Hi All;

new user Peter here, I just registered and introduced myself. I have my sights on a 97 XK8--just need to find the pink slip and arrange Captain Hook.

I wanted to bounce some general condition issues to the group for opinions. The price is right but the car needs some work. This thread is as much for me to document what I just saw tonight so I can keep track of the laundry list, but I really want to get some expert advice. Warning: reading this is a time commitment.

97 XK8 Convertible, Champagne with beige. Would not be my first choice for color, but the car is the car and the lines are beautiful in any color.

*I couldn't see the car until dusk but the body was in reasonable shape. Sumitomo tires have less than 500 miles on them. Receipts indicate new brakes all the way around and belt service 10k ago. Some minor dings and what looked like clear coat and possibly paint crazing on the trunk lid (do you guys say "bonnet?"). Top works and appears to be in good shape. The bad:

*Window had reportedly been left open in recent rains. There is standing mold on the carpet in front and on some dash and door surfaces. Gross! But looks like it could be steam cleaned out. Moisture on the inside of the windows. Didn't smell as bad as you would think.
*I plugged in my battery (it's was dead) and she fired up pretty easily and sounded great. It hadn't run since being towed from a mechanic 2-3 months ago. But after warming up, it started smoking from wet fluids on the driver side. Looks like valve covers but definitely something below as well. Couldn't see well but it appeared to be power steering hoses that were very wet. But the smoke seemed to be directly underneath the cam covers.
*Front door panel not installed correctly. I think this is why the battery was dead and it was rained on. It was hard to close the door. Looks like it wasn't aligned on one of the posts where the panel hangs on the door.
*Little bit of corrosion under the battery. One wire connector seems pretty corroded but didn't appear to connect to anything.
*driver side headlight had moisture in it. is that a replacement?
*liquid leaking from exhaust pipe, I think after the cat but in front of a muffler. Must have been condensation but I wouldn't expect to see it drip there. Didn't sound like the exhaust was leaking.
**parking break doesn't appear to be connected to anything. It also is apparently applied as the car doesn't really move. Apparently the mechanic told the owner that the brake is stuck on. Easy fix? or at least workaroundable?
***The doozy: the transmission doesn't drive the car forward. The lights on the J gate work down into drive. The car revs but doesn't engage the transmission. Moving over to the left side also doesn't work and I think that's when the lights on the gate went out, never to return until restarting. Reverse does seem to engage and move the car (with the drag of the stuck parking brake of course). The shifter seems sloppy in there too, and looking into the abyss I see a lot of fuzz and cat hair. The mechanic said it needed a new transmission at $2-4k (higher seems likely here in N. Cal). But everything I saw seemed to point to the shifter cable adjustment issue.

Sorry for the long post, but please let me know if anyone has any ideas or opinions especially for the parking brake and tranny. I can get the car for $1000 so it's relatively safe...or is it too much work? I'd absolutely do it all myself, so I'm really just looking at parts and the winter months getting it going.

Phew! thanks for reading this far!

 

I guess I can't edit my posts as a new user. 83K miles. Are the leaks that common with so few miles?

 

That "deal" of a car is gonna cost you. Those years are famous for their tranny's going, look up 'drum failure'.

Realistically. If you're not the type of guy that can swap out the tranny yourself in a night, I wouldn't be looking into this 'parts car'. And if you're relying on a mechanic to get this car back on the road, you should be running the other way--- it's not for you.

 

I will cherry pick just the handbrake problem. Sounds like it may be a simple case of not knowing how jag handbrake works. Lift handle until resistance is felt then press and hold button while lowering handle.
Apologies if this has already been tried.

 

Welcome to the forum Peter. You picked the best site to get information on Jaguars.

I agree with baxtor the the hand brake is not being properly released. Until I figured it out my first XK8 I thought it was a frozen caliper.

The transmission does sound like a possible A drum failure. It can be repaired.

The door not sealing properly might be that the window needs to be reset after dead battery.

