Hello,

I've heard folks say that WaxOyl can be applied multiple times over a period of years. I restored an MG about 15 years ago and applied WaxOyl then to the inside of the unibody's frame rails as well as to the rocker panel cavities after rust repair. I drilled access holes along the top of the sill (covered by an aluminum plate like on the X-Type) and recently looked inside the access holes with a light. The WaxOyl is still there. I don't see any harm in reapplying it other than you run the risk of clogging the drain holes so be sure to run a piece of wire inside them to keep them open.

I wrote earlier that Eastwood now makes a product called Internal Frame Coating that's intended to be sprayed inside frame rails. It comes in an aerosol with an 18" long flexible application hose and is $20 for 14 oz. It's made up of Phenolic resin and Zinc Phosphate and is designed to creep and seal.

Good luck,

Steve

 

Adam, the rockers are the items in the photo's. I checked the invoice ordered through the autobody shop and these are "rockers" driver and passenger. When comparing these to the old ones, these had more holes than the original rocker so the design was changed. The autobody shop made these holes bigger since one piece of rock would clog the hole instantly. The plastic cover is just that, a panel cover then the "Jaguar" sill plate affixes to that. If you can, and there is no rust present, just have someone pull off the plastic covers, see the "rocker", unclog the holes if you can find them, (they're very small) then treat the area. However, this is just a temp fix that will eventually cause what you see in the pics. Again, once the water builds up it destroys the uni-body/frame of the car. The pics show the exposed unibody/frame after the rockers were removed...... yes, it gets scarier as you unfold. On the plus side, if you have the $$$ to fix it, it's a good solid car, attractive and it's a Jaguar. Now that all the existing population is pretty much junked for parts, I feel this will be the next collector item in years to come on Mecom auto auction. Cheer up, it's easier said then done I know, but there is resolution and hopefully my avenues will help you all, once I get this to surface.

 

Can recall what year they brought in the aluminum, I know it had a new grill design and double cup holders. this is the alum version and YES the reason is just our problem, they knew uncoated steel would rust. Quietly fixed the problem by saying "the car would be lighter and quicker", but the real reason is 02-?? they were steel and here we are.

 

Hmmm!

I believe the '05 and '06 have two cupholders. My '07 definitely has two cupholders.

While I feel for you guys with this rust problem, I really hope my '07 will not have this issue. I've already spent a good bit of my savings on this car.

 

I guess it is a matter of how you look at them, being a former auto body person, we would refer to this part of the car as part of the sill, and the rocker would cover it. But that was 40 plus years ago, I worked in auto body. Uni body cars were scare back then. Most cars were frame and body and as I remember construction at this point was different. Times changes and methods change. Is is pouring rain today, so hard at one point I couldn't see across the street from my living room, when it let up I went out and took a look at my car I opened the passenger door and like the drivers side water builds up on the top sill in puddles. Here is something else I have never seen before. I guess it drains off when you are driving the car.

 

hello chaps,
i've got an 03 plate 2.1 AUTO v6 x-type(UK). very worried reading these posts.
got underneath mine last night and all seems ok.
a lot of mud,stones and little leaves had built up in the plastic cills though.
i'm gonna start clearing this out regular to stop any build up.
is this maybe an american weather condition problem?.there is a problem over here but it seems worse there.......lee

 

Hello Lee,

It can't hurt to keep the area clean between the plastic sill cover and rocker, but unfortunately, the corrosion starts on the inside of the bottom of the A-pillar. On mine, the telltale sign was bubbles in the paint in the area below the lower door hinge and where it intersects with the top of the plastic sill cover. Removing the sill cover, I could see the extent of the damage. As I've written in my earlier posts it would seem to be a manufacturing / design defect and it appears that the steel stamping inside the rocker was not galvanized or adequately rust-proofed. That structure is made up of two steel stampings that are spot-welded together. The inner stamping rusts first and it spreads to the outer visible rocker panel.

