Jaguar XJ-S. Manual - part 119

 
 

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“79-83 280 ZX (FI Car):  Description: Semi Triangular Black Plastic, but the plastic in them is not very good so if you 
are in a sunny climate they will be brittle.  Replacement part is pricey and supposedly not available from the dealer ( 
Nissan Dealers are scum...).  However "Tweeks Ltd." does stock all of that stuff.   

“80-83 280 ZX (Turbo-FI Car):  I am still trying to find a 280 ZX turbo in a junk yard (I will be going again this 
weekend) that has a different vent, and see how they attach.  They only have one vent on the passenger side of the hood 
but they look pretty neat, a NACA scoop followed by a grille.  If you could find two of them, you could locate them 
further forward in the XJ-S hood and have "Ram Air" (oooooh cool.) 

“The 75-78 280Z vent is different right from left, and would require modification and "dremeling" and is really small, 
I'm not sure if it would make a worthwhile difference (to vent or not to vent, that is the question). 

“Idea:  the 78-81 Camaro Z28 had some fenderwell vents on the side, top rearward portion of the fender; those may be 
big, but you could mount them on the hood of the XJS.  

“1989-92 Firebird: Small hood vents in front nose portion, could be cool.  I need to get dimensions. 

“1979-84 Mustang GT.  Cowl hood type.  Mounts with 4 bolts and allows removal of block off plate for a 1"x18" 
opening.  This is severe but could be helpful in hot climates.” 

You should remember that openings in the hood will allow rain in.  Many cars -- including Jaguar E-Types -- have rain 
collectors underneath their hood louvers to divert rain into drains and out the bottom of the car.  If you just cut holes in 
the hood and call it a day, the rain may find its way to an exhaust manifold and create a large cloud of steam.  That 
might be a little more drama at the stoplight than you need.  And that’s not to mention the effect of rain on electrical 
hardware and other stuff in the engine compartment. 

One other concern I can foresee is that add-on vents might protrude into the engine compartment an inch or so, and 
maybe hit something -- like the diagonal struts.  Best to double-check clearances before cutting. 

 

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 
‘possum 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 

 
 

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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...”  (see page 715) 

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’t do -- music 
wire is extremely high strength, necessary for a spring.  Suitable 1/4” spring material may also be available from a 
junkyard as the straight springs used to hold the trunk lid open on many cars.  Bend and cut the wire to the same shape 
as the original spring, except replace the bottom two 90° bends with one continuous U-shape.  This will reduce the 
stress concentrations caused by the 90° 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. 

Mack Kamna says, “Always save the best key to have copies made from.  In an ideal world one would save an original 
"uncirculated" key for this purpose.  Replace a key when it starts to show rounding of the edges, or any scarring.  Keys 
are much cheaper then lock assemblies. 

“The only lubricant to use in the tumbler mechanism is molybdemum disulfide, as it does not attract dirt and allows the 
naturally-occurring metal particles to dissipate.  It can be found under the trade name Dri Slide and many other names. 
It can also be purchased in both aerosol and "squeeze cans".  I normally spray it in all my tumblers, (ignition, doors, 
trunk, etc.) about every six to nine months.  The process is as follows:  Shake the can very well, as it tends to settle 
worse then any other product I have seen.  Using the applicator tube spray short burst(s) into lock mechanism, while 
moving the applicator in and out.  Immediately afterwards, insert the key and turn a full rotation, repeat the key 
insertion several times.  In addition, on some sticky locks I have sprayed it onto the key. 

“Caveats: It is smelly stuff, use as sparingly as possible.  It also helps to do it on a nice day so you can air the car out 
afterwards.  Keep a rag or paper towel handy, and make sure you check the key the next few times you use it for 
residue before tossing it into your nice sportcoat pocket.  I find the aerosol spray is messier, but it does seem to "free 
up" sticky locks better then the other types.”  

 

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 90º 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 

 
 

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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. 

 

SIDE MIRRORS:  Martin Fooks wanted his car to look stylish, so he installed side mirrors from a Pontiac Fiero.  “The 
mirrors are fairly easy to fit as only one of the 2 bolt holes has to be slightly widened and the angles of the mirrors to 
the car are just about perfect.  My car used to have manual adjustable mirrors and the electric wires for the Fiero items 
come through the hole that the manual rod used to use. 

“The mirrors are bolted to the doors from the inside, thus (unknowingly at the time) removing that easy route into the 
XJ-S.  (ed. note: see “Breaking In” on page 473) 

“As I did not have electric mirrors before, I used the complete Fiero harness and switch, although as you will be aware 
electric mirror wiring is hardly a challenge...” 

If you have WWW surfing capability, you can take a look at Fooks’ car at: 

 

 

http://www.geocities.com/motorcity/8382

 

 

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. 

 
 

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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