Jaguar XJ-S. Manual - part 118

 
 

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hood up.  To close the hood, the arm must be manually lifted to clear the end of the strut housing.  Since the device is 
an unobtrusive black, it is suggested that the arm be painted a bright color to make it more noticeable.  Sodher judges 
that, in the event a hamhanded mechanic does a pull-up trying to close your hood, the $8 device would break before the 
$1200 hood suffered any damage. 

Peyton Gill came up with another idea: buy a “split bolt connector” of a suitable size and install it on the strut plunger.  
A split bolt connector is a device used to connect two copper electrical cables.  They are made of solid copper or 
bronze, so it probably won’t even scratch the strut plunger.  Just raise the hood, slide the connector down, and tighten 
the nut.  When you want to lower the hood, just loosen the nut, slide the connector back to the far end and tighten it 
down there. 

If you want to replace your struts, you can use a reasonably-priced aftermarket strut intended for another type car that 
will work on the XJ-S.  Aftermarket struts such as Motormite’s “MIGHTY LIFT!” (lifetime warranty!) are available in 
discount auto stores for about $20 each.  Of course, you can have a discussion with your local junkyard as well.  For the 
late 1976-on XJ-S, the gas struts for a Chrysler LeBaron Hatchback (MIGHTY LIFT! no. 95018) are close to the 
original length and can be made to work with a few 3/8” washers.  Larry Barnes adds that the struts he fitted to his 
wife’s ‘92 “are mfg. by “STEDY LIFT”, PN# D072-157, $19.99 and they come with a Life Time Warranty.” 

Note that aftermarket struts are a good deal more powerful than stock struts.  This is OK for most cars; customers are 
happy when the hatchback on their LeBaron opens more forcefully than it ever has.  However, it may cause minor 
problems on the XJ-S.  While you no longer will have problems with the hood closing on your head, you may have 
trouble closing the hood; you probably will have to hold the hood down against the latches while operating the lever 
under the dash, and in the worst case you may require an assistant on the other side of the car to get the hood closed. 

You should always replace both struts together; one strut stronger than the other distorts the hood, and it bangs the 
fender on one side when closing.   

Note that the pre-late 1976 XJ-S used a different strut. 

Michael Neal says that Jaguar is now making struts with a built-in locking device to hold the bonnet open even if the 
gas pressure is gone.  Your only remaining problem will be getting your fingernails under the edge of the bonnet to lift 
it up. 

 

LONGER HOOD GAS STRUTS:  With the stock struts, the bonnet doesn’t open very far, making it a pain to work in 
the engine compartment.  Jaguar apparently limited the range of opening because the bottom center of the grille 
contacts the top of the front bumper.  However, Michael Neal points out that the contact doesn’t appear to do any harm! 

John Napoli figured out how to replace the stock struts with longer ones so that the bonnet opens a reasonable amount 
without having to disconnect the struts.  The first step in replacing the struts is to make sure your bonnet will open far 
enough to use them; the alignment of the bodywork varies slightly from car to car, and breaking the front grille will not 
make you very happy.  So, with the aid of an assistant, disconnect the struts and gradually tilt the bonnet farther and 
farther toward vertical, keeping an eye on the grille/bumper contact.  See if you can open the bonnet enough that the 
mounts for the struts are separated by 22-1/4”. 

Note that there may also be a minor interference between the hinges and the plastic filler piece between the bumper and 
the car.  If there is a problem here, the openings in the plastic for the hinges can be enlarged slightly. 

If this much opening presents no problems, go to your local auto parts store and purchase a pair of aftermarket struts 
intended for a 1984-85 Honda Accord 3-door.  They are made by Pro Lift, part number 92307, or by Motormite, part 
number 95038.  The ends of these struts are thinner than the stock Jaguar struts, so you should add some spacers to the 
mounts to make sure the body of the strut doesn’t contact the mounting brackets.  Actually, suitable spacers may come 
in the package! 

