I drove around 50 kilometers (31 miles) yesterday. The car felt good. Steering and idle were smooth. Idle was a little low, around 600 RPM. I may increase it a bit.
Here are pictures of the standard retaining clip which was used in the first trial and the C clip I made from a spring.
Overall, I find the power steering pump seal kit replacement relatively simple. The bottom bolt of the pump is easy to remove if you use a standard length 3/8" ratchet and your left hand. The bottom bolt is easily accessible if you reach it from the lower control arm instead of reaching it between the engine and the AC compressor with your right hand. I found out the left hand method when I changed my position under the car.
I noticed that there is a crack in the exhaust manifold.
I have completed my to-do list which I posted in October, excluding the driver’s door seal:
*Replacement of engine mounts
*Replacement of power steering pump seals
*Replacement of electric fan
I have also replaced the thermostat switch.
I have new transmission gasket and filter, so, I will replace those at some point.
Mystery solved. I believe I see what the problem was on your pump rebuild …
Look at the picture of the bottom of the plate that sits on top of the impeller assembly. You can see the wear marks where the vanes rub against it to form a tight seal, You can also see the circular indentation where the top of the shaft and the retaining clip fit into
If you look at the retaining clip that you first used you can see that the ears of the clip extend out a bit. Because of this the clip couldn’t fit inside the indentation of the top plate and therefore wouldn’t allow the plate to fit snuggly on top of the vane assembly which it needs to do to build up pressure and make the pump work. Your new retaining clip solved this problem. Who woulda thought
Dennis, it is a funny coincidence that you posted that picture of the top plate from the French site since I was about to post it as well.
Since I did not know the actual operating principle of that pump I could not believe that the retaining clip could cause a problem. But now I understand, and the problem is obvious.
Before I replaced the thermostat switch I bypassed it by disconnecting the electrical connector at the switch and connecting the two pins with a jumper wire. When I turned on the engine the electric fan worked. However, now even if I have replaced the thermostat switch the electric fan does not switch on even if I switch on the AC. According to the Haynes manual, the electric fan should switch on when AC is switched on or if coolant reaches 90 C.
What could be the problem? Could it be the cooling fan relay which is located close to the right headlight? In my opinion, it is not because the electric fan works if jumped.
Is the operation of the electric fan somehow connected with the operation of the AC compressor?
On the '89 model the only thing that controls the auxiliary electric fan is the coolant temperature via the sensor on the bottom right of the radiator, not the A/C.
That being said a lot of owners use a short jump wire between the fan relay and the A/C compressor relay. So when the compressor is energized it in turn energizes the fan. A very common little modification. Even if the A/C compressor is turned off (or even if the car is turned off) the fan still operates normally when the sensor reaches around 93C (about 200F).
By the way, Dennis, you mentioned in the thread I linked: “Missing or hardened rubber bypass flaps on the fan shroud.”
One of the flaps came off when I was doing something in the summer. The flap rubber had hardened. I taped the flap back to the shroud which means that that very flap is not working properly, of course. However, I don’t have any issues with cooling, so I may leave it the way it is, at least so far.
I just tested the jumped electric fan and it worked when I switched on the AC.
It also stopped as it should when I pushed the Economy button.
Dennis, thank you so much for your contribution once again!
Glad I could help. Also let me add that it’s a pleasure to work with someone like yourself who is obviously passionate about their car and willing to put in the work. Additionally your quick feedback on the troubleshooting you do on your problems is refreshing and is a great help to others.
Sadly there is often a dark hole out there. People often submit lengthy posts on their problems and receive a lot of feedback from forum members and then … nothing further from them.
Dennis, thanks for your supportive feedback.
This forum is great in terms of knowledge accumulation.
It seems that my AC does not hold pressure. According to the Jaguar technical bulletin from 1997, the shaft seal of the Sanden 510 compressor should be replaced in order to use the r134 refrigerant. This is common knowledge for the XJ40 owners, of course. However, special tools are needed. I wonder if someone has found another way to replace the seal.
As I have written before, I have earlier replaced the O-rings of the A/C pipes that connect to the compressor and to the thermal expansion valve, the A/C dryer, compressor oil, and A/C retrofit adapters. I was about to replace the thermal expansion valve, too, but the threads of the valve I received did not match with the other AC hose.
