of the windshield that gets wiped. This may or may not be a problem for you.
Another improvement can be made by bending the arm slightly. The arm that parks over the other is cranked a little bit,
but the one that parks pointing toward the A pillar is straight. Take that straight one, mount it in a vice, and crank it
kinda like the other one. It’s as difficult to bend as it looks; you’re bending a flat bar the hard way, but the metal is soft
and bends easily. This bend allows you to set this arm to park lower without the bottom end hitting the trim at the
bottom edge of the windshield -- but it does nothing for the contact with the A pillar. So, it’s a good plan to make both
changes -- shorten the arm a bit and crank it a bit.
Another possible solution is to alter the wipers so they park on the passenger’s side. In the case of the later Electrolux
motor Stefan Schulz says this can be done by merely opening the motor gearbox and moving the park cam 180 degrees,
but it doesn’t look that easy on the Lucas motors. You will need to purchase Jaguar wiper arms that have the bend the
opposite direction. Of course, after all this the wipers will still be just as obtrusive, but they will be aggravating the
passenger instead of the driver.
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Windshield Wipers -- Lucas Solenoid-Park
SOLENOID-PARK OPERATION: Mike Morrin reports on the early XJ-S wipers: “The wiper in question has a highly
(over) engineered parking facility where on the parking stroke, the blades go an extra 5 degrees or so, which pushes
them off the screen onto the chrome strip. In the parked position, the blades are on the glass for about half their length,
and on the chrome strip for the other half. Definitely further out of the driver’s field of view than where you would put
them on a normal wiping stroke. The early cars had this feature; the pictures in the pre-HE parts book and the service
manual both show the solenoid (although it is not labelled in the parts book and the service manual calls it a switch).”
The “Extract 3” wiring diagram in the back of Section 86 in the ROM and Fig. 10.128 and 13.96 in the Haynes manual
include schematics for this system. The solenoid is not labelled, but it’s the coil-lookin’ thing alongside the motor.
Richard Dowling describes how it works: “In “OFF” position (park position) no power is applied to the motor or
solenoid. In “LOW” or “HIGH” speed position +12V is applied to the motor windings through yellow (high speed) or
red (low speed) wires.” Note: the low speed wire from the stalk switch to the bulkhead connector is ULG and from the
bulkhead connector to the microswitch it’s blue. Inside the microswitch it does nothing but come out another terminal,
and from there the low speed wire to the motor itself is red on Dowling’s car, but in Fig. 13.96 of the Haynes it’s BLG.
Doncha just love Lucas wiring?
“As soon as the motor moves away from the park position the microswitch is closed and this maintains +12V on the “2”
contact of the stalk switch.” Note that Fig. 13.96 in the Haynes numbers the terminals on the stalk switch differently for
some reason, with the terminal that gets 12V from the microswitch being number 1 instead of number 2.
“The motor shaft has a small worm which drives a large gearwheel. On the gearwheel a cam is mounted, and this cam
has a pin which connects to a crank arm. The cam is concentric with the gearwheel in normal wiper arm motion. As the
cam and gearwheel rotate the crank arm moves the wiper arms in an arc over the windscreen.
“When the stalk switch is returned to “OFF” position, +12V from “2” contact will both maintain the low speed motor
winding energised and also energise the solenoid. The solenoid operation activates a catch to engage a spring loaded
lever on the cam. This in turn forces the cam into eccentric operation on the gearwheel, which moves the crank arm
over a longer stroke and thus activates the microswitch to open the “ON” contact and hence remove power from “2”
contact on the stalk switch. The motor winding and solenoid are then de-energised and the wiper arms are in the park
position.
“As soon as the motor starts up again the eccentric cam rotates to its normal concentric position on the gearwheel.
“The microswitch position is adjustable in a slot with a small screw to determine where it stops the crank arm. Opening
the “ON” contact stops the motor which stops the crank arm.
“The microswitch body has 8 “faston” terminals, but only 2 terminals are effective. Those 2 are the common pole of
the switch and the “on” contact. The other terminals are only for interconnecting wires.”
Morrin: “It is nearly a good design, suffering only from the poor thermal design of the solenoid, and perhaps the parking
switch should have been operated by a cam on the driven gear rather than by a switch on the sliding link thingy.”
Note: the cars with the solenoid-park wiper motors did not have an intermittent mode. This may help explain the
changeover to the reverse-park motor used later, since the solenoid-park scheme would probably not work well being
parked every ten seconds or so.
WON’T PARK: Dowling: “Ever since I bought this car there have been times when the wipers would stop dead on the
windscreen when switched off instead of parking. I know it is a problem with the switch fitted to the wiper gearbox.
The switch is supposed to keep power on the motor until it reaches the park position.” Unfortunately, since Jaguar took
to replacing these wipers in entirety with the later reverse-park wipers; buying a new microswitch is likely to get more
and more difficult as time passes.
“The overall wiper motor/gearbox is a fairly solid design and mine looks almost brand new after a clean up, oil and
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grease. Even the quirky solenoid that pulls in a ramp, that pushes up a latch, that forces the drive wheel into an eccentric
orbit that then parks the wiper arms usually works. Strange but true - at least on my car.
“However, the switch gadget, which is a homegrown Lucas thing, is a pathetic cheap addition to what is a fairly good
and expensive piece of machinery. I have pulled out the wiper assembly at least half a dozen times over the years to see
if I could do anything to make it work reliably. It is not so easy to fit a microswitch in place of the Lucas POS, since
you need a bracket to mount it and there is really no easy place to fit a bracket on the body of the wiper gearbox.
“I lopped off the top of the Lucas switch and exposed the little plunger in there which is operated by the cam on the
slider in the gearbox. Luckily this leaves a hole in the Lucas item where you can put a miniature style microswitch.
These are smaller than the regular size used on the throttle kickdown but not too hard to get hold of at US$3 a time. I
made a simple bracket from aluminium angle and glued it to the Lucas POS.
“Drilled a couple of holes and mounted the microswitch. The microswitch has a short lever with roller and is pushed up
by the plunger. Reasonably easy in the end.”
AVOIDING THE WON’T PARK PROBLEM: Regardless of whether you’re trying to preserve the original Lucas
switch inside the solenoid-park motor or you’ve already replaced it with a generic microswitch as described above,
you’ll see the value of reducing the stress on the contacts inside to help that switch last as long as possible. Its job is to
break contact to not one but two inductive loads: the solenoid and the motor. As discussed beginning on page 559,
inductive loads tend to cause charring on contacts when disconnected -- but it’s really easy to prevent this by adding a
diode. You should add a diode here. Now.
When looking at the wiper motor assembly, there are two wires that go from the microswitch to the solenoid: one blue
and one brown. This is a convenient place to add the diode: between the blue and brown wires, with the point or stripe
on the diode towards the brown wire.
This isn’t the only place it could go. It could also go inside the car in the wiring to the stalk switch. It needs to be wired
in between the RLG wire and ground, with the point or stripe towards the RLG wire.
Remember that even though you might be installing this diode in the wires to the solenoid, it’s not just spikes from the
solenoid it’ll be absorbing; it’ll also be absorbing spikes from the motor, which is connected in parallel to the solenoid
when the microswitch turns them both off. So, you need to make sure this diode is big enough to handle that job. As
described in the section on installing such diodes, none of them ever need to be very big, but don’t put a really tiny one
here.
Note: The relay installation described below will also help the microswitch last longer -- but it’s no substitute for
installing this diode. The diode is probably more important to this switch’s life. Of course, doing both would be a good
plan.
WON’T STOP -- CAUSE #1: Dowling: “If the microswitch is too far down its slot, or the switch contact does not
open, the motor and solenoid stay energised and the wiper arm will not park. In fact the wiper will operate whenever
the ignition is on. This is a very obvious fault and may burn out the solenoid if it is not fixed promptly.” By promptly,
he means within a minute or so. As Morrin mentions below, if it won’t stop you need to move the stalk switch back to
low speed position to avoid frying that solenoid.
WON’T STOP -- CAUSE #2: Morrin: “Unfortunately, a little bit of dirt or grease in the wrong place is enough to stop
the solenoid pulling in all the way, which prevents the eccentric gear mechanism from pushing the wipers off the edge of
the screen, which means that the parking switch doesn't get activated, which means that the wipers keep going and going
and..... fried solenoid.”
The parking solenoid gets fried “because it is designed to be energised only while the wipers are switched off and are not
parked. The designer thought that this period would be only a couple of seconds, and designed the solenoid with
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thermal capacity for about 30 seconds.
“If you do have an early car (pre H.E.) with this facility, if the wipers ever keep running after you have turned them off,
then put the switch back into the ON position, or the solenoid will burn out within a minute or so. Remove the wiper
blades if it stops raining.” Uhhh, it might help to shut the car off to do this. Once the wipers are in the trunk, you can
start it back up and drive off with the wiper motor whirring merrily away. Alternatively, you might simply opt to shut
off the ignition when the wipers are in the right place, and then remove the correct fuse before starting it back up. Fuse
9 should do it.
“If the solenoid has not melted, the parking function can probably be restored by carefully dismantling, cleaning and
reassembling the solenoid.”
If the solenoid has melted: “I stripped off the old wire and built up the melted plastic core with epoxy filler, then filed it
back to shape. The solenoid is wound with 0.16mm (0.0063") copper transformer wire. I didn't count the turns, but it
does need to be neatly layer wound or you cannot fit enough turns to get the required magnetic pull.”
QUICKIE FIX FOR FRIED SOLENOID: Morrin: “I found that the parking switch is adjustable, and by trial and error
found a position where the wipers would stop more or less at the bottom of the screen when switched off, even with the
parking solenoid removed. This solution was almost perfect except that with the blades fitted so that they parked at the
bottom of the screen, they did not wipe all the way to the passenger side of the windscreen.”
This quickie fix might even be considered an improvement. Per Morrin, the correctly-operating solenoid system “takes
about half the period of a normal stroke to move the the wipers through the first 5 degrees, and you need to hold the
switch for that period of time.”
UPGRADING TO LUCAS REVERSE-PARK: If you’re interested in upgrading an earlier car with the later wiper
motor, Scott Horner describes “the little Lucas blue box modification - this plugs into the original wiring loom and fits
into any tight spot under the dashboard. This was offered by Jaguar to make the windshield wipers park on pre-H.E.
cars, when used in conjunction with an H.E. wiper motor.”
RELAYS: The pre-90’s XJ-S is notorious for powering high-current loads such as electric windows and windshield
wipers through tiny contacts and long, skinny wires. The result is a 14V load that is trying to operate on 8V or some
such, the rest of the voltage being lost in the controls and circuitry. If your wipers are dragging, the solution is to
provide a relay scheme to provide solid power directly from the main power bus and use the original control wiring only
to control the relays.
Dowling suggests there may be another good reason to install relays: to help the stalk switch last longer. It’ll also help
the microswitch in the motor last longer. If either of those switches ever gives out on you, you’re gonna wish you had
ponied up the ten bucks for relays when you first read this.
It’s very simple to install relays on the solenoid-park motor, only requiring two relays -- one for low speed, one for high.
There are three wires from the microswitch to the motor itself. One of these is a ground wire; Dowling says that one is
blue. For each of the other two, pull the spade connector off the microswitch and connect it to a normally-open contact
on a relay. Connect the terminal on the microswitch to one coil terminal on the relay. Connect the other coil terminal
on the relay to ground; that third wire on the motor is a ground, so you can splice into that or piggyback onto the
terminal it connects to. Connect a stout 12V power lead to the other side of the normally-open contact.
Obtain that stout 12V power from the main bus on the firewall. You’ll need to provide a fuse within the engine
compartment where it’s easy to get to, and then run the lead into the wiper compartment and install the relays in there
somewhere they won’t get immersed when it rains.
The third wire from the motor needs to be a good solid ground. It might help a little to provide an additional
reinforcement ground right there in the wiper compartment. Simply tie in another wire and screw the other end down to
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the body somewhere.
If you’d rather work behind the dash, these relays can just as well be installed in the wiring from the stalk switch.
Merely cut the ULG and YLG wires and splice in the relays, using the lead from the stalk switch to power the relay coil
and the contact in the relay to send solid 12V power on to the wiper motor. You can get the stout 12V power from the
main terminal post on the firewall near the climate control system.
Windshield Wipers -- Lucas Reverse-Park
SCHEMATICS: The reverse-park wiper system is shown schematically on page 86-15 of the ©1982 Supplement to the
ROM. Apparently the only place it’s shown correctly in the Haynes is in Fig. 13.91 -- which is a wiring diagram for the
saloon. Whatever, you can simply refer to Figure 35 below and ignore the relay additions to see how the car was
originally wired.
WINDSHIELD WIPER CONNECTOR AND HARNESS: Once you have the grille out, you will find that the wiper
motor plugs into a socket on a panel inside the grille compartment. Jaguar uses a really nice 8-conductor plug to
connect five wires. You might find it helpful to know which wire on the schematics connects to which conductor on
that plug. Figure 34 is an illustration of the connector on the panel in the author’s ‘83, viewed as though you were
standing on the engine looking at it. The circles represent brass posts.
Figure 34 - Windshield Wiper Connector
Of course, the connector on your car may be different than the author’s ’83, so you might need to confirm those
connections with a VOM. With the ignition switch turned to ACC, the W LG post should register 12V with the wiper
switch in fast mode only. The B LG post should register 12V with the switch in slow mode only. The K LG should
register 12V with the switch in intermittent/flick or off modes only. Turn the ignition off, and using ohmeter or
continuity mode, you should get continuity between O LG and B LG posts in intermittent/flick and off modes only.
Obviously, the ground terminal should register continuity to ground.
Also on the author’s ’83, there is a harness that starts with the plug that connects to this socket on the panel and plugs
into the motor itself. At the motor end, it becomes evident that the wire colors in this harness do not correspond to the
wiring schematics -- they are solid-color wires. And the plug is enclosed so you can’t tell which wire goes to which
connector by looking. It’s not too difficult to determine which wire is which using a VOM, though:
Yellow = W LG
Green = Ground
Brown = B LG
Red = O LG
White = K LG
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WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR DURABILITY: A design problem with the Lucas wiper motor is that the drive gears
at the wiper arm shafts are plastic. Wear is a reported problem, and can be aggravated by operating the wipers on a dry
windshield. It is suggested that the XJ-S owner use Rain-X or similar product on the windshield on a regular basis.
This will make the water run off so the wipers need not be used as often, and it will also make the surface of the glass
more slippery, so the wipers move more easily.
WINDSHIELD WIPER PARKING: If your Lucas reverse-park wipers don’t park, you may be tempted to start tearing
the wiper motor apart to work on the parking contacts -- but you would be forgetting that this is Lucas you’re dealing
with. As Mark Roberts found out, the problem is every bit as likely to be within the stalk switch. “Because the wipers
would park in intermittent mode, I was skeptical about the problem being with the parking micro switch, but checked it
anyway. Micro switch was fine. The problem was traced down to the stalk switch. In the off position, pins 5 & 6
(ULG & BLG respectively) are supposed to be shorted together, to provide a ground path for the motor. They are also
supposed to be shorted when in intermittent mode for the same reason. On my switch, 5 & 6 were shorted in
intermittent mode, but open in the off position...no ground, no work.”
Dan Jensen provides more info: “There is a simple in-car test to determine if the switch is the problem. After turning
the wipers off and having them stop midstroke, simply push down slightly on the stalk toward the intermittent position
(but not the "locked" intermittent position). If the wipers park, it is the switch.”
Jensen had this same problem on three different Jaguars! “Unfortunately, after disassembly of the switch in my '81, I
could not come up with a successful way to repair it. The cause seems to be slow deformation over time of the plastic
slide that supports the copper contacts in the switch. The slide is held against the stalk by a rather stiff spring that
apparently leads to an inexorable depression in the plastic slide contact surface. At ~$100-125/switch, I will probably
just live with the problem.”
Tom Amlie says a new switch might not even fix it. “Ordered a new switch for $82. It was defective straight out of a
sealed green box with the leaper on it. Took the old one apart. It has a flat plastic card with indentations in it. In the
indentations are little pieces of copper. As the card moves in and out, the little pieces of copper are supposed to make
and break connections as necessary. Trouble is, they are not anchored in any way and fall out. A few drops of crazy
glue on the copper pieces and glued the thing together. Worked fine. This was my first experience with the "Prince of
Darkness". I think you are too easy on Lucas in your book.”
This author had the same problem and managed to fix it by disassembling the switch. Reassembly requires some
ingenuity. A 2-1/8” length of 1/2” aluminum angle and two 1-1/2” #6 screws works well. Cut some plastic away on the
back side of the switch, then lay the angle against it and insert the screws through holes in it and into the threaded
mounting holes in the switch housing. The screws will protrude through the front, where you can use the ends to mount
the switch back in the column with a couple of nuts and lock washers. The metal angle will help prevent the plastic
housing from deforming and allowing the contact problems described above.
WINDSHIELD WIPER ARM MOUNT: The wiper arms are mounted on the shafts with a taper fit, held tight with a
nut that is hidden by a plastic cover. The plastic cover can be simply swung up to reveal the nut, and if desired can then
be pulled directly off; it just snaps into place. The nut really should have a washer under it; if not, the 8mm wavy spring
washers described on page 27 will work well.
The base portion of the arm is made of aluminum, and a slight growth or wallowing of the tapered hole is an occasional
problem. Contrary to expectations, this cannot be dealt with by merely tightening the nut further or stacking washers.
The nut bottoms on a shoulder above the taper, and the arm remains loose.
There is a second result of this problem. When the nut pushes the arm too far down onto the taper, the bottom of the
arm can pinch the rubber shield against the mount bushing and bind up the movement of the wiper. These motors have
enough trouble moving as is, they don’t need binding on top of it. After installing the arms and tightening down the
nuts, grab the rubber shield between two fingers and try to turn it on the shaft. If you cannot turn it, it’s probably
binding.
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These problems can be easily corrected. Cut a 1/4” wide arc from thin sheet aluminum (beer can for minor problems,
old real estate signs if more thickness is needed) and roll it into a conical shim. Installed between the shaft and the arm,
it will provide a tight fit.
MOTOR MAGNET REINSTALLATION: As mentioned on page 620, the permanent magnets have been known to
come loose inside the motor casing. If the ceramic magnets haven’t shattered, it’s pretty easy to clean them up and
reinstall them with JB Weld -- but you need to know where they go. Since the author has done this, the following
guidelines should serve for anyone who owns a similar Lucas reverse-park motor:
On the author’s motor, the case is a simple metal cylinder 2-7/8” long, 3” in diameter, and open on both ends. There is a
dovetail joint where the metal was stitched together to make a cylinder, but there’s no telling if that joint is located in the
same place on all motors. There is a V notch at one end of the dovetail joint, and there are two small rectangular
notches near the dovetail joint -- but none of these notches have any apparent purpose, so again there’s no telling if
they’re in the same place on all motors.
The one thing that is reliable is a small alignment mark. It’s a straight line about 1/4” long, near the gearbox end of the
case. It is meant to be aligned with a triangular alignment mark on the gearbox housing. Hence, the magnets need to be
reinstalled properly relative to this mark.
The magnets should be installed 5/8” from the end plate end of the case. This results in them being 7/8” from the
gearbox end of the case.
The magnets should be equally spaced from each other, and equally spaced on either side of the alignment mark.
Hold a magnet with the concave side -- the side that faces the rotor -- near the side of a compass. If the S point of the
compass needle turns and points towards the magnet, set that magnet down and pick up the other one. You want the
magnet on which the concave side attracts the N point of a compass needle.
Hold the casing in such a way that the gearbox end is up and you’re looking at the alignment mark. The magnet you’re
holding should be installed on the side of the case to your right.
With a magnet in place in the case, you could remove the magnet, rotate it front-to-back, and put it back in in the same
place and it wouldn’t look any different. Relax, it also won’t make any difference. The important thing is to have the
correct magnet on the correct side of the case.
PITIFUL WINDSHIELD WIPER OPERATION: The performance of the early/mid-80’s Lucas wipers is really sorry.
They behave as though they are “dragging themselves into the grave.” And switching from slow to fast speed makes so
little difference you’d hardly notice it. This problem is similar to that causing the slow electric windows (see page 605),
so a similar solution is recommended: a relay scheme should be incorporated to provide solid 12V power directly to the
wiper motor without having to go through the stalk switch and the skinny wiring to get there.
Figure 35 is a schematic for installing up to three relays in the reverse-park Lucas wiper system. It should be noted that
an owner can choose to install any one, two, or all three of these relays to improve his wiper performance. To explain:
due to the way the control system works, both the 12V power and the ground connections go through the stalk switch
and the wiring in between. It is probable that there are just as many volts lost in the ground wiring as in the power
wiring. To improve any individual mode, one could install a relay to provide solid 12V power or one could install a
relay to provide a solid ground connection, but for truly optimum performance one should install both. In Figure 35,
Relay 1 provides one good connection for all modes; Relay 2 provides the other good connection for fast speed mode;
and Relay 3 provides the other good connection for slow speed, intermittent, flick, and park modes.
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Figure 35 - Windshield Wiper Relays
Installation of all three relays should also make the stalk switch last longer, since it will no longer be carrying the heavy
current.
Relay 1 and Relay 3 both must be SPDT relays (with 87a terminals -- see page 563).
Note that the second set of contacts in Relay 2 is really part of the Relay 3 scheme; if Relay 3 is not being installed, a
SPST relay (common automotive relay) can be used for Relay 2.
If Relay 3 is being installed, two separate automotive relays with their coils wired together can be used for Relay 2
rather than trying to find a suitable double-pole relay with 20A contacts.
If Relay 3 is the only scheme being implemented, it will require two relays -- the one labelled Relay 3 and a SPDT wired
as the right half of Relay 2 in the schematic, with the coil connected to the Y wire without breaking it.
Figure 35 shows a 12V power supply connected through a 20A fuse for each relay, but this is mainly for clarity and
simplicity of illustration. In practice, a single 12V power supply should be run for all relays, and a single 20A fuse
should be used; only one relay will be drawing current at any time. Note that the label on the fusebox may indicate a
35A fuse is needed for the wipers, but that reflects the difference between UK and US fuse standards (see page 587). If
you are using UK-rated fuses, you should use a 35A.
In application, the power for the author’s installation came from one of the main posts on the firewall, and a wire was
run through one of the bolt holes originally used to mount the heater valve (which had been replaced and relocated -- see
page 495). A couple of layers of heat-shrink tubing were applied around the wire at that point to protect it from rubbing
inside the threaded hole. The ground wire was attached using a bolt threaded into the other mounting hole for the heater
valve. Note that later cars have plastic nuts pressed into holes to mount the heater valve instead of the welded-on nuts
on the ’83, so the plastic nuts should be removed and a grommet and a bolt and nut should be used for the power and
ground wires instead. If you still have the original heater valve in place, you could just drill new holes -- but, seriously, it
would probably be a far better idea to spend the ten bucks on a new heater valve.
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The fuse I used is a modern plastic type, and was located in the engine compartment to make it easy to replace if
necessary. The relays themselves were installed within the wiper compartment, but far to the right and high up under the
bodywork to protect them from rain.
There is a cable, DAC2644, that plugs into the bulkhead connector within the wiper compartment and into the motor
itself -- see page 625. As a result, you can cut this cable and splice in the wiring to connect up these relays without
fiddling with either the wiper motor itself or the wiring behind the dash; the only reason to open the door on the car is to
turn the wipers on to test them out! The most challenging part of the job is getting the wiper grille out and back in when
done.
Note that Relay 1 and Relay 3 will be energized when the wipers are off. This is not really a concern, however; relays
are designed for continuous operation, the coils take very little power, and the relays will be deenergized when the
ignition key is turned off.
Relay 3 only helps the modes where the wipers are supposed to be operating slowly. This may sound silly -- if you want
more speed, just switch to fast speed! -- but in fact getting the slow speeds to operate smoothly and powerfully without
the typical pitiful straining could be considered worthwhile. There’s no danger of the motor running too fast; slow speed
is provided by the design of the motor, so although it will be faster than the dragging OEM setup, it will still be slower
than fast mode.
In fact, Relay 3 may be the most important scheme to install because it’s involved in the wipers parking. Park is one of
the slow modes that isn’t helped with the high speed relays, so when the glass gets dry putting it in park may cause them
to drag or even stop altogether without making it back to park position. This is really bad, because the power is left on
in the motor.
If you install all three relays as illustrated, Fuse #9 in the main fusebox will no longer carry any serious current; it will be
powering only the three or four relays you have installed and the delay unit. You can remove the 20A or 35A fuse and
install a 3A fuse.
Windshield Wipers -- Electrolux
Beginning around 1987, the XJ-S was fitted with an Electrolux motor. This unit has metal gears at the wiper arm shafts,
as opposed to the plastic gears on the Lucas. There are few reports of problems, so it must be a fairly reliable unit.
Stefan Schulz says “The parts guy at my local Jag dealer says that it is not a drop-in replacement for the Lucas one.”
If the Electrolux motor drags, adding a relay scheme may be helpful as it is with Lucas motors. However, somewhere in
the late 80’s or early 90’s Jaguar (or Ford) realized the error of their ways and began providing relay schemes for heavy
loads in their cars from the factory. Which happened first, and whether there’s any such thing as a car with Electrolux
wipers without relays, I don’t know. If your Electrolux wipers drag, that might be an indication.
Windshield and Headlight Washers
These systems have changed considerably over the years. The pre-H.E. windshield washer is a simple tank with a
simple, separate pump that draws fluid from a sort of dipstick tube inserted in the top of the tank. Both pump and tank
are located at the rear passenger’s side corner of the engine compartment. If that pump quits, a generic replacement
such as those available at any parts store will work fine. The one sold by Wal-Mart, Wiper Mates #5101, also has the
same electrical connector layout so the connector on the Jag wiring harness will plug right on. Polarity is important, but
it is correct. Apparently there’s some sort of standard for plugs on washer pumps.
On the H.E. up until VIN 110190 (mid-1983), the tank and pump are still on the passenger’s side rear corner of the
629
engine compartment but the windshield washer pump (DAC2403) is mounted horizontally and is attached directly to the
bottom of the washer fluid tank itself. It actually screws onto the tank; the opening in the tank has a rubber grommet in
it, and there’s a plastic nut on the inside held in place by three rubber tangs on the grommet itself. The pump has a
threaded inlet end and is installed by rotating the entire pump, screwing it into that nut and compressing the grommet.
When installing an aftermarket pump is a system like this, the recommended method of plumbing is to leave the toasted
OEM pump in place and just tee the new pump into the line from it. Fine and dandy -- except that the primary failure on
this author’s pump was the shaft seal between the pump and motor, which allowed the fluid to drain through the motor
and out the electrical connectors. Leaving it in place was therefore not an option, unless I could find a way to seal it.
Didn’t like that option anyway, so I removed all that junk and worked on connecting a pickup hose to the opening in the
tank.
A suitable grommet can be found at the auto parts store on the rack of “PCV valve grommets”. The one that fits a
1970-84 Toyota fits just fine. Next challenge: something to fit into this grommet. My choice was a PCV valve!
They’re cheap, so I just selected a plastic one, drilled the big end open and let the guts drop out, and plugged it in; it
proved watertight. A 1/2” nylon tubing fitting would probably work too. Of course, the fitting on the other end is still
pretty large, so stepping the hose size down to the 1/8” for the inlet of the aftermarket pump is still necessary.
Another option might be to jamb the hose itself into the grommet on the tank so the grommet seals against the outside
surface of the hose. You could even feed the hose on into the tank and out the filler opening, then jam a fitting or a
piece of brass tubing into the end of the hose to spread it a little larger and firmer than the bare end of the hose would be,
then pull it back into the grommet until it “wedges” into place.
From VIN 110191 to VIN 148781, a different tank with a different type pump is used, but still in the same basic
location.
Apparently, headlight washers were not available before 1982 or so. From their introduction up until VIN 148781, cars
that have washers on the headlights have a single tank with two pumps. This tank still fits in the passenger’s side corner
of the engine compartment, but it is larger than the single-pump tank and has a more elaborate mounting scheme. The
tank shown in the ’88 Jaguar Parts Catalogue is labelled DAC2853, but Martin Hargreaves reports that the later Parts
Catalogue (RTC9900CA) shows a tank number DAC4368. These two tanks appear exactly the same in the illustrations;
the actual difference is unknown.
From VIN 148782 on, the tank (DAC4732/2) and pump is located in the compartment forward of the right front tire;
this configuration is much more complicated, requiring a separate filler tube and cap and a special vent. Cars from VIN
148782 on with headlight washers have a similar tank (DAC4732/1) with two pumps.
From VIN 110191 on, the same type pump is used regardless of the tank configuration: DAC2876. This pump doesn’t
screw in like the earlier pump, but rather simply presses into a grommet. This is a common configuration; Alex Dorne
says, “It is VDO part number V246 003, also found on:
Audi 100, '77-'92
BMW 3 series, '80-85
BMW 5 series, '82 - '87
Saab 99, '78 - '84
Saab 900, '78-'84
Volvo 300 Series (European) '82-'89
Volvo 400 Series (European) '87-96
VW Golf / Rabbit '81-'86
Most of these are prime wrecking yard material.” Mike McLaughlin adds, “on my '85 XJ-S H.E. a Volkswagen Jetta
pump ($20USD) is a drop-in replacement, both to the reservoir and the Lucas plug!” If a generic aftermarket pump is
used, it should be easy enough to find a fitting that will plug into the same grommet and connect to a hose to the pump.
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The saloon is apparently a different matter. The Haynes manual indicates the tank used with headlight washers is in the
fender, and since the Haynes manual is ©1985 that means this move was made a few years before a similar move in the
XJ-S. Also, the Haynes says it is installed in the left side fender, while in the XJ-S it went into the right side fender.
HEADLAMP WIPER/WASHER DIODE PACK: Read all about the electric radiator fan diode pack on page 224.
ACCESS TO WASHER TANK IN FENDER: Regarding the VIN 148782-on configuration, Michael Wilson says,
“You have to remove the front stone guard to gain access. And trust me, it's much easier to remove the wheel to gain
access!”
WASHER NOZZLES: According to Richard Mansell, the single-post windshield sprayer in the center of the air intake
grille was replaced by two separate sprayers in mid-1987. These later nozzles are heated to prevent freezing. Jaguar
didn’t see fit to change the casting of the grille itself, so it retained a boss location in the center even though it wasn’t
drilled and had nothing installed in it.
Martin Hargreaves reports that the two separate sprayers changed again. “First later type has a plastic top which breaks
easily when adjusting, and the hose attachment is straight (i.e. points down) and metal. This is DAC 4244. The newer
type is metal at the top, and the hose attachment bends through 90 degrees and is grey plastic (possibly fitted over the
original type fitting). This is DAC 6398. From my dealer DAC 6398 is UKP 28 plus VAT. Each.”
Chuck Sparks says a large part of the problems with nozzles come from people using tap water in the washer system.
After use, the water in the tip of the nozzle evaporates and leaves its minerals behind. In no time at all, the tiny passages
are plugged. Really, folks, the $1/gal for washer fluid is money well spent.
WASHER SYSTEM CHECK VALVES: In some XJ-S’s, Jaguar used inline check valves in the lines to the nozzles.
Judging from the parts catalogs, this is related to the pumps used; the early external pump had one, the early H.E. screw-
in pump didn’t, the later push-in pumps did again. Maybe some pump designs didn’t include check valves within the
pump while others did.
They’re easy to test; just remove them from the line and try blowing through them in both directions. They should feel
wide open in one direction, totally plugged the other way. When they quit working, the only fix is apparently to replace
them. Since they will have the same effect regardless of where they are in the line, you might consider relocating them;
being plastic, they don’t like sunlight and they don’t like engine heat.
The check valves used on the pre-H.E., GWW504, are different than the check valves used on later cars, DAC2963. A
check valve is a check valve; since both items fit the same type hose and handle the same type fluid, they logically should
be interchangeable. Chuck Sparks claims the early design simply falls apart after exposure to heat or sunlight, so
perhaps replacing with the later item is in order.
The early system with the dipstick hose pickup in the tank also has a check valve right at the end of that pickup. It’s
similar to the GWW504 except one side of the housing is missing so it can pick up fluid right into the check valve itself.
Of course, you should still be able to substitute check valves; having an inlet that happens to be able to connect to hose
shouldn’t hurt anything.
WASHER FLOW RESTRICTORS: Although not shown in the parts catalogs, John Goodman insists there are flow
restrictors in the lines to the nozzles on some cars. Even if they work OK when new, they may get plugged up and too
restrictive as they get older. If you find them, you might consider simply removing them. “On some cars it's under the
air intake grille so isn't easily spotted.”
631
WASHER FLUID LEVEL WARNING LIGHT: The washer systems used in VIN 148782 on with the tank in the right
front fender have a level sensor that operates an idiot light on the dash, presumably because it’s not practical to simply
look at the tank to make sure there’s enough fluid in it. Michael Wilson says, “I just spoke with my local Jaguar dealer
(Barrier Motors) this morning, and they told me that you can no longer purchase the "low level" sensor alone. It is now
officially listed a NA (Not Available). Now, you must buy the entire reservoir bottle with the sensor built in. It does not
come with the pump motor. Apparently you can utilize the unit off the old one. The entire assembly runs a whopping
$155.00. Thats a lot of money to spend just to have an idiot light come on!”
WASHER MODIFICATIONS: John Goodman says, “Washers and wipers have improved over the years, but it was
quite common in the early '80's to modify the washer systems on cars that were prone to greasy windscreens (my Jensen
Healey was prone to this as the dirty air from under the bonnet would exit in front of the screen). We would take a
small bore copper pipe from the washer pump and wrap it around the exhaust manifold or heater hose, connect a "T"
piece with two lengths of small bore black nylon air hose routed through the body and taped to the windscreen wipers
with numerous fine holes strategically directed. Add lemon juice to the washer water.”
This author suggests wrapping that tube around the exhaust manifold wouldn’t be good, since it would boil all the fluid
away. Wrapping around a heater hose or pipe is a better idea; this would heat the fluid to near the same temp as the
coolant, warm but below boiling -- and it might not heat it at all if the heater valve is closed, which would indicate a
warm day. Might do wonders for clearing ice from the windshield -- or might just crack the windshield.
Light Bulbs
Light bulbs are discussed here. The taillight lenses and the like are discussed in the section on the body; see page 478.
If you can’t find a bulb locally, you can order whatever bulbs you’re ever likely to need from:
Lamp Technology, Inc.
1645 Sycamore Ave.
Bohemia, NY 11716-1729
1-800-KEEP-LIT
+1 (631) 561-1800 Fax: +1 (631) 567-1806
http://www.lamptech.com
BULB NUMBERING SCHEMES: Europe and the US use different schemes to number automotive bulbs, but a lot of
the bulbs have equivalents. In Europe -- and in the Jaguar manuals -- light bulbs (and fuses) are specified by a three-digit
number. Often, the manufacturer will be indicated by letters preceding the number; for example, a Unipart bulb may be
number GLB 233, but it could be replaced by any bulb number 233. While the Jag manuals often indicate GLB
numbers, I will endeavor to indicate only the three digit number in this book.
Here in the US, automotive light bulbs are typically packaged on cards in parts stores, clearly labelled by the US number
and “12V” -- but no clue at all about what amperage or wattage they are. Sometimes, if you’re real lucky, you’ll find
the candlepower -- but that’s only loosely related to wattage. However, the parts stores will usually have a book behind
the counter that gives complete data on the various bulbs available: voltage, wattage, life rating, candlepower, filament
shape, etc. The only thing the books won’t tell you is the European equivalent.
Of course, I try to actually be helpful in this book, so I will endeavor to give US equivalents to the European numbers
where I have been able to figure them out. Note that some of the data below includes the wattage as listed on a
specification sheet, often to two decimal places; rounding is definitely in order for general use, especially since the Jag
bulb charts usually don’t specify wattage closer than to an even watt.
632
The specification sheets also give rated voltages for automotive bulbs generally between 12.5V and 14.4V. On the
cards, these are all called “12V”.
The Jaguar Parts Catalogue, August 1987, seems to take a more objectionable tack and lists only Jaguar part numbers
for many light bulbs. There are no light bulbs in the car that were developed especially for Jaguar; all bulbs can be
replaced with generic equivalents. Some that have been identified include:
Jaguar P/N Euro equiv. US equiv.
C9126 382 1156
C38966 286
C43898 987
JLM293 254
JLM9587 207
JLM9589 233 1893
JLM9590 239 11004
JLM9591 265 GE DE7576
JLM9592 273
JLM9594 380 1157
JLM9598 411 H1
JLM9600 501 168
JLM9601 989
See the specific application notes below to fill in those blanks for US equivalents.
