Experience in a Book:

Help for the Jaguar XJ-S Owner

by Kirby Palm

Having owned several unusual automobiles, it occurred to me that one of the biggest problems of having an uncommon car is learning all the little nuances and quirks unique to that model. The local gas station mechanic is not likely to be much help, and mechanics knowledgeable on unusual makes are likely to be expensive and far away. Such mechanics also have the ulterior motive of making a profit, and therefore are disinclined to tell you about money-saving alternatives. And finding someone who will actually take the time to tell you everything you might need to know is almost impossible.

Owning both a Jaguar XJ-S and a computer, it seemed only natural that I could record the things I learned about my car and make the information available to others. What started as a set of notes on "Everything you wanted to know but didn't know who to ask" has evolved into a book of 700+ pages of small print, including many illustrations and schematics. It was originally intended to be printed and s-mailed to whoever sent a few bucks to cover expenses, but with the development of the Internet and the World Wide Web it became possible to allow people anywhere in the world to download the file and print it for themselves.  Yes, it is free to download.

Note that the link below will download the file from the jag-lovers server in Norway.

Experience in a Book: Help for the Jaguar XJ-S Owner (XJS_help.pdf) is a PDF document containing useful information for the maintenance, upkeep, and modification of the Jaguar XJ-S.  The current edition is 4.7 MB.  Since it is a PDF file your browser may just try to open it online; if you're on a dial-up, it'll take about 45 minutes for that page to load!  It is recommended that you right-click on this link and select "Save Link Target As..", especially if you're working with a slow internet connection.

Right-click here to begin download

You may print it out if you wish, but it is over 700 pages and will use up a lot of ink and paper.  What many owners do is peruse it on their computer where they can perform keyword searches and click on cross-references and links to web sites.  When it's time to get greasy they'll print out the few pages they need and carry them out to the garage.  If they get smudged, just throw them away and reprint.

To view a PDF file, you'll need Adobe Acrobat.

The current edition of the book is dated May 21, 2009. The date is on the cover page.

There is a listing of the revisions incorporated into this document beginning in February of 2009.  There is also a listing of the revisions from January 1, 2000 through May 19, 2006.  There is also a text file listing the revisions incorporated in the 1900's.

Since the jag-lovers www site provides me plenty of hard drive space, I've established a collection of pictures that illustrate some of the parts and modifications mentioned in the book.  These photos are not included in the book itself; the book contains illustrations and diagrams but no photographs because they use too much ink to print.

Sean Straw has set up a site with some sounds that Jaguars make .  This isn't just to sound pretty; these are sounds the engines make when there's something wrong.  Very useful for diagnosis.

I also offer some guidelines on proper Jaguar etiquette to maximize the Jaguar experience.

There are other valuable Jaguar resources on the Web, but rather than provide a comprehensive collection of links I will merely point you to the jag-lovers page -- it provides all the links you might need.

If you have questions about your car, I recommend you join the xj-s and v12-engine online discussion lists and post your questions there. You can join from the the jag-lovers page .  From that site you can also browse or search the archives of those lists to see if your problem has already been discussed, and you can do that without joining the lists.

If you would like to contribute your experiences to the XJ-S book, share them on the xj-s and v12-engine discussion lists -- I often use messages sent to these lists to update the book.
 
 

"The word "Jaguar" and the leaping cat device, whether used separately or in combination, are registered trademarks and are the property of Jaguar Cars, England".