Experience in a Book
Body Maintenance

1991: For the 1991 model year, the body of the XJ-S was significantly altered. The most obvious differences were the totally different taillight arrangement with new "neutral color" taillights that don't look red until they come on, and rocker panels that flared toward the wheel wells rather than being perfectly straight. But despite the outwardly similar appearance of the rest of the car, supposedly almost every panel was altered, so purchasing any replacement body panels will probably require specifying pre- or post-1991.

RUST: The following is a description of where to keep an eye out for rust on an XJ-S, courtesy of John Butler and others:

• The joint between the rocker panel and the rear fender.
• Lower (i.e. closing) edge of boot (trunk) lid on the inside.
• Top dead center of rear wheel arches.
• Around rear bumper side-arm mounts (and along the horizontal seam behind them; Check inside the boot).
• Around tail-lights; just below them down the seam there and just ahead of them on the rear wing.
• If your back window rubbers are softening check for:
  1. accumulation of water in the deep wells on either side of the boot (trunk).
  2. water trickling down inside, down the back of the rear seat back and accumulating in the spongy sound-deadening underneath.
• Around the radius arm mountings -- structural
• On the front wing, just ahead of the front door hinge and just above the rocker panel.

Now, about those radius arm mountings. The way most owners find out they have a rust problem here is that the car starts wandering aimlessly at speed! The front mounting for the radius arm -- adjacent to the rear jacking points -- rips out of the bodywork along with a large section of sheet metal, allowing the rear wheel on that side to pretty much go where it wants. How does yours look?

John Nuttall adds, "I found two places where rust, if left untreated, could cause serious damage:

1. Chassis rail/ tunnel area. By the chassis rails I mean two heavy gauge steel members that run from near the back of the floor right to the front of the engine compartment. These rails from the backbone of the body. The floor and tunnel are made from two separate pieces, one for each side, joined at the top of the tunnel. There is a step in the lower part of the tunnel. The chassis rail is welded to three faces of this step. The lowest part of the rail is horizontal and extends under the floor about two inches. The two are spot welded together. On my 1987 shell the rail was not formed properly so that the part of the rail under the floor slopes downwards to the outside. Looking under the car I can see a gap between floor and rail that was not filled by sealer. Looking at the floor from above I can see depressions in the floor at each spot weld where the tongs of the welder forced the thinner floor metal down to meet the rail.

The consequence of all this is that rust has started in the space between rail and floor and has spread to the vertical part of the step in the tunnel to such an extent that rust is visible on this part of the step when viewed from inside the car. The rust is eating away this part of the floor/tunnel stamping.

The serious implications to the structural integrity of the body are obvious. This fault appears to be caused by improper manufacturing of the rail and lack of quality control, and it probably occurred on other vehicles.

2. Front lower outer seat belt anchorage. On the '77 and '79 cars this anchorage is a nut welded inside the vertical face of the inner sill. Presumably it was thought that this was not strong enough, and at some point before '87 the anchorage was moved to the sloping part of the floor adjacent to the sill. A thick plate was welded and bolted to the underneath of the floor to reinforce the area. Unfortunately, the floor has a ridge in at this point and there is a gap between the floor and the plate here. The undercoating has proven inadequate to stop rust between plate and floor. This rust has spread between undercoating and floor. Rust is visible from the inside on parts of the floor, which means that rust has eaten through the floor. The strength of the anchorage is clearly at risk. This fault is mainly due to poor design, I would think, and it is certain to be present on many other vehicles.

"I urge owners of cars that might be affected by these problems to inspect their vehicles. Inspection from the inside requires that carpet and insulation be removed."

RUST AVOIDANCE - TRUNK LID: Julian Mullaney sends this tip: "Beginnings of rust under the lowermost lip of the trunk (boot) lid. There are not enough drain holes here where the two sheets of steel are spot welded. I will drill a couple more drain holes."

RUST AVOIDANCE - TAILLIGHT AREA: Julian Mullaney points out that water may collect behind the taillight fixtures, since there is no drain from this area. If it appears to be a concern, perhaps the best solution is to merely coat the metal with something to prevent rust, since it doesn't show.

The gaskets around lenses on cars generally follow one of two schools of design: they either attempt to totally seal thereby not allowing water in, or they include a notch at the bottom to allow water to drain out. This author's observations and experience indicate that the second idea is more often successful. Jaguar, of course, uses the first. To drain the water from the area behind the taillights, the gasket between the fixture and the body can be cut prior to installation to form a drain channel. If done at the bottom corner near the boot lid, it will scarcely be noticeable.

RUST AVOIDANCE - GENERAL: Car enthusiasts generally recommend a product called Waxoyl for treating the areas of bodywork prone to rust. According to Frans Hoekemeijer, "It can be painted or sprayed. It can be thinned with "white spirit", which evaporates rather quickly. Only a very thin layer is sufficient to protect metals against corrosion as the molecules are polarized and cling to the surface t2hrough electrostatic action, in the same way water molecules do unfortunately. It sets to a waxy substance. If used on the outside of the underbody of the car it has to be renewed every so often."

In the UK, Waxoyl sells a "pump kit" which screws onto to can of Waxoyl and you manually pump it and it becomes a spray gun. It comes with a thin lance so you can poke it into various holes and get good coverage. Pete Hamel says "It's quite thick at normal temperatures so you can either thin it with white spirit or immerse the can in a bucket of hot water to make it more sprayable.

"The beauty of it is that you do not have to completely clean all dirt off the surfaces you apply it to as it creeps into small crevices and through dirt. It's good for hard to reach areas. You can also apply it over surface corrosion (remove any flaking rust). It does leave a slightly waxy/sticky surface though so you don't want to use it anywhere that appearance matters."