MINIATURE BAYONET BULBS: Miniature bayonet bulbs are the flashlight-size bulbs with a cylindrical base with a
pin on each side. They are sometimes simply referred to as “bayonet” bulbs -- including in the Jaguar bulb charts -- but
this is technically incorrect, since “bayonet” actually refers to the larger bulbs of similar design such as most taillight
bulbs. 13-14.4V miniature bayonet bulbs available in the US include:
NUMBER WATTAGE
756 1.12W
1813 1.44W
1892 1.73W
1815 2.8W
1891 3.36W
1889 3.78W
1816 4.29W
1893 4.62W
All of the above bulbs are bullet-shaped; the glass capsule is about the same diameter as the base. For places where
space isn’t a problem, there are also the following miniature bayonet bulbs with a larger spherical glass capsule:
NUMBER WATTAGE
633
57 3.36W
257 3.78W
1895 3.78W
293 4.62W
The 1895’s are sometimes available in colored versions.
If you visit a marine supply store, you will find an assortment of high-power miniature bayonet bulbs. In addition to
reasonably-priced 12V5W bulbs, there are some atrociously high wattage bulbs with proportionately large glass
capsules, up to 20 watts. There are also some halogen bulbs in 5W, 10W, 15W and 20W, some of which are a little
odd-looking but they are all about the same physical size as the tiny bullet-shaped bulbs. Some of them aren’t even
labelled halogen, but rather labelled only for some particular application, a depth finder or something. Of course, you
can tell they’re halogen by the price. As a bonus, all of the bulbs sold at a marine supply store are corrosion-resistant for
marine use.
FIBREOPTIC SOURCE BULB: This bulb is a miniature bayonet type. The bulb charts in the Jag manuals list a 254 or
989, depending on which book you look at, and describe it as 5 or 6 watt, again depending on which chart you believe.
254 is a festoon bulb, so that’s wrong.
Note that 5 or 6 watts is high wattage indeed for a miniature bayonet; the 6 watt is higher than any in the chart above.
Clearly, this particular application requires some serious light. Either the 1893 or 293 listed above probably fits the bill
as 5 watts, meaning you’ll get satisfactory light. If the various things lit by the fiberoptic source have always been too
dim for you, though, a visit to the marine supply store may be in order; one of those 5W halogen bulbs might be just the
ticket to liven up that dash. Going to much higher wattage than recommended would probably melt the fibreoptic unit
housing, so don’t get carried away.
SIDE MARKER BULB: In the US and some other countries, the lights on the front and rear ends of the car are
required by law to be visible from off to the side of the car. The taillights on the XJ-S meet this requirement, since they
wrap around the corners. The front markers are in the bumper, however, and therefore cannot be seen from the side.
To meet the requirement, a separate side marker light is provided just forward of the front wheel on each side. On the
SI/II/III saloons, the lights on either end don’t wrap around the corners, so there are separate side markers on both ends.
The side marker on the XJ-S takes a miniature bayonet type bulb. The bulb charts in the Jag manuals list a 207 or 233,
depending on which chart you look at, and describe it as 5 watt. This author’s ’83 was fitted with bulbs labelled 233 and
12V4W.
Several of the bulbs listed above would make suitable substitutes. If you don’t really care how bright your side markers
are, you can replace these bulbs with different wattage bulbs; however, you need to be concerned about whether the
park lamp failure sensors work properly -- see page 600. These side marker lamps are monitored by the same park lamp
failure sensors as the front parking lamps, and reduced wattage bulbs may result in bulb failure indications on the dash.
If you wish, the sensors can be adjusted for the new current level.
Judging from the typical condition of the original bulbs, the corrosion resistance of marine bulbs might be helpful in these
side markers.
A piece of 5/16” hose may be helpful in getting the side marker bulbs in and out.
CIGAR LIGHTER BULB: One bulb chart in the Jaguar repair manual says the miniature bayonet bulb for the cigar
lighter (643) is 22 watt. I don’t think so -- it should say 2.2 watt.
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BAYONET BULBS: All the bulbs in the pre-1991 taillights and front turn signal housings are bayonet type, although
some are single-filament and some are dual-filament. On the dual-filament bulbs, one pin on the base is positioned
differently than the other to ensure you install it correctly.
REAR TURN SIGNALS, BRAKE LIGHTS: In the US, for these applications calling for the single-filament bulb
number 382, use the 1156 -- very common, can be found in any auto parts store or Wal-Mart.
FRONT TURN SIGNALS: The bulb chart on page 04-3 of the ROM ©1975 calls for GLB 380, describing it as
“Double filament - Italy only”. It lies; it should say US/Canada only, Italy uses the single-filament 382. Among the
electrical diagrams following Section 86 of the same book is another bulb chart, and this one describes the GLB 380 as
21 watts, when it should say 21/5 indicating that it is a dual-filament bulb.
In the US, for the dual-filament 380, use the 1157 -- perhaps the most common taillight bulb there is.
Another common -- and very similar-looking -- dual-filament taillight bulb in the US is the 1034. If you try to use 1034
bulbs in the XJ-S, the indicator on the dashboard may only light the first blink, or not at all, when you operate the turn
signals. This is the bulb failure indication for the turn signals. Since the 1034 bulbs are lower wattage, the reduced
current causes a bulb failure indication.
If you want brighter turn signals, J. C. Whitney (page 694) offers a 30/8W halogen 1157 bulb, catalog number
81xx0439B, that they claim is 50% brighter than the standard 1157.
TAILLIGHTS: In the US, for the taillights (smaller bulb on the outer corner of the taillight housing), use number 89
even though it’s slightly more powerful (8W) than the 5W number 207 specified in the charts.
FESTOON BULBS: Festoon bulbs are the tubular bulbs with a pointed connector at each end. Here in the US, they
are described as “SV8.5mm”, 8.5mm being the diameter of the connector at the end. In addition to the wattage, you
need to pay attention to the overall length measured from point to point. There are at least two different length festoon
bulbs used in the XJ-S, 1.45” and 1.75”. Sometimes festoon bulbs are clamped at the ends while other times they are
held by the points; in some cases below, I mention which method is used.
BOOT LAMPS: The XJ-S used miniature bayonet bulb number 989 in the trunk up to 1982. From 1982 on it used
festoon bulb number 239 (5W). The overall length of this bulb is 1.45”. In the US, 11004 is a perfect replacement.
Note that the 1982-87 Hella boot lamp assemblies are not symmetrical, although they appear to be at first; the bulb itself
is held closer to one side of the lens than the other. The lamp should be installed so that the bulb is held farthest away
from the center of the trunk. This fixture holds the bulb by the points.
From 1987 on, the same lamp assemblies were used in the boot as in the interior.
INTERIOR LAMPS: The Jag bulb charts say the interior lights are either number 272 (10W) for early cars and 254
(6W) for later cars. Other sources offer 265 for cars up to VIN 100349 and 239 for VIN 100350 onward,
corresponding to a change in the fixture itself. 265 is apparently 1.75” long, while 239 (the same bulbs as the boot lights
‘82-on) is a 5W bulb 1.45” long.
If you have an earlier car with 1.75” bulbs and want 10W replacements, you can buy GE bulb number DE7576. There
are also bulb numbers 211 or 212 that will physically fit, but the wattage is unknown. 211 bulbs are also available in
pretty colors, if you want to get tricky. 10W 1.75" festoon bulbs are also available in marine supply stores.
If you have the later fixtures and a 5W bulb will do, the 11004 will work. If you want to try a 10W, there is also a
635
11005 available -- but you might want to keep an eye on them that they don’t melt the fixture.
The later lamps (all four corners of the interior use the same fixture) clamp onto the ends of the bulbs.
ROOF LAMP: The bulb in the roof lamp is supposed to be 10W, and is 1.75” long. The Jag bulb charts seem to leave
the number column blank, but other sources suggest number 265 here. This atrociously expensive Hella fixture holds
the bulb by the points. The GE bulb number DE7576 is a perfect replacement.
BACK-UP LAMPS: The books say the bulbs in the back-up lights are number 273, 21W. You can also find similar
bulbs in 18W; close enough, especially if you replace both together. These festoon bulbs have a total length of 1.75”.
The glass portion itself is also much larger in diameter than the connectors, giving it a bulged look.
Either the 18W or 21W bulbs are hard to find in the US; you will probably need to find a place that specializes in import
light bulbs. One alternative is the marine supply stores, which carry a 15W bulb the same shape and size. Or, you could
substitute the non-bulged 10W 1.75” bulbs commonly available and call it a day.
LICENSE PLATE LAMPS: The license plate lights require festoon bulbs 1.45” long. The Jag bulb charts call for a 254
(6W), but other sources offer the 239 (5W) for this application. If 5W is acceptable, the 11004 bulb will serve. You can
go up to the 10W 11005, but I’m betting you’ll melt the lens.
CAPLESS BULBS: What the Europeans call a capless bulb is called a wedge bulb in the US. Capless bulbs have no
base at all; the bottom of the glass capsule itself is formed into a flat edge and the wire conductors coming out of the
capsule are wrapped around the edge.
The following is a chart of some US wedge bulbs, 13-14.4V:
NUMBER WATTAGE
658 1.12W
160 2.66W (long life)
161 2.66W
158 3.36W
184 3.46W
124 3.78W
194 3.78W
196 3.78W
558 4.29W
192 4.29W
193 4.62W
168 4.90W
175 8.12W
Numbers 168 and 194 seem to be the most readily available.
There is another wedge bulb available in auto parts stores, number 3652. This bulb looks exactly like the bulbs listed
above, but it’s either a 5 watt short-life (only 700 hour) incandescent or a 5 watt halogen bulb, depending on which
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reference guide you’re looking at. It does not say halogen on the package, but it does cost about five times as much as a
194. It definitely produces a much brighter, whiter light than a 194 -- this author can vouch for that. If it’s really a
halogen, it will probably last several times as long as a 194 -- perhaps the life of the car. And if it’s really a halogen (and
even if it’s not), it’d be a good idea not to get fingerprints on it when installing.
Auto parts stores also carry a series of wedge bulbs that are physically much larger than the bulbs listed above but have
the same wedge base. They typically have 3-digit numbers starting with 9, such as 921. These are much higher wattage
than the small bulbs, up to 17 watts or some such -- you can check a catalog to find the wattage listings. Whether or not
you can use one in place of one of the smaller bulbs obviously depends on whether you can physically fit it in the space,
whether it will generate too much heat and melt something, and whether it will draw too much current for the circuit.
There is also a halogen capless bulb of this larger size. The number is 2040, and it’s rated at 8 watts.
PUDDLE LIGHTS: The door edge lamps, also known as puddle lamps, are a 5W capless. They’re not even listed in
the bulb charts in the Jag books, but the Haynes manual says it’s number 501. US number 168 is perfect.
The access is kinda neat; you remove one screw from the bottom, then slide the lens off rearward.
INSTRUMENT PANEL LIGHTS: The instrument panel illumination lamps are supposed to be a capless 2.2W, number
987. In the US, finding a 161 would be good, 160 would be better. Or, you could try something with higher wattage
and hope nothing melts or burns up in there.
INSTRUMENT PANEL ILLUMINATION IMPROVEMENT: John Napoli suggests you disassemble the pod, and
clean all the dust out of the warning light boxes and the like. “If you also want to improve lighting, remove the four
green lenses. The instruments will be that much more brightly lit at night. You can probably also fit brighter bulbs, if
you so desire.”
Gordon Clefton made a less radical fix than simply removing the green lenses. “I removed each green lens (two screws),
drilled five holes into the plastic, cleaned the plastic, and then replaced the green lens. The pattern was one hole at the
end and four holes around the side. I am pleased with the results; the panel still has the Jaguar green glow, but all the
instruments are very readable.”
Yet another idea would be to remove the green lenses and install green bulbs. Green bulbs are commonly available in
auto parts stores, which often have an entire aisle dedicated to dressing up cars with various colored lights. You can
also visit an arts-and-crafts store and purchase some of the goop they offer to make stained glass designs -- pretty much
whatever color you want -- and apply it directly to the bulbs.
Another method for making lights brighter would be to improve reflectivity. White paint helps, Liquid Paper works
well, or you can apply small pieces of aluminum tape. For the illumination of the big gauges, there is an easy reflectivity
improvement that can be made. The cowling around these two gauges, just outside the face itself as you’re looking at it,
is a single piece of white plastic that has been painted a dark grey on the surfaces that show. The reason they didn’t just
make it out of dark grey plastic is because the back side of this part that doesn’t show is supposed to be white to reflect
the light from the green-lensed illumination bulbs. Unfortunately, someone in the paint shop must not have understood
this too well, because large areas of the back side of this part may be painted dark grey as well. So, take a piece of
sandpaper and remove the dark grey paint from the back side, especially on the bevelled section surrounding the gauge.
Or, if it’s easier, you could just paint over it with white paint.
Keith Morris says, “If you will notice there is a cutout on the back plane of the large gauges that can accept another
green lens and bulb setup. I obtained these extra lamps at my local Jaguar dealer and added them. They simply plug in -
the electrical connections are present in the circuit sheet. The gauges are now brighter.” This author’s ’83 has no such
openings for additional bulbs, but Bob Gallivan says his ’84 “has 3 extra holes for the lights.”
Walter Acker IV went to further extremes and installed 900-series wedge bulbs: “The new bulb is #921, but you will be
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able to install the new bulb from the front only. The new bulb is too big to insert from the back, but can be installed
from the front if you make sure to hold the sockets from the back with your finger to keep the bulb socket from pushing
out the back.
“I found that the sockets pull on the copper part of the plastic board. When you have the plastic off of the back half of
the dash cluster, if you chamfer the ends of the holes where the socket goes in very carefully you can reduce the pulling
effect on the copper part of the plastic circuit board.”
THIRD BRAKE LIGHT BULB REPLACEMENT: It may not be obvious at first, so John Himes sends this description
for getting to the bulbs: “Feel or look on the underside of the cover; there are 2 black indentations on each side of the
cover. Place your fingers on each of these, or you can also do one at a time. Press up on the indentation which is a
sprung black square button that keeps the cover from rattling off. After your remove the cover, you have access to the
bulbs. They are in gray plastic holders that you turn 1/2 turn to release.”
THIRD BRAKE LIGHT RE-INSTALLATION: Apparently the things fall off. And apparently most glues don’t work
very well for putting it back on. Ray Schmitt says, “"GOOP" worked for me in that application. It's clear like silicon but
stickier and sets up firmer. I had "Marine GOOP" on hand but I think the other types are much the same. Available at
most hardware stores.”
John Kjallberg says, “Try some window stop leak, silicone windshield and glass seal; this is flowable so look out for
drips. You will have to support it for a day. I had no luck with other fixes.”
INDICATOR LIGHT BULBS: The tiny bulbs used in the row of indicator lights at the top of the dashboard are
“miniature capless”, similar to capless but a bunch smaller. 14V versions are available at auto parts stores in the US in
several different wattages:
NUMBER WATTAGE
18 0.56W
73 1.12W
37 1.26W
74 1.4W
70 2.1W
Since the Jaguar bulb chart calls for a 1.2W, numbers 37 or 74 should make good substitutes -- but you also might
consider varying the wattage bulb for your own preferences, like making the oil warning light real bright, less important
lights dimmer, and the turn signals real bright so you can see them at all!
To get these bulbs in and out, it helps to have a pair of hemostats (a “roach clip” to you 70’s potheads) with electrical
tape wrapped around the jaws.
If you don’t like the little pictures that are lit up by the indicator bulbs, Walter Acker IV points out that lots of cars use
very similar rectangular colored panels for their indicators. So, you can pick up some panels at a junkyard, cut them to
size, and install them in the Jaguar dash to change the way the indicators look. Acker’s pet peeve is the turn signals, and
he found that the indicator panels from a 1986 Isuzu Trooper II or a 1983/84 Mazda B2000 pickup truck were more to
his liking. You can use this same idea to actually change what an indicator means; for example, you could do away with
that trailer indicator and put in an indicator that the A bank of your Marelli ignition system has failed (see page 161), and
put a red “Check Engine” panel on it with a really bright light bulb behind it.
TRIP COMPUTER SCREEN ILLUMINATION BULB: Robert Weiss-Malik found a replacement for the tiny light
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bulb that lights up the indicator screen on the trip computer: “I am happy to report that the bulb that I found at Radio
Shack works just fine (so far anyways). The Radio Shack bulb is called a "bi-pin lamp". It is rated at 12 volts and
55mA. The part number is 272-1154.”
Headlights
BRIGHTNESS: Jon Jackson and others point out that dim headlights may be the result of bad grounds. “On my ’87
there is a ground under the hood to the left side of the radiator. There are several ground wires that go to this same
point. Cleaned it up a bit and all is great.”
HEADLIGHT TYPES: There were at least five distinct headlight schemes used on the Jaguar XJ-S over the course of
its production life -- not including the fact that there were both LHD and RHD versions of many of these, if not all. In
the US, four round headlights were used up through 1991, and oblong Carello headlights with plastic lenses were used
from 1992 on. In Europe and most other markets, the XJ-S has been fitted with oblong headlights since its introduction
-- but there were three different versions: Cibies with glass lenses and two bulbs per unit on the early models, Cibies
with glass lenses and a single bulb per unit throughout the 80’s, and finally switching to an E-code Carellos with plastic
lenses at the same time the US cars switched to DOT-approved Carellos for 1992.
If you need to replace a headlight bulb, the Jaguar repair manual and the Haynes manual are both worthless; their bulb
charts are all screwed up on headlights. In the sections on each type of headlight beginning on page 649, this book will
tell you not only what type replacement bulbs are called for but also what substitutions and upgrades you might wish to
consider.
HEADLIGHT REPLACEMENT: If you have the four round sealed beam headlights, obviously you are supposed to
remove the faulty unit and replace it in entirety. In all four of the oblong headlight designs, however, correcting a burnt
bulb means replacing a relatively small globe plugged into the back side of the reflector. On the pre-90’s non-US cars
with Cibie units this was a real pain because the entire headlight assembly had to be yanked out of the car in order to get
to the bulbs. However, according to John Goodman, Jaguar addressed this sometime in the early 90’s: “I just changed
the front aluminium splash guards in the wheel arch behind the headlights. The part has been modified from the original
one, it now has a removable access panel (which can be removed with the splash guard installed) to enable easy change
of the headlight bulbs.”
If you want easier access to the back of your Cibies, you can order the updated panels; “I just ordered one for a '89
XJ-S. I thought the parts guy had goofed, but he assured me this supersedes the old type.” Unfortunately, this might
not get you anywhere, since there is a stiffening panel behind the headlight and ahead of this wheelwell panel, and you
might have to cut a hole in it to get to the bulb from behind. Goodman elaborates: “There is another "panel" behind the
headlight, but this must be revised as well on later cars! It has a hand-sized hole stamped in it with turned over edge,
either for strength or to avoid cutting one’s wrist while removing the bulb holder. It is quite easy to fumble about and
change the bulb if the wheel is turned in.”
HEADLIGHTS USING REPLACEABLE BULBS: Whether your car takes H1’s, H4’s, or 9004’s, keep your grimy
paws off those little halogen bulbs. The oil from your fingers on the surface of the quartz capsule insulates it and
prevents it from dissipating heat as it should. The result is that the bulb burns out very quickly, whereas normally these
halogen bulbs will last considerably longer than a conventional sealed beam. If you accidentally finger the glass, clean
the surface with some alcohol before installing.
There is one significant concern of headlight assemblies with replaceable bulbs: the owner may simply replace the bulb
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whenever it burns out, and neglect to notice when the housing itself is deteriorating, the reflector gets all rusty, or the
lens gets broken. Since the reflector and the lens are critical to proper illumination, the conscientious owner will replace
the housings whenever the performance is adversely affected.
PILOT LIGHTS: “Pilot” is UK-speak for the small bulbs within the headlight assemblies that are used to make the
headlights glow when the headlights are not on. In the US, old VW Beetles used to have them, and many cars with the
new composite headlamps have something similar. Daniel Stern says, “In most of the world, they're called "city lights".
In the UK, they're referred to as "sidelights" (which is confusing, because they face front, not to the side.) This is the
European equivalent of the US "parking" lamp. European-specs vehicles do not use amber parking lamps, but rather use
white city lights.”
The Jaguar repair manual variously describes their pilot bulbs as no. 15602, 4 watt, Osram miniature bayonet, or 223, or
233, depending on whose misprint you believe. This sounds the same as the side marker bulbs 233 (see page 634), but I
haven’t seen them personally and don’t trust any of this literature any more, check the actual bulb itself before buying.
Vince Chrzanowski (who is using the Euro-spec Cibie headlights in North America) says “The pilot lamps I use are
#1893. I use them in all my radio 12-volt applications because of their long-life rating.”
Stern: “Note that city lights are a legal form of parking lamp in the USA and Canada. Parking lamps can be amber or
white, and they are permitted to be nested with the headlamps. The latest XJ sedans use city lights rather than amber
parking lamps.”
Stern offers several advantages of city lights over the US-style parking lights: “If a headlamp ever malfunctions,
oncoming traffic still sees you as a double-track vehicle. Plus, it makes your front turn signals much clearer because they
now go "bright-off-bright-off" instead of "bright-dim-bright-dim" when the lights are on. Yep, another aspect of lighting
that the Europeans got right and we didn't. City lights are especially useful if you have fog lamps. On foggy days, you
can put on the city lights which will show other drivers very clearly where your car is, and switch on the fog lamps so
you can see.” Stern is presuming here that your fog lights are wired to be on with the headlights off, the only way fog
lights are of any use, but this is technically illegal in most states; you’re required by law to have the headlights on in fog
so you can’t see.
PROTECTING HEADLIGHT LENSES: If you have the Cibie glass headlights and don’t like the idea of paying Jaguar
for new ones, Griot’s Garage (page 711) offers a way to protect them. It’s a clear layer of vinyl that you peel-and-stick
to the front of the lens and then trim around the edges. This is likely to be very effective, since even the slightest
cushioning is likely to prevent most stones and the like from damaging the glass.
Griot’s also sells a thinner version for fog lights and turn signal lenses, but claims the product is not for use on
polycarbonate lenses. That leaves owners of the Carello lights out in the cold.
HEADLIGHT WIRING: The headlight and fog light wiring diagram on page 86-11 in the ©1982 Supplement contains
just enough miscues to make it really difficult to follow. Mark the following to make it a little better:
• On the key, items 20 and 21 are the fog lamps at the front, and items 22 and 23 are the rear fog guard lamps. They
could have been drawn more clearly, too, either showing the lamps or not rather than showing some and showing
arrows to others. 20 and 21 should look like a matched pair, and so should 22 and 23.
• On the pre-1992 US-spec car, there are two LH main beams and two RH main beams, so items 8 and 10 should be
doubled. This is not true for cars with oblong headlamps, however.
• There should be a capacitor shown wired between terminals 31b and 81a on the headlamp relay, item 4.
• On the US-spec car, the rear fog guard lamps, items 22 and 23, don’t exist.
• On the author’s 1983 US-spec car, the fog lamp switch, item 18, doesn’t exist.
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Note that the lack of a fog lamp switch makes it impossible to operate the front fog lights. Also, putting the headlamp
switch into the #3 position (see below) activates the inhibit relay and therefore locks the headlights on low beam, but the
power sent to the rear fog lights does nothing -- they don’t exist. Sorry to report, this is not just an error in the
schematics; this author’s car was actually wired that way, and although it had front fog lamps from the factory there was
no way to turn them on. It is, however, a fairly simple matter to move the RY wire from fuse #1 to fuse #6 to get the
front fog lights to work when the headlamp switch is put into the #3 position. Be sure to leave the existing RU wire on
fuse 6 to operate the dash indicator.
For owners of the US-spec car, Figure 36 is a replacement for the diagram, based on the author’s 1983 H.E.
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Figure 36 - Headlight and Fog Light Wiring
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The headlight switch in the US-spec 1983 H.E. has five positions, three above and one below the off position. To get
into the top or bottom position requires pushing the knob in while turning. The connections made in the positions are as
follows:
3: 1-2-3-5
2: 1-2-3-4
1: 1-2-3
0: No connection
-1: 1-2
The -1 position, connecting only the dash lights and right side parking lights, apparently serves no intended purpose; as
wired, all the parking lights come on due to backfeed through the bulb failure sensors. After a few seconds for the bulb
failure sensors to warm up, the left side parking lights dim. If an owner wished, however, it would be a simple matter to
rewire the right side parking lights to terminal 3 and use the -1 position to operate the dash lights only.
Other headlight switches are different, however. John Himes says that on his US-spec ’88 the positions are:
Off
Parking lights only
Headlights
Headlights & fogs
Fogs only
John Goodman reports “On UK cars the fog/driving lights are operated on the rotary dash light switch.
1= side/park
2= headlights
3= head & fog/driving lights
4= side/park & only fog/driving lights
...and there is a push facility that works when in position 2-4 for the rear fog warning lights fitted in the rear bumpers.”
HEADLIGHT SWITCH KNOB REMOVAL: To remove the headlight switch knob, you must depress a button in the
shaft that is behind the surface of the dashboard and points down. To reinstall, you merely need to push the knob on,
because it is shaped to slide over the shaft button and snap in place.
HIGH/LOW BEAM RELAY: Also known as the main/dip relay. In some manuals, the schematics of the high/low
beam relay (Jaguar part no. C38616) show the components between connections 56, 56a, and 56b to be a normal set of
relay contacts. This is not actually the case. This device is an electrically-operated rocker switch; when the coil is
energized, the contact is switched from one side to the other, and remains there when the coil is de-energized. Next time
it’s energized, it flips back. Jaguar wants some serious $$$ for that relay.
Roger Homer reports that other cars use a similar relay. “The Headlight Relay is the same as the one on an early model
Torana (General Motors Aust). They used the same high/low switching system, the relay I found is made by SWF
(Germany?) part no stamped on relay is R200.867.”
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Ray Reynolds provides another report: “I found a compatible unit that dropped right in. I had to drill an extra mounting
hole in the fenderwell to bolt the new relay
in, but all the connectors plugged right in,
and it all fit under the stock relay housing 56b 56
(with a little bending around of the headlight
wires). The relay itself looks like a Potter &
Brumfield, and was part #PBS89R from
Micro Alarm (in Vernon, CA). It has 2
microswitches on top that do the actual
power switching.” Reynolds notes that this 31b
relay does not provide the pull-to-flash
feature the stock relay does, but it would be
easy enough to add a normal relay with the
coils wired in parallel to provide this
function. “Since the plunger is visible, you
might be able to bolt another microswitch to
the bottom of the relay so that it is activated
when the relay is tripped for the flash
feature.”
If your high/low relay has given up the
ghost and you can’t find a reasonably-priced
replacement, an alternate scheme using three
conventional relays and a diode is shown in
Figure 37. Note that wiring (and related
contacts) indicated by heavy (red) lines must
be suitable for headlight current, 30 amps or
so. All other circuits are less than 3 amp.
For the diode, a Radio Shack cat. no.
276-1661 will do nicely. Of course, you
will need to figure out where to mount these
relays; perhaps in the space behind the left
headlights.
56a 81a
As with any such circuit, a single multi-
contact relay may be replaced by multiple
Figure 37 - High/Low Relay Replacement Scheme
single-contact relays by simply wiring the
coils together. This may make sense here, allowing the use of SPDT 30-amp relays along with tiny “ice cube” DPDT
relays instead of trying to locate DPDT or 3PDT 30-amp relays.
The only functional difference with this circuit from the original is that your headlights will always be on low beam when
you first turn them on.
HEADLIGHT BUZZER: The XJ-S doesn’t have one! What a cheap car. To add one is easy. You need a 12 volt
buzzer such as catalog no. 273-055 from Radio Shack, and a rectifier (or diode) such as catalog no. 276-1661. For the
buzzer you can also use any buzzer you’ve ripped out of a car, such as those pesky seat belt buzzers.
Connect one of the headlight wires to one end of the rectifier. Connect the other end of the rectifier to one lead of the
buzzer. Connect the other lead of the buzzer to one of the ignition wires. Both of these wires are near each other under
the dashboard -- from the headlight switch and the ignition switch.
A rectifier allows current to flow in only one direction. If you have wired it correctly, when both the ignition and the
headlights are on, there is no current flow because both wires are at 12 volts. When the ignition alone is on, there is no
flow because the rectifier stops it from flowing that way. When the headlights are on but the ignition is off, current
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flows and the buzzer buzzes. If the buzzer buzzes when the ignition is on and the headlights are off, reverse the rectifier.
Jan Wikström did it a different way: “Pulling the key out also operates the switch that controls seat belt warning etc. As
my car doesn’t have those, I’ve used it to operate a “headlights on” warning buzzer.”
Connie Vloutely says, “I have been wanting to do this for a long time but could not find chime element suitable for
automotive use. One that works on 12 Volt DC. I hate buzzers. I found one in the local radio shack store P/N RS-
273-071.”
HEADLIGHT UPGRADES: When you’re driving your Jag down some desolate two-lane blacktop road at 140 mph on
a moonless night, it’s helpful to be able to see where you’re going. Unfortunately, not all headlight systems are up to the
task. If you have the US-spec four round headlights with the original sealed beam units in place, I suggest you slow
down.
Even if you obey all posted speed limits, you will be amazed at what an adequate set of headlights will do for the
pleasure and enjoyment of nighttime motoring. Where you used to have to squint and stare in hopes of seeing things in
time to avoid hitting them, you can now sit back and relax. In fact, you may come to fully appreciate the advantages of
nighttime driving, with the reduced traffic and cooler temperatures.
RELAY INSTALLATION: If you wish to improve the headlights on your car, the first thing you should do is install a
set of control relays. This will improve the light output of the stock headlights, whatever type they are, and may just
satisfy your need for better light -- and is a perfectly legal modification. If you decide to replace your headlights with
something with higher wattage (as suggested on pages 653, 655, and 656) you will not be happy with the results unless
you install control relays; the additional losses in the stock wiring due to the increased current flow will rob you of any
increase in light output.
The whole idea of installing relays is to get as much of the battery/alternator voltage to the headlights as possible, since a
small reduction in voltage makes a big reduction in light output on incandescent lights. Low voltage also causes
incandescent lights to appear yellowish, which diminishes visibility even more.
Your objective, therefore, is to provide wiring that gets the power from the battery/alternator to the headlights with big
fat wires and as directly as possible. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the objective of the guy who designed the wiring for
your car; his objective was to provide wiring as simply and cheaply as possible, and sized just big enough to keep it from
melting. So, the stock wiring goes from the bus on the firewall down to under the dash, through the headlight switch,
back to the front left corner of the car, through the main/dip relay and the headlight fusebox, then out to the four
headlights -- all with wires that are barely adequate for the sorry headlights that came with the car.
A simple confirmation of the problem is to remove the headlights from their mounts while leaving them connected, start
the engine, turn on the headlights and measure the voltage right at the connections on the back of the bulbs. The voltage
there should be within a half a volt or so of the voltage measured between the terminal on the firewall and the chassis
under the same conditions (headlights on, engine idling). If the voltage is much lower, the installation of relays will help
the light output considerably. If you’d like to confirm where the losses actually occur, measure between different points
along the line, starting with the terminal on the firewall and including both ends of each fuse in the headlight fusebox as
well as the terminals on the headlights. If you measure the voltage between the terminal on the firewall and the power
connector on the headlight, you will be measuring the total loss of the wiring system except for the ground circuits. You
can also measure parts of this loss, such as between the fuse and the headlight, between the firewall terminal and the
fuse, even across the fuse itself. If you measure the voltage between the ground connector on the headlight and the
chassis of the car, you will be measuring the losses in the ground wiring (which are significant -- the ground wiring is
inadequate, too).
If your voltage losses are too high, the solution is to disconnect the wires from the headlights and connect them to the
coils of relays, run a massive power wire from the terminal on the firewall to the common contacts on the relays, and run
substantial wires (with suitable fuses) from the contacts on the relays to the headlights. Thus you operate only these new
relays with the original wiring, switch, and main/dip relay, and the serious current for the headlights themselves takes a
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much more direct route from the battery/alternator through the contacts in the new relays straight to the bulbs.
This mod only requires the locating of relays and running a serious cable from the terminal on the firewall to whereever
the relays are; this author used a 4 gauge, but a 6 gauge cable would actually be enough. The relays should be mounted
somewhere near the headlights to minimize wire length; perhaps within the boxes directly behind the headlights
themselves. John Napoli suggests a big fuse in that cable, since the relays are likely to be located out at the front corner
of the car and may be shorted by a relatively minor collision, and the shorting of such a major cable may cause serious
problems.
Technically, you can do this whole job with only two relays, one for low beam and one for high beam, but it may be
preferable to use two for high beam to keep from overloading the contacts on a standard 30-amp relay. Note that simply
wiring two relays in parallel may not have the desired effect of doubling the contact capacity, since one will always close
a millisecond before the other and thereby take all of the arcing load. A much better idea is to separate the wiring to the
high beams and have each relay handle half the headlights. That way, each relay will only see half as much load, and if
one circuit fails it only kills half your high beams rather than all of them.
Of course, you’ll probably want to install a relay for the fog/driving lights as well.
Having four individual fuses on circuits that operate nothing but relays is definitely overkill. On the XJ-S, it makes more
sense to continue to use the existing headlamp fusebox to serve the headlights themselves, so the relays should be wired
into the circuits before the fuses. On the ‘83, the headlamp fusebox can be fiddled with by drilling out the two rivets that
attach the mounting bracket to the fenderwell. The bracket isn’t welded to the flange on the edge of the engine
compartment, just folded over it. Removing the rivets allows the bracket to be lifted away, which in turn allows the
fusebox itself to be turned over and the wiring rearranged. You can reinstall the bracket with a couple of screws,
making it easy to work on in the future. Later cars have all sorts of variations in the fusebox in this area, but any of them
can be altered as necessary.
Tip for those with the 4-headlight system: The existing wiring from the fusebox to the high beams on each side of the
car is inadequate for both high beams, but it’s good enough for one. So, one possibility is to run a new wire (about 12
gauge) to each side of the car with a new inline fuse for one of these high beams and reuse the existing wiring and fuse
holder for the other high beam. The small wire from the 3-prong connector right behind the headlights to the headlight
that’s getting a new wire should be tied back into the other headlight at the socket, so that both of these skinny little
wires are serving one headlight.
This type of reconnection requires popping the spade terminal out of the headlight socket, soldering the second wire to
it, and snapping it back into the socket. Each spade terminal has a little tang on the back that holds it into the socket, so
you need to insert a pointy object between the plastic and the terminal itself to depress this tang to remove the terminal.
You will also want to bend this tang back into position before pushing the terminal back into the socket, so it securely
snaps into place.
Of course, when done changing which fuse serves which headlamp you will probably need to revise the fuse sizes in the
headlamp fusebox. It’s easy enough to divide the wattage of each headlight by 12 volts to determine the amps that it
will draw, and install a fuse suitably sized to serve.
On the other hand, it might be easier to forget all that fiddling with the original fusebox and wiring and simply remove
the fusebox in entirety and throw it away and run wires directly from the relays to the headlights with inline fuses, and
install an inline fuse for the electric fan. If your car is old enough to have the round tube fuses, this isn’t a bad idea;
those things make lousy connections and are always corroding and getting intermittent. The later style fuseboxes with
the plastic fuses are better. You could, of course, install a generic fusebox that serves all your new headlight and fan
wiring for a neat installation.
Be sure to provide adequate ground wires on the headlights as well. That’s easy to do, by either adding additional wires
or just replacing the ground wires entirely and connecting the new wires to a screw into the chassis, of which there are
several handy right around the headlights.
While relay installation may involve a couple hours of fiddling, it is a very cost-effective improvement. The relays
themselves typically cost less than five bucks each, and wire and fuses are also cheap.
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RELAY INSTALLATION -- SIMPLER VERSION: Mark Barker provides a simpler method of improving the power
supply to headlights on his web site. Rather than using separate main and dip beam relays as described above, Barker
installs a single relay in the wiring to the OEM main/dip beam relay. “Unplug the thick blue wire in the middle of the
dip/high relay. This now goes to one of the new relay's coil tags; the light switch only has to operate this relay now.
Thick brown wire all the way from the main bus on the firewall, (under 14mm AF nut, using a ring tag) to one of the
new relay's closing contact tags. Another short piece of brown wire from the new relay's other closing contact to the
exposed tag of the dip/high beam relay the blue wire came from, using the appropriate crimps. Finally, a piece of black
wire from the other coil tag to a nearby earth, using a ring tag.” Ed. note: actually, you might want to make that short
piece of brown wire a short piece of blue wire to keep the color coding consistent.
This single-relay method is clearly simpler to implement than the multiple-relay method described above. Both methods
eliminate routing the heavy headlight current through the headlight switch on the dash and out to the front of the car
through the OEM wires, which is the portion of the circuitry where the lion’s share of the voltage loss occurs. The
single-relay method continues to run the heavy current through the OEM main/dip relay and all the OEM wiring to the
headlights beyond that, which unfortunately is still pretty skinny. Also, there’s no convenient way to divide the load for
two relays, so if the total headlight load approaches or exceeds 30A it would be a good idea to find a relay that’s rated
for higher current. Altogether, this option might be advisable only for those who want full power to stock headlights,
while those intending to install high-wattage bulbs (especially four of them!) might be better advised to use the multiple-
relay scheme above.
