[xj] RE; Intermittent fuel pump bypass PLUS Polishing fuel/water rails

XJ
1

Several of you kindly responded when I asked why my method of reducing
wear on the starter via tricking the fuel pump to run by starting with
the transmission in “D” only worked intermittently.

Acting on your advice I did trace the yellow/white wire to the starter
rely and found a loose connection. A bit of tightening and the problem
seems to be solved. And so my thanks to all. However, I printed and am
keeping all the other tips I received.

I am slowly working on getting the engine compartment decently clean and
have tried to polish my fuel and water rails in the engine compartment but
with little improvement. I do not even know what metal they are made of.
Any advice on this would be welcomed.

sincerely,

Dave Hardy===================================================
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2

Hi Dave -

Unless I am mistaken - and it would certainly not be the first time

  • both the fuel rail and the air rail (I assume you really meant to
    say air rail since the water rail is painted black) are stainless
    steel. I found that the best way to clean mine was to begin with some
    abrasive to remove all the old corrosion and accumulated deposits. I
    used fairly fine - I think 600 grit but it might have been 400 -
    wet-and-dry sandpaper, dry. You could equally well use abrasive wool,
    but if you do I would recommend bronze wool rather than steel wool,
    since steel wool will leave residue everywhere which will instantly
    rust and stain the aluminum head wherever it lands, even after you
    think you have got rid of all the bits. In any case, follow up the
    abrasive with a thorough vacuuming since you don’t want the residue
    ending up in your engine the next time you change the plugs. A Dremel
    or similar tool would also be useful if you want to go the high-tech
    route… :wink:

After that, I just polished in the normal way, using progressively
less abrasive polishes. I found that using Brasso followed by Eagle
(I think it was - might have been Mother’s) mag and chrome wheel
polish worked well. All of this is much easier with the rails out of
the car - and if they are I think you can then get a heat-resistant
clear paint to keep them from tarnishing for a while at least.

Me, I am a strange type and find polishing engine bits therapeutic -
it induce a Zen-like trance - so I just left them uncoated. You can
see the results on my XJ6 engine at
http://www.jag-lovers.org/snapsdata/4~984267806.JPG and decide for
yourself if my method is good enough for you.

Cheers,
Loudon-
85 VdP6, Josephine, 77K miles
86 VdP12, Gypsy, 117K kms

At 13:40 -0800 1.3.02, David I. Hardy wrote:
>

I am slowly working on getting the engine compartment decently clean and
have tried to polish my fuel and water rails in the engine compartment but
with little improvement. I do not even know what metal they are made of.
Any advice on this would be welcomed.

===================================================
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3

Hi Loudon,

The air and fuel rails are carbon steel which has been plated (they are
unfortunately not stainless steel). The fuel rail is gold-cadmium plated,
and the air rail is zinc or silver-cad plated (or a light shade of gold cad,
not sure). I cleaned my fuel rail with a soft brass brush, and then clear
coated it. The air rail was corroded to the point that it needed silver
paint, until I get a chance to have it replated. If you use steel wool or
sandpaper on them, they must be coated again in some manner to prevent them
from rusting quickly!

Hank===================================================
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4

Hi Hank -

Ah well, I was wrong then - again! :wink:

When I got my XJ6 the fuel and air rails were very dirty and dull and
coated with quite heavy deposits. When I cleaned them I never noticed
any sign of either cadmium plating or rust, though there was
definitely some pitting (slight) and surface corrosion, but no rust
as far as I recall. (Contrary to popular belief stainless steel will
corrode especially in a hostile environment.) Nothing other than an
abrasive treatment was going to get them even close to clean, and I
tried all kinds of polishes before resorting to sandpaper. There has
not been any sign of rust in over two years since. They do tend to
get dull though, so I give them a lick of polish every once in a
while. And if they were plated at one time the plating is long since
gone - presumably the last vestiges were removed by me when I cleaned
them. But I find it surprising that even after sitting for several
months over the winter in an unheated garage they show absolutely no
sign of rust - a little surface dullness is all. Perhaps I am just
lucky?

In any case I agree that if you don’t want to have to keep after
them, recoating them after cleaning is the way to go. You’re sure
they are not stainless?

Cheers,
Loudon-
85 VdP6, Josephine, 77K miles
86 VdP12, Gypsy, 117K kms

At 22:58 -0500 1.3.02, Jaghpo@aol.com wrote:>Hi Loudon,

The air and fuel rails are carbon steel which has been plated (they are
unfortunately not stainless steel). The fuel rail is gold-cadmium plated,
and the air rail is zinc or silver-cad plated (or a light shade of gold cad,
not sure).

===================================================
The archives and FAQ will answer many queries on the XJ series…
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5

Hi Loudon,
Wow, very nice engine bay. I wonder if you would answer a couple of
questions?

I notice you’ve got a “tee” style battery bracket. I’ve got one as well,
but haven’t found a battery to use it with. What kind of battery did you
find that would accept the bracket? If I understand the bracket, it is
supposed to bolt into the fixed nut back near the firewall, right?

Now on the engine bay, it really looks great. Mine’s a bit (!) dirty/oily.
I’m having it steam cleaned in a couple of weeks to gain a good head start,
but then it will be up to me to stay on top of it. Have you got any
suggestions on what has worked for you? I appreciate the tips on the fuel
and air rails. Ever think of writing anything for the web site on keeping
things clean and polished?

Cheers,
Eric Mitchell
'87 XJ6 US

Date: Thu, 3 Jan 2002 20:52:43 -0500
From: Loudon Seth sethl@earthlink.net
Subject: Re: [xj]Polishing fuel/water rails

>

Me, I am a strange type and find polishing engine bits therapeutic -
it induce a Zen-like trance - so I just left them uncoated. You can
see the results on my XJ6 engine at
http://www.jag-lovers.org/snapsdata/4~984267806.JPG and decide for
yourself if my method is good enough for you.

