The Jag returned to the college today and the plan was to change the transmission fluid so that the gearchanges are smoothed out a bit. I managed to get the right Dexron III fluid eventually but no had no joy with sourcing a filter so the job will have to wait. In the meantime though I was able to do a bit more cleaning in the engine bay and around the boot, plus try to track down an intermittent tail light fault and remove the fans for stripping to see if I could coax the upper one back to life.
The tail light fault is an odd one. The inner rear light on the driver's side works when it wants to, and one of the brake lights also just seems to work when it wants to. The tell-tale on the dash shows me a bulb has blown but, when I check, the bulbs are fine. All the connections in the light unit too seem OK so I just cleaned everything up with fine emery paper today and we'll see how it goes.
On the fan front, removal, bench-test, stripdown and re-assemble confirmed the top fan is unserviceable and cannot be resurrected. During the testing I'd discovered that fuse F17 had blown (one of the ones that controls the fans) no doubt caused by the fault in the top fan unit, so that has been replaced and I am sorting out a new fan & motor from Rob Jenner of the JEC which I hope to collect tomorrow. To prevent the fuse blowing again the top fan is disconnected at present. All the new coolant seems to be staying in OK and the thermostat is working as it should. Not having working fans though does make city driving more exciting than it needs to be as you balance the temperature gauge on a razor's edge by trying to stop for as little time as possible. Not easy in rush hour Edinburgh!
As for the oil leaks, they are still there. A can of Pro-Tec additive in the engine oil should soften up and puff out the seals a wee bit, hopefully resolving the leaks in the short term. In the long term though the faulty seals will need switching out.
Other than those wee things I've been gradually pushing the envelope on the Jag to give her a bit of exercise on longer runs and to build up my trust in both her capabilities and mechanical reliability. I was pleased to welcome Kat (my partner of over 7 and a half years) to the passenger seat for a wee trip about the town and will take my Dad out for a drive shortly too.
Kat isn't a car person, even though her Dad is a mechanic and biker. She just doesn't get them. If I was to ask her something like "What kind of car is that in front of us?" while out on a drive, she'd reply, completely seriously, with "It's a blue one.". I was quite surprised to find out that she likes the Jag. I really like that Kat likes the Jag. My Dad certainly does, he's wanting to borrow it and has offered to fund some of the paintwork in return!
In other news and away from the Jag I've started a dream job working in a classic car garage. It's pretty casual just now but gives me a chance to earn my stripes. I've been working on an Austin A30 and a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II so far, plus I've had the opportunity to run about as a chauffeur in the boss's daughter's Beetle (modern version). It's brilliant to be doing something I really enjoy!
Here's a gratuitous shot of the 4.0 AJ16...
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