The single relay only closes once when the headlights are turned on, so the relay itself may last longer than the ones in
the multiple-relay scheme that open and close whenever the driver switches from main to dip beam and back. The main/
dip relay costs a lot more than a couple more generic relays, though, so the multiple-relay scheme may be cheaper in the
long run due to increasing the life of the main/dip relay -- especially if high-wattage bulbs are used that exceed the rating
of the main/dip relay contacts.
SO YOU ALREADY HAVE RELAYS: Sometime in the early 90’s Jaguar got wise and provided headlight relays from
the factory. If you own such a car, you don’t have to worry about the headlight wiring. Right?
Maybe not. As discussed above, the purpose of installing relays is to provide the most direct connection to the
battery/alternator possible using heavy wires to minimize voltage losses. The Jaguar factory relays may take the long
routes through the dash switch out of the circuit, but that doesn’t mean they’re using adequate size wire. Daniel Stern
says, “I have yet to encounter the vehicle with truly adequate wiring from the factory. Best I've seen is "passable", and
that is rare.”
Wires to individual headlights should be 12 gauge, and wires that power two or more headlights should be 10 gauge or
larger. Before you decide your wiring is fine, you might want to check what gauge wire Jaguar decided to connect
those relays up with. If the wires from the main bus to the relay contacts and on to the headlights themselves is is still
the 18 gauge stuff they use for nearly everything else, there is room for improvement there. You can either rip that stuff
out and install adequate wire in its place, or you can simply add wires in parallel to the existing wires. And don’t forget
the ground wires to the headlights.
Such work is likely to help the stock headlights considerably, but it is even more important if you decide to install high-
wattage headlights.
UPGRADING HEADLIGHTS -- LEGAL CONCERNS (US): Before considering any headlight upgrades, it might
help to know a little about the evolution of headlight laws here in the US. David Berman says, “In the 1920s and 1930s
cars did not have sealed beams, they had headlamps with reflectors, lenses and replaceable bulbs similar to today.
However, they had a serious problem with oxidation of the reflectors which dimmed the lights, and no amount of bulb
replacement (which US drivers did regularly!) would help. Sealed beams were standardized in the US in 1939 and
solved the problem entirely by eliminating the opportunity for reflectors to oxidize. They were such an improvement
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that sealed beam retrofit kits were made for earlier cars, even for the Ford Model A which had gone out of production in
1931.”
By the 1950’s and 60’s, laws had been established requiring all cars in the US to have one of two types of sealed beam
headlight systems: two 7” round headlights or four 5¾” round headlights. It was this requirement that ruined the
appearance of the Jaguar XJ6/XJ12, designed to have two 7” bulbs plus two 5¾”; for the US market, the two 7” had to
be replaced with 5¾” with a filler ring around them. It also is the reason the early US-spec XJ-S has two round
headlights on each side instead of the “Euro-style” oblong single lamp assemblies.
DOT also limited the light output of headlights on both high and low beam. The headlights also had to have three little
bumps on the front, used to check alignment. On top of all this were general prohibitions on more than four headlights
or six head/auxiliary lights on a car.
Sometime in the 60’s they prohibited glass covers over the headlights. This changed the appearance of the Jaguar E-
type and the Volkswagen Beetle.
In the early 70’s, they added two arrangements of rectangular sealed beam headlight systems to the approved list.
With the advent of energy conservation concerns, the automotive manufacturers were finally able to convince US
legislators in the mid 1980’s to drop the requirements for using standardized sealed beam headlights and permit the use
of “composite” headlight assemblies in the name of better aerodynamics. These headlights have a lens/reflector assembly
that was custom-designed for the car (and usually atrociously expensive), and the bulb itself is a smaller quartz-halogen
item that plugs into the reflector from the rear. Berman: “Given the serious reflector problems in the 1930’s and the
dramatic improvement wrought by sealed beams, you could hardly blame the DOT for taking a long time to be
convinced that the proposed new generation of reflectors wouldn't become oxidized and therefore the sealed beam
requirement could be lifted.”
Unfortunately, apparently the US DOT couldn’t be convinced to legalize the same composite headlights that had been
successfully used in Europe and everywhere else in the world for decades, so the US-spec cars got their own style of
composite headlights. To this day, to be fully legal in the US, your headlight lenses need to say “DOT” on them. And
most US-spec headlights seem to still have three little bumps for alignment even when the front of the headlight is sloped
so some bumps are actually rearward from others. There are still limits on light output.
I dunno what DOT’s priorities are, but it’s obvious that they don’t include providing good visibility at night or in rain.
Not to put too fine a point on it, DOT-spec headlights suck. And just to show that this is not a “grass is greener” thing
where everyone thinks people somewhere else have it better, John Warr from the UK says, “You guys in the US have to
drive with the most appalling lights I have ever come across. To someone used to Euro lights, the first experience of US
lights at night in the rain results in a puzzled driver standing in front of his hire car trying to work out what he has not
turned on.”
E-CODE: While the US DOT conspires to keep drivers in the dark, the European standards for headlights have evolved
based on input from major headlight and driving light manufacturers in an attempt to provide truly excellent lighting.
Headlights meeting these “E-code” standards are indicated with a capital letter E and a number with a circle around it on
the lens. According to Daniel Stern, the number indicates the country in which the headlight was certified to meet the
code.
There are E-code headlights designed to replace any standard sealed beam used in the US, and they always seem to have
a distinctive pattern on the lens: there is a trapezoidal area between the center of the lens and the edge on the driver’s
side, with the fluting at an angle. These lights have a distinctive pattern on dip beam, sending light down to both sides
and up towards the side of the road but not up towards oncoming traffic.
Before jumping in and upgrading your headlight system, you might want to check the regulations in your state. Or, you
might wanna simply note how few citations are handed out annually for illegal E-code headlight assemblies and decide
whether or not you wanna chance it. Stern says, “The fact of the matter is that back in the '70s when all cars had
sealed beams, E-code lamps stuck out like sore thumbs. But today, with the proliferation of so many different
headlamp designs, together with the elimination of headlamp inspections in at least 48 states, nobody knows or cares
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what kind of headlamps you're running.” So, what’s the bigger risk to you: getting a ticket, or being unable to see
where you’re going after sunset?
Stern also notes: “If you live in the US states of Oregon, Washington, Alaska or Massachusetts, or in the great nation
of Canada, then E-code lamps are 100 percent legal.”
Note that many of the “H4 headlights” sold by J. C. Whitney (page 694) are actually low-end E-code units and are
described as “for off-road use.” That is how they can sell headlights that are technically prohibited on public highways in
the US; why the upper left cutoff on low beam would be helpful in an off-road application is never explained.
There are a couple other tricks that have been used; when “sealed beam” headlights were required, J. C. Whitney sold
some “sealed beam H4” headlights; the rubber boot had been glued on over the bulb socket making the whole thing
sealed. When the H4 bulb burned out, you just cut the boot away and put in a new bulb.
LEGAL CONCERNS -- JAPAN: The author is no expert on Japanese automobile regulation, but it is clear that there
are some legal issues involving headlights. According to the H.E. Parts Catalogue ©1987, Japan-spec XJ-S’s up to VIN
118583 (1986) used unique oblong headlight assemblies and unique headlight bulbs. From VIN 118584 on, Japan-spec
cars used the same headlights as other RHD countries. Mike Morrin says, “Interestingly, the 1980 parts book shows the
Japan market having US spec headlights (including LHD sealed beams!!) I presume the actual lamp units were replaced
with Japanese ones on arrival in Japan.” Maybe not; Japan reportedly got a lot of US cars shortly after WWII -- largely
from American occupants bringing them over for their own use -- and apparently set up its specs to permit use of
American LHD cars on its roads where people drive on the left.
Several people, including Daniel Stern, confirm that the pre-1986 Japanese headlights were really bad, comparable to the
US sealed beams in their ineffectiveness.
If you have a pre-1986 Japan-spec XJ-S, you might want to consider upgrading it to the UK-spec headlights which are
apparently legal there now. Or you can consider the other upgrades mentioned in the following sections, but be sure to
check the local regulations first.
SOCKET MELTING: One possible problem with high wattage bulbs is melting of the plastic socket that plugs onto the
back of the headlight. The solution to that problem is easy: remove the socket and install the spade connectors
individually. One idea might be to push the spade connectors all the way through the socket and out the other side
before connecting to the headlight; that way, the wires going through the socket would clearly indicate which spade
connector goes to which terminal, but the plastic socket itself would remain dangling on the wires a few inches away
from the headlight.
Four Round Headlights -- US through 1991
The four round headlights used on the US-spec XJ-S up through 1991are sealed beam halogens, available at any auto
parts store. The outboard units (sealed beam 5¾” round halogen main/dip 35/35 watt 5) are H5006, and the inboard
(sealed beam 5¾” round halogen main 50 watt) are H5001. And yes, I have listed the correct wattages for these units,
despite the various Jaguar literature listing the outers as 37.5/50 or 37.5/60. The non-halogen equivalents for the
outboard position (“tungsten”, number 4000) are 60/37.5 watt, but aren’t recommended for anybody; you only find
them in dark corners of auto parts shelves covered with dust. The corresponding tungsten sealed beams for the inboard
position are number 4001, 37.5 watt, also not recommended.
5
When listing wattages of high/low beam headlights, I endeavor to list the main beam wattage first, the low beam
wattage second. The J. C. Whitney catalog often lists them the other way around.
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FOUR ROUND HEADLIGHT IMPROVEMENT: If you have the four round sealed beam halogen headlights, your
headlights suck -- trust me on this. Daniel Stern suggests that one quick and easy improvement might be to merely
replace the outer high/low beam units with H5009’s instead of H5006’s. These are 50/40W instead of the H5006’s
35/35W. Unfortunately, they are apparently pretty difficult to find. “I can supply a lot of "unobtainium" bulbs, but not
H5009's.” Another possibility may be the 50/50W H5812, “although now we're back to the theoretical, because
H5812's aren't in current production.”
If you actually want to see where you’re going after dark, the sealed beams gotta go.
FOUR ROUND HEADLIGHT UPGRADE: The easiest, cheapest and most effective improvement is to replace the
sorry sealed beams in the outboard position with far superior 5¾” round E-code units using H4 halogen bulbs. Not legal
on US roads, but unlikely to draw the attention of Smokey. These assemblies can be purchased from J. C. Whitney for
less than $20 each (H4 bulb included!) and will fit right into the outer (main/dip) headlight fixture with no modifications
and no other parts to buy.
The standard H4 bulb is 60/55W, which is a significant boost over the 35/35W main/dip sealed beam halogens. But the
chief advantage of the E-code units is that they have much better focusing patterns; on low beam, you can pull the car up
to a wall and see that the pattern provides a distinct cutoff to the upper left (on LHD cars), while still providing plenty of
illumination down and to the right. The result is that oncoming traffic gets blinded less on low beam, despite the higher
power of the H4 bulbs.
H4 bulbs produce a brilliant white light. This is a wonderful benefit, even beyond the actual light output. Having
everything in front of the car lit up with white light instead of the yellowish light of conventional headlights seems to
make everything clearer.
With the legalization of composite headlights in the US come the “9003” and “HB2” bulbs. These are both exactly the
same as the standard H4 except that they are DOT approved. All three designations are commonly available, and
replacement bulbs can be found in the local auto parts store or Wal-Mart; H4’s are sometimes sold as “motorcycle”
headlight bulbs, and may actually cost more than the identical 9003’s right next to them.
Note that this author has purchased a set of 5¾” round H4 units from J. C. Whitney, and the lights that arrived are
labelled “Maxtel™ by JF”, are made in China, and have “E3” in a circle on the lens.
Daniel Stern says that, as with anything else, you get what you pay for when buying E-code headlamps, and suggests
you pony up for Cibie or Hella units rather than the J. C. Whitney no-names. “Genuine European E-code headlamps
perform much better than the knockoff items, which often have counterfeit E-marks and actually haven't been tested or
approved at all.” This all may be true, but even the no-name E-code H4 units are a damn sight better than the sealed
beams ever dreamed of being, so it all comes down to how much you’re willing to spend for how much improvement
you want.
FOUR ROUND HEADLIGHT UPGRADE #2: It may be important to some to know that, while the H4 hi/lo
headlights fit perfectly, their external appearance may be slightly different than the original sealed beams. Where the
sealed beam has a domed glass lens, the Maxtel has a “squared” lens with a shoulder that protrudes straight out of the
retaining ring perhaps a quarter inch and then a very slightly domed front, nearly flat faced. You can take a look at these
headlights mounted in the author’s car at
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/H4Headlights.html
I think they’re really pretty, but if you just get two for the outer high/low positions it might not be considered an ideal
match for standard sealed beams in the inner two positions.
Good solution: get four, and use the exact same lights in the inner position by using only the high beam filament of the
H4 bulb. The author did this, so you can see how it looks on the site above. If you are the type of person to keep spare
light bulbs handy, you will only need to carry one type of H4 bulb to fit all four lights. And if a low beam filament burns
out, you can just trade bulbs around and use that one for a high beam only.
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Installing a high/low unit into the high beam (inboard) position will require cutting a relocated notch in the support ring
behind the headlight. As you look into the hole where the headlight goes, the notch at the upper left is in the wrong
place and a new one needs to be cut about a half inch clockwise. You can hold the new high/low headlight up to the
fixture, fit the other two feet into the appropriate notches, and mark where you need to cut a new notch. Alternatively,
you could just buy a couple new mount fixtures originally intended for the outer positions and mount them in the inners.
The electrical plug will work fine as is; the two-connector plug will fit directly onto the three-connector H4 bulb and
operate the correct filament.
FOUR ROUND HEADLIGHT UPGRADE #3: Instead of installing H4 hi/lo headlights in the inboard positions and
using only the high beam filaments, you can replace the inboard sealed beam units with E-code high beam assemblies
that use H1 halogen bulbs. H1 bulbs are also available anywhere that sells auto parts. H1 high beams have the
advantage that, since the reflectors and lenses don’t need to be designed to facilitate both high and low beam operation,
they can be fully optimized for truly excellent high beam operation. Daniel Stern recommends this method: “H4 high
beam: Lots of midrange fill light. Dedicated high beam: Long-range throw. It's best to have both types.” Since the only
advantages of using four H4’s are minor (fewer spare bulbs required, perfect appearance match), he has a point; if you’d
like more “midrange fill light”, you can just upgrade the H4 bulbs in the outboard headlights (see page 656) rather than
installing additional H4’s in the inboard headlights. Plus, you don’t have to modify the notch in the support ring to
install the H1’s.
Unfortunately, J. C. Whitney doesn’t carry H1 high beam 5¾” round units, so you’ll need to look elsewhere. Stern
describes E-code 5¾” round units from Cibie and Hella: “The Cibie lamps are convex (dome) face lamps, like the
original sealed beams. The Hella lamps are flat-faced.” H4 high/low and H1 high beams are available from both
companies. Stern goes on to note that the Hella H1 is truly flat-faced while the Hella H4 has an extending lip around the
edge (similar to the Maxtels described above) so the two Hellas don’t really match each other perfectly. “The difference
in lens technique between the Hella H4 and the Hella H1 creates a difference in installed appearance between the two
adjacent units. The Cibie H4 and H1 both use convex lenses of the same curvature. Whether this is of concern to you is
a matter of individual taste.
“The Cibie H4 high/low units are equipped with city lights.” Hey, there’s an interesting possibility for modification of
US-spec cars: disconnect the parking light filaments in the front turn signal bulbs and wire up pilot lights within the
headlights instead. The pilot lights would be perfectly legal, but unfortunately they’d draw attention to the E-code H4
headlights which aren’t.
“There is a potential design compromise in the Cibie lamps. The Cibie H4 weathershield can be installed in any clock
position, so one must pay careful attention to putting it on such that the moulded-in word "TOP" is at the top, else risk
water entrapment and shortened reflector life.”
FOUR ROUND HEADLIGHT UPGRADE #4: John Goodman: “I would prefer the outer lamps to be the permanent
dipped beam units as in the BMW’s, i.e. The H1 single filament bulbs, because the reflector shape is different being
solely designed for dipped use only, gives a better light pattern. This arrangement needs mods to the headlamp relays so
they stay on when the inner main beam units are activated.” No problem; a jumper between terminals 56 and 56b on the
main/dip relay will do it.
Daniel Stern reports that Cibie produces a low-beam-only H1 E-code unit that will fit in the outboard position on the
four-headlight XJ-S.
HEADLIGHT AIMING -- FOUR ROUND HEADLIGHT SYSTEM: A nifty feature of having four separate
headlights is that you can get creative aiming them. The outer high/low units should be aimed pretty much as specified
to ensure that oncoming drivers are not blinded. If E-code units are installed, this becomes both more important and
more acceptable, since the E-code lights have a very sharp cutoff indeed; a little too high and you’re blinding people, a
little too low and you’re not lighting the road very far ahead, but just right and you get excellent visibility for low beams.
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Unfortunately, aiming the low beams accordingly will determine where the high beams end up, so you have limited
options there. Fortunately, E-code high/low units seem to provide excellent high beam patterns when low beams are
aimed properly -- as opposed to some US-spec sealed beams where you aim the low beams and the high beams are
shining up into the trees or some such so you have to pick a compromise somewhere.
The inner high beam units have more flexibility. If it is presumed that they are never on when there are cars out there
that may be blinded, you can aim them pretty much whichever direction you wish.
Of course, once again there are legal issues. Even though the high beams are only used when nobody is around but you,
the US DOT still requires you to aim them the way they think they should be aimed. Again, this probably won’t pose a
problem in most areas; cops generally only issue tickets for poorly aimed headlights where someone is driving a car
that’s been crashed and one of the lights is aiming at the ground or off at 45º or some such. If you have vehicle
inspections, though, headlight aiming is one of the things they typically check so you would have to aim the headlights
the specified way before an inspection and put them back the way you want afterward.
FOUR ROUND HEADLIGHT REPLACEMENT: You can replace the four headlights with one or the other of the
Cibie oblong headlight designs used in Europe (see below). Not legal in most US states, but will provide better lighting
-- although not as much better as installing E-code H4 round units as described above. It's also likely to be considerably
more expensive than the four round E-code units. Hence, the only real justification for going this route is if you happen
to prefer the appearance of the Cibie oblong headlights.
Since the body panels are the same between US and Euro cars, this will be a bolt-in replacement -- but you will probably
have to buy quite a few parts, including the mounting brackets that hold the headlights within the compartments and the
trim pieces at the front.
Note that, if you get the Euro lights, you can also opt for the wiper/washer system for them, and even a heated
wiper/washer system to prevent freezing of the washer fluid.
By replacing the four round sealed beams with far better headlights, we have vastly improved the lighting. If you still
want better visibility you can add driving lights, but it’s a better idea to opt for non-standard H4 or H1 bulbs -- see pages
653 and 656.
Cibies with two H1 bulbs -- non-US through 1980
The early non-US XJ-S has Cibie headlights with glass lenses and metal reflectors and uses two H1 halogen bulbs plus
one “pilot” bulb on each side. This is the assembly shown in the Haynes manual, but John Goodman points out “The
drawing of the XJ-S headlight bulb on page 198 (actually 197 in my book) looks like it was taken from a 1980 <UK>
owner’s handbook. But it’s been edited to fit the page and you only have half the picture!!! What you are looking at
here is a 1980 or earlier headlight, the bulb shown is a main beam single filament H1. What is not shown is an identical
bulb which installs in an identical hole immediately underneath for the dipped beam.”
Mike Morrin calls this early unit a “biode”. “It is the term (probably trademark of Cibie) for headlight units with
separate reflectors and bulbs for high and low beams. I think it is a condensation of "bi-reflector iodine". The term was
widely used in europe back in the 70s, but I suppose not in the US as they were illegal there then. Back in the 70s, the
British always called Quartz Halogen "Quartz Iodine".”
Morrin describes the early unit in more detail: “Low beam uses the back of the headlight shell (as per the later units).
The high beam reflector is in front of this in the lower half of the unit. There is actually an adjusting screw which allows
the vertical angle of high beam to be adjusted relative to low beam. The glass has CIBIE IODE in the centre of the
casting. Most of the bottom half of the lense is clear, with fluting only directly in front of the high beam bulb. It is
interesting that Cibie used Iode in the trademark on the lamp. I am sure that their after-market dual-reflector lamps of
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the same vintage were known as Biodes.”
“The high beam has quite a narrow vertical spread, and really needs the low beam to be simultaneously lit up for close-in
lighting. The early cars came already wired this way. The wiring diagram in my manual shows a dotted link across the
low beam contacts on the relay.
“These are actually very good lights, except that they are very prone to oxidising of the reflectors.”
H1 bulbs are typically 55W and have a small circular metal base with one straight side at a 45º angle to the single spade
terminal pointing straight off the bottom. The headlight housing must have a suitable ground connection, since there is
none on the bulb itself. H1 bulbs are readily available in auto parts stores. In Europe, the bulb number is 411. Note that
the illustrations in the manuals seem to indicate that H1 bulbs have an external conductor around the outside of the
capsule itself and entering in the front of the glass, but the bulbs actually for sale in the stores don’t have this; all
conductors are inside the glass.
HIGH-WATTAGE H1’S: The standard H1 is 55W, but 100W versions are available in most auto parts stores and J. C.
Whitney sells 100W and 130W versions. A 130W H1 bulb is available at Wal-Mart for five bucks -- but not in the
automotive section. It’s sold in the sporting goods department. It’s called “Night Blaster” A-709 and is described as a
12V spotlight bulb; only on the back of the card does it casually mention that it will fit any application calling for an H1
bulb.
CIBIE REFLECTOR DETERIORATION: The Cibie oblong headlights reportedly suffer from deterioration of the
reflector, especially the early dual-H1 units. This deterioration kills the headlight effectiveness. Considering the cost of
replacement units, many owners seek methods of renovating the reflectors in their otherwise operable headlights. It is
possible to separate the lens from the reflector; there is a glue joint that can be cut through without too much trouble.
However, Daniel Stern suggests that it’d be a better idea to just go ahead and spring for the replacement headlights:
“Anyone who gets the notion that chrome plating will do the trick ought to know the reflectivity of the very finest
quality chrome is 62 percent. Headlamp reflectors done properly have a reflectivity of 98-99 percent.” Obviously,
stuffing aluminum foil or aluminum tape in there isn’t gonna cut the mustard, either! Stern also points out that doing a
proper reflective coating application on a one-off repair of old units will usually cost more than just buying new units.
EARLY CIBIE REPLACEMENT: If you have the early dual-H1 units and need replacements, you probably should
consider the later single-H4 units. A couple of owners have reported finding out that their cars had the dual-H1 on one
side and the single-H4 on the other, indicating that a PO must have replaced one. Obviously, it can’t be too difficult to
replace one type with the other.
Another option is to replace the Cibies with the four headlight scheme as described on page 654.
Cibies with one H4 bulb -- non-US 1981-91
From 1981-91, non-US cars used Cibie headlights with a single H4 bulb and two pilot light bulbs on each side. Allan
Charlton says the lights on his ’78 have the circle-E symbol indicating E-code specification (see page 648). “It's E2 in a
circle. The E2 also appears in a smaller circle with an A above, and in a small square with an A above (Actually, the A is
so small that, in the poor light in my garage, it could be an R, but I think it's an A).”
H4 bulbs have a large circular metal base with three alignment tangs, one larger than the other two, and a 3-prong plug
that will fit the same socket as a US-spec sealed beam -- three large (5/16”) spade terminals arranged as three sides of a
square. If your headlights use H4 bulbs, they are readily available -- or you can use HB2 or 9003 bulbs, which are
exactly the same. In Europe, these bulbs are called 472. The French cars use a 476 for the yellow color.
653
SEALING NON-SEALED H4 HEADLIGHTS: H4 headlight assemblies are nothing resembling sealed; in fact, the
back end is open enough you might consider it ventilated. To prevent moisture getting in and deteriorating the reflector,
the assemblies include rubber boots that fit over the back end of the headlights. Note, however, that installing this boot
will keep the assembly warmer; this doesn’t normally pose a problem, but if you’re using the big-wattage bulbs you
might consider the tradeoffs between how hot the bulb gets and how big a problem moisture is.
Other cars, including Hondas, use rubber boots that appear remarkably similar on normal sealed beams. Perhaps one of
these boots could be used when the original H4 boots are damaged or missing.
CIBIE REPLACEMENT: John Goodman reports from the UK: “Jaguar enthusiasts here actually change to the four
headlamp system because of improved lighting available.” Goodman isn’t talking about installing the four crummy
sealed beams used in the US; he’s talking about installing four 5¾” round E-code units with H4 bulbs -- meaning the UK
car goes from two H4 bulbs to four. He describes the kit from Jaguar, JLM 10357: “All 4 lights are the same and still
use the H4 bulbs. A link wire supplied with the kit only enables the outer lights on dip. Could easily be wired for both
pairs on dip, but would screw up the dim/dip and not sure if it’s legal. Looks like it’s been done this way for simplicity
of owner installation. Although it remains a mystery why the genuine Jag kit did not have dedicated driving lights for
the inner pair with H1 bulbs.”
“If you have converted to four headlamps, the headlamp washer/wipers are now redundant, but you can utilise the
additional separate pump for the headlamp washers (modify the wiring) to power one side on your screen washers,
works well.” Of course, this only works if you have an ’88-on car with two separate nozzles -- or have added a nozzle
in addition to the original single one.
If you convert to four round H4 headlights, you should read the section on that headlight arrangement starting on page
649. Just using the round sealed beam units that came in the US-spec cars would be a mistake.
UK DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS: There is a circuit in the mid-80’s-on UK cars only that operates the low beams at
reduced power to provide a running light-type illumination, apparently as a result of some law. Richard Mansell quotes
“my owners manual which states: In the UK the headlamps are automatically switched ON in a dimmed dipped beam
mode when the side lights are switched ON and ignition switch is in position ‘2’. This prevents the vehicle being driven
with side and tail lamps only.” John Goodman says it is “Controlled by a relay thingy by the headlamp fusebox (this on
UK cars came in around ’86 ’87).”
Goodman continues: “It gets all screwed up if you try to install non-standard brighter wattage bulbs.” Regarding the
kits available in the U.K. to convert to the US-style four headlight system, he says “When I converted my previous XJ-S
to 4 headlights the dim system still works because all 4 lights are the same and still use the H4 bulbs. All lights have dual
filament bulbs, so 4 x 55w on main beam, however only the outer ones are ever wired up for dipped beam (not sure if
this is a legal reason).”
If you happen to have such a UK-spec car and don’t want to convert to four headlights, one nice option is the 100/55W
H4 bulb from Wiko mentioned above. Since the low beam is still 55W, same as the stock H4’s, the dimmed dip feature
will still work as intended.
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DOT-approved Carello -- US 1992-on
Composite headlights -- as opposed to sealed beams -- were finally legalized in the US in the name of energy
conservation via improved aerodynamics, but that doesn’t mean European headlights are now legal. After all, the US
DOT couldn’t possibly accept headlights that have proven excellent in Europe for decades. So, the 1992-on US-spec
XJ-S has a new type of oblong headlights that say DOT on the lens. Emile A. DesRoches says the lights are made by
Carello, and have plastic lenses with three little bumps for aiming. “The Carello light housings appear to be completely
polycarbonate with reflectors of the same material plated and apparently epoxied to the lens in order to provide a leak
free seal (no apparent O-ring, but it appears there's a ridge where the parts join). These things are very strong/resistant
to scratching, etc. I've taken several stones without mishap and what appeared to be a nut or bolt at high speed (yes, I
got to the track late and stupidly neglected to tape the headlights -- this from an SCCA tech inspector, yet). I expect it
would be possible to separate the sections with use of the proper solvent.”
Side note: per Daniel Stern, “Carello is a trademark of Magneti-Marelli SpA., Italy.” That’s right, the headlights are
made by the same company that makes the ignition system! They have a plant in the UK, which is why the headlights
are marked “Made in UK”.
The Carello headlights come with a nifty adjustment scheme: the up/down and left/right adjusters are readily accessible
from under the hood. There is no need to pull trim off or try to jam a screwdriver through narrow access slots to aim
the headlights.
CARELLO BULBS: The US-spec Carello headlights are fitted with 9004 bulbs. These bulbs have a large plastic base
with a fat O-ring and a D-shaped 3-terminal socket, and are 65/45W.
I will repeat: the US-spec Carello headlights use 9004 bulbs. I am sure of this. But if you start checking other sources,
you’re probably going to develop some doubts. Gary Penovich says, “Every website that I visited showed the USA spec
94MY using an H4/9003 lamp. The Osram/Sylvania website shows the incorrect fitting for a 94 as 9003.” Hey, don’t
believe me -- but at least pop the access cover out of the wheel well and pull a bulb out and look at it before mail-
ordering something you can’t use.
CARELLO UPGRADES: When Jaguar was finally permitted to quit using those lousy round sealed beams, the
headlights improved greatly, right? Daniel Stern says, “This is a tremendous, tremendous retrograde step in headlamp
performance. The transverse-filament 9004 performs worse than many of the old sealed beams, even. The 9004 system
is inherently bad. Poor luminance from the filaments, huge amounts of "noise" from 2nd-, 3rd- and higher-order
filament reflections off the bulb walls, nearly impossible to control filament placement once the bulbs have been cycled
on and off a few times, oodles of wasted light with transverse filament especially in rectangular or oblong reflectors...this
junk was one of Ford's so-called "Better ideas" in 1983. Shame on them.”
David Buchner describes the Carello headlights that came on his ‘94: “When you turn them on, you get a vague
impression of some light.” Buchner also owns an earlier XJ-S with four round sealed beams, and reports that the
Carellos are “much worse.” That’s pretty bad indeed, since the four round sealed beams suck.
For a wattage boost (illegal on US roads), J. C. Whitney offers 9004 bulbs in 100/55W and 100/80W versions. Stern:
“Badly-made 3rd-world overwattage 9004s (all of them...no reputable company makes such a product) have insanely
high internal pressure and frequently turn into shrapnel grenades (hopefully inside a headlamp so the destruction is only
to the bulb and headlamp...otherwise grievous injury can occur when flying hot glass hits flesh or eyes). Vastly increased
glare for other road users and backdazzle for the driver...thermal damage to plastic headlamp parts...melted headlamp
connectors (tiny contact pins in 9004 base). Brighter bulbs in bad headlamps don't make good headlamps...just bright
bad ones.”
Note that, as of this writing, this author has received several reports of use of 100W bulbs in Carello headlights and no
reports of melted parts, but this nevertheless must be considered a try-at-your-own-risk idea. Unfortunately, Buchner
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tried high-wattage 9004’s and reported that they had very little beneficial effect.
One very effective method of upgrading the US-spec Carellos would be to replace the units with the E-code Carellos
(see below). Not legal on US roads, but not likely to attract attention and certainly a great improvement in lighting.
Another option would be to add driving lights. The driving lights should be wired so that you can leave them off and
use the dimmer switch to switch from low beam to high beam and back, or turn them on and use the dimmer to switch
from low beam to high beam plus driving lights. Then you can use the dimmer to switch back and forth between low
and high beam in traffic situations where a car with good headlights would only need low beams, and switch on the
driving lights when you’re alone on rural highways and really need to see. And driving lights are perfectly legal.
The best fix may be to retrofit the earlier quad headlight scheme. Lee Murray says, "SNG Barratt has been advertising
dual sealed beam conversion for facelift XJS'" and reportedly asking a pretty dear price for them. Apparently you don't
need a kit, though; just get the headlight assemblies and chrome trim from an earlier car in a junkyard. Arnoud
Bordewijk reports: "I had a go today and it's really easy: I deleted the center bracket on the ('89) headlights. The outer
bracket on the ('95) car went to the trash as well. Basically the complete assembly bolts straight on: no drilling or weird
stuff required. The only thing you need to take care of is the wiring but since the colours are the same this should be
really easy. It took me about an hour to sort it out. The chrome really complements the champagne (dunno what the
official name is) colour of the car: it looks like a million bucks (or 15 euros;)."
Remember that retrofitting the four round headlights won't help visibility if you just fit the standard sealed beams. To
attain any actual visibility you'll want to install E-code headlights using H4 or H1 bulbs as described in the four round
headlight upgrades starting on page 649.
E-code Carello -- non-US 1991-on
At the same time the US got the DOT-approved Carello headlights, other countries got E-code Carellos. These can be
distinguished from the US-spec Carellos by a marking on the lens: “E11” in a circle. Also, the E-code headlights don’t
have the three little tits that DOT requires for aiming. Besides these minor appearance differences, there is a major
difference: the E-code Carellos use H4 bulbs instead of 9004’s. These units are reportedly far superior to the DOT-
approved Carellos and probably don't call for much improvement.
If you need better lighting, consider the nonstandard H4’s discussed below. You could also consider retrofitting the
quad headlight scheme as described for the US-spec Carellos above, but perhaps the biggest reason to do that is if you
prefer the appearance of the car with the quad headlights. Or, of course, you could add driving lights.
More Headlight Improvement Ideas
HIGH-WATTAGE H4’S: Of the five headlight schemes the XJ-S came fitted with, two used H4 bulbs -- and the
discussions above suggest replacing the other three with systems using H4 bulbs! H4 systems provide excellent lighting
-- but there is still room for improvement. One way to get better visibility yet is more wattage. J. C. Whitney offers H4
bulbs in 100/80W, 130/90W, and 165/100W. The 165/100W’s are kinda pricey, but the others barely cost any more
than standard H4’s. You can even get the 5¾” round E-code assemblies from J. C. Whitney with the 100/80W or
130/90W’s already installed for only an extra buck or two.
Also, Vince Chrzanowski reports that he found 100/55W H4’s at his local electronics wholesaler: Eiko Order Code
01019-BP. Eiko products are distributed by:
Wiko, Ltd.
10490 W. 164th Pl.
Orland Park, IL 60462
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And, no, he claims there is no typo, the name of the company is one letter over on the keyboard from the name of the
product line.
Daniel Stern advises that “good quality European bulbs cost no more than Chaiwanese stuff from JCW or Wiko, and the
wattage ratings on European bulbs are actually correct. The knockoffs are almost always quite a large bit lower than
stated, never higher. This is not the case with European-made bulbs.”
Note that the light output of incandescent light bulbs is not necessarily proportional to wattage; usually the higher
wattages are more efficient. Suffice it to say that high-wattage H4 bulbs will definitely do the trick. On high beam the
reflection from a brand-new road sign can be a little blinding. And when you flash at someone to move over, they move
over!
Of course, nonstandard H4’s are harder to find when one burns out -- but if you buy a spare or two, they don’t take up
much space in the trunk or glovebox. Or, you could just buy a normal 60/55W H4 from a local store to tide you over
until you can get a new specialty bulb shipped to you.
HIGH WATTAGE HEADLIGHTS -- POWER SUPPLY CONCERNS: Since watts = amps x volts and automotive
bulbs are 12 volt, a 100W bulb will draw over 8 amps and a 130W bulb will draw nearly 11 amps. Four 130W high
beams will draw over 43 amps, or 29 amps more than the stock sealed beams did. You might wanna consider the
capability of your alternator; the later XJ-S was fitted with a 115-amp unit, but the earlier ones had 66-amp or 75-amp
Lucas units -- and you’ve still got electronic fuel injection, windshield wipers, A/C system fans, etc., etc. to provide
power for. Still, this usually doesn’t present a problem, perhaps because you can’t use high beams too much due to
oncoming traffic, there’s usually no point to using high beams in the rain when the wipers are going, and since it’s cool
after dark the A/C fans are always on low speed.
You also need to consider the wiring and fuses. See the suggestions for installing relays on page 645.
BLUE BULBS: There are two distinct types of bulbs that can be referred to as “blue bulbs”. The first one has a
dichroic filter coating on the bulb that makes it appear gold. You have to hold the bulb up to the light and look through
it to see why it’s blue.
Are these bulbs a good idea? The answer is a clear and resounding no. In headlamp design, the bulb and the
reflector/lens arrangement must be designed to work together, and in the case of halogen headlight arrangements that
design is based on the bulb being clear and nonreflective. Introducing a filter coating does more than simply reduce the
amount of light emitted (it is a filter, remember, its function is to absorb light); it also introduces a reflective surface
within the system that causes light to scatter off in directions that the headlight designer was trying very hard to
preclude.
