Re.: 1969 Jaguar XKE 4.2 - Maintenance Help !!

In no way was I trying to disrespect by my earlier post. Believe me guys I am one hell of a fisherman but all my fishing experience has been for German fish. I totally understand the learning process and to do you research, as that is what my career is based on and I do it every day. I truly appreciate all the help you guys have given me. I do plan on ordering the manuals as they are a much for any car. I was trying to get a few easy things out of the way, like change the oil, so I can make sure the engine is protected first. Sorry for asking juvenile questions, but is a learning process. I get asked the same questions over and over again on the Mercedes AMG forums but it all part of teaching and passing on your knowledge to other enthusiasts. The questions my seem silly over time since you know the stuff like the back of you hand but I have to remember you have crawl before you can walk and it is all a leaning process and this way they don't have to go through the trial and error steps that some of us have to figure things out on there own.

This is a whole new ball game for me. Im used to dealing with ECU tuning, throttle bodies, fule injectors, superchargers, coil over suspension and 315 rear tires to make sure all 600ph is utilized. These old cars as simple as they may seam are still new to me. I know the mechanics of how it all works but that does not mean Im going to tear the car down blind with out the popper education.

Believe me as time goes on I will contribute to the forum with picture DIYs and step by step mechanics when every I work on the car. I believe these forums are the best source of education and trouble shooting. 50 heads put together are better then 1.

Blake, I read most posts and when you asked the oil question I thought you were "plumbing". You had been given a lot of good information even though you'd said you had the handbook & service manual! Usually when I see such questions I think this person needs to find a mechanic.

Blake I had the "teach to fish" in mind when you first posted. You asked for advise and I gave you the absolute best advise I or anyone could. This is a free forum as long as the club wishes it to be and yes I do spend a "bit" of time answering questions if I am cabable as well as the club tech line. On the other hand I have absolutely NO idea where you are getting your $$$ figures. A JCNA membership is $30 a year if you want to be a Member at large. As far as the "feeling" this is not a virtural car club--we are real and this is only one of the tools (services we have). Sorry if you took my answer the wrong way but you did say as Peter pointed out you had te handbook and service manual! As far as promoting the club--yep--guilty-you got me. That is what healthy clubs and good club members do! But please do not think I want everyone to join--some folks just do not fit and it is better for them and the club if they do not. You have been received well here and your answers were given without reservation or attachments. You seem to be miffed just because someone did not answer your oil qty. Question. I will tell you what I was thinking--the amount of oil will not be a challenge if you can not find the oil sump drain or understand how to change the filter correctly. Sending you to the service manual would not only give the amount but how to do the job. Best of luck !

Phillip:

For used parts i have called and purchased from the following vendors at various times through my project:

Coventry West
Welsh enterprises
Jag heaven
terry's jags
Bill Tracy jaguar

I'm certain there are others but these are the ones I have dealt with so far. Hope it helps

Hi Peter, You brought up a good point concerning border line questions. When we bought our first E we did not know about JCNA, local Jag club etc so I did exactly what any "gearhead" does when he buys a car that's new to him, got a repair manual! In fact I did a complete mechanical restoration on that 69 OTS with the help of that Haynes manual . By the way the rumor mill says that you are about to became a USA taxpayer, welcome to the states!!

Chill Blake, it's nothing personal. My stepson is in Wilmington and we must hook up when I'm down next. Congrats on the new car and with Craig and Howard et al as neighbours you're well on the way to gaining a great crowd of Jag hobby friends.

Strange to relate, I suspect that if you'd posted hard questions you'd be more impressed with the service here. As it stands - as someone who has spent his fair share of hours helping folks (not so much here) - it does occasionally strike me as dull sometimes when people ask very simple questions about tyre pressures, fuel grade, capacities etc. It's interesting to muse about when a question becomes too simple to ask someone else to write the answer down. We can agree that 'Should the wheel be turned left to go left' is too stupid. We can agree that 'What is the easiest way to set rear wheel camber' is legitmate - even though the procedure is pretty simple and is there for the reading in manuals without which the job should not be attempted in thefirst place. Between those two lies a whole grey area I guess?

Asking the oil capcity is just on the borderline perhaps, and depending on which side of the bed someone got out that morning, or how busy they are, you are potentially going to get the occasional gruff response to an ultra-basic question like that. As I said, I'm quite sure it's nothing personal and someone like George puts in hours of help for free so is entitled, I guess to just point people at sources that will not only answer that question but a thousand others. It's the old 'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day...teach him to fish and you feed him for life...' thing?

The answer to your question is 9 US quarts for an oil change including filter. That figure must be in the literature you said you already have, even if you are trying to keep it clean?