My biggest concern would be the moisture in the car. It could effect the electronic s in the car. It might be the problem with the J gate.

If your mechanically incline you might be able to save this car. But if you need others to do the repairs it could get expensive.

I do have a 97 parts car that can help if you need parts. It has a transmission the was rebuilt a year before it was in an accident.

Where is the car located? If it is not too far away from Sacramento I might be able to take a look at it for you.

 

As others have said this car could cost you a lot, doing your own work I'd budget 5K for repairs with the tranny being the wild card.

For that money you can buy one in good shape, but the enjoyment for a lot of folks is in the journey not the destination so as long as you are prepared for the journey it may be worth heading down that road.

A lot of interior parts are difficult to source and the moisture inside and in the door worries me a lot.

 

Wow, OK thanks for the input All. I have to admit, I thought it was more of a deal and less of a massive undertaking. I understand the transmission issues with this generation car from research (here, primarily) but thought it was the cable adjustment issue based on this thread: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...e-p0706-52069/

Also, information I didn't include on the original post bec it was long enough already was that the mechanic (the seller wanted to know what they were up against) listed "Scan trans module, code P0706 trans range sensor circuit range/ performance #P1779 load control malfunction, #P1731 inconsistent gear ratio, P1722 stall speed, P1730 gear control malfunction 1,2,3,5, XJ oe 2,3,5 (XK). Clear all codes, P0706 & P1722 came right back. bring trans to operating temp, check trans fluid, level OK. Found trans fluid dark & has burnt smell. Probable internal trans switch failure due to a bad trans range switch. Recommend trans rebuild & trans range switch." The shop is a local garage and not a Jag specialist.

So the way I read that, and this may just be unrealistic optimism, is that it's the micro-switches or rotary switch and not a full blown A drum failure. Many of the codes seem to point to a mechanical or electronic issue with the shift mechanism. "Dark and burnt" (great band name btw) sounds a little menacing but I would expect most 85K old fluid to be at least fairly dark and burnt. But I am wide open to being corrected by those that know better. I haven't committed yet although I would have last night if she could have found the pink slip.

 

The burnt transmission fluid smell points toward A drum failure. The clutches in the A drum slip as the drum fails and will burn up the clutches. You didn't mention if you are mechanically incline or are you going to rely on a mechanic to repair the car.

Also you said you didn't like the color. Check out Redding craigslist. There is a red 97 that has been for sale for a few weeks for $2650. Seems to be in fair condition and you can proably beat them down a few hundred more. Also Chico has a green one without the price listed that might be worth checking out. With the condition of this car these might be a better deal. Just giving you a few more options.

 

First of all, thanks for the offer to take a look in the other posting. The car is north of me an hour, and I can't imagine you burning a day to look at this.

I'd definitely be doing all the work myself, and I'm comfortable with just about anything minus the bottom half of the engine and the transmission. So this would be a gamble that it WASN'T the A drum, otherwise I'm screwed. I like working on cars and can generally/eventually figure things out with time, but a tranny rack is not going to materialize in my garage. With this in mind, do you think there is anything that could either positively confirm or deny that it is the A drum?

The codes do seem to at least potentially correspond to the shift mechanism and it did seem somewhat gummy. I wish I had taken a picture of the J gate area. One thing that struck me as odd was that it looked like the micro switch by nuetral seemed to be missing the metal "flapper" that the one by park has.

I don't want to be the guy that talks himself into something though. I can't fix it with good thoughts. If the transmission issue turned out to be simple I'd be stoked to buy the car.

 

I strongly suggest that you narrow your sights to a 2003-or-newer XK8. Jaguar had resolved quite of few of the major kinks in the engine and transmission by then and if you take the time to perform your due diligence you will greatly reduce your risk of purchasing a car you cannot completely DIY whenever issues raise their ugly head (and they will, believe me)....

 

Reading through the list, nothing put me off until I got to the description of the transmission. We've had a lot of transmission failures resported on the forum. Only a very small number have been lucky enough to get away without a rebuild.