There’s no shortage of bad things to say about this crap, but the following excerpt from a NHTSA document sums it up
pretty well: “These bulbs began to show up on cars and trucks in early 1998, shortly after the introduction of HIDs on
more expensive cars. Having noticed this, NHTSA lighting engineers who regularly participate in SAE Lighting
Committee meetings asked committee members to discuss the science, engineering, optics and other aspects of these
new bulbs. Those engineers were mostly ignorant of the existence of those bulbs in the U.S. market. Upon being shown
one of the suspect bulbs, all were surprised by the orange metallic interference coating that was present on the entire
surface of the bulb capsule because they did not believe that it would allow a headlamp to perform properly. During that
meeting, a test was performed on the bulb in a headlamp, comparing it to the OEM bulb for the headlamp. When set up
in a photometry laboratory, the colored bulb reduced peak intensity in the seeing light area of the beam by two-thirds,
markedly increased the glare intensity in the area where preceding and oncoming drivers' eyes are typically located, and
the total volume of light emitted by the headlamp dropped by almost half. The beam emitted using the colored bulb,
shining on a white measuring screen in the lab, showed a psychedelic array of colors, ranging from white near the hot
spot to reds, greens, golds, blues and magentas, in vast areas of the beam. It was remarkably different than the
performance of an OEM bulb. While the laboratory at which the meetings were held did not test the colored
bulb/headlamp combination for compliance with FMVSS No. 108, the plot of its intensities showed that it was incapable
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of complying.”
These things should be banned -- and they are. Daniel Stern: “Simply put: They are illegal in all of the US and all of
Canada, Australia, Europe, Japan... A halogen or tungsten bulb that emits blue light is deemed a blue light, and is illegal
on non-emergency vehicles in Europe, the US, and Canada.”
The package on a set of Crystal Blue 9004’s in a local store says they are DOT approved in small letters on the back of
the card, but clearly warns on the front that they are for show car use only and that local laws should be checked before
installing. The bulbs themselves say nothing at all. You don’t need to check the local laws; they are illegal on the road
-- any road. And while using Euro-spec H4 headlights in the US might not get the cops’ attention, these bulbs are
obviously and obnoxiously blue. They also increase glare on other drivers -- including cops -- so harassment from law
enforcement can be expected to be constant and unceasing. As it should be.
NOT-SO-BLUE BULBS: The second type of “blue bulb” doesn’t have the dichroic filter coating that gives the golden
appearance, but rather a simple light blue tint on the glass. The objective is white light, not blue. These are a better idea
than the golden bulbs described above. Stern again: “They come in 9004, HB2 (H4), 9005, 9006, 9007, all DOT-
approved.”
They’re still not a good idea, though. Stern goes on to say, “The question of whether these filtered lights might be
better has been tested by good researchers, and they find not only that any theoretical advantages vanish when the
context of the study is actual driving tasks on actual roads -- that is, no seeing benefit -- but also there is a glare
disbenefit with such filtration. Just say NO to blue-filtered lights of any kind.”
It is this author’s opinion that the popularity of blue-tinted lights -- other than with morons who care more about being
“cool” than about safety -- is largely a result of the poor wiring in most automobiles, which causes headlights to operate
at reduced voltage and therefore appear yellow and weak. Before considering any blue crap, please install relays or
upgrade the wiring as discussed beginning on page 645.
YELLOW BULBS: Yellow is a legal color for headlights, with some areas permitting a yellowish shade of white while
others permit downright yellow. This is for good reason; Daniel Stern says, “Until the mid 1990s, headlamps in France
were required to produce yellow light. This was accomplished in one of several ways: yellow headlamp lens, yellow
glass balloon in front of the bulb, yellow glass balloon as part of H4 bulbs, and dichroic filter coatings on halogen bulbs.
This last method was the best, since it produced the required yellow color with very little loss in absolute light intensity.
Yellow glass filters caused up to a 15 percent reduction in absolute intensity. In the mid '90s (1994, if I recall correctly)
the yellow-light requirement was dropped for new cars in order to bring France into line with general European
Community regulations. Yellow bulbs can still be had and used on pre-'94 cars, however.
“It's not directly apparent that yellow is a magically great color for lights. It's what happens when you subtract blue from
an auto lamp. Blue is the shortest wavelength and, as such, scatters the most readily. When blue light strikes water
(rain, fog, snow) it scatters in all directions and makes on-road vision very difficult. Blue also is a very difficult color of
light to look at if it is at all intense...it stimulates the reaction we call "glare".
“So the French figured to remove the blue from the output spectrum of their vehicles' front lamps. The opposite of blue
being yellow, the result was French yellow headlamps. There haven't been any recent comparitive studies, but yellow
lamps always subjectively ranked as decidedly better in poor weather and lower in glare than white ones, and this
matches my own experimental experience with fog lamps and headlamps that produce yellow light.
“One problem with this conclusion as applied to headlamps in France is that the dichroic technology came along very
shortly before France rescinded the yellow-light requirement. Therefore, the lamps that were being compared with white
lamps were almost universally yellow by dint of earlier methods (yellow glass) which reduced the absolute intensity of
the beam, which may or may not have had a large part in reducing the glare. Because the requirement for yellow light
no longer exists (though such light is optional in many countries) we probably will never know the vagaries of the
answer to this question. Suffice it to say that yellow light makes a better fog lamp if you intend to use the fog lamp in
poor-visibility conditions without any drawback in dry conditions, and modern dichroic techniques of "yellowing" the
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light take away some of the drawbacks (reduced amount of light) that used to be a problem with yellow lights.
“These days there are quite a number of dichroic (yellow-pass) lighting products on the market. There are bulbs with
this coating, as well as auxiliary lamps whose lenses are so treated. There's nothing the matter with doing it either way
(though my preference is for the coating to be on the bulb, because this makes it easy to switch between clear/white light
and yellow light as desired).
“There are two commonly available levels of dichroic-filter coating strength on auto headlamp bulbs: A light coating
which "skims" the highest-frequency blues off of the output spectrum, causing a yellow-tinted white light, and a heavier
coating that blocks all of the blue frequencies from being output, causing the full-depth yellow light that we used to see
in French headlamps. The deeper yellow tint is more effective at cutting through obscured environments (rain, fog,
snow, dust), but the lighter coated bulbs meet international definitions of "white" light for headlamps. I've done
considerable experimentation with various mixes of bulbs and my own preference for maximum visibility in bad weather
is:
-Lightly-filtered headlamp bulbs to produce legally-white light that gives considerably less glareback in bad
weather
-heavily-filtered fog lamp bulbs to produce yellow light that does not glare back at all in bad weather (full-
strength yellow is legal in auxiliary lights)
“I like clear bulbs in driving lamps, because if you're worried about glareback, you're not using your driving lamps!”
So if the bulbs with blue dichroic coatings appear gold when you look at the bulb itself, what do the bulbs with yellow
dicroic coatings look like? “The legal-yellow ones reflect a light purple, while the full-tint ("French") yellow ones reflect
a deep blue.”
HIR: Howard Chu mentions another advance in headlights: “GE's HIR bulbs, which have a bulb coating that reflects
infrared. This again allows visible light to escape unhindered, but keeps more heat in the bulb. The point here is that the
filament glows because it's hot, so if you can keep more heat in the bulb, you can keep the filament glowing brighter with
less electricity.”
“XENON” HALOGENS: Nathaniel Musselman found that Hella offers bulbs that look and work just like standard H1
or H4 bulbs except that they have xenon gas in them. They claim that the use of xenon gas improves light output and
eliminates UV radiation that may damage plastic lenses and housings. You can visit Hella's web site at:
http://www.hella.co.nz/
Daniel Stern says, “The gas mix in such a bulb does have a higher percentage of Xenon, but it's not exclusively Xenon.
Also, the gas mix in the new type bulbs is under higher pressure. This allows the filament to run hotter, which produces
more light. It's not a knock-your-socks-off improvement, but it is certainly noticeable.
“The newest types of bulbs all use this new gas mix formulation (which also is under a higher pressure). For instance,
the H7 is one of the newest headlamp bulbs. All H7 bulbs have this newly-tweaked, higher-pressure gas mix, and the
results have been good, with the H7 achieving a higher luminous flux (amount of available usable light) from a given
wattage (55w in this case) than was achievable in a bulb of this general type with the old gas mix under the old lower
pressure. So after a few years' experience with H7s, the manufacturers have moved to update the older traditional bulb
types with the new gas mix under the new, higher pressure.”
"XENON" HIGH INTENSITY DISCHARGE (HID): Gas-discharge xenon lights, such as the strobe bulb in your
timing light or camera flash, work by firing an arc through a tube containing xenon gas. HID headlights work similarly
by providing a continuous arc to provide a continuous light. These lights have no filament; the arc travels through the
gas itself to produce the light. The same arc provides high and low beam; the arc is physically moved from one position
to another by application of a magnetic field, so the light doesn’t really turn on and off when switching between high and
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low beams but rather “moves”. The HID headlight system provides a purplish light and gives more light than halogen
headlights for one third the wattage.
Daniel Stern: “HID headlamps, which have a bluish appearance, are legal. It's because they're not actually blue, they
just appear more blue than the halogen lamps surrounding them. They are higher in blue and blue-green wavelengths,
but this is specifically noted and approved in CMVSS108 and 108.1 (And, for US readers, in FMVSS108).”
J.C. Whitney (page 694) offers an HID conversion kit that will fit any headlight that uses H1, H4, or 9004 bulbs --
which, when combined with the earlier suggestions to replace the round sealed beams with H4 units, means you can fit
them into any XJ-S. Cost is a mere $800 per kit -- and you’ll need two kits if you plan to do four headlights.
Worth it? Apparently not. Stern again: “There are many unsafe, illegal and noncompliant products on the market,
mainly consisting of an HID ballast and bulb for "retrofitting" into a halogen headlamp. Often, these products are
advertised using the name of a reputable lighting company ("Real Philips kit! Real Osram kit!") to try to give the
potential buyer the illusion of security. While some of the components in these kits are sometimes made by the
companies mentioned, reputable companies like Philips, Osram, Hella, etc. never endorse this kind of "retrofit" usage of
their products.
“Halogen headlamps and HID headlamps require very different optics to produce a safe and effective -- not to mention
legal -- beam pattern. It is not some great feat of upgrade engineering to put an HID capsule where a halogen bulb
belongs, it is just plain foolishness. Some types of halogen headlamp bulbs (9004, 9007, H3) use a transverse (side-to-
side) and/or offset (not directly in line with the central axis of the headlamp reflector) filament, the position and
orientation of which is physically impossible to match with a "retrofit" HID capsule. Even those halogen headlamps that
use axial-filament (9005, 9006, H1, H7) bulbs are not safely or legitimately "convertible", regardless of what kinds of
clever products the junk vendors come up with.
“The most dangerous part of the attempt to "retrofit" Xenon headlamps is that sometimes you get a deceptive and
illusory "improvement" in the performance of the headlamp. The performance of the headlamp is perceived to be
"better" because of the much higher level of foreground lighting (on the road immediately in front of the car). However,
examining isoscans of the beam patterns produced by this kind of "conversion" reveals less distance light, and often an
alarming relative minimum where there's meant to be a relative maximum in light intensity. When you think you can see
better than you can, you're not safe.
“It's tricky to judge headlamp beam performance without a lot of knowledge, a lot of training and a lot of special
equipment, because subjective perceptions are very misleading. Having a lot of strong light in the foreground that is on
the road close to the car and out to the sides is very comforting and reliably produces a strong impression of "good
headlights". The problem is that not only is foreground lighting of decidedly secondary importance when travelling
much above 30 mph, but having a very strong pool of light close to the car causes your pupils to close down, worsening
your distance vision...all the while giving you this false sense of security. This is to say nothing of the massive amounts
of glare to other road users and backdazzle to you, the driver, that results from these "retrofits".
“In order to work correctly and safely, HID headlamps must be designed from the start as HID headlamps. The only
safe and legitimate HID retrofit is one that replaces the entire headlamp -- that is lens, reflector, bulb...the whole
shemozzle -- with optics designed for HID usage. It is possible to get clever with available products, such as Hella's
modular projectors available in HID or halogen, and fabricate your own brackets and bezels. But just putting an HID
bulb where a halogen one belongs is bad news all around.”
ALTERNATIVE CONTROL SCHEMES: Besides upgrading the hardware in the headlight systems, there may be
benefits to changing the ways in which the headlights can be operated. It would be possible to add dozens of schemes
here, each complete with wiring schematics, thereby significantly adding to the poundage of this book. Rather than
going that route, I have decided to merely put forth some of the more intriguing ideas that have occurred to me or have
been sent to me, and leave it to the owner to figure out how to implement them if he so desires. Basically, any of them
can be achieved with a switch or two, a couple of relays, and a couple hours of fiddling with the wiring.
John Napoli suggests rewiring the car so that the low beams remain on when the high beams are on, so all the filaments
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are putting out light. The early European headlamps with two H1 bulbs did this from the factory, and show how easy
the rewiring is -- simply adding a jumper between terminals 56 and 56b on the main/dip relay. However, perhaps it
should be noted that those early cars had separate bulbs for high and low beams, while later cars have both filaments
within the same bulb. Overheating or early bulb failure might be the result. Hence, try this modification at your own
risk.
If you have the 4-headlight system, Daniel Stern suggests you can go nuts with control schemes: “In a quad-round
system, there are four holes and six filaments. Nobody ever said you have to have two matching pairs of lamps, or that
you can't rewire the setup to create 3 beam distributions rather than just two (or even five if you're adventurous).” Just
as an illustration, one of Stern’s alternative setups is to provide three levels of light: standard low and high beams, plus a
“mid beam” arrangement with the outer headlights on high beam but the inner headlights off. This setup makes good
sense if the inner high beams are an H1 assembly with really long-range capability, and it only requires one switch and a
relay. Using all four high beams will provide truly excellent visibility while you are alone on the road but the H1’s can be
turned off to avoid blinding another driver you are following at a distance while still keeping the outer headlights on high
beam to provide good visibility at closer ranges. And since you have switched from four headlights to two, that guy
thinks you have switched to low beam already and doesn’t get mad at you for blinding him.
Fog/Driving Lights
FOG LAMPS -- DEFINED: In the US, fog lamps are yellow illumination lamps mounted low on the front of the car to
provide visibility in foggy conditions. However, in some other countries, fog lamps are markers mounted at the rear of
the car to enable other drivers to see you in foggy conditions. Naturally, Jaguar is only moderately helpful in keeping
these two applications distinct in their manuals and schematics. In this book, “fog lamps” shall always refer to the
yellow lights at the front of the car; when talking about the lights at the rear, the term “rear fog lamps” or something of
the sort will always be used.
FOG LIGHT SHORTS: Jim McGuinn reports that he had an intermittent short circuit in the fog lights that he found
was the rear of the bulb socket assembly arcing to the housing. A bit of electrical tape solved the problem.
FOG LIGHT KIT: While fog lights were standard equipment on XJ-S’s for many years, Bill Kubida reports that
somewhere around ’93 they became an option -- and therefore Jaguar started offering an official fog light kit. “The
addition of the front fog lights requires the addition of a suitable switch to the array of existing switches. For reasons
known but to God and Jaguar, the addition of the single additional switch requires the following:
a) removal of the switch block to the left of the trip computer which has a button for the rear screen heater and
another for the rear fog lights. This switch block is then replaced by a new one having a front fog light switch
and a rear fog light switch;
b) removal of the switch block to the lower left of the steering column which has a button for the hazard
warning lights and a blank-out plate. This is then replaced by a second switch block having a hazard warning
light switch and another for the rear screen heater.
“I am certain that if we put a Cray IV to work on it for a couple of years a more complex system could be figured out,
but personally, I doubt it.”
AFTERMARKET FOG LIGHTS: If your car didn’t come with fog lights, or your original fog lights met a curb, you
don’t really need to contact Jaguar; fog light kits are available everywhere, and any rectangular model can be installed
under the front bumper and look fine on the XJ-S. It’s a good idea to check on the availability of replacement lenses,
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since they are prone to damage. You might also check to see if the lenses are thick and substantial to resist all but the
most powerful impacts. And you might check the availability of covers.
You might also wanna check the quality of the light and the pattern. As with most things, you get what you pay for. A
good fog light will direct the light downward around the front of the car, staying under layers of fog if possible; a cheap
fog light will leak light upward causing glare.
If cheap is what you’re looking for, Wal-Mart and AutoZone offer “Blazer” driving/fog light kits. These sets are
amazingly cheap -- barely more than the value of the H3 bulbs included. If you break a lens, the replacement lenses are
for sale right next to the light kits on the rack!
If you’re looking for good fog lights, the systems using the dichroic filters described by Daniel Stern on page 658 are the
way to go.
When installing fog lights, be sure to provide a suitable ground connection -- directly to the base of the bulb itself, if
possible.
FOG/DRIVING LIGHT BULBS: Fog lamps or driving lamps are usually fitted with either H2 or H3 bulbs. H2 bulbs
appear to be mounted on a metal blade while H3 bulbs have a circular metal base with two notches, one rectangular and
one semicircular, and a short wire attached with a spade terminal at the end. Both are typically 55W.
FOG/DRIVING LIGHT BULBS -- MORE POWER: 100W H2 bulbs are available from J. C. Whitney. 100W H3
bulbs are available at many auto parts stores, and you can get 130W versions from J. C. Whitney.
ALTERNATIVE CONTROL SCHEMES -- FOG LIGHTS: To see in fog, it is essential that the fog lights be the only
lights on; main or low beams just cause glare. The simplest modification for US-spec cars would be to disconnect the
RU wire from the inhibit relay, which causes the fog lights only to operate on the top position of the headlight switch.
Once that change has been made, it would be just as well to remove the inhibit relay entirely as it serves no function.
A more elaborate idea for convenient fog light operation is to rewire the car so that you can put the headlight switch in
one position and use the stalk switch to flick back and forth between low beams with fog lights and fog lights only. That
way, when you come out of the fog bank, you can just flick the stalk to bring on the low beams for better visibility in
clear air, and just as easily turn them back off when you encounter the next patch of fog. There’s really no need to be
able to get to high beams without putting the master lighting switch in another position, since whenever there’s fog
around you won’t be driving fast enough to need high beams.
Note that you might need to check local laws here. At one time it was illegal in some states to drive at night with fog
lights only, fog or not. Hopefully, more rational legislators have repealed such laws... what am I saying? There’s no
such thing as rational legislators, or the stupid laws wouldn’t have been written in the first place! Maybe you can get by
with a set of pilot lights; maybe the cops are stupid enough to think the headlights are “on” -- at least long enough for
you to get past.
FOG LIGHT AIMING: Since you aren’t that concerned with distance (you won’t be driving that fast in fog) but you
are concerned with curbs and the like, you may want to aim your fog lights a bit skewed -- each one aimed a few
degrees to the side. Aiming them crosseyed accomplishes the same thing, just using the left light to illuminate the curb
on the right side of the car. Whatever you do, though, don’t aim them upward; ideally you want absolutely no light
above bumper level, even 100 yards out.
DRIVING LIGHTS: Everyone knows that driving lights are white and fog lights are yellow. Many people know that
driving lights focus light far ahead while fog lights spread it low around the front of the car. What many people seem
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not to know is that fog lights are mounted low on the front of the car, as close to the ground as possible, while driving
lights need to be mounted high. Above the bumper at least; rallye cars mount them on the roof!
In other words, the lights mounted under the front bumper on the XJ-S really need to be fog lights. Fog lights will work
great here; driving lights won’t.
Of course, the reason you want driving lights is because you hate the looks of the yellow lenses. If so, here’s a better
idea: Install a set of modern fog lights with clear lenses and the dichroic filters right on the bulbs themselves -- which
appear blue when the lights are off. These are better than the old yellow fog lights anyway.
Or perhaps you want driving lights because you can’t see well enough with just the headlights on. This may be a valid
reason if you have the US-spec Carello headlights, but with any of the other configurations of headlight on the XJ-S
you’d be better off upgrading the headlights themselves as described in the earlier sections.
If you must install driving lights, kits are available everywhere. Perhaps the best place to mount them on the XJ-S would
be within the upper grille.
As always, you get what you pay for; really good driving lights will provide a carefully-controlled pattern of light down
the road, while cheap ones will just throw light everywhere and cause glare in rain and the like.
DRIVING LIGHT AIMING: How you aim driving lights will perhaps depend greatly on the light pattern they provide.
If they project a tight beam, you’ll probably want to aim them straight down the road to take advantage of that pattern.
If they just provide a flood of light in the forward direction, though, you might consider aiming them crosseyed or
skewed so they help illuminate the sides of the road in curves.
ALTERNATIVE CONTROL SCHEMES -- DRIVING LIGHTS: If the car is fitted with driving lights, it might make
sense to rewire the XJ-S so that all the headlights and driving lights work at once. In fact, later US-spec XJ-S’s came
with a master lighting switch with an additional position that operates all six lights. It may be possible to retrofit this
switch into the earlier cars. Or, you can simply rewire the “inhibit relay” scheme in the earlier cars, allowing high beams
and driving lights to be used simultaneously; it might also be a good idea to add relays to prevent overloading any
circuits.
With the options available for improving the headlights, there really is little reason to operate the driving lights
simultaneously to get more light; you should be able to get plenty of light from the main beams. However, the driving
lights might make excellent “cornering lights” if you aim them towards the sides of the road.
In many US states, there once were laws that prohibit there being more than four headlights on a car. Jaguar’s intention
for the inhibit relay was to prevent use of the high beams while the fog/driving lights are on, thereby making the 4-
headlight US-spec car comply with the law. It is unknown how these laws have evolved now that the law requiring
standardized headlights has finally been eliminated (thank God!). The owner is advised to check his state’s current
regulations before rewiring for all six lights to operate at once.
If your desired wiring scheme requires another switch, John Goodman points out that the UK cars have a different
headlight switch which can be pushed in to turn on “fog lights” at the rear of the car; this push facility could be used for
whatever your little heart desires, leaving your dash uncluttered with additional switches.
Horn
Steve S had his horns quit working, and found that the problem was a lack of ground connection at the steering column.
There is a little copper spring that rides on the rotating shaft in the center of the column to electrically connect it with the
outer casing -- but the outer casing may not be securely grounded! “I've run a separate earth from outer column to car
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body and everything’s OK again.
“I couldn't find any proper earth wire from outer column to body; looked like Jag relies on the four bolts which hold the
column to the body. I gave these 4 bolts an extra tweak but it didn't make any difference. I ran a 3" long wire from a
convenient bolt head (looked about m4) on the plate on the front of the steering column lock mounting plate to a cluster
of 4 black wires joining together at a 4 way bullet connector coming from the column stalk switch area.”
Radio/Sound System
INTERCHANGEABILITY: Greg Meboe says, “During the 70’s and 80’s, the sedans and XJ-S’s used the same radio,
exactly. Until 1988 of course, when the radio in the sedan had a curved faceplate to match the new dashboard.”
RADIO WIRING DIAGRAM: Greg Meboe adds, “On the top of my ’84 cassette player which I removed to install the
DIN radio, there was printed a nice wiring diagram for the color codes of the Jag radio circuit. I haven’t been able to
find this in the general manuals, and it’s valuable information for anyone who is installing an aftermarket radio in their
Jag.”
RADIO REMOVAL: Steve Broady, regarding the late-80’s radio: “Assuming your radio is a Blaupunkt made in
Korea, you will need to cut a coat hanger into 2 pieces like a pair of U’s to push into the front plate holes to remove
radio from bracket. When you pull the radio out of the dash watch for ground strap on left side as bolt protrudes into
bracket.” Note that what Broady describes is actually a fairly common type of mounting, and the little U-shaped pokers
are actually available separately at auto audio stores.
RADIO SECURITY -- REMOVABLE FACEPLATES: According to Greg Meboe: “The 86 Jags came with the
removable-face tape deck, a design which has made radio repair/replacement outfits a lot of money due to its low service
life. The face comes off to ward against theft, but the connectors for the face don’t seem to cut the mustard.”
Vince Chrzanowski, who repairs and restores old car radios, says, “The faceplates can’t be repaired by ordinary mortals.
The commonest failures are not in the LEDs, but in the surface-mounted integrated circuits which are hidden under
mounds of epoxy. Additionally, the slide controls are among the most failure-ridden we’ve ever seen. But the
faceplates can be purchased in repaired form. Our source for rebuilt faceplates is Southern Autotronics in Virginia (1-
800-446-2880, usual disclaimers apply). The last time I purchased one, the technician indicated that they were in short
supply. That was about two years ago.
“The 9500 series radio was, in my opinion, not nearly as reliable a radio as the so-called lesser 8600 series. After
struggling for a few years to keep the 9500 alive in my ’85 XJ-S (faceplate, tape deck and pc board failures), I opted for
the 8600 and have been perfectly happy ever since. Actually, the 8600 is much easier to use and much safer to operate
on the road.”
RADIO SECURITY -- CODES: Somewhere around 1986, Jaguars came with a radio that had another security feature:
if the power was disconnected, the radio would never work again unless the correct security code is entered.
Presumably, people who steal radios won’t steal one they can’t use.
Of course, you can choose any repair procedure in the manual, and chances are the first step is to disconnect the battery.
If you already went through this and your radio is now nonfunctional (or you have stolen such a radio), you apparently
will need to contact your friendly dealer to obtain the security code. You may also need to provide a serial number that
begins with “B” that is on the case of the radio.
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If you would like to avoid the grief, reportedly there is a product on the market that can be plugged into the cigarette
lighter. It uses a 9V battery, and will keep a small amount of power on the system while the battery is disconnected. It
will supposedly keep the radio operational, stations programmed, etc.
CONDENSATION DEFLECTOR SHIELD: Apparently, either plugged condensate drains in the A/C system or
leaking heater cores have a tendency to dump water on the stereo -- and some of those stereos ain’t cheap! So,
Technical Service Bulletin #8685 says essentially that a “condensation deflector shield” must be installed on all XJ-S
vehicles prior to VIN 163790 whenever the mechanic is working in the area. The part number for the deflector is CBC
9193, and it appears to be very easy to install, requiring only 0.10 hours.
SPEAKERS: The ’83 XJ-S comes with a decent sound system, except that it lacks tweeters. It is highly recommended
that if your car doesn’t have tweeters, buy some and add them. You can just add two in the front -- some people feel
that only bass notes should come from the rear to give the impression that you are “facing the orchestra” -- or you can
add one at all four corners to provide a complete surround sound. Just wire them in parallel with the existing speakers.
If there are any induction coils in the line to the existing speakers (they are sometimes installed in an inline fuse holder),
wire the tweeters in before these, so the induction coils serve the existing speakers only.
There are many types of tweeters available. The best kind are a 1” or smaller dome tweeter; some may have a dome
made of plastic or even titanium, but either way they provide excellent high frequency sound and excellent dispersion.
The size refers to the size of the dome itself, but nevertheless the entire thing is pretty small -- and they’re usually fairly
inexpensive as well. The sound from tweeters is pretty directional, so some tweeters come with a mount that allows you
to aim them -- but even if you just mount them flush in the doors, the sound will be vastly improved over no tweeters at
all. Be sure to get 4 ohm tweeters; the 8 ohm tweeters are intended for home systems. Dynamic tweeters will usually
come supplied with a capacitor; wire the capacitor in series with the tweeter. This forms a filter that keeps the bass
notes from being applied to the tweeter, which might burn it up.
Another good option is to go to Radio Shack and buy piezo tweeters, Cat. No. 40-1383. The nature of a piezo tweeter
means that you don’t care about ohmage or filtering, just wire them in. They’re cheap, sound good, and are almost
impossible to damage.
MAKING THE AFTERMARKET RADIO FIT: Greg Meboe provided some guidance on how to get a fancy new
stereo to fit in my old Jaguar. “Your car is an '83, so it would have originally been fitted with a two-knob cassette player
with manual pushbuttons for play, ff, rr, and eject. This radio was fitted from ’82 to ’84, inclusive. The metal facia
panel (fibre-optic panel) which was fitted with this radio has a cutout which resembles a side view of a foot-long hot dog
stuffed into a normal-size bun. Starting in model year 1985, Jaguar began to fit the more modern, rectangular faced
radios which use a large, rectangular facia cutout. The fibre-optic panel fitted to 1985 and newer sedans and S’s will
therefore accommodate any modern DIN radio without modification. The radio mounting scheme for the Jaguar was
the same throughout the years, so a person could install a 1985-on Jaguar radio in their pre-’85 car just by fitting the
later style fibre optic panel.” This panel is shown on the “Heating and Air Conditioning-Controls” page of the Parts
Catalogue (besides framing the radio, the panel also holds the knobs for the A/C system). The part number of the 1986-
on panel is DAC3418.
“For the structural mounting of the radio, modern aftermarket units seem to have a series of standard 8mm mounting
holes on the side. I made up a set of steel brackets to fit these standard holes, and mount the radio in the fashion that
Jaguar intended -- with the nylon push fasteners in the front.”
BLOWING FUSES: Typically, the first time you crank up the volume on your high-powered aftermarket stereo system,
it’ll go silent on you. Sean Straw says, “There are three fuses associated with your stereo - the fuse in the passenger side
fusebox (RADIO/CIG LIGHTER), the fuse on the stereo itself (well, any self-respecting stereo will have one), and one
on the line between the two, which as the manual describes, should be in the console (actually, the Jaguar service
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manuals claim it is "behind the stereo").
“I'd installed a new stereo, and I had it turned up a bit, then switched to the cassette, and it just blinked out. After some
probing around, I determined that it was the fuse between the stereo and fusebox, and located it roughly forward of the
cruise control switch on the console (underneath the driver-side console ashtray). It will require that you remove the
console veneer entirely.
“I found the fuse wiretied closely to a bundle, as well as electric taped over the fuse housing to another line (dunno why
- I eliminated the tape when I was in there). I found a 2A fuse in there, but the manual calls for a 1A - both of which are
odd, given that the stock Jaguar stereo had a 10A fuse on it -- fused to that same power input as the inline fuse is on (as
versus the ignition/accessory input which tells the stereo to wake up). I checked with the local Jaguar dealership and he
said there shouldn't be a problem for that line to carry 10A, so I switched the inline fuse to a 10A and the stereo works
fine.”
Actually, the situation could use a little more explanation. The Haynes manual and the ROM seem to talk only of a
“radio” and otherwise provide little info on wiring of the stereo system, but with almost any system there are actually
two separate power supplies: a switched and an unswitched. The unswitched is connected to the battery at all times
while the switched turns on and off with the ignition key. In the old days when things were simple, the unswitched line
drew only a tiny amount of power, since all it did was maintain the settings on the tuner presets and the like; the
switched line, which powered the amplifier itself, the tape drive mechanism, and anything else you didn’t want on when
the car was off, drew the relatively heavy current. Hence, the switched line would be fitted with a 10A fuse or some
such, while the unswitched line would get only a 1A.
Then the serious autosound buffs came up with the idea of installing huge capacitors in the power supply to a stereo
system. These “stiffener capacitors” can range from 0.25 farad (already larger than most any other capacitor used
anywhere by several orders of magnitude) up to 1.5 farad; the rule of thumb is 0.001 farad for each watt of amplifier
power. These capacitors are typically about the size and shape of a 12-oz. beer can, and some stereo buffs connect up
entire banks of them! Their purpose is to maintain a rock-steady voltage supply to the stereo when the stereo itself calls
for a sudden surge of power, such as when a heavy bass note is hit.
The problem is that such capacitors cannot be on a switched line. In fact, installing them in a car requires some care in
pre-charging through a resistor before connecting, or something will get fried. Once installed, they must remain in
continuous connection with the battery at all times, and disconnecting the battery for servicing the car requires
discharging and recharging through the same resistor when reconnecting. If installed on the switched circuit, the first
time you hit the ignition key the contacts within the ignition switch would weld themselves into a handsome little glob.
As a result of these developments, the modern stereo systems have changed the standards. They still require a switched
and an unswitched power supply, but in order to take advantage of stiffener capacitors and other power supply
upgrades, the heavy current is taken from the unswitched line. The switched power supply now becomes merely a
“signal” that the ignition is on, and therefore draws almost no power.
Obviously, if you remove an original deck that drew its amplifier power through the switched line and install a newer
deck that draws its amplifier power through the unswitched line, the first thing that’s gonna happen is you’re gonna blow
the tiny fuse that was originally intended only to maintain station presets. Straw’s dealer is correct, almost any circuit in
the car will handle a 10A fuse without trouble, so you can merely replace the 1A inline fuse with a 10A to make your
new deck work. On the other hand, you might opt to run a new heavy-duty power supply wire from one of the two
main terminals on the firewall directly to your new deck to make sure it’s not starved for amps when you’re rockin’ out.
CD CHANGER ADDITION: David Brown sends this info on installation of a CD changer in the boot: “I believe all
post-’88 cars are pre-wired. Depending on what year you have, a 7-pin DIN socket (that’s what we call it in the UK
anyhow) will be found in different places in the boot (trunk).
“... a Clarion changer unit will plug straight in and you’re all set.
“For a Philips or Alpine unit, you have to disassemble the plug on your CD changer and rewire a couple of pins around.
Basically you can control the unit as it is currently wired, but you would hear nothing. The head unit expects the sound
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signals to be traveling down some otherwise unused pins. Simple experimentation shows what they are.
“On my Philips unit, I had a DIN plug which carried the instructional/power signals and had separate phono/tulip plugs
which carried the sound. I patched those sound signals back into the DIN plug at the 11 and 1 o’clock positions. You
could find out which pins should carry the signal by half connecting the CD changer to the cars socket, such that the
changer works but you can still see the pins. Then dab each pin with a phono cable until you hear the music come
through. Then you’ll know which DIN pins are expected to carry the sound signal.”
If you have this connector, the stock Jaguar stereo includes controls to operate these CD changers remotely.
CD CHANGER ADDITION -- FM MODULATOR TYPE: If you have an earlier car that isn’t pre-wired for a CD
changer, you can still add one by getting the type that splices into the FM antenna. This is convenient, since the antenna
on the XJ-S is in the trunk. Such systems inherently lack some of the high frequency response of a directly-wired CD
player, but it’d be the rare individual indeed who could tell the difference.
Bill MacDonald says, “All CD changers have a gain control for the output to the FM modulator. The little silver box
that has the antenna wires and data and power connections contains the modulator on older Sonys. New models of all
brands seem to be building the modulator on the circuit board right inside of the changer. You can adjust the gain either
by an adjustment that is made for you to adjust the gain on the box or open it up and you can adjust a universal gain or a
single left and right gain. You are supposed to match the FM volume equal to the CD volume, but it’s your choice.
“You can also adjust the frequency deviation and offset; a lot of radios are not tuned exactly as they should be and sound
scratchy or "s" words sound horrible. Be very careful and use plastic adjustment tools and I only recommend this if you
have patience and dexterity because you can also detune the carrier and pull it out of PLL stereo mode. But if you sit in
the middle of a quiet car with no noise around you and relax and adjust the modulator with your ears you can tune it in
to sound a lot better than what it was factory adjusted to.”
HEAVY-DUTY POWER: If you’re installing a whopper of a sound system, you might consider replacing the Lucas
alternator with a GM alternator as described beginning on page 576. This would permit installation of a reasonably-
priced 140-amp alternator.
If 140 amps isn’t enough, you may want to note the idea of replacing the air pump with a GM alternator discussed
beginning on page 580. While the intention there was to eliminate the original Lucas alternator, there’s no reason this
same modification couldn’t be used to fit the XJ-S with two alternators. Connecting two alternators to a single electrical
system is reportedly unwise, but providing two entirely separate electrical systems is reportedly a fairly common exercise
in the world of high-power sound.
Antenna
TYPES: In general, two types of antenna (“aerial” in the Jaguar parts books!) were used in the XJ-S. Up through VIN
123280, a Merlin antenna DAC3542 was used; this is a remote unit in which the drive assembly is buried under a panel
in the right side of the trunk, and a cable housing connects it to the mast. From VIN 123281 on, a Hirschmann antenna
DAC3579 was used; this has a black plastic rectangular housing. It is not remote, the drive assembly is right where the
antenna is.
Richard Mansell says “I have a feeling the XJ40 uses the same electric aerial as the later XJ-S’s.” Actually, not quite
right; the XJ40 uses a Hirschmann antenna DBC5101, but this unit looks almost exactly the same except for the
electrical connection. It even uses the same replacement mast.
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ANTENNA VS. SPOILER: Richard Mansell: “When you have a boot spoiler it’s a bit of a problem as the mast goes
through a small hole in the spoiler!” John Goodman explains: “On the boot spoiler equipped cars there is an additional
relay wired into the boot light switch. The idea is that when the aerial is extended, radio and ignition on, lifting the lid
very slightly causes the boot light to come on and the aerial to retract (after the stupid 4 second delay).”
ANTENNA MAST LUBRICATION: Michael Minglin says, “Porsche dealers sell a small foil packet with an oil soaked
swab inside. This is to lubricate the antenna shaft.” Hal Rogers (see page 712) adds, “Jaguar also sells a similar
lubricating pack as well. A number of Jaguar specialists (like myself) carry it. It is very inexpensive.” Considering the
wealth of information listed below on repairing the antenna, maybe this lubrication is a good idea.
MERLIN ANTENNA DRIVE WIRE REPLACEMENT: Steve Leamy says: “Some models use a plastic drive wire
instead of metal; you can repair these with weed eater line but you have to remove the motor base and ant to service it.”
