Well, it's been 3 weeks now with The XJ6-III "luxo-yacht" (to quote someone
on the list :-) I thought I'd post and tell those interested what I mave been
up to...
Week 1:
It's a Jag...it's a Jag...it's a Jag!!!! I am thinking (loudly in my head) as
I drive around in my new beastie. I must say that after years of driving
rusty "student-bombs" I felt a bit self-conscious and slightly embarrased to
be driving such a luxurous and sexy car. This continued for about the first
week before I started thinking..."What's everyones problem, why don't they all
drive Jaguars...only people with Jaguars should be allowed to hold a license
;-)
That weekend, it's time to change the oil...Hmmm I'm gonna need some extra
tools...so I trot off and buy a set of sturdy ramps (as I can't get under the
thing)
an extra oil drain pan (now I have two undersized oil pans that should just
about hold the oil) a filter (not as expensive as the Rolls filter I saw
talked about here earlier, but about 2X the price I am used to paying for a
oil filter) and 2.6 gallons of oil. These Jag sixes take a lot of oil...my
302 Ford V8 only needs about 1/2 that. So the Jag is up on ramps and I am
lying on my back watching the old oil "gloop" into a pair of undersized drain
pans set side-by-side to take the volume. Getting at the oil filter from
underneath the car was not much of aproblem but once I had undone it actually
getting the filter out from it's position while not too difficult is extreemly
messy.
It seems that the engineers at Jaguar UK put considerable effort into
calculating all possible permutations of the orientation of a spent oil filter
and designed the car so that in order to extricate the old filter from its
position (deep in the engine bay), you must rotate the filter through those
50% of orientations that have the filter gushing, trickling or spilling oil
all over the steering rack, boots and suspension which have likewise been
carefully designed in order to trap, pool and segment the oil spillage in such
a way that it turns from a single stream into "oil rain" dripping off an area
about 2' square exactly over the area your chest and head would be positioned
if you were to lay under the car in order to extract the filter :-).
All in all, the most fun (really) I have ever had changing an oil filter
in my life...I was wearing an oily grin for hours afterward.
Week 2: Amazed that (so far) the car had only cost me 2 gallons of oil,
a set of ramps, a filter and $20 in gas, I was surprised that keeping a
a Jaguar on the road could cost so little :-) Pleasurable too....except
for that "tink, tink, tink" sound comming from the region of the boot as I
drove along. A quick search revealed two "flapper valves" to be the cause
of the problem (at least that's what I thought). Jaguar (UK) once again, in
it's infinite wisdom decided to fit XJ6 with these little rectangulr metal
flaps (hinged by material) that are about 4"x 2" and live on the wall that
separates the rear seat from the boot. Their purpose (as far as I could tell)
is to allow air to flow from the interior of the car into the boot and out the
air extraction setup (two vents) in the spare wheel well in floor of the boot.
So after stuffing a rag in them as a temporary fix :-) I'm off down the
road...tink, tink, tink...Hmmmm. Another 1.5 hours of contorted searching
(removing the rear seat, parcel tray, boot lining) reveals a row of FIVE more
flapper valves attached to a metal tray bolted to the underside of the rear
parcel tray along the rear window. Five more pieces of rag later all is quiet
...except now I can hear the bearing in the diff whining between 20-60 km/hr
I knew that was there before but now its more noticable than before (without
the distracting "tink, tink" of the flapper valves). As pulling the diff
out is beyond my current location, tools and ability I think $250 given
to my local Jaguar mechanic will be well $250 spent. I wonder what noise lurks
beneath the bearing whine. This is more like it $250 is starting to look
more like the sort of money one should be spending a week on ones Jag :-)
Week 3: Carefully checking all the rubber hoses in the engine bay I notice
I will have to replace the top radiator hose (has a bulge) and the fuel line
that runs from the fuel rail to the cold-start injector (cracking). This one
looks difficult to get to, that's why it's been left so long. Any hints?
For now I'll live with the dropping head-lining and the slightly rich
idle mixture. I'll keep you up to date as I continue on that long expensive
road to concourse condition. Not that I will get there, I'm just on it :-)
Regards Scott.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Scott Fisher [scott@psy.uwa.oz.au] PH: Aus [61] Perth (09) Local (380 3272).
_--_|\ N
Department of Psychology / \ W + E
University of Western Australia. Perth --> *_.--._/ S
Nedlands, 6009. PERTH, W.A. v
Joy is a Jaguar XJ-6 with a flat battery, a blown oil seal and an unsympathetic
wife, 9km outside of a small remote town, 3:15am on a cold wet winters morning.
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