bottom fan is dead or unplugged. low speed now = full 12V to the only working fan in the circuit

 

Figure 04.3 of this manual may help. Look at the 3 relays and 2 diodes in the fan control module.
http://www.jagrepair.com/images/Auto.../jagxj2000.pdf

 

Tightened up my center dash vent to negate a small creak I'd get on bumps, seems to have worked.

 

Well, it must be a wiring problem as I swapped the fan assembly and it did not change. Looking at the schematic and pictorial of the relay, it's a bit difficult to ascertain just how that relay and connections work.
Thanks for the advice! I'll check it this weekend.....Best, Dave

 

I fixed the cd player in my gold 2002 xj8. It has not worked since I got the car a year ago. It was a simple matter of jarring loose and lubricating the mechanicals that pull the discs out of the magazine. I'm much happier than I should be about it.

jeff xj8

 

I just recently went through something like this. Did you remove the fan assembly
from the car? If not do so Then check the fans with a battery. My low fan was out.
Fuse was blown, after replacing the fuse it was still not working. After removing the
fan assembly and running leads to each fan. Only the upper(high speed) fan worked.
It cost me $88 plus tax to have mine rewired. Works like a champ now.

 

Well it was a bad fan! I had gotten a used fan assembly that must have the same problem; when I applied battery to each fan, the lower fan did not hardly spin. Replaced it with one that did work and the fan situation is resolved! Thanks for the replies guys. Best, Dave

 

A full roadside rear diff and suspension changeout, That's some serious Road Side Service.

 

Finally getting around to installing the Brembo brakes on my 03’ SV8. Once the front knuckles are off the car and bearing/hub are out of the way, it was much easier than fighting it on the car. First drill the existing hole with a 31/64ths drill bit and follow it with a 1/2” drill bit. I’d highly recommend doing this with a drill press vs freehand unless you have absolute steady hands. Also, very sharp and durable drill bits. 14mm x 1.50 tap used. Grade 10.9 bolts from ACE Hardware. I think I will keep the backing plates off.

 

Curious to see the results of that brake job all back together! Is the mating surface on the hub where those calipers are mounting, ground? Or is only the opposite side ground flat? (the one exposed in the photos)

One other thing that can be done to drill those holes precisely in situ, is to take a block of steel long enough to bridge both brake bolt holes, and drill the appropriate drill bit sizes into that on a drill press, to make a drill guide. Maybe even the same for the tap. Something along the lines of these https://biggatortools.blog/category/tap-guides/

As for me, I got the spookiest surprise from my car for Halloween. Something's broken off bad inside the transmission. Time to search for a rebuild or replace, and find a shop, and a flatbed tow, and all that fun stuff.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1d47...ew?usp=sharing

 

Both sides are ground flush thankfully. I’ll verify it when I look at it tomorrow.

I like that tool. I’ll be getting one of those. Thanks! You could also use the non-Brembo brake caliper bracket by drilling the holes to the proper size. Just an idea.

Your best bet would be to get a used one unless your hellbent on originality. As you know, they are quite stout. However, they should be fairly plentiful to get used ones. In that video, is the trans in park or drive?

 

That's a good point about the caliper bracket, I guess you won't really be needing it anymore. Though it's not very tall vs the diameter of the hole. Still a good idea.

The video is in park. Drive/reverse tends to quiet it down, but it did start to jerk a bit when I let off the brakes and let it creep forward without applying gas. At that point I shut it off and haven't messed with it in a couple days. Not too much more I can do with it in a parking lot.

I'm definitely going to consider used units, car-part.com seems to list a bunch in the $500-1000 range. I'll call around to some shops tomorrow and see how things go.

 

Missing the lock/cover on a rear lug nut. No problem I have few spares right ?! Well I go to my trunk & discover my lug tool's MIA ?! Undoubtedly @ the shop who installed my Pentas almost 2 years ago. No problem my trusty impact wrench will make short work of it. Surprise that's also MIA ?! Can't recall anyone borrowing it or using off premises ?! Tried the Nissan lug tool & it damn near snapped lol. Guess I'll head to Harbor Freight & pick up a 1/2 impact tool & a 7/8 or 22mm socket.

 

My 308 just assumed daily duties, and on my first day at my new job, I smelt burning electrics (my radios been making pulsating static for a long time now). Time for an upgrade in speakers

 

So my 2000 AJ27 X308 with 128k miles has been out of commission since the valves carbon fouled in April after some fuel tank added injector cleaner working too well. The condition was caused by a very spirited run followed by the next day - a non-start and subsequently diagnosed through a leak rate and compression test - valves all still in correct time. This is a known condition of this series of engines, and I was hoping with fingers crossed after an overnight coctail of B12 Chemtool solvent with WD40 soak in each cylinder followed by a 10 second crank with the plugs installed - possibly enough carbon would be dissolved on the valve faces and seats to get enough compression to start. No such luck on first attempt, so if no success after a second attempt today I was planning to put it into the garage for a top end overhaul and suspension refresh.

One thought is to get a 4,0 SC or 4.2 SC engine / transmission and do a conversion. I recall some forum X308 owners making conversions to 4.2 liters, but I would like some input on issues to consider if going from NA to SC. The 4.2 definitely gets lots better fuel mileage and seems to be better performance with the 6 speed ZF than a 4.0 with a speed, but ECM / TCM compatibility with the rest of the X308 system talking would be my main concern. Hold those responses for a 4.0 to 4.2 NA or SC conversion topic.