The XJ-S requires a strut that will collapse to 13-1/4” or shorter, and the application catalog lists the Honda struts as 
having a minimum length of 13.4” -- too long.  However, measuring the struts themselves indicates they will compress 
as far as 13”, perhaps even a hair under.  Therefore, they work fine, and hold the bonnet a lot farther open than the 

 
 

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stock struts.  If yours end up not quite short enough, you should be able to make them work by elongating the holes in 
the ends a little with a file. 

Note that the OEM Honda struts will not work.  The struts needed are those sold as aftermarket replacements for the 
Honda, not the original struts. 

Here's the measurement from the corner of the opening for the hood to the corner of the hood when fully open with 
these new struts:  46.5"  Go measure yours! 

 

PROTECTING THE HOOD STRUTS FROM HEAT:  Michael Neal claims that heat in the engine compartment will 
toast most aftermarket struts, and that only the Jaguar originals will do.  Of course, the aftermarket struts have a lifetime 
warranty and the Jaguar struts don’t.  And the Jaguar struts seem to fail as quickly as any, while several owners have 
reported long-term success with the aftermarket struts.  However, heat probably is a serious concern here, and it’s easy 
to provide any strut with a measure of protection by merely wrapping it with some aluminum foil.  In this case, it is 
very convenient, since the width of aluminum foil matches the length of the strut nicely; just tear off about six inches 
from the roll, and wrap it around the strut, crimping it a little near the bolted end to keep it in place. 

 

GETTING THE HOOD OUTTA YOUR WAY:  On most cars, if the hood is in your way when working, the option is 
to remove it.  With the XJ-S, however, there are several options in between.  Michael Neal found that if the gas struts 
are disconnected, the hood can be opened to a nearly vertical position, greatly improving conditions for the mechanic.  
The plastic grille contacts the front bumper, but that doesn’t appear to hurt anything; the grille simply flexes. 

Neal commonly disconnects the struts when working on customers’ cars, holding the hood in a wide-open position by 
removing a rubber plug forward of the strut mount and propping the bottom end of the strut, with the bolt, in this large 
opening. 

Jim Isbell points out that another option is to remove the grille first.  Then, with the struts disconnected, the hood can be 
opened to vertical, and the front edge rests on a rubber portion of the front bumper.  Putting a cloth in between may be 
wise, and providing a prop so the wind doesn’t blow it down on your head would be nice. 

When using any of the above methods, keep an eye on the plastic filler panel just under the grille.  It has openings for 
the hood hinges, but the openings may not be large enough for the wider opening and the plastic may crack.  It may be 
helpful to remove this piece, or to enlarge the openings in it. 

 

HOOD POP:  John Napoli says:  “Here's a cool mod for your XJ-S.  It works best if you have good hood (bonnet) gas 
struts, and really well with the generic (Honda) replacement listed in Kirby's book. 

“Remove the hood safety latch.  Just pull the pin and it comes off.  There are not many failure modes on an XJ-S where 
you need this feature anyway, so I wouldn't worry about it being gone. 

“Now, when you want to show off your V12, just pop the release handle from within.  The hood rises silently and 
majestically.  Everyone is impressed.  Men stand in awe.  Women weep.  Children cheer.  Way cool.” 

 

HOOD LATCH:  Up until at least 1993, the XJ-S was fitted with a hood latch that is closed from the inside; set the 
hood down on the latches, and operate the lever on the inside to pull it shut.  Starting in ’94 or ’95, the XJ-S was fitted 
with a hood latch that works more like a typical American car, you slam it to shut it. 

Of course, anyone familiar with the newer cars will now join the list of boneheads that will be slamming the hoods on 
the older cars.  Anyone meeting the engineer responsible for this revision, please give him a thump on the head for the 
rest of us. 

