Have been looking for an X308 XJR for a little bit now and have finally purchased one, a 2003 XJR with the R1 package. Car is black over oatmeal and has 123k miles. Runs and drives great, but definitely needs some work which I'm excited to get started on. Mostly minor things and a lot of cleaning up. I don't pick the car up until tomorrow, but here are a couple (poor quality) photos from when I went to see the car. I'll post more once I get her home and detail.

First will be basic maintenance to I can be sure everything is up to par before putting miles on it. Any recommendations on what to do other than the basics? I was thinking oil change, air filter, fuel filter. Might change the trans fluid/filter, but wondering if leaving well enough alone is the best course of action since I can't be sure if it was changed in the past. Anything else I should consider right away?

Issues with the car are the power antenna doesnt work and the sunroof doesnt work. Not worried about the sunroof at the moment as it doesnt leak, but will fix the antenna right away. Not sure if it just needs a mast or a motor, but seems easy to get to and parts are cheap. It also has a crazy squeal from the rear brakes when coming to a stop. Pads look good, might just need to be disssembled and greased. I'm not stranger to working on my own cars, but I've never owned a foregin car much less a Jag, so this should be interesting.

Overall I absolutely love the car, it's beautiful and drives perfectly. Excited to be a part of the community, I've gotten a lot of help so far from you guys.

 

Nice car . Filters - water pump- heater hoses and other hose check for wear - spark plugs-check coolant colour if its the correct one i think in the xjr is Same as the xj8 must be orange. The oil recommendation is 5w40 moderate to hot climates . The transmission is made by Mercedes i think the fluid is not cheap .

 

Thank you. I'll definitely check out all rubber hoses, belts, etc. Spark plugs as well, what did these cars come with, platinum? I was going to run 10w-30 conventional, but I'll grab some 5w-40 if that is what's recommended. What is the capacity on the XJR? I will have the manual tomorrow, but was going to pick up some oil tonight. 7 quarts?

 

I believe it came with ngk iridium . Im running ngk ix car is fine . Semi synthetic is what recommended in jag x308 .

 

Also at this amount of mileage u may have misfiring later ignition coils may go bad . Get obd tool im using foxwell its good one . And i run eBay ignition coil not cheapest 99$ for set its about a year and works fine .

 

Thanks for posting that, very helpful. Assuming the supercharged 4.0 has an oil cooler so 9 quarts - that's a ton of oil.

I have an ODBII tool, I hooked it up before buying and no codes or anything out of the ordinary. I'll replace the plugs and go from there. Runs very smooth, but good to know coils can be a problem if a misfire develops. Thanks for all of the information.

 

You best post in this thread with a car that nice looking once you get her.... https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ictures-52060/

 

Will do! Going to get the maintenance out of the way and then a full detail is in order. I'll be sure to get some good photos when finished and post them up.

 

Got the car home safely this morning, I love it! Such a nice car, I love how low they sit. As much as I love driving her I couldnt wait to get out and look at it again, one of the best looking cars ever in my opinion. Had a 40 mile drive home and no issues at all, runs and shifts great. Everything seems to work inside, good news. Couldnt quite figure out the trip/fuel usage/avg speed display, but I'll look in the owners manual later. Had to put some fuel in it and it took forever to fill up, I'll have to look into that as well.

I did notice the ride is rather harsh. It has the CATS suspension, either its supposed to be like that or its just worn out. I'll get the wheels off this weekend and check everything out. Can you just put regulr Bilsteins on a CATS equipped car without getting warning lights?

 

If the S light is on, just prompt it and the light will go off and you'll obtain a smoother ride. If you don't get a smoother ride, your Bilsteins may be toast?

For the fill up issue, sounds like you have a vent line with some blockage. Some fuel tank schematics to review....

 

It rides rough without Sport mode on, probably need to be replaced. Had it out tonight and it felt better, but there are definitely some noises from the rear over harsh roads. Doesnt sound like suspension noise, mostly coming from the body, but I'll get under there and take a look.

Thanks for posting that on the fuel issue, I'll check the vent line. Planning on getting a service manual at some point.

Did figure out the trip computer, didnt realize the button on the headlight stalk operated the different modes, works perfectly.

 

Some interesting info that may be helpful........

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...r-x308-215887/

 

Fantastic, thank you!

 

Congrats on the R1
These cars are highly slept on, IMO.

 

Thank you! I totally agree. I still can't believe how much car I got for the money spent. I paid $3500 for the car and it was worth every penny, even with the small issues. I have owned a lot of cars (all domestic), mostly Mustangs, Camaros, Vettes, etc. and the Jag is by far the most car I've ever gotten for the money. I've paid well over $10k for supercharged Cobras and while a bit quicker than the XJR, nowhere near as complete of a car.

Gave it a quick wash last night before it got dark. Can't wait to take the buffer to it, paint should clean up very nice. Also have some work to do on the wheels. They're mostly in good shape with no corrosion, but need some good cleaning. Thinking about having the centers powder coated in bronze. I've seen R1s with the Milan wheels in bronze and I think it would look fantastic on a black car. Still debating on removing the window tint as well. It was done properly, but I've never really been a fan of window tint. Will probably leave it for a bit and see how I feel in a week or so.

 

AHEM!!!....ummmm, not to say I'm looking but its not hard to notice, your mast isn't all the way up or you can't get it down.....just saying....LOL..

 

Yup, antenna is currently inoperable. Plan to fix it, but haven't looked into it yet. Not sure if its the motor or just the mast. Assuming the best way to test is to have someone shut the car off while I listen in the trunk. If the motor is running would it just be the mast that needs replaced? I see they're fairly inexpensive and avialable.

 

Its possible the mast could be corroded and a good cleaning may help (not the most probable though, actually most unlikely). If the mast is broke you should be able to hear the motor run as you sit in the seat. The motor is looking for the cable stop and will try to run to find it. If you can't hear the motor, then its probably just that and the most likely culprit.

Just in case you wanted to go another route, here's how I did mine several years ago.... https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ve-one-103359/

 

I plan on taking a look at it tomorrow to see if the motor runs. I messed with it for a second the other day and the mast moves up and down but its pretty rough. Ordered a replacement mast from URO the other day, but I like your solution better. I am familiar with keeping them lubed, have been doing it to my 87 Buick Grand National's power antenna for years and the original still works to this day. At least the antenna is easy to get to in the XJ, in the Buick the fender has to come off...no fun.

Thanks agian for all of the help, this forum is great. I'm sure I'll have many more questions as I get into the car more.

 

Greetings to another fellow XJR & GN owner like me but mines an 86’. The better looking grill year. 😁