Dan Jensen tried using 0.080” grass cutter line, and it didn’t work. “The main problem was it was stiff enough when
coiled into the tight end of the coil guide that it popped out between the guides and jammed. I think having a material
that (a) is reasonably flexible, (b) is tough enough to stand repeated uncoiling and coiling, and (c) has an o.d. near 0.125
are all important. I see no reason why grass cutter string would not work, but the o.d. needs to be close to 0.125 in.
Note that the original extend/retract cable has a small hole in the center, i.e., it is very thick-walled tubing vs. flexible
rod.”
“I also tried PTFE (Teflon), but it quickly failed due to the repeated flexing. Ultimately, I used 0.125 inch flexible
polyethylene rod purchased from a local valve supply company. This has worked without problems.”
MERLIN ANTENNA MAST REPLACEMENT: Hal Rogers of H. D. Rogers & Sons (page 712): “It does not have a
replaceable mast, never did.”
ANTENNA CLUTCH ADJUSTMENT: Steve Leamy sends instructions on adjusting the drive clutch, apparently on
the Hirschmann antennas but perhaps applicable to all: “This repair covers ant that just won’t quite make it up or down
and still makes a clicking noise before stopping.
“You want to get to the side of the unit that looks like a cup and has a screw in the middle of it. Remove the screw and
the cover and you will have now exposed the clutch drive for the ant. On the shaft in center you will find a locking nut
which you will now back off 1 or 2 turns, now grip the metal clutch and tighten 1/2 turn. Retighten locking nut and
prop unit up so you can test it. Turn key on and radio and ant will raise in 15 to 20 seconds, once ant reaches full height
you should hear 3 bumps and ant motor should shut off. Turn key off and ant should go down completely and 3 bumps
and motor will cut off. If ant still does not go full up or down adjust clutch in quarter turns until a full stroke is attained.
“On 88 and above XJ’s I have found three different manufacturers of ant in the cars I have serviced the but all of them
use some type of clutch system and can be fixed by resetting of the tension on it.”
HIRSCHMANN ANTENNA MAST REPLACEMENT: While the Merlin mast is driven via a plastic wire, the
Hirschmann mast is driven by a plastic strip with a row of teeth down one side. These teeth engage a drive sprocket
inside the unit.
A repair kit is available for Hirschmann antennas, including the mast and the plastic gear rack. The Jaguar part number
is DBC2200. According to Hal Rogers, “The mast is the same for some German cars.”
John Goodman suggests: “Replace the mast the easy way!!!
“1. Undo mast securing nut on top of wing/fender(leave unit intact in car).
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“2. Get helper to switch radio on, while you pull up on the mast, the motor will extend the mast right out of the car
complete with nylon cable.
“3. Put new mast into hole, get helper to turn radio off, motor will pull new mast into hole, tighten securing nut.”
HIRSCHMANN ANTENNA -- BROKEN DRIVE COG: Samuel J. Louw shares his experience on his ’89 XJ-S with
the Hirschmann antenna: “I tested it with the cover off and saw that the motor was driving the gear, but that the second
gear driving the antenna was not turning. I took the two gears apart and found the plastic pin transferring the driving
force from the drive gear via the internal spring to the antenna gear broken off. The first glue attempt was unsuccessful,
but on second attempt I enlarged the hole, which the plastic pin already has, a bit and fitted a small self-tapping screw,
together with some steel epoxy. Antenna is working fine now. Glue and screw just needs to be flush with the gears.”
HIRSCHMANN -- OTHER FAILURES: Most automatic antennas have a motor with a worm gear on the shaft that
drives a wheel connected to the spool that winds the mast up and down. The Hirschmann has a difference: instead of the
worm gear being on the motor shaft, it’s alongside the motor and there is a tiny toothed belt driving it. So, if the thing
isn’t working, it may be because this tiny belt has snapped.
ANTENNA REPLACEMENT: The original Jaguar antennas are incredibly expensive, even when the mail order shops
put them on sale. If you’re not real concerned about originality, you can replace either the Merlin or Hirschmann
antenna and its delay relay with any of several antennas from J. C. Whitney or any local auto parts store for around $40.
It won’t have that 10-second delay before going down, but nobody’s ever figured out what that’s for anyway.
If you’re replacing a Merlin, there are aftermarket antennas with remote drive arrangements available for a few more
bucks if you’d like to locate the drive in the same place the original was. Hal Rogers of H. D. Rogers & Sons (page
712) says, “The unit that we sell which is a replacement unit, not exactly the original, and you may need a fitting kit as
well...It replaces DAC3542 or DAC4090 Jaguar part number.”
You don’t really need a remote type unit, though; you can install a cheap replacement with the motor right on the
bottom of the mast rather than remotely connected, so it’s in plain view within the trunk. You can fashion a cute
housing or cover around it if you wish. Typically, a remote drive antenna is used where space is a problem, but it’s not a
problem in the XJ-S; there’s no telling why Jaguar selected the remote Merlin unit for its early models.
When selecting an antenna, always insist on one that is “fully automatic”, meaning it raises or lowers automatically when
the radio is switched on or off; the “semi-automatic” antennas are electric motor driven, but you must control them
manually from a rocker switch installed somewhere. The difference is only a couple bucks, so it’s not worth the effort to
install and use a semi-automatic.
Also note that the ideal extended length for an FM antenna is about 31”. Any shorter or longer will give less-than-
optimum FM reception.
The aftermarket fully automatic antennas usually have two wires aside from the coax cable itself, one that should be
connected to 12V power and one that should be connected to a signal wire from the radio. If you are installing a generic
antenna, remove the original antenna along with the green delay relay attached to it. Connect the WK wire in the car to
the signal connection on the antenna. Connect the NP wire in the car to the 12V connection on the antenna. If the
antenna came with a fuse in the line you can include it in the circuit, but the XJ-S already has fuses in the circuits so you
can just discard it if you’d prefer. If the antenna has a black wire, connect the black wire in the car to it; if not, make
sure the housing of the antenna motor is grounded to the car, either by the mounting scheme or by connecting the black
wire to it.
Also, both the original antennas as well as the aftermarket units have a drain tube to dispose of rain water that runs
down the antenna into the housing; route the drain tube somewhere outside the car.
The antenna installation instructions also direct you to adjust the antenna trimmer on the radio. However, if your radio
669
has an electronic tuner (digital display instead of mechanical needle), it probably has no such adjustment.
If you really like that 10-second delay, you can opt to keep the green relay in the circuit. Leave the WK and NP wires
connected to the delay relay the way they originally were. Provide a connection from the NP wire to the 12V power
connection on the antenna, which may require tapping into a line. Then connect a wire from terminal 4 on the delay
relay (where the UW wire was originally connected) to the signal wire on the antenna. Tom Graham says, “The Jag
relay spade connector we want will have voltage (battery) on it when the radio is on. Check this with a volt meter to
chassis ground. Then turn the radio off, the voltage will drop off in about 15 seconds (this is how the delay works).”
Note that terminal 5 on the delay relay, where the UR wire was originally connected, is not used in this scheme.
Miscellaneous Interior Stuff
SEAT HEATER: Later XJ-S’s come with a seat heater, and apparently it lacks reliability. Stefan Schulz sends a
description of the repair of this unit:
“The seat is connected to the car electrics through three different connectors, one for the seat belt logic (cable runs
under centre console, pull carefully to expose connector), one for the lumbar pump, and one for the seat heater. The
latter two are under the seat and can be accessed most easily by moving the seat as far to the rear as possible.
“Having disconnected the seat heater connector, check with a voltmeter whether it delivers power when the seat heater
is switched on. If it does, the problem is somewhere in the seat. Remove seat.
“Turn seat upside down in a clean area. Locate the connector that connects the bottom seat heater in series with the one
in the backrest. Pull it apart. Use an ohmmeter to figure out whether the bottom or the backrest heater is faulty.
“If the bottom heater is faulty, remove the black rubber cover from the bottom of the seat. See where the heater power
supply wiring enters the bottom cushion ? Good. Carefully pull it apart at that point, exposing the top of a cheap and
nasty heater element.
“Cut the top covering of the heater element to one side of the thermostat and flip it over to the other side to expose the
thermostat element. Don’t cut it away, you’ll need to put it back later.
“There are three joints within the seat heater element. Orange/slate wire to thermostat, thermostat to heater element,
heater element to black wire. Examine all three joints. Note that they get hot (hey, they’re part of a heater) and are
moved and flexed constantly. Solder joints should never be used in areas that get hot or which are under mechanical
stress like the one these wires are experiencing. So what did the cheapskate Jaguar designers use? Exactly. The
thermostat is cheap too, and its connection lugs will be badly oxidized.
“Take out the thermostat and subject it to the usual boiling water/ice water routine to test it. Check with an ohmmeter
that it opens when in hot water and closes when in cold. Being more precise with a cheap part like that is a waste of
time. If you find that the thermostat is faulty, you’ll see that it is not a Jaguar part. Jaguar wants you to replace the
entire heater and cushion assembly. But this ‘stat doesn’t do anything any other 45°C/12V/10Amp bimetallic ‘stat wont
do, so get a replacement from an electronics shop if necessary.
“Solder the thermostat back in, using weapons-grade solder wire with a high silver content and consequently high
melting point. You did remember to dry and clean the connection lugs first, of course. Re-solder the third connection
(heater to black wire) as a matter of course.
“Squeeze the thermostat back into the cushion, make sure that none of the heater wires touch it. Put back the top
covering using solvent- free glue and a staple at the end. If you use glue containing solvent, you will find that that works
the same way as the naturally occurring rot of the seat foam, only a lot faster - seconds instead of years. Use an
ohmmeter to check the resistance offered across the seat heater connector now - it should be about 1.8 ohms.
“Refit all the other components by reversing the removal sequence. Put the seat back in the car and connect it
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(remember the seat belt logic connector!)”
GLOVEBOX LIGHT: The XJ-S doesn’t have one! What a cheap car. It’s easy enough to install one, though. Just
buy a suitable light fixture at your favorite auto parts joint, and install it in the top of the compartment just behind the
latch. Wire it into the interior light switch just to the left, so when the switch is operated it will turn on both the right
front interior light and the glovebox light.
In the author’s ’83, there is an unused 2-conductor connector hanging out of the harness directly above the glovebox --
you’ll need to take the glovebox out to see it. The wire colors are R and B. This may have been intended to power a
glovebox light at one time. The B wire is a ground, and the R wire comes from fuse #15 in the auxiliary fusebox --
which is the fuse to the right front parking and marker lamps. Hence, if a glovebox lamp were to be powered from this
connector, the lamp would be on whenever the parking lights are on. If you don’t like that, you would need install a
glovebox door switch in the circuit so the lamp was off unless the glovebox was open.
There are other implications of using that connector. Any current drawn through it comes through the bulb failure
sensor for the right front corner of the car. Hence, the increased current could fool the sensor into indicating that the
bulbs are all OK when, in fact, one is burnt out. If you don’t provide a glovebox door switch, you probably should
readjust the tiny screw on the bulb failure unit to put its sensitivity back where it belongs.
To avoid getting confused by voltmeter readings, remember that bulb failure sensor has resistance in it. On the author’s
car, the voltage at that connector was about 10V while the battery was at a solid 12V.
Yet a third power source possibility is a dedicated power source with a switch -- a glovebox door switch or even just a
manual toggle inside the glovebox. There are lots of solid brown wires in the area; all of them have 12V whenever the
battery is connected, and all of them have enough capacity to handle a glovebox light with no sweat. The main firewall
power terminal isn’t too far away, but you’ll have to remove the rubber duct to get to it.
CIGARETTE LIGHTER: Apparently, some XJ-S’s were equipped with some sort of non-standard cigarette lighter.
This causes two problems: first, when the element in the lighter quits working, it’s hard to find a replacement; and
second, it may prove problematic to plug accessories into the cigarette lighter hole. If you are having either of these
troubles, the easiest solution is to drop by any auto parts store and buy a generic cigarette lighter and install it, and throw
that hokey Jaguar one out.
WHERE IS LUCAS TODAY? “Lucas merged with the Varity corp in Sept. ’96. Varity is what was left of Massey-
Ferguson after it was chewed up along with Kelsey-Hays. The president of Varity is now in control of the new
LucasVarity and it seems that he has no love for Lucas or the name. US automotive operations will cease in the next
few months for Lucas and will only be represented by a company called AutoSpecialty which was just recently acquired
and based in LA CA. which will market no Lucas product but will be owned by LucasVarity. AutoSpecialty supplies
undercar and braking products. LucasVarity will continue for a while in Europe but a team is taking surveys at present
for a new name for the merged company, and it won’t be Lucas.”
Cruise Control
PRE-1992 VS. 1992-ON: Richard Mansell quotes from a Jaguar publication describing the changes for the 1992 model
year:
“New cruise control: The V12 models now feature the Hella speed control system as fitted to the pre-92 MY 3.6
coupe in place of the AE Econcruise system. This gives more logical layout, more accurate control of speed, the
addition of a cancel function.”
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As of now, this book only addresses the pre-1992 cruise control.
PRE-1992 CRUISE CONTROL: Thanks for the following procedures for troubleshooting the Jaguar cruise control
system go mainly to Tom D. Graham.
CRUISE CONTROL DESCRIPTION: An electrical signal from the drive train tells the cruise control system how fast
the car is going. On early XJ-S’s there was a dedicated sending unit near the input flange on the differential. Later
XJ-S’s split a signal from the speedometer transducer on the transmission. On still later models, the speedometer
transducer is built into the differential unit itself. See page 593 for notes on these senders.
The signal is processed by the cruise control electronic control unit. This ECU directs the amount of vacuum in the
bellows unit and the bellows unit operates a cable to the gas pedal/throttle.
Within the bellows assembly are two solenoids, one which normally (cruise control off) vents the bellows to atmosphere
and the other which normally seals off the vacuum line from the intake manifold. The “vent solenoid” is connected to
the yellow/white and black wires, and the “vacuum solenoid” is connected to the yellow/white and yellow/black wires.
When the control unit calls for speeding the car up, 12V is applied to the yellow/white wire, activating both solenoids.
The vent is sealed and the vacuum line is opened, and the resulting vacuum within the bellows pulls the cable, applying
throttle. The speed control unit modulates the ground connection of the vacuum solenoid to apply the proper vacuum to
maintain a constant speed.
On the brake pedal housing is a switch that breaks the yellow/white wire whenever the brakes are applied, effectively
shutting off the system and allowing the throttle to return to idle. This is actually a back-up feature; the power from the
brake light switch is also sent to the speed control unit, which is supposed to drop the power to the yellow/white wire.
Note that if the brake light circuit fails and doesn’t put the cc into decel mode and the backup switch is the only thing
that disables the actuator, as soon as the brake pedal is released the cc will resume and the car will accelerate.
CRUISE CONTROL RECALL: As the result of a recall, there is usually a blue solenoid valve installed in the vacuum
line to the bellows unit. This device is designed to seal the vacuum line and vent the bellows unit in addition to the
solenoids. It’s mounted at the right front corner of the engine.
Of course, it might not be installed correctly. Dave Kautz says, “I've been fussing off and on with my cruise control,
trying to figure out why it doesn't work. This past weekend I bypassed the little blue solenoid valve mounted at the
front of the right-side cam cover. I believe this part was added as part of a retrofit as it doesn't show up in any of the
documentation I have on the workings of the cruise control. Well, bypassing it didn't fix my cruise control but it did
lower the idle speed several hundred rpm indicating to me that it was behaving as an air leak even it the de-energized
state. It looks to be a three-way valve with the cruise servo side vented to atmosphere when the valve is (supposedly)
closed so the air being drawn in was un-filtered - lovely... I mention all this as one more place to check when folks are
chasing down a high idle problem. After hooking the vacuum line from the cruise control servo directly to the manifold
tap it took more than a full turn on the idle "screw" to get the idle back up to 750 rpm.”
Kautz’s solenoid valve had been installed backwards, probably by a dealer mechanic performing the recall. It is a 3-way
solenoid valve, but when de-energized it’s supposed to connect the cruise control servo to atmosphere, not the intake
manifold! And it’s supposed to have a little filter on it so that even the cruise control servo doesn’t get unfiltered air.
CRUISE CONTROL ADJUSTMENT: If the cruise control is adjusted correctly, when the set switch is pressed the
system will maintain the speed the car was doing at the instant the button was pressed. If adjusted incorrectly, it will
maintain either a higher or lower speed. Hence, the test procedure is drive the car on a straight and level road and press
the set switch, allow the speed to settle about ten seconds, and press it again. If adjusted properly, it can be set over and
over and still maintain the same speed. If incorrectly, the repeated sets will result in gradually higher or lower speeds.
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If adjusted incorrectly, adjust the speed control unit until correct; it is a simple matter to have the speed control unit
hanging under the dash (it is located above the passenger side footwell) and the necessary tools along for the test drive,
and preferably an assistant driving. Although the repair manual describes a method of adjusting the cruise control, some
of these units have no obvious adjustments. If you pry the box open, however, there are two adjustable pots on the
circuit board. The one to adjust is the one in the corner, farthest from where the wires enter the box. NOTE: The
adjuster is very sensitive; it is difficult to move it a small enough increment.
SERVO TROUBLESHOOTING & REPAIR: If you have an ohmmeter, unplug the connector to the bellows unit and
check the resistance across the bellows solenoids, yellow/white to black and yellow/white to yellow/black. Each
solenoid should register 25-30Ω.
Connect the black wire from the unit to chassis ground and the yellow/white wire to 12V using a jumper wire. You
should hear a click. Disconnect the black wire from ground and connect the yellow/black wire to ground, and once
again connect the yellow/white wire to 12V. You should hear another click. This verifies that both solenoids are
moving.
Connect both the black and yellow/black wires to ground and the yellow/white to 12V to activate both solenoids, and
suck on a hose connected to the bellows unit. You should be able to move the bellows. If you can’t seem to suck
anything, the vacuum solenoid isn’t opening (or the hose is kinked or plugged). If you seem to suck air easily without
accomplishing anything, either the vent solenoid isn’t closing or the assembly is leaking.
The following comments apply to the older cruise control actuators that had a bellows that looked like a bellows, and a
flat metal disk that the cable attached to. Newer cars use a different actuator, and some even attach directly to the
turntable -- a no-no with the older throttle cable design.
This cruise control actuator can be disassembled easily. Remove one bolt at the front end and disconnect the throttle
cable from the disk at the rear end (don’t lose the little cable attachment thingy!) and remove it from the car. Then peel
the bellows away from the disk the cable attaches to, and away from the solenoid housing the same way.
These units seem to have several common failure modes. The first and most obvious is that the bellows leaks around the
edges where it snaps over the metal disks; even a small leak is enough to render the system totally inoperative. If this
problem is suspected, it is a fairly simple matter to peel the bellows off at both ends, apply some silicone sealant, and
reassemble. Another suggestion that’s been made: use a clamp intended for a dryer hose around the edge of the bellows
to hold it securely against the metal disk.
Another common problem is the bellows itself develops a tear or leak. You can easily check if the rest of the system is
operational by patching the leaks, using a bicycle tire patch kit, tape, or whatever. It may not last, but it will tell you if
the rest of the system is OK.
It has been suggested that using Son Of A Gun or some similar substance on the bellows may help protect the rubber
from aging.
Gregory Andrachuk describes repairing another failure mode, sticky solenoids: after taking the bellows off, “I simply
lubricated them liberally with Liquid Wrench (like WD40, but has Teflon). The cruise functioned perfectly...”
Yet another common failure is that the tiny rubber seats on the solenoid plungers fall off, and the solenoids no longer
seal the ports. Bill Farnsworth went looking for why his cruise control quit working: “I took the bellows unit apart
today to reseal it. Lying in the bottom of the bellows was a small thin metal disc about 5/16in. in dia. It had a slightly
smaller thin rubber disc glued to one side of it. I took up the solenoid half of the bellows unit and gave it a close
examination. Guess what was missing from the top of one of the solenoid plungers. Yep, that little tiny disc. So I glued
it back on, sealed the bellows and the Cruise Control works again. If I just pulled the bellows off and tipped it over, the
part would have fallen out onto the engine and I would never have known about the displaced disc.”
After removing the bellows, the solenoids can be removed by prying them out of the housing to get at the plunger. If
you’ve lost or damaged the rubber seat, use a hole punch on a bicycle inner tube to make a new one. Make sure the
sealing surface is flat and smooth before reassembly.
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It must be pointed out that a failure of a cruise control could be dangerous, although that would typically require the two
openings to atmosphere to fail closed and the opening to vacuum to fail open -- highly unlikely. You should make
repairs carefully, using a very reliable glue (such as JB Weld) to hold the rubber seat on the rod. Use of unreliable glue
such as cyanoacrylate (superglue) is not recommended.
Robert I H Egerton adds some tips for putting the solenoids back in. “When I put em back they didn't work. Eventually
I realised that the horseshoe-shaped bits of copper or brass under them are springs which hold the moving core down so
you must ensure that they clip into the core when you put em back. I get my pension at Xmas so it took me some little
time to suss it out .”
CRUISE CONTROL CABLE ATTACHMENT: Bill Trimble managed to lose the little part that screws onto the end of
the cable to connect it to the bellows unit. “I took the car over to Rick the Mechanic's to see if he had any ideas, and
sure enough he remembered that one of the local auto parts places had barrel connectors for hood release and choke
cables. I bought one for a couple of bucks and we fitted it in about ten minutes, the only modification needed was to
gently pry out the round end on the bellows side to fit the wider diameter of the new barrel connector. We also wrapped
some safety wire around it so that if the cable slips out again, the connector won't fall out.”
Safety wire is tricky to get right here. Before trying to assemble this thing, take the tiny screw out of the barrel
connector, push it through a tiny piece of cardboard, and screw it back into the barrel. That way, when your grip on the
thing fails, the barrel will only drop 1/4” and sit right there on the loop instead of falling into the dark abyss. A washer
would work, too, but it’d jingle with engine vibrations.
Another idea would be to tie a piece of string to the screw, and tie the other end to the bellows end plate itself. You
could actually do that before taking it apart.
HEAT SHIELD INSTALLATION: There’s a heat shield attached to the bracket that wraps around the bellows and
holds the cable housing. This heat shield should be underneath the bellows to protect it from radiant heat from the
engine. Steve Wilke’s car had it on top when he got it. If your car has been similarly misassembled, you’ll want to
correct it.
SERVO RELOCATION: To get that bellows assembly to last longer, it would probably be a good idea to relocate it
somewhere cooler; this will not only keep the actuator cooler, but it will make working on the distributor easier. Ron
Whiston relocated his to the area in front of the radiator, mounting it on the same bolt that holds the horns. He
fabricated a new cable, similar but longer. He notes that removing the mount bracket, which is held to the back of the
A/C compressor with the same bolt that holds the hoses on, will require recovering and recharging the freon circuit -- a
lot of extra effort and expense. Therefore, he suggests you can either wait until you’re working on the freon system
anyway, or you can fabricate a new bracket and abandon the original one in place until the opportunity arises to remove
it.
BELLOWS REPLACEMENT: Jim Isbell says, “If you ever do this make sure you get the metal ring out of the center
fold of the old one and put it into the new one which may not have the ring in it.”
SERVO REPLACEMENT: If you have to buy a new servo unit from Jaguar, be prepared to open your wallet a long
way. You may find better prices if you shop around, though; Randy Wilson says “Those of us not locked in to the Jag
parts distributing system, i.e. the independents, have an alternate source for this servos, plus we can get the bellows as a
separate service item. They still aren’t cheap, as they come through a different British car parts network (RR!), but the
servo is about half what Jag wants.”
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CRUISE CONTROL TROUBLESHOOTING -- WIRING AND SWITCHES: To check the wiring, disconnect the
wiring connectors at the speed control unit. The speed control unit is located just under the fuse panel above the
passenger footwell. It has two electrical connectors, a nine pin connector and a single pin connector. Pull the
connectors apart and perform the following checks on the wires going out to the car, not to those going into the speed
control unit. Make sure that the bellows unit three wire connector is connected properly if it was disturbed by previous
testing.
Connect one lead of a volt/ohmmeter (VOM) to a convenient car chassis metallic ground, and test to make sure you
have a good ground using the ohm setting on the meter. The other meter probe will be used on the pin connectors.
Unless stated, all measurements are made with the ignition off.
1) Set VOM to ohms and test the black wire; it should check as zero ohms, since it is a ground wire.
2) The yellow/purple wire is connected to the “inhibit switch” mounted on the gear selector; this switch opens to
allow the cruise control to work only when the selector is in D. The same switch serves to allow the kickdown
solenoid in the GM400 transmission to be activated only when the selector is in D. As a result, when the
selector is not in drive, the wire is not truly grounded; it is routed through the kickdown solenoid in the
transmission to ground, which is effectively grounded as far as the electronic circuits in the speed control unit is
concerned. With the selector in P (or anywhere other than D), check that the yellow/purple wire reads low
ohmage; it might not be zero, but it should be low. With the selector in D, it becomes open; check that it
measures infinite ohms.
If the console is opened, the physical operation of this switch can be observed. These type microswitches,
complete with the rollers, are available at electronic shops.
3) The black/pink wire is connected to the set switch on the turn signal stalk. It normally reads as open (infinite
ohms) but should indicate zero ohms while the set switch is pushed. See below.
4) The black/slate wire is connected to the master control switch just behind the selector lever on the console. It
should read open (infinite ohms) when the switch is in either ON or OFF position and zero ohms when the
switch is moved to RESUME.
5) The yellow/white wire connects to the two bellows unit solenoids through the brake-operated switch which
acts as a backup to cut out cruise control when brakes are applied. It should read the 25-30Ω of the vent
solenoid. When the brake pedal is pressed, it should read open. Note: the brake pedal switch intermittently
shorting to ground is a known problem, so you might want to wiggle the brake pedal while here and see if you
can get this wire to read zero ohms. If it does -- even for an instant -- read the section on fried ECU transistors
below.
6) The yellow/black wire is connected to the vacuum solenoid. It should read 50-60Ω; this is because both
solenoid coils are in series to ground referenced to this wire.
7) The yellow/orange wire actually connects to two different pins at the speed control unit connector. It is
connected to the master control switch. Turn the ignition on, select a suitable voltage scale on the VOM, and
check that this wire reads 12 volts with the switch in the ON position (center) and zero volts with the switch in
the OFF position.
8) The green/purple wire is connected to the brake light switch. Normally, this wire should read zero volts; when
the ignition is on and the brake pedal is pressed, it should read 12 volts.
9) The yellow wire to the single connector is the signal from the pulse generator mounted on the transmission.
Pulses from this wire signal the cars’ speed to the speed control unit. This pulse signal also works the
speedometer, so if the speedometer is working it is likely that the pulse is also getting to the speed control unit.
However, the presence of the pulse at this connector can be checked. Connect a voltmeter to chassis ground
and the connector pin. Drive the car, and even at very low speed the signal will measure around 4 volts AC.
And the voltage does not increase with speed.
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SET SWITCH GROUND: The set switch on the stalk has a ground wire within the column that connects with other
grounds. This wire has a nasty tendency to break off right where it attaches to the stalk, rendering the entire cruise
control system inoperative. Any scheme that will provide a ground wire connection to the stem of the stalk itself will fix
it. The broken wire can be spliced, or a new wire can be clamped onto the stalk just inside the column housing.
BRAKE PEDAL SAFETY SWITCH ADJUSTMENT: There are two different switches used on XJ-S’s, but both need
to be open when the brake pedal is depressed and make a connection when the brake pedal is released. One type switch
is located on the brake pedal housing within the engine compartment, right next to the driver’s side bonnet latch. It is
threaded into the housing with a locknut. The locknut can be loosened and the switch screwed in or out until it works
properly. The other type switch is located in the footwell, and its operation is obvious.
CRUISE CONTROL TROUBLESHOOTING -- SPEED CONTROL UNIT (IN CAR): If the bellows unit is OK and
no problems are found with the cruise control wiring or switches, the only remaining component to check is the speed
control unit. The tester shown in Figure 38 is simple to make, requiring only two flashlight bulbs, two resistors and
some wire. It is also used for the bench test of the speed control unit.
Notes-
a) Length of the three wires is about
three feet each.
b) The two bulbs are 3V flashlight type
PR2.
c) The 33Ω and 22Ω resistors are 1/2
watt or larger.
d) The bulbs and resistors are soldered as
shown.
e) Small alligator clips will help in
connecting.
f) All components can be purchased from Figure 38 - Cruise Control Test Circuit
Radio Shack, about $6.
Mount this assembly on a piece of cardboard about 4 by 6 inches.
Disconnect the connector from the bellows unit and connect the three wires from this tester to their respective colors on
the wiring harness (not to the bellows unit). The bulbs and resistors take the place of the two bellows solenoids so that
we can observe the operation of the speed control unit. Route this assembly out from under the hood and use a
windshield wiper to hold it against the windshield so you can observe the bulbs while driving.
Next go for a drive. At about 30-40 mph push the “set” cruise button. The bulb on the left (33Ω) should light but
rather dimly and stay lit. This bulb is taking the place of the yellow-white solenoid that closes the bellows to the
atmosphere.
The right bulb should light but flicker, and, as you slow down the bulb will light brighter, and as you speed up it will
grow dimmer. This bulb is taking the place of the yellow-black solenoid that controls the vacuum from the engine.
If this bulb test circuit works, then the speed control unit and associated wiring/switches are good. If this test fails then
the speed control unit is possibly at fault.
CRUISE CONTROL TROUBLESHOOTING -- SPEED CONTROL UNIT (ON BENCH): Bench testing the speed
control unit is not complicated but you do need some experience working with electronic circuits. Essentially, what we
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do is connect up the speed control unit with power and grounds as it would be in the car, then feed it a pulse generation
to simulate speed and observe its operation with the above two-bulb tester. Thus, to perform this bench test you will
need:
1) 12V battery source
2) about 8 alligator clip leads, mini-size with boots
3) a sine wave frequency generator.
First, fuse the 12v battery supply with a 1 amp fuse; this will hopefully save you from any nasty smokings. The speed
control unit should only draw around 1/2 amp.
Working with the speed control unit and its associated nine pin connector make the following connections:
1) Black/red and brown go to battery ground (negative).
2) Brown/black is not connected (simulating the inhibit switch in drive).
3) Brown/white is not connected (used only for “resume speed”).
4) Brown/yellow is attached to a clip lead but left open (it is the “set speed” switch).
5) The two-bulb tester is connected, black to battery ground, middle wire to yellow/white, and outside
wire to yellow/black.
6) Yellow and black/green are connected to positive 12 volts.
This completes the basic wiring of the speed control unit. Next a pulse must be sent into it via the single green wire
connector to simulate the car speed. A simple sine wave generator that can put out 5 volts at 60 to 200 Hz will work.
The generators’ signal lead is connected to the green wire connector and the ground to battery ground.
With all connections in place and the signal generator set at 80 Hz, and 5 volts, touch the brown/yellow wire to ground
for a second and remove it. This simulates pushing the “set speed” switch in the car. The two bulbs should light with
the left one remaining steady while the right one changes its flickering as the signal generator frequency is lowered or
raised. If not, replace the speed control unit.
FRIED ECU TRANSISTORS (SALOONS): One of the two switches on the brake pedal is a “last chance” safety
feature for the cruise control system; it is connected between the system ECU output and the actuator itself, and
when the brake pedal is pressed it positively disconnects power to the actuator no matter what else is going on. The
switch in question is item #2 in the speed control schematic on page 86-13 in the ©1982 Supplement, and is
connected into the YW wire between the ECU and the actuator. Hence, when you find the switch, it will have YW
wires on both terminals. It doesn’t matter which wire connects to which terminal on the switch.
The switch used in the XJ-S, C42525 or SMB420, is shaped like a bolt and is located on the left side of the pedal box
inside the engine compartment. This type switch appears to have no problem. The troublemaker is DAC1895, used in
the saloons. This rectangular switch mounts down in the footwell. Craig Sawyers helps identify it: “On the side of the
switch I could easily see were the numbers 1533447, which isn't a Jag number, so it must be Lucas's code to hide the
guilty.” This switch may occasionally short the ECU output to ground, which causes a direct short which flows too
much current and blows a transistor or two in the ECU. It’s not terribly difficult to fix the ECU, but if you don’t address
the switch problems it’ll just get blown again. Even if your cruise control is working, it might not be a bad idea to check
the switch and make appropriate corrections to prevent trouble.
What to do about the switch? There are many possibilities, starting with merely replacing it with a new one. Bruce
Segal says, “We got into the habit of always replacing this switch when replacing the ECU. Comebacks went way
down.”
Sawyers found this fix unsatisfactory. “Some dumb-ass designed the switch body out of steel, which is firmly earthed.
So when the plastic button wears a little in its guide, the conducting end wobbles sideways and shorts to the case. When
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I replaced my switch to cure this problem, I found the new switch could be coaxed to short by wobbling the plastic
button. At that point I threw in the towel, pried the case off, and formed some thin card to fit around the inside of the
case and prevent shorting once and for all. No problems since.”
Another possibility, obviously, would be to replace the switch with something non-Lucas. It is a very simple switch, so
perhaps a suitable substitute can be found. The contacts must be open when the button is released and connected to
each other when the button is pushed. Make sure neither terminal connects to ground under any circumstances.
Another possibility would be to install a totally different kind of switch, perhaps in a different location. A microswitch
with a long integral lever could be used, which allows the large motion of the pedal to reliably operate the switch. Just
make up a little bracket to hold it where the pedal arm will hit it when it’s in the fully released position.
Yet another idea would be to install a relay. You can connect the YW wires to the C and NO contacts of the relay, and
provide ignition-switched 12V to one side of the relay coil and connect the other side to one terminal of the pedal
switch. Connect a wire from the other terminal of the pedal switch to ground. That way, a short to ground in the switch
would look just like the switch is closed, enabling the system but not hurting any components. Things would still work
even if shorted when the pedal is pushed, because this is merely a safety feature; the primary means of entering disable
mode when the brake pedal is pushed is via a 12V signal from the brake light circuit.
Finally, you could simply omit the switch altogether and just connect the YW wires together; as mentioned above, the
system will still work normally since this is only a safety device. It’s a rather important safety device, however, so this
method is not recommended.
Once you have the switch problems corrected, you’ll need to fix the fried transistors in the ECU. Segal says, “I’ve
found that most of the time (except when you really need it) the cruise ECU’s can be repaired by replacing two of the
transistors inside. They are in the lower left hand corner of the board. The board is arranged so that the wiring harness
comes off the left side. The transistors are labelled ZTX650 and ZTX750. They can be replaced by Motorola MPS650
and MPS750. Very easy and very cheap.”
“The ECU part number is DAC4293. The older part number is DAC3672. The DAC4293 definitely can be fixed, I
don’t remember if the older one uses the same circuit.” (Ed. note: The ECU in the author’s ’83 is DAC3134 and
contains these same transistors.)
“The original transistors are Zetex ZTX650 and ZTX750. Digi-Key (http://www.digi-key.com) sells Zetex so these
parts should be available through them. You can use ZTX750 and ZTX751 as well.”
Walter Petermann adds, “I use ZTX753 for the power out to the yellow/white wire, and ZTX653 for the control
signal on the yellow/black wire. They are rated for 2amps (6amps peak). Digikey (800 344 4539) stocks them at
$0.78 under the above part #. They have a minimum order but I don't know what that might be.”
ECU REPLACEMENT: If your actuator and bellows are OK but your ECU is toast and you’re the kind of guy who
tinkers with a soldering iron, “600 Low-Cost Electronic Circuits” by David M. Gauthier, ©1989, includes
instructions for building a speed control unit using an RCA CA3228E IC plus four transistors and a handful of
resistors and capacitors. The actuator shown in the schematic has the same arrangement of vacuum solenoid valves
as the Jaguar actuator so this project should provide a usable replacement ECU. Presumably there are many other
similar how-to books that include directions for making a cruise control unit.
SURGING WITH TURN SIGNALS: The author of this book may be the only owner who’s ever had this problem, but
I’ll report on it anyway. Whenever cruising with the cruise control set and a turn signal was first turned on, the car
would surge forward briefly. Then, after the EFI ECU was modified to provide better throttle response, the car would
surge on each blink of the turn signals! Once the turn signal was cancelled, the car would return to its original set speed
-- a clear indication that the problem was not due to a crossconnection between the set switch and the turn signal switch,
since a “set” signal would cause the car to increase speed and maintain the increased speed after the signal is removed.
The problem was eventually traced to a poor connection providing power to fuse 5 and on to the turn signals and also,
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via fuse 17, the G wires powering the cruise control system. The high-resistance connection caused the voltage to
fluctuate more than a volt at fuse 17 when the turn signal blinked on and off.
In this particular case, the problem turned out to be within the ignition switch itself; it was pried open and the contacts
cleaned and the problem was cured. Theoretically, any bad connection along the way would have the same symptoms,
such as corrosion at fuse 5.
