[xj40] help me through my to do list

Chris_Jamison · July 30, 2004, 11:30am

I have a 1990 xj40 4.0 sovereign with 104k miles to which I need to
carry out a few maintainance issues over the weekend. Before I do
this I just want to be clear in my head of a few questions and as
always your help is appreciated.

I checked my Distributor cap this morning and each of the
contacts is white and pitted. The brass contacts on the rotar had
lost it’s brightness but cleaned up with a green kitchen scourer
leaving me I guess just needing a new cap. I may as well change the
leads at the same time. Are the leads and cap unique to Jaguar and
must be got from a dealers or can they be purchased from Halfords
or the like. The spark plug cap end of the leads looks special to
the engine to seal the plug opening.
I have finally found my slight coolant leak, I kept hearing
Bryan say that it can only lose water from a leak or the
headgasket. Thankfully fearing that I have found that after turning
off the engine a slight trickle comes from the lower bolt securing
the waterpump to the engine. Does this mean a gasket and waterpump
removal or can the bolts work loose and just need to be tightened.
I keep intending to replace my transmission fluid, but kept
putting it off whilst I pondered whether to replace/clean/leave
alone my gearbox filter. I did post a discussion on this topic a
while back regarding this and got many mixed replies. some say
renew only with OEM (�30), others say it is course and can be
cleaned, others say leave alone for the mess it is not worth the
little benefit. I also seem to recall one lister saying that Jaguar
themselves do not renew them now so I telephoned the local dealer
that I use and spoke to the service manager who told me that on the
newer ZF 4 HP 24 E9 electronic transmission they still recommend
renewing the filter and do so themselves. He said it was an easy
job, 5 bolts to remove the sump and then a 20something torx bolt to
remove the filter. What is this Torx thingy I have to buy, and what
size do I need? I don’t need a new sump gasket I have been told as
they are rubber and are reusable? don’t want to be half way through
and find I can’t finish.

Thanks as ever–
Chris Jamison
London, United Kingdom
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–

Visit the Jag Lovers homepage at http://www.jag-lovers.org for exciting services and resources including Photo Albums, Event Diary / Calendar, On Line Books and more !

Nigel · July 30, 2004, 12:31pm

Behalf Of Chris JamisonSent: 30 July 2004 12:31
To: xj40@jag-lovers.org
Subject: [xj40] help me through my to do list

I checked my Distributor cap this morning and each of the
contacts is white and pitted. The brass contacts on the rotar had
lost it’s brightness but cleaned up with a green kitchen scourer
leaving me I guess just needing a new cap. I may as well change the
leads at the same time. Are the leads and cap unique to Jaguar and
must be got from a dealers or can they be purchased from Halfords
or the like. The spark plug cap end of the leads looks special to
the engine to seal the plug opening.

No, the lead sets are not unique to Jaguar, just the price they charge for
them, I believe a lead set from Jaguar will set you back about ï¿½100, try
one of the parts suppliers like David Manners.

I have finally found my slight coolant leak, I kept hearing
Bryan say that it can only lose water from a leak or the
headgasket. Thankfully fearing that I have found that after turning
off the engine a slight trickle comes from the lower bolt securing
the waterpump to the engine. Does this mean a gasket and waterpump
removal or can the bolts work loose and just need to be tightened.

Are you absolutely sure its from the bolt. Have a good look from underneath,
you’ll see a small hole in the pump hosing, if the water is from there, it
means the pump seal has gone. You can have a go at tightening the bolt, if
that stops the leak, you’re lucky. Then again, the gasket could be damaged,
which will mean removing the pump. I have not heard of the bolts working
loose before, but first time for everything

I keep intending to replace my transmission fluid, but kept
putting it off whilst I pondered whether to replace/clean/leave
alone my gearbox filter. I did post a discussion on this topic a
while back regarding this and got many mixed replies. some say
renew only with OEM (ï¿½30), others say it is course and can be
cleaned, others say leave alone for the mess it is not worth the
little benefit. I also seem to recall one lister saying that Jaguar
themselves do not renew them now so I telephoned the local dealer
that I use and spoke to the service manager who told me that on the
newer ZF 4 HP 24 E9 electronic transmission they still recommend
renewing the filter and do so themselves. He said it was an easy
job, 5 bolts to remove the sump and then a 20something torx bolt to
remove the filter. What is this Torx thingy I have to buy, and what
size do I need? I don’t need a new sump gasket I have been told as
they are rubber and are reusable? don’t want to be half way through
and find I can’t finish.

Off the top of my head, I think the Torx bit size you want is T27, but go
and buy a set, they are cheap. The last filter I bought from main dealer was
ï¿½20, ask them for a discount, most dealers in UK will give at least 10%
discount on parts for cars older than 3 years, its there way of trying to
retain customers. Once you remove the pan, inspect the gasket fro damage,
replace if suspect

Nigel
XJS 4 Litre 1993 Ragtop
Manchester
UK

Visit the Jag Lovers homepage at http://www.jag-lovers.org for exciting services and resources including Photo Albums, Event Diary / Calendar, On Line Books and more !

