Hey all! So, I think I've been here before, when I was trying to fix my parents' 2003 S-type. It's got a few *minor* issues, I'll outline them after I get a little intro about me and my newbie-ness to these parts.

I'm 21, and I'm in my 4th year at the University at Buffalo, double majoring in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Even though I live, breathe, and eat engineering, I'm pretty inexperienced when it comes to cars. After my last semester, I was fed up with not having a car, so I decided I would purchase a used car. Figuring I had about $5000 to spend on an automobile, I sifted through autotrader, trying to find something that was practical in my situation. After looking through hundreds of ads, I had a few hopefuls, but my parents kept telling me to hold off on pulling the trigger.

Finally, we sat down and had a chat, and they said they still didn't want me to buy a car, and that they'd rather give me their black 2003 S-type. Needless to say, I was floored, but I did my best to be very mature about it, and promised to the end that I will be very responsible with it. I will be paying my fair-share of the insurance on it, and for my own gas. I'll also probably be taking part of the $5000 that I don't have to spend on a car to improve the Jag.

My parents purchased it in early 2010, used, with 60k miles, great running condition, for about $12k. It was in decent cosmetic condition until my mother started driving it. I consider myself to be a good, responsible driver, and I'm the designated driver whenever my dad isn't around (he is a professional chauffeur.)

So, minor things that I'd really like to care of, (in no particular order):

- My headlights droop. This isn't uncommon, apparently. I saw the "sheet-metal screw" fix, I'll be going for that, since I have the expensive headlights, according to my dad (HIDs?)
- The Leaper fell off. I still have the Leaper itself, but I need to find a new retention kit.
- Lower body panel/bumper is sticking out a bit from the rest of the body, at the front-right near the wheel well. We've had it fixed a few times, just by anchoring it to the upper panel with a screw, but my mother likes to get it caught on the curb near the end of the driveway when she's pulling out.
- Various scratches and blemishes in the paint, nothing so deep that it would make me worry about rust.
- Two tiny little holes, maybe .25" in diameter, between two of the backup sensors on the rear bumpers.
- I only have one key. Not a huge issue, but I'd like to have one to leave at home, just in case I manage to do something stupid.
- Headlight covers are "fogged," need to be restored so they're clear, not just translucent.
- I have no idea what the situation is with my backup sensors. Sometimes they work, sometimes they give a false positive, sometimes they're on when the car is in drive, sometimes they don't work. I don't really use them anyhow, so they need to be disabled.
- Occasionally, climate control has a mind of it's own. Not quite HAL style, but a/c will come on when I haven't turned it on, cabin air recirculation turns itself off occasionally.
- Decent scratch on the windshield on the driver's side. Imagine you took your left wiper off, then turned on the wipers anyway. That's exactly what happened.
- I'd love to find an original shifter knob. The one on there is tasteful enough, nobody would notice if I didn't point it out. But I notice
- I'd also really like to find a way to get an aux/line-in into the stereo. I was thinking to try and do it by removing the CD-changer in the back, since I never use it, and see if there are any useful inputs back there.
- Another "would like" is to replace the spark plugs. Currently, I'm pretty sure they are stock. My dad always buys some fancy Bosch ones, pulsars or something of the sort that make every car we put them in noticeably more awesome.

I know the "TLC" list seems like a lot, it's just the things I plan to try to fix/improve. I'm sure I'll find other little things to fix up. In the meantime, she drives just great, and I'm excited to be a new member here. If anybody has any tips on any of the above, let me know! Pics on request!

 

Welcome to the forum Jonathan,

Good to have you with us.
That is quite a list, there is a thread somwhere about reattaching the leaper with home depot parts, you can practise your searching!
The sensor module is in the spare wheel well just unplug it for a resounding silence.

You should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.

 

Welcome Jonathan,

Great intro - you've certainly got the S-Type wish list worked out. I think you could just be playing down your experience with cars.

Graham

 

Welcome Jonathan, sounds like your 2nd home will be the S-Type section.
About the only thing I can offer is to check your battery. Get a hygrometer from most any auto parts store and check each cell to make sure all is OK. If in doubt, replace, that usually gets rid of various electrical gremlins.

 

Hey guys/gals, thanks for the quick replies!

After some minor search-fu, I'll be following Brutal's "screw fix" for the headlights, hopefully today, if I decide to brave the heat and humidity. It's a little embarrassing to admit, but I don't have a garage. That's one of the other reasons the paint has so many little blemishes and whatnot. Once I'm up to 10 posts, I'll try to PM Brutal to ask if he's still doing the $125 deal to fix each headlight and polish to like-new. That is, if I can't figure out how to do it myself

Also, the cabin air recirculation issue isn't really an issue, apparently it's more of just an "unexpected feature." Gotta hold down the cabin air recirc button until I hear two beeps, then it's locked. The more you know!

