I actually saw a YT video, where a guy proudly showed how to fix the S-Type head lights (reflectors falling around in lamp) the cheap way: Drill a hole from the front and put a wood-screw thru... - well, that is how not to do it and how to destroy your headlights... This thread of mine shows how to fix your headlamp leveling with a kit (bought it on ebay / called: "Jaguar S-Type headlight adjuster 1999-2007"). It's a handful of little black plastic parts, but I'll start with dull head-lights and how to make them shiny again:

I bought this 2004 S-Type 4 month ago - it looked great... - but the deeper I dug... After basically working on it for 4 month full time, I have pretty much fixed it now and restored it back to "new condition"

The S-Type came with a very obvious fault: Dull plastic headlights, but I already knew how to fix that: "Turtle Wax - Headlight lens restorer". It's not cheap, but it does wonders, if used correctly. My headlights were actually that far gone that I had to start with wet sandpaper, which was more corse than the sanding pads provided: I started with 2000 grid wet paper & then worked my way thru provided pads. To apply the lens clarifying compound I used a drill with a rotation cloth - carefully!!!

Here you see that the lenses are pretty clear again (after applying the lens sealing wipe. And here you also already see in the bottom right corner one of the 3 adjustments to end nowhere, as all the plastic-parts have basically pulverised over time. There are 2 adjustment screws and one adjustment motor (leveling) in the middle.

This is the headlamp leveling motor... adjusting nothing, as everything is broken away.

Here you see at the bottom some of the "pulverised plastic", which once held the reflector in place. Without them, you cannot adjust your headlamps any more and you have no control of where your light shines to. This should be a clear fail at the rego-check / MOT.

It looks scary, but this is the way to do it: Best choose a warm day. After removing the black rubber from around the head lamps, carefully go around the circumfence of the headlightsand warm it up with a heat gun to soften the kind of black rubber-glue, which holds the head light together, Simulaneously you obviously have to open those clips, while prying open the housing with one of those cunning tools normally used to remove the inner trim from the doors of a Jag (see blue tool).

With the clear plastic removed you now need to remove the reflector. Avoid touching the reflector - especially protect it from grease. Here you also see that there was really nothing left of those parts, which were supposed to fixate the reflector. Note the white parts on the grass.

Gently push the soft rubber thru the opening.

Sad picture of broken plastic parts. Unpack the repair kit with the parts you need. I found it on ebay under "Jaguar S-Type headlight adjuster 1999-2007". It contains 10 little parts. Most of those parts will be broken on your headlight. However, I did not use those 4 "sprockets: in the kit, as my old ones were not broken and I could not see how to replace them anyway. But those other 6 parts where utterly broken on my headlight, while other white plastic parts were perfectly OK.

Those parts, which were broken, however, were that brittle that it was very easy to remove the sad remainders of them. Now, if some parts were that brittle after 18 years, and the other white parts where still OK, it clearly shows that Jaguar did something horribly wrong there...

To insert the new black part here I needed the extra force provided by a pair of pliers.

This is how it looks with all the new black parts from the kit in place.

Now, before fixating the reflector in its final position in that housing, put the motor for the headlamp leveling back in place: Slide the reflectors just that little bit to the side so that you can slide that white ball into the new black "guiderail", before mounding the motor.

And after also pulling the soft rubber thru that opening again, then you can finally attach the reflector back to the housing, and than heat it it up as before, to melt that black glue again to be able to attach the front clear lenses again in a water-tight way (cause that is the idea of that black glue).

Here we go. But don't screw the headlamps back onto the car just yet - because in the picture above the rubber-surrounds have not been fitted back on again.

Here are those rubber surround fitted now. It would be rreally bad, if you would forget them and fit them and fit the bumper and THEN notice that you forgot them...

A bity hard to see - it would be clearly visible when fitted to the car: This is my final touch to those headlights: Chrome surrounds. I just love then - for front light, rear lights and side-indicator.

 

I like the repair kits but prefer the metal ***** over the plastic versions.
I found the interior chrome very tender so be careful about touching it as it marks really easy. I also had very brittle wires inside the headlight. Now I can't tell if yours is a HID version or not and I think HID's run much hotter than regular bulbs. Everything inside my lights was very toasty from years of heat. I also recommend you replace all the bulbs in the head lamp when you have them off the car.

I was surprised at how much brighter new HID bulbs were compared to the old but still functional bulbs.
One thing I really like about the S-Type lights is you can redo them so they look like new! Heck you can even get new lenses now from china!