... after second attempts and ... well SUCCESS!! using two fully charged batteries in parallel (yes both batteries pass a load bank test) , first attempt today after 60 seconds of cranking and some variation of the throttle it fired but did not start. I thought I was sunk, so I let it sit for another hour, added more starter fluid to the intake plenum, and after some 60 seconds of cranking with hit/miss firing it started a cycle where it progressively began firing on more cylinders and viola, VAROOM to life! Fuel pressure and all other vital signs normal except I need to diagnose an O2 sensor failure P1647 - which I was working on in April of this year before it decided not to start.

Fortunately with an IDS setup I can perform the pinpoint tests with more definitive results!

I had that exact scenario on my 2001 years ago which prompted me to pull the plugs, perform a compression and Leak Rate test only to verify the valves and seats were pitted and not sealing. Rebuilding the 2001 XJ8 AJ27 heads and also replacing the ECM, that engine ran purrrfectly.

 

Man did I get angry with the old girl recently.
Had some very heavy rain, got in, turned her on, and boom, could feel a misfire immediately. My old spidey senses told me this was a coil pack issue, so ever prepared, I popped open the boot, got out my trusty spare coil pack (you ain't getting home without one type spare) plus my ever ready 7 & 8mm sockets. Changed over the coil packs and voila, she purrs.
Twenty minutes later, I'm on the motorway going great guns, when boom again. Restricted performance, can feel the misfire again. Every time I push harder on the accelerator there's a kind of drumming noise. But now I've got maybe 50 miles to reconsider all the possible eventualities, whilst using as little peddle as possible, which in the motorway meant that I was limping home managing maybe 50/60mph on a wet and rainy night in November. Grrreat.
So once home, I jack the car up in the air. My thinking was that the coil pack had been swapped out so cross that off the list. There I am under the car, changing the fuel filter for the first time ever. Mopping up the petrol with an old towel. Getting rained on, whilst cursing profusely. But no, that didn't cure the messages either. At my wits end, I decide to swap the coil packs around as check if the fault follows.
Bingo : turns out the spare coil pack I had was faulty.
Moral of the story - watch them spare coil packs. Have a spare spare. And keep torque pro and the odbii on you at all times.
Car goes great with the new fuel filter though. Like a rocket ship in sports mode. Should have done that years ago!

 

I completed the secondary chain tensioners. Took way longer than expected as the prior owner's mech used the the wrong gasket set (I have the N/A AJ26 motor) and large amounts of grey silicone to make up the difference. It took me longer to clean the valve cover than to change the tensioners. I used the zip tie method.

 

Just had the annual MOT done on my X308. Having only covered 1200 miles since last MOT, I was surprised to see a number of 'advisories' listed on my MOT certificate.
They were:
Nearside Front (Damage to sill at out rigger) - Where it had been jacked up in the past incorrectly - molegrips got them back in shape!
Offside Front (Damage to sill at out rigger) - As above
Brake hose has slight corrosion to ferrule Offside rear - Wire brushed and looking as good as new now/treated with Kurust rust prevention.
Brake hose has slight corrosion to ferrule Offside front - Wire brushed and looking as good as new now/treated with Kurust rust prevention.
Coil spring corroded Nearside Front - Wire brushed and looking as good as new now after painting with Hammerite smooth black paint
Coil spring corroded Offside Front - Wire brushed and looking as good as new now after painting with Hammerite smooth black paint
Brake pipe corroded, covered in grease or other material - This relates to outer covers with again cleaned with emery paper and wire brush
Front & rear suspension components corroded - This relates to rear wishbones both sides, upper and lower, rear frame carrier, front and rear spring pans. All
attacked with electric and manual wire brushes, painted with Hammerite smooth black paint.
Not sure why this was not indicated on previous MOT's but did take to new MOT station this year. I suspect that this 'corrosion' hasn't happened within a year with that mileage!

 

HA, yes the Dreaded Previous Mechanic (DPM) that replaced the chain guides and tensioners for the previous owner of my 2000 XJ8 X308 AJ27 did the same thing for the cover gaskets. Simply hack mechanic work to get it out the door. The gasket seal only lasted less than 20k miles before they started leaking onto the exhaust and down the engine, so while it is on the lift for diagnosing the P1647 via pinpoint tests, the correct complete cam cover gaskets will all get renewed including the intake manifold gaskets.
I hate redoing someone's work, specially when they got paid good money to do a proper job (an Birmingham area Alabama shop) , even if it was not my money. Previous owner paid almost $6k in 2014 for that tensioner job and I am not convinced it was all top quality parts.

 

- Upper and Lower Ball Joints, both sides.
- Tie Rod ends, both sides.
- Upper Shock Mounts, both sides.
- Front Sway Bar linkage, both sides.
- New Electronic Sport Struts, Rear.
- New cross drilled Rotors and Brembo pads, front.
- Twist In spacers on all four coil springs to get her back to factory height.
(Pic was taken one week before all of this work was done. She was still riding low. She looked Sporty but rode and drove like poo.) And I'll be honest, I didn't want to spend bunches more coin to replace all four coil springs.
- New Space Saver Spare.

She could use a paint job to address some pealing clear coat and a few bubbles of rust.

All in all......she's getting on quite well for a girl of her age and mileage.