Good luck,

Steve

 

hi steve.i did try and take the sills off to have a proper look but the plastic screws just kept turning. i could have forced them off but didn't want to be sill-less for the weekend.
big design fault as you say.it's thing's like this and other little ****les(that front windscreen air vent popping up) that makes you think the swallowing up by ford has had a detremental effect on the jaguar brand.
the car was built here in liverpool where i live.
i've only had the car nearly three weeks and have been fixing little faults all the time.
i spent 2 hours last saturday fixing the driver side vanity mirror.
i've just come from a mini cooper which was absolutely faultless for the seven years i had it.

i still love the jag more though

 

Hello Lee,

The plastic screw does have 'threads' that hold it in place but they are actually pried off: hold the outer ring in place and use a thin flat blade to pry the center section outward. Usually, you can pop them off without damaging them but in addition to getting replacements from the dealer (expensive) if you have a DIY home center or auto body supply house near you there are much less expensive equivalents available. It helps to have one with you to compare. Also, the clips on the upper panel are different (you can't see them until the bottom clips are removed and the panel is pulled away laterally from the body). These are a little harder to find outside the dealer.

I've had exactly the same little issues: vent popping (epoxied), both vanity mirrors (a drop of Super Glue on the broken bit fixed them), inoperable front height adjust motor on the driver seat (removed seat and turned the motor to get it off its flat spot), and the recent bigger issue - rust (welded-in patch panels, coated inner sections with POR-15 and then WaxOyl, filler, paint, etc.).

But, I still love the way it handles and looks, even after seven years.

Good luck,

Steve

 

Hello all,

Just had some random rust questions. I have read through this and other threads, but still have a couple questions.

My car will be 6-years-old in May. My wife and I were out shopping today, and while putting packages in the boot, I noticed that there is rust in the corners and 1 other place on the license plate panel area area. Will Jaguar cover this? You can see the rust color and bubbling.

Also, there was body work done on the front fender and it is rusting where paint chips are...will this be covered?

I have read in this thread that I don't need to worry about the A-Frame rust being my vehicle is a 2005. Is this correct knowledge, or should I have someone look at it before I take it to Jaguar?

Thanks for any help!

Cheers,
J

 

Hi All - I have been reading this thread with fascination - I wish I had read it a year ago.... My North East Ohio 2003 X-type with 62K miles has had regular servicing at the local dealer. The engine is in purr-fect condition and I have had no engine troubles. The car is 1 year beyond corrosion warranty and has never been in a accident.

Last week when I took the car in for a service I was told the bad news for the first time: "The frame of the vehicle has rotted away "

Could this have just happened in the last year?

From this thread, I realize that I will not get much sympathy from the dealer or manufacturer...

Any thoughts, suggestions or commiseration as to what I should do next?

Help!

 

91stealthes - i know your post is a few months old but i'll give input anyway. You should have some luck getting the rust spots on the back covered by the warranty. However the body work on the front fender won't be covered. I had a small clear coat issue on my X that was from a prior repair and the dealer wouldn't cover it.

BJM - your rust has been years in the making. Knowing your area, the years of road salt have expedited the rust problem. Now, depending on the severity of the rust, you may opt to try to get it repaired. It won't be cheap or fast. Your other option is to get rid of the car.

Only you can decide which is best in your situation. Perhaps start by getting a few estimates for repair - if repair is even possible.

 

Hi BJM, I sympathize with you. About now, you're probably in shock and disbelief....been there! I left this site a while ago because I felt I was talking to walls. Well, my saga is over!! It took 3.5 years but it's OVER! My '03 was totally reconstructed. After removing the sills (plastic area), the rockers (metal portion under the sills) where totally rusted through which is why I saw the bleeding and bubbling when both frontseat doors where opened. I got quotes ranging from 5k to 7k. Some saying the entire A frame needed to be replace, some saying portions of the unibody. To make a very long story short, my car has been totally refabricated with new rocker panels (now with vent holes for the water to escape but my autobody person drilled larger and more holes for prevention), the bottom portion of the A pillar was reconstructed as it was rotted away. Once this was completed, it was undercoated and seam sealed (previously there was no seam seal), after all this, it was put back together perfectly and more solid than when it was manufactured. The funny part is, the gentleman that worked on it worked on race cars, so I was content it was solid. Many said I was foolish to invest in the car ad the total cost was 6800.00, plus 6 weeks in the shop and the cost of a rental car. My frustration with this site was the total disregard of the seriousness of the issue at hand. Each time I tried to explain each step of what I was going through and what I had discovered, someone would dismiss it as an isolated incident. Since my head ached as a result of banging it against a wall here, I stopped posting. I will say, my saga had ended. If you'd like to know how it ended post it, otherwise turn your head like the rest of them and junk the car.