 

 
 

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HOOD ORNAMENT:  The flat disk emblem on the hood with the puddy-tat face (commonly referred to as a 
“growler”) apparently may be either blackened silver or blackened bronze in color, but it is supposed to be blackened.  
The one on the author’s ’83 is metal so polishing may be possible, but Stefan Schulz reports that his is plastic and 
therefore should not be polished lest the plating be removed to expose the bare plastic. 

 

LEAPER:  Most Jaguar owners feel that the “leaping cat” hood ornament looks really bad on the XJ-S.  If you just 
gotta have one, note that it would be wise to remove the disk emblem and install the leaper in its place, keeping any 
additional drilling located so that reinstallation of the disk would cover it up.  Also note that the leaper is available in a 
couple of sizes, and the smaller ones will be less obnoxious in this application. 

Finally, note that hood ornaments are regulated as safety hazards in some areas.  In order to minimize harm to 
pedestrians you run over, they may be required to be mounted on springs or some such.  This not only makes 
installation more complex, but it also makes it easier for a thief to steal the ornament. 

Most leapers are made to be mounted on a nearly level surface, so on the XJ-S they appear to be leaping downhill.  
However, Michael Kenrick reports on one made specifically for the XJ-S: “It’s modeled on the early MkV (?) version 
and sits on a round base that is directly interchangeable with the authentic OEM bonnet badge, bolted from underneath. 
 And the plinth is beveled to take account of the sloping bonnet.  Contact: 

 Bill 

Tracy 

 

4050 Red Rock Lane 

 

Sarasota, FL  34231 US 

 

+1 (941) 924-9523 

“I have one mounted on the hood: it certainly looks very good, and adds a subtly different character to the car.” 

 

UPPER RADIATOR GRILLE:  If you have a pre-1992 car, face it: your old grille looks pretty bad.  The chrome is 
flaking off, and it’s cracked in several places.  And a new one is expensive.  The solution: install the 1992-on grille. 

The newer grille makes a substantial difference in the appearance of the car.  Where the earlier cars had the all-chrome 
plastic grille with chrome frame, three horizontal chrome ribs, two vertical chrome struts on each side, and the V12 
badge in the center, the ’92-on grille is all black with a single chrome strip across the top edge.  There is no V12 badge. 
 The chrome strip makes a match with the narrow chrome strip across the top of the bumper, surrounding the grille top 
and bottom. 

Another difference is the profile.  The earlier grille forms a distinct angle from the nose of the bonnet downward and 
rearward.  The ’92-on grille is more “bulged” giving a rounded profile. 

The ‘92-on car also came with oblong composite headlights that bulged, so the front of the headlights forms a 
continuous surface with the front outline of the grille.  How well the bulge of the new grille matches the non-bulged 
four-lamp headlight bezel is therefore a point of concern.  The bulge of the ’92-on grille results in the ends of the grille 
protruding farther forward than the headlight bezel, so the edges of the grille are clearly visible.  These edges of the 
grille were presumably never intended to be visible, since they would be covered by the bulging composite headlamps.  
However, the appearance of the ends of the grille are quite acceptable indeed, since the chrome strip continues around 
the corner and the black plastic surface is still black there.  The only problem -- and it’s a minor one indeed -- is that the 
black plastic ends just a hair short of where you’d like it to, leaving a triangular opening at the bottom rear edge of the 
end of the grille.  You’ve gotta be looking for a problem to notice it.  But having compared this configuration against 
what the factory-designed earlier grille did here, I can’t say it appears any less deliberate or properly fitting. 

Photographs of the ‘92-on grille installed on the author’s ’83 are available on the WWW at: 

 

 

http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/92Grille.html

 

As far as mounting goes, the ’92-on grille mounts a little differently but can be adapted.  The ’92-on grille mounts with 
5 screws, two on each end and one at the center top, all installed pointing towards the rear of the car.  The earlier grille 
installed with 6 screws, two at the outer ends near the bottom pointing rearward and four along the top edge pointing 

 
 

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upward.  These upper screws screw into plastic inserts that snap into square holes on the bonnet.  The outer two inserts 
correspond to notches in the ’92-on grille and can remain, but the two inner mounts interfere with the ’92-on grille 
since there are no notches in the grille to clear them and the plastic inserts stick down from the bonnet 1/8” or so.  
Simple solution: pry the plastic inserts out of the holes and throw them away.  None of the four will be used again, so 
you might as well pry them all out. 