Anyway, welcome again and maybe spend a nice evening with clean hands browsing your documentation. Regardless of Series you'll learn a great deal and it will hugely enhance your fun with the new car. Personally, the first chance I get with any new-to-me machinery I sit and devour the documentation just to get up to speed for the next morning.

Like you I can't quite drop the money down for the fantastic Richard Liggit Series 2 part book yet, but I can get away with it because I know E-types and try to make up for it by making myself familiar with the other relevant material which is out there. Your quickest route if you don't have a year or two free might be to buy the book and the discount would defray the JCNA part, although you don't HAVE to join of course. An hour or two's reading, with your favourite beverage to hand, will get you to a point where the car and its workings will be much more familiar. Have fun.

Pete

Steve,

I would really appreciate the names of used suppliers that you utilized...I am looking for a console for a series 2 car with no a/c.

Thanks much,

phil

Blake:

The manuals that I have show the refill capacity of the 4.2L as 18 US pints or 9 quarts. (I do not know if that accounts for the oil filter) As I am at the end of a three year restoration of my 1969 OTS and have not yet changed the oil (although I am looking forward to the day when that is necessary.....that means it is drivable ) I cannot say that quantity is correct or not. If it was me, I would start with the 9 quarts, check the dip stick, If the oil level is OK, start the engine until pressure builds, shut it down and recheck.

As far as the manuals go....George Camps suggestion of the "series II E-Type manual" compiled by Richard Liggitt cannot be overstated. I personally took that suggestion in the beginning of my restoration project and can tell you without any equivocation that if you buy only one book, that would be it. After buying other books and manuals and getting confused because things in the book didn't line up with what I was looking at on my car, I took the advise and bought that one. it is the only book that shows OUR car (a series 2) without having to interpolate a series 1 drawing to a series 2 car. After going through the restoration process with this book and the help of many on this forum, I can say that I would gladly have paid a thousand dollars for it. Whether you buy it today or next year......GET IT. you will be glad you did.

Regarding your question on parts suppliers. I have bought A LOT of parts over the course of the past 3 years and the short answer to your question is that I have found the best overall general parts supplier to be SNG Barratt. Frank, Mike Dollard, Mike Glover and Tony have all been extremely helpful and for the most part, pretty knowledgeable. I have also found Welsh Enterprises to be helpful.If you call there, ask for Amy, she is the best. there are several places that have a selection of used parts that I have bought from and will supply you there names if you would like them. Last but definitely not least, Coventry West has been an invaluable asset to me with my car.

I guess that is about it. Congrats on your purchase. she is a thing of beauty

George,

I understand you want everyone to become a member and purchase the manuals that you have available through the memberships and I am sure eventually I will become a member, but as of right this moment I do not have it in the budget to drop a couple hundred dollars on a membership and a shop manual. I am an avid forum user and am part of some of the best auto enthusiast groups and forums out there, I am even one of the founders for the local Cars & Coffee here in Wilmington, NC. It is a great community where everyone shares their experiences, knowledge, and passion with each other. I don't get that feeling here. I know it is not just me as I have read other threads on here and you have given the same answer... to join and buy. If this is a closed forum I am in the wrong place and access should only be given for JCNA members via password protection. I know when I ask question regarding my other cars on the Mercedes AMG and BMW M forums I get a lot of positive feedback where everyone enjoys helping each other. The guys on these forums would take the shirt of there back to lend a helping hand and Im sure the guys on here would as well but as of right now Im just not feeling that welcomed on this particular forum, which is a shame since we are such a small group.

Im sorry if this came across the wrong way but I wanted to speak up and let you know how I felt.

I simply wanted to get some insight on the car and some legitimate answers to help out with some weekend projects, like changing the oil in my car and maybe get some parts numbers for some parts that I wanted to update.

Like I said, eventually I hope to become a member but as of right now it is not in my cards.

Thank you for all the help this far.

Blake unless it is dirty it is superior to the paper--could you tell. As far as the oil did you see my #2 in my orig. response to you. Dear member you need a handbook and a service manual and if you are keeping the car a parts manual.

Really.... that much of a difference? Do you think the felt on is still good even though it was bought in 2006?

Any how many quart of oil do I need ?

Blake I will buy you 3 paper ones for your felt one--clear enough!

Edited on 2012-02-04 8:20:18

Good morning guys.

I just got my old filter in the mail yesterday and wanted to ask you guys a question.
I had an oil filter that was bought back in 2006 and it is an old Crossland 160 felt filter but did want to use it since it had been sitting in a box for 6 years. I ordered a Beck Arnley filter which looks like a more modern filter with the folded filter paper and a metal center housing that is perforated. Is this they type of filter you guys are using?

