Hi David,

I feel honored that you are still following this thread and seem to remember all the things mentioned! So thanks for that helpful information.

Re Garage... well, I guess I have built me a decent place to work on my cars, which even got a small bathroom and kitchen... and Heating. In fact you can easily live in there.

With a mileage of 135k mls, even when driven relatively slowly in California, I guess time has come to replace the parts which have been used most at all the times.
I recognize a kind of ratteling noise when rolling over bumpy roads, and with that mileage it would not make hughe sense just to replace the lower shock bushing. And because I am a fan of Do-Things-Right-First-Time ... I tend to refurbish all which I wouls already have to take apart.

Because I have not got any docs from Alpine UK yet, I still have to pull the 10A fuse from the radio head unit for switching of the Amp in the Trunk. It would be an easy job to install a relay doing this when ignition is switched of, but I am not perfectly happy wih that idea. Wil try giving Alpine a call during winter.

 

If you remove the wheel well liner and unbolt the sway bar link, there should be enough room to remove the strut without messing with the upper a-arm. Saves a ton of time.

 

I guess I got a fair quote from SNG Barrat.... as they are also located in the Netherlands close to my office, it might be a good option.
Don't want to know what Jaguar would have asked ---

 

FWIW, the Jaguar upper shock mount is not a terribly durable part. People do the replacement job, and then have to re-do it a short number of years later as the rubber insert collapses again. The better mount is from Welsh Enterprises in Ohio. About the same price ($150 for a pair), but much more likely to last. I realize shipping to Germany will likely make this more difficult of a decision.

Separately, as a home DIY mechanic, I hate dealing with spring compressors. I tend to try and replace "everything" involved around the springs so I do not have to do it again. Check into new spring isolators (plastic part where the bottom of the spring rests) and shock bellows. Just my thoughts.

 

I know what you mean regarding the spring compressors. Especially as the Jaguar springs are quite dense.... I don't like doing this either. However: I do own a set of compressors.
Shipping to Germany... cheapest option is 74$ ... hm... have to think about that... also because the Urethane versions are about twice the price of the regular ones.

 

Well, finally I found some time (& money) to perform some of the planned actions....

britishparts.co.uk made me some offers I wasn't able to resist, and so after some time while the XKR is in winter hibernation, I decided to have some "private-fun" during German carnival.

So I started with the replacement of the front Shocks and Top Mounts. I decided for the original Bielstein CATS dampers, because I think the car deserves it.
Work went without significant problems, however my spring compressors had a serious task.
Surprisingly the shocks weren't that bad. I guess the mounting bushes and the top mounts were the primary cause for the rattle. However: compressing the springs is a work you dont want to do several times a year, so now we have all new and in best condition. Can't wait for April, when I'm allowed to take in on the street again.

Did I mention that my wife started complaining not also having a Jaguar? She was pretty impressed about the XKR, even it's not a car she would like to have, as she needs something more versatile with a big boot and lower fuel consumption.
Mid of this month it was her birthday, and my gift to her was a really nice XJ6 2.7 Diesel .... I was able getting it for a really reasonable price, because some small TLC had to be applied.

As usual, both downpipe flex joints before the DPFs were broken, giving evrybody inside the car the lovely smell of burned diesel emissions.... not nice. In early times this was a task to replace both DPFs, as this was the only replacement part offered by Jaguar (at a price of more than 3.000€). In between all Jaguar owners which are lawyers migth have had their influence, and today there's a Jaguar repair kit for 900€ available. I went for the third option: the downpie repair kit available in U.K. for 150 bucks.
Becaue I knew having enough to do this weekend, I decided having them been mounted by my local garage. So no issues from that side anymore.
Other issue: the timing belt wasn't replaced yet. Jaguar says 100.000mls or 10 years .... the latter mark has been passed in 2017....

I'm happy I don't have to do that more often than every 10 years... took me 6 hours....

