Took a break from the Jag, but ended up tired and sweaty regardless. Testing out the new Nikon D40x after a day of gardening.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Testing the new Nikon D40x
Took a break from the Jag, but ended up tired and sweaty regardless. Testing out the new Nikon D40x after a day of gardening.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
New front brakes
The front brakes are one of the last remaining items on the Jag that need to be replaced before I can get a Ministry of Transport (MOT) Safety certificate.
In typical Jaguar fashion it isn't the 20min job you're probably used to. The hub needs to be removed from the disc first.
The hub bolts are accessed from behind the brake disc. There is an "aperture" in the brake disc shield to aid in removing the bolts, but I found it cumbersome to use and thus removed the brake disc shield altogether. This gave me the chance to do some rust removal as well.
To prevent the hub from spinning while removing the bolts, I tied the hub to the shocks. This seems to work well, and I was able to remove all 5 bolts quite quickly once I got the hang of it.
Once all 5 bolts are removed, the hub is slid off after removing the last nut and split pin hidden under the grease cap.
The original brake disc pads had a decent amount of meat left on them but since I had new pads in hand I decided to change them regardless.
Looking closely at the brake disc caliper shows that the pistons have corroded quite nicely and will need replacing. Luckily they are not seized and if they are kept in use, they should last me a few more years.
In typical Jaguar fashion it isn't the 20min job you're probably used to. The hub needs to be removed from the disc first.
The hub bolts are accessed from behind the brake disc. There is an "aperture" in the brake disc shield to aid in removing the bolts, but I found it cumbersome to use and thus removed the brake disc shield altogether. This gave me the chance to do some rust removal as well.
To prevent the hub from spinning while removing the bolts, I tied the hub to the shocks. This seems to work well, and I was able to remove all 5 bolts quite quickly once I got the hang of it.
Once all 5 bolts are removed, the hub is slid off after removing the last nut and split pin hidden under the grease cap.The original brake disc pads had a decent amount of meat left on them but since I had new pads in hand I decided to change them regardless.
Looking closely at the brake disc caliper shows that the pistons have corroded quite nicely and will need replacing. Luckily they are not seized and if they are kept in use, they should last me a few more years.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Rebuilt Rear Suspension
Its not the prettiest rebuild. But you're looking at a complete tear down and rebuild.
- New nuts and bolts for everything
- New bushings for everything
- New Brembo brake discs
- Rebuilt brake disc calipers
- New brake disc pads
- New Bilstein Sport Touring shocks
- New H&R coil springs
- Rebuilt handbrake calipers
- New handbrake caliper pads
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Adjusting the A/C Compressor
In an effort to figure out why I have almost no clearance between the A/C Compressor pulley belt and the coolant filler neck, I decided to remove the compressor and investigate.
I soon realised that Jaguar used spacers under the rear compressor mounting bracket to lift the compressor slightly. I fit the spacers and remounted the compressor but I don't think I gained anything. Perhaps I should add my own washers to the spacers to increase the height even further.
I soon realised that Jaguar used spacers under the rear compressor mounting bracket to lift the compressor slightly. I fit the spacers and remounted the compressor but I don't think I gained anything. Perhaps I should add my own washers to the spacers to increase the height even further.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Analysing the 2010 Jaguar XJ
Headlights
Cockpit
Taillights
Driver's seat controls
Really?
To be continued...
Cockpit
Taillights
Driver's seat controls
Really?
To be continued...
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Third Start = Pass!
I managed to tune the carbs to a 900RPM idle. While tunning the carbs I noticed that the oil pressure at 3000RPM is a good 70PSI. Whilst at idle, its almost nil. I suspect this is almost normal operation for this car. A heavier oil (the car currently has 10W40) may register some oil pressure at idle. So things are looking promising!
The revs don't drop smoothly back to idle. They drop a few thousand, and then sit there, until you tap the gas again. Kinda like a rotary engine. I can hear a hissing sound from some of the vacuum connections, so I susepect the sticky idle maybe due to a vacuum leak.
If you can withstand the deafening ignition lock/key/something buzzer, here is another video.
I would like to thank everyone that has helped me on the JagLovers forum, as well as the members of the Ottawa Jaguar Club. Without your help, this car would have been crushed many months ago. I hope one day I will be able to give back to the community with my own expertise.
The revs don't drop smoothly back to idle. They drop a few thousand, and then sit there, until you tap the gas again. Kinda like a rotary engine. I can hear a hissing sound from some of the vacuum connections, so I susepect the sticky idle maybe due to a vacuum leak.
If you can withstand the deafening ignition lock/key/something buzzer, here is another video.
I would like to thank everyone that has helped me on the JagLovers forum, as well as the members of the Ottawa Jaguar Club. Without your help, this car would have been crushed many months ago. I hope one day I will be able to give back to the community with my own expertise.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Second Start = Marginal Pass
The water leak revealed in the first start was caused by the left thermostat housing gasket. It was replaced. All leaks seem to have seized now. Including the fuel leak from the float chamber plugs.
I managed to drag my sister out in the garage to film the engine running for everyone to see and hear.
This was actually the 3rd or 4th start. For the actual 2nd start, I didn't have a camera. During the actual second start, the oil pressure peaked at 70psi. In this start, it did not cross 20psi. The oil warning light does not come on.