Also... from what Im reading and I cant find a solid answer. How many quarts of oil do this car hold. I have seen 9 and I have see 11.

Thanks guys.

George,

Flaming Amy's is a place where you go to get something good to eat! Blake and I met there. I'm sure this explanation answers all your questions. LOL to you and your cigars too. HB

Bob,

Thank you for adding to the tread. It looks by the records a lot of the expendable parts were updated in 2006. I know the tires were just replaced about a year ago. The gas was filled about a year ago with 92 octane (I think that is the shell gas that is one step above premium). So I was thinking about using an additive to help clean the gas (sea foam). I was also going to pull the #4 plug to take a look at it to make sure it is clean but might just go ahead an replace them just for good measures. What do you think?

I got to take it out for a quick spin yesterday just to get a baseline feel for the drive. Once I got it warm I drove it out of the neighborhood and got it up to speed... all seemed ok. When I turned around and was going from 2nd - 3rd I felt a little sputter / buck so that concerned me that something might have misfired.

I am hoping I can get Howard over to take a look at it and take it for a drive to make sure everything feels right since I don't know what a well tuned XKE feels like vs an XKE that needs tuning. This is a whole new ball game to me. All my cars, past and present, are high powered German sport coupes and sedans.... and one very large truck haha. I am definitely out of my element, but thats what I like... I like to learn.

Howard---"Flaming Amy's"? I am so afraid to ask! LOL

Howard,

Great to hear from you. I send you an email yesterday but will try to give you a call before my flight this afternoon.

Hi Blake,

Even though the car was restored, it was many years ago and light use can be its worse enemy! I have purchased many cars in excellent condition-restored and very low mileage cars and what I find is that a lot of items need to be replaced/rebuilt. For example; Your brake/clutch master may/will start to leak as well as the other brake/clutch components. Your carbs may start acting up/leaking due to old gas and rubber part failing from age. Even though it is running like a top today, kept a very watchful eye on these items as well as others. On a regular basis, look at the footwell area to see if any fluid is seeping, look around the engine compartment, and look under the car to see if the spots on the ground over night are getting larger. Also check the date codes on the tires to see when they were made-they very well could be 20 years old and still have 90% tread and look like new!
Looks like a very nice car! Enjoy!
Bob

Blake, You can also send me an email, howardbollingeraol.com

Blake,
Howard Bollinger here.

I have the BNANNA 61 roadster and met you at the Cars and Coffee at Flaming Amys a few weeks ago. I tried to contact you afterward but couldn't get a phone # or email address. Great to make contact with you now.

Congrats for having your great looking E now in hand! I didn't realize you were going to have it down here this quickly.

You certainly want to take George's advice and get all the manuals and IPL's he has available.

We have seven E owners right here in Wilmington, and most all of us are members of the Carolina Jaguar Club. As George says, it is a very active club with a great resource of helpful members.

Give me a call at 910 391 5174 and I'll fill you in with more info.

Blake if you go to the shoppe and look under factory parts catalogs you will see it clearly listed as the Illustrated series 2 parts manual. Please also note the price difference for members vs non members.
Yes it has parts numbers as it is a parts catalog--in fact many --many more parts than are in the IPLs.

Yeah, I have the 3.8 and 4.2 Series 1 and 2 service manual. What is the name of the illustrated manual. That would be huge help. Does it also list parts numbers?

Do you think SNG Barrett is a good place to order parts and supplies or do you have one that you can recommend to me?

The big green service manual is only good if it has the suppliments for the 4.2 series one and the suppliment for the series 2 cars (which yours is). Without the proper manuals it will just be a frustration. Once you have joined feel free to order copies from the shoppe that are proper reprints but not original. You can also take advantage of the tech line where a lot more can be revealed.

As far as the parts manual goes the series 2 cars never had a proper manual. There were a series of IPLs (Interim parts manuals) in total 5. None of them are illustrated so unless you are intimate with the series one and series 2 they are almost useless. One of our club members took it upon himself to publish an illustrated manual--it is worth 10 times the cost! It is also available in the shoppe. Good luck.

I plan on joining both.
I have the big Green Service Manual , is the part manual different?
I also have the original Operating, Maintenance, and Service Handbook but don't want to handle it too much so I can keep it in good shape.

Blake here is your guidance---first join the NC Jaguar club--they are very active and a wealth of knowledge. Second go to the JCNA shoppe and purchase the service and parts manuals for your car. If you do not have an owners handbook get that also from the shoppe. Third --do the first and second!