Sean_Straw · July 30, 2004, 12:39pm

At 13:30 2004-07-30 +0200, Chris Jamison wrote:

I have finally found my slight coolant leak, I kept hearing
Bryan say that it can only lose water from a leak or the
headgasket. Thankfully fearing that I have found that after turning
off the engine a slight trickle comes from the lower bolt securing
the waterpump to the engine. Does this mean a gasket and waterpump
removal or can the bolts work loose and just need to be tightened.

The gasket has been compromised. Either it is missing a piece or is torn
at this stage, or it has debris on the face and can’t really be expected to
seal properly. You can try to tighten the bolt (assuming it was lose to
begin with), but I’d still chalk up the water pump as something needing
service.

I keep intending to replace my transmission fluid, but kept
putting it off whilst I pondered whether to replace/clean/leave
alone my gearbox filter. I did post a discussion on this topic a
while back regarding this and got many mixed replies. some say
renew only with OEM (ï¿½30), others say it is course and can be
cleaned,

Even if it were fine, you could clean it if you have the right gear, though
most people don’t have an industrical ultrasonic cleaning tank available to
them. Considering the work involved in getting into the transmission, just
replacing it with a new filter seems the logical course of action.

A former client of mine is a transmission repair shop (no longer a client
because their former manager quit, and the ENTIRE staff left with him - the
new guy there is a real flake). The guys there basically recommended NOT
doing a power flush on a car which hasn’t had documented regular
transmission service, since there was an increased chance that the power
flush would kick some collected debris free and bugger up the transmission,
which generally pisses off people who had no trouble driving their car in
for preventative maintenance only to find themselves looking at an
expensive repair bill. The new manager strikes me as the type of guy who
WOULDN’T proffer this advice, knowing that he’ll both make the flush sale
AND increased repair sales if something goes wrong. Thus, I don’t do work
for them anymore.

remove the filter. What is this Torx thingy I have to buy,

Basically, it’s a star-shaped screwdriver tip. Larger sizes are often
available as socket sets (the seats are generally held down with Torx, so
run your seats all the way back and check the leading edge of the seat
rails and you should spot a torx bolt). While available as a socket, a
T-20 is small enough to still be a screwdriver size.

and what size do I need?

According to your statement, a T-20 (or 20-something, which is either a
T-20 or T-25). That’s the size designation. Pick up the WSM for your car
(available on CD-ROM from the JDHT if you don’t already have one), and you
should find complete service instructions right in there (though they
manage not to mention the hardware screw size for the filter). You do need
a 5mm allen key to remove the drain plug, and to torque this correctly, you
really want to invest in a socket set (so it can be connected to a torque
WRENCH).

— '88 Jaguar XJ-SC 5.3L V12 (LHD) ‘Black Cat’
Sean Straw '85 Jaguar XJ-S 5.3L V12 (LHD) ‘Bad Kitty’
Marin County, California '91 Jaguar XJ40 4.0L (LHD) ‘Trevor’
http://jaguar.professional.org/ '69 Buick GranSport 455 V8

Visit the Jag Lovers homepage at http://www.jag-lovers.org for exciting services and resources including Photo Albums, Event Diary / Calendar, On Line Books and more !

Bryan_N · July 30, 2004, 1:41pm

In reply to a message from Nigel sent Fri 30 Jul 2004:

Chris,

I echo Nigels’ comments and offer a couple of alternatives you may
want to consider:-

Dist.Cap & plug leads.

Unless the distributor cap has signs of ‘tracking’, you could just
scrape off the oxydation from the pick-ups and re-use it. On the
plug leads, did you see this recent thread?

http://forums.jag-lovers.org/av.php?640117m16

My car still has the original Jaguar leads - 108 K miles / 13 years
and AFAIK they are still performing perfectly - so if you want
proper fit, reliability and longevity, OEM is the way to go!

Coolant leak.

I agree with Nigel - the likely source is the ‘witness hole’ in the
body of the pump. Looking at the front of the engine (towards the
rear of the car), the three-sixteenths diameter witness hole is in
roughly the 4-o-clock position between two of the webs. Usually, if
coolant comes out of there the water pump seal has gone and
usually that means that the water pump shaft bearing is on its
way out too.
However, a few years ago, I discovered coolant dripping from that
witness hole and in desperation, because I was about to embark on a
trip and didn’t have time to replace the pump, I put in one 135 ml
bottle of Bars Leak. It’s never leaked since and I’ve never added
any more Bars Leak!

Transmission fluid change.