Water temperature was unavailable. The rev count is not working either. I'll take the fascia out and recheck the connections to the gauges. Nevertheless the system feels a little too hot. In just 2 minutes, the valve covers became far too hot to touch. However the coolant temperature in the expansion bottle is around 40degC (finger test).
The vacuum line to the right hand side induction manifold has not been clamped down properly yet. I need to purchase more hose clamps. There was a slight hissing sound from that connection once the ignition was turned off.
There is an electrical whining sound from somewhere under the gear lever. It occurs whenever the battery is connected.
The car starts (without choke) and stops (with the key) as any normal car should. I did not want to run the engine for more than a minute without a working water temperature sensor, so I switched the ignition off once the car started idling.
I managed to drag my sister out in the garage to film the engine running for everyone to see and hear.
This was actually the 3rd or 4th start. For the actual 2nd start, I didn't have a camera. During the actual second start, the oil pressure peaked at 70psi. In this start, it did not cross 20psi. The oil warning light does not come on.
Water temperature was unavailable. The rev count is not working either. I'll take the fascia out and recheck the connections to the gauges. Nevertheless the system feels a little too hot. In just 2 minutes, the valve covers became far too hot to touch. However the coolant temperature in the expansion bottle is around 40degC (finger test).
The vacuum line to the right hand side induction manifold has not been clamped down properly yet. I need to purchase more hose clamps. There was a slight hissing sound from that connection once the ignition was turned off.
There is an electrical whining sound from somewhere under the gear lever. It occurs whenever the battery is connected.
The car starts (without choke) and stops (with the key) as any normal car should. I did not want to run the engine for more than a minute without a working water temperature sensor, so I switched the ignition off once the car started idling.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
First Start = Fail
The first start after 5 months was a serious fail. The thermostat housing gasket on the left hand side of the car had slipped during installation and I didn't notice it until I started the car. The car started quite easily, but due to the slipped gasket, there was a massive spray of coolant all over the place. Nevertheless the car sounded pretty good.
A few issues though. The carbs are leaking fuel from the float chamber plugs. I've ordered new O-rings and plastic plugs from XKs Unlimited.
And to add to my nuances, the new spark plug wires I bought from FasterJags didn't fit my V12. I had specifically told Brian Walker that they were to be used on my 1974 XJ12, and he said it would be fine, "we've sold hundreds of these without any issues" - he said. This was really annoying considering these were supposedly "premium wires". The actual wire construction seems pretty good but, I'm definitely not buying anything again from FasterJags. I have zero tollerance for this kind of bullshit.
It took about 3hours to change out the gasket thanks to the retarded water rail design.
For the first time I noticed a clearance problem between the compressor belt and the cross pipe filler neck. They are not touching, but the space between them is only paper thin. I spent about 2 hours on this last night, whenever I clear the belt, as soon as I tighten the pipe-to-water-pump hose, the pipe straightens out again and gets closer to the belt. Any ideas?
A few issues though. The carbs are leaking fuel from the float chamber plugs. I've ordered new O-rings and plastic plugs from XKs Unlimited.
And to add to my nuances, the new spark plug wires I bought from FasterJags didn't fit my V12. I had specifically told Brian Walker that they were to be used on my 1974 XJ12, and he said it would be fine, "we've sold hundreds of these without any issues" - he said. This was really annoying considering these were supposedly "premium wires". The actual wire construction seems pretty good but, I'm definitely not buying anything again from FasterJags. I have zero tollerance for this kind of bullshit.
It took about 3hours to change out the gasket thanks to the retarded water rail design.
For the first time I noticed a clearance problem between the compressor belt and the cross pipe filler neck. They are not touching, but the space between them is only paper thin. I spent about 2 hours on this last night, whenever I clear the belt, as soon as I tighten the pipe-to-water-pump hose, the pipe straightens out again and gets closer to the belt. Any ideas?
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Frustration
Actually frustration is a gross understatement to how I'm feeling right now.
All ready to put fluids back into the car to start it up and this stupid tube for the engine oil dipstick came out of the engine.
[DELETED: a huge rant on why I hate this car]
So this is what I think the dipstick tube goes into. I've removed the bolts from the exhaust shields and let it slide down a bit. You can just make out a hole in the engine. For the sake of orientation, the first two pictures were taken looking down the tube. The last two were taken with my head resting on the tie rod. The hole is not visible in the first picture. There seems to be 2 threads in the hole.
Does anyone know if this is the right place? Will it just go in if I try to push it back in? I'll have to wait till the weekend to get a friend to come round and help me with it. Someone to push the tube, and someone to guide it from under the car.
SOLVED: A very big thanks to John Testrake for the photos.
All ready to put fluids back into the car to start it up and this stupid tube for the engine oil dipstick came out of the engine.
[DELETED: a huge rant on why I hate this car]
So this is what I think the dipstick tube goes into. I've removed the bolts from the exhaust shields and let it slide down a bit. You can just make out a hole in the engine. For the sake of orientation, the first two pictures were taken looking down the tube. The last two were taken with my head resting on the tie rod. The hole is not visible in the first picture. There seems to be 2 threads in the hole.
Does anyone know if this is the right place? Will it just go in if I try to push it back in? I'll have to wait till the weekend to get a friend to come round and help me with it. Someone to push the tube, and someone to guide it from under the car.
SOLVED: A very big thanks to John Testrake for the photos.
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