Unless the vehicle is at giveaway cost, I think there's a high risk you've found a money pit.

Graham

 

If you don't want to do remove the transmission to replace or repair I wouldn't buy the car. The way to possibly confirm A drum is to remove the pan and look for metal fragments. If there aren't any fragments it can still be tje A drum. On my 99xk8 it had A drum failure but the metal had not yet separated from the drum. The micro switch has nothing to do with the transmission going into drive. I would put money down that the transmission will have to be remove to be repaired or replaced.

That is why I showed the red 97 in Redding. Buy the time you do the repairs you would be better off buying it.

Also you will probably have to do the tensioners too.

 

I'd work on the assumption that the transmission is terminally ill and make my decision based on that. Anything else is a bonus.

Why do I never see these this side of the pond

Mike

 

My personal experience. I DID the research and based on possible weak transmissions and failure prone timing chain guides I narrowed my search to 03 thru 05. 97 has a weaker 5 speed, newer ones are 6 speeds. 03 up have metal chain guides , not plastic and there were at least 3 upgrades for this weakness finally resolved on late 03's as I recall. An 03 up wont be a$1000 car purchase maybe three times that amount but you don't have to have a Christmas fund to get the car to daily driver status. My 05 has 90,000 miles, prior lease and after a brake light switch replacement and new brakes/ rotors, I drive this car 4 days a week and that includes 2 trips to LA (400 miles each way) $1000 is tempting but wouldn't you rather drive and wax it than have a very pretty car on jack stands? I live close by you and there were many to choose from in the 5 to 9k price range.

 

Thanks GranTorino and everyone else. I hear you. I love to work on things and bring them up to snuff and this has a lot of manageable (presumably) projects for me. I'm not sure I'd be up for a tranny swap, nor do I have one lying around to put in even if I had the knowledge.

GGG and everyone else: is there a price that's worth taking the risk? IOW if it's not a rotary switch or something else relatively simple, what is the value of the car for as a junkyard or donor car if I need to cash out? The engine seems strong with 83K miles although leaky, it has new tires, and a relatively straight rust-free body. It might be worth the gamble for me if I have a safety net.

 

As for part out Value, there's a few in the marketplace section of the forum being parted out. Send a PM to the members parting out asking about how well they are recouping their loss.

 

It sounds like you are excited about this car. I can understand that. I have the same addiction with xk8s. If you buying this car for a project that you will enjoy working go ahead and get it. If it needs a transmission I have a 97 transmission I'll sell you for a reasonable price. I thinl if you decide you can't repair it you should get at least $500 for it. In fact I would normally jump on a car like this but I already have 2 xk8 projects at this time that I need to complete before I buy another one.

So i my opinion the most you will loose is about $500. But it will cost you proably 1-4k to bring it up to par. I'm sure you will need the transmission but if you can remove and replace it yourself you can save a lot of money. I've done it twice on xk8s and twice on xj8s. It's not super difficult but it will be a bit of work.

 

Jaguar Specialties is in Sacramento. If all else fails someone will buy it for an LS1 swap.

 

I checked out some youtubes and dove a little deeper on the A drum replacement. Doesn't seem to cover anything I can't do. The only concern I would have is dropping the tranny without a rack to do it right. Can you get it up high enough with jackstands or anything else to be able to remove the exhaust bits and transmission? Once it's out it actually seems pretty manageable.

 

Yes you can do it with jackstands. I did it once on an xk8 but since then got a 2 post lift. Preferably get heavy duty stands that will help you by getting it a little higher. I have a flat platform lift that I ise to lower and remove transmission.

The drum repair itself is not that difficult. The hardest thing is to get the cup off the old drum and getting it on the new drum.

Post a new thread before you start the transmission R&R. I found a few things to make it a little easier.

The first thing I would do is get the interior dried out. The longer it stays wet the more problems you will have.

Best of luck.