If the moderators don't mind me doing this I will write up the to-do list, the solutions, the progress and of course I will have questions on certain matters.

I will update this topic as I go along.

Right, details of the car:

• Jaguar XJ Executive - Model X308
• Left hand drive
• Produced in 1998
• Mileage = 110,780 - Kilometers = 178.244
• Color HGL - Spruce Green
• 3.2L v8 engine
• European car (as far as that matters)

Some background, I bought this Jag really cheep with a good working engine and gearbox. Chain problems have already been addressed as well as the water pump. It has got new brake lines and half a tank of fuel.

Known problems up till now:

• Rust! Right, what else is new?
• Sagging headliner
• ESP/stability control error message
• Dash and center console back lights
• Driver side mirror inoperative
• Battery on the edge of it's life, dead after one day in the yard
• Rear suspension bushings need to be renewed
• A good polish and wax won't do her any harm
• Rear bumper has a chrome strip in it which is loose at the right side
• Dents in the bodywork
• Remote (FOB) works sometimes. Got two of those, the other one is OK.
• Fog lights at the front won't switch on/don't work
• Moisture in the left low beam headlight
• Interior panels need to be fixed in place

First of all I need to drive it a decent distance to see if the rest is fine, planning on doing that tomorrow. It's been on the trailer on the way back home so I didn't get the chance to check everything when I bought it.

Right, some work to do to the Jag but I don't mind. Already spent many hours on this forum so I read a lot, possible solutions and what have you. I'm confident it's gonna be a great car when I'm finished with it.

To be continued.

 

First thing to do was to take the Jag out for an extensive drive to see if there are more problems to tackle.

Did a testdrive of about 50km (30 miles) and it struck me how well it handles. Two problems surfaced, the engine doesn't like kickdowns. It just has not got the power I expected, full throttle does not make the car going any faster. Then when I lift my foot it will go, ether lack of fuel or fresh air through the intake circuit in my opinion.

I think this engine is in desperate need of some TLC, airfilter, fuelfilter and a set of new sparkplugs at least.

Second problem is a rattle in the back, even driving very slowly it's present and I think it's coming from the suspension. Not sure yet because I put in a monster of a battery which actually doesn't fit so it's not secured in place.

On returning home I wanted to get the ABS control unit off, 5 minutes into the job it started to rain. Just my luck, but hey, tomorrow is another day.

 

Going to follow ur adventures.
I hope you take your time to do it good, the car deserves it.

 

Rest assured I will do it right, the one thing I hate most is people who don't take the time or put in the effort to do it properly.

 

Today I went on with the ABS control unit, there is space enough under the bonnet (hood) but in their infinite wisdom the Jaguar engineers placed it in a spot which makes virtually every bolt unreachable. You need the hands of an 8-year old and the patience of an angel, but at long last I succeeded to get it out of there. Didn't go without a very short conversation with the Lord and some blood spill but I got it on the table.

Opened the unit up and was very surprised there were no loose contacts, re-soldered the pins of the pump just the same just to make sure it won't give any problems in the future. Put it back in and did a testdrive, as I expected the light is still on and stayed on. Lowered the level of brake fluid without any result. Did a reset, again nothing changed.

So, the only thing left is the wheel sensors. The guy of whom I bought the Jag told me he had the codes read and he put a new sensor in at the rear-left wheel. That was the place to start, checking if he did hook it up properly and he did. In the hole I could see the ring and that thing was filthy so I cleaned it, now all the teeth are visible again, not covered in some greasy muck anymore.

Unfortunately my playing time was up so I put it all back together and put the wheel back on.

Something I discovered in the meantime was the cigaret lighter didn't work. Actually it was my wife who discovered it when she plugged her iPhone adapter in. The fuse was quickly found, it was the only one of another model so that's working again.

Also discovered it doesn't have the right tires on it, they are H code tires (210km/h - 130mph) while it should be V-code (240km/h - 150mph).
I can hear you thinking, when would you ever do over 130mph or even top speed? Probably never but in France they are very strict about it because the car is able to do those speeds, so I added 4 new tires to the list.

In a lost moment I just was annoyed with a dell in the hood so I straightened it by gently pushing it out with a 2"x4". One straight hood!

Actually, for every single thing I can cross off the list there are 2 more added to it. Frustrated? Not really, I know it's not a new car and I want to bring it back to a pristine one. The Jag just needs some TLC after being neglected for so many years.

Almost forgot, the 3th brakelight is loose on the shelf and the center hub caps need to be replaced, 2 of those lost the "Jaguar" so I'm gonna order a set of 4 brand new ones. Also ordered the paint today through the internet, finding the right color in France (where 67% of the cars out on the roads are French brands) is searching for a needle in a haystack.

