Hello All,

I've just posted an introduction over in the correct forum, but though I would continue with the more car specific parts of the story here.

I bought a 2004 XJR in Jaguar Racing Green with Sand Leather Interior. It has the rear entertainment screens, rear audio control system, 4 zone AC, adaptive cruise control, and.... the Sepang 20" wheels. It has 106k on the odometer, which is a little more than I would have liked, but I suppose it's not bad for an 11 year old car. Best of all there is not a scratch or a door ding on it anywhere.

I've had the car for about two weeks now and have had it inspected by two mechanics, just to give it a good look over. The second was a local Jag specialist and seems like a really nice guy. I'm glad I found that shop.

Here are the issues that I've discovered so far. Nothing that is too bad (luckily):

There tires are really worn on the inside edges. The back is considerably worse than the front, but I don't know if the previous owner had recently rotated them or not. I've got an appointment for an alignment on tues, so hopefully that will resolve the issue. I've also ordered new tires. I decided on Nitto Motivos in the 255 35 20 size. The price was reasonable and they should be in within the week. I hope the wearing on the inside tire edges can be fixed by the alignment, but I suspect that the air height adjustable suspension is likely to blame. We'll see.

The mechanic said the oil was dirty and should be changed. He quoted me $155, so I've decided to buy the supplies and equipment and do that job myself. He also said that the rear dif oil was very dirty and had metal particles stuck to the magnet. I'm going to have him service the rear dif on Monday.

The next thing he talked about was..... The transmission fluid and pan/filter!! I know what an argument that kicks off around here. I've read all the posts. He said that wasn't immediately needed but should be considered in the near future.

He said that the serpentine belt and the supercharger belt were both showing some signs of wear and I should consider changing them at some point.

So far all of this is no problem. Regular maintenance. There was one issue though. There appears to be a very slight coolant leak. He says its hard to see exactly where it's coming from but that it appears to be somewhere under the supercharger. I've read on here that it is a known issue for this car. I'll have to do a little more research into this topic. The mechanic recommended monitoring it for now to see if is indeed leaking of if coolant was spilled while being filled. The coolant also needs to be changed as it is more water than coolant. I haven't done that job yet until I figure out what to do about the possible leak. He did say though that there is a specific Jaguar coolant for this vehicle and that he only recommended using that.

Anyway, this is tuning into a mega post so I'll wrap it up and update as I get things worked on.

All the best.

 

Car sounds great, similar to my Super V8 when I got it last year, it also needed a couple of tyres, nothing too urgent though. Earlier this year I had a couple of the suspension arms changed and also had new discs and pads on the front, mine were the Brembo type and I guess yours may be the same as well.
It is worth changing the belts as if they do break then a lot of hassle.
You could try an additive to the coolant system that may seek out the leak and seal it if it is very minor.
Enjoy the car and keep learning from the forum !

 

Thanks roviw! I hadn't thought about sealing it form the inside. I didn't even realize that might be possible. I'll have to look into that. Perhaps I'll do a coolant flush myself and do a little research on these additives you mentioned.


Does anyone have recommendations for which coolant to use on an '04 XJR?

 

An oil change is pretty easy to do once you remove the plastic underbody shield.

You really should have a transmission fluid change and also a supercharger oil change.

I did my own tranny fluid change and it is a bit involved but actually not that difficult if you are used to doing your own maintenance. The supr charger oil is quite easy to do.

Lots of info about all of this in the forum.

I hope the coolant leak is not from the valley hose as that involves taking off the supercharger to replace. Maybe do not do the coolant change until you know where the leak is located. Also I have read that mixing coolant types is very bad, it couild gel, so make sure you go with the recommended type.

 

A leak under the supercharger is the one really PITA job on the S/C cars as the part costs little, but the labour is long to replace it. Why Jaguar didn't use better material in such an inaccessible place, only they know !

