Hi Gang,

Recently acquired my 2000 Jaguar XJR with 84k miles. 6 Owners, I'm lucky #7. It is black with white/black combo interior and the asteroid wheels. I love the car to death.

Here is a list of what has been done to it within the past 15k miles:
-Serpentine belt
-Supercharger belt w/ Gates Green belt
-Transmission fluid
-Water Pump
-x2 expansion hoses radiator to header tank
-Rear antenna
-Front shock mounts
-Fuel pumps/screens/filters
-Transmission plug adapter
-Alternator
-Battery
-Supercharger oil
-Positive battery cable
-Spark Plugs
-x4 oxygen sensors
-Fuel pump wiring harness
-x8 coil packs
-Thermostat
-Heater core hoses
-Pulley bearing/Supercharger tensioner pulley/all idler pulleys
-Valley steam hoses
-Supercharger Snout w/ 10% pulley upgrade
-High flow intercooler pump
-Air cleaner mount
-Supercharger gasket underneath boost bypass valve
-Charge air cooler(small 90 degree hose)
-Driver side radiator hose set
-Passenger side large radiator hose
-Throttle bypass hose
-Water outlet distribution pipe seals
-Supercharger rear gasket plate
-Supercharger outlet duct gasket
-Large short 90 degree hose from water outlet to engine block
-Water outlet o-rings/o-rings to engine block
-Heater core junction connector(3 way)
-Supercharger seal plate seal
-Back portion of supercharger rebuilt
-Front tie rod ends/lower ball joints/sway bar end links/shocks
-Brakes all around with new pads, rotors

Needless to the say the engine is running tip freaking top. But there are a few issues.
There is no history of timing chain components being done ever. There is ZERO rattle when starting cold and so that has me feeling okay. BUT there is a weird squeeking sound, I'll record video of it later and post for opinions.
One other issue is that the car kicks on the ASC and locks the right rear wheel for a split second every time I go over this one specific bump at my apartment complex. Not too big of an issue as I just bought a house and this bump will not be an issue anymore....but I'm curious what might be causing this problem as it does not feel safe when that happens. It occurs only at quicker speeds and if I slow down and roll over the bump there is no problem.

Other than that, my anxiety about the timing chain tensioners is killing and I've even had dreams about it. Any chance I might be in the clear for a while if there is no ticking or rattling on start up? Or should I just bite the bullet from the get go and get it all done?
Also, the car has a small rust spot or 2 being from the east coast. Eventually I'll have a shop take care of that. It also needs a new driver side seat cover as the leather is cracked.

Best,
Booshiba

P.S. My intent is to have this one thread for all updates of things I may do to the car. Rather than clutter the forum I'll keep it all here with updates to the most recent post of the entire thread. I may start new threads here or there when they are extremely specific issues. Thank you.

 

Nice car with tons of work done recently. So simple answer is to remove the cam cover on the right side and check the tensioners . . .

 

At the very least pull a cam cover and check the secondaries - might as well replace them while you're in there, cheap and easy. If they have cracks definitely replace them ASAP. You didn't note the mileage (or I missed it), but that would be interesting to know. It's mostly an age-related issue due to the material they were made from, but higher mileage would be more cause for concern.

My last x308 XJR was a 98 with 66k and I did the secondaries as soon as I got the car for piece of mind. They were original plastic but in perfect condition, not a single crack. Still slept better knowing they were done. I don't say this to convince you everything is OK, just my experience. There are just as many stories of them letting go and losing an engine so I'd definitely do something about it. If you can swing it, just replace all of the guides/chains and be done with it.

 

Once I move into my house which has a garage, I'll try and find time to do this. I generally don't have time anymore for this sort of thing.

I also forgot to mention, the car has rust and damage which weren't disclosed in the for sale ad. Real pissed about that.

Considering the rust, I may just get rid of the car and try to break even, then look further for a dry southern/western car.

I'll see what I decide.

Any reason my key fob would be weak aside from battery? I've put in new batteries and it still takes a thousand clicks to finally register.

 

Oh man, that's a bummer sorry to hear. Did you buy it sight unseen? I guess there's no recourse at this point but I'd cut bait and dump the car. Unless it has really low mileage and its worth putting money into.

How bad is the rust? I used to deal with rust repair in my younger days but have realized it just not worth it. I won't even look at a car with a bit of rust. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

I'll find out how bad this Friday when we get it on the lift.
Bought sight unseen which isn't a first for me. But this is the first time I get burned.

Hoping it's superficial and nothing catastrophic. From my eye doing a quick glance, the issue is about a 4 out of 10.

I don't really care about the rust or damage, I care that I was lied to for a premium price on a very sub par product.

 

Totally understood, hope it all works out. There is another member that was lied to about the mechanical aspect of the car and has spent a lot of time over the past year or so getting it up to spec. Shame that people do this when they sell cars. Always makes you wonder what else they were lying about.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...6/#post2668155

 

It’s really sad that people (even members of my family) have to lie to others and me. I just don’t understand why TONS of people do it, however, when I tell them the truth to an intrusive question they look at me like I have 10 heads and I’m the odd duck in the family. I digress..... when you get the car to a lift, hopefully it’s on a drive on ramp style lift just in case it’s worse than you think. Specifically look on the front inner frame rails for rott. That would be roughly next to where the catalytic converters are at. Better yet, take pictures of the undercarriage and post them here. Inquiring minds want to know.

