So about 10 days ago I picked up a new project car, a 2005 XJR with 97k miles that needed some things addressed. I'll use this thread to document the work.

First, a short run-down of some of the the car's issues:

• some problem throwing the engine into 'system error' (or similar, I forget the exact instrument cluster phrasing) and causing numerous electrical-related error codes
• broken hood release cable
• needs brakes and rotors
• broken sunroof
• duct tape residue on roof from sealing of said broken sunroof
• fallen headliner
• broken wheel stud
• worn driver's side upper control arm
• worn tie rod ends, both sides
• broken leaper mount (ornament dangling)
• worn out hood insulation

Exterior is fair, interior needs some cleaning but looks so far be in good shape.

 

The first order of business was to get access to the engine bay, which required solving for the broken hood release cable. This took about about 30 minutes, and I needed to lift out the mesh grille inserts and pull them out, at which point I had easy access to the hood latch mounting bolts. A new cable was ordered and I used the old cable to pull through the new one.




Upon access to the engine bay, a visual inspection revealed that both passenger side front ground points had broken loose from their posts and the driver's side had been repaired but had corroded significantly. I drilled a new connection point for the grounds on the passenger side and used new stainless steel hardware for the corroded driver's side ground point.



On visual inspection the engine components looked good.

 

Next up was repairing the leaper hood ornament. The OEM ornament is held in place by wire and a spring which allows the leaper to move around if force is applied to it. I redid the connection with safety wire. Here's the final fix for the hood ornament.


If you are wondering how I got that perfect twist in the wire, it wasn't by hand. I used safety wire pliers which I bought after watching an Adam Savage youtube (this one ) and I use them more than I would have thought.

 

Congratulations on the purchase. Any photos of the car?

 

I removed and never replaced my rotten bonnet insulation which has made

no difference except maybe allow the engine bay to run cooler.

We look forward to reading about your repairs,

 

For now I don't have a lot of pictures of the car outside expect for one picture from transport:



After the ground points and the hood ornament, I dove into the front knuckle. The items to do here were:

1. new rotors and brake pads
2. replace A arm
3. replace tie rod
4. replace wheel hub

So far the biggest difference between working on this '05 XJR and my '05 SV8 is that the SV8 was a Texas car, and for the most part removing fasteners was just a question of application of torque. The XJR is a New England car, and the fasteners have put up a bit of a fight. On the A arm, I got the lock nut half way off before the nut jammed and the hex holding point stripped and the nut would just spin the stud versus come off. I had to drill through the top of the ball joint and pin it with a large punch to hold it in place and then I could free the bottom nut.

The brake caliper bolts came off without struggle, as did the tie rod. The wheel hub, on the other hand...

I have had wheel hubs slide off with a single tap of a lightweight rubber mallet. And I have had wheel hubs fight and require pressing out off the car. I first used a slide hammer on this one, and could tell that it had no effect whatsoever. So I cut off the broken stud and used the resulting hole with a nut and bolt to turn the hub itself into a puller, and without too much effort pulled the hub free.

Here's a picture of the (near finished, I need to slide the new pads in) work. The brake caliper cleaned up nicely, and you can see the new studs and fresh control arm. I used coated rotors given the use of salt here; the coating on the rotor surface will burn off when the brakes are applied.

 

I would get rid of the original wheel nuts, they are a royal PITA if the outter cover slips and you cannot get them off. I have a set that are one piece and are a bit a larger than the oem ones. I think the socket is 22mm v19mm. I think the nuts I got are for a Toyota and block. Oh and they are way cheaper than JAG NUTS.

 

Totally agree, in fact I just had to cut off the chrome jacket on my SV8. I have the one piece Toyota lug nuts you describe ready to go.

 

Over the holiday I pulled the front bumper, and this gave me access to tackle two separate repairs:

1. fix a broken headlight
2. replace the horn

With the bumper off, the headlight is only held in place by 3 10mm bolts (one above, two below). While sometimes you can find bargains on either ebay or car-part.com for used components, the Xenon headlights command a premium price. Oh well, the old one had to go.

Here's a picture of the headlight, functioned but the lens was cracked:


The prior owner had purchased but not installed a used horn. With the bumper off, horn access is two 10mm bolts. After inspection, it was clear that the connectors had corroded (blue powdery corrosion on the connector blades), and my conclusion here is that given the larger half of the connector faces upwards, this allows for moisture to build up in the connector over time. I replaced the horn with the used unit, and then addressed the connector. Turns out, the connector is a very similar type to what is used for the fuel injectors, and I had some left over from my SV8 fuel injector connector repairs, so I soldered in the new connector. Horn works great now.

 

Hope you got a good deal on it!

 

Quick update. I pulled the headliner and removed the sunroof assembly. Pulling the headliner was not too bad, though I could not figure out how to undo two electrical connections (rear pull handles) so ended up cutting and re-soldering them (not the most efficient approach of course).

The sunroof assembly was a little complicated to figure out mainly because the hardware on both rails had already self-destructed and I had no examples on how things were to be restored. The repair kit I used was for '00 to '14 Ford F150's, and while I could not find any video's of how to do the Jaguar-style assembly, there is a Youtube video ( ) on how to do the '09-'14 Ford F150 which while various components are different, the core track assemblies are identical and it helped me visualize how everything went together.

My headliner had fully sagged, so with it out of the car to do the sunroof repair I replaced the old fabric with foam-backed faux suede. My advice here is to go slowly, upholstery is a craft unto itself.

Next up, oil change and rear brakes / rotors.

 

Headliner back in the car! I used a plush faux suede with some carbon gray fabric at the sunroof transition. Sunroof panel and headliner are the same material though color looks different in the light.



I've turned to the rear brakes, and am ready to tighten everything back up and finish that part of the job. No more torn boots in the tie rods and various suspension links! But the driver side (US) nut on the rear tie rod was a challenge... the 8mm hold key had rusted and rounded, and vice grips would not hold it in place. I drilled the end of the tire rod and thread through a punch to hold it as I removed the nut, but the bolt end gave way. In the end, I had to use a flex shaft with a rotary cutting tool (not much else would fit back there, not even very much room for a hack saw blade held in the hand).

 

A reciprocating saw is a big help