Typo: 60K -> 70K

Is the 4.2 used in Lincolns/etc? I never knew. (If it is.)

Just quibbling/pondering......

 

Correct on the 70K, thanks.

To clarify:

4.0 (actually 3.9) was used only in Lincoln LS and Ford Thunderbird.

4.2, Jag only.

 

Hello Michael,

Welcome to the forum. I hope you weren't counting on any of us to be the voice of reason and talk you out of your plans.

I've got about 250,000 miles on my '02 V6. I have a 52 mile roundtrip to work each day. I will say its not the best car in the snow, so usually drive my old 4x4 pickup on those days.

I haven't had any major problems with my car. I'm typing very quietly so my car won't hear me, but it's been the most reliable car I've ever owned.

It's a dirty little secret that Jaguars of our era shared many parts with Ford. This helps keeps repair costs down. Hopefully you are comfortable with DIY work with all these modern electronics. I've slowly taught myself the wonderful world of OBD-II with little more than a scanner, factory manuals, and some semi-educated guesswork.

There are only two things I would insist you do. As soon as you get your new car home, replace the factory lugnuts. You are virtually guaranteed to have a simple flat tire turn into a major ordeal unless you replace the original Spin-O-Matic lug nuts and Slip-O-Matic lug wrench. Plenty of threads here on the subject.

Next thing is to replace the battery. These cars are very sensitive to weird, seemingly unrelated faults due to a marginal battery. Time after time, a new battery often clears up some strange issues. Unless you know the battery is brand spanking new, just plan to replace it as a precaution. Three or four years is a good interval for replacement, even if it tests fine. An old friend of mine used to do the same with his wife's Infiniti. I laughed and thought he was nuts but now I do the same thing. I put the old battery in my pickup where it works just fine.

Okay, three things now that I think about it. Carefully inspect for leaking vacuum lines under the hood. Gus has a great troubleshooting guide to check for vacuum leaks by observing fuel trims. I can find the link if you're interested.

So there you have it. My thoughts in a nutshell. There are only two things that bug me about this car. First, on the V6, access is **** poor to the plugs and coils on bank #1. You've got to remove that big swoopy intake plenum for access. I've done it several times and it was much quicker after doing it once. Still, it's kinda aggravating.

The other thing, and this isn't really the car's fault, is that everybody thinks you're rolling in money if you drive a Jag. Just be prepared for the comments at the parts store, etc. I do a lot of horse trading in old car parts, scrounging up stuff for my Corvair and a pair of old Jeeps I own. I've learned the hard way I can get better deals by showing up in my old pickup instead of the Jag.

 

^^^ Listen to him!

 

I thought I'd make a contribution here as there is so much really good advice and awareness on this site from so many. I had big issue some while back with the wiring and although not pin pointed by the help here it was such a support. Anyways the thread has started of as would this be a good car for every day and there is so much truth in that these cars do not like standing around. there are a lot of niggly little things that appear from time to time not least as you start to crank up the mileage and the roads being not that flat in some parts the running gear copes well but the rubbers get tired. Having said that there are now many bushes available for pretty much all the joints but they do have their fair share of awkwardness of getting to be replaced by pressing. Some can be done in Situ and others such as wheel bearings and back swing arms and bottom struct joints are an off and bench press. Brakes can be a nuisance in that the Pins in the Calliper cradles that allow the pots to slide and hopefully release from the discs do corrode up badly if not paid attention to and gives all sorts of issues such as heating discs that can warp and give an imbalance especially on front and the heating of the pistons in brake calliper housing that then starts to impure the brake fluid and cause issues on the release return pipes. but having said this I do love the drive the look and feel and enjoy working on it they are an absolute joy. Don't like the cold months sliding around in the cold but needs must devil drives to keep the beauty on the road driving.
Junior as I am on here I think I'm getting to know every part of my S-type. Oh Thermostat housings are a bit of a weak spot as is the header tank collection reservoir it creates back pressure which starts to weaken the over flow nozzle. on the V8 check the end caps on the housing as they are on a press fit in to the ends and become brittle and weak and then seep fluid. heaps of little bits but all so easy to attend to if your minds willing and body able. Plenty more if you need further drivel from me on this lovely subject.