CRUISE CONTROL REPLACEMENT: Larry Lee sends this description on how to replace the Jaguar cruise control
system with a generic Dana unit: “The particular unit I installed was purchased from Sears, Model 318.20309. This
model came with a turn signal lever that can replace an existing one (if no other switches are on it), but Model
318.20308 included a clamp-on control switch. Other than the control switch design, the two units are identical. The
manual for this unit does not say “Dana” anywhere in it, but I recognized the system as very similar to other Dana units
(also purchased from Sears, but marked “Dana Electronic Speed Control Kit 250-1000”) I had installed on other cars as
far back as 1978. There have been some changes over the years -- such as a change from two driveshaft magnets to one,
and deletion of an inertial deceleration switch -- but all of them that I have seen are installed essentially the same way.”
Note: apparently Sears no longer carries these units, but they -- or something similar -- may be available elsewhere.
“The installation manual is quite complete and easy to follow. It includes an electrical schematic and a pictorial drawing
that shows how the various components and cables connect. The cable plugs are all different, so improper connections
are difficult to make.
Follow the manual instructions to install:
Driveshaft Magnet
Road Speed Pick-up Coil
Servo
Disengagement Switch & Valve Assembly (Brake Switch)
“Some judgment must be exercised when mounting the various components.”
The Disengagement Switch & Valve Assembly mounts on the brake pedal. When the brake is applied, it breaks an
electrical connection to ground, killing the cruise. Besides that, it also vents vacuum to the system, making doubly sure
it is off. Considering the fact that the stock XJ-S already has a switch mounted on the brake pedal housing for disabling
the cruise control, it may be tempting to discard the Dana unit, plug the vacuum dump line, and just connect the wire to
the stock Jaguar switch. Note, however, that the Jaguar switch works the wrong way; it breaks contact when the brakes
are released, and connects to ground when brakes are applied. Therefore, a relay would be required to use this switch.
Considering the effort required as well as the reduction in safety due to lacking the vacuum dump, it’s probably better to
simply use the Dana parts.
The driveshaft pickup is normally mounted right behind the transmission. However, considering how difficult it is to get
around the transmission mount on the XJ-S, it may be preferable to mount it at the rear end of the driveshaft adjacent to
the differential. If possible, the pickup should be attached directly to either the transmission or differential in order to
move with them on their soft mountings; if mounted on the surrounding bodywork, the transmission or diff -- and hence
the drive shaft with magnets on it -- may move around relative to the pickup, possibly interfering with the signal.
The Dana kit Lee describes attaches only one magnet to the drive shaft. While he reports no noticeable balance effects
from attaching the small magnet to one side, those who are concerned may easily add a dummy weight to the opposite
side when installing.
Note that any cruise control servo should be attached to the throttle linkage in a similar manner to the original. On the
early XJ-S, it may be helpful to unbolt the throttle pedal assembly from the firewall and lift it out to look at it. If the
cable connection is relocated to the turntable at the top center of the engine, operation of the cruise control may cause
the throttle cable to come undone or jam; however, later cars were designed to permit attachment here.
Locating the servo unit itself may be challenging. The original mounted just forward of the distributor -- and you are
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replacing it, presumably because it didn’t survive the heat in this area. If the cable is long enough, the best place is
probably out in front of the radiator. You could get creative and make up your own extra-long cable, or find a way to
connect the end of the Dana cable to the end of the Jaguar cable and use both!
Whichever Dana kit is purchased, the control switch assembly won’t look all that great in the XJ-S interior. Worse yet,
the original set switch (on the turn signal stalk) and ON/OFF/RESUME switch (on the console) will no longer be used,
leaving either unused switches or gaping holes where they once were. The following is based on Lee’s method for using
the original Jaguar set switch and ON/OFF/RESUME switch in place of the control switch that came with the kit. This
will maintain the appearance of the Jaguar interior, but it requires the purchase of a relay. Note: the illustration shows
the terminal layout for an automotive relay, but any 12V SPDT relay will work. If the an automotive relay is used, make
sure it has the real 87a connector (normally closed contact). Many standard automotive relays, notably driving light
relays, actually have two 87 connections and no 87a connections, which won’t work. See the notes on the radiator fan
relay on page 224.
Remove the 4-wire plug from the Dana control switch cable, and connect the Jaguar switches to the plug as shown in
Figure 39. This sketch shows only the wiring that differs from the Dana (Sears) schematic in the area of the control
switch; basically, the section of the Dana schematic from the four-connector plug onward should be replaced with this
sketch.
SET ON/OFF/RESUME DANA
SWITCH RELAY SWITCH PLUG
1 2
GY
87 1 1 R
W 86 3 4
2 2 N
YO
87A 85
5 6 BS 3 3 G
30/51 B 4 4 Y
7 8
Figure 39 - Wiring for Dana Aftermarket Cruise Control
“How the Jaguar switch functions replace the Dana switch functions should be clear from the Dana schematic. The
Jaguar switches are physically located in two places, but that makes no electrical difference. A good ground for the Set
Speed switch is essential (as is a good ground for the Servo), but it can be located just about anywhere.”
For clarity, Lee describes the operation of the Dana control switch that is being replaced: “It is a single piece that
contains two separate switches, but they share a couple of wires. (For convenience, I’ll refer to the wires by the
numbers shown on the connector.) One is a momentary push button that is NC across wires 2 and 3. When pressed
(SET/COAST), it opens between 2 and 3 and closes between 2 and 4. Actually, releasing this button is what engages
the control and determines the speed setpoint. The second switch is a slide switch that has three positions. In OFF, no
connections are closed. In ON, a detented position, wires 1 and 2 are closed. This same switch can be pushed
momentarily (spring return) into RESUME/ACCEL position, which maintains the 1-2 closure and also closes between 1
and 4.”
For those whose parts don’t look exactly the same as those in the illustration, a description of the contacts made may be
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helpful. First, the relay: 85 and 86 are the coil connections, 30/51 is the common contact, 87 is the normally open
contact, and 87a is the normally closed contact. On the ON/OFF/RESUME switch, placing the switch in the ON
position connects contacts 3 and 7. Pressing the RESUME maintains the 3-7 connection and momentarily connects
contacts 6 and 8.
“Once the unit is installed, the check-out procedure described in the manual should be followed without any changes.
Use the electrical schematic to sort out any errors in the new wiring. Hopefully, this will not be necessary.
“The pictorial drawing in my manual showed one unlabeled adjustment screw on the Regulator.” Note: the adjustment
screw referred to here is on the side of the regulator box, to the left of the “Centering Adjust” screw. “It should be
labeled ‘Minimum Speed Adjust.’ The manual describes how to make all set-up adjustments. I set the Minimum speed
at 30 mph, which enables the unit to maintain a set speed anywhere between about 30 mph and 90 mph. Others may
prefer a different range.
“Once everything has been tested and adjusted, push the Regulator and excess wiring up behind the underscuttle panel
below the steering wheel. I have not found it necessary to fasten the Regulator to anything.
“One should now be able to enjoy miles of foot-off driving!”
Note that while this installation maintains the interior appearance of the Jag, the Dana cruise control does not work
exactly the same; it has more features. First, the stock Jaguar set switch is just that, but with this Dana system it
becomes a set/coast switch; if pressed and held when the system is engaged, the car will slow down, and a new cruise
speed will be set when the button is released. Second, the resume position on the control switch becomes a
resume/accel; if held down, the car will speed up.
One other issue: The original Jaguar cruise control system includes a switch on the shifter to ensure that the car is in D
before engaging the cruise control. The Dana aftermarket cruise control lacks such a safety provision, probably because
there is a built-in electronic control to prevent the engine from racing if the cruise control is engaged while in neutral;
there is a step in the instructions for testing the regulator to ensure engine racing does not occur. The system also
supposedly will not permit engagement below an established minimum speed, so engaging in neutral would evidently
require attaining highway speed and then moving the shifter to neutral.
If the safety features that are good enough for Dana are good enough for you, the YP wire from the shifter switch may
be simply abandoned. However, this same switch also ensures that the car is in D before sending power to the kickdown
switch on the GM400 transmission. Therefore, the switch itself and the other two wires connected to it -- a LGW wire
to the kickdown switch and a BW wire to the solenoid within the transmission -- must be left in place for the kickdown
to function properly.
If, on the other hand, you insist upon restoring this safety lockout, another relay will be required -- a DPDT this time. A
12V power supply should be fed through the shifter switch to operate the relay. When in D, one pair of contacts on the
relay should provide the same connection between the kickdown switch and the transmission solenoid that was provided
before. When in any position other than D, a totally separate set of contacts should be wired in series with the
disengagement switch on the Dana system.
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STORAGE
This section provides tips for storing an XJ-S for extended periods.
GUMMY FUEL: Walt Osborn of Vintage Jag Works: “We have the third car in the shop this year with stuck valves.
This is becoming more of a problem as people collect more cars than they can take care of. Some of the cars have been
sitting for several years and the gasoline evaporates and leaves behind a syrupy varnish-like substance which gets on the
valve stems in the cylinder head and causes them to stick in their guides. They stick in the open position, the owner
attempts to start the car and/or turns the motor over with the starter, and the piston fouls the valve. Now the engine
may start and run for a time and then start missing. The miss is usually a bent valve.”
FUEL STABILIZING: Fuel doesn’t store well, it goes “stale”. Fuel lines and other components may be affected by
“varnishing”.
In the old days of carburetors, it was usually recommended to cut off the fuel supply and run the engine until the fuel
lines and float bowls are empty. Unfortunately, this is more difficult to accomplish on an EFI system -- and may do
more harm than good. The electric fuel pump is immersed in fuel, and running it for any length of time with air in it is
probably not advisable. The worst thing for injectors is water, so condensation in empty fuel lines wouldn’t be good.
The local auto parts store sells fuel stabilizers that can be added to fuel. Before storing a car, add some fuel stabilizer to
the tank and drive the car for a while to get it circulated throughout the fuel system. Gregory Wells says, “Sta-Bil is one
brand and these things are almost always available at boat dealers, since they are highly recommended for use in boat
engines stored over the winter.”
SOUR GASOLINE: Arthur Smith says, “I found a reference to "Sour gasoline" (gasoline which has developed
peroxides). I found that enlightening since some of our British cars get stored for a period of time. The reference was
to a certain special rubber with stabilizers added that could withstand the "Sour Gasoline". That makes me think that
when one of our cars is stored for any length of time the "varnish" that forms will eat any rubber that is in the fuel
system.
“The information came from a BF Goodrich pamphlet and the distributer said the special rubber is not available.”
ENGINE FOGGING: The auto parts stores sell aerosol foggers for preparing engines for storage. For the Jaguar V12,
you will need two cans of aerosol fogger and three people. When ready to park it, take both air cleaner covers off and
disable the ignition and EFI -- you can disable both in one move by disconnecting the white/slate/blue wire to the ignition
amp right on top of the engine. Have one person stand on either side of the car with a spray can of engine fogger in
hand while the third person holds the throttle open and turns the starter. A good blast for a few seconds in both sides at
the same time. Turn off the starter and foggers at the same time, so you don’t run any fresh air through behind the fog.
When it comes time to drive the car again, it is generally considered a good idea to change the oil promptly. There may
have been condensation during storage, which will contaminate the oil.
TIRES: The following was attributed to a Yokohama tech rep: “He recommended two methods for storing vehicles.
First, inflate the tires to 65 psi and leave the weight of the vehicle on the tires. 65 psi? Modern tires will accept 65 psi
for storage without damage. You just can’t drive on them at this pressure without damage. He did caution, however,
that old stamped steel rims may not be able to take this pressure with out damage. His second recommendation was to
keep the tires at the proper inflation pressure and to remove the weight of the vehicle from the tires (ie. put the car on
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jack stands).
“The tech rep stated the reason for these two alternatives was that all tires contain nylon (typically, the nylon covers the
steel cords and keeps the steel cords from working their way through the tread). The nylon will develop a flat spot. The
colder the temperature, the faster and more pronounced the flat spot will be. Jag owners in Edmonton, Alberta, and
Bismark, ND should have first hand knowledge of this.
“A final recommendation, store the vehicle in a dark, well ventilated, cold room. Light (specifically ultra-violet light),
temperature, and moisture will damage the vehicle finishes and rubber over time.”
CAR COVERS: The general consensus is not to use car covers for long-term storage due to their adverse affect on
ventilation. Car covers are apparently better left to daily use only.
BATTERY: Herbert Sodher hails from the cold North where people store their Jaguars all winter and drive less
valuable vehicles in the snow. When stored that long, the battery in the XJ-S tends to go dead. The alternator, clock,
and some stereos and security systems put a small drain on the battery when the car is parked. Jaguar recommends
disconnecting the battery if stored more than a month, but that may be assuming too much about the condition of the
battery and how easy the engine will be to start. And, disconnecting the battery requires resetting the clock, all the
stations on the digital radio, and possibly some security stuff, all of which is a pain.
Sodher suggests the owner go to an auto supply store and purchase an on-board, fully automatic trickle charger and
install it in the car. One called the Mity-Mite is made by Schumacher Electric Corp., is rated at 1.5 amp, and costs
around $30. This unit is so small that Sodher attached it right to the front of his battery with Velcro, and the battery
cover will fit over it (his battery is not the original -- it may require a different location for the Jaguar battery). It comes
with eyelet connectors that can be connected directly to the battery terminals. Merely remove the nut on the clamping
bolt from each terminal, put on the connectors, and reinstall the nuts. The unit comes with a one-foot power cord, just
enough to feed outside the battery box. When parked for extended periods, merely run an extension cord into the trunk.
The unit will automatically charge the battery as required, and won’t overcharge it.
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MODIFICATIONS
ROUTING WIRES, HOSES, ETC.: John Napoli says, “A really easy way to run wires or hoses or whatever across the
firewall on an XJ-S is to go through on the passenger side (Federal models) access plate where the pedal box would be
on a Brit version. To get to it, remove the windshield washer reservoir (under the hood on the passenger side). Now
remove the bracket and the plate. Plenty of ways to run your wires through there! Note that there is another vacuum
reservoir for the climate control system underneath, as well.”
GARAGE DOOR OPENER INSTALLATION: Paul Bachman says, “I took my garage door opener and replaced the
battery with a 9 volt regulator (about $0.50), and installed it inside the center console. Apparently, the entire wiring
harness becomes an antenna, because the range actually increased (I expected it to be worse) when I buried the
transmitter in a basically metal box. Sure is nice not to have that stupid transmitter in my way any more. I will install a
third window switch between the two existing ones for the control.
“The 9 volt regulator (LM7809) is a very simple three terminal device in a large transistor package (TO-220). It is
available or can be ordered at any electronics store for under $1. One terminal goes to ground, one terminal goes to a
switched 12 volt (+) source (can be found at the cruise control switch) and the third will provide a regulated 9 volt
source. The 9 volt source is connected to the (+) battery terminal or soldered to the appropriate place on the PC board
of the transmitter. The (-) battery terminal is, of course, connected to any handy ground (same place as the ground on
the regulator). If you can handle a soldering iron, it is quite simple.
“This project is particularly practical if you have a garage door transmitter with a case that is broken and needs to be
replaced anyway.”
WEIGHT REDUCTION/RELOCATION
The XJ-S is a heavy beast. Let’s face it, it’s a luxury car, not a performer. The best way to aggravate the Corvettes
would be to pull about 800 pounds out of this car. If you can do without the electric windows, electric door locks,
stereo system, 5 mph bumpers, air conditioning, back seat, spare tire, carpeting, sound insulation, etc., etc., then go for
it.
Another popular way to reduce weight is to replace components with lighter versions. Chad Bolles has replaced the
radiator with an aluminum model, the bonnet with a fiberglass one, the A/C compressor with a smaller model, and other
mods. Effective but expensive.
When making weight reduction modifications, bear in mind that such mods will affect acceleration in the non-wheelspin
realm by the proportion of total weight of the car; removal of 200 pounds will improve acceleration by 5% in a 4000-lb
car. In conditions where the wheels spin, weight reduction in the front of the car will help slightly, weight reduction in
the rear will hurt slightly. Weight reduction has almost no effect on top speed (other than how long it takes to get
there). Weight reduction has a similar effect on maneuverability as installing bigger tires; it may be negligible if the
present tires are adequate. Although it might feel different (and that alone may justify the modification), the actual timed
performance may be insignificantly changed.
Also bear in mind that the springs, shocks and other components are designed for a 4000-lb car. If the weight reduction
is significant, the car will effectively be sprung more stiffly and will ride higher. If the stock springs are cut shorter to
bring the ride back down, it will increase the stiffness even more. All of this may be considered desirable in a car as soft
as the XJ-S.
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Weight reduction from points high on the car is preferable, since it will lower the center of gravity and make the car lean
less in corners. It is even beneficial to relocate components lower on the car.
Weight reduction at the extreme ends of the car is also preferable, because it reduces the moment of inertia of the car. In
other words, it reduces the car’s tendency to resist beginning to turn when going straight, and its tendency to keep
turning when beginning to straighten out. It is beneficial to relocate components from the ends of the car to more
centralized locations.
If weight is removed entirely from one end, it can change the balance of the car. Since the XJ-S is obviously nose-
heavy, it would be helpful to either remove weight from the nose or relocate components to the rear of the car.
Weight reduction on rotating parts, such as engine/drivetrain moving parts, wheels and tires, brake rotors, etc., can have
a much greater effect on performance than general weight reduction throughout the car.
COLD WEATHER
ENGINE HEATERS: If you live where it gets cold and use your Jag in the snow, it is highly recommended that you
invest in an engine heater. While preventing engine damage due to frozen coolant is the most obvious objective, those in
the know point to many other advantages to engine heaters. They reduce engine wear because running a cold engine
results in accelerated wear. They save fuel since a cold engine burns a lot of fuel. They save wear and tear on the Lucas
starter. And they render the cabin heater operational much sooner.
The ©1981 handbook says, “Provision is made on the right-hand side of the cylinder block for the fitment of an engine
heater element obtainable from your Dealer under part No. C34403 - 110 volt.” Apparently the handbook lies. C34404
is the correct part number for the 110V heater element, but the Parts Catalogue indicates that it’s installed in the lower
radiator hose. There’s no place in the block to put it.
Jaguar provides part numbers not only for the heater and the elbow it fits into, but the two halves of the lower radiator
hose as well:
Heater element (110V) C34403
Heater element (220V) C30381
Elbow C36996
Hose - radiator to elbow C41103
Hose - elbow to water pump inlet C41099
It’s interesting that the elbow is just that; it replaces one of the bends in the single-piece lower radiator hose.
If you’re not enthused about the Jaguar offerings, there are several types of generic engine heaters available in various
wattages. There are heaters that replace a freeze plug, although that option probably wouldn’t work too well on the
Jaguar V12 due to the lack of freeze plugs in accessible locations. There are heaters that are installed in a radiator hose,
some of which include a pump to circulate the coolant. There are heaters which attach to the surface of the oil pan, and
there are dipstick heaters. Some heaters have thermostats to turn them on when it gets too cold, and some have timers
that will warm the engine in time for you to drive it.
Of course, there are two schools of thought on the use of an engine heater. Some recommend having it on whenever it
gets below a particular temperature. This makes sense if it gets really cold where this car is parked. Hopefully, if you
have the proper anti-freeze mixture, you won’t need to worry about this possibility unless your Jag is parked outdoors in
the Arctic. If so, building a garage with gas heat might be cheaper than paying the electric bills on the block heater.
The other popular idea is to turn the heater on some amount of time before you’re gonna need the car, thereby having it
partially warmed up and ready to go. This will prove much cheaper than starting the car and letting it warm up, both in
terms of cost of electricity vs. gasoline and in wear and tear on the engine.
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In either scheme, remember that the Jaguar V12 is 700 pounds and it’s made of aluminum which conducts heat very
well. You’re probably going to need the biggest wattage heater you can find. Or, perhaps a better idea, two heaters;
perhaps one in the lower radiator hose and one in the oil pan.
There are some who claim that the dipstick heaters, especially high-wattage ones, can be harmful to the oil and result in
accelerated breakdown.
Those who live in cold climates already know one method that is not recommended: build a campfire on the ground,
then roll the car over it. Every winter some morons make the paper by burning their cars to the ground.
RADIATOR COVERS: Would you believe your car can overheat when it’s freezing out? The answer is definitely yes.
The radiator is designed to efficiently transfer heat to the incoming air. When very cold outside, the coolant in the
radiator may be cooled to the point where it begins freezing, and a slush containing chunks of ice starts collecting at the
bottom. When the chunks get big enough, they can plug up the hose taking the coolant back to the engine. Once the
flow of coolant stops, the coolant in the radiator freezes even more solidly -- and the coolant in the engine overheats.
If it’s really that cold, the best prevention is to block some of the air coming through the radiator. This is easily done
with a piece of cardboard. You’ll be amazed at how much blockage is necessary to restore proper operation; it seems
you have to cover three quarters of the radiator.
If this proves to be a regular problem, there are actually products available that provide a radiator cover that is adjustable
from within the passenger compartment by means of a cable.
OIL: Many winter drivers have found that use of synthetic oil helps with cold weather operation. Synthetic oil
apparently does not thicken as much as natural oil when cold.
John Goodman: “A tip passed on to me many years ago was to put a waterproof thermal jacket over the oil cooler in
the winter months (bit hard to get at in a Jag !)”
FROZEN DOOR LOCKS: You’re freezing, and you can’t get into your car! A revoltin’ development. Jim Wood says,
“There are little black boxes - somewhat near the size of your car door lock "beeper" - that has a little round rod that fits
into your key opening and its sole purpose is to heat the key opening up & melt the ice - in just a few seconds - at least
in New York's coldest weather so my sister and bro-in-law say - so that your key will turn and open the door lock.
They've been using these battery-operated things successfully for years. They fit very well just in the palm of your hand.
They're not very expensive either!!! I'd keep a spare battery in my pocket or purse tho just in case - not inside the glove
box ...”
LPG
People in Australia and some other areas like to convert their gasoline-powered automobiles to run on Liquified
Petroleum Gas (propane) because it winds up costing about half as much in fuel costs to drive their cars. A complete
coverage of all the implications of such a modification would add considerably to the already hefty poundage of this
book, but mentioning a few of the concerns is in order. John Fergus says, “I would recommend you get a copy of
Propane Fuel Conversions by Jay Storer (SA Design Books); this will tell you in detail all you need to know.
Eric Vuurman describes an LPG system: “The conversion leaves the original setup unchanged and the car can run on
both LPG and petrol. Changing from one to the other is a matter of turning a switch on the dash (while driving !). The
LPG-unit basically consist of:
686
- Pressure-tank ( 50 - 120 liters)
- evaporation unit
- 2 shutter-relays to change from LPG <--> Petrol
- nozzle between air-intake and carburettors.
“LPG is loaded into the tank by an outside mounted filling cap, no mess, no smell or fumes in the car. During operation,
liquid LPG flows from the tank to the evaporation unit under natural pressure. In this unit the LPG evaporates into gas.
The unit is heated by the cooling sytem of the engine (LPG needs heat to change from one phase to the other). The gas
flows from this unit to a special "nozzle" piece that is placed between the air filter and the carbs. The control of the gas
flow is achieved by a combination of vacuum and throttle control. In this way the engine is fed with a mixture of air/lpg
and the carbs do not need to add anything to it.”
Stig Abrahamson describes the installation on his Daimler Double Six: “Gas is fed via a solenoid operated valve to the
vaporizer which is located next to the brake servo. Gas is then fed via adjustable orifices to mixers located between the
air filter and throttle bodies. The mixers are simple venturies and draw gas in proportion to the air flow through the
throttle. Switching between petrol and LPG is simply done by switching off the main ECU relay and switching on the
solenoid LPG valve.”
Peter Cave says, “The simple venturi mixers that I have seen have all been mounted on the engine side of the throttle
body.”
COST BENEFITS: LPG costs less per gallon than gasoline, but that’s only part of the story. There is less energy per
litre in LPG, so your Km/litre numbers will reportedly drop by perhaps 10-15%.
Of course, you will also need to estimate the costs in additional maintenance (or reductions in maintenance!), and
balance all of that against the cost of system installation. The cost of a professional conversion seems to be in the range
of $2500US, but clearly you will need to check local sources for better estimates.
TAXES: A large part of the advantage of LPG is in the difference in taxation compared to gasoline. Since LPG is used
to run stoves, heaters, and the like, it generally is not subject to “road use” taxes. As the LPG conversions get more
popular, however, it can be expected that the governments will decide to close this particular loophole -- and eliminate
much of the cost benefits you hoped for when you spent your money on the conversion! Governments may decide to
start taxing all LPG or to find a way to tax only that used in automobiles, but one way or another they will get their cut.
SPACE: An LPG conversion takes up space in the car, already at a premium in the XJ-S. Eric Vuurman says, “The
main disadvantage is the space taken by the tank.” Peter Smith adds, “I imagine in the XJ-S the tank may restrict access
to the petrol tank/spare wheel.”
Even accepting the loss of trunk space, John Fergus says, “The main problem is finding room to place the converter.
The converter may be known in the US as a vaporizer/regulator. Basically the liquid propane is warmed by the
circulation of engine coolant and this converts the propane to a gas vapor. If it was allowed to vaporize without the heat
it would freeze the lines. The LPG systems are very simple but there is really a space problem in the engine bay of the
V12 XJS. One installer I spoke to recently said he puts it next to the brake reservoir on our right hand drive cars and
the rest is fairly straightforward. I have yet to see a car under the bonnet to see how tight it is but I can't see that there
will be enough room there.”
SAFETY: Arguably a non-issue; after all, driving around with 20 gallons of liquid gasoline in a flimsy sheet metal tank
isn’t exactly the safest thing you can be doing, so having a heavy-duty pressure vessel containing a flammable gas may be
considered an improvement in safety. Eric Vuurman says, “It is extremely safe. There are very simple but strict safety
687
measures that apply to both the installation and the operation. LPG tanks will survive the most severe crashes and to
date no report is known of any tank exploding after a crash.”
POLLUTION: There are limited-production cars that are imported into the US in small numbers and meet the EPA
requirements by converting to LPG! Stig Abrahamson says, “My car is a Daimler Double Six 1980 Series 3, Pre H.E.
Digital P injection and the 10:1 engine. It started its life in Germany and was imported to Sweden in 1983. During that
time Sweden had very peculiar emissions regulations shared only by Switzerland. A loophole made it possible to import
cars and convert them to LPG. This is what happened to mine. The conversion was made with the sole purpose of
getting it past the emissions test. I can have the engine running in my garage (door open of course) without feeling any
odours apart from burnt oil dripping from various leaks.
“LPG in Sweden is now almost extinct. I happen to live close to one of the five filling stations in the country.”
Where this author used to work at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, the fork lift trucks used indoors ran on LPG to avoid
indoor air quality problems. Honda has developed cars to run on LPG to meet the Very Low Emission requirements
proposed for some areas.
Note also that LPG doesn’t have any additives like gasoline does; it wouldn’t be a good idea to put additives in a fuel
that might be used to grille hamburgers.
POWER: Along with the reduction in Km/litre, there is also an estimated reduction in power of about 10% when
operating on LPG. Many drivers claim they don’t even notice.
Stig Abrahamson adds, “One advantage is that it has a sharper throttle response on LPG compared to petrol.”
OPERABILITY: Eric Vuurman says, “LPG gives instant smooth engine running. Especially with older engines/carbs in
a wet/cold climate this is a huge advantage. There is no need of mixture adjusting with (automatic) chokes or other
gadgets when the engine is cold. Just start the car and it runs great.”
IDLE: Stig Abrahamson explains: “In order to feed the engine a combustible fuel air mixture all of the air has to pass
the mixers between the air filter and throttle. This makes it impossible to use the AAV since it bypasses the left hand
throttle and thereby reduces the amount of fuel delivered to the engine as well as upsetting the balance between the
banks.
“Solution to this was to plug the AAV and set the idle using the stop screws on the throttles and balancing them with a
standard carburetor balancer. When this was working I had to find a way of increasing the idle when cold. My solution
was to carefully adjust the throttle linkage and add a solenoid to the central butterfly and energize this via a small
thermostat opening at 60°C and preventing the throttles from closing against the stop screws when the engine is cold.
This gives me only one step in increasing the cold idle but it works reasonably well.
“Another minor problem was the PCV valve which also bypasses the throttle. I have strengthened the spring a bit to
prevent it from opening at idle.”
John Fergus counters, “I have often thought of blocking the AAV to see if this would give a stronger idle when cold but
have not done so yet. My '78 XJ-S has no mods to the AAV or the PCV and it idles quite well in all circumstances.
However I do find it necessary to start the car on petrol for the first time each day as the LPG does not fire up a cold
engine as instantaneously. The one limitation is that it is not possible to get a high idle, e.g. more than 650 rpm, without
opening the butterflies a little but I have resisted this as I still want to drive on petrol. Overall I believe the AAV
operation seems to help the cold idle by somehow dragging the extra LPG past the butterflies. Perhaps the warmer
weather in Australia doesn't place such demands on the cold start system.”
688
OCTANE: LPG has gobs of octane, something like 110. Simply not a problem any more. However, it also has
different flame propagation characteristics, which means that the ignition timing curves might need a little massaging to
optimize performance. Peter Smith says, “There is a compromise to make between the two fuels because LPG requires
more initial spark advance and less further advance than petrol, so usually the timing is set a few degrees advanced.
There are a couple of aftermarket black boxes which will try to reduce this compromise and Mallory used to make a
good one.”
ENGINE DURABILITY: As mentioned above, LPG has no additives. This concerns some people, and some even
recommend that the car be run on gasoline on occasion to ensure that parts such as valve seats maintain a proper coating
of whatever benefits the gasoline additives are supposed to convey. However, note that such advice may apply better to
engines with soft cast iron heads without valve seat inserts than to engines such as the Jaguar V12.
Peter Smith says, “I have put more than half a million miles on LPG/petrol (dual fuel) cars and can tell you it's a better
fuel for long life. Being dry, it doesn't wash the lubrication off the upper cylinder walls like petrol does. The plugs last
longer although it needs a higher quality spark to ignite, so it won't like worn plug leads.”
Eric Vuurman says, “I have a 1969 Volvo 164 on LPG. It has been running for 345000 km without any trouble or
major engine work.”
OIL: The oil manufacturers offer special motor oil for engines running on LPG. The reasons are uncertain, but most
people with LPG conversions just use the oil and don’t ask questions. LPG is reportedly easier on oil; it comes out
looking as good as it went in.
IGNITION: Stig Abrahamson says, “The LPG/air mixture acts as a better insulator than petrol/air which puts additional
strain on the ignition system. I had a problem with the old coil and replaced it temporarily with a generic one, worked
fine on petrol but not on LPG. The original works though...” This being the situation, those with Marelli ignitions
might want to take note and make sure to do the “silicone squirt” to avoid catastrophic failures described starting on
page 161. Of course, they should anyway!
DIAGNOSTIC BENEFITS: John Fergus says, “It is useful as a diagnostic tool when trying to isolate problems with the
engine tuning as you can switch between petrol or LPG.”
CLOSED-LOOP CONTROLS: John Fergus (in Australia, where LPG conversions are big business) says, “There is a
system available which consists of an 02 sensor and a control module whereby the module will allow a direct feed of
extra LPG to each mixer via a small additional hose when the 0 2 sensor measures a lean mixture. Another firm does a
similar system but instead of running extra gas when lean it controls the vacuum being sensed at the converter and makes
the converter supply extra gas. All very simple and very effective and if the vehicle is a pre-H.E. without sensors then
you end up with a computer-controlled fuel system better than the original Jag one.”
689
WHERE TO FIND HELP, PARTS, ETC.
This section of this book provides a listing of some mail-order outfits and the like, along with choice comments. Note
that this is not intended to be anything approaching a comprehensive list; it merely provides contact info for some of the
more commonly referred-to sources and a few sources that provide difficult-to-find stuff. Inclusion in this book does
not imply endorsement of the firm by this author, nor does exclusion imply that a supplier is somehow unacceptable or
substandard. In general, outfits that concentrate on local business -- as opposed to nationwide or worldwide shipping
and support -- are not included here, but such outfits may very well provide the best support for your particular needs.
Many mail-order joints advertise in the Hemmings Motor News, so pick up a recent issue to get the latest info.
DEALERS: Any Jag dealer can provide a pamphlet listing all the Jaguar dealers in the U. S. and Canada. If you think
about it, this is a useful pamphlet to have -- a dealer isn’t always easy to find when you need one. Dealers will usually
ship parts, so they are another mail-order resource. Remember, if the dealer is shipping from another state, you save on
state sales tax -- which will help pay the shipping charges.
Some dealers have an 800 number, good only in their home state or local area. At least one dealer’s parts department
has such a number and does not publish it. If your nearest dealer is a long distance call, be sure to tell them it’s long
distance; perhaps they will invite you to call back on an 800 number. Be sure to have a notepad ready!
TELEPHONE NUMBER CONVENTIONS: Throughout this listing, I have endeavored to use a notation for phone
numbers that is apparently common in Europe. The first character is a + which indicates that you must begin by entering
an “international access code”, which are digits you must dial in order to begin an international call, and which vary
considerably depending on where you are calling from; here in the US, you generally must dial 011, while in the UK you
must dial 00. In Australia, the international access code is reportedly 0011.
The next one or two digits are the “country code”, followed by a space. The country code for the US and Canada is 1,
for the UK it’s 44, for Australia it’s 61 and for New Zealand it’s 64. A more complete listing of country codes is
generally found near the front of any telephone directory.
What follows on a US phone number will be the 3-digit area code, in parentheses, and then the 7-digit phone number
itself. For UK numbers, the area code and number are listed, but no parentheses.
Now, the idea behind listing numbers this way is to provide all the information necessary to call these numbers from
anywhere in the world. However, it becomes the responsibility of the reader to interpret this information somewhat in
order to make a call within his own country or local area. For example, a person in the US calling a US number should
know that he can forget about the international access code and country code and merely dial a 1 (or any of an entire
smorgasbord of long-distance access codes in this day of deregulation) followed by the area code and number. A person
in the UK dialing a UK number should know that he can drop the international access code and country code but must
add a 0 before the number. Obviously, those who actually live within a stone’s throw of the place being called may be
able to drop even more digits and make a local call.
The 800, 877, and 888 numbers are another matter. These are toll-free long distance numbers, but they reportedly only
work from within the US. Hence, they are listed as 1-800-xxx-xxxx, the way they must be dialed in the US to work
properly.
Some notes regarding phone calls to the UK: On August 5, 1994, exchanges in the UK changed. For the most part, the
change was simply to add a 1 at the beginning of the exchange, although a few exchanges changed entirely.
Paul Garside sends this explanation of the phone number conventions in the UK (prior to the addition of the 1): “Major
city (e.g. London, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow) phone numbers used to be of the format:
<2-OR 3-DIGIT CITY CODE> <3-DIGIT AREA CODE> <4-DIGIT NUMBER>
All other towns and villages in Great Britain used the format
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<4-DIGIT AREA CODE> <5- OR 6-DIGIT NUMBER>
These are all generally 6-digit numbers now. The spaces are also shown as dashes. There is no significance to either,
they are merely for ease of reading.”
In the UK, a company’s literature often lists the phone number including the beginning 0. Remember that when calling
from other countries, this 0 should be omitted.
INTERNATIONAL CREDIT CARD USE: If you have a credit card, you will find this is one of the neatest features of
owning it. Charging a foreign purchase to a credit card gets the seller paid in his native currency, and gets you the best
exchange rate available automatically -- the charge shows up on your statement in your currency. The credit card
companies can offer the optimum exchange rates because they don’t have to keep a pile of foreign currency on hand to
do so.
TAXES: Those who purchase parts within the European Union must pay a Value Added Tax (VAT) of 17.5%.
However, orders shipped outside the EU are exempt from this tax. If you are ordering from elsewhere and someone
tries to charge you VAT, they are trying to rip you off. According to Stefan Schulz, this is a common scam.
Before getting into the listings of retailers, some numbers of general interest to Jaguar owners:
JAGUAR CARS LTD.
Browns Lane, Coventry CV5 9DR (UK)
+44 24 7640 2121
The source!
JAGUAR UK
http://www.jaguarcars.com/uk/
Mainly info on current models, but genuine Jaguar parts and accessories can be ordered.
JAGUAR DAIMLER HERITAGE TRUST
Jaguar Daimler Heritage Centre
Browns Lane, Coventry CV5 9DR (UK)
+44 24 7620 3322 FAX: +44 24 7620 2777
http://www.jdht.com
or
C/o Jaguar Cars Limited
Browns Lane, Allesley, Coventry CV5 9DR
+44 24 7640 2125 FAX: +44 24 7640 5581
“The Trust is a subsidiary of Jaguar Cars Limited.” Outwardly, this appears to be just a car museum adjacent to
Jaguar’s original facility, but in fact it’s much more than that. It appears that JDHT is determined to do whatever needs
doing for the owners of older Jaguars. Among other services, they offer “Genuine Jaguar Engineering approved parts
for classic Jaguars...” In other words, they may be the only place to get the part you need. They have even posted
notices in Jaguar World magazine asking for ideas on parts that need to be improved.