I got confirmation that the AC is leaking since the ports were connected to an AC charging machine. Refrigerant was added to the system, and the compressor engaged when the AC was switched on. I guess the compressor shaft seal leaks. When the system was fully charged earlier the leak detector intermittently made noise only close to the compressor clutch. So, I either have to renew the shaft seal or get a new compressor. Unfortunately, it seems that there is not a direct equivalent to the Sanden 510 compressor.
Guessing location is not the best way to approach leaking A/C systems!
Buy a 21 LED UV flashlight on eBay then take the car into total darkness. Shine the flashlight at the various components and lines in the A/C system. It will be pretty obvious where your leak(s) are located.
Larry, I bought a UV flashlight that you suggested and finally found the a/c leak on the back of the compressor which is strange because I replaced it with new O rings years ago. Thanks for the good advice.
The O-rings in the 94 factory R134A system are a bit odd in size, I had a hell of a time replacing mine - nothing in the huge eBay selection kits were right, neither the Metric or Imperial assortments fit properly.
The diameter in the Metric lot were OK but not quite fat enough or the inside diameter was too big. Finally got some correct ones from the local Jag dealer as the parts dept had them in stock because they had ordered some for a customer and they never picked them up.
My joy at finding them was pretty short lived though - the dealer wanted $40 each for them!
Parts guy told me a long yarn about how they needed to recoup the cost of shipping from wherevertheheckitwas and that was why they were priced like that.
Reluctantly, but pretty desperate at the time, I offered him $25 for them and he sold them to me.
As you can imagine, this was the LAST TIME I ever bought any parts from the Jaguar dealer. Ripoff!!
Oh and BTW, that UV dye stain sticks around forever so is it possible the stain is from the last time the system leaked there, i.e. before you replaced the O-rings last time? Just checking!!
Larry, yeah, $40 for one is a big rippoff. Even if it’s CAD and USD. Still $25 CAD is still too much and they love desperate customers. Last time when I walked in to the Naples Jag dealer I was looking for a plastic retainer for the side trims that hold the headliner. I was waiting for 30 mins for the guy to come back with the answer but I lost my patience and left. Good thing he gave me back the retainer that I had with me after looking at it. So it only cost me 30 mins and not money.
What I can do is clean off the dye with mass airflow or electrical cleaner, fill up the ac system and start the engine when it’s dark outside and check it again with the UV light.
The weak link in my setup was the condenser which all said could not be repaired but here we are 6 years later with my La-co heatstik/JB weld repair still holding. The other places which were a PIA were the ports, which as a 94 owner with factory R134A you know don’t have replaceable valves. The valves leaked pretty good and after many false starts managed to source complete new port assemblies - I think Autozone can supply them if you have the part numbers - maybe I listed the numbers in the archives? I’ll take a look.
Well I looked in the archive but no part numbers showed up but back when I was doing the A/C I posted on another site too. After a bit of searching through some catalogs, a friend in Europe was able to locate the replacement ports, they are made by Santech and here’s the guff on them: Manufacturer: Santech, http://www.santech.com/ Part number high pressure: 59972 Dimensions high pressure: 15mm X M15 X 1,0 Part number low pressure: 59973 (MT0177-1) Dimensions low pressure: 13mm X M13 X 1,0
No leaks and fitting the aftermarket heater valve that we both did a while back made the cooling even better!
If this summer or next I find the efficiency dropping off, easy to do a refill, still have my Ebay vacuum pump, set of gauges and a few cans of r134a on the shelf.
Oh and BTW Joe, the replacement ports come with the correct size and material O-rings.
Thanks for your tip concerning the UV flashlight, Larry. I will have to acquire one and shine the flashlight at the various components and lines in the A/C system.
Spring is coming so a little update. I drove the car on Christmas Eve since the weather was fine. I drove next time in late February.
Concerning the A/C leak, I shined the UV flashlight at the various components and lines in the A/C system, and noticed that the R134 retrofit adapter valve and/or cap leaked. These were replaced. However, it seems that the system still leaks. So, I have to search more. The good news is that I have found a supplier which provides a rebuilt Sanden 510 compressor.
I replaced the EAC2630 NLA thermo valve on the thermostat housing with a Febi part 06432 and it seems to work fine. The Febi valve is readily available.
However, I don’t have any issues with cooling, so I may leave it the way it is, at least so far.
