Hi all. It's been a minute since I was over here in the X400 neighborhood. As always will appreciate any help and advice from y'all as I bring another wagon back from the dead. This one may look familiar to some of you (max224 looking at you) as it is almost exactly the same as one I sold on the forum a while back. This one runs and drives (sort of, more on that in a sec) but defs needs some love before its ready for daily driver status. If nothing else a full wash to get all the dust and scale off of it from sitting in storage in FLA for the last six months.

Deets below:

05 Sportwagon Black over tan
106K miles
Super complete but dirty interior
Navigation and premium stereo
All the usual mod cons

Damage: hit to lower passenger front corner that came through the lower grille, drivers door (could be PDR'ed but not sure yet), general wear.

More than likely needs: New radiator, New AirCon core, new power steering cooler, new trans cooler(?), Core support (might be salvageable)
Defs needs: Upper and lower rad hoses, correct battery, front bumper skin, headlight adjuster kits. new tires (at least if not tires and wheels), full fluids service, tune up and AC recharge.


Concerns I could use your help with:

• Reverse is very soft to engage and car will roll forward without throttle until it "clicks in". My understanding is that there is a trans cooler at the bottom of the core? Could the damage to it have dropped the trans fluid level (it is not actively leaking though) enough to effect it? As the lines are bent, could it be a pressure issue? It goes into drive without issue and moves around at parking speeds. Or could the previous owner have played with the wrong plug on the trans and messed up reverse? And if so is there a "tell"?
• The car has zero coolant in it (the lower hose was cut away and it drained completely). Does the 3.0 have the same catastrophic issues if overheated as the XK8s and J's have? Currently starts at the turn of the key and runs evenly and quietly for the few seconds that I am willing to run it empty. I will do a compression test when the plugs go in but any advance warnings would be helpful.
• Dash indicates DSC failure in the info panel at startup? Any immediate items to look at beyond the battery being dead for months and needing replacement as it is completely wrong? Wheel sensors? Trans?

Photos of the recent stray cat are below and as always, thanks in advance for your help and understanding as I fumble my way through this!!








So much sand, grit and scale on it...



There is paint under there somewhere...

 

Hi Ian,
Nice hearing from you again. Looks to be an exact clone of the one I purchased from you back in July 2018, which is still running strong by the way. As with most of these cars, the unknowns outweigh the knowns and a bit of investigation is necessary. Unfortunately, there are some repairs that will have to be made in order address all of the obvious faults. I would start with the compression test and also check to see if there is any water/antifreeze in the engine oil. I unfortunately overheated mine pretty badly soon after I got it due to the coolant reservoir cracking open. I was lucky in that there was no damage and the car continues to run well. There is likely sufficient oil in the transmission to allow the car to move, but a fluid level check is a must. It's my understanding that if the wrong drain plug in the transmission was removed it wouldn't go into reverse at all. I would take a look at the transmission linkage; one of the shift cables might be answer. As you are aware, the DSC failure message can be triggered by a few different conditions including a cruise control problem and a bad wheel speed sensor; a common problem. If you can confirm that the engine and transmission are solid, many of the other ailments fall into the category of being able to be repaired by a reasonably competent DIY owner.

I'm sure you will be inundated with messages from other forum members with far more knowledge than I have. Best of luck!

 

Max, glad to hear that your still enjoying the wagon! You are correct that this one is a clone, same interior, options everything.

I am planning on getting the bumper pulled this weekend so I can see the damage more clearly. I will post new photos and updates as I go.

 

Hi Ian,
Interesting article on the Sportwagon: https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/20...pe-sportwagon/

 

I have a set of Aguila wheels that will be for sale in a month or two. They were refinished in 2019 by a shop and, two were cracked but welded. They've been fine ever since.
I'll be selling with tires too. I'm in New York and, your in Georgia.

In regards to the DSC issue, without the code it would be hard to analyze. I had a similar issue with the DSC and ABS light being on. The DSC light was still on and ABS light was off, after I replaced the speed sensor (according to my code).
I wound up replacing the Yaw Sensor, DSC light went away.

