No, we didn't disappear!

Boy, it's been a long time since I've updated this. Ok, I'll explain why; I bought another XJ6, this time, a 1996 Vanden Plas in very nice condition. It didn't need a whole lot done to it, and my intent was to drive it while I did some work on the Series III. Well, I wound up definitely driving the X300 (a lot) and let the poor old Series III sit in the corner of my workshop. Eventually, I decided I missed the older car's driving habits, so I sold the X300 and got busy sorting some issues on the '85, namely a horrific rumble from the driveline upon deceleration.

First up was the transmission rear mount assembly. Upon initial inspection, I noticed that the center "spool" bushing was totally shot. Thinking that was my problem, I put a new one in, but it made no difference at all. Next, I consulted with a friend who is a master Jag mechanic and he suggested that I need to rebuild the mount in its entirety with new rubber blocks and spring and to use two spring pads, rather than the originally called-for one. Got that all done and still no improvement! My last place to check was of course the driveshaft. Now, I'd checked it before, and all of the u-joints seemed fine, and the center bearing, while not perfect, wasn't shot. But I figured I'd better yank the shaft down and dig deeper....

What I did find (much to my relief) was that the rearmost u-joint was frozen in one direction of its axis. Had I not dropped the shaft, I'd have never figured that out! So, armed with three new greaseable u-j's and a new center bearing, the driveshaft was promptly 'rebuilt' and I'm now pleased to report that the car is smooth as glass at all speeds.

The only other somewhat 'major' repair I had undertaken was to R&R the A/C compressor as the old one was leaking pretty badly from the front plate. This turned out to be a nightmare, as getting the old one out is a horrible job, and to further my frustration, the replacement unit from Motorcars LTD in Texas had a belt pulley that was too big and wouldn't allow for insertion of the tensioner adjustment "block". And now, to add insult to injury, it's been three weeks since they received the compressor back and have yet to issue me a credit for my $300.00 back. What a nightmare....

BUT; the car is driving great, and I'm happy to be ensconsed back in my "worn baseball glove" interior, as Krista calls it ;)