Our longest trip in my 2006 XK8 coupe was from Mendocino County to Santa Barbara and back, for a Jaguar concours, a few years ago. Loved driving the Jag and visiting our old haunts (we formerly lived in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties). No Jag problems except wife complaining endlessly about its limiting her potential purchases, such as antique furniture and vintage iron gates! My chance of getting her to agree to taking it on a cross country trek are between slim and none!

 

Mt. Lemmon is very nice, and also another perhaps less known: Mt. Charleston north of Las Vegas. I think it is actually a better, prettier drive up than Mt. Lemmon.
I, too, have an X100 coupe, a 1999. Love it, love it, love it... That is in addition to two XJ-Rs, a 1998 and a '99. In the XK-8 they really re-captured the extraordinary beauty of the early E-Types. I've had a few of those as well, and I will say that I've enjoyed driving the XK-8 just as much and sometimes even more.
One thing that seems frequently overlooked as far as maintenance goes: the rubber oil cooler lines from the crankcase to the cooler. With no warning, one of them blew out on the freeway here in Tucson in one of the XJ-Rs, and I nearly lost the engine. By the time I got the car stopped, it had emptied the crankcase almost completely. The lines had never leaked prior to the blow-out, so it was completely unexpected. I was able to replace both rubber lines, using the old metal end fittings, for about $45. It only took a couple of hours to r & r them and a visit to a hydraulic hose shop for the rubber hose and some good quality hose clamps. No leaks in the last 8 years. I did have to use slightly thicker crankcase-side neoprene o-rings than the oem ones, which leaked a little after installation.

 

CA Jag, Spokane service was routine, not for any issue.

 

150 that's a great trip. Included some PCH of course. LOL about limited carrying capacity. With my wife, I'd have to buy a Z3 to solve that problem. Mine's an 2000 w/ limited history. No intention to do long trips til everything is fixed (like tensioners), some of the standard problems addressed and I've driven some miles. In the meantime, plan to shop 2003-2006 to compare and get some experience. I've always wanted to visit So Cal so that could be the initial trip. Wife just retired and wants to visit state parks. Somehow I think that's going to be SUV rather than Jag.

 

CA Jag - I have no doubt you'll get there! Once you take care of the tensioners, it's (mostly) downhill (in a good way) from there.

 

Enjoy - thanks. My last Brit car was a TR4. DIY cylinder head, wiring, rear diff replace, various small repairs, etc, etc. Fun to drive, ran well but I couldn't imagine driving it any real distance.
Probably downhill (in a good way) for both car and owner. LOL. Still waiting to pick up my Jag from the shop. After that, some casual driving to see what I need to do (or get fixed) to get the car running well.
I'm a novice but don't expect my XK to be Lexus reliable. Have to make allowances here and there to enjoy the drive.

 

CA, if you can do a cylinder head job, then you can do the tensioners.
Like many of the tasks on these cars, there's lots of 'stuff' to remove to get at what you're doing, but it's mostly laborious rather than difficult. I haven't had to do this as my car has a Jaguar reman. motor, but the biggest challenge I can see is getting the crank pulley off.

Having the comfort of the knowledge and practical skills of folks on this forum, I'd have no qualms about diving in. There are many here who've been there, done that and got the T-shirt who will guide you through.

 

I drove my TR-4a from Norman Oklahoma to St Augustine Florida, and back, taking a circuitous route. All told it was a 2,600 mile trip.


Oh, did I mention that I also had the girlfriend as passenger and navigator along for the whole trip ?


in the spirit of full disclosure, I have to admit it was about 2 weeks after our return that she started talking to me again .


Z

PS. also drove the TR-4a several times to South Padre Island Texas from Norman. But that was only 1,500 miles round trip. Hardly worth counting.

 

Thanks for the encouragement. Like your 98 (particularly the mileage). The coupe looks pretty cool. You're right, the tensioners don't look that hard. However the cylinder head, diff, wiring were all done many years ago. Age has kicked in. Also, looking at it financially, w/ purchase, upper tensioners (by a very good indie) and the rebuilt ABS, I'm in for 7,800. Adding deferred services, trans flush and fluids change ups that number. No green shower fix. Then I'll have a 2000 always garaged, zero rust 10/10 cosmetic CA XK w/ 75k miles. I think I can recover most (or all) of my costs. The seller's phone started ringing as soon as she posted on Craigs for 5k. Prices are kind of crazy. 4,000-20,000? In the meantime, get to have some Jag experience. Guess I'm hooked. Enjoy just seeing it parked in the driveway. Of course, driving will be a lot better!