At some point, I'll be "butchering the cd changer" to add an aux-in. It doesn't seem too bad, minor soldering involved, I'll have to figure out how to remove the CD changer and all. I have a JTIS on CD somewhere I'll install, hopefully it spills some secrets on dis-assembly and whatnot.

Norri, I'm still searching about for the home depot leaper fix, can't find it yet I have to look at just what state my leaper is in, I know the kitty itself is fine, but the mounting stuff may or may not have been lost or FUBAR. I'd Macguyver her back on there, probably stronger than she was from the factory, but I think there are some laws that involve your hood ornament being flexible/ready to fail in case you hit a pedestrian or something like that. If I'm wrong, please, please correct me.

Graham, I appreciate the compliment. I'm an engineering student, and being a quick learner from observing a system is a big part of that. I consider myself a step above thinking that the car operates on black magic, but past that, I have no idea which parts serve what purpose, and the vernacular that goes along with the rest of it.

I'm very much a DIY-guy, so I'm looking forward to learning how to fix whatever I can, and feel that manly pride when I say "Yeah, so I replaced my alternator this weekend," or something like that.

Hopefully, I'll be posting various pictures and updates later today!

 

Jonathan,

There's more than a few around here convinced Jaguar electronics operate on Black Magic.

Graham

 

So, I just finished Brutal's sheet metal screw fix. Works like a charm, but I have to wait for night time to see just how the lights look now.


Still working on trying to find that home depot leaper fix!

 

Hi there Jonathan & welcome aboard Jaguarforums, good to have you here with us


Nice intro too thanks for sharing.......just need some
There's a really great mix of information, camraderrie and fun here.....
I've manually upgraded you to full forum access so you can better view the whole site and all its features

Jump on in and enjoy the site.................

 

Hey, thanks a lot JimC64!

I've got some pictures down here now, one of her in all her current glory, and a couple others of some of the issues I'm working on fixing. There's the two little dents/holes on the rear bumper, some crud I cannot get off the rims for the life of me, and the body panel/front bumper that's coming off on the front-right.

 

Nice, she looks in good shape!!

The rims, worst case scenario, have you tried T cut??
A long and laborious job but should do the trick!
Before you go down that route have you tried either Bilberry or better still Sonx Full effect wheel cleaner? If its ingrained brake dust particles that may shift it before trying the T cut

Absolute last resort - If you can afford to be without the car for a few days, refurb them yourself!
Some hard work, a lot of sanding and around £50 in materials should do all 4..........I've done about 3 sets myself and its not that difficult, there are a few write ups on the forum about various methods used.

Holes in the bumper - has it been a taxi Jonathan??

Lastly......although she looks great, shame on you for that exhaust tip.........some elbow grease mixed in with Autosol with have that shining like NEW!

Good luck

 

Jonathan,

Looks good - dents should be easy to fix.

That front bumper needs securing a.s.a.p. or you could land yourself with a huge bill for replacement if it comes adrift on the highway.

Looks like a retaining bolt is loose or missing. Head on to the S-Type section and ask the experts how it's attached.

Graham

 

Jim, I'll definitely give it a shot with the full effect, then the T-cut if it doesn't work. It definitely hasn't been used as a taxi (though, I feel like a chauffeur sometimes. My mother has me drive her around *everywhere.*) It's only got 73k miles in it, that'd be awfully low for a taxi.

GGG, the front bumper seems to be on there pretty securely, there's really no wiggle to it, it doesn't really feel like a "loose tooth." I'll probably end up re-securing it the way we had it done initially, which looked great until my brother backed up over the curb trying to leave the driveway.

Those dents really should be pretty easy, I figured I'd go over them with some kind of putty, then touch them up.

Anybody have an idea on how much new coat of paint would go for?

 

Jonathon,

Here's the home depot fix https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...rnament-56492/

 

nice jag

 

Norri, thanks for the link, it seems simple enough. Not to be a nag, do you know what kind of spring I'd need? Maybe a dimension/size, constant? All I can find of the original Leaper assembly is the Leaper itself, and I'm having trouble finding diagrams. I'll probably end up getting really redundant with the security of the ornament, maybe a fail-safe cable or something. An extra $5 now could prevent needing a new $300 leaper later on :P


hyyper, thanks! Got my headlights to a good level now, still fixing little things, but I am so excited to call this car my own!

 

I don't know, I think there have been a couple of other members who have repaired theirs.
Why not post up in the S Type section and see what people can suggest, you will get more response than here which is for intros only.