There are some people advertising in Jaguar World who come to your house and treat the car for you.

Another product favored for protection is called P.O.R. 15. According to Vince Chrzanowski, "A customer once painted the exterior of a car radio with POR (don't ask me why). When we tried to remove the stuff, we found it was nearly like porcelain in hardness and durability. We had to change to a more aggressive abrasive in the bead blast cabinet. I hope never to see POR on a radio again, but wouldn't mind it on the frame of my Mark IX."

PAINT: Jeffrey Gram reports: "Here in Europe many cars imported from the US are eventually repainted, and even many professionals are not aware of a pitfall in this area. According to a local "spritzer" the paint used on US cars are of a different and higher elasticity than Europe paint to be able to cope with extreme temperature variations causing expansion and contraction of the body sheet metal. If a US paintwork is spraypainted with EU paint, cracks will appear since the EU paint cannot cope with the expansion and contraction of the US paintlayer. The solution is to either repaint from bare metal, or to spraypaint the US paint with a couple of layers of "bridging paint" before the new paint layer."

FASTENERS: All fasteners on the exterior of a car need to be stainless steel. On the XJ-S, it appears that most of them are -- if nobody's been working on your car. If there's a chance that some of yours have been replaced by some repairman or PO that didn't know any better, check all of them with a magnet (a magnet won't attract stainless steel) and replace any that are not stainless. This includes all the screws holding lamp lenses on.

Stainless steel fasteners can be found at most marine supply stores and many better hardware stores, although fine thread or metric sizes are often a challenge.

ADHESIVES: According to Charles Daly, "A call to 3M produced the following info: If it's neoprene, as in a fitting, washer, etc., then 3M-8001 (Neoprene) is best. If it's weatherstripping type application and the rubber is EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Dieme Monomer) (which is what most auto weatherstrip is) then use 3M-80119 (which is called weatherstrip adhesive)."

WATER LEAKS -- A/C SYSTEM: Bob Tilley investigated the cause of water leaking from his air conditioning system during rainy weather. It turned out that the plastic cover over the windscreen wiper motor had deteriorated and started breaking apart -- a common problem mentioned under the wiper motor discussion in the electrical section. In Tilley's case, the various parts of the cover found their way into the drain pipes that feed from the wiper area through the engine compartment and out through the wheel wells. The drains end with a rubber elbow, and the plastic parts got lodged in it and plugged it, causing the wiper compartment to fill with rainwater and start draining into the air conditioner. Tilley recommends that the drains be fully disassembled to ensure that all plastic scraps (as well as leaves and other debris) have been cleared.

WATER LEAKS -- FLOOR: Hunt Dabney reports: "At some time in its past, someone lifted my car improperly. This caused the seams at the front of the floor, both sides, to become separated just enough for water to wick in during heavy rains. No apparent structural damage, but lots-o-wet-carpet. I sealed this from below with silicone seal, and while at it popped out the drain plugs from each floor section, cleaned them and reinstalled them, also with silicone."

WATER LEAKS --DOORS: Ian Finlay suggests applying talcum powder to the seals, then closing the door and applying a hose. The talcum should make the location of the leak obvious.

WATER LEAKS -- A-PILLAR DRAIN: At the corners where the rain gutters meet the windshield, the seal appears to have a gap underneath the chrome trim. This is deliberate, providing a drain for this area of the roof down the inside of the A pillar. It'd be a bad idea to try to seal it up.

Pat Johnson was getting rainwater on the floor, and finally figured out it was coming from these drains at the top front corners of the roof. Water that finds its way into these drains -- a goodly amount, to be sure -- is supposed to run down the pillar between the chrome trim piece and the structure and through the bodywork in front of the door. Somehow, it was being diverted inside the structure, and ended up in the carpet instead. The solution involved removing the chrome trim piece covering the A-pillar. "Being a novice at this, I was a little (a lot) scared to start removing rivets. They look so permanent! But I bit the bullet and started drilling. It was easy! I found gaps between the body and the molding. After calling a glass repair shop and getting some silicone, I went to work. I filled all the crevices and opened the drain hole. I then refit the chrome and put my first rivets in. I must say, I think I did a pretty good job. It looks just like new and the lake is gone.

"It is supposed to drain in front of the door. Leaves and some other unidentifiable gunk were plugging it. The channel was also narrower than I think it was supposed to be due to the black rubber material under the chrome spreading toward the center."

Harry Trafford elaborates: "After drilling out the little pop rivets, carefully pry the chrome off. It will come off. I used a small stiff detailing brush to clean it all up under there. I took a very small screwdriver and ran the blade under the gasket edges to clean them out. A lot of dirt was removed. I purchased a tube of Permatex Auto Glass Sealer, then using the screwdriver end, I gently lifted the gasket edges, sliding the tip down the glass and followed right behind it with the sealer. The sealer is thin and is supposed to run into the crevice. If you get the sealer smeared all over, use acetone or nail polish remover to clean it up. Do not get acetone or nail polish remover on the car's paint!

"I used small 1/4" to 3/8" sheet metal screws to reattach the chrome strips on the "A" pillar. Works fine."

Note that, as opposed to Johnson's '89, the chrome trim on the A-pillars of the author's '83 are held on with Phillips screws instead of rivets. Or, maybe somebody like Harry has already had it off!

WATER LEAKS -- FRONT WING ATTACHMENT: In the December 1996 issue of Jaguar Enthusiast magazine, John Wood describes tracking down and correcting a leak from the "wing rail", which made it into the area beside the footwell and managed to soak the carpets. This particular problem was apparently aggravated by body work done on the sill.