How do I put picture and car detail into my posts?

 

Z - Ok I truly admire your courage! That's really impressive. I can't stop LOL because my wife refused to even get in mine. She's used my TR4 experience as ammunition in discussions about the XK. My neighbor (an expert mechanic) keeps saying "you really should know better". Seriously your trip sounds like a lot of fun.
I think adventure or safari might be a better choice of words. Sounds like a great girlfriend.

 

Brief non Jag discussion. Sorry moderator. Good preparation for owning an XK tho. In defense of my wife, she was willing to travel extensively in a VW Westfalia (40 mph tops up a hill, needed to stop to let it cool off) and go off roading (Rubicon level) in an old Isuzu Trooper. That one had some British blood based on odd electrical problems (like alternators failing predictably every 25k miles, windows occasionally dropping to 1/2 open, random dash warning lights).

 

Click 'User CP':



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...and follow the options

 

Car is going to my trusty jag mechanic for the pre-trip inspection and a few nit picky things. It hurts a little not to just do the items I know about myself, but with classes going on right now I just have no time. If I wait til the summer, then with the pace I tend to work at, I'd probably be late for the trip...ah well.

 

Just talked to my Jag indie. Def helps to have one that's willing to put in extra time! He found the defective ABS module and sent it off to be rebuilt. Got it back. Installed and it worked intermittently. Matt dug into his spare parts drawer, found a used ABS module and installed. Car runs smoothy, no ABS/traction/dash lights. Problem one identified and hopefully solved soon. Depending on his recommends, may drive it a little to evaluate before doing the tensioners. Should this include new chains, guides and tensioners or just the upper tensioners themselves? Bolts can be a problem sometimes?

 

Yeah, my guy is real trusty (Dana Schwehr @ Upton Foreign Motors, Upton, MA in case anyone's curious). I try to do as much as I can myself, but certain things are over my head a bit. The other stuff, like the stuff that needs doing now, is stuff I can do but just don't have the time for. FWIW, I've found the car to be fine to work on (way less annoying than my parents' audis, which I love, but boy do those engine bays get cramped).

I know I'm going to sound like an annoying broken record on this, but in my opinion, if you're going to get the tensioners done, I would just get the whole mess over with. Chain, tensioners (upper and lower), guides, the whole nine. It's expensive in the short term but it's great peace of mind if you hope to put any miles on the car, and it'll make the car way easier to sell down the line if you go that route. With the tensioners and guides, it's usually a matter of when, not if. Alternately, you could try selling this car and getting a decent 03-06 car.

 

Agree about tensioners. Might as well do them all if I'm going to keep the car. Current indie is very good and very expensive. 2,500 for the uppers, 4,000 for everything. Ridiculous. Found another shop (BMW, MBZ, etc) that quoted me 1,000 (4 hours) to do the uppers. No Jag experience. Going to visit tmrw and discuss. I don't know enough about my 2000 but if I fix and smog, a convertible for less than 10 (and discounted for tensioners) may be doable.

Wednesday I look at a 2006 (94) silver blue convertible. Lex dealer is asking 10k (out the door is 11.8 thanks to CA taxes). Good/bad Carfax. Since I've got a used XK that I've never driven, thinking about Coast to Coast to Coast is a stretch but it sounds like fun. San Diego would be the test trip

 

Car picture probably too big for signature so here it is.

 

Drove the 2006 (not the picture above). Nice car, everything seemed to work, good Pirelli's. Impressive how quiet the cockpit is (at 75) with top down! Def designed to cruise in comfort. Shifted smoothly (up and down).
Noticed a couple of things:
1) How fast (seconds?) should the top take to close? On this car, it seemed to move slowly but I don't have any experience. Didn't respond immediately when I pushed the "top up" button. Slowly came to life.
2) front end seemed to "klunk" going over bumps. Typical or possible worn suspension? Not noticeable when braking. Seemed like there was some chassis twist because of the convertible.
3) are gauges actual measurements? temp went immediately to mid range and stayed there.
Feedback appreciated. Thanks

 

Normal top closing / opening times can vary. 15 to 20 seconds for the full procedure is within the typical range. Check the fluid level behind the carpets on the right side of the trunk....

Regarding front end noise issues, check the condition of your upper shock mounts. If they are original, you can bet they are crumbling into orange dust and need to be replaced....

The temperature gauge is essentially an idiot light. If your engine overheats, by the time the gauge shows any reaction the damage may already be done. You may want to consider the RealGauge product....

 

I agree with Jon. You may also want to start a new thread so you get more pointed attention on the topic (my base of knowledge is largely limited to the older cars)