So, again, tomorrow is another day.

To make this thread a bit more interesting I will start adding photo's of what I did tomorrow. Plain text is so boring.

 

ebay and junk yard are your friend. parts are cheap and plentiful for now. good luck!

 

So, it rained for like 8 days out here in France but today the sun came through. Finally!

Picked up where I left off last week, had 3 more wheel sensors to clean and it sort of worked. If I start the car the error message is gone (stability program inactive), then when I drive it the error comes back after a few miles. If there is anybody who has any suggestions you are very welcome!

Received the paint (HGL) for the Jag today so I spent some time on the bodywork. First off the drivers side rear wheel arch, this is the worst of the pair so I thought to start there. Took my angle grinder and discovered there was more bondo on it than steel. Look and shiver.







No other option than completely rebuild this, get rid of all the bondo and make an insert out of new sheet metal. Then weld it in and paint it.

Then another spot on the rear fender (wing) caught my attention, it was sticking out about 3 millimeter.



I just can't leave it like it is so out came the panels in the boot (trunk).



Located the outward dent.



Next thing was getting my panel-set out.



I'm not a panel beater (body worker) by any means but small ones I dare to attack, hence the result.



I can only find it back because the paint is gone at that very spot, I will fill it with paint again and polish it.

More to come tomorrow if the weather holds up.

 

On the eighth day God. Created junk yards -- where this car belongs.

 

Can't say as I agree with that statement. It doesn't look anywhere near so far gone that it can't be brought back with some care.

 

Very stimulating opinion you got Mr. Jhartz.

 

Nick,
If at any time you find yourself down about the condition of your car, let me know.

I'll send you some pics of the underside of my Mk 10.

That oughta make everything look rosy for ya!

 

On a separate thread I commented that there is A place in heaven for those saviors of worn-out cars, fallen women and doggies. welcome aboard!

 

Don't let that discourage you. I SPEND more than I PAID for my 98 XJ8 VDP
every year. My original goal was to drive it until is quit and then be done.
I didn't expect it to last more than 1 or 2 years. I ended up getting too
attached to the car. Rebuilt transmission, replace engine with a low mileage
one from a wrecked XK8, repainted it, and a whole host of other things.


It is much better than it was 4 years ago. Yours will be better in the future
too.

 

First off, the condition of the Jag doesn't bring me down in any way, I love to work on it and it's not to bad in my opinion.

Second, thanks for explaining Jhartz, since I never saw the post in which you mentioned it I took it wrong. I apologize, I must not judge somebody's comment without knowing what's it all about.

Spending more than I payed for a car ain't new to me by any means. Just try an BMW 7-series, got 2 of those and they are the real money-pits.

Not discouraged in any way I went on today.

First made a template out of paper.



Cut out the metal.



Then started to hammer the wheel-arch into shape.





Then, after like 45 times of "try-fit" and hammering the profile into it it looks like this.





Not perfect yet but getting there.

This is still underneath so the next step is to get this off.



Then see how much (rust)damage I have to take care of on the inner-arch and finally make it a perfect fit to weld it in.

Again, I'm not a body worker at all but I do have an anvil, the right hammers and most important, an idea in my head how it should be done. On top of that I'm not afraid to make my own tools and body parts.

Anybody can say that getting it from a breakers yard would be more convenient, fact is there are no Jags whatsoever for pieces to be found in France. Believe me, I tried.

Making progress just the same but there is still an awful lot to do.

 

Nice work! I am curious to see the welding. What kind of welder will you use?

 

Thank you very much!

Got a MIG welder and an arch welder, but on this one I will use the MIG. The bodywork is just .8 millimeter thick so the arch welder will burn a hole in it right away.

 

Good work. I find it interesting that your approach is the opposite of the member inMoscow who is renewing his by replacing every part, one by one.

 

Thanks, I do believe in making stuff up myself rather than buying new. Doesn't necessarily means it's better but it gives me a rush knowing I did it, not somebody else and least of all the factory the car came from. They made a mistake in the first place doing it like they did, I'm not going to repeat that mistake.

Like I said, it may not be better but at least I'm confident in what I'm doing.

 

Very nice to see all this solved by yourself.
This thread is already going way further then I expected when you started it, but heads off for saving the beast!

 

Thanks! You know, when I bought it I had most of the obvious problems solved in my head already. Doing it is something else but it will work the way I thought it would.

In the past I have been rebuilding BMW V8 engines, ZF gearboxes, doing bodywork and paint jobs. Although I studied electronics I took fine mechanics as secondary study and since cars are a passion to me it comes in very handy.

Be sure there is more to come, in my own stubborn way I get things done outside the box.