Regarding tyre wear, a common problem is the front trunnion bushes on the front lower wishbones starting to fail. This allows the wheel tracking to move outwards when the car is in motion and wear out the inside tread. It started happening to me this year and I caught it just in time. Rear lower wishbone bushes are also likely to be worn out unless recently replaced. Once a very expensive job, but now a whole lot cheaper. I suspect I'll need the other two trunnion bushes replacing some time, but for now the car is OK. There are two tracking arms on the rear suspension that have a ball joint that can wear out; I had to have one on my car.

As it is a height-adjustable air suspension, the geometry is always correct, so tyre wear is not normally an issue, in fact they last a very long time. However with all the bushes and joints it doesn't take much wear to cause tracking errors and serious tyre wear.

 

Hi if it is the valley pipe and you do it yourself change all the pipes in that area done Mine a few months ago as mentioned a real pita job you will not believe how much has to come off to change the pipe someone has done a good write up on here how to change it .

 

Thanks for all the responses guys.

A followup thought about the transmission service that the mechanic recommended:

Tonight I was reading through all the service history (receipts)that came with car when I bought it. At 75k, The previous owner took it to a jag dealer and reported a transmission leak. The dealer traced the leak to the sleeve and replaced it. It also shows they replaced 5 qts of transmission fluid (at $46 a quart). It does not say that the pan was replaced.

The car now has 107k. I was initially leaning towards having the transmission serviced, until I saw this fluid change only 32k ago. The car is driving and shifting beautifully. Now I'm kinda thinking I should leave things alone until the car has another 18k or so on it (that would put it at 50k since the earlier fluid change).

Any thoughts or opinions?

 

Yes, get the suspension joints checked out or you'll just end up wearing out tyres. It's either joints or tyres you spend the money on when you have joints wear.

 

In the Uk we have a product called "Radweld" but there are other brands. They are normally in a little 150ml or similar bottle and you just pour it in and it circulates and seals small leaks.
I have used it numerous times over the year and found it works.
Many years ago some people used to say a raw egg cracked into the system would seek out the leak and then congeal over it to seal it.

Regarding the coolant antifreeze additive I just went to a motor factors and told them the cars I needed it for and bought a 5 gallon drum.
The same red antifreeze is suitable for the petrol jaguar engine, my petrol Jeep, my diesel jaguar and diesel Ford van so it was sensible to bulk but it.
The other type tends to be blue in colour for older different engine.
Hope this helps.

 

Ok, so a little update:

I changed my own oil. I hadn't done this in over ten years and actually had fun doing it.

I had the Jag indie mechanic service the rear differential, which had very dirty oil.

Today, I got a four wheel alignment done. Nothing was far out of spec and only a couple of minor adjustments were needed. I mentioned the possibility of worn bushings (that Fraser was so kind to point out) to the alignment mechanic and he took a look. He said that there is some play in the bushings, but that he was unfamiliar with the car and wasn't sure how much play was appropriate. He said to put the new tires on and closely monitor them for any signs of uneven wear. He said he'd be happy the put the car back on the machine in six months or so, just to confirm the alignment is still good.

Discount Tire called today and said that my new tires have arrived. I'll be getting them put on in the morning.

I've decided to hold of on the transmission service for now and will do it in another 18k. I haven't decided whether I will attempt the job myself or have the jag mechanic do it.

Lastly the (alleged) coolant leak. I'll clarify by saying that I have never actually seen the coolant leaking, but there was some small signs or red staining / corrosion visible. I suppose that it is possible that the coolant was split during fill up, but that is probably wishful thinking. My guess is that there is probably a very small leak somewhere. Last night I did a bunch of research on here about the valley hose replacement tear-down and re-build. I have to admit it, I'm a little intimidated about attempting the job myself. I think that for now, I'm going to do a coolant flush, since winter is approaching and my current coolant is too weak (mostly water). I'll monitor closely for any signs of a leak and decide what to do about the hose replacement later. I'll also look into the additive that roviw mentioned.

Thanks again to all.

 

If you are going to use a a sealant use a product called k seal used it on customers trucks in the past and had good results

 

Thanks for the tip Clifton!

