Well it's finally completed. Purchased this poor neglected kitty on 13 Feb for $800, towed her home not running knowing that it had a ton of issues that I thought would cost a grand or so to get all squared away. Boy was I wrong, it had just about every problem that you can imagine and it took way more effort than I ever imagined it would.

Well after spending every weekend for the last 2 months and investing a total $5,489 and 100+ hours of labor she is all done and I gave my Daughter the keys tonight to her dream car.

It felt pretty good watching her drive away with a gorgeous looking Jaguar that a few months ago would have been only good for scrap.

Thanks to everyone on the site who helped keep me inspired throughout my repair adventures.

 

Nice to see the result, looking great! An additional benefit is that you know your daughter is driving a car that has now been properly-looked after.

Just so you won't get bored with nothing to do, the right exhaust tip is not properly aligned; too high up should be an easy fix tough.

 

Your right that exhaust tip needs a little adjusting. I've still got a few more things to fix (J-gate micro switches, figure out what's causing ABS light, sway bar end links, and front brake pads/rotors, driver/passenger seat track gears and try and find a good used drivers front wheel liner and engine splash guard) so I'm sure that I won't get bored anytime soon but at least it's running good now and goes nicely down the road.

Plan on taking a break for a few weeks so I can give my bank account a chance to catch up.

 

Nice job. The ABS is probably just a speed sensor. Unless it's my car and it was the ABS pump.
If you can find one, an ACM would be nice so she can play music from her iPhone.
Good to see Florida X Types.

 

Congrats and nice job, always feels great to know what your putting in your childs hands. I have 2 daughters and went over both there cars with a fine tooth comb before handing over the keys. I hope you taught her all about the car as well so she doesn't just "turn up the radio" when the brakes start making noise, LOL. Again, congrats and good luck to both of you.

 

Wow, it's like my car in a parallel universe. That's a bummer that it was so much to get it running. Not a bad deal though all things considered.

 

Great looking car! You must have a lot of patience! I bet your daughter is a happy camper.

 

Pretty Jaguar, very well done, she is lovely.

 

What did you do for $5K? Replaced engine and transmission? Did you go to a dealer for every job it needed?
Used engine $750-800 in my area.

 

Beautiful, ever thought about posting threads regarding all of the issues and how you fixed them? I'm jealous of your mechanic knowledge

 

Ok, you asked, so here it is: No trips to the dealer just tons of little things that needed to be sorted out.

Purchase Price $800.00
Fuel, towing, car trailer, electric winch $100.00
Registration $135.00
Ignition Coil Packs 6 (Included with car) N/C
Right Rear Bumper Chrome Trim $65.00
Hood Struts $35.00
Crankshaft Position sensor $14.00
Coolant Temp Sensor $11.00
Intake Manifold Gasket Set $42.32
Valve Cover Gasket Set $58.95
Intake Resonator Vacuum Canister $22.00
Gas Cap $7.01 Radiator Cap $9.61
Wheel Center Caps $12.99 Spark Plugs $40.00
Antifreeze 8.5 quarts $12.00
Dome Light Assembly $40.00
Shift Knob $40.00
Wheel Stud (2) $13.00
Keyless Entry Transmitter $24.00
Arm Rest and cover $40.00
Repaint Arm Rest and cover N/C
Steering Wheel $120.00
Headlight Rear Cover OEM $32.00
Leather Dye, Plastic Trim Paint and Repair Kit $90.00
Ignition Key (2) $24.00
Keyless Entry Transmitter $25.00
20 lug Nuts $23.12
Oil and Filter Change 6 quarts 5w-30 Synthetic $40.00
Trans Fluid Change 9 quarts Castrol Multi Import $36.00
Tires $130.00 Tire Mounting $30.00
Cat Hood Emblem nut N/C
Washer fluid reservior cap $5.50
Knock Sensor $28.00
Trim adhesive and dye for arm rest $24.00
Wheel Bearings Front $93.33
Left Front Lower Control Arm with ball joint $82.32
Serpentine Belt $8.68
Serpentine Belt Tensioner $29.88
Key Programming Locksmith $45.00
75w-140 Transaxle Fluid (2 quarts) $25.02
Battery hold down, and terminals $14.00
Wheel Speed Sensor $17.49
Polish headlights N/C
Repaint Hood and Front Fender $390.00
Upstream O2 Sensor Denso $63.60
Downstream O2 Sensor Bosch $39.95
Transfer Case Bearings $80.00
Water pump belt Tensioner $13.45
Headlight adjuster repair Kit $56.00
Used Transmission $500.00 Credit for used transmission not working -$500.00
Transmission seals, gaskets, o-rings $42.44
Transmission Reverse/High Clutch Piston and seals $120.00
Oil Pan Gasket $24.36
Transmission Fluid $25.00
Rear Catalytic Converter $100.81
Wiper Blades 19 and 22 $10.00
Adhesive epoxy for trans case leak $9.00
Water Pump Tensioner $43.00
Weld Rear Sway Bar Mount $40.00
Transmission Reverse Repair $1,967.00
Wiring on Front Fog lights $0.00
Exhaust gasket and low beam headlight bulb $20.00
Front Brake Pads and Rotors $83.11
Door Panel Passenger Front $53.00
Door Glass Passenger Front $44.00
TOTAL $5,669.94