WATER LEAKS -- MIRRORS: Emile A. Des Roches says, "My wife's XJS had a seemingly "irremovable" white mineral dripline under the outside mirrors -- the only blemish on her 16,000 original mile '95 XJS coupe. After many experiments with paint rejuvenation problems the blemish was removed -- until the next rainstorm. It seems that water builds under the mirror, minerals gather from the various metals involved in the plating process, screws and blind nuts holding the mirror to the body and the oxidized product finds its way out under the black plastic piece separating the mirror from the door.

"The fix is to disassemble & clean the back side of the door mirror/plastic escutcheon assembly, then to put RTV or similar sealant around the inside of the black plastic escutcheon. After a couple of months, it worked so well that I tried it on my car too. Incidentally, the excess H₂O will drain into the door and out the bottom drain holes harmlessly."

This author has never had this problem; when I first got the '83, the black plastic gaskets were so badly deteriorated that they were immediately replaced with pieces of rubber cut from an old inner tube. Since the rubber is more pliable than the plastic ever was, it apparently sealed effectively without the addition of sealant.

Des Roches responds: "OK, I admit to cheating and using "black again" on the crappy-looking grey plastic escutcheon. As I recall from my friend's mid-'80's S, the newer cars have a thicker (about .4") escutcheon around the outside mirror. Wish I had thought of the rubber however."

SUNROOF -- FACTORY OR DEALER ADD-ON? The question of whether the XJ-S ever actually was fitted with a sunroof from the factory always seems to generate more argument than definitive answers. Whether or not any sunroofs were actually built into the car at Coventry, it is apparent that many of the sunroofs that came on new cars were installed by dealers to boost sales. In this case, each one may be different. Steve Draper, who owns an '88, says, "I note that in my XJ-S manual, the sunroof switch is located on the center panel between the window switches, on the same plastic panel. In my car, the switch is under the steering wheel, and when viewed closely has the aftermarket name on it. An easy indicator of factory installation may be the switch (which I wish was on the center panel)."

"I, Chad Bolles, do hereby state for the record once and for all that Jaguar did offer a sunroof in the XJ-S and I do not care what anybody else says. Quoting from Jaguar XJ-S Drivers Handbook publication part no. JJM 18 02 03/85, in the index section 5: "Fittings -- Sunroof-Coupe: page 71" and on page 71 we see how to operate same and on page 72 we see how to operate in the manual operation mode. If those who know everything had taken the time to look in the parts book, part no. RTC9888CE dated August 1987 on page 2J 11L you would see part no. BBC2682 and I will be damned if it dosen't look like a sunroof and even has the title "Sunroof" and uses part no. JLM440/ND Headlining Cloth. Then try page 2J 11R and what do you know all the pieces for the roof are listed. Next try page 2J 12L and I will be darned all the elec pieces are listed there.

"The roof was offered as an option in 86 and from then on as a kit."

WATER LEAKS -- SUNROOF: At least some of the sunroofs installed, as well as the ones fitted to the XJ6 at the factory, use drains on the front corners to route water down the A-pillars and out the bottom of the car. These drains are thin and easily plugged with debris. If a wire is used occasionally to keep them clear, the tendency of the sunroof to leak water to the interior is greatly reduced.

There also may be some problem with the connection between the sunroof and the drain tube. It may be helpful to inspect the connection and, if necessary, apply some sealant.

SUNROOF REMOVAL: Since sunroofs for XJ-S's don't exist, the manual may not tell you how to remove it; so, here are instructions provided by Murray Trotter. Note that these instructions actually apply to the XJ6, but apparently the sunroofs are similar. Also note that when he says "hood lining" he means the headlining. "To remove the metal outside skin of the sunroof, slide back, undo the phillips head screws along the front edge, slide roof forward, on switch until almost closed, lift up front of roof and pull forward, back edge is clipped in. Take care not to lift roof too high otherwise you will mark it on the outside edge of the roof. Quite simple to remove with a bit of care.

"The actual body of the roof is a little bit more difficult, removal of the hood lining is required. First remove the outside rim around the hood lining; this requires removal of the sunvisors, etc. Then prise all the covered mouldings off carefully. This is hard to do and I always seem to end up breaking a clip or two. The actual lining can then be dropped. It is glued around the outside edge. Careful with this one, it is easy to rip the lining. You will then see the the actual sunroof is all one unit which has four metal brackets, like legs coming off it. These are pop-riveted to the inside edge of the roof; drill these out, and you can drop the whole thing out as unit. Don't forget to unplug the wiring."

WATER LEAKS -- CONVERTIBLE TOP: Julian Mullaney says, "I've never had a single drop come in my 1991 XJ-S Convertible, but I did adjust the top to fit tighter. This is simple, just screw in the hooks a turn or two on each side of the top rail. This makes the top clamp harder to the windshield gasket. When I did it, it eliminated a small squeak when body flexing over bumps."

WINDSHIELD SCRATCHES: William C.W. Lamb suggests: "I was told Bon-Ami household cleaner works great. Removes pits and scratches. Removed the scratches made by my windshield wiper ends on my Saab 1991 900 2 or so winters ago. Worked like a charm."

Somebody else suggested toothpaste -- the abrasive kind, not the gel kind.

WINDSHIELD REPLACEMENT: Chad Bolles says, "What you really need is a glass shop that knows what it is doing. The seal will not fit if you install it on the glass out of the car, it will be loose, but once installed will be tight. The seal must be sealed to the body and to the glass itself, if the glass shop says anything different, then take your car elsewhere, they do not know what they are doing. The factory manual says to seal it that way."

