Platinum Member Slayercommathe Posted September 18, 2018 Platinum Member Share Posted September 18, 2018 So, I bought this to use as a show car for my tribute act. I was really fussy about the model, colour, trim, etc which meant options were on the small side. I grabbed this from Ebay for £400, but it was in Wales (250 miles from me) and had no mot and an 'overheating problem'. The seller told me "I drove it a bit and it didn't get too hot, but it has in the past".. ok, thats helpful. Anyway, i head to Wales with a trailer and watch the seller painfully attempting to start it with a collection of flat batteries. In the end the engine ran so badly I haggled a further £100 off and got it onto the trailer (after a 500 mile+ round trip I wasn't leaving empty handed). So, thats part 1. Stay tuned... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member TimC Posted September 18, 2018 Platinum Member Share Posted September 18, 2018 300 quid is not a bad price for an XJ these days, even one that doesn’t exactly run! Hope you get it sorted, feel free to ask advice if you need, quite a few people (not me however) got XJs and have plenty of experience. Welcome to the club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member frosty Posted September 19, 2018 Platinum Member Share Posted September 19, 2018 is it petrol or diesel ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member Slayercommathe Posted September 19, 2018 Author Platinum Member Share Posted September 19, 2018 2 hours ago, frosty said: is it petrol or diesel ? Actually thats a funny story that brings me right up to part 2 I always assumed the 2.5 models were diesel. It was running so badly when I collected that I didn't question. I even thought about putting some fuel in while it was on the trailer on the way back (good job I didn't). Yes, its a petrol model. I discovered this when I got home. Its fine. I'm not bothered either way. I'm more bothered that the seller didn't leave me a battery(!) After all his jump starting with a pile of flat batteries, he kept them all. So I borrowed the leisure battery from my camper van just to get off the trailer. Next issue - I couldn't see out of the windows and unloading was not easy. So first job - 2 hours with a jet wash and dark, almost black, water running down the street. I don't think this has seen a hosepipe for years. Jobs left to do.. Look into the overheating/not overheating thing find a replacement back light* take for an mot *all these jobs have since been done, so no need to offer me parts ty 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member Stew the Jeep Posted September 19, 2018 Platinum Member Share Posted September 19, 2018 There was a 2.5 diesel and a 2.5 petrol XJs are heading into classic territory so you’vegot a bargain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member tim riches Posted September 19, 2018 Platinum Member Share Posted September 19, 2018 Nice to see an XJ being put back on the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member Vantastic Posted September 20, 2018 Platinum Member Share Posted September 20, 2018 Hang on, didn't Buffy smash up Joyce's Jeep? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member Slayercommathe Posted September 20, 2018 Author Platinum Member Share Posted September 20, 2018 9 hours ago, Vantastic said: Hang on, didn't Buffy smash up Joyce's Jeep? Smash up is such a strong word. It was only a big dent and got repaired 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member Slayercommathe Posted September 22, 2018 Author Platinum Member Share Posted September 22, 2018 "Previously...." (sorry had to lol So lets pick up the 'action'. We left with 3 jobs to do: Look into the overheating/not overheating thing find a replacement back light* take for an mot Actually forgot a 4th job which was to get a proper battery. oh and the drivers side bonnet catch was all jammed. So I ran the engine up and yes the previous owner was right, the gauge didn't say hot. But anyone with a brain would know the engine was very hot. The first issue here is there's no water. So I fill the radiator and its pouring out on the ground. Why? Because the top hose isn't even fitted(!) I fit that and fill up again. Run the engine, but its not circulating. A 5 second brainstorm with Ian (good friend and a mechanic) and we decided to change the thermostat. I ordered one and bought a new battery. Now we wait for parts. Fitted the battery, and repaired the bonnet catch but for some reason it still won't shut properly (weird because it latched just fine in my hand). Ian comes over and throws the new stat in. The old one looked like it hadn't seen water for 20 years and was past repair so I thought yay problem fixed. How wrong was I. So fresh water in and we run the engine again. Now water is pouring out under the airbox. You guessed it, the bottom hose isn't on properly either. Fitted that and now water is pouring out from the front of the engine. Looks like the water pump, so I order one of those and we wait again... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member V Posted September 22, 2018 Platinum Member Share Posted September 22, 2018 If you are changing the water pump, change the viscous fan clutch too. They often wear out around the same time as a water pump. A failing viscous fan clutch can be the root cause of an overheating problem. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member Slayercommathe Posted September 22, 2018 Author Platinum Member Share Posted September 22, 2018 V, I'm already past that (just updating in bits) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member Slayercommathe Posted September 24, 2018 Author Platinum Member Share Posted September 24, 2018 (edited) Time for another update So, water pump arrives. This time we trailer up to Ians workshop as jobs are getting big now. Quickly changed and I'm thinking'yay things are fixed'..no. Water is still pouring out - of the exhaust. Thick white steam when its running and the exhaust turns into a tap when its not. Head gasket then.. bugger At this point I want to give an honourable mention to US Automotive in Bedford. They are brilliant for Jeep parts and can easily get hold of things for the older models. I managed to get a good quality head set and bolts ordered from the states in around a week. Nice. Not so nice is in the meantime we'd got the head off and were greeted not by a damaged head gasket, but by this... So, roughly 10 days to go until I'm booked for a character appearance. Engine in bits, no mot, no parts. This isn't looking good... Edited September 24, 2018 by Slayercommathe 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member Slayercommathe Posted September 27, 2018 Author Platinum Member Share Posted September 27, 2018 So the state of play is this: There's just over a week to go before I'm booked to appear in Coventry (and the car is supposed to be coming with me) The engine is in bits The head is buggered gaskets still not arrived oh and still need an mot Luckily I am very good at finding things (so much so that people phone me asking me to search the world for items). Even I was impressed with myself for finding a replacement head though! Ok, so I had to drive roughly 1.5 hours and take it off myself, but needs must. I just rolled up the sleeves, got the spanners out and had the bit I wanted in just over an hour So, back to the workshop via US Automotive to pick up the gasket and bolts. Left it all there for the guys to put together. They had everything built and running with 3 days left. So I booked an mot. Closest I could get was Friday (shows on Sat), hmm nothing like 11th hour. Driving to the mot and its a bit wayward. I asked them to see if there was any reason for the wanderyness - and there really was. Like one front caliper jammed on so bad they could barely turn the wheel. Crap! By this point we have an afternoon left and thats it. And it gets worse. When Ian took the caliper off to try and free it, the pads fell out and disintegrated like an oxo cube on the floor. And the caliper wouldn't move. Times running out. I managed to find some brake pads, and did a round trip to borrow a brake fixy tool of some sort. And it worked! Caliper moved, pads changed and all back together. After all the nail biting, the Jeep was a lovely drive up to the event and I had an amazing day. But oh the stress.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member Slayercommathe Posted November 11, 2022 Author Platinum Member Share Posted November 11, 2022 Its been a long time, but there is news. This XJ is destined to become a beast of an off roader - selling to a friend whos into that sort of thing. I have a new one. A better condition shell and its a 60th anniversary model too. So, plan is to swap the parts over that match the screen used Jeep so mines still a replica. Stuff to fix first, I feel a whole new thread soon 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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