 

Great News Max,

You have done magical things someone else would have had trashed!!

I hope that your beloved daughter appreciates what "Daddy did for ME!"

That list of extras, fittings, replacements and you still forgot that timeless ingredient that only YOU could have supplied...

After all how much is blood, sweat and hair-pulling and maybe the odd tear as the time dwindled slowly by.......?

WELL DONE!!

The forum is grateful for the timeless patience, sheer endurance and I am truly in awe!!

I bow and if I lived near you, a cool beer would be in order.... or maybe 2!
Congratulations, Stu

 

Did you try to read transmission repair manual? Transmission shops will charge 2K for 5 min job in a heart bit.
I got estimate once for Volvo manual transmission repair $1300, I fixed the problem in 15 min.
Good luck with your car, thanks for posting expenses list. Nice saving money with keys! Dealer wanted $400 for a second key.

 

Incredible Job! an $800 junker returned to "the perfect blend of art and machine" - thanks to the gobs of TLC you obviously applied to it.

 

Yup, she looks pretty nice now, but in retrospect it might have been much cheaper (and a lot less labor) to find one in great shape with low miles in the first place.

When I was shopping for one a few months ago, I passed on some real nice low mile 2002-2004 X Types for between $3-$5k.

 

Wow what a job! Lots of work, too bad that transmission repair killed your budget, otherwise you would have been in good shape. My daughter is only 1 but I can't wait to put that dedication into a project for her one day!

You got so much more out of what you spent then just a car for your daughter. Think of all the money you will save now in the future on repairs and trouble shooting for that car. You have gained tons of knowledge.

 

Well done! Damn that's a lot of work!

Personally the only time I have done that much was a full rebuild of a Mr2 flood car :-p

 

Awesome restoration and thanks for the itemized list! Looks like you spent most of the money on minor cosmetic issues and a few maintenance issues. There were no real mechanical issues on your list other than the transmission reverse repair which seems to be a less costly fix if you find the right mechanic. I'm surprised the infamous Transfer Case was not on the list of repairs! This gives me hope for buying a used X Type. By the way, what year is your X Type?

 

It looks great, and even better knowing your daughter is driving a lovely restored X type. Well done, she's lucky to have such a caring father !

 

It's a 2002, the transfer case had bad bearings in it that I swapped, and aside from the normal engine and suspension comon problems/maintenance items it was nothing too out of the ordinary for a car with 130k miles on it although the interior was in pretty bad shape.

I really wish my trans issue was something easy to fix but unfortunately mine was pretty bad and not something you could fix with the trans still in the car even though I wasted dozens of hours and hundreds of dollars trying every possible fix for several weeks before I actually learned the hard way that the transmission was shot.