 

In the case of selling cars its for personal gain, but I get your point - seems rampant in society today. If the seller had mentioned the car was rusty or had mechanical issues he never would have sold it. The cars are funny - the good ones sell very quickly, but Jags with issues (cosmetic or mechanical) will sit around for ages with no interest. I have seen a few XJs for sale in my area for nearly a year and not sold. Prices are not even that outrageous, just seems nobody wants a Jag with issues or questionable history (not that I blame them).

 

Not seeing what you paid for it, I doubt you got lied to. Receipts for tons of work, most which would cost thousands if you need it. Rust is probably not that heavy. Any 20 year old used car normally needs work to keep it up: yours looks like brand new . . . and given the kinds of work down already by one of the previous six, I would be willing to bet on the tensioners (at least the secondaries) being replaced as well. All that work is reflected in receipts, right?


Lots of threads on fixing fobs: obviously, a new battery 32s fit; some times you have to pry the face off and use a rubber pencil eraser to clean the contacts under the buttons. . .

 

He never said there were receipts, so if the owner told him all of that was done I wouldn't believe a word of it unless it was documented. We've all seen the other thread and how deceiving people can be. Heck in the other instance the guy claimed to own a Jag repair shop and said all repairs were done by himself. After the new owner tore into the car he quickly determined that was all lies.

Not saying all people are bad, but it sounds like a high price was paid for a pristine car and any rust makes a car drop in value dramatically. The seller most likely knew this and lied accordingly.

 

Zero receipts. Car came with a few new parts like rear struts, and tires.



Moving on: I think regardless of the extent of the rust, I'm going to keep the car...unless there is a safety concern.

I may sell my R129, and look for another XJR like a special edition one. I've learned in my short ownership of these cars they are seriously phenomenal and might be my favorite to date.

And I've owned a lot of different cars.


Also, key fob issue was just batteries. Now it works great.

How difficult is a rear strut job? The car clunks over everything in the rear and I've got 2 new struts that came with. Anything else I need or is it a direct swap?

 

There needs to be 3 rear, upper, shock bushings on each side for a total of 6. Depending on who you ask, they are not real easy to do if you’ve never replaced these on this body style. There are threads on this forum describing how to replace them.

 

Yes, you'll want to replace all of the foam bushings back there, will make a huge difference and a very common issue as these cars age. Did it on my 03 a few years back and I dont remember the job taking more than a couple hours. There's a trick to get the whole assembly down in one shot. Just search the forum and there's a writeup somewhere. I believe the thread has part numbers in it as well, everything should still be available. I would definitely recommend OE bushings, not too expensive.

And yes, these cars are fantastic bargain for what they are. I haven't had a 308 in a year or so, but still have my 350 which is just fantastic. Not sure I could go back to the older chassis after owning the 350.

 

Sweet. I'll start putting a shopping list together of bushing, and I'll double check the struts I got are correct.

Carfax didn't confirm, but I really feel like the tensioners were done at one point because I did a cold start and it was dead quiet, zero rattle. Just a squeaky pully somewhere which goes away after a minute. Will still be checking once moved into the new house with a garage. So excited. Got tired of being an apartment complex parking lot mechanic.

Cheers, enjoy the weekend.

 

Noise has nothing to do with tensioner failure, I would not go by that. I have done tensioners on two cars and both were smooth as silk before I swapped out the plastic tensioners. There have been many reports of them failing without so much as a tick. The issue is the plastic housing splits and loses oil pressure which is what provides tension on the secondary chains. The issue is not the tensioner wearing on the guide surface which is why no noise is heard. Now, you can get a noise if they are not pumping up quick enough at startup, but typically they just split, lose oil pressure, and bye bye motor.

Not trying to scare you, but if you don't have proof it was done just pull a valve cover and check. It's not a difficult or expensive job and could save your engine in the long run.

 

Exactly

 

Fair enough. I'll daily the Benz for now until I can get the Jag in the garage and confirm.


Now the white knuckle 30 minute drive home in the Jag 😅

 

I had my local indie replace the rear shocks and mounts on both my 01 and on my latest, an 03. Pretty straight forward job on the 01 back in 2013; last Feb, the 03 had one of the lower shock bolts rusted frozen and it took them over an hour to loosen it up even after a night of sitting with Blaster. Lifting the cam covers to check on the tensioners is pretty simple with a 1/4 inch electric screwdriver and a spark plug wrench; busting those shocks loose and dropping the springs to get at the upper rear mounts is a different animal.

If you don't mind me asking, what did you pay for the car? The record of repairs is quite complete; if no receipts, what evidence (other than easy visuals on new parts on a 22 year old car). It looks like a keeper (really clean glass).

 

Something about these cars, no doubt. Xjr's are rare. I see way more e39 m5 and w210 e55 amg than the x308 xjr out and about. Can't be Many left.