The next thing to do is trial fit the new grille.  It should be held in position so that its top surface fits snugly against the 
mating surface on the bonnet.  With it held so, the necessary alignment of the mounting brackets will be apparent.  The 
outer bottom mounting holes on the ’92-on grille appear to be in the same place as on the earlier grille, but when fitting 
one realizes that the grille is not in the same place.  The bulge has resulted in these mounting holes being about a half 
inch farther forward than the brackets the old grille mounted on.  You can deal with this by stacking washers and using 
a long screw if you want, but that’s not the way I do things.  The mount bracket itself is an absurdly simple item bolted 
to the hinges, so I merely unbolted them and made new ones a little longer. 

Just behind the upper edge of the grille is a flange on the bonnet, completely hidden by the grille.  Simply drill three 
holes in this flange directly above the upper mounting holes in the new grille and fab brackets to screw to the flange.  
Add standard clip nuts to these brackets and install the grille with 5 black trim screws. 

With the ’84 Honda Accord struts described above, the hood opens a lot farther than stock.  With this new bulged 
grille, the bottom center of the grille most definitely does contact the rubber on the top of the front bumper when open.  
Doesn’t appear to hurt anything.  It flexes a bit, no problem. 

One of the prime reasons to consider the ’92-on grille is that it is structurally a vastly superior item.  Where the earlier 
grille had spindly little ribs, this grille’s ribs are substantial, and appear designed to survive bird hits.  Where the earlier 
grille had chrome on plastic that flaked off, the only chrome on this grille is a separate piece of metal that is 
mechanically attached to the plastic grille.  Add to these facts that the ’92-on grille costs half what the earlier grille 
costs, and you have enough data to make your own decision. 

Another possibility is the JaguarSport XJR-S grille, which has no chrome at all.  You could paint the chrome strip from 
the ’92-on grille for similar effect; a really durable trim paint is suggested, since if you use ordinary spray paint every 
bug hit will leave a shiny spot.  You could also opt for the ‘92-on grille and find a way to cover the chrome strip with 
black tape or some such. 

 

HOOD VENTS:  Lots of people feel that providing vents in the hood of the XJ-S might help with cooling problems, as 
well as look neat.  It probably wouldn’t do much for cooling when moving, but it might have considerable benefits after 
the car is parked -- allowing all the residual engine heat to rise out of the compartment rather than just building up in 
there and cooking the wiring and hoses. 

Of course, cutting holes in the XJ-S hood is a non-reversible act, so a good job is essential; cutting rectangular holes 
with a Sawzall and slapping on a pair of stamped steel residential air conditioning grilles with pop rivets ain’t gonna 
help your resale value. 

Marty Sullivan suggests that the hood vents from a Datsun 280Z might fit the XJ-S perfectly.  They are separate parts 
(not an integral part of the hood) so perhaps they could be removed from a 280Z in a junkyard and installed in suitable 
holes cut in the hood of an XJ-S with little fuss.  They could be painted flat black before installation so they'd look like 
they match the center air grille, and you wouldn't have to paint the whole car. 

Derek Spicer says, “I have seen an XJ-S with an early model Honda Accord hood vent fitted to its hood up near the 
windscreen on the hood.  It's a very natural fit and looks as if it was supposed to be there.” 

Paul Bachman says, “I have been trying to lay my hands on some hood scoops from a 1988 Turbo Thunderbird.  These 
also appear to be of proper size and shape to retrofit in an XJ-S.” 

Stephen Wood adds more details:  “I looked at some different vents recently in a junk yard recently, that would / 
wouldn't work: