Took it easy this weekend and knocked out a few small things that have been bugging me. Added some sticky foam pads between the forward dash edge and the windshield, to stop the buzzing/rattling it was getting. 95% gone now, only happening on very rough roads, and at that point there's enough other things rattling that it's not a huge deal. Greased all 4 rear UJ's.

One thing that's bothered me forever, that I've been putting off, the steering wheel creaked whenever turning it. Took the wheel off, took it to bits completely, and put copious amounts of felt anti-squeak tape between the plastic back cover and the wheel itself, particularly the rubber/leather sections. Dead silent now, as it should be. What a difference it makes, wow. The small things that you get used to in these old cars, that are so big when they're resolved.

Now, about that sunroof rattle...

 

Thank you, that's a reminder for me to do mine, they haven't been done in over a year.

 

hmmm
What did I do with my 308 today? I dropped a huge wooden bean on it. Any suggestions , other that stop being an idiot, as to how I can resolve this problem?

jeff xj8

 

To make it perfect again I think you would have to take it to an expert paint/body repair shop.

Alternately you may be able to pick up a trunk lid from your local salvage yard, the problem being finding one of the correct color, but you could get lucky.

 

Well, it's time to start re-painting the car. Now all the 'serious' mechanical repairs are done, I promised Spring/Summer 2020 was the right time. Some will know that over the last few years I've put together a set of spare panels, in really good condition, and spent months stripping them to bare metal, then etch priming and finally getting them flat and primed. I have the front Wings (Fenders) 4 x Doors, Trunk Lid, Bonnet/Hood, and Bumpers.

The plan is to start at the front and work backwards, here's the Front Bumper...

Before the Side Markers, Indicators, and Fogs


You can see the old girl sat outside waiting for her new bits!

After the Sides, Indicators and Fogs



I think they turned out OK? After the polisher and some 'T' Cut it should finish up fine, will post pics of each panel as I get them painted up..
Paul

 

Looking good, keep us posted with your progress.

 

Swapped out my existing wheel hub for a cheap old vertical link from ebay, and discovered that the crashing sound from bumps in the road was coming from a bad wheel bearing. I've checked all the other usual suspects but never thought the wheel bearing would make that much noise and effect.
​​​​

 

Fresh Friday : Maintenance Wash

 

Polished the grill inserts. Received my paint correction order. Really only needed pads, but bought more detailing stuff. I think next, I want to open up the exhuast or add a bigger I/C radiator.

Left side polished, right side is the before.

 

I too like the Wolfgang products !

 

I inserted one sheet ot rubber disc to driver's seat. To compensate sagging. My back will tell did it work.

 

When it rains, it seems to pour:
Went out for a little drive and had the rear spring make a significant twang- that needs investigating. A frame removal?
Then had an annoying scratching noise develop at the front that sounds like the shield scraping on the brake disc. Those admiring glances from passersby must just be curious ears. :-)
I'm also getting quite a big reaction to holes in the road, so maybe the lower control and bushes need replacing?
The jag jobs are never done!

 

Repaired CD changer. Loading mechanism was sticky.

 

Made room in the garage for the R

Still dirty, but getting there.

 

What I did today was drive it, which has become a relatively rare occurrence recently! I think I have only driven my VDP three times in the last two months.

Last weekend we did drive 80 miles to visit with one of our granddaughters and went for brunch at a recently corona-opened restaurant............ sort of felt weird eating out!

Today I drove to Wally World (ARRGGHHH......I know what you're thinking, but I park waaay out in the boonies, next to the solar-powered robot police/camera unit), it's good for avoiding door dings, and I need the exercise anyway.

The good thing about only driving occasionally is you appreciate the comfort, the smoothness, the luxury, the style and the beauty of the X308 just that little bit more.

 

Finished a 1500 mile road trip in the XJR. She handled it beautifully, with the small exception being the drivers side upper shock mount bushing giving out on the way home. Bumps and potholes became vicious.

Ordered a new one on the road and it was waiting when I got home... but I ordered the wrong part (a pair of non-cats mounts). they wouldn’t fit over the cats shock due to a taper inside the hole on the bushing.

I wanted to get her back up and rolling so I ran a 12mm drill bit through the mounts to remove the inner taper. That made them fit perfectly. I did have to hold the shock with duct tape wrapped around it and a vise grip in the wheel well to keep it from spinning as I removed the upper nut. Overall I’m happy with the URO part, and it seems to do fine. We’ll see if it holds up long term.

Problems that still need solving:

1: my fuel gauge likes to drop to empty at random after I’ve used a quarter tank (it works perfectly when I’ve got 3/4th of a tank or more).

2: the abs/trac light is starting to intermittently show up again - time to pull the box off and solder it again...

 

Washed it using dishwashing detergent, then started the ceramic coating process. (1) Wash and strip wax, (2) clay, and (3) apply ceramic coating. I got the roof, hood, and trunk done, will work on the sides and front/rear in the coming days.

 

I you do that again, you prevent the shock shaft from turning by inserting an Allen key down the center.

 

Hmm... Trying to imagine how I’d get an impact wrench down over an Allen key . I guess I’d need some kind of pass through socket/wrench? Probably a tool specifically made for the job, I imagine... or I could have used a regular wrench instead of a socket I suppose, but that nut was on TIGHT.

Didn’t even realize the inside was an Allen key. It didn’t look like one... I feel like it was perfectly round. Maybe I’m mistaken. At that point I was in “figure it out” shade-tree mechanic mode, and duct tape was the answer.

 

Rubber stiffening to the driver seat foam did the trick. No more back ache.