JAGUAR OF NORTH AMERICA
Leonia, NJ
+1 (201) 592-5200
691
+1 (201) 818-8500
JAGUAR CARS, INC. -- PUBLIC RELATIONS
Mahwah, NJ
+1 (201) 818-9770
AUTOSEARCH LIMITED
PO Box 2032
Westfield, MA 01086
e-mail: SCOTTMCCON@aol.com
“We have a database of all dealers and manufacturers that sell car parts at retail, wholesale, and discount. We know of
every supplier of aftermarket, performance, restoration, new, used, replacement, nos, car care, audio, etc. in the country
and can supply a list for any make, year or model. If interested please send $6.00 to the address above. We will send
your list within one week of receipt. Please provide make, model, year and the general description of parts wanted.”
NEW PARTS
BRITISH AUTO/USA
92 Londonderry Turnpike
Manchester, NH 03104
+1 (603) 622-1050 FAX: +1 (603) 622-0849
1-800-4-JAG-PTS
Apparently formerly known as British Auto Interiors, but has branched out to the rest of the car. Per Chip Weems:
“They do their own direct importing, and in addition to interiors they are into fabricating a bunch of their own repro
items. They are also a fairly large restoration shop, and when I’ve had trouble with installing some part, Tom will call in
one of the mechanics to give me free advice over the phone.”
BRITISH PARTS INTERNATIONAL
8101 Hempstead Road
Houston, TX 77008
1-800-231-6563
http://www.motorcarsltd.com
Franck Guilloteau says: “They apparently have an extensive stock pile of both new and used parts for models from early
XK-E onwards with a comprehensive (250 page) catalog to boot. However, for prices you have to call, they are quite
competitive.”
BRITISH VINTAGES
645-D Tank Farm Rd
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
1-800-350-JAGS or +1 (805) 541-5986
692
CATHOUSE SPARES
176 Liverpool Rd.
Enfield 2136
Sydney, NSW, Australia
+61 2-9747 2144 Fax: +61 2-9747 3212
Mark Jackson says this outfit sells locally-made stainless steel coolant cross pipes and header tanks to fit the XJ-S -- and
for reasonable prices to boot. “Darn things are painted black - should have left them brushed SS!!”
CLASSIC COMPONENTS
Tower House, Teesside
International Airport, Darlington DL2 1PD (UK)
+44 1325 332505 FAX: +44 1325 332405
CLASSIC SPARES LTD/CLASSIC ENGINEERING
Unit 4 Brook Road, Britannia Road
Waltham Cross, Herts EN8 7NP (UK)
+44 1992 716236 FAX: +44 1992 788424
http://www.jagweb.com/classicspares
New and used parts, aftermarket parts, Jaguar-based kit and replicar support.
COVENTRY WEST, INC.
2101 Randall Road
Lithonia, GA USA 30058
+1 (770) 484-6500 FAX: +1 (770) 484-1419
1-800-331-2193
e-mail: sales@coventrywest.com
http://www.coventrywest.com
New, rebuilt, and used parts.
EAST COAST JAGUAR
802 Naamans Road
Wilmington, DE 19810
Tel: 1-800-475-9257 or +1 (302) 475-7200
Fax: +1 (302) 475-9258
Shameless bragging from the proprietor himself, John DiGiacoma: “New, used and remanufactured parts for all Jaguar
models from 1940s to present. Many hard-to-find parts. Supplying restoration and repair shops and enthusiasts
nationwide and abroad for more than 15 years. Water pumps, wiper motors and steering racks rebuilt. Brake parts re-
sleeved. We are also a service shop with a very knowledgeable staff having over 20 years experience servicing,
rebuilding and driving Jaguars.”
ENGEL IMPORTS
5850 Stadium Drive
Kalamazoo, MI 49009
1-800-253-4080 or +1 (616) 375-1000
This is a Jaguar dealership. They will ship parts, and their 800 number is good country-wide. If they don’t have the part
you seek, they have access to a computerized system that theoretically will find it at any dealer in the US that has it.
693
EUROPEAN AUTOPARTS SPECIALISTS, INC / AUTO DOCTOR
23151 Telegraph Road
Southfield, Michigan 48034
+1 (248) 353-1592 or +1 (248) 355-2730
They have no catalog, but they can still get most parts to you as cheap as anybody. They have a $50 minimum order,
however.
EXOTIC AUTO PARTS
Anaheim, CA
1-(800)-231-3588
+1 (909) 946-1809
AL HOGAN’S AUTOJUMBLE
Mansfield, Ohio
+1 (419) 524-1088
This is a business that specializes in buying out old stock from dealers. The owner Al Hogan is very knowledgeable
about British car parts.
INTERNATIONAL SPARE PARTS
1-800-243-0073
J. C. WHITNEY & CO.
1917-19 Archer Avenue
P. O. Box 8410
Chicago, IL 60680
+1 (312) 431-6102
http://www.jcwhitney.com
The quintessential mail-order auto parts company. Occasionally they go into receivership and pocket your money, but
most of the time they are acceptable. Very few Jaguar parts (oil filters, etc.) but they have a large selection of generic
items. Once you get on their mailing list, you will never be lacking for scrap paper to light your fireplace. Brainless
order-takers. You can call in the middle of the night. They will not tell you brand names.
A good rule of thumb: don’t ever order the cheapest part available from J. C. Whitney. You may be shocked at how
cheap some products can be. If there is a choice, choose what they would describe as “better” or “best”.
Their catalog numbers generally have two numbers, two letters, four numbers, and a letter. The first two letters (3rd
and 4th characters) vary depending on what catalog you’re reading from, but the rest of the number stays with that part
as long as they carry it. Hence, throughout this book, whereever a J. C. Whitney catalog number is listed, the 3rd and
4th characters are normally shown as “xx” -- you should fill in letters from the catalog you have when ordering.
JAG SERVICES
16820 South Lathrope
Harvey, IL 60426
1-800-842-0912
+1 (708) 331-9151 Fax: +1 (708) 331-9404
“He will call you back; he will have the part; he will know exactly what you’re talking about; his price will be cheaper
than the dealer; he will have genuine Jaguar parts; and he’ll ship today.”
From another customer: “I haven’t been so satisfied with anyone’s service for a long time. They really live up to their
word, I always get everything when I am told I’ll get it. Plus, they wreck many used Jags, and they only sell new
694
genuine Jag parts in Jag boxes. Plus, I can’t find any place that is cheaper, they have very reasonable prices, and know
exactly what they are talking about.”
JAGUAR ALL-PARTS
Berkeley, CA
+1 (510) 548-8748
Jaguar parts. According to Thomas Alberts, offers replacement antennas and antenna repair kits.
JAGUAR DENVER
1-800-426-4515
Lucas, Girling, Jag parts.
OLAF P. LUND & SON
2-26 Anthony Road,
Saltley, Birmingham B8 3AA (UK)
+44 121 327 2602 FAX: +44 121 327 6284
Free catalog.
MOTORCARS, LTD.
8101 Hempstead Road
Houston, TX 77008
1-800-338-5238 ext. 570 FAX: +1 (713) 863-8238
http://www.motorcarsltd.com
e-mail: info@motorcarsltd.com
Jaguar and Rover parts.
MOSS MOTORS
PO Box MG
7200 Hollister Ave.
Goleta, CA 93116
1-800-235-6954
New and repro parts.
NORMAN MOTORS LTD.
100 Mill Lane,
London NW6 (UK)
+44 171 431 0940 FAX: +44 171 794 5034
Worldwide shipping.
NOS LOCATORS
587 Pawtucket Ave.
Pawtucket, RI 02860
+1 (401) 725-5000
New parts, also fasteners.
695
Q.C.R. MOTORS LTD
Whitacre Road
Whitacre Road Ind. Estate
Nuneaton
Warwickshire CV11 6BU (UK)
+44 24 7638 5296 or 7632 5577 FAX: +44 24 7664 1211
According to Jaguar World magazine, this company was once known as the people who did bodywork on TWR and
JaguarSport models, including the XJ220. Needless to say, they still take pride in their body shop. However, they have
apparently taken on a new role: warehousing and distributing parts for older models that Jaguar doesn’t want to be
bothered with any more, most notably the XJR-S and other specials but also the earlier basic XJ-S. They not only have
things like the molded bumper overriders, they also have the original tooling so if they run out they can make more.
They also have the special mechanical parts for JaguarSport/TWR/XJR-S cars such as pistons, camshafts, 5-speed
gearboxes, brakes, exhaust systems and wheels. The good news: Q.C.R. reportedly sells these parts cheaper than Jaguar
ever did! But if you order your parts from Jaguar now they just buy from Q.C.R. and happily slap on their markup.
SNG BARRATT
The Heritage Building, Stourbridge Road,
Bridgnorth, Shropshire WV15 6AP (UK)
+44 1746 765 432 FAX: +44 1746 761 144
e-mail: barratt@barratt.co.uk
http://www.sngbarratt.com/
Searchable parts list, on-line ordering, etc.
TERRY’S JAGUAR
117 East Smith Street
Benton, IL 62812
1-800-851-9438 or 1-800-447-4587 (orders only)
+1 (618) 439-4444 (info) FAX: +1 (618) 438-2371
E-mail: FastCats@terrysjag.com
http://www.terrysjag.com
Free catalog with excellent photos of many items; good selection of high performance parts. Also, you can download an
electronic catalog from their WWW site.
Kyle Chatman: “I recommend you buy from someone other than Terry's Jaguar because of their shipping policy. I had
to wait two extra days and my wife and I had to rearrange our schedules so that an adult could be here to receive and
sign for a brake rotor. UPS has a category of delivery that "means the driver must receive an adult signature and hand
the package(s) to a person." I called Terry's today to explain that the restriction was causing me trouble and I was told
that it was their policy and they would ship no other way. Even though you pay the shipping, they won't ship it they way
you request. Terry's suggested I have the part delivered to my place of work. Oh yes, that's considered outstanding
behavior in my office. Anyway, if you have a choice and don't have an adult at home all day, every day, I recommend
you buy from someone else.”
696
VINTAGE JAGUAR PARTS
Ray and Walt Osborn
1390 West Highway 26
Blackfoot, Idaho 83221 USA
+1 (208) 684-4767 or +1 (208) 684-3554
Fax: +1 (208) 684-3386
e-mail: General Information: ray@vintagejag.com
Sales: sales@vintagejag.com
http://www.vintagejag.com/
WELSH JAGUAR ENTERPRISES, INC.
223 North 5th Street
P. O. Box 4130
Steubenville, Ohio 43952
1-800-875-5247 or +1 (614) 282-8649
FAX: +1 (614) 282-1913
http://www.welshent.com/
Catalog available.
XK’S UNLIMITED
850 Fiero Lane
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
1-800-444-JAGS (1-800-444-5247)
+1 (805) 544-7864 FAX: +1 (805) 544-1664
http://www.xks.com
e-mail: xksunltd@aol.com
Catalog available (a few bucks, refundable first order), full line of parts. Takes great pride in their restoration shop. Will
restore individual components, such as resleeving brake cylinders in stainless. Offers a nice vented rear brake disk kit.
USED/REBUILT PARTS
ENGLISH SWEDISH CAR SPARES
Alpharetta, GA
1-800-241-1916
Per John Napoli: “Great selection of XJ parts.”
JAGUAR HEAVEN
1433 Tillie Lewis Dr.
Stockton, CA 95206-1130
info: +1 (209) 942-4524
orders: 1-800-969-4524 FAX: +1 (209) 942-3670
Used parts recycler.
697
JUST JAGUAR
2/8 Cooling Road
Frindsbury
Rochester
Kent ME2 4RG (UK)
+44 634-296860 Fax: +44 634-294195
Patrick O'Keeffe says, “A contact that I have found very useful for their expertise and massive stock of second user
parts.”
XJS BREAKERS
+44 1992 768007 or +44 1860 255700 (UK)
Ask for Alan.
SPECIALTIES
Interiors
A&B LEATHER & WOOD RENOVATION
1 Dampler Road
Coggeshall, Colchester CO6 1QZ UK
+44-137-656-1586
AUTO INTERIORS OF EUROPE
1790 E McFadden, Unit 107
Santa Ana, CA 92705
1-800-533-2886
KENT BAIN
1785 Barnum Ave
Stratford, CT 06497
+1 (203) 377-6745
Custom interiors, seat rebuilding and repadding.
G. W. BARTLETT CO., INC.
1912 North Granville Avenue
Muncie, IN 47303-2701
1-800-338-8034 or +1 (317) 289-1586
FAX: +1 (317) 289-1251
Interior and trim parts. Sells original specification Jaguar interior kits and components. Free catalog and material
samples.
698
BAS LTD. JAGUAR TRIM SPECIALISTS
250 “H” Street, Unit 8110
Blaine, WA 98231
1-800-661-5377
BRITISH AUTO INTERIORS
See BRITISH AUTO/USA, page 692.
CERTAINLYWOOD
13000 Route 78
East Aurora, New York 14052-9515
+1 (716) 655-0206 Fax: +1 (716) 655-3446
info@certainlywood.com
http://www.certainlywood.com
Not a Jaguar specialist, but a good source of wood veneer.
CONNOLLY LEATHER LTD.
Wandle Bank
Wimbledon, SW19 1DW (UK)
+44 181 542 5251
If you will cut a sample of your original leather from under a seat and send it to these folks along with £37.80, they will
send you a renovation kit containing lacquer, hide food, stockinette, and comprehensive instructions.
ALBERT CONSTANTINE AND SONS
2050 Eastchester Road
Bronx, New York 10461
1-800-223-8087 or +1 (718) 792-1600
FAX: +1 (718) 792-2110
http://www.constantines.com
Not a Jaguar specialist, but an excellent source of woods and veneers of all types, wood finishing supplies, etc. Free
catalog.
CROFTGATE
UK
+44 1706 216096
Leather dye kits.
THE FINISHING TOUCH
Unit 17, Broadfield Lane Ind. Est.,
Boston, Lincs PE21 8DR (UK)
+44 1205 369239
Stainless steel door sill protectors.
699
BILL HIRSCH AUTO
396 Littleton Avenue
Newark, NJ 07103
1-800-828-2061 or +1 (973) 642-2404
FAX: +1 (973) 642-6161
e-mail: hirschauto@aol.com
http://www.hirschauto.com/
This outfit has original Connolly lacquer-based dye for the leather interior, as well as non-lacquer-based dye, leather
crack filler, and Connolly Hide Food. They also offer products for etching and coating the inside of a fuel tank to seal
leaks.
H. P. CO.
1079 Colonial Club Dr.
Harahan, LA 70123
+1 (504) 737-4691
Burled walnut dashboards.
JAGUAR INTERIORS OF ENGLAND
PO Box 47
Muncie, IN 47308
+1 (317) 289-9901
Carpeting and upholstery.
KELLER ASSOCIATES
PO Box 2833
Saratoga, CA 95070
+1 (408) 370-3705
Burl walnut dashboards.
LEATHERIQUE LEATHER RESTORATION PRODUCTS
PO Box 2678
Orange Park, FL 32067-2678
+1 (904) 272-0992 Fax: +1 (904) 272-1534
e-mail: lrpltd@aol.com
http://www.Leatherique.com
The owners of this business happen to own Jaguars -- they must have taste! Some of the pics on their www site actually
show Jaguar interiors as examples, even though they may not be labelled as such. “We manufacture custom color match
leather dyes for RR/B, MB, Jaguar, and many other autos. We work with museums, restoration shops, and do it
yourselfers. We've been around for 30 years and have a well known product. Our Rejuvenator Oil restores strength and
suppleness to leather and imparts a nice natural, new leather fragrance, without any fragrance additives.”
700
RAU RESTORATION
2027 Pontius Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90025
+1 (310) 445-1128 Fax: +1 (310) 575-9715
wcrau@rau-autowood.com
http://www.rau-autowood.com
Specialists in automotive woodwork of all kinds. Besides offering restoration of Jaguar wood trim, they also offer
walnut burl steering wheels made from original steering wheels and walnut burl cellular telephone casings. They will
happily send photos of their handiwork. From such photos, it becomes clear that their woodwork is far better than the
Jaguar original work, and in fact they offer to bleach and yellow the new veneer “to look more like the old finish” for a
small additional fee.
Body
BRIT-TEK
New Hampshire
+1 (603) 437-1584
According to Bruce S. Murray, this is a US distributor of Waxoyl, a popular rustproofing substance. “You need a
spraying kit; or you can use your wife’s garden sprayer.”
CAR CARE SPECIALTIES
P.O. Box 535
Saddle Brook NJ 07663
Phone: +1 (201) 796-8300 Fax: +1 (201) 791-9743
E-Mail: carcaresp@aol.com
Owner: Larry Reynolds
28 page catalog. According to Gene Halaburt, “They sell high quality car care products from 3M, Black Again, Harly
Products, Lexol, Masury, Meguiar’s, Oil Flo, One Grand, P21S, Porsche Car Care, Ritz, Sonax, Surflex, Tony Nancy,
Wurth and Zymol. The first 16 pages give a detailed description of products and prices, and the remaining pages offer
excellent advice on 1) washing cars 2) Tire/Rubber and Vinyl Treatment, 3) Care & Feeding of Leather/Vinyl, 4) Paint
Chip Repair, 5) Paint Cleaning, 6) Protecting Finish, 7) Care & Feeding of Wheels, 8) Repairing Damaged Wheels, 9)
Engine Cleaning, 10) Care & Feeding of Convertible & Soft Tops. The advice Larry gives is very “hands on” and
practical - showing pluses and minuses of products and techniques.”
701
COTECH - Eric H. Slabaugh
1805 Little Orchard Street #100
San Jose, CA 95125
+1 (408) 977-0400 or +1 (408) 977-0820
“Coating Technology for the Auto Restorer”. According to Andrew E. Kalman, this outfit can refinish chromed plastic
parts: “Their process is not a chroming process. Rather, they vacuum-deposit aluminum on the stripped part and then
spray a clear polyurethane over it.
“I inspected several parts (hubcap, grille, taillight cluster) and was suitably impressed. The finish on these parts was very
nice - perhaps not as “hard” looking as chrome, but very reflective, with a bit of depth, and extremely uniform in their
color. Basically, it looks like polished aluminum with a protective clearcoat on it. They generally do plastics and pot
metals, in aluminum, gold, copper or titanium nitride.
“XJ-S headlamp buckets are $75 each, grilles $120. This seems to compare favorably with new parts. 50% down at
time of order. He quoted me 3-4 weeks. It’s cheaper if you deliver the parts pre-stripped (they get charged $45 to strip
the grille, for instance).”
BARRY HANKINSON, LTD.
15 Copse Cross St.
Ross-On-Wye, Herefordshire HR9 5PD (UK)
+44 1989 565789 FAX: +44 1989 567983
Trim kits.
INDUSTRIAL PLATING COMPANY
Frank Aguilar, President
San Carlos, California
+1 (415) 593-1046
A small company that does mainly industrial plating for the surrounding Silicon Valley high-tech firms. They do all
plating to military specs. Supposedly base their prices on the actual effort involved rather than the cost of new Jaguar
parts, so are much cheaper than most. Unclear on whether they will actually do business by phone and mail; best to call
and ask nicely.
INTERMARQUE AUTO PARTS
Houston, TX
1-800-666-8700
Parts and sheet metal.
MARTIN E. ROBEY SHEET METAL ENGINEERS
Pool Rd, Camp Hill Industrial Estate,
Nuneaton CV10 9AE (UK)
+44 24 7638 6903 FAX: +44 24 7634 5302
http://www.martinrobey.co.uk/
The manufacturer of Jaguar body panels!
702
METRO MOULDED PARTS, INC.
11610 Jay St.
P.O. Box 48130
Minneapolis, MN 55448 USA
1-800-878-2237 or +1 (612) 757-0310
FAX: +1 (612) 757-2803
e-mail: sales@metrommo.com
http:// www.metrommp.com
According to Tom Carney, a supplier of body seals and gaskets with any extensive line of Jaguar-specific items. “Not
just weather stripping but a lot of other stuff like stabilizer bushings, air filter to carb gaskets, window channels,
headlight gaskets, etc. etc.”
PENINSULA IMPORTS
3749 Harlem Rd.
Buffalo, NY 14215
1-800-999-1209 or +1 (716) 833-3000
Body and rust repair panels.
PII DISTRIBUTING
PO Box 27358
Houston, TX 77227-7358
1-800-231-5836 or +1 (713) 975-6272
Genuine Jaguar parts, sheet metal.
TOWER PAINT
Custom Spray Can Dept.
1-800-779-6520
According to Mark Wentworth, this place “will put any paint into a spray can. I got the paint codes from my ’67 122S
and my ’80 245, called them, and they sent me 12-ounce cans of the right match. They also provide an exact matching
service if you can ship them a part, like the fuel filler door or some such item. If you are afraid that the “spray bomb”
will not yield good results: I can’t tell the factory job from the spray can (They use a very nice nozzle).”
Restoration/Rebuilding
WHITE POST RESTORATIONS
White Post, VA 22663
+1 (703) 837-1140
Antique auto restorations. Will resleeve brake cylinders with brass liners.
IMPERIAL MACHINE CO.
621 S. 112th St.
Lincoln, NE 68520
+1 (402) 488-9450
Resleeves brake cylinders in stainless steel. Credit cards not accepted. You must enclose a check with the master
cylinder including shipping cost.
703
KIRK’S AUTO REFITTERS
3019 Mississippi Ave
Davenport, IA 92506
1-800-547-5747
According to Zahid Ahsanullah: “His work quality is superb and he seems to know a lot of new and used parts vendors
out there. He will meet or beat any price you can quote him. I like to support small businesses and he’s on my good
list.”
THE EASTWOOD COMPANY
580 Lancaster Avenue
Malvern, Pennsylvania 19355-0714
1-800-345-1178
http://www.eastwoodco.com/
This is a mail-order outfit specializing in automobile restoration tools and products. They also carry Colourtune, a
device to allow viewing the combustion through a spark plug hole.
GAS TANK RENU USA
12727 Greenfield
Detroit, Michigan 48227
e-mail: DanRenu@aol.com
http://www.gastankrenu.com
A product to line fuel tanks.
MOYER'S FUEL TANK RENU - Joseph H. Moyer or Sandra Lee Moyer
2011 Western Avenue
Greensburg, PA 15601
1-800-328-9550
e-mail: slmoyer@westol.com
http://www.gas-tank.com/
Gas tank repair and restoration specialists. Mail order operation; you ship them your tank, they renovate it to much-
better-than-new condition, and ship it back to you. Guaranteed to never rust.
VICARAGE (USA-Holland-UK)
USA: +1 (305) 444-8759 FAX: +1 (305) 443-6443
e-mail: vicarage@ix.netcom.com
http://www.vicarage-jaguar.com/
“Restoration & enhancement specialists”
704
Exhaust
BELL SILENCER MANUFACTURING -- Roy Gibbons
Phillips Lane, Old Town,
Swindon, Wiltshire
+44 1793 619234 FAX: +44 1793 532946
Stainless exhaust systems. Part of Bell Silencer Services Limited, Swindon.
DICK AMES
608 Ft. Williams Pkwy
Alexandria, VA 22304
+1 (703) 370-3097
Stainless steel exhaust systems.
BORLA INDUSTRIES
Oxnard, CA
+1 (805) 983-7300
Stainless exhaust.
COVENTRY S LTD.
6406 85th Place
New Carrolton, MD 20784
1-800-537-4146
Stainless exhaust systems.
STAINLESS STEEL MUFFLER CORP.
3032 Genesee St.
Buffalo, NY 14225
+1 (716) 893-2116
Stainless exhaust systems.
Electrical
LUCAS AFTERMARKET OPERATIONS, PARTS AND SERVICE
UK
+44 121 506-5000
705
ASOM ELECTRIC
1204 McClellan Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
1-800-424-2766 or +1 (310) 820-3720
FAX: +1 (310) 820-5908
email: asomelect@aol.com
“We are an auto electrical rebuilding shop, dealing mostly in Lucas and Bosch. We rebuild electrical components
including starters, alternators, generators, regulators, fuel pumps, wiper and window motors. We have a large supply of
Lucas parts in stocks, including many discontinued pieces. We have been in business for 36 years.”
BARLEY CREEK ENTERPRISES/JAGUAR
869 Pioneer Drive
Lebanon Junction, KY 40150
+1 (502) 543-2932
According to Robert Woodling, “Jaguar radios were manufactured by AutoSound Inc. (ASI) from 1981-86 model
years. ASI went out of business in 1986. All the parts were purchased by Mike Lanham of Barley Creek
Enterprises/Jaguar. Mike will repair these radios for a very reasonable price.”
BECKMAN -- Bob or Donna
+1 (919) 381 2700
Repair ECU’s.
BRITISH CAR SERVICE
Tuscon, Arizona (USA)
+1 (520) 882-7026
www.britishcarservice.com
Rebuilds distributors.
BRITISH WIRING INC.
20449 Ithaca
Olympa Fields, Il 60461
+1 (708) 481-9050
Per Lauren Pratt, “For individual wires of nearly any size and color code and terminals, boots, etc.”
BRITISH PACIFIC LTD
3317 Burton Avenue
Burbank, CA
1-800-554-4133
CLASS-TECH
62935 Layton Ave.
Bend, OR 97701
1-800-874-9981
Dave Covert says “If you need a harness wrapped.. I would recommend you give these guys a call...”
706
COVENTRY ENGINEERING
9500 SW Martha St
Tigard, OR 97224
+1 (503) 620-9482
Wiring harnesses.
DEL CITY
2101 W. Camden Road
Milwaukee, WI 53209
1-800-654-4757 Fax: 1-800-431-1293
http://www.delcity.net
Wire, high-temp wire, connectors, relays. Can provide stripes and spiral stripes. Has branches around the US.
EXOTIC AUTO
Myrtle Beach, SC
+1 (803)-236-9005
Johnny Vaught reports on an A/C system fix: “One of the most common problems on the cars is the temperature
controller, and specifically with one component, a wirewound potentiometer. Exotic Auto persuaded a company to
reproduce the pots and now offers a cleaning, rebuilding and calibration service for the modules.”
GLOBAL METRICS, INC.
Belmont, CA
+1 (415) 592-2722 or 1-800-227-9981
Supplier for the Bosch fuel injector harness plugs.
MAGNECOR
+1 248-669-6688 Fax: +1 248-669-2994
http://www.magnecor.com
Makers of spiral core spark plug wires. Offers a custom set for the Jaguar V12.
NARRAGANSETT REPRODUCTIONS
Box 51
Wood River Junction, RI 02894
(401) 364 3839
NISONGER INSTRUMENT SALES & SERVICE
570 Mamaroneck Ave.
Mamaroneck, NY 10543
+1 (914) 381-1952 FAX: +1 (914) 381-1953
According to Walt Morris and Rob Reilly, this outfit does a good job refurbishing gauges.
OPTIMA BATTERIES
San Jose, CA
1-800-292-4359
http://www.optimabatteries.com
Unusual sealed battery with gel electrolyte. Excellent warranty, but more importantly an excellent battery! Call for a
707
local dealer, or visit an Interstate battery dealer.
RHODE ISLAND WIRING SERVICE
P O Box 434
West Kingston RI 02892
1-800-241-1955 or +1 (401) 789-1955
Per Lauren Pratt, “For a special harness of your design that is any length, wire size, color code, or any combination
thereof, along with any terminal and connector or boot, and loomed in whatever color and pattern you may wish. They
will even re-loom your harness in the original colors and pattern.”
DANIEL STERN LIGHTING
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/
Supplier of automotive headlights and tech knowhow.
THE WIRING HARNESS COMPANY
UK
+44 1332 810052
Per Craig Sawyers, “When Lucas stopped braiding looms, the proprietor (Peter Newall) bought their braiding machine
and the database. So he can re-build any harness that Lucas used to do to original specs. They have just done a superb
job for me by re-building all the engine and engine bay looms on my V12 Saloon to as-new condition.”
Steering/Suspension/Final Drive
APPLE HYDRAULICS
715 Route 25A
Miller Place, NY 11764
1-800-882-7753 or +1 (516) 744-9627
Rebuilds Armstrong, Girling shocks.
ATLANTIC ENTERPRISES
221 Strand Industrial Dr.
Little River, SC 29566
1-800-654-7565 FAX: +1 (803) 399-4600
Rebuilt steering racks, steering pumps, seal kits, polyurethane rack mounts.
QUALITY JAGUAR/CONCOURS WEST INDUSTRIES (Michael Bontoft)
306 Dwight Rd.
Castle Rock, WA 98611
+1 (360) 274-3373 Fax: +1 (360) 274-3376
http://www.cwiinc.com
Formerly in Costa Mesa, CA. This firm specializes in Jaguar rear suspensions. For those of you who are unaware, the
Jag IRS has been the item for hot rods for 25 years. From this catalog, you can order Jag rear ends chrome plated,
cadmium plated, powder coated, narrowed (to fit wider wheels), with different gear ratios, etc, etc. You can even order
an entire IRS with no original Jaguar parts, including a final drive unit that uses Ford 9” differential parts; this assembly
was featured in the September 1994 issue of Street Rodder. The company also offers front suspensions, high
708
performance differentials, and aftermarket bushings.
R.E.S. (Rear End Specialists) (Jim)
26489 Ynez Rd. Ste.c-143
Temecula, Ca. 92591
+1 (909) 693-5340 Fax: +1 (909) 699-1836
na617@aol.com
“R.E.S. specializes in rebuilt suspension components. We offer the following services: rebuilt differentials, ratio
changes, rebuilt hub assemblies, rebuilt brakes, rebuilt complete rear suspensions, and differential parts, all at exceptional
prices.”
SPEEDWAY MOTORS
300 Van Dorn
P.O. Box 81906
Lincoln, NB 68501-9896
+1 (402) 474-4411 FAX: 1-800-736-3733
This is a mail-order outfit for hot rods. Since the Jaguar rear suspension is popular among the hot rod crowd, the
catalog offers such things as finned aluminum final drive covers, nylon radius arm bushings, brakes, shocks, etc.
UK AXLES
Unit 20, Wyvern Way,
Uxbridge, Middx (UK)
+44 1895 272464 Mobile: +44 860 702801
Axles, differentials, ratio changes. Overseas enquiries welcome.
Wheels
THOROUGHBRED MOTORS / Rodney Dessberg
2035 Cornell Street
Sarasota, FL 34237
+1 (941) 955-5960
Rodney specializes in wheels. He does a good business putting aftermarket wheels on Jags and keeping the stock
wheels, and therefore has an incredible selection of stock wheels to unload at good prices. He also does other work
with Jags and other neat cars.
BRITISH WIRE WHEEL
1650 Mansfield St
Santa Cruz, CA 95062
1-800-WIRE WHEEL or +1 (408) 479-4495
Dayton and Dunlop wire wheels, tires. The place to go for correct reconditioning of your JagWires. Please see
comments on page 403!
709
DAYTON WHEEL PRODUCTS
115 Compark Dr.
Dayton, OH
+1 937-461-1707 Fax: +1 937-461-1815
PRISTINE
South Milton Keynes (UK)
+44 1908 282628
Refinishes alloy wheels.
Miscellaneous
AAPAK
1845 North Grand Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
1-800-832-5544
+1 (602) 254-1116 Fax: +1 (602) 252-5065
http://www.aapak.com
Air conditioning stuff.
BARNHILL BOLT CO. INC.
2500 Princeton NE
Albuquerque, NM USA
1-800-472-3900 or +1 (505) 884-1808
http://www.barnhillbolt.com/
BRITISH TOOLS AND FASTENERS - PHILIP BROWN
2030 Andre Ave.
Los Osos, CA 93402 USA
http://www.britishfasteners.com/mm5/merchant.mvc
boltnut@ix.netcom.com
1-800-587-0475 FAX: (805) 528 0358
BRITISH TOOL COMPANY
891 Houseman NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Whitworth tools. Also makes special factory tools originally made by Churchill in England. Will buy unused or obsolete
tools for British cars. Has an engineer on staff and a machine shop, will design and make large or small items for special
projects.
JOHN FARRELL
57 D Alder St.
West Babylon, NY 11704
1-800-454-7977 or +1 (516) 454-7977
Chiefly an E-type specialist, but can provide the square-cut O-ring seals that are needed between halves of the front
brake calipers on the XJ-S.
710
GRAINGER
1-800-CALL-WWG
http://www.grainger.com
Industrial supplies. 350 locations in the US, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico.
GRIOT’S GARAGE
3500-A 20th Street E.
Tacoma, WA 98424
1-800-345-5789
Tools and automotive accessories. According to Rob Westcott, “Beautiful stuff if you have really deep pockets.” Free
catalog.
HITCH-WEB
Southern California
1-800-300-4067 (orders)
+1 (818) 787-3186 (info) (8-5 Pacific time)
http://www.hitch-web.com
e-mail: info@hitch-web.com
Offers a trailer hitch to fit the XJ-S. Specifically, a DaLan Class 1 Receiver #DA247272~C4620, rated at 200 pounds
tongue weight and 2000 pounds towing capacity.
McMASTER-CARR SUPPLY COMPANY
PO Box 440
New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0440
+1 (404) 346-7000 or +1 (330) 995-9555
Fax: (404) 349-9091
http://www.mcmaster.com
atl.sales@mcmaster.com
A supplier of industrial stuff. Can order online. Will accept credit cards. Catalog weighs about 20 pounds.
METRIC & MULTISTANDARD COMPONENTS CORP.
120 Old Saw Mill River Road
Hawthorne, NY 10532
1-888-966-MMCC (1-800-966-6622)
New York:
1-800-431-2792 Fax: +1 (914) 769-5049
Chicago:
1-800-221-4469 Fax: +1 (630) 655-9062
Dallas:
1-800-527-5177 Fax: +1 (972) 870-1154
Atlanta:
1-800-444-9560 Fax: +1 (770) 935-9511
Obviously a source for metric stuff, but the “multistandard” includes British standards like BSPP.
711
NORTHWEST TRANSMISSION PARTS
6347 Fair Ridge Road
Hillsboro, Ohio 45133
+1 (513) 927-5366 or +1 (513) 442-2811 or 1-800-327-1955
“An excellent source of parts for all automatic transmissions including specialized items for Jaguar BW transmissions.”
GUNSON LTD.
Pudding Mill Lane
London E15 2PJ (UK)
UK source for ColourTune, a device that can be screwed into a spark plug hole to watch the combustion and determine
if the mixture is correct.
PEGASUS AUTO RACING SUPPLIES
1-800-688-6946
Hylosil and Hylomar sealants.
H.D. ROGERS & SONS - Hal Rogers
3418 Barksdale Blvd.
Bossier City, LA 71112 US
+1 (318) 742-3651 FAX: +1 (318) 742-5044
e-mail: hdrsons@iAmerica.net
http://www.hdrogers.com
“I try to offer very competitive pricing on original equipment and reproduction (aftermarket) parts. I can also offer
many factory Jaguar packaged products at discounted prices too (just not as discounted as other items). Most of what I
stock is mechanical, hydraulic, electrical, accessories, books, manuals (not stocking much body/trim but can s/order).
“I directly import parts in many instances and can even special order directly out of the UK should some need it. I can
supply virtually any currently available part as well as lots of old NOS pieces too.”
“We sell an excellent aftermarket a/c amplifier unit for the XJ (original part number is C45402). The unit comes with a 5
year warranty. We import the amplifiers from Australia. They are quality pieces and are not common in the USA.
Other USA suppliers offer aftermarket amplifiers too but I believe ours is the best one for the money.” They also sell
antennas and antenna repair kits.
VALEO CLIMATE CONTROL
New Road
Ammanford
Dyfed.
South Wales SA18 3ET
+44 1269-3131 Fax: +44 1269-591269
or
HEOL-Y-MYNYDD
Gorseinon
West Glamorgan
South Wales SA4 1XX
Tel: +44 1792 898855
According to Alan Akeister, took over Delanair, makers of XJ-S climate control system.
712
PERFORMANCE/MODIFICATION
ADDCO
715 13th Street
Lake Park, FL 33403
1-800-338-7015
Addco makes anti-roll bars for anything with four wheels, and at reasonable prices. They offer a 7/8” bar for the rear of
the XJ-S and a 1” bar for the front. They evidently based their offerings on the pre-1982 XJ-S (which came with a rear
bar), because both bars are intended to replace existing bars, not install where there was none before. As such, the rear
anti-roll bar kit does not include links and other parts that will be necessary on the 1982-on car. Also, both bars are
much stiffer than stock; they don’t offer a soft rear bar to complement the stock front bar. They have now been
informed of the error of their ways, and perhaps they will respond with a from-scratch kit as well as a more limber rear
bar for the 1982-on XJ-S.
