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This is a phrase that any old Jaguar enthusiast is well acquainted with. I posted a while back about how, after replacing that suspension bushing in my XJS I decided that it would be a good idea to "prime" the motor, before starting it, because the car had been sitting so long. I accomplished this by turning the ignition on, then counting to five, then turning it off, I did that five times. Not a good idea! I must have fouled the plugs but the engine caught but I didn't keep the rpms up and it died. I manged to get it to start again but stalled it trying to back out of the garage. Boy, was that thing blowing smoke out of the exhaust!
You would think that I had learned something from that experience. Today I tried to start the XJS up again. It caught but was running rough but I managed to back it out into the street. It was smoking pretty bad but I could hold it to 3,000 rpms. Of course I tried to let it idle with predictable results. Didn't I learn anything? "What was the old definition of insanity?"
I was sitting outside and tried to start it up again. Several times actually. No luck, I was going to have to push the car back and re-position it to go down the driveway into the garage. I was so lucky to have my Wife come outside and ask if I needed help pushing it. Yes I did. Thank you Dear.
There's no way around it, I've to change out the plugs. It's funny because I've never had any problems starting it before. I thought that I was being smart but I wasn't. At least the car is back in the garage.
The cold start valve is enriching the mixture with extra fuel until the engine warms up a bit. It probably didn't need any priming. I remember a warning that I read on the Jaguar forums years ago. It was to never start an XJS from cold, unless you plan on running it for at least fifteen minutes. There was a post where someone started the car to move it from the garage and park it out at the curb. When he went to restart it, it flooded out and wouldn't run.
That V12 is a big chunk of aluminium and it must take a long time to warm up. While the motor takes a long time to warm up, I'm afraid that my enthusiasm for the car is starting to cool.
I've been spread pretty thin over my stable of old cars.
I just drove my '96 Mustang up to Lake Tahoe for a vacation. It was just me and the Wife and a back seat full of a big ice chest, three suitcases, some small bags and things jammed into any available spot. Why didn't I pack these things in the trunk? The truck is pretty tiny and it was already filled by my Wife's craft and art projects. Still, it was an enjoyable drive through the mountains with the top down, which was the whole reason to take it.
The Mustang turned over 211,000 miles on the way home. It ran great without any problems. I had replaced the broken driver's seat track and repaired the seat upholstery before leaving. This has been a very reliable and easily serviced vehicle, which contributes to a satisfactory ownership experience.
Several weeks earlier I had driven my Explorer down to Indio. I had replaced the front shocks prior to that trip. There were three of us in the vehicle with plenty of room for supplies and luggage. The Explorer ran up over 263,000 miles on the odometer. It ran without a hitch in the 107 degree temps. Combine the heat, the terrible headwinds and relatively high speed travel fuel economy suffered quite a bit, with an average of around 15 mpg.
Now I'm not saying that these high mileage road dogs are the ideal vehicles for extended travel. But if they are maintained and repaired conscientiously they can be depended on to take you there and back, which is all that is really important.
Why can't old Jaguars be like that? Now, I will admit that I've never committed myself to getting the XJS into top shape. These are challenges in cost and effort. But the result is that this car has never been a car that I can actually drive anywhere but around town, occasionally. This means that I've never developed a relationship with it.
My XJ6 was in pretty fine fettle when I bought it, and the trip back from L.A. was a bonding experience. Then I proceeded to use the XJ6 as my Daily Driver. I drove it everywhere close and far, culminating in a trip to Washington State. For about a year and a half I used the car constantly. Unfortunately my commitment to maintaining it properly has waned. As a result the car was laid up for quite awhile. Lately I've been driving the car as a daily again, the faults are not serious enough to make it unsuited for this use.
I made a commitment to maintain my Mustang properly and have spent more on that, than I paid for it. That's what keeps it reliable. My old Explorer came with a thick folder of service receipts, that's what prompted me to buy it. The previous owner was committed to keeping it in good shape.
It's time to make the commitment or move on. I'd like to find a car that can be more reliable, easier and cheaper to service and repair. I'm seriously considering some alternatives. There's still a few cars that I've been interested in for a long time. The right car is important, especially to an enthusiast, but the experience is even more important.
My next experience will be changing the plugs in that V12. I'm going to document the process on this blog. Sometimes you just have to do the work!
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