XJS Needs Help

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Ivar - 04 Nov 2005 13:02 GMT

Hi all.

My 1988 XJS V12 has been off the road for a couple of years and now just
failed the MOT with a list as long as a good novel. But not to worry, she
will rise again to do what she does best (take all my money :-).
The front coil springs need replacing, My (so-called universal) coil
compressors wont fit. Is it possible to remove and replace the front coils
without the use of a compressor? Or is there something simple I can 'knock
up' that will do the job. Anybody done this the un-official way?
Also, Idle speed. When first started the engine will tick over at about
1300, then as she warms up a bit it will rev to 1500 then to 700, then to
1500 then to 700 and do this every 2 seconds or so, then she will settle
down to about 1300 rpm. That's to high for the MOT emissions tests. Having
taken the dizzy out and replaced without checking the timing I'm sure that
will be way out. Could that be the cause, could that be the only cause for
the high tick over speed.
For my old beloved to get back on the road I need lots of time, buckets of
money and a little bit of help. What ever you can give will be welcome.

Regards

Ivar

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Gerald Harper - 24 Nov 2005 08:58 GMT

Hello Ivar,

Idle speed:

I had a similar problem with my 84 XJSV12. After trying ALL the simple
measures the only thing which cured the problem was to replace the ECU. I
was fortunate as I had an XJ12 saloon and was able to swap the ECU's to
test, the same happened on the salooon after the swap, the XJS ran
beautifully.

If you have a friend with a similar year car............................
otherwise I would say, stump up the cash!

Alan Skelton
Collectors Car Auction
http://collectorscarauction.com
FREE AUCTIONS & FREE CLASSIFIEDS

> Hi all.
>
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
>
> Ivar

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Phil - 24 Nov 2005 09:09 GMT

The proper spring compressor tool can be hired for about £40 from the
Jaguar Enthusiasts Club - I changed my springs on a 3.6 & would not
recommend 'knocking something up' !!!! The right tool is a long
threaded bar that goes up the middle, there's a huge amount of
compression and sideways forces involved.

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Ivar - 26 Nov 2005 14:03 GMT

Hi people.

Thanks for the feedback. I changed the front coil springs on my XJS without
the use of a compressor. This is how I did it:
Jack up front of car until road wheels about 3 inches off the ground.
Remove wheels and anti roll bar link
Remove one of the bolts from bottom of the lower wishbone.
Replace with 3/8 UNF threaded bar about 10in long and plain nut and washer.
Do the same with the other 3 bolts (One at a time)
Remove the 2 nuts at the ball joint end of the spring plate.
Unwind the 4 nuts about 5 turns at a time until the end of the threaded bars
is reached (this took about an hour!!)
Take out spring and replace with new.
Rewind the 4 nuts about 5 turns at a time, until spring plate is tight
against the wishbone.
(This took over an hour)
Replace each threaded bar with a new high tensile bolt (one at a time)
Put back the other parts.
It worked for me. It would have taken days rather than hours if I didn't
have a ratchet spanner.

Thanks

Ivar

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