Cheers,
Loudon-
85 VdP6, Josephine, 77K miles
86 VdP12, Gypsy, 117K kms

===================================================
The archives and FAQ will answer many queries on the XJ series…
FAQs: http://www.jag-lovers.org/xjlovers/xjfaq/index.html
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6

Loudon,

Yes, as a metalurgical engineer and a guy who also likes to detail and
polish the engine compartment, I’m very sure thaat MY fuel and air rails are
not
stainless steel (SS). The only visible parts of the car that are SS are the
window
trim, and in some cases hose clamps. If you clearcoat them after polishing
them,
or passivate their surface, or do not sand through the remaining plating, or
have a layer of oil on them, or allow condensation to occur on their
surfaces, then my experience is they will not recorrode quickly. If you had
white-colored corrosion, that
was the plating degrading (corroding), but when it is orange, that is the
underlying carbon steel rusting, which I have seen happen often on other
cars. The fact that yours get dull again without turning orange makes me
think that there is still some plating left. Polished SS stays very bright
even
in damp air, as the window trim does. You can also do a magnet check to see
if they may be SS: most SS tubing like this is made from a non-magnetic
300-series austenitic alloy. If anyone

Cheers to you too-
Hank===================================================
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7

Hi Eric -

Thanks for the compliment! I will attempt an answer re engine
cleaning separately, but it will be long so I may do it in two or
three posts. Meanwhile I did not want you to think that I was just
ignoring your post.

The battery in my XJ6 actually does not fit properly, but it was the
one that was in the car when I got it. It is an Interstate Batteries
Megatron MT-75, 660CCA, with side terminals. This battery is actually
3/4 inch too short, and the PO had had a spacer placed under the
battery to bring it up to the correct height. The correct size
(approximately) would be 9.25" wide by 7.25" deep by 8.25" high. And
yes, the battery bracket bolts to the captive nut at the firewall.

I can’t comment on the battery as to quality, except to say that it
was 2 years old when I got the car, is now 4.5+ years old, and has
not been the source of any problems. But I know nothing at all about
Interstate batteries as a brand other than this experience, and the
fact that I have seen both positive and (mildly) negative comments on
this and other lists. NAYYY… I will try to find something that fits
better when the time comes to replace it.

Cheers,
Loudon-
85 VdP6, Josephine, 77K miles
86 VdP12, Gypsy, 117K kms

At 22:19 -0800 1.3.02, Eric Mitchell wrote:>Hi Loudon,

Wow, very nice engine bay. I wonder if you would answer a couple of
questions?

I notice you’ve got a “tee” style battery bracket. I’ve got one as well,
but haven’t found a battery to use it with. What kind of battery did you
find that would accept the bracket? If I understand the bracket, it is
supposed to bolt into the fixed nut back near the firewall, right?

Now on the engine bay, it really looks great. Mine’s a bit (!) dirty/oily.
I’m having it steam cleaned in a couple of weeks to gain a good head start,
but then it will be up to me to stay on top of it. Have you got any
suggestions on what has worked for you?

===================================================
The archives and FAQ will answer many queries on the XJ series…
FAQs: http://www.jag-lovers.org/xjlovers/xjfaq/index.html
Archives: http://www.jag-lovers.org/lists/search.html

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8

Loudon, Loudon, haven’t you heard the solution? If it’s not chromed or part
of the exhaust, paint it hi-temp satin black; if it’s exhaust related, hi-temp
aluminum; and, if it can be opened for something to go in or out, paint it
yellow, so it’s easy to find; but if it’s the air intake, rip it off and throw
it in the recycling can. {:o]

Oh, and for Bob, if it slides or screws, lubricate it.–
Alex
79xj6L SII (BRG + wires)
86xj6 SIII (Black)
61 Sprite MkII (Red)
Menlo Park, Calif.

Loudon Seth wrote:

Hi Hank -

Ah well, I was wrong then - again! :wink:

When I got my XJ6 the fuel and air rails were very dirty and dull and
coated with quite heavy deposits. When I cleaned them I never noticed
any sign of either cadmium plating or rust, though there was
definitely some pitting (slight) and surface corrosion, but no rust
as far as I recall. (Contrary to popular belief stainless steel will
corrode especially in a hostile environment.) Nothing other than an
abrasive treatment was going to get them even close to clean, and I
tried all kinds of polishes before resorting to sandpaper. There has
not been any sign of rust in over two years since. They do tend to
get dull though, so I give them a lick of polish every once in a
while. And if they were plated at one time the plating is long since
gone - presumably the last vestiges were removed by me when I cleaned
them. But I find it surprising that even after sitting for several
months over the winter in an unheated garage they show absolutely no
sign of rust - a little surface dullness is all. Perhaps I am just
lucky?

In any case I agree that if you don’t want to have to keep after
them, recoating them after cleaning is the way to go. You’re sure
they are not stainless?

Cheers,
Loudon-
85 VdP6, Josephine, 77K miles
86 VdP12, Gypsy, 117K kms

At 22:58 -0500 1.3.02, Jaghpo@aol.com wrote:

Hi Loudon,

The air and fuel rails are carbon steel which has been plated (they are
unfortunately not stainless steel). The fuel rail is gold-cadmium plated,
and the air rail is zinc or silver-cad plated (or a light shade of gold cad,
not sure).

===================================================
The archives and FAQ will answer many queries on the XJ series…
FAQs: http://www.jag-lovers.org/xjlovers/xjfaq/index.html
Archives: http://www.jag-lovers.org/lists/search.html

To remove yourself from this list, go to http://www.jag-lovers.org/cgi-bin/majordomo.