I have to confess I’ve never changed the transmission fluid /
filter on my car in the 80 K miles / 8 years I’ve owned it. I’ve
frequently checked the fluid level and its colour and always,
(apart from the time I added some ATF in error after incorrectly
measuring the level - and had to take some out again!) it has been
at the correct level and of a perfect colour.
I’ve had some Unipart Dexron IID in the garage for some time, so
today, when I had the car up on 12’’ ramps under the front wheels to
do an engine oil and filter change, I decided to remove the tranny
drain plug (5 mm Allen key) to see how much ATF came out of the 8
litre ‘tank’ and what condition / colour it was.
I have to say, the 2.5 litres of ATF that came out was almost
identical in colour to the brand new stuff out of the 5 litre
Unipart container - akin to the colour of a good Beaujolais Noveau
of past association.

I wonder, based on my experience and of others who have removed
the tranny sump to inspect the filter and have never found any
debris in there, whether the effort is worth it. By that I mean, if
there is any problem with the tranny (burnt clutches etc.) the
first thing you would notice would be a change in the colour (and
smell) of the ATF. So, if at every engine oil change, you drained
the tranny sump and replaced about 2.5 litres with new fluid, (you
can never drain out the full 8 litres anyway, even with the sump
off to change the filter) wouldn’t that suffice to keep the tranny
healthy? (Or at least find out if it wasn’t healthy!)–
Bryan N ('91 Sovereign 4.0 L)
Cambridge, United Kingdom
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–

Visit the Jag Lovers homepage at http://www.jag-lovers.org for exciting services and resources including Photo Albums, Event Diary / Calendar, On Line Books and more !

Chris_Jamison · July 30, 2004, 2:35pm

In reply to a message from sean.straw%2BJaguar@mail.professional.org sent Fri 30 Jul 2004:

Thanks Nigel and Sean

I’ll shop around and put in a new filter. I’ve had a look at the
gearbox and it dosn’t look to complicated so I will give it a go.
When I was a boy I used to dismantle everything and my dad was
always telling me that ‘If it’s not bust don’t fix it’ so I try to
err on the side of caution.

Thats answered another question, I was wandering how to remove the
front seats as I want to put the carpets in the washing machine and
so far have only been able to do it to the front foot carpets and
the boot carpet, so next purchase is a torx set and torque wrench.

I’m sure the water leak is from the pump bolt, its so slight that I
can be sure. It slowly builds up around the bottom bolt to a small
droplet before falling off the bolt.

By the way, since some of the total fluid capacity stays in the
tourque convertor, how much fluid do I need to refill the gearbox,
back to it’s original 4.28 litres.

Another tick on the ‘to do list’ today, my oil cooler also has a
slight leak, and over they years the evaporator behind it had had
become covered in oily gunge (sorry jenni) to the point where you
couldn’t see the fins. After a good spraying with engine degreaser
today followed by a powerful hose it is now looking clear and
clean. Lets see if my air-con gets even colder?–
Chris Jamison
London, United Kingdom
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–

Visit the Jag Lovers homepage at http://www.jag-lovers.org for exciting services and resources including Photo Albums, Event Diary / Calendar, On Line Books and more !

Chris_Jamison · July 30, 2004, 2:55pm

In reply to a message from Bryan N sent Fri 30 Jul 2004:

Bryan
I was typing my last reply before your message showed.

You have the same thoughts I originally had. I’d rather not take
the gearbox sump off if it wasn’t vital. My fluid is now loosing
it’s redness and turning brownish, although it is overdue. I did
mean to do it 3k miles ago when I changed the oil and oil filter
but left it while I considered whether to change the filter or not
and of course never got round to it. For the sake of a cpl of
litres of fluid, I’ll drain and refill the gearbox every 1000 miles
for the next 5000 miles. My gearbox dosn’t give any problems, Ive
just been paranoid because it hasn’t been changed.

My Dist. Cap was clean inside except from the white on the
contacts. I will clean up each point and check for tracking but I
didn’t see any obvious marks when I checked it earlier. I’m sure I
still have the original leads on my car at 104k miles and they too
look clean and tidy (I keep my engine bay clean), I just assumed
that at 14yrs they probably wern’t their best. Live and learn.

I am goin out now to look at the water pump again, and to look for
the hole you both are talking about.–
Chris Jamison
London, United Kingdom
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–

Visit the Jag Lovers homepage at http://www.jag-lovers.org for exciting services and resources including Photo Albums, Event Diary / Calendar, On Line Books and more !

AttyDallas · August 2, 2004, 6:12am

In reply to a message from Chris Jamison sent Fri 30 Jul 2004:

Keep in mind they’re BIG like T-50, IIRC … I bought one but
still have not been able to break them loose to remove the seats (I
have better replacement ones in storage) … I’m afraid they’ll
strip out and then I’ll be screwed (or not screwed, rather) :(–
The original message included these comments:

Thats answered another question, I was wandering how to remove the
front seats as I want to put the carpets in the washing machine and
so far have only been able to do it to the front foot carpets and
the boot carpet, so next purchase is a torx set and torque wrench.

–
&:-)) Paul '88 XJ6 VDP 130k & '88 XJ6 VDP 180k
Garland, Texas, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–

Visit the Jag Lovers homepage at http://www.jag-lovers.org for exciting services and resources including Photo Albums, Event Diary / Calendar, On Line Books and more !