Hi Forum,
I'm planning a cross country trip with my youngest son in July. The last two times I made the trip, we drove once from CA to RI with my youngest son, ( he wanted to go from ocean to ocean so we drove from AZ to CA, then across the country), and the 2nd time was from AZ to RI. Now I'm doing it again, probably for the last time in this car. My son will be 17 in July, so may be the last time with him too. I guess this is the part where dad isn't so cool anymore. Anyway, the car has 110k on it, but only approx 65k on the engine. Trip is usually 7k miles round trip. What are some of the things you guys would recommend I replace and what would you say needs serious scrutiny before I get on the road. I'm having my mechanic give here a thorough once over, but there are some very lonely patches of highway out there and she's older and has a lot more miles then when I did the drive last time. Well, not really. she had 79k miles when I took the last trip and we returned with 86, almost 87k miles when we got back. The only issue was a bad back tire and trying to find Michelin Pilot Super Sports, 305's in Alabama.

 

Sounds like a great opportunity with your son...

What was the reason that the original engine was replaced after 45K miles?

I am going to suggest a long list of possible service activities below:

Do you detect an occasional whiff of coolant? Were all engine coolant hoses replaced at the time that the engine was replaced? If you smell coolant, and especially if the hoses are original, I would suggest a preventive replacement of all hoses, the coolant reservoir, as well as the engine thermostat. How about the serpentine belt and engine coolant pump while you are at it.

Were the starter motor and the alternator original equipment moved over to the replacement engine? If yes, consider whether those should be replaced now as a preventive measure.

Check the condition of the wiper blades and replace if needed.

Check the tire tread depth and replace if less than 4/32"; or else plan to replace them while on the trip.

Check the front and rear brake pad thickness. When was the brake fluid last changed?

How old is the 12V battery and has that given you any no-start problems? Replace if more than 4 years old.

Have you had the automatic transmission fluid drained/replaced and the pan/filter replaced before? If not, it might be a good idea to do this before the trip. You can get the ZF pan and ZF oil on eBay...

Change the engine oil/filter before and after the trip.

Whatever work you decide to do, I suggest you allow a couple of weeks between the servicing and your departure, to log some miles and make sure that the car works well after the servicing. Good luck!

 

+1 but change all fluids including the diff. Also, monitor coolant temp with OBD2 adapter and Torque app.

Most importantly though, enjoy the trip as much as I'm sure your son will!

 

Consider what parts might fail on a long trip. Then, if practical, take the part with you. For instance, I was concerned of thermostat sticking-failure on my '07, so I brought a spare thermostat with me on a 6k mile trip.
In your instance, the water pump has been a frequent item to fail on post 2010 models. If you have not installed the latest and greatest version (check this forum for part number), buy one now to take with you.
Have the phone numbers/site addresses of regional Jaguar dealers who sell oem parts at a discount. Suggest Columbia Jaguar (Columbia, SC) www.oemdiscountcarparts.com. Ph. 803-227-4532. Gaudin Jaguar (Reno, NV)- www..jaguarlandroverrenparts.com.
A worst case might be a breakdown in the middle of nowhere. Breakdowns usually occur somewhere in the drivetrain - fuel, ignition, cooling, transmission. If you have to tow your Jaguar, consider towing to a Ford dealer rather than an shade-tree independent. Ford dealers may have some familiarity with our motors.

 

My son was kicked out of school for a second time for flirting.
Told him if it happens a third time he may never be able to teach again.
Never get tired of telling that one.

Rent a Tahoe- at $350 a week its a no-brainer. You will put several thousand dollars of wear on the car and your back.

 

Oh, in addition to 305 tire, water pump, engine, consider taking a fullsize wheel with you in case you hit a pothole and bend or crack a rim.

 

Yeah, I think his choice of car is the POINT of the trip.

 

Jaguar XK/XKRs are seldom seen, especially in rural midwest. Drivers are used to seeing larger cars. On a rural road in Kansas I almost had a head-on. A truck had pulled out to pass and miscalculated both my speed, size and distance. Fortunately the shoulder was wide and paved allowing 3 vehicles on a 2 lane. Yes, I had my headlights on. My point is not to assume that you are "seen".

 

Chris,

Good for you. These cars are made to be driven and not languishing in garages as structural supports for dust sheets. There's an attitude with some on the forum who see minimal miles on a car as an achievement.

I've done thirty four trips averaging 5k miles across Continental Europe in the last twenty five years in 6 different Jaguars, 2 Bentleys and 1 Aston Martin. The only breakdown has been a burst coolant bypass hose on a Christmas Day in an XJ40 in rural France.

My cars don't get any special preparation for extended trips but my maintenance routine is perhaps more stringent than most. Apart from scheduled servicing, the vehicles go on a lift and the wheels come off every six months to check rims, tyre treads and the inside walls for any damage. Suspension bushes and brake lines are also inspected. Anything doubtful is replaced.

Rubber components are the most likely items to fail. Recovery insurance, credit card and a scantool will take care of all eventualities.

Enjoy the trip.

Graham

 

Once you're done working on it and ready to load up take it for a short 50 mile road to see what shakes loose, literally.

My personal short list is the stuff to change a tire to include a block of wood and one of the
$5 Harbor Freight 3x5 moving blankets to lay / work off of and a gallon jug of water. Or at the absolute minimum a 32 oz bottle of Gatorate to dip out of puddles during an emergency.

Set up your tire changing rig and actually make sure you can perform the work. Rainy night on the side of the road in gravel is NOT a good time to find the lug nut shells are spinning on the lugs.

Also, a pro tip is to know where Walmart's are on your trip. If the charging system craps out yo can usually bounce Walmart to Walmart for batteries and get home or at least to civilization. I recommended that to a buddy who was 100 miles out a couple years ago and it got him home.

 

I heartily agree with the idea of taking your Jag, it will make the trip special and memorable. Just check the routine things, fix what's needed, special attention to the battery, and enjoy the trip. Of course if you do find something wrong, fix it or don't take the car. Check out any special needs to have your car towed, by car car carrier only. (hopefully) Out in the boonies, if you should have a breakdown greater than a flat tire, have the car towed to a decent little motel where you can work on it in the back lot. This will be much safer and convenient than being stuck by the side of a lonely road. You can link several Triple A tows together. Tow, drop. Tow, drop etc. You do have extended towing through Triple A, Right?

Enough worrying. have great trip!

 

Something I've done for trips into Europe: suss out what Jaguar dealers/specialists are available on or near my route. It may not be so important in these days of connected everything, where you could just ask Alexa/Siri, but it's sometimes useful to know where you can divert to for lesser issues without having to backtrack.

 

Too funny!!!

 

Absolutely. The only cars I own, but don't drive are the ones posted on my wall. (got a new "dream car" on the wall...actually two, the Mclaren 570s spider and the 720s).

 

Sure do. Have to have triple A

 

I blew the engine...stupid me. I let it overheat, but it wa under warranty then and I must say, Jaguar did me a great service replacing the engine. The battery is less than 6 months old, I had the tranny fluid /pan/filter done last year. Probably only put 10k miles since then. Coolant system is getting done on Friday, the pan and hoses. I had the water pump checked about 2 months ago when I had the fan assembly replaced, it was good then. Might not be a bad idea to have it checked again. I think I'll follow your advise and have the thermostat replaced. Belts will be checked and brakes done probably 3 weeks out. I could run her to Flagstaff afterwards. That's a great drive if you go off hours and during the week. Otherwise you'll have someone refusing to go within 10 miles of the speed limit in the left lane and someone in the right lane refusing to be out done in the "who can drive the slowest" contest. Drives me crazy!!!