Just picked up a 1998 Jaguar XJR, Carnival Red over Oatmeal. It has 185,000 km on it (approx 115k miles). I am supposedly the third owner. The second owner purchased it in 2019 and my understanding is he did not drive it much and only put new tires and brakes on it. I need to take care of some deferred maintenance; my plan is to drive it only in the summer (don't believe it has ever been winter driven) and I want to pick away at any of the issues it has while enjoying the car. I do have a few questions:

1. The car came with just one regular key and the valet key, and no fobs. Is getting a fob as simple as buying a used one and programming it to the car? Can that be done by yourself?
2. The passenger side seat only moves back so far and then stops. Any obvious things to look for in order to fix this?
3. I noticed that there's quite a disparity between the color of the wood trim on the steering wheel and the rest of the trim in the car. Is this normal or is this indicative that the steering wheel may have been replaced at some point? The trim is not in great shape either on the wheel or the rest and I wouldn't mind correcting that at some point.
4. Any general recommendations for preventative maintenance? I had a PPI done and they recommended a coolant flush and replacing the drive belts.

 

A couple of other things:

• The driver's door won't stay open like the others, is this a simple fix?
• When did the X308 enter production? Mine shows a build date of 6/97, so I'm assuming it's one of the very early ones?

 

Great looking car, love the color.

- I beleive the Fobs can be purchased on ebay or whatnot and self programmed, check the "how to" section of the stickies at the top of the forum, lots of info there.
- x308 entered production in model year 1998, I'd say yours is a very early car.
- If you don't know that the timing chain tensioners have been changed/updated (ie: paperwork proving the work was done), then you should plan on at least removing the cam covers and inspecting their condition yourself. The upper tensioners are relatively easy to do and their failure will ruin your engine, the lower ones are a much bigger job to do, but their failure will render your car inoperative, but not ruined. The upper tensioners are no joke, if they haven't been changed they need to be...its not a matter of if they fail, but when...and they don't give you warning sounds.
- The door not staying open is likely one of two issues, either the sheet metal on the edge of the door is damaged/torn where the bolts for the prop rod connect, or the prop rod itself is broken...my car came like that and it was actually both in my case. I found a prop on ebay and had to fiddle with the sheet metal and add some big washers to the inside to help distribute the force across more surface area. If you search the forums you'll find threads with good writeups for this repair, its a relatively common issue.
- Ive asked the same question about the steering wheel woodgrain, as I understand it there is only one color wood on the steering wheels. Mine doesn't match my interior either and while I find it very surprising for a car that was at the price point it was when new and with Jag's bragging about how the woodgrain across the dash was all cut from the same section of one tree (its true, you can follow the grain clear across the whole dash), this is just the way it is,
- Passenger seat, I have no idea. Have to get down there and see if something is obstructing the sliders or something. Might have to pull the seat.
- Generally for preventative maint, I'd say change all the fluids if you don't know when they were last done. Brakes, trans, engine oil, power steering, differential, supercharger, coolant.

Good luck!

 

1. Yes, you should be able to buy a used fob and program it to your car. Its not hard and the process is well documented with a simple google search "x308 keyfob programming." That said, you need to be very careful when buying the fob. The early cars use the 315mhz frequency and are a specific shape. Make sure when buying you get the frequency AND the shape. I mistakenly bought a 433mhz unit that had the same shape as the early units, but luckily canceled the purchase in time. This is the one you want: https://www.ebay.com/itm/12584237705...3ABFBM2pf8jLpi

2. Not sure, but most typically its junk in the seat tracks. coins and what have you.

3. wood color didn't match great. I replaced my wheel with another one that doesn't match either, but it doesn't bother me.

4. The list is pretty long. The first is secondary chain tensioners. And when doing that, replace the valve cover gaskets, as they most assuredly will be leaking, in some cases leaking oil into the plug wells, which can lead to misfires. You will want to do all fluids, paying specific attention to the coolant (is it the correct style for the car), brake fluid (many cars never have this done), differential oil, and transmission fluid. Obviously engine oil needs regular replacement.

Additionally, if you don't have records for it, I would consider: Belts and pulleys (guarantee one or more idler bearings are shot), spark plugs, take a look at coil packs, water pump, supercharger oil, EGR clean out, fuel and air filters, shock mount bushings, and adjusting throttle cable. Also have a look at the pin connector at the transmission for leaks...they are common.

A valuable test is also to check if your second fuel pump is working, by using a small jumper cable on the relay for the 2nd pump. details can be found via a search.

 

Thanks for the responses!

Took another look at the seat track and sure enough there was some sort of makeup pen in there so that ended up being an easy fix.

Thanks for the tip about the fob, will definitely need to get at least one of those.

I was told that the second last owner (I was told it was a two owner car but I don't believe that to be the case) did the timing chain work already. The PPI did not show any engine oil leaks. There is a leak from the transmission pan gasket so I plan on fixing that soon. Unfortunately I don't have records but I will certainly pick away at the deferred/preventative maintenance items.

 

I have a 98 XJR, and I took a picture of the numbers on my key fob. Quadcammer is exactly right, the early cars used 315 mhz, and it matters. I recommend that you search until you find a fob with these numbers.

 

Here is a link to the page with the 315mhz fob part numbers that should work. When I bought my car, it only had one key and one fob (the one I posted above). At the time, I bought a new key, a new fob, and a valet key and had a Jag dealer program everything to work. I’m not sure how easy it is to do the programming yourself.

https://parts.jaguarlandroverclassic.../brand/jaguar/