Well, today wasn't a whole lot of productive.

I decided to try to tackle my shifter issue. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line after I parked it coming home the other day, it decided to go into fault and meant that I had to make the drive to the guy's garage at 30 mph..in second gear.

Jacked the car up, and it appears that the joint at the transmission is pretty well frozen up to where it won't allow for free movement. I backed the nut a half turn to allow it to turn in the bracket, and now the shifter will move freely (obviously not how you want to shift a transmission though, with a loose nut). Even without the center console out, I hoped just maybe I could get lucky adjusting the top side, but no go.

So, gearbox fault mode, stuck in 2nd, no J-gate lights, can't even shift to the 2-3-4 side of it, and needing at least a new cable if not a linear switch. Everything was working up until the other day, so I'm thinking that the cable froze, then with me jamming things around just to get it moving, it knocked it out of whack. The lights and things did work fine until I parked it after getting home, so I'm still hopeful that a replacement cable that doesn't bind, and a proper adjustment will get me going again. Wheel bearing is on hold until then.

But I'm going on vacation the next two weeks, so I'll deal with it when I get home lol

 

This sounds oddly similar to when the selector pin snapped off my VDP while it was on the hoist in the body shop getting painted in 2015.

One of the things I love the most about this forum is the empathy. It's like communal suffering.

 

Sent 7 pieces of interior wood trim off to be refurbished. Here's a pic of the cracked laminate damage. I will post an after pic when they come back. Monday she is going in to have hood and both bumpers repainted.

 

I presume they will strip it back to the raw veneer.
If they do a good job, you will be amazed how nice the color will be, cause some of those pieces look pretty discolored.
Good move!

 

After a few days of heavy rain, tomorrow is forecast be to be sunny & warm. I'm thinking the great deep south's airborne pollen will be stifled enough from all the recent rain to do my hood paint correction experiment lol.

I will be donning the respirator & scuffing away dying clear coat in my virgin attempt @ spraying. Either way it's a win/win(experience gained regardless of the outcome as it's already due to be corrected regardless) as it's due in for professional paint soon anyways. I will document with pics here, I must say I feel really optimistic about this venture, not sure if it's the lovely English gin coursing through my veins or the in-depth research I did on the subject anyways, we shall see said the blind man !

Here's the game plan :

 

Now that is something I am going to follow ... not cause I have the problem, but just out of interest. Do put some pictures here, and good luck.

 

Rear right side shock absorber replaced, left one for tomorrow.
Dropped the A-frame, allowing to remove the whole spring assembly without a tensioner, leaving much more space to wiggle them out.
Not too difficult, just time consuming ...

 

Started the old boy up today and tried to move him around the corner of my workshop I want to use... No fault at all (at first).

Crawled around the corner and a loud BANG went through the car. The engine stalled and I can't push it now... Engine started again: starts and runs nicely still but now there is no connection between engine and diff in a forward motion. Means backwards all the time - YAY!

Next week out comes the tranny, then I'm off to a 5hp24 specialist, who said it will be no problem what so ever to get it running again... I really hope so. Driving a Volvo S80 is so lame compared to my obnoxiously loud Jag

 

Yesterday I took my 308 back to the mechanic who did the transmission fluid change last week to have the level checked and fluid topped off. As my mechanic is near my parent's house I had walked my dog to theirs whilst I waited for the call, so after I got my car I was running back to theirs to fetch her.

On the 2 mile drive back to my parent's she began to misfire, engine light and Restricted Performance comes on. I was halfway there, so cautiously carried on. Got there, she was running on 7 cylinders, I opened the bonnet and could smell burning. Engine off and spark plug covers come off to reveal one of the coil packs had failed and actually melted!

I'm 30 miles from my home, it's 18:00 on a Friday evening and I'm blocking my parent's drive with a disabled XJ. Luckily my mate and forum member Sean B who lives nearby had a spare coil pack I was able to use. I put it on and she runs well again, so I got home.

This morning I'm going to investigate to see if there's anything that caused it to happen, or if it was just a fluke. Hopefully it was just a fluke

 

Ouch! But I have read a few details about the 4 pin coils failing and burning down the car...

 

A friend in need is a friend indeed!

 

Bit of detailing work as it's April and a sunny day - If you thought your car was clean - try taking out the rear light clusters. Think again!!

 

Well I went over all the wiring on the loom to check that nothing was caught and it all checked out. I took the car for a varied test drive over the course of an hour or so and she was fine.
Driving along in this car is nice, she's only 3.2 but has enough grunt to make pace at lighter throttle use. I've not gone wide open in this car yet, I've not felt like it. I've had plenty of people in new VW, BMW, Mercedes and newer Jaguars steam past me on the motorways, but I'm happy just cruising. I've got nothing to prove, I know she'll never keep pace with a lot of the modern stuff. My friend has a 2.2 diesel XF with an 8 speed gearbox and it would leave mine for dead in a race I'm sure, thanks to clever gearing and power delivery.

But I defiantly get more glances and double takes, even from those in the new stuff.

 

+1. Although my 4.0 won't be that far behind

 

I did it frequently. Sometime seven from standstill right up to vmax... The 3.2l is by far a slug. It is slow compared to modern cars with their flat torque curves but otherwise it is sufficient to thrash some modern 2.0TDI or 520d's... Heck, it can also keep up with some 330d models... Once it then gets to around 100 mph the 330d will fall back...

 

Finished up the replacement of the rear shocks, all freshly cleaned, greased, and put back together.
Just back from a small test ride.
Never thought my car was noisy, besides of a rattle every now and then, but now she is absolutely amazingly silent.

Found 2 different shocks, and the newer, non Bilstein, was in a rather deplorable state.
Its lower bushing was kind of collapsed, causing the rattle.

And for everyone going to change rear shocks, just drop the A frame as per Blackonyx's recommendations.
It is about an hour extra work to get it off and on, but allows you to remove the shocks/springs without a compressor, a big advantage as there is not much space.

 

Well as I made clear to Mr Audi S3 Driver a few months ago whilst driving my Dad's decrepit Saab Diesel, your car can be as fast as you like but if you can't corner properly, then it's useless.

Good News on your suspension Eric, I did my rear shockers on my old XJ by bending the A Frame, but I think it would've been easier to do it your way in hindsight.

 

took her out and thrashed her, the old girl loves a spanking now and then, I may have imagined 140 on the clock, perhaps it was km....

 

1 AM est : I decide to detail my mats,hose them off, construct a make-shift line to hang dry them lol. I get urges to do random tasks in the wee hours, some times only clad in boxers shorts & slippers hence the back yard privacy fence to keep my neighbors @ ease lol.




Painting the hood & roof this weekend,finally found a properly matched HGD paint source locally !

 

Tranny: out!

YAY! Went rather quickly. About 4 hours (with some yapping inbetween). Could have been longer.

Had to cut off the outlet pipe, as it had rotted tight inside.

No studs sheared off. Oddly. Nothing went wrong. Was quite an easy job...

Off to see a man about a dog erm I mean tranny repair tomorrow. If the tranny is really dead, then I'll be looking for a car with a dead engine (common) instead Frankenstein car...!