Mark West concurs: "My experience with a new windshield in my '89 XJ-S, installed by the dealer, was enough to convince me that a broken windshield is equivalent to a blown engine in terms of severity. Three tries, two new seals, a glass shop that claimed to know what they were doing but installed it with the seal in upside down once (gave the car a sort of "Mickey Mouse" ears), and gallons of antacid later, I finally had a windshield that didn't leak, seemed to fit okay, didn't make too much noise going around corners, and was generally 80% acceptable.

"Don't think that Joe's Local House of Glass can do the work. You'll hate yourself in the morning."

HOOD GAS STRUTS: If you're tired of your XJ-S hood falling on your head, but don't want to pay the $$ for new Jaguar struts, Herbert Sodher provides a suggestion. There is a device made by Pylon called Lift Lock, and it is sold at auto parts stores as well as Wal-Mart and Kmart for about $8. It is a device which is clamped onto the plunger of the strut, and has an arm that slides along the outside of the strut housing as the hood is opened. When fully open, the arm clears the end of the strut housing, falls against the plunger, and jams against the end of the strut housing to hold the hood up. To close the hood, the arm must be manually lifted to clear the end of the strut housing. Since the device is an unobtrusive black, it is suggested that the arm be painted a bright color to make it more noticeable. Sodher judges that, in the event a hamhanded mechanic does a pull-up trying to close your hood, the $8 device would break before the $1200 hood suffered any damage.

If you want to replace your struts, you can use a reasonably-priced aftermarket strut intended for another type car that will work on the XJ-S. Aftermarket struts such as Motormite's "MIGHTY LIFT!" (lifetime warranty!) are available in discount auto stores for about $20 each. Of course, you can have a discussion with your local junkyard as well. For the late 1976-on XJ-S, the gas struts for a Chrysler LeBaron Hatchback (MIGHTY LIFT! no. 95018) are close to the original length and can be made to work with a few 3/8" washers. Larry Barnes adds that the struts he fitted to his wife's ë92 "are mfg. by "STEDY LIFT", PN# D072-157, $19.99 and they come with a Life Time Warranty."

However, you don't want struts close to the original length; see the notes on getting the bonnet to open farther.

Note that aftermarket struts are a good deal more powerful than stock struts. This is OK for most cars; customers are happy when the hatchback on their LeBaron opens more forcefully than it ever has. However, it may cause minor problems on the XJ-S. While you no longer will have problems with the hood closing on your head, you may have trouble closing the hood; you probably will have to hold the hood down against the latches while operating the lever under the dash, and in the worst case you may require an assistant on the other side of the car to get the hood closed.

You should always replace both struts together; one strut stronger than the other distorts the hood, and it bangs the fender on one side when closing.

Note that the pre-late 1976 XJ-S used a different strut.

Michael Neal says that Jaguar is now making struts with a built-in locking device to hold the bonnet open even if the gas pressure is gone. Your only remaining problem will be getting your fingernails under the edge of the bonnet to lift it up.

PROTECTING THE HOOD STRUTS FROM HEAT: Michael Neal claims that heat in the engine compartment will toast most aftermarket struts, and that only the Jaguar originals will do. Of course, the aftermarket struts have a lifetime warranty and the Jaguar struts don't. And the Jaguar struts seem to fail as quickly as any, while several owners have reported long-term success with the aftermarket struts. However, heat probably is a serious concern here, and it's easy to provide any strut with a measure of protection by merely wrapping it with some aluminum foil. In this case, it is very convenient, since the width of aluminum foil matches the length of the strut nicely; just tear off about six inches from the roll, and wrap it around the strut, crimping it a little near the bolted end to keep it in place.

GETTING THE HOOD OUTTA YOUR WAY: On most cars, if the hood is in your way when working, the option is to remove it. With the XJ-S, however, there are several options in between. Michael Neal found that if the gas struts are disconnected, the hood can be opened to a nearly vertical position, greatly improving conditions for the mechanic. The plastic grille contacts the front bumper, but that doesn't appear to hurt anything; the grille simply flexes.

Neal commonly disconnects the struts when working on customers' cars, holding the hood in a wide-open position by removing a rubber plug forward of the strut mount and propping the bottom end of the strut, with the bolt, in this large opening.

Jim Isbell points out that another option is to remove the grille first. Then, with the struts disconnected, the hood can be opened to vertical, and the front edge rests on a rubber portion of the front bumper. Putting a cloth in between may be wise, and providing a prop so the wind doesn't blow it down on your head would be nice.

When using any of the above methods, keep an eye on the plastic filler panel just under the grille. It has openings for the hood hinges, but the openings may not be large enough for the wider opening and the plastic may crack. It may be helpful to remove this piece, or to enlarge the openings in it.

Also, see the section on installing longer struts.

HOOD ORNAMENT: The flat disk emblem on the hood with the puddy-tat face apparently may be either blackened silver or blackened bronze in color, but it is supposed to be blackened. The one on my '83 is metal so polishing may be possible, but Stefan Schulz reports that his is plastic and therefore should not be polished lest the plating be removed to expose the bare plastic.

HOOD LATCH: Up until at least 1993, the XJ-S was fitted with a hood latch that is closed from the inside; set the hood down on the latches, and operate the lever on the inside to pull it shut. Starting in '94 or '95, the XJ-S was fitted with a hood latch that works more like a typical American car, you slam it to shut it.

Of course, anyone familiar with the newer cars will now join the list of boneheads that will be slamming the hoods on the older cars. Anyone meeting the engineer responsible for this revision, please give him a thump on the head for the rest of us.