 

Ralf,

You and wife certainly have caught the Jag "bug" and it's a habit that will need love, care and attention (plus $$$$ or Euros in your case). Good luck with the XJ6 Diesel. Looks nice. Doing the timing belt and Diesel Particulate Filters is probably the start of another "journey."

Well done so far on the XKR, and it's always the annoying little things, like your music amp drain, that seems to take ages to fix. I think you've got your priorities right though, and the door repair and suspension R&R were more important.

PS I'm very envious of your garage facilities esp. with it's own kitchen. My wife complains when my car parts start migrating onto our kitchen table.

 

Nice story and photos. I also envy your garage, with kitchen and it looks like the bar is stocked better than most local pubs !

 

Gentlemen,

I guess I need some advice.
Last Weekend I was able getting a set of very nice Arden Sportline Forged Wheels in size 9,0J X 21"
I got them for a bargain, because two of them had a minor dent at the outer ring. Those are now at a professional repair facility here in town and are getting refurbished.
My Idea was using them on my X100 XKR instead of the currently mounted 18" chromium wheels.

Problem: the 21" wheels were made for the later model XKR and have a hole diameter of 5x108mm, while my XKR seems to have the 5x120,65mm diameter. So I will need adapters with proper center rings for making them fit to my car.
Other problem is the 9 inch width. I measured, that I have to use 20mm spacers to position the inner side of the 21" wheel at the same position where the current wheel is.
In order beeing able to mount the 21" Wheels with the adapter-rings without shortening the studs (they are 25mm in length) I would need 25mm plus 2mm clearance = 27mm spacers/Adapters.
The planned tyre size is 255/30 R21

Question: even this might mechanically fit, what do the experts say?

 

While I'm waiting for the 30mm adaptor discs for mounting the new wheels, I thougth it's not too bad reading through the forum and Service manuals.again.

So I spotted that the drive shafts are equipped with grease nipples !!! Wow! I knew that from my old Minis, but a 2003 Jag? Great! Love it!

Grease Gun is (of course) empty. Will get new grease today.

 

....purchase new Grease: done!
...loud swearing because the snout of the grease gun isn't tight: done!
...purchasing and mounting a new snout (2,45€): done!
...pressing new grease in the joints: done!

Remarkable: the popping noise when the old, hard & dirty grease breaks free and comes out.
Well: the old grease had done its job properly, acting as a kind of Seal against the dirt and wet from street. This one definitely was in there for many years.

Still two weeks to go until I may drive the Lady again.

 

....difficult times for all of us.... so I try to use the time efficiently.... today: Drivers Doorboard was already loose when it came to me.
As usual some of the pins to fix it were missing and two plastic brackets were broken.
Was able to fix it nicely with a washer with two holes drilled into.

 

Well done....

 

Question: I found a business nearby which ist going to strip down an US 2001 4.0 XK8 Convertible

It has been improperly repaired and therefore will not get allowance on local roads. So the owner will sell it in parts.
I'll go there and have a look. Primarily I was loooking for the tail lights because one of mine is broken. But in between I spotted that on the 2001 model the old version of the taillights are mounted, while I have the 2004 "clear" version.

So the question is: which are the most desireable parts which I should look for putting them into the shelf for bad times?

 

Job of today?
Spark Plugs! (Left Bank only)
how old? No idea.... but old I guess

tomorrow: right bank!

 

The ground electrodes look worn, but there's no corona stain on the porcelain to suggest your cam cover gaskets were leaking a lot of oil into the plug wells.

Cheers,

Don

 

Thanks Don, yes, I think Im lucky with this car. At least left bank in perfect shape. No sign of water or oil ingress in the wells. Will do right bank after I had a shower.

Three weeks ago a friend of mine came in with his Audi S6 with V10 engine. Engine was running on maybe 8 or nine cylinders only. All spark plug wells flooded with oil.
Needless to say that those modern cars are almost impossible to service at home.
The Jaguar is on the edge what you can still do at home I think, and I'm looking forward to the point in time when I have to pull the engine for a full overhaul.