 

To continue, Chris X, Adam Lueb and I think Steve 12955......all thats missing is JVegas. You guys were around back in the day when this started.....why are you turning your heads?

 

I have feeling that denial is far more palatable than facing decision of either expensive repair or getting rid of their daily driver. It is for me. However having to disassemble to really determine the extent of the rust damage is daunting for most people.

I read through the thread and that's my take away. I too love to keep my car for long time yet. But I don't want to have to make a decision which most of X-type owners don't even know they have to make, and haven't resulted in functional issues yet.

 

I purchased an 03 X back in June of 2010, car was in near showroom condition and only 23046 miles on it. Spent winter's in Fla and Summers in CT. The owner had it truck back and forth, that's way the low miles. My car only has a bit of rust on the slam panel over the welds. Other than that nothing. But as I said this car was well taken care of and still is. I really think it is a matter how well these older cars are taken care of by the previous owners. I rinse the undercarriage of my car a couple times during the winter, I also go to a self serve car wash and spray water under the hood were the fender drain holes are. I have my son clean out the drain holes in the rockers and he sprays the rockers, under the plastic ones, a couple times of a year. I also installed a Conteract anti rust device. I had one on a 79 Benz SLC I had and it never rusted on me. Rust is a long term thing, and modern cars shouldn't rust as quickly as some have reported. I wonder if Jaguar rust proofs their cars at the factory, by the way it sounds the answer is no. But in this day and age I can't believe a company of any status in cars would not do this. So what to do, WASH, WASH, polish,. wax, and wash wash. I have owned many, many cars in the past 50 years and never have I had a car rust on me. when I was young I was a car detail nut and still am, only I can't do as much any longer due to illness. TAKING CAR OF THE CAR BODY IS AS IMPORTANT AS TAKING CAR OF THE DRIVETRAIN.

Oh, if your headlight glass is dull, try Mcguires headlight renew a bit pricey at $25.00US. But is works great, my headlight glass was pretty bad and I was waiting to get the right headlight fixed before I renewed them came out great. I now wish I took before and after pictures as the difference is remarkable. I would also recommend Griots headlight renew, Car Care, Detail Supplies, Garage Organization, Car Accessories - Griot's Garage 800-345-5789 and search headlight renew.

All: LIVE LONG AND PROSPER

 

Thanks LAD and The Chris X - thanks for the detailed reply - I am impressed you went to the trouble to repair you car. In which city is the mechanic located that did your repair?

Thanks

 

I am in total ageement with you LAD - from reading all the threads, it seems clear that the rust problem in the 2003 X-Type is a manufacturer's defect. JVegas and others described it some time back.

Does anyone know if a group of '03 X-Type owners ever got together and approached the Jaguar Factory to recall the cars and fix the defect?

 

Hi BJM, forwarded a reply. Nope, there is not a group forum for this, I've been trying to gather persons for years but no takers. My saga has ended, but I'm happy to help others who want to hear.

 

I had already had the car for about 5 years before I noticed the issue. I was ready for a replacement anyway, so frankly I didn't really care about the getting it repaired, which I would have done myself most likely. I had already decided to get a different car in 2010 regardless. So, in my shoes, getting in a protracted struggle with Jaguar to cover the costs of repair really didn't make sense for me.

I had, in my opinion gotten my money's worth from my X and moved on to an S Type R.

That doesn't mean I don't feel for you guys who are in this position. It is not enviable.