Newbe and Finally found a decent XJ40.. I Think

[phildini]

Hi Everybody, I am Phildini and I am new on this Forum.
I love old cars and have a good collection of Alpine Renaults and Gordini ( hence the username name )
I always wanted a Jag Xj40 86 to 93 model, and I have owned a few in the past, but they always been good old rust buckets, mechanically always sound though.
It looks like that I have finally found a good one ( fingers crossed )
I have had it for two months and all is well...... But I do have a few questions, which are problems all my previous Jags suffered from I have tried searching around the forum but cant really find the answers.

My Car is a K reg in British Racing Green

1) Why are the door handles so weak? Is there anything I can do to make them last longer or improve them? or do I carry on buying second hand ones.
2) How do I remove the door cards/trims with out causing any damaged?
3) Why does my power steering always leak? is it just a question of tightening the jubilee clips? Dont wwant to over do it and break the power steering reservoir. Also it seems to have red fluid in it, I am sure it suppose to have green stuff?
4) Central locking, sometimes it works sometimes not.... is it just a question of spraying lub. on the actuators?
5) Water in the boot, any ideas? again all the previous XJ40 had the same problems.
6) Only bad rust I have found, hard to explain..... between the rear lights, I guess the boot shut, there is a black cover plate which I removed and the rust seems to be quite bad, I don't mind cutting it out and welding another piece in, but under the rotting metal there seem to be a thick piece of foam, any ideas how to remove it?

Any help I would very appreciate it as I want to keep this old girl for a few years, many thanks Phildini

[dbdb]

The late XJ40s are far more reliable than earlier cars, particularly the electrics, and better at resisting rust too. 1993-1994 cars made from October 1992, so yours could be one of these, can suffer rust in the bulkhead and the fronts of the floors. Not all do though, and it looks like yours has escaped this.

1) Why are the door handles so weak? Is there anything I can do to make them last longer or improve them? or do I carry on buying second hand ones.

Later cars have far better door handles. I think on a 1992, you could be justified in feeling unlucky if you have consistent trouble with them. Mine have been problem free.

2) How do I remove the door cards/trims with out causing any damaged?

I have never done this myself, but I don't think it is difficult. Jaguar's official workshop manual is still available from JDHT for these cars. It is £16 and very good. It is hugely comprehensive and covers just about everything. It is easy to understand too. http://www.jdht.com/html/TrustFrames.ht ... Type=buyCD

5) Water in the boot, any ideas? again all the previous XJ40 had the same problems.

The black plastic strip finisher (with a chrome edge on the Sovereign) across the bottom of the boot opening is held down by several screws. Water usually leaks in through the holes the screws fix into, and works its way in from there. The boot floor slopes down away from the opening allowing the water to travel to the back of the boot and sit under the spare tyre. Unscrewing the strip and sealing round the locknuts nearly always cures a leaky boot. Other culprits include a leaking aerial grommet, the gaiter round the fuel filler, the gaskets round the rear lights, sometimes rust under the trim round the rear screen pillar. Occasionally the actual boot seal fails, but I believe this is rare.

David