Hi everyone:

I am a new Jag owner and this is my first. I will be picking up my car this week. It appears to have been very well taken care of. The car has 72,000 miles and the Vin# is SAJDA24C73LF58255.

The current owner told me that he recently had a new fuel pump installed and that he changes the oil every 3 months or so. The car is never driven in winter an he has owned the car since 37,000 miles and is the second owner. He is an elder gentleman who takes care of his things and has the means to do so and the car shows it. It has seen regular maintenance with things being serviced as needed. I want to keep it for many years and want to gain an understanding of what unique issues there are with this model that I need to stay on top of to make it last a long time.

I have read that the timing chain system can be a problem area. I think that the timing chain system is all original. Can you tell me whether my car would likely have the Gen 2 (improved plastic) or Gen 3 (metal) tensioners and what I would be well advised to do at this point to make sure that I have many years of trouble free use?

I also hear that the transmission can be a weak link in these cars. Would it be a good idea to change the transmission fluid or do anything else to make it last?

Any other items I should be looking into or be aware of?

I am a car guy with several cars, I am a mechanical engineer and a pretty competent mechanic and machinist so I can probably do most service items myself so you can talk technically to me if that helps explain things.

Please advise and thank you in advance!

Tom

 

Tom,
As I just sold my 03 Topaz VDP, I took excellent care of mine as well. As I'm a car guy as well and a retired Army SGT (one of my MOS' was mechanic), I get torn between the old tried and true metal and the increasingly advancing technologies thay polymers provide. I would use a metal timing setup. Mine had 103k on it and the timing chain had yet to be changed. I feel that after 80k, it's jyst short of a crap shoot. My 99 Durango has over 170k on it. I am the 2nd owner, purchased in late 01 with about 26k on it. Ive not done a timing chain change yet and she's still running strong. I dont know the service history of the teansmission fluid on your VDP, but if there is no record, I personally recommend changing it and the filter. Then, you will be set, IMHO, for another 70k, if not more. I only use Mobil 1 and Royal Purple full syn and K&N or Wix air filters in all my vehicles. It will last, at least, twice as long and protect better while in use.
To sum up, if you feel it can use an oil change, you can do what I do; change ALL of them with full synthetic (anything that contains lubricant) and add fresh grease to any fittings. This us for your peace if mibd and, most likely, you will see/feel a HP & MPG increase as I have every time. That is assuming uou have a baseline for comparison.

I feel all I did was confirm what you were already thinking from past experience, but sonetimes that will help you make a choice one way or another. My $0.02

Side note, there is an X308 forum for 03 VDPs. As the 03 VDP was only released in the US, a lot of info for 2002 VDP applies to yours. The X308 forum was a great deal of help for me.

 

Thanks for the advise Jason. I will check out the X308 forum too.

Best regards!

 

Hi Tom,

As Jason mentioned, the Jaguar factory code of your 2003 is X308. This X350 forum is for the 2004 and later XJ saloons with aluminum bodies. If you will repost your questions at the X308 forum you will be more likely to receive replies from knowledgeable X308 owner-mechanics.

I'll see you in the X308 forum!

Cheers,

Don

 

I've moved the thread to the X308 section.

 

First and foremost, WELCOME!
Now, back to the original questions! As Margate said on the other thread, your car has the Gen III metal tensioners and the upgraded Morse Style primary chain from the factory, so no worries there. The transmission failures are as he described, and I don't think even the biggest proponents of fluid change would claim that it will solve that problem. On the other hand, my MY 2002 after 180,000 miles has never given any sign of this problem, so maybe they fixed it too.

If the car is as represented and it is cosmetically good, it sounds like you have found a gem. My three X-308s are each near or over the 200,000 mile mark, with only one major problem- a blown head gasket on one of the Rs.

If you do at least some of the maintenance yourself, these cars can be reasonable to maintain. Since, theoretically, you understand a feedback control system, and at least understand basic electrical theory, you will be capable of taking care of most anything that might happen. If you are going to do the maintenance yourself, I strongly recommend getting AutoEnginuity software, with Jag Extensions, or even a knockoff of the dealer software.
Almost any technical data you need, as well as a lot of experience and knowledge is available right here. Good Luck!

 

You seem to have a lot of experience with these cars and are also most likely very familiar with the cost of ownership. On of our Forum members indicated that I should plan on about $3000 year in cost to own. I assume that was in addition to fuel & insurance. That seems really high to me especially as I can do most common maintenance myself. With my Audi's (5000/200 Turbo Quattro's) I always figured $100/mo or ~ $1000/year on average. That I can live with but $3000/year, that is a deal killer. What are your thoughts in that regard? Please advise.

Best regards!