Hi all,

Looking forward to getting involved here as I find my first three years of ownership of a pristine 2001 xk8 convertible to be a costly journey with the local dealership.

I will attempt to post a couple of threads to get some ideas and perhaps some answers to questions that I have.

Thanks in advance to anyone who has a useful opinion.

 

Welcome and enjoy the site --

 

Thanks Marc

 

How do I post a question on the forum? I wanted to know if anyone knew how many hours of labor is realistic to change the hoses on my 2001 xk8 convertible? Also, has anyone had a problem with the installation of front lower control arm bushings? Someone on another site said it can cause the front end to bounce all over the place, which is what I am experiencing on rough roads.

Thanks

 

Welcome Eagle21,
Yes its very costly just relying on the dealer network if you cannot do much yourself!
I am more of a classic car fan and most of my experience lays there, but over the last 3 years I have learnt how these modern cars work and have saved a packet--THANKS TO THIS FORUM!
You are probably best going into the XK8- XKR section where you will find a whole world of info. Remember to do a search first before you post a question as it probably has been answered before. I am not entirely sure about your question of the bushes but on the S Types most bushes are not available seperately. The whole arm has to be purchased, or a polyurethane bush put in its place. Also most of the bushes are filled with a liquid grease which gives these cars their great ride so ultimately its best to put the hydro bushes back.
Do a check you will find plenty on this topic.
Otherwise what took you so long to get here?
Cheers

 

Welcome to the forum Eagle21,

Good advice above, head over to the XKR forum and fill your boots.

 

Hello and welcome to jaguarforums.com. I know that you are anxious to get started and we are anxious to meet you and talk about your car. We have a baseline / criteria that must be met before full access can be granted. Please enjoy the forum and be patient once the baseline has been satisfied full access will be granted. Please continue to post and accept my welcome to the forum.

Oh one other thing you need to put your car details in your signature. I am speaking of the Year, Make & Model. Without it you may not get the input you are looking for.

Please take a moment and read the information provided to you explaining the rules. Be patient and enjoy the site.

 

Thanks everyone. It's great to have an active community of knowledgeable and concerned individuals that you can turn to with questions. I'll try ot take the time to review some of the postings before I create another query. In the meantime I will update my personal info with the details of my ride. I have to figure out how to do that!

Enjoy your day!

 

Go to your “Welcome” and below that you will see Private Messages and select that. In the left hand column you will see your Control Panel and select Edit Signature

 

By bouncing do you mean going up and down excessively? Or do you actually feel a "thud" or "clunk" and actually feel car "shift" side to side? If your control arm bushings where that bad you would feel that clunk especially at low speeds coming to a stop.

 

The front end seems very loose in the sense that I can feel the wheels seeming not hugging the road a bounce whenever I hiot a bump or deive over a rough road. My other cars take those situations seemlessly

 

So this is at speeds above 25 ish MPH ? If so you probably are talking about shocks / struts needing replacement. There is also the possibility that sway bar pins / bushings may be worn as well. Do you actually here any noises when this condition is present? In all liklihood your control arm bushings are fine if you are not hearing a click / clunk at low speeds coming to a stop or upon initial acceleration from a stop.

 

Marc,

Had the car over at the dealer yesterday. They had forgotten to charge me $750 for the labor involved in changing the hoses. I had new motor mounts put in along with a new fuel pump and some electronic part that triggers the fuel pump.

Anyway one of the techs took the car out for a spin with me over some rougher roads. He drives a 2007 vette himself. He said there was nothing wrong with the car, perhaps the tires could drop a few pounds (which he did from 32psi to 30psi. He said it could probably use an alignment but he thought it wasn't really that much off and it wouldn't affect the ride.

He said that the English suspension was quite stiff and rode differently than the German (BMW). The English suspension was excellent - their issue is electrical stuff. I guess I'm used to the rides of BMW and Lexus, both very different themselves, but neither like the xk8. He thought the car rode well compared to many of the other xk8s he's driven before the 2007 or 2008 changeover (I forget what he said). The newer convertibles he said have a different ride and are larger inside.

So I guess I have to get used to this. The decreased tire pressure helped a lot. Of course the tires will probably wear faster and I have to be more careful with balancing and alignments. But since I only put on around 4500 miles a year on this car it should be ok.

Thanks everyone for your input.

Barry

 

Ah - a different animal -- eh -- enjoy the car --