Yours look so much better too!
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Obviously, "metal *****" and metal parts would be better... - but where do you get THOSE? The OE parts where white, brittle plastic, the replacement parts I found were black plastic... My head lights were H7, i.e. Halogen. I think there were OK, but yes, while I am at it, I replaced the H7 high-and-low-beam-bulbs with the LED equivalent. That is brighter. Actually, I also have Ford Fairlanes ('97. '98). Up until recently I already did have an improved version of the original H4 bulbs in there...: Driving at night with them was pretty much "guess work" of where you are driving to. Those "improved" H4's has 1000lm each. I just replaced those with COB LEDs. That is literally a difference like "night and day..."! Those COB LED "H4"'s have 4500lm each. Those LED-bulbs have a huge "backside" poking out behind the reflector. That's not an issue, but it makes fitting them tricky, and sadly, this is not possible, where the head lamps are fitted onto the S-Type, i.e. the head lights need to be removed from the car to fit the LED bulbs - which was no issue for me, as I had to fix those anyhow - but if your intention is to "just fit new LED bulbs", this means obviously, removing the front bumper for that purpose alone...
The thing I did not know yet, it that I could get new lenses in China... - where?

 

New lenses from China? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

@ clubairth1: Since you mentioned that it is possible to buy new lenses, I checked the net again:

I just found new lenses for the fog lights - I knew that already, and I nearly bought them way back, but then I found out that they are also offering cheap complete units: LED fog lamps with LED DTRL halos integrated. I bought 4 pair of those. I have to modify the plastic in front of the lamps, as it is covering up the halos...

But where would I get head lamp lenses for S-Type? All I found were refurbished ones on ebay...
Same for X-Type: I found only refurbished lenses / used lenses for the X-Type.

 

Great write up on the headlights but a lot of us are wondering how you attached that model plane to the roof.

 

That's a good one! We had a good laugh! I am not quite sure, if your question is meant to be serious, but just in case:
This is not a model-plane on top of my roof, but a real plane - a Vampire - standing as a statue in the park - and I am parked in front of the real plane...
https://mapio.net/images-p/49923865.jpg
It's all a matter of perspective...
The monument is there since 1971.
You may google "Wingham Vampire" for more pictures.

PS: 1971 was a good year: This is also, when the best black comedy ever was released: "Harold and Maude"... - Featuring a Jaguar E-Type hearse !
Fun fact: Bud Cort plays the role of Harold. 29 years later he plays a little cameo in the Movie "Coyote Ugly": He plays the guy behind the bar.

 

Thanks for the write-up Peter. But this would have been my 1st sentence as a joke. I have driven past that plane of course and the big banana and big prawns and big something. Cheers

 

Hi Roberto,
you know that I wrote that thread mainly because you asked about what to do with your headlights...
And yes: That's why I thought the question about the model-plane on the roof is so funny, because big bananas (Coffs Harbour), big lobsters (Ballina), big Koalas (Port Macquarie), big Oysters (Taree) and "big" aircrafts are a common sight in Australia - I too have seen those, which I just mentioned, live before - but I have not seen the other 150 big things in Australia yet...

 

Thanks for the reply and yes it was a joke, I should have used a winking emoji. I will have to check out the E type hearse!

 

Like the plane!

Well they are sold out right now? Here are the head light lens's. Looks like they are dying out as this is the only one I found?
S-Type Head Light Lens

Here is a long thread on doing the repair but it is old now.
S-Type Head Light Repair

Here are the metal ball's and I originally purchased mine from a guy in Poland which I don't find anymore?
This is from Au and is too expensive?
S-Type Adjuster Kit
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Thanks a bunch Peter. I hope my attempt at this is worth your effort in documenting it. Cheers. Hope to meet you in one of the car runs. I am a Vic member, Geelong region; which register are you in?

 

@ Roberto: After my 2004 S-Type is finished (just a couple of days to go), I have to swap the timing chain on my XJ8 Sovereign, and then a big job again: Restoring my 1990 XJS. This would be the first one over 30 years. And only then will I joint a club for the club-rego. Did you know that SA lowered the 30 years to 25 for historic vehicles? Also, they allow you to keep your old nice number plate! I wrote to my local MP to ask, if NSW also intends to be that generous. The reply (after passing the question on to the relevant minister) was basically: No dice!

 

@ clubairth1: Right...: So they once sold those senses... I got the P/N LIHL033 from your sold-out-listing and checked again everywhere... No luck.
And indeed: There are (part-) metal replacement kits for the headlight (your link - JagDaim). But the price is quite something. And my thinking about this is: Either suitable or non-suitable plastics have been used to manufacture those parts. The OE parts were obviously made from utterly unsuitable plastics for that purposes. My hope is, that my black parts have been made from suitable plastics, which only time will tell - and if the plastics on the part-metal/part-plastic parts should happen to be unsuitable plastic, the metal does not help either. And if those plastics ARE suitable, they are on par with all-plastic parts, which are made from suitable plastics.

 

I do not think Vic allows keeping the old nice plates. everyone get a "Club Permit" plate, like your "Historical".