AJ6 ENGINEERING/Roger Bywater
60 Henshall Road, Bollington,
Macclesfield, Cheshire SK10 5DN (UK)
Tel/Fax: +44 1625 573556
aj6eng@jagweb.com
http://www.jagweb.com/aj6eng
This outfit offers all kinds of aftermarket inlet systems and various EFI system modifications and improvements for both
V12 and 6-cylinder XJ-S’s. Of note, they will fix faulty ECU’s on an exchange basis for reasonable prices. They also
offer EFI diagnostic equipment. Jeffrey Gram says they can “rebuild any 6CU or 16CU to either low or high CR, with
or without catalyst and that we should take care not to pay too much for an ECU, AJ6 has loads on stock.”
Richard Mansell reports: “The AJ6 website lists the following acceleration figures for the various mods they sell.
40-60 60-80
Standard 6.7 6.9
Super Enhanced ECU 5.0 5.76
+ Large Throttle kit 4.5 5.45
Full Plus Torque kit 4.1 4.94
This author has corresponded with Bywater at length, and will add the following personal recommendation: Roger
Bywater worked in the engine development department at Jaguar when the V12 was being developed. He left Jaguar in
the late 70’s to form AJ6 Engineering. There probably is no higher authority on the Jaguar V12 to be found.
ARDEN AUTOMOBILBAU GmbH
Untergath 175, D-47805 Krefeld (Germany)
Ph: +49 2151 37230 FAX: +49 2151 372323
http://www.arden.de
arden@arden.de
Exclusive alloy wheels, wood trim including a wood rim steering wheel with airbag, wind deflector for convertibles,
suspension and body styling mods. Most spectacular offering is an XJ-S estate car (station wagon). They also make an
XJ-S with a back seat. Steve Gallant says, “Arden is the only Jaguar-only dealer in Germany and is a TUV-approved
'tuner'. They manufacture all kinds of specials, including a coupe version of the XJ-S without the flying buttresses (looks
kinda like the convertible with its top up - very attractive - see it in Skilleter's book on XJ-S's).”
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BURL DESIGNS
Formerly AUTOSTYLE BY PAUL BANHAM
Unit 14, Castle View Business Estate, Gas House Road,
Rochester, Kent, ME1 1PB (UK)
+44 1634-840530 Fax: +44 1634-844424
http://www.jagweb.com/burl_designs/index.html
According to Alan Akeister, can convert older dashboards to the later style round dials, and add extra wood inserts to
dash facias, around heater and radio controls, and to ski-slopes (the area around the shifter). Veneer refurbishing and
replacement veneer pieces. Body styling kits, bumpers, spoilers, etc., even an entire kit car called an XJSS. Hardtops
for convertibles.
Note: There has been a report of difficulty dealing with this outfit; shoppers are advised to check the dispute resolution
policy on their credit cards before ordering, especially with overseas orders.
Also note that some customers have complained that veneer pieces didn’t match as well as they had hoped, even when a
sample of the original had been sent to Autostyle. The usual complaint was that the Autostyle veneer was darker than
the original.
B&M RACING AND PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS
9142 Independence Avenue
Chatsworth, CA 91311
e-mail: bmperf@pacificnet.net
http://www.bmracing.com
Not a Jaguar specialist, but offers high-performance parts for the GM400 transmission. Free catalog.
HARVEY BAILEY ENGINEERING
Ladycroft Farm, Kniveton, Ashbourne
Derbyshire DE6 1JH. (UK)
+44 335 346419 FAX: +44 335 346440
According to Jeffrey Gram, “Handling kit for Jags consist of revalved Bilstein or Koni dampers and stronger anti-roll
torsion bar and rear torsion bar. Very good results with 23% uprating of the rear spring rate.” Also offers a front cross
brace for the XJ-S convertible as well as a “rear anti-tramp frame”.
BAKER PRECISION BEARING
2865 Gundry Ave.
Long Beach, CA 90806
Distributors of the Oberg Filter, a bypass oil filter system which employs a reusable, ultra-fine stainless steel filtering
element, and uses an adapter plate for simple and straightforward installation either in place of, or in addition to, the
spin-on filter.
ROB BEERE RACING SERVICES
Unit 1 Priority Mill, Charter Avenue,
Coventry CV4 8AF (UK)
+44 2476 47 33 11 FAX: +44 2476 47 33 22 Mobile: +44 860 675001
Lightened flywheels, hot camshafts, other high-performance engine and suspension parts.
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CLASSIC ENGINEERING
Unit 4, Brook Road, Britannia Road,
Waltham Cross, Herts EN8 7NP (UK)
+44 1992 788967
Offers a kit to install the 1992-on structural cross-bracing to a 1988-1991 XJ-S convertible.
CONVERSION COMPONENTS, LTD.
17 Victoria Street
Waihi, New Zealand
+64 7 863 8509 Fax: +64 7 863 6354
sales@conversioncomp.co.nz
http://www.conversioncomp.co.nz
Offers three different 5-speed transmission kits for the V12 XJ-S: one using the Toyota Supra transmission, one using
the Toyota ‘Big’ Supra transmission from the 3L Twin Turbo Supra, and one using the Tremec. On the Supra
transmissions, the shifter location is modified to 390mm from the engine face, much closer than on any stock Supra
transmission.
COOPERCRAFT
Westwood, Broadclyst
Exeter EX5 3DH (UK)
+44 1404 822100 FAX: +44 1404 822102
Aftermarket brake calipers, and some modified rear brake cylinders.
DEE ENGINEERING
Costa Mesa, CA
+1 (714) 979-4990
Makers of “ProThane” urethane suspension parts, including anti-roll bar mounts, end link assemblies and individual
bushings, shock absorber mount bushings, bump stops, tie rod end boots and coil spring dampening inserts. Some of
their parts are sold by J. C. Whitney.
Their “B” style anti-roll bar mount bushing and bracket will, with a little trimming on the corners of the urethane bushing
itself, fit the rear of the XJ-S very well; for a 9/16” bar, the part number is 19-1127, and for a 5/8” bar it’s 19-1128. It
does not appear that any of their anti-roll bar mounts are well suited to the front end of the XJ-S.
Thanks to Thomas Alberts for this info.
DELLOW AUTOMOTIVE PTY LTD
37 Daisy Street
Revesby, NSW 2212 (Aus)
PO Box 43 Revesby North 2212
+61-2-9774-3873 fax: +61-02-9774-4783
Per Michael Frank, these are specialists in installing Toyota Supra 5-speeds in Jaguars. They will sell a kit either with or
without the transmission itself, and will ship worldwide. “The kit includes bell housing, clutch, pressure plate, rear
crossmember, speedometer cable, pushrod, yoke, and clutch fork, etc.” “They also supply a “Qik-Shifter” which
reduces shifter throw by 50%.”
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DOUBLE S
UK
According to John Goodman, these makers of stainless steel exhaust systems “...make a large bore sports system for the
XJ-S. They also make stainless steel headers as well, though they are not cheap they were prepared to sell direct, which
at the time was priced significantly lower than the prices quoted from the Jag tuning companies (cuts out the middle man
!).
“Apparently the headers are a pig to fit because you have to jack the engine up one side at a time, but when installed
there are no clearance problems other than they won’t fit LHD cars. The big bore system fits either the standard front
pipes or the headers (may be different versions).”
British Auto/USA (page 692) distributes Double S products in the US.
ELECTROMOTIVE INC.
14004-J Willard Road
Chantilly, VA 22021
+1 (703) 378-2444
http://www.electromotive-inc.com
This company offers aftermarket electronic fuel injection and ignition systems suited for the XJ-S.
EREBUNI CORP.
+1 (718) 387-0800
Per Brian Schreurs: Offers body styling mods.
FASTERJAGS -- Brian Welker
214-769-4555
7715 Robin Road
Dallas, TX 75208
http://www.fasterjags.com
BOB GREENE DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 9, West Court, Buntsford Park Road
Bromsgrove, Worchestershire B6O 3DX (Birmingham area, UK)
Ph: +44 1527 873716 / 832453 FAX: +44 1527 575403
Offers vented rear brake rotor kits. Jeffrey Gram: “For the front there is a bigger disc kit with 4 pot aluminium calipers
for 15” wheel: 12” disc, 2 thicknesses: 28 or 32 mm; 16-17” wheels, 13” disc; 17-18” wheels, 14” disc (full race
version).
HYPER
Unit 7, Stationfield Industrial Estate,
Kidlington OX5 1JD (UK)
+44 1865 842557 FAX: +44 1865 842558
Several different body styling changes including spoilers and a wide-body conversion. Split-rim alloy wheels, manual
and automatic gearbox conversions, exhaust systems. Agents in South Africa, Hong Kong and France.
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JAGUAR SOUTH - Chad Bolles
306 Valcour Road
Columbia, SC 29212
+1 (803) 798-3044 FAX: +1 (803) 798-4512
e-mail: jaguar@bbs.clynx.com
Bolles has a great deal of experience in racing and high performance work, and also has a great many contacts for buying
hard-to-find stuff or having special things made. He has made many more radical performance mods to his own street
XJ-S than those suggested in this book, and is building an XJ-S dragster using the V12 engine.
Bolles can provide a few choice items for reasonable prices, such as a V12 crank with an 80mm stroke that uses Chevy
connecting rods and an adapter plate for connecting a Chevy bellhousing (auto or manual) to the 5.3 engine.
Also reportedly can provide genuine Churchill Jaguar special tools at excellent prices, depending on the current
pound/dollar exchange rate.
NOTE: This is one of at least two firms in South Carolina named Jaguar South.
JAGUARS THAT RUN
P.O. Box 66
Livermore, CA 94550
http://www.jagsthatrun.com
Specialists at putting Chevy V-8 engines into Jaguars, pickup trucks, etc. Also offers manuals on doing the job yourself,
including “Jaguar V8 Conversion Manual” by Mike Knell.
JEG’S
751 East 11th Avenue
Columbus, Ohio 43211-2695
1-800-345-4545 FAX: +1-614-299-4444
A supplier of Chevy aftermarket stuff. Free catalog.
JOHN’S CARS, INC.
800 Jaguar Lane
Dallas, TX 75226
1-800-866-5247 or +1 (214) 426-4100
FAX: +1 (214) 426-3116
e-mail: conversions@johnscars.com
http://www.johnscars.com
This place is best known for Chevy V8 conversions for Jags. Still, their catalog contains some useful stuff such as an
improved design steering rack mount, as well as several tidbits of helpful information. They also have a good assortment
of used parts. “Our replacement parts (poly rack bushings, poly trans mounts, A/C hoses [R134 compatible], PS hoses,
etc.) are engineered beyond OEM specifications and all carry a lifetime warranty.”
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JUST JAGS
Rycroft Villa
24 Proffit Street
Walsall, West Midlands WS2 8AZ (UK)
+44 1922 637779 Mobile: +44 831 506722
e-mail: justjags@yahoo.co.uk
http://jagweb.com/justjags/index.html
Body styling components. Offers bumper covers, a "boot infill panel" that replaces the boot plinth and provides a
smoother appearance around the licence tag, and a boot lid spoiler with an LED 3rd brake light built in. If you’re in a
country that requires rear fog guard lights, the bumper covers have no in-bumper provision for them. There is
reportedly carbon fiber involved, as opposed to the simple fiberglass of some other products.
K & N ENGINEERING, INC.
P.O. Box 1329
Riverside, California 92502
1-800-858-3333 or (951) 826-4000
UK: Phone: +44 (0) 1925-636950 Fax: +44 (0) 1925-418948
email: uk.sales@knfilters.com
http://www.knfilters.com/
Manufacturers of low-restriction permanent air filters consisting of a layer of oiled fabric sandwiched between aluminum
mesh.
KEISLER AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING & ELECTRIC -- Mr. Shafi Keisler
Knoxville, Tennessee USA
+1 (423) 982-8198 phone/fax
E-mail: skeisler@icx.net
http://www.keislerauto.com
A selection of well-engineered performance and upgrade parts for the XJ-S. Offers a 5-speed manual transmission
conversion kit based on a Tremec TKO unit, with bellhousings to fit either the 5.3 or 6.0 engine. Also offers a 5-speed
kit for the 4.0.
RON KELNHOFER
8219 W. Bradley Rd.
Milwaukee, WI 53223-3286
Phone: 414-355-7441 Fax: 414-355-4901
E-mail: rkelnhofer@wi.rr.com
Offers improved banjo bolts, half moon seals, and timing chain tensioner access plugs.
KOENIG SPECIALS GMBH
Flösserfasse 7
D-8000 München 70 Germany
+49 89/724970
Telex 528145 koevm d
Telefax +49 89/7238813
Phil Stuart: “I have a König (Koenig in the US) modified XJS. This includes body modifications, engine mods, interior
mods and suspension mods.” Stuart notes that the engine mods included nitrous oxide injection and sodium filled
titanium valves. “My car is registered here in Canada as a Koenig Wildcat, not as a Jaguar XJ-S.”
718
TREVOR LANGFIELD
Doncaster, England
phone: +44 1302 834343
“High Power Nitrous” systems.
LISTER OF NORTH AMERICA
1912 Granvill Ave.
Muncie, IN 47308
1-800-338-8034
High performance accessories.
LYNX MOTORS INTERNATIONAL LTD.
68 Castleham Road
St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex TN38 9NU (UK)
+44 1424 851277 Fax: +44 1424 853771
enquiries@lynxmotors.co.uk
http://www.lynxmotors.co.uk
Makers of the Lynx Eventer, an XJ-S made into an “estate car” -- or what we Americans would call a station wagon.
Hatchback and all.
MOTEC
http://www.motec.com
Manufacturers of aftermarket EFI systems. Per Ken Wallace, “This appears the ultimate. Quite expensive.”
PAECO IMPORT PARTS
2400 Mountain Drive
Birmingham, AL 35226
1-800-326-6401 - orders only +1 (205) 823-7278 - Everything else
According to Michael Neal: “They offer a wide range of performance parts and machine work as well as complete
engines. The Jag V12 is available up to 532 hp with their stage 4 engine. Their solid copper gaskets may be worth
checking out. Paeco claims they are virtually blow-out proof.”
PURADYN FILTER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
3020 High Ridge Road
Boynton Beach, FL 33426
1-800-488-0577
+1 (407) 547-9499 FAX: +1 (407) 547-4025
http://www.puradyn.com/
PURADYN EUROPE LTD.
Centrax, Shaldon Road
Newton Abbot, Devon
TQ124SQ, England
+44-1626-52251 FAX: +44-1626-56592
Produces a package for maintaining clean oil; includes a bypass filter and a heater to boil away contaminants.
719
RED LINE SYNTHETIC OIL CORP.
3450 Pacheco Blvd.
Martinez, CA 94553
+1 (510) 228-7576
Makers of a product called “Water Wetter” that supposedly will improve cooling efficiency. Included in their line of
synthetic lubricants is a product called MTL (Manual Transmission Lubricant), an oil specifically designed for synchros.
They also make synthetic transmission fluids. According to Dean Gosselin, “Red Line puts together a nice package of
technical data which they mail for free upon request.”
SUMMIT RACING
Akron, Ohio
+1 (330) 630-3030
http://www.summitracing.com
High performace parts for Chevys and the like. Getting a free catalog is compulsory, even for Jaguar owners.
CLIVE SUTTON
14 Kingsbury Trading Estate
Church Lane, London NW9 8AU (UK)
+44 181 200 4455FAX: +44 181 200 4094
Offers a handling package for the XJ-S, as well as other “enhancements”. Also is a dealer for AJ6 Engineering products.
TCI
One TCI Drive
Ashland MS 38603
+1 (601) 224-8972 FAX: +1 (601) 224-8255
High performance GM400 transmission parts.
TILTON ENGINEERING
+1 (805) 688-2353 Fax: +1 (805) 688-2745
Bellhousings, lightweight flywheels, heavy-duty starters (for difficult-to-start souped-up engines), multi-plate clutches,
etc. for the Jaguar V12. Per John Napoli: “Their stuff looks very good -- I’ve seen it on a number of race cars -- but it
is a little pricey.”
TOTAL SEAL, INC.
11202 North 24th Avenue, Suite 101
Phoenix, Arizona 85029
1-800-874-2753
Makers of a unique type of piston ring that provides a much better seal than conventional rings. These rings are very
popular in racing.
TURBO ACTION
1535 Owens Rd.
Jacksonville FL 32218
+1 (904) 741-4850 FAX: +1 (904) 741-4853
GM400 high performance parts.
720
W.L. WHITE (Bill)
1013 Ferry Road
Christchurch, NZ
Phone/Fax: +64 3-3321546
For the Jaguar V12:
7.5 liter overhaul kit (HE & Pre-HE) which has to date been supplied as short engine (on exchange basis) but can be
supplied as partially assembled kit. All kits are supplied with cast alloy deepened & gated sump.
8.4 liter under development.
Deepened and gated alloy sump kit available separately.
Induction Systems:
12 Throttle Body 95º manifolds (45-48mm ) for XJ-S. Length = 220mm from port face.
Four plenum cast alloy 45mm interior parabolic manifolds designed primarily to take advantage of “pressure wave” or
sonic supercharging theory, but will also function as high flow manifold for larger engines.
Four plenum injection manifold available for V12 E-Type and can be used as “low profile” arrangement for other
purposes.
High flow single plenum manifold to run larger engines with standard layout. This alloy casting has the same runner
design as four plenum manifolds.
Complete tuned engines can be supplied if required with management systems to accommodate fuel requirements and
prevailing emission standards.
Management Systems that embrace M.A.P., T.P.S. (or combination), multi coils, advance curve manipulation and
oxygen sensor open- and/or closed-loop operation. Oxygen bas parameters are adjustable.
“Also of interest, he will be working on a 6.5l - 7.0l diesel version of the Jaguar V12. He estimates around 200 hp and
envisages it will be used for marine applications.”
Mike Morrin talked with White, and reported that “Bill has got most of the parts ready for his quad cam V12; he has
(typically) done a very thorough job, involving new castings for the timing cover and each end of the 'turned' XJ40 head.
I presume this will become another standard conversion.”
ZYTEK SYSTEMS
London Road
Bassets Pole
Sutton Coalfield
West Midlands B75 5SA
+44 121 3232323
http://www.zytek.co.uk/
Makers of fancy electronic control systems for automobiles -- including the engine management system used on the
XJR-S.
ACCESSORIES
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JAGUAR MOTORING ACCESSORIES
606 N. Milpas St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93103
+1 (805) 966-7158 FAX: +1 (805) 564-4118
Has Mini-Mag flashlights engraved with the Jaguar logo, Jaguar Christmas ornaments, many other accessories.
TS IMPORTS/MOTORING EXTRAS
+1 (419) 384-3022 FAX: +1 (419) 384-3272
Orders only: 1-800-543-6648
Key fobs, T-shirts, patches, etc.
PUBLICATIONS & PERIODICALS
AMAZON.COM
http://www.amazon.com
The world’s biggest and most famous bookstore.
AUTO BOOK CENTER (formerly HYDRO-E-LECTRIC)
45-A Morton Station Road
Charlton, MA 01507
+1 (508) 248-0850
1-800-448-6244
According to John Horner, carries “Shop manuals; parts books (a great resource); sets of service bulletins; also owner’s
manuals for most Jags. The shop manual, parts manual, and Borg-Warner transmission manual were all good quality full
size reprints. The reprints are spiral bound, which is very practical for an owners manual. Also, the quality of printing is
quite good with all diagrams very clear and readable.”
ROBERT BENTLEY, Publishers
1734 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
1-800-423-4595 or +1 (617) 547-4170
http://www.bentleypublishers.com/
Jaguar factory shop manuals, parts catalogs, and driver’s handbooks.
BOOKSPEED
16 Salamander Yards
Edinburgh EH6 7DD (UK)
(+44) 0131 467 8100 Fax: (+44) 0131 467 8008
http://www.bookspeed.com/
Source for an extensive collection of Jaguar books and manuals.
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CLASSIC MOTORBOOKS
729 Prospect Avenue
P.O. Box 1
Osceola, WI 54020-0001
1-800-826-6600 Overseas: +1 (715) 294-3345
The actual company name is Motorbooks International, and they publish books under this name. Classic Motorbooks is
one of their retail divisions. They are not affiliated with the UK or Australian companies with similar names.
HAYNES PUBLICATIONS INC
861 Lawrence Drive
Newbury Park, California 91320 (US)
+1 (805) 498-6703 Fax: +1 (805) 498-2867
e-mail: info@haynes.com
http://www.haynes.com
Source of the Haynes workshop manuals.
HAYNES PUBLISHING GROUP
Sparkford Nr Yeovil
Somerset BA22 JJ (UK)
HEMMINGS MOTOR NEWS
Box 100
Bennington, VT 05201
KELSEY PUBLISHING LTD
PO Box 13
Westerham, Kent TN16 3WT UK
+44 1959 541444 Fax: +44 1959 541400
e-mail: jagworld@aol.com
Publishers of Jaguar World and XJS Bulletin magazines.
MOTORBOOKS INTERNATIONAL
See Classic Motorbooks, above.
MOTOR BOOKS
233 Military Road
Cremorne 2090
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
+61 2-9909-1144
Stefan Kjellberg: “They seem to have a good selection of Jag manuals & books.”
723
EWA & MINIATURE CARS USA, INC. (Eric Waiter)
205 Route 22 East
Green Brook, NJ 08812
Orders only: 1-800-EWA-4454 (1-800-392-4454)
email: ewa@ewacars.com
FTP: ftp.ewacars.com/pub/ewacars
http://www.ewacars.com
The US distributor of Jaguar World and Jaguar Automobilia Collector magazines, as well as a lengthy list of other
British automotive magazines. Also issues a quarterly listing of automotive scale models, books, handbooks and
manuals, general autobooks, videos, even books about models!
MODELS
It is not likely you will find a model of the XJ-S in your local K-Mart. However, if you find a hobby shop that
will special-order models, Hasegawa makes several XJ-S models including some models of XJ-S race cars. Hasegawa
model CA-1 is a 1:24 scale stock street model. This is apparently a model of the Japan- or UK-issue car, as it is right-
hand drive, the wipers park to the right, and it has the European style single headlight units. For those of us who haven’t
built a model in 20 years, the price causes sticker shock: about $25. But it is remarkably detailed and accurate, including
a complete interior with all gauges, switches and pedals, and an engine accurate enough for you to learn where things
are you can’t see in your engine compartment. The rear suspension is complete with individual shock absorbers. The
wheels are the older 5-point domed alloy style. The tires are rubber and actually say “Pirelli P5” and “215/70VR15” on
them.
JAGUAR MODEL WORLD
P.O. Box 40,
Hornchurch, Essex RM11 3LG (UK)
FAX: +44 1708 475993
All the obscure Jaguar models you could possibly want.
MODEL EXPO, INC.
Dept. HMN33, P.O.Box 1000
Industrial Park Drive
Mt. Pocono, PA 18344
1-800-222-3876
Dealer for Burago die-cast metal models, 1:18 and 1:24 scale.
TOYS FOR COLLECTORS
P.O. Box 1406
Attleboro Falls, MA 02763
+1 (508) 695-0588
$5 catalog.
724
EXOTO TIFOSI
+1 (818) 305-1358
According to Mike Plechaty: “Models in various scales of just about everything ranging in price from $16.95 to
$25,000, or so. The catalog is 268 pages 8-1/2x11 format complete with b&w photos & costs $7.”
EWA (see listing under Publications, page 724)
INTERNET SOURCES
There are many valuable Jaguar-related resources on the Internet. In addition to the sources described below, e-mail
addresses and WWW URL’s have been included in the listing of sources where applicable.
Please note that many functions on the Internet are case-sensitive; typing capital letters in commands, addresses, or the
like when lower-case letters are required (or vice versa) will often result in failure. Always enter addresses and
commands exactly as they are written.
Author of this book: See flyer page at the front for e-mail address.
Walt's Jaguar Tip of the Week: You can subscribe to receive Walt Osborn’s free tips by writing to
ray@vintagejag.com.
Discussion lists: If you have access to Internet e-mail, you can join a “list”. A list is a system by which an e-mail
message is forwarded to everyone on a mailing list automatically. Such a system facilitates group discussions, with
everyone’s questions, comments, and expertise being read by everyone else. There are thousands of such lists, covering
almost any conceivable topic from camels to rock groups.
Most lists have one address to send messages to the list members, and another address to send subscription requests or
other administrative stuff. Some systems are fully automated, requiring a specific format subscription request. If you’re
having trouble, most lists have an “admin” that can be contacted by addressing a message to the same address as the list
itself preceded by “owner-”; for example, you can contact the admin of the xj-s list by addressing your message to
owner-xj-s@jag-lovers.org. Please remember that admins are typically volunteers.
All of the lists described here are free of charge; the term “subscribe” means merely to add your own e-mail address to
the distribution list, and is not meant to imply that you need to write a check or anything.
Most lists also offer a “digest” option in which all the messages are saved up for a specified time and then sent as one
long message. There is no less text involved; “digest” doesn’t mean it’s edited or shortened in any way, just that it’s all
put into a single message. There is no value in this unless your Internet Service Provider charges on a per-message basis
or some such.
Also note that many lists have alternative methods of subscribing that make use of the World Wide Web; just surf to a
site and sign up for a list by simply filling in a few blanks. The jag-lovers lists mentioned below have such an option; just
visit
http://www.jag-lovers.org
and sign up for the lists of your choice online.
725
When you first subscribe to a list, you will automatically be sent an introductory message containing instructions on how
to unsubscribe, “netiquette”, how to find FAQ’s, etc. Please read the guidelines carefully before jumping in and
offending all the other subscribers.
Note that most -- possibly all -- of the lists run on the jag-lovers server are set up so that they will not accept a message
for posting from a non-member; if you want to post a question, you must subscribe first. It’s easy to do, and you can
always unsubscribe shortly thereafter just as easily.
Here are some lists that may be of help to the Jaguar XJ-S owner:
xj-s: A list specifically intended for Jaguar XJ-S enthusiasts can be joined by sending a message to:
majordomo@jag-lovers.org
with the words “subscribe xj-s” or “subscribe xj-s-digest” in the body of the message. Note that the “Subject” header is
ignored, the command must be in the body.
To send messages for distribution to the group, address them to:
xj-s@jag-lovers.org
An opinion from this author: if you own an XJ-S, it is highly recommended that you find a way to subscribe to the xj-s
discussion list and to search the list archives. If necessary, buy a computer and learn how to use it. It is no exaggeration
to claim that the benefits of list membership will most certainly pay for that computer in short order.
v12-engine: A list specifically intended for Jaguar V12 enthusiasts can be joined by sending a message to:
majordomo@jag-lovers.org
with the words “subscribe v12-engine” or “subscribe v12-engine-digest” in the body of the message.
To send messages for distribution to the group, address them to:
v12-engine@jag-lovers.org
In general, it’s a good idea for owners of V12 XJ-S’s to subscribe to both the xj-s and v12-engine lists, and post
questions relating to the engine on the v12-engine list and questions relating to the rest of the car on the xj-s list.
Owners of XJ12’s should sign up for the v12-engine list plus the “xj” list, which is where SI/II/III XJ6’s are discussed;
between the two lists, they should be able to obtain answers on the various parts of their cars. Owners of 6-cylinder
XJ-S’s should sign up for the xj-s list plus the “modern” list; the modern list includes XJ40’s, so the AJ6 engine is
commonly discussed there.
There are several other Jaguar-related lists at this same server. To obtain a complete listing, send a message to that
same majordomo address and type “lists” in the body of the message. Or, visit the WWW site mentioned above.
british-cars: Another list, intended for enthusiasts of all British cars, can be joined by sending a request to:
british-cars-request@autox.team.net
Messages to be distributed to the group can be sent to:
british-cars@autox.team.net
They mostly discuss MG/Triumph/Healey/Rover etc., but Jaguars are included occasionally.
LIST ARCHIVES: Discussion lists will usually maintain a set of archives, so that “newbies” can read the discussions
that have occurred in the past -- thereby minimizing the need to dredge up old topics again. For most lists run through a
726
majordomo, you can obtain an index of the archives by sending a message to the majordomo address with the words:
index <listname>
in the message body, where <listname> is the name of the particular list you’re interested in. Once you have received
the index, you send another message to the majordomo with the words:
get <listname> <filename>
The filenames will usually indicate a date, so you can tell which archive you’re getting. Since you don’t have to wait for
someone to write back with a reply to your question, quite often downloading the archives and doing a search of them
for keywords will find an answer faster than just posting a question to the list.
Some lists also maintain a file called “CONTENTS” or some such. If found and downloaded (using the same “get”
command described above), it provides a much better way of finding the particular archive you need, since it includes
information on the topics covered rather than just the date.
If the list in question maintains a web site, web-browsing capability can make searching list archives much easier than
fiddling with the majordomo. Just visit the site and follow directions.
Note that the jag-lovers site includes archive browse and search facilities, and this is the only way you will get to visit
their archives. It requires a sign-in, primarily to verify that you understand the legal ramifications of using info found
there.
USENET NEWSGROUPS: Don’t confuse discussion lists with UseNet Newsgroups; the functions are similar but not
the same. With a discussion list, messages posted to a central server are forwarded to every e-mail address on a
subscription list. With newsgroups, messages are posted to a newsgroup, and various “news servers” all over the world
periodically obtain copies of all the messages in particular newsgroups for review by users who have authorized access
to that news server. When you first connect to a news server, you can obtain a list of all the newsgroups it carries,
which may be as many as 30,000 -- yes, being able to automate a search will be helpful! Once you select a newsgroup
you’re interested in, you can obtain a list of all the subject headers for all the messages currently posted to that
newsgroup. Then you can select which messages you actually want to download and read. Messages are automatically
deleted after some set amount of time to prevent the system from loading up with obsolete messages. There are usually
no archives kept.
The news servers are supposed to be local to minimize data transfer over the Internet; messages are distributed
automatically to all news servers carrying that newsgroup during periods of low traffic. Users are usually only
authorized to use a particular news server that is associated with their ISP. If that news server doesn’t happen to carry
the newsgroup the user is interested in, he has to complain to his ISP to see if he can convince them to start carrying it.
There is special software available for viewing newsgroups, although modern web browsers often include a newsgroup
viewing utility. If you use them a lot, a software package such as News Xpress is recommended.
At this writing, there are no known Jaguar-related newsgroups. There have been discussions about starting one, though,
since they handle heavy message loads better than discussion lists.
FTP SITES: An FTP (file transfer protocol) site is a location on the Internet where directories of files can be accessed
and downloaded to your own computer. On automotive-related sites, such files will often include collections of
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), pictures (GIF and JPEG files), lists of parts and service suppliers, and other items of
interest. Almost all FTP sites allow logging in as “anonymous” and entering your own e-mail address as a password.
Some systems provide Internet e-mail but don’t provide access to FTP sites. For such situations, a system has been
established wherein access to FTP files can be accomplished via e-mail; files are “mailed” to your address. To get
instructions, send e-mail to:
server@ingr.com
727
with “/HELP” in the body of the message. The server will automatically send you the help file with further instructions.
british-cars: This group maintains a collection of files on an FTP site:
triumph.cs.utah.edu (155.99.208.4)
The british-cars files are in directory /pub/sol/, with picture files in directory /pub/sol/Images/.
WORLD WIDE WEB: If you have WWW-browsing capability, the number of sites of interest to Jaguar owners seems
to grow every day. The “address” for a WWW site is called a URL, and it begins with http:// followed by a server name
and perhaps a subdirectory and filename.
Also note that, in this Word 97 document, URL’s have been formatted as hyperlinks -- which makes them blue and
underlined. It also means that, if you are viewing on a computer with a properly-installed browser, you can merely
point-and-click on one of these hyperlinks and it will automatically start the browser and take you to that site. Of
course, if you’re reading this book on paper, it’s just a pretty blue color.
Some URLs of interest to Jaguar owners:
Jaguar: Jaguar has its own WWW site:
http://www.jaguarcars.com
jag-lovers: The jag-lover’s discussion lists maintain a site on the WWW:
http://www.jag-lovers.org
The jag-lover’s site contains links to just about everything else on the WWW pertaining to Jaguars. Archives for the jag-
lovers.org discussion lists are browsable and searchable. This author also maintains a recent update to this book, along
with a collection of photographs relating to things discussed in the book, at the jag-lovers site.
DealerNet - The Virtual Showroom: DealerNet can find Jaguars for sale in your area:
http://www.dealernet.com/
Alldata: Alldata maintains a list of the Technical Service Bulletins (TSB’s) on many cars, including Jaguars, and
provides access for a fee. They maintain a page on the WWW and allow users to see what is available for their car as
well as provide trial access. Their WWW page is at:
http://www.alldata.tsb.com
Michael Minglin points out that there is an online ongoing discussion of air conditioning issues at:
http://www.aircondition.com/wwwboard/index2.htm
Kirby Palm’s Home Page: Includes a guide on proper Jaguar etiquette:
http://www.nettally.com/palmk/
728
INTERNET RELAY CHAT: IRC is a special application of the Internet that requires WWW browsing capability plus
special IRC software. Suitable software can be downloaded from several places on the WWW, including
http://www.mirc.co.uk
With IRC, usually you log into one of several IRC networks (all of which reside on the Internet) and join in on real-time
discussions with other people who happen to be there at the same time. Each network offers a huge selection of “chat
rooms” to choose from, each dedicated to a specific topic; if you want, you can apply to get new chat rooms created.
The jag-lovers discussion list has set up its own chat room, but it is not carried by the various IRC networks. Rather, it
is available only via the jag-lovers server itself. The standard IRC software can be used, but it’s also possible to join in
from the jag-lovers web site using an interface available there. The IRC software is more convenient, though, so if you
get into the chat habit you probably should go ahead and download it.
This, of course, is not exactly the busiest chat room on the net. In general, the subscribers to the lists post a message
declaring a time that everyone is to meet for a chat. Most other times, this chat room will be totally empty.
729
CLUBS
The scope of this book includes assisting the Jag owner in getting in touch with his local club. However, it is not
practical to list all the Jaguar clubs in the US or the world. The list for the US alone is about 50 pages, and since it
already exists, it would be redundant to attempt to establish a second listing.
Jaguar Clubs of North America (JCNA) maintains the list of clubs in the US. To obtain a copy of the list, as well as
other Jaguar club info, contact:
Jaguar Journal
P.O. Box 220
Stormville, NY 12582
+1 (201) 818-8500
or:
Jaguar Clubs of North America, Inc.
555 MacArthur Blvd.
Manwah, NJ 07430-2327
+1 (201) 818-8144 FAX: +1 (201) 818-0281
If there is no local club near you, you can join JCNA “Membership-At-Large” (M-A-L). Contact:
Jaguar Clubs of North America, Inc.
National Office
Nelson Rath
+1 (502) 245-5827
e-mail: nnrath@prodigy.net
For club info in the UK, contact:
Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club Ltd.
Thelma Brotton
Stoneycroft, Moor Lane, Birdwell
Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 5TZ
+44 (0)1226 740754 (9am to 9pm) Fax: +44 (0) 1226 293581
Mobile: +44 (0)374 125765
Actually, JEC can provide some parts -- such as a longer banjo bolt for the back end of the tappet blocks. Accept credit
cards, will ship worldwide.
Jaguar Car Club
Barbary, Chobham Road, Horsell,
Woking, Surrey GU21 4AS
+44 1483 763811
Membership secretary: Jeff Holman.
And, just because Willem Noorloos was nice enough to provide the information, here are the three clubs in the
Netherlands:
Jaguar Daimler Club Holland, Rotterdam, F. Verbrache, 010-4821212
Jaguar Drivers Club, Aalter, J. v/d Elst, 09 374 11 71
Classic Jaguar Club Z-Limburg, Heerlen, A. Wolfs, 045-5229965
730
HERITAGE CERTIFICATE
You can obtain the production records on your Jaguar. Quoting from the application form: “A JDHT Heritage
Certificate is a Certificate which gives all the relevant information on your car taken from the original records. It will
confirm the original build numbers and colour scheme, give the dates of build and despatch, as well as the original
destination of the car. Where recorded, the name of the first owner and the original registration mark are also included
on the Certificate.”
You must provide a photocopy of your registration or some other proof of ownership or existence of the car.
Contact:
Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, Archive Department
Jaguar Cars Ltd.
Browns Lane, Coventry CV5 9DR (UK)
Phone: +44 24 7620 2141 or 2743 Fax: +44 24 7640 5581
From Brian Sherwood: “I recently sent for a certificate for my ’84 XJ-S from JCNA, trying to confirm that several
pieces of optional equipment were factory or TWR options.
1. You have to send them all the eng/trans/body/VIN numbers- they will “verify” them (?).
2. Took six weeks to receive reply.
3. Certificate does not say anything about optional equipment. Doesn’t even say what dealer initially
sold the car.
“Unless you have a collector’s class early car (XK, etc.), save your money for parts.”
731
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