I just bought a 2001 4 litre V8 Sovereign with 70000 miles on it.

We live in Hong Kong and down here service records never exist on used cars so I bought it in good faith. Generally it is great but it has a few things that I need to fix, and would like some advice/help. The dealerships here are extremely expensive, so my plan is to buy the parts I need in the UK and ship them over and try and fix as much of it as I can and send the rest of to my local mechanic with the parts.

The problems are as follows:

1.
Whilst driving on bumpy roads the suspension doesn't sound good, The are a lot clunky sounds coming from the front and the ride is very bouncy. I just to have a BMW 5 series and it would stick to the road. The Jag sails over everything but not in a controllable nice way. It feels very much like american cars, especially in the corners. Is this normal? I looked under the hood and the shock absorber bushings on the top of the wheel arches look very worn and come apart when I rub them! Iwas thinking of ordering this kit :
http://www.justjagsuk.com/product_de...?model=X308&q=
Would that perhaps help solve the problem?

2.
The heating doesn't work. the Aircon is fine, but I can't get any heat. I have checked all the fuses and given the heater pump a few hits, but with no succes.

3.
I am not sure the seat heat works. I can't feel anything even after having it on for a while, but I can hear the relay switching on, when I press the switches.

4.
The temperature display doesn't have any background illumination, neither does the valet switch.

Otherwise, the car is great. It looks great, feels great and sounds great. The ASC doesn't always catch it, but I guess that ads to the excitement.

Please come with suggestions and help as I am a completely newbie with Jags. Obiviously it makes most sense to me if I can buy the spareparts in one place due to the shipping costs. For example http://www.justjagsuk.com

 

1. Don't forget the upper shock mounts, they're not in that kit you linked. Otherwise, that should get rid of your clunks. Hopefully, nothing wrong with your steering linkage...if you say its not turning well, etc. Good start are the suspension upgrade you listed, then see if perhaps the shocks are bad...or take a look while you've got it apart, save labor. Maybe just the front are out?

2. above my pay grade, can't help there

3. try the fuse first, then look for broken wiring harness. The heating units do tend to break over time. There are aftermarket 'heating' units that you could look into.

4. I have no idea if my valet is backlit or not...

 

Your heating may not be working because of a broken Thermostat or blocked up heater matrix. You should check those. The heated seats work on a thermostat which decides how hot they need to be. Each time I use mine I get a different amount of heat out put, but they do work. As for the display and switch I would guess the bulb is out on those. SARC has made a demo on here of how to change them. H20Boy has answerd your questions regarding suspension, he is better at them than me I reckon! Hope we've helped. S.

 

Thanks guys

From all that I have gathered this will be an extensive, but rewarding job. I am pretty OK with DIY, but I think that I will turn the suspension part over to the pros. Even though I have the privilege of my own carport, which is extraordinary in Hong Kong, I don't have the right tools available.

So I am going to order the parts online in the UK and then hand them over to my local mechanic to fix it for me.

I will plan on buying these parts, please give me inputs whether it seems reasonable or there is something I have missed?

2 x Shock Absorbers - Front
http://www.britishparts.co.uk/.sc/ms...ABSORBER-FRONT

2 x Shock absorbers - Rear
http://www.britishparts.co.uk/.sc/ms...0ABSORBER-REAR

1 x Suspension kit
http://www.britishparts.co.uk/.sc/ms...SPENSION%20KIT

But I still need to find the following:
- front suspension bushings
- sway bar bushes
- upper front shock mounting kit (the bushings on these look terrible, is it possible to just change these or do I need the whole kit?)

I can't see these items on www.britishparts.co.uk, which is probably where I will place an order. I would prefer to just use one vendor to save on shipping. Am I blind or is there another better alternative?

Also, would there be any point in buying the sports suspension?

Secondly the heater pump, I might just wait and pick one up when I get to the UK as the temperature is rising rapidly out here now. The same goes for the light bulbs.

Finally I found that the heat seat actually does work. All it took was a really cold day (and no heater ) to feel it.

Hence I am left with the suspension, which I want to have fixed asap as it hurts my soul to hear and feel the clonks the car has to sustain.

So please give me a few inputs on the plan so far.

 

Call britishparts.co.uk and see if they have the upper mounts. For awhile, those mounts (if the same as the XKs, which I think they are) were backordered severely. Motorcarsltd.com manufactured their own mounts in the meantime. Its an option for you.

Sway bar bushes are in your kit. All your front bushings are in your kit. Find your upper mounts and start your project.

 

Try David Manners - UK-based supplier, very good when I used them.
SNGBarrett (sites for UK and US) - seem to have lots of stuff, but I have no experience of them.

Heater matrixes do clog up on these cars apparently. It can be replaced fairly easily. There is also a heater pump as well, somewhere on the car.

http://www.jagspares.co.uk/Manners/company.asp
http://www.sngbarrattusa.com/
http://www.sngbarratt.com/

 

Also don't forget the rear suspension 'A' frame bushes; they cause a lot of clunking

 

New upper bushings for the dampers come with new dampers so you wont think any more about that..

Britishcarpart are super have dealed with them a coupleof times and never had a problem.

Dampers are easy to change but the bushes arent.

 

@ spirit

Great to see an XJ flying the flag in Hong Kong :-)

The display light stuff is here...

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...t=temp+display

As you say, not urgent, would probably be better to wait until you are over in Blighty. The valet switch should light up and does have a single bulb, which has obviously failed.

It's up to you how flush you are feeling but if it was me I would replace every bulb I could find in there when I had the ski slope off to prevent you having to do it every other month as another bulb failed.