 

I had similar issues with the DSC light coming (along with the ABS and Cruise Control Not Available). This has happened on both of my X-Types with varying causes including a bad wheel speed sensor, a bad yaw sensor (real PIA to change; it's buried in the center console under the shifter), a bad ABS unit (only buy a used one with the exact same Bosch part number) and it sometimes coming on intermittently with no clear cause. In all cases, a really good OBD scanner is your best friend. I use an iCarsoft i930 which is optimized for Jaguars and Land Rovers and reads some of the proprietary codes, but there are other good ones also out there. You can find a list if you search the forums.

 

The website should be named " Inaccuraciesaboutcars"...they begin with the old "nothing but a tarted up Mondeo" myth and then they go further, suggesting that Ford designed the wagon, just presenting it for a sign-off by Jaguar, and then they claim that the Sportwagon came to North America in 2005 - not so. The Sportwagon went to Canada for the 2004 model year, not 2005.
Journalists seem incapable of getting past their biases.

 

Hi everyone and thanks for the replies. I am getting further into the work over the next few days and will have bigger updates as I go. In the meantime I will try to get the codes out with the Auctel scanner I do have but it has had disappointing results with my older jags.

The bumper got pulled late last night so no photos but it did lay bare the amount of damage. Nothing is actively leaking but I feel strongly that the entire core pack will need to be replaced as the core support bent and took several things with it.

Wish me luck...

 

Welp, Got the bumper pulled and started to dig into it yesterday. The radiator is trash, the ac condenser is badly bent and the trans cooler lines are kinked. Those three plus the upper and lower hoses will need replacement as I am also concerned that there is plastic in the thermostat. I think the core support is salvageable but the tab that it mounts to is bent and will need to be pulled out. The front bumper is garbage but I think I have a line on a used one.

After pulling the worst of the kink out of the trans lines, it went into reverse more willingly but is still soft. A full fluid change will occur when the cooler comes off anyway so that may help. I wasn't able to pull a code for the DSC yet as I left the reader at the house.

Parts are being ordered today and I hope to start pulling parts by the end of the week. More updates to follow.

 

Sounds like you're making real progress! Please keep us informed.

 

Hello all! So some progress on the wagon today. Parts arrived super fast (!?) which allowed the tear down to start. Trans cooler and PS cooler came off without issue. Lower core support came out with a bit of a fight. Thermostat housing and the upper hose dropped without issue and no damage was found in the motor or the inlets. The lower radiator hose as noted before was cut away so I removed the leftovers and installed the new one. Cleaned the mounting surfaces and installed a new upper hose, thermostat and housing.

Some highlights:

• Taking the bumper bar out is absolutely the way to go as it opens up a ton of room.
• The lower support tab for the core support is at best 2mm steel and bent back into shape with minimal fuss. You definitely never want to try and put a floor jack under this as it will immediately bend and break things!
• The AC, even with the condenser being pretzelled, still had some charge in it and I may have accidentally vented it to the atmosphere, covering myself in green leak die in the process... The aftermarket Behr condenser that arrived feels really nice and seems to fit without issue.
• The new Nissens radiator is a solid factory replacement with (so far) all the correct tabs and fitment. Another nice thing is it having a full 1/4" thicker core, which should give some added cooling capacity.
• Still waiting on a trans cooler core but in good news, the power steering cooler should be salvageable.
• Sadly the AC compressor lines took some damage and probably need to be replaced.

Some photos of the mayhem:




Radiator damaged on all sides

Working on the lower core support

These are so easily bent...

New parts going in

 

Wow, you're really making progress! Notwithstanding parts delays, you should have it on the road fairly soon. Nothing better than rescuing a wounded Jaguar from being scrapped.

 

Quick question for y'all, is there a torque spec for the radiator housing to block bolts? My JTIS computer is dead and I haven't been able to find the number anywhere. Thanks!

 

You can download the workshop manual in the main page "stickies", it has all the directions and specs like this =

 

Thanks dell! I haven't pulled the new manual down as I haven't replaced the garage computer yet. Appreciate the help.

 

Especially a rare Cat like the wagon.

Once WX here stays warm, I'm going to start tearing apart Kitty Litter, get the transfer, then see about tackling getting my own wagon back on the road.

 

Hi y'all. So another status update: got a stack of pieces in on Friday and was able to do some wrenching over the weekend.

