It would be a huge undertaking but I feel that this forum needs a correct parts directory because there is so much better information out there amongst the actual auto part sellers!

I first encounter this dealing with a ‘97 XJ & My work was only a mile away so I often rode a bicycle in my car sat well the south Florida archipelago island chain is not a good place to let the car sit in the oven and bake in the sun. I thought I literally fried two ECM’s although one after being removed and kept in a cool humidity control environment actually started working again one the one I replaced it with began to falter. Because it was so hot I hired someone to do the work from then on because I could afford it yet this person who worked on a similar vehicle and I thought would be competent to work on mine didn’t entirely know what he was doing as he killed many of my electronics that had nothing wrong with him in the first place. NAPA Sold him a flasher because one blinker was not working I found out it was really just a fuse in the backseat.

Then I bought an ‘06 XJ8; I found out there are two different thermostat covers for this year. The second been the same as ‘07; but parts catalogs do not reflect this and I ended up ordering some thing that didn’t fit and losing valuable time from ordering the wrong part! I found this again when a wheel stud broke at the mechanics and all the parts catalogs listed the wrong replacement only through this forum did I find the correct one which is the same as the Lincoln LS which makes appropriate since beans that this is went Ford owned Jaguar (And they STILL have many Ford part numbers!)

Such a directory may not be necessary for the newer generation of jaguars since Tata became the owner. (Like a Phillips bulb for my ‘09 XF that was only available from the dealer for five times as much as it would’ve been at an auto parts store!) It would be beneficial to have a dedicated parts list rather than having to search through threads, many which were not helpful in finding the correct parts but otherwise the auto parts industry apparently has no clue what’s correct!

 

Auto Part Sellers are in business to sell parts. To do so, they need the tools (such as a parts directory) to present the ability to sell parts to people. For a community-based website, like Jaguar Forums, it's a little different. While I understand your concern, the problem is this may not be feasible. The parent company that owns Jaguar Forums also owns many other automotive (and non-automotive) sites and focuses on having a network of sites where people can come to connect and exchange information, request or provide assistance or discuss topics with others. The site doesn't really sell parts as part of the business to have a dedicated Parts Directory. Having a Parts Directory would require an external resource (paid subscription) as the ability for the company to provide it on their own is not exactly within the company's operations. This is quite similar to when there's requests for a community to have the Service/Shop/Repair manuals available. With the latter, that comes with the additional issue of copyright concerns.

 

Ill say this as an entirely self educated solo home based guy. There are enough websites including Jaguar themselves who show complete parts blow ups and listings that it shouldn't be necessary for this site to duplicate. It might be enough to have a header to lead users to the appropriate sites for their parts and go from there. If this site sold parts also, my thoughts would be different of course. Just my opinion....

 

You miss my point entirely. Through this forum I’ve discovered most auto-parts catalogs are fraught with errors! I do not know where their data comes from but if not currently dealer available, it’s likely to be wrong!

Examples:
‘97 XJ-NAPA catalog claims you need a (non existent) flasher. [I just needed a new fuse]

‘09 XF AutoZone & Advance Auto list rear brake bulb in error. Only dealer part. I know because bought theirs only to realize wrong when I disassembled the rear light.

‘06 XJ8 AdvanceAuto, AutoZone & NAPA lists wrong headlight for HID, Wrong wheel stud. Add RockAuto listing the wrong thermostat/housing to the previous three.

As for dealer diagrams, fine if you can tell what a sixth grader drew. Often these are incorrect also. When I found the bulb for the XF was a Phillips NFS except @ dealers, one dealer in Coral Gables Florida tried to sell me the entire rear light assembly for $300-400 instead of the $20-30 bulb! Oh and the manufacturer’s diagrams are worthless for hoses when they don’t show which hose goes where!

At least Tata uses photographic quality illustrations highlighting a certain part if needed for replacement in their service manual’s. There is no applicable copyright to information. An entire manual, yes. The data within, no.

It doesn’t have to be all encompassing for every Jaguar ever made, just when users find what’s ‘wrong’ they can add to it sort of like a Jag wiki.
I’d bet a hundred others have experiences similar to what I have. I’m not even a mechanic, but I’m not stupid & have a smidge of logic in my brain.

 

mc690, I don't believe your point was missed at all. There is no denying these types of errors exist and are far beyond Jaguars. You initially mentioned a parts directory which I took to mean as a complete directory. The issue is how it could fit in a community-based message forum and the resources needed.

At the moment, I think the best approach would be to simply have a running thread about common parts and their part numbers. A lot of community-based message forums do just that by having a thread designated with part numbers and/or interchangeability for common parts.