FRONT SPOILER: Fido may have only cost his owners $10 at the local pound, but he becomes quite costly when you run him over with the Jag. The front spoiler, when removed by force, often takes the bottom panel and the front section of the two front wheel wells with it. The spoiler was expensive enough; the package of four parts starts getting into some real money.

You will need to get the original spoiler BD45624 from Jaguar to make the car look right. However, the other three pieces (BCC4462, BAC4350, BAC4352) really don't show, so you can make substitutes. A tough plastic is recommended, as any sheet metal or fiberglass would get banged up too quickly in this application. 3/16" black ABS sheet plastic seems to be ideal, making these parts somewhat heavier than the originals.

For those who can't find such plastic, it can be ordered from:

Freddie's Plastics, Inc.
P.O. Box 1319
Plant City, FL 33564-1319
(813) 754-5567 FAX: (813) 754-0943

They sell it only in 4' x 8' sheets, enough to do several Jags. They may cut it into quarters for ease of shipping; this requires that the bottom panel be made as two pieces, which may be preferable anyway. Some aluminum angle (used to connect the bottom panel with the vertical wheel well panels), some screws, some clip nuts and a couple hours fabricating are all that is needed to make a satisfactory installation. One such installation has already survived a ëpossum at 100+ MPH.

DOOR HINGE SPRINGS: The springs in the upper door hinges that hold the door open tend to develop rust problems, which in turn causes cracks to form at the stress points; they break and fall out with a clank, and then the door is always closing on you when you're trying to get in and out of the car. If your car has not yet developed such problems, you should make an attempt to prevent rusting on the two lower corners of these springs. Paint them, coat them, grease them, something.

If your springs have already failed, you can buy a replacement hinge. With luck, maybe you can buy just the spring itself; Robert Hyndman says, "I had a broken door spring on my '87 XJ-6 when I bought it. I purchased a door spring from Johns Cars..."

Of course, if you get more of the same springs, they may just break again. A better alternative may be to make one. To make a replacement spring, buy some 1/4" music wire from a hobby shop. Normal 1/4" steel rod won'd for the rest of us.

FRONT SPOILER: Fido may have only cost his owners $10 at the local pound, but he becomes quite costly when you run him over with the Jay cars. Bend and cut the wire to the same shape as the original spring, except replace the bottom two 90ƒ bends with one continuous U-shape. This will reduce the stress concentrations caused by the 90ƒ corners. Be careful to get the distance between the vertical portions of the spring right; a slight difference has a pronounced effect on how firmly the door stays open. Please be careful bending 1/4" music wire or spring; it is extremely strong, and care must be taken when bending it to keep it from springing loose and injuring you.

The door must be removed from the car to install the new spring. Don't try to do this alone unless you don't care about your bodywork. It is best to have at least two helpers to hold the door while you remove the nuts and washers from inside the footwell. Before installing the new spring, it should be protected from rust -- its biggest threat.

DOOR HANDLES: John Butler sends this tip: If you need to replace a door handle (apparently not that rare; they tend to break) and try to buy a used one, be sure to get one with a key. If not, then there are two designs of lock. On one you can spring a little shim in the barrel; the barrel withdraws and a key can be cut. In the other you can spring the shim but the barrel won't withdraw unless it is turned, meaning you must have the key already.

Alternatively, you can buy two locks, demanding a discount because there are no keys. On one, save the barrel by destroying the handle; on the other, save the handle by destroying the barrel. Have a key cut and combine parts to make one door handle assembly.

John Goodman says "...the locks and handles are from Mk III Ford Cortinas!!!! Most UK residents know how abysmally poor the locks were on these. Any old Ford key could open my '88 and my previous '81..."

DOOR HANDLE LINKAGE CLIPS: The door handles and locks in the XJ-S involve rods that connect the inside controls with the latch and the like. These rods have a 90† bend at the end which is inserted through a hole in a lever and retained by a clip -- similar to just about any other car on the road. The clips on the XJ-S, however, are unusual. With most cars, the diameter of the rod and the size of the hole in the lever are the same, and the clip is a carefully shaped piece of spring steel that surrounds the lever, has the tip of the rod inserted through it, then snaps onto the straight section of rod to hold it in place. With the XJ-S, there is a plastic bushing involved. The hole in the lever is therefore larger than the diameter of the rod. Also, the clip does not surround the lever, but instead relies on the plastic bushing to hold it to the lever. To assemble, the metal clip is offered up to the lever and the plastic bushing is pressed through the clip and the lever, snapping into place. Then the rod is inserted and the the clip snapped onto it.

The bushing probably would prefer to remain motionless relative to the lever, and simply let the rod rotate within it when the parts move. The clip, however, is securely snapped to the rod and therefore moves with it, but is retained between the bushing and the lever. Since the bushing hence has parts rotating both inside and outside, it tends to move with the rod, and wears on its outside diameter. Of course, when it wears through, the linkage starts rattling, and sometimes will even fall out of the lever since the bushing was the only thing holding it together.

If you drop into your favorite auto parts store, you will find assortments of metal door linkage clips for sale. None of these clips will fit the XJ-S; all of them are intended for use without any plastic bushings, and therefore have the hole where the rod is inserted the same size as the rod -- not big enough for a bushing. If you find a really big clip, it might fit the bushing, but it's too big to clip onto the rod. Besides, it's probable that it's the bushing you really need, not the clip.

It is possible to replace the bushing alone by purchasing some of those plastic nuts that press into a hole and accept a self-tapping screw. You will need to bore the center out to the diameter of the linkage rod, and then slide the part onto a #8 screw, hold it in place with a nut, and chuck the assembly up in a lathe or drill and cut the OD down to fit the hole in the lever. You may also need to trim the flange down, since the plastic nut will typically have a large square flange that won't sit properly against the clip.

NAPA sells a "Door Latch Rod Retainer 735-2637" for "Ford, Lincoln, Mercury". This one-piece clip is entirely made of plastic, and functions very similarly to the combination of bushing and clip in the XJ-S. This particular part fits the XJ-S rod diameter perfectly, but the OD of the integral bushing is too large -- about 6.5mm, as opposed to the hole in the Jag levers being about 5.5mm. The simplest solution here may be to chuck the entire clip up on that #8 screw and cut the OD down.

That may not be the best solution, however. It's entirely probable that the OD of this bushing was established by engineers at Ford who knew better than to make the walls of that bushing as thin as Jaguar made them. Note that you are having to replace that Jag bushing. Hence, it may make more sense to enlarge the holes in the Jaguar levers to fit this clip without modification. Unfortunately, most of the levers within the XJ-S door are not accessable for drilling without a considerable amount of disassembly.

There are ten bushing/clips per door, including one in the inside locking lever that's a little different than the rest. Also note that the ones on the driver's side are likely to be more worn than those on the passenger's side.

BREAKING IN: If you get locked out, Victor Naumann provides this tip: "you can unscrew the outside mirror, and carefully reach through with a long blade and flip the lock handle to unlock." This works entirely too well. If you happen to have a Slim Jim (the long blade that is inserted between the glass and the seal -- standard car thief's tool), it works just fine too.

If it's the boot you're locked out of, Cliff Sadler says "The latch is held in by two sheet metal screws. If you ever need to get into a locked XJS trunk, simply grab the handle, and pull straight up with a snap; then, replace the screws with bolts." If you use really good bolts, maybe this won't work as well next time!

WINDOW GLASS: Reportedly, some XJ-S windows have the metal "runner" riveted to the glass through two small holes about 1/4 inch from the bottom; in this setup, pulling on the window is a very bad idea -- it will break easily, since the rivet holes form a starting place for cracks. Later ones are glued, making the glass itself much less likely to fracture.

If you have to replace a window, make sure the correct one is ordered -- with or without rivet holes.

REAR QUARTERLIGHT REMOVAL: Both the Haynes manual and the Jaguar repair manual describe removing this glass, but the descriptions vary. Both start by removing interior trim panels, but then the Jaguar manual says "Using suitable tool prise rear quarter glass and rubber from body." The Haynes manual says "With an assistant pressing the glass outward, peel back the rubber weatherseal from the body at one corner until the glass can be pushed out of its frame." The Haynes method works fine, no "suitable tool" required.

SIDE VENTS: The vents on either side of the C-pillars (the "buttresses" on the XJ-S) are functional. When the A/C system is blowing outdoor air into the interior, these vents are allowing air back out. They also allow air out when a door is being shut, preventing that obnoxious problem of doors that won't shut unless a window is rolled down. The actual route the air takes begins with mesh grilles in the top of the cubby holes above the rear armrests. From there it goes through the bodywork, through a set of three flaps on each side of the car, and then out the slot on the outside.

The repair manuals provide no information on how to get these vents apart. So, the following is from Mike Morrin:

1. Remove the quarter side window glass and rubber (see above).

2. Remove the little chrome corner corner piece at the bottom rear of the vent cover (nut reached from inside boot).

3. Pry off the chrome strip at the rear edge of the vent cover.

4. Drill out the rivets which held the chrome strip and rivets which are behind window rubber.

5. Remove the cover piece.

6. Remove another 6 rivets holding the vent assembly into the car.

7. Lift out assembly and wonder why you went to so much trouble.

Note that the rivets under the chrome strip not only go through the center of the retaining snaps themselves, but also through three tiny washers behind each one of them. Don't lose the washers; they are there to keep the rubber seal from being crushed by installation of the rivet.

Despite Morrin's skepticism about the value of this job, the flap assembly within this vent may actually need attention. Each of the three flaps consists of a metal plate with a layer of foam on the face, suspended from a piece of cloth. There is a foam bumper on the back side to keep it from making noise when it opens forcefully enough to bang the housing. All of this is British non-metallics, so the foam face has long since rotted away and the metal plate itself is closing over the opening. This makes a quite distinctive racket, especially when closing a door.

The flaps themselves are also installed with pop rivets. It is a fairly simple matter to drill them out and rebuild each flap, using materials that hopefully will be more durable and quieter. You might wanna have some headliner material handy; it might make a suitable face material. The type of nylon fabric used to make backpacks and light jackets might work well as the "hinge", but I simply used vinyl upholstery material; make sure that whatever you use doesn't crinkle or otherwise make noise as it flexes. A can of 3M's "Super Trim Adhesive" #08090 will also be helpful. For the bumpers on the back side, some 1/8" thick 1/4" wide foam tape weatherstripping will do nicely, sold in building supply stores for sealing windows and doors. Get the heavy-duty high density closed cell stuff, this is no place for the flimsy foam.

You might find it helpful or necessary to remove a cover from the flap assembly that is held on with staples. Therefore, you might want to have a box of 1/4" length Monel staples that fit your staple gun on hand. Monel staples are considerably more expensive than normal staples and a lot harder to find, but they won't rust.

There are (or were) a couple of strips of foam seal along the back side of the cover, but they have dried up and fallen off. They can easily be replaced with some 1/4" thick 1/2" wide weatherstripping, similar to that described above except the next size thicker.