 

Beware when it comes to coolant leak sealants. I had a very different experience when I tried that. Somehow it blew one of my radiator hoses. Luckily it didn't clog anywhere else. You'll hear all sorts of positive and negative reviews when it comes to those things.

 

That Valley leak is common for our cars and can be costly. Youll know you have a leak if you can smell it but dont really see it. It wont be dryed up either. Also look near the fill bottle and the prongs that stick out with the hoses attached Ive seen leaks develop there too. If the hoses under the supercharger are left alone for to long they will burst, and you will be stuck somewhere. I too had mine replaced and had the hoses upgraded as the Jaguar hoses (all of them) seem abit thin and weak once they were out. Just be mindful of them I also can say that the gaskets that connect the supercharger to the cooling boxes should be replaced too as those have been updated since 2004 and mine developed a small air leak just after reinstalling them. Jaguar dealer had them in stock surprisingly. You may want to have the Fuel injectors cleaned while the top end is off. The only way to get to those is by removing the supercharger and if your there already may as well. Have the mechanic check the fuel injector connections. The heat that develops under the supercharger will dry the plastic connectors to a point were the clips could become brittle and crack or break there by making a loose connection to the injectors. I had zip ties added to ensure they wont come off pre mature. And yes change that coolant as there should be no water added to this cooling system at all. Use the specific red coolant that's recommended not the green stuff. I would not be using a stop leak in that car if I were you IMO. If you were on a road trip maybe, but youd save yourself bigger headaches and have peace of mind knowing its fixed and not a problem anymore by replacing the failed part.

 

motofreak72,

Thanks for all the advice. I really appreciate you taking the time to write such a thorough reply.

 

Don't use any of that stop leak crap!!!

It won't work and it puts junk in the cooling system. The under SC hose is most likely leaking so don't do a coolant change yet. It's just plain old Dex-Cool so you can get it anywhere.

Most of the time that leak if it shows up at all will put a red stain on the back of the motor. Of course just looking at the back of the motor requires getting under the car or getting the car up on a lift.

I just changed that hose on my S Type. ALL 4.2L SC engines use this hose and it will fail at some point. Almost always in the larger OD section of the hose. The good thing is it usually is a small leak and you can live with it for a while until you can get it fixed. But it won't go away and will slowly get worse. It on rare occasions it has burst catastrophically.

Here is a post where I gathered together a number of threads on this problem. I would spend some quality time reading thru them. Be aware it will be expensive at the dealer. In the $1500++ range.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...-p0174-149418/

I would also do the P/B vacuum hose repair at the same time as well as slotting the back mounting bolt on the blower as per Brutal's suggestion who is a factory tech.

With the age and miles on your car if you plan to keep it change every hose on the car. With a SC engine you are looking at 18-22 hoses. Change them ALL! Otherwise you will do them one or two at a time as they start leaking.
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Only thought I have is to push up on the transmission to see how much give you find. These xjs's appear to wear out the rubber sleeves on their rear transmission mounts. I replaced mine. It had totally perished. First thing I checked after the previous owner had the transmission rebuilt at 60k miles. They rebuilt the tranny but it appears they did not replace the rear mount. So glad I checked it.

 

Just note you're responding to a thread last updated in February 2015

 

I have Nitto Motivo tires on my 04 XJR on the 20" Sepangs. Great tires!!!

I agree, leave the trans alone for a while. Service intervals are 60K miles anyways and sound like they used LG6 fluid (OEM spec)

Just check to ensure the pan is dry and check the 2 - 8mm bolts holding the shift cable on the trans. They are known to come loose. A good rule of thumb is to check them every time you change your oil.

Nice find and good luck

 

lovely looking beast, one of the best colour combinations. Do keep a very lose eye on your engine temperature and STOP if it overheats immediately. If your main suspension bushes are not too worn be advised you can replace the plastic dust caps which will prevent detearaition for a while.
We love ours, its metallic black with ivory vinyl roof we also added custon alloys to give it a little oomph in the looks department.
Happy motoring