It's Keith, by the way . Looking forward to seeing you too. Hopefully the vacuum leak is easily resolved and you have no further issues.

 

Well I'm still in Richland, WA, and will be for about another two weeks, no new photos. However I did talk to the Independent Jag Shop yesterday and they identified my vacuum leak as coming from the s/c intake where it was bored out by EuroToys. I had previously had an issue with this because EuroToys left very little surface area for the gasket to make a seal. I hope this does not turnout to be an on-going problem. Fortunately, this independent shop seems to be pretty knowledgeable. The cost is $800 and while not cheap, it's not as bad as it could have been.


Mark

 

Awesome news Mark ! I'm glad you found a place that was knowledgeable enough to isolate the problem and I hope they can fix it with no further issues ! We'll all have to do another get-together again for a breakfast or lunch or something after you return ! I got my XKR back from Bob (general maint + 4 rotors/pads & some misc stuff). I'd never have found his place if I hadn't been out there with you to drop it off . Regards and good fortune amigo !

 

Glad to hear that your vacuum leak source has been identified. Keep us posted on whether the new seals/gaskets resolve your issue....

I would report this experience to EuroToys. They need to be made aware that their techniques are causing issues for you....

 

 

Well, I finish up in Richland, WA tomorrow and also, thankfully, pick up my XKR tomorrow. I will be leaving for Upstate New York on Saturday. The following is from an email from the Jag shop regarding my vacuum leak:




Where they bored out the 90 degree tube they also opened up the gasket. This gasket is a Aluminum plate with basically a O-Ring embedded in it. To mess with this design, you have to destroy the O-Ring integrity. We assemble it without touching the O-Ring design, It should hold fine. One side of the bore still matched the O-ring bore size.


Boring out these tubes by a MM or so on a Supercharged engine is kinda splitting hairs. I would much rather have good sealing.

Bolts come loose, what I mean is if it is torqued correctly they do not come loose. We have never seen them loose on other servicing. This was a pretty good vacuum leak.


From talking to him, I understand that the gasket is aluminum with some sort of O-ring and this O-ring was damaged and then the bolts on the outlet port were lose.


I have talked to EuroToys, Mike actually contacted me, and he was concerned. He even offered to replace the s/c inlet/outlet if necessary; he was very nice and was more than willing to stand behind his product if necessary. However, the problem appears to be a bad gasket that was bought new from Jaguar.


Mark

 

Glad you problem is identified and the fix wasn't to bad. Also nice to hear that EuroToys is willing to stand behind their work.

Here's hoping you have an eneventful rest of your trip.

 

Bobbi and I look forward to seeing you next week.

 

Have to ask - do you know what that 'bee hive' structure is in the photo from, I think, SE Utah?

Safe travels!

 

Just now seeing this- what a trip, Mark! Glad it's going well on the whole. You're likely driving now- wish I was out on the open roads myself. I'll bet we all do. Safe travels and Godspeed!

 

I do not know the name of that formation in Utah or if it even has a name. As for now, I crossed the continental divide yesterday at 6300 feet but stopped early in Bozeman, MT because of weather. I have a photo that I took in the mountains while in the pan handle of ID that I will post as soon ad I can. I hope to make it to Spearfish, SD tonight.

Mark

 

I started out this morning in Butte, MT, surrounded by snow capped mountains on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, traveled past Yellowstone and the Little Big Horn, onto the northern great planes, drove over the Crazy Woman River, and stopped for the night in Deadwood, SD where Wild Bill Hickok played his last hand of poker, Aces and 8s, now known as the dead man's hand. The weather was beautiful. I have some great photos but I'm too tired to post them now.


Mark

 

The Custer Battlefield Monument, Devil's Tower, Mount Rushmore, and the Crazy Horse Monument are all on my list of must-sees if and when I finally make it to the area of the country that you are now traveling through....

 

Yes, I passed the Little Big Horn and Devil's Tower yesterday and have seen signs to Rushmore and Crazy Horse. The site of the Wounded Knee massacre is not far but it's remote location would be a nearly 200 mile round trip out of my way. I wish I had more time to do more exploring here, especially as I suspect that this will be my last big trip of any kind and certainly my last cross country trip. However, I have passed through some very beautiful country since leaving Washington.

Mark

 

Tonight I'm in Luverne, MN and had a very pleasant dinner with forum member Keith Westra and his beautiful family. Thank you so much Keith, I really enjoyed myself. We took photos which I'll post when I'm not so tired. As an interesting note, the front grille on Keith's 2000 XK8 is the former grille from my 2002 XKR.

Mark

 

Mark, it was very nice to put a face with the name and see your car. Hopefully since the whole family tagged along we didn't scare you too much

For those of you following at home, here is my car, proudly wearing Mark's old grille for a few years, and Mark's car:

 

Updated the image for everyone.

 

Sorry I've been offline for a while but I have completed my trip, pretty much as planned. Got home last night, 3 months and one day after I left and 6449 miles. I had no problems with the car other than what I already discussed and these were fixed when I was in Richland, WA. Took some photos on my way from Washington state to New York (see below). This will likely be the last time I make a long trip like this, even though the XKR is easy to drive, I'm getting a little long in the tooth for this kind of adventure. The first photo was taken near the Little Big Horn, the second was near Yellostone National Park, the third was near Sheridan, WY (named for US General Sheridan (famous for his march through south) and wasnamed for him after he slaughtered most of the Native Americans. The last photo was taken in Luverne, MN, where I hade a very nice dinner with forum memberK.Westra and his family.


Mark

 

Welcome back Mark. Sounds like a great trip. Glad the car was relatively trouble free.

Some of those long open roads must have been a blast.

p.s. if that is Keith's family standing next to his car, how many kids had to ride in the trunk to get there?

 

Welcome home amigo !!