To reassemble, you're gonna need a lot of 1/8" pop rivets (1/4" grip length) -- at least 24 per side of the car. The original rivets are a special type with a closed end, intended to prevent leaks. These type rivets are very expensive and difficult to find, and it's not like anything here is truly airtight. The only conceivable reason for using these rivets is to avoid a whistle, but if you're concerned you can accomplish the same thing by covering each rivet with a piece of aluminum tape or some silicone sealant.

The four rivets underneath the rearmost chrome strip must fit inside the snaps for the strip, and chances are the rivets you have won't fit. It is a fairly simple matter, however, to chuck the rivets up in your drill and file the head diameter down a little bit.

These same four rivets end up recessed within these snaps. This presents another problem, since the "anvil" of the rivet gun must sit squarely on the head of the rivet when installing, and of course that anvil isn't small enough to fit within the snap. So, you will need a little sleeve to fit around the nail of the pop rivet when riveting, or a few very tiny washers will serve. You must be careful not to lose them after each rivet pops.

BUMPER VARIATIONS: Scott Horner says, "if they are UK based, then the difference in Pre-'82 to post-'82 is in the bumpers...Pre-'82 (Pre-HE's) used the impact absorbing bumpers without chrome tops...the same for all markets; but at the H.E. for all markets (except the USA) Jaguar fitted slimline bumpers without the impact absorbers.

"This means that most trim kits like the TWR & XJR-S packages sit very close to the body and don't use the rubber bumper beam cover - which I've seen on some US kits...."

BUMPER REMOVAL -- REAR: The US-spec rear bumper assembly consists of several parts: A "center section", actually the chrome panel on top of the bumper; two "side sections", the pieces that wrap around the sides of the car; a "cover", the black plastic that is most of what is visible; and the "energy absorbing beam", a massive aluminum structure that the cover hides. If the car is hit from behind, the energy absorbing beam and the black cover are supposed to move, but the center section and side sections are not -- they are rigidly bolted to the car. The energy absorbing beam and cover merely slides under them.

Section 76.22.12 of the Jaguar manual says that to remove the center section requires only the removal of five nuts and oval washers from underneath. Section 76.22.13 says that the side sections may be removed by peeling back the carpet within the trunk and undoing three bolts on each side. The impression is that the two removals are separate and unrelated. Such may have been true on early cars, but on the author's '83 the center section is only held to the car with two nuts -- although there are slots in the bodywork for another three, perhaps left over from earlier designs. However, the center section is also bolted to the side sections underneath with two bolts per side. Hence, removing each part separately will require removing these bolts as well -- or, you can opt to remove all three items, the center section and both side sections, as a single assembly. If you decide to go this latter route, it is recommended that you have an assistant on hand to help get the three-piece assembly away from the car without scraping the paintwork.

BUMPER REMOVAL -- FRONT: Everything that was said above about the rear bumper applies to the front as well. There are, however, a few additional things to note about the front. Section 76.22.11 says to remove seven bolts to remove the center section, but on my '83 only the center one of the bolts they are talking about actually attaches the center section; the other six merely attach a plastic panel just rearward of the center section that covers the hood hinges. On my car there were actually only two bolts holding the plastic panel on, but these bolts were not original so other cars may be different. The plastic panel certainly doesn't require six large bolts; I reinstalled mine with six black plastic license plate bolts & nuts with some homemade plastic washers. Some of those push-in trim fasteners may also work.

In addition to the center bolt, the chrome center section is held in place with two nuts from below and the two bolts connecting it to each of the side sections.

If you have that plastic panel off, you might wanna enlarge the notches in it for the hood hinges. If you ever want the hood to open farther (see here and here), the larger openings will come in handy.

The turn signals must be removed from the front bumper to get the cover off. This entails its own problems -- see the section on bulb replacement.

Section 76.22.28, step 3, says that the front bumper cover is held on with five screws. On my '83, there are nine screws.

Note also that the manual doesn't even mention the fog lights in this section. The front bumper can be removed with the fog lights still attached to it, but obviously it will be necessary to disconnect the wiring.

TAILLIGHT REFLECTORS: Many people fail to realize the importance of the reflectors to the appearance of taillights, turn signals, etc. Jaguar XJ-S reflectors are mostly chrome-plated plastic, which is fairly durable; but the chrome sometimes deteriorates, and the neutral plastic color is only a fair reflector. Also, the metal panel that separates the taillights from the brake lights can get pretty dull.

To make your taillights look good, you should restore the effectiveness of the reflectors. You can cover them with aluminum foil or aluminum tape. The best method, however, is to mask the bulb sockets and paint the reflectors with flat white spray paint. Flat white gives a more diffuse appearance to the light, which is prettier than the bright center appearance of the original. If you want to make the light even more diffuse, you can paint a white spot on the bulb to prevent a direct view of the filament.

BRAKE LIGHT LENSES: There's a little panel with a chrome frame along the inside edge of each pre-1991 taillight lens that may or may not have paint on it. David Cleary explains, "The center section of the boot lid was painted black up to about 1977, at the same time the B posts were chrome, and the lenses were also black." Mike Morrin says, "I think that they only had the black paint on the boot lid between the tail lights for 1975 and 76. I presume the paint on the lenses was deleted at the same time. The parts book shows that the part number changed at 2W4023(RHD) and 2W54660(LHD). I presume that this is the same change."

What it changed to is not as clear. This author's '83 had silver paint, while later cars just left the underlying chrome uncovered. Cleary says, "Both my 79 and 82 cars came with silver finish on the rear lenses. I have only ever seen the silver finish lenses available from the factory. No spares or autojumble retailer has them, only the black or chrome.