Additional tasks for today? Transmisstion Fluid change and swap aof the radio head unit (...still investigating the root cause for the Amp in the trunk not switching off).

 

Ladies, Gentlemen ... this will be a major update ... so sorry for probably spoiling the forum with unimportant information ;-)

Yesterday I spent the whole day doing the long awaited stuff like changing remaining SparkPlugs and Transmission Fluid. Thanks to Corona there's a bit more time than usual, and following Murphys Law, everything takes longer than planned or expected.

Let's start with the spark plugs... those seem having in there for many years! So it was a good time changing them now. Did not expect that, because the service record of the car was so extensive.
Here's a picture of the left Bank ...all the cable insulations from the loom leading to the coil packs were so brittle, that I had to apply intensive care not moving them more than necessary. Pushing down the lock button of the coil pack plugs while ejecting them with the help of a big screwdriver helped a lot.



I was very happy to see that all eight spark plug wells were looking like this: very clean and dry! You may also notice the brandnew shock top mounts ;-) Happy I did that.



For removing the coil pack cover on the right bank, I hand to remove the air breather pipe. The was a perfect opportunity for cleaning the throttle body. Took a while to dissolve the sticky grease with a cloth and a lot of brake cleaner.




So here are all the eigth old ones. I'm really glad to see they look all the same. Seems the engine is still in good shape even after 136t mls.

 

Because it was around lunch time I thought its enough time and good to do the change of the transmission fluid directly after completing the previous task.

Checking the oil pan I discovered the bolts needed a Torx TX27 bit.... sure I have.... sorry 'had' ... that in my stock of tools. Unfortunately the bolts near the cataylic converters were so tight, that it was the end of my nice bit.



Did I ever mention, that a big hardware store is my direct neighbour? In summer times when there's a lot to do I simply throw a ladder out of the window of my mancave, and I can simply walk over the parking lot to the store. Easy!
However: since a couple of days, corona restrictions are in place. So not more than 80 people are allowed to enter the store at the same time. ... you can see the effect?




After a while I got in and purchased the biggest TX27 bit I was able to find. I thought one for the 1/2" wrench should do the job.



And this is how it looked like 20 mins later... of course the three remaining bolts still were in...




In such cases I go and use the binford method: more power.... in other words: chisel and hammer please...




Worked like a charm .... and finally I was able to remove the oil pan...



Not sure if this was still the first transmission fluid, but it did not look too bad. Also not a single piece of metal on the magnets... all fine!
britishparts.co.uk sent a small bag with new bolts together with the new oil pan. Now I know why: the new bolts use TX40 bits instead of TX27 ... I guess there must have been more than one having this problem...

Then came the filthy procedure refilling the transmission. I skip this part as I guess it would not have been nicely to see ;-)

 

Now for the best part: Sunday!

I guess I mentioned earlier I got another radio head unit from another XK8 which was going to be stripped down in a neighbour town.
I was still chasing the cause for the battery draining issue, when the audio amp in the trunk kept running and wasn't switched off properly.



Oh yes: when you have the chance getting parts out of a car which is stripped, you should grab those little bulbs illuminating the pushbuttons in the dash. I asked at Jaguar because I wasn't able to find them elsewhere (those are micro lamps with a blue silicone hose on top) and they cost 10€ each only :-/
I took four of them together with the Radio for 100€ ... I guess not the worst deal. Now all buttons and displays in the dash are fine again.



After swapping the Radio Head Unit I immediately listened to the cooling fan of the amp in the trunk.... but it was silent! I had to confirm this by measurement of course and 10min after turning off the ignition, the current drawn from the battery was at 280mA .....




After half an hour if was down to 45mA! Perfect!!!!!



So by now I can confirm that the battery drain problem from the amp in the trunk is caused by the radio head unit!!
Hope this helps other guys when suffering as well. This radio head unit seem available frequently on ebay and swapping it is easy. Also they are not coded!

BR
Ralf