• Got the lower core bracket bent back into reasonable shape with visegrips and a breaker bar. Needs a quick coat of paint to control possible rust.
• Lower core support was twisted slightly but it bent back into shape easily enough. Needs paint as well for rust prevention.
• New radiator, ac core and trans cooler went back into place without issue. Having the correct disconnect tool for the trans cooler helped.
• Used AC lines from the compressor were located and seem to be in very good shape.
• New battery and used battery box (basically to satisfy my OCD) were sourced and installed.

I went ahead and roughed the radiator and fan shroud into place, filled the system with water and flush and got the car running. So far no leaks, overheating or issues with the fans or controller. Left the car to idle for 45 mins and it got to temp normally and sat without issue, purring away. A new battery seems to have solved the shifting / trans issue as it is going in and out of gear correctly.

Went ahead and did some other maintenance while I was there: oil change (black and a quart low but no water in the oil), cabin filter, air filter, cleaned the MAF, wiper blades all around.

Next steps:

• Prime and paint the damaged / rusty areas
• Last of the new coolant hoses
• Finalize install of the radiator and foam blow-by seals
• Install used AC lines and core
• Tweaks to the tabs on the trans cooler to get better fit.
• Voltage test (to confirm alternator before buttoning it up)
• Compression test (for my piece of mind, it idles very cleanly and isn't misfiring or overheating)
• Tune up (plugs and gaskets for intake)

Once the front end is buttoned up enough to not let things drag on the ground, I would love to run it around the neighborhood, get it into all the gears (haven't had it out of 1st or reverse yet), see if running it turns off the DSC light and make sure the drive train doesn't have any other major issues. After that is fuel filter, trans fluid, transfer case and gear oils.



So much fiddly stuff...

 

Hi everyone, could use some help after running into a couple of walls today. Questions and updates below:

• The fiber rings that finish the spark plug well in the valve covers and seal the rubber gasket on the coils have disintegrated?!? The front ones are splitting and the rear ones have turned to a concrete dust like ash filling the rubber skirt on the coil...
• 
  

• The motor has been run since the cooling system was repaired and worked really quite well. No overheating, misfires or other issues.
  • Besides the aesthetics of this is there something else I should be looking at or worried about? I did clean up as much as I could with air and a vacuum so as little of this mess went into the motor as possible.
  • The coils still seem to seal correctly and can still be torqued to spec, besides some possible dust intrusion is there anything else to worry about?
  • Would you all consider swapping in used valve covers even though these are leak free and not obviously damaged beyond this?
• After finding this weirdness, I absolutely will be doing a full compression test today to confirm engine health.
  • looking for 150-160psi, correct?
  • No more than 15% variable between pistons, correct?
  • Fuse 81 in the driver footwell panel to kill the fuel pump, correct?

Besides this surprise, I wrecked the fuel pressure sensor at the end of the fuel rail (broke the line to it and then snapped the vacuum port off... sigh)

• I can find a part number AJ87977 but the dealer says that is incompatible while Terry's catalogue does? Any ideas or an updated part number?

Otherwise the fight muddles on. Flushed the cooling system several times to try and get the last of the green coolant and Moly cleaner out, new plugs have arrived, the lower support was rust treated and painted, new radiator blow-by seals installed and the used AC line went in with new seals. The rest of the front cooling hoses have been swapped for new items as well, given their lack of access with the radiator in.

Thanks in advance for the help with all this!

 

Try looking at Standard Motor Products FPS17, it fits our X's.
Is this the part?

https://www.stockwiseauto.com/standa...SABEgIIUvD_BwE

 

Beavered away yesterday to solve some of the issues I found / created on Saturday. Updates are below:

• The fuel pressure sensor at the end of the fuel rail has been replaced with a new / created vacuum line. O'really was the only one of the usual suspects to have it in shelf stock.

• Dell was correct on the part number, thank you!!
• Did a full compression test and got surprisingly decent results across the board.
  • With a cold engine not having run in days, saw 175-180 psi from all six cylinders. No issues with blow by or with cranking..?!
  • On the 05's and up, the fuse box changes and it's #17 to shut off the fuel pump.
• New irdium plugs went and seemed to torque without issue.
• Coils cleaned up well even with all the dust / crap from the valve cover rings on them.
• Intake is back in place with new gaskets, seals and hose clamps.

If I get time over the next few days, I will try to get the cooling system buttoned up and take it for its first test drive beyond moving it around the driveway.