"At a recent autojumble I wanted a pair of rear lamp lenses. I noticed that the early ones with a black finisher were much cheaper than the ones with the chrome (£15 a pair rather than £25). With 10 minutes work and some careful application of thinners you can save yourself £10 by removing the black paint to reveal the chrome - simple eh?"

The silver paint comes off just as easily. I said this author's lenses had silver paint. They don't any more -- one look at someone else's car with the bare chrome, and that silver paint was outta here.

The panel in question is actually a separate piece from the lens itself. The chrome plating is applied to a metal panel, and then the panel is attached to the plastic lens assembly with press-on clips. If the nonremovable clips are removed (!), it's a lot easier to work on getting the paint off -- you can dunk the whole thing in a can of solvent. Or, Cleary says you can "Use masking tape to protect the chrome when using thinners. That way you don't have to remove the bit from the lens and chance breaking it."

If you're having the car painted, you might consider something really radical: mask off the chrome rim and the rest of the lens and have them prime and paint those panels the same color as the car. This will give a unique look, since none of the XJ-S's apparently came from the factory with this panel painted body color.

LICENSE PLATE LIGHT LENSES -- PRE-1992: These things seem to crap out, and since the bulb holder is integrated into the lenses, nothing ever works again. You can, of course, just order some new ones, but they're not likely to last any longer than the originals, and they cost about $28 each. The author found another solution. First, a way to mount the bulbs needs to be arranged; one possibility is to simply buy a suitable automotive light fixture, throw the lens away and mount the bulb holder itself within the space. The space is shallow, but the sheer variety of aftermarket light fixtures available means that something can usually be found to fit. Be sure to check truck stops, which sell a wide variety of "marker lights" for the corners of tractor trailers. Alternatively, you can make something to hold the bulbs; I just made some connectors that clip onto both ends of the bulbs the way a fuse is held in a fusebox and mounted them with suitable plastic cut to serve as insulators. Remember, whether you buy or make, there's no good reason to stick with the original bulbs; any bulbs of adequate wattage that can be made to fit in the space should work.

Second, you will need to provide lenses. I purchased a small piece of plexiglass (Lucite) at the local building supply store, 8" x 10" x 0.093", for less than $2. It comes with either thin plastic or paper on both sides to protect the finish (paper is better); leave the stuff on until after you have finished cutting and drilling. It's really easy to cut and drill. Trapezoidal pieces were cut with two holes each to cover the light. When done, I sanded one side with 320-grit sandpaper to provide a "frosted" appearance; the other side could be done to make it even more frosted, but going to a coarser grit makes the individual scratches too prominent and a finer grit seems to not do enough. Finally, the edges of this lens could be wrapped with strips of aluminum tape or (better) stainless steel tape to make it look more professional, but I didn't bother. These lenses are not all that prominent, although they are plainly visible when the trunk is open and are apparent in the reflection in a well-cleaned rear bumper as well.

If your lenses are not that far gone, Ed Avis provides a fix for the hinge itself: "I removed the old flaps and used them to trace the pattern onto a plastic VCR tape case and simply cut out new flaps. The nice hinged cover on the tape case served the same purpose as the hinge on the original flaps. Total cost of the repair was about $1 for the tape case.

CHROME-PLATED PLASTIC: If you ever find yourself needing to remove chrome plating from plastic, John Goodman suggests: "You can probably remove the chrome by removing the paint underneath, with oven cleaner, or any of those concentrated cleaners containing sodium hydroxide. Wear eye protection and rubber gloves. Liberally spray the part with the goop, seal it in a plastic bag, and wait.

"I haven't tried oven cleaner to remove chrome from plastic, but I have used it to remove paint from plastic. Works like a charm, doesn't harm the plastic. Model railroaders use it on their delicate miniatures"

See COTECH.

PAW PRINTS: Cats love cats; those flea-bitten varmits just love to walk on your freshly-washed Jaguar with their sandy/muddy/grimy paws and leave little prints all over it. Aside from solutions involving firearms, the following suggestions have been made:

Peter Cohen says, "There is a product called a ScatMat. You place it on the car, plug it into the mains and it administers (chuckle) a mild electric shock to the little bugger. I actually own one of these devices. The bad news is: 1. The cat figured it out and just doesn't step on it. 2. My wife drove off with it still on the car. I found it 2 weeks later in the bushes, 3 streets away. My only workable solution is: the Jag goes in the garage, the cats may not go in the garage."

Chuck Wood says, "I know some of you will laugh, but it really works if you have cats that know they should not be on the car and get off when you come out or you yell at them. I took a motion detector which had two lights. I took one light out and put a receptacle in it. I then recorded my voice on tape very sternly telling the cats to get down using the word No and whatever other words that they are used to hearing when they are doing something they should not be doing. The recording was about 5 minutes long. Set the motion detector for about the shortest time on and position the sensor to pick up anything moving on top of the car. It should not go off when the cat walks on the floor any where. When this is set correctly, the cat gets on the car which activates the sensor which turns on the light and activates the recording telling the cat to get down or off.. It shuts off in about 5 seconds. The recorder is in the play mode all of the time. It really works well if the cat is conditioned to knowing it should not be up on the car."

David Danvers says, "I have sprinkled red cayenne pepper around my carport to keep them away...it is a great deterrent and cheap...go lightly so you don't track it in the house or car and re-apply after it rains....they'll get the point pretty quick..." Apparently, the reason this works is because the first thing the cats do when they get settled on the car is to start licking their paws.

Stefan Schulz suggests, "Dihydrogen Monoxide, the colder the better, and lots of it. Apply by slinging it with a bucket. They will get the message. It also goes some way to remove the paw prints."

On to the Interior