Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

Sorting rear shocks on 1985 XJ6 (not stock)

LT1 jaguar — Mon, 25 May 2026 04:51:15 GMT

I've been trying to firm-up the handling on my 1985 XJ6 since I first put it on the road, 4yrs ago. I started with KYB Gas-Adjust all the way around and quickly learned to dislike the control and dampening. The rear floated up and down on dips and felt very mushy. This might be the famous ride people attribute to this car, but it's not what makes me comfortable. After reading posts on this Forum and doing some interweb research, I decided to spring for a complete set of Bilstein B6 shocks. I don't feel any difference, the rear still floats as much as the KYB's (the front seems adequate with either shock).

My next move will be to replace front/rear springs with road springs from Simply Performance in the UK (next week or two). They claim 15-20% stiffer than stock and will lower the ride height 1-1.5". In the front I will re-install the (2) packers and return the pan to stock position. In the rear I will use the current B6's with the stiffer springs and see how that works. If I still can't get some decent dampening (mostly in the rear), I'm weighing my options. At the top of the list is a set of GAZ adjustable dampening/spring perch units, they seem to have generally accepted reviews and they're adjustable. I've read several threads/posts in the Forum and 95% of you have said the B6's are stiff to very stiff......I don't get it??!! I took a little video of me bouncing the rear with my knee, makes me a little sea-sick just watching, but the Forum doesn't like the video file type (MP4).

Anyway....what do you think??

Dave

2005 S-type shifter cable issue/question

voicewizard — Mon, 25 May 2026 03:42:00 GMT

I have a 2005 Jaguar S-Type base model 3.0 engine, which developed a transmission problem recently. I created a short YouTube video showing the current situation and inquiry. Curious if anyone knows whether they feel that it's a cable issue or whether it's something that's developed inside the transmission.

First I'll offer a link to the video and in the description of the YouTube video is the full text of the situation as it happened and my questions as to what might be causing the play, etc., in the cable. [FYI, the bandage on my hand, believe it or not, just stretches my muscles to help with my carpal tunnel syndrome - there is no injury to the hand requiring bandage.]

(In case you are not able to see the full text in the description of the video, I will paste that text below the link.)

Here is a link to the video:

[Description also noted on the video page]

[NOTE: the bandage on my hand is only to stretch the muscles for my carpal tunnel syndrome. It is not a bandage covering up an injury. My hand is fine 😊 ]

About ten days ago my car would not properly shift and almost had to call a tow truck but was able to manipulate the shifter cable to drive the car. As you can see in this video it appears there is too much play in the cable (in relation to the shifter mechanism) so that although I can MANUALLY move the cable (disengaged from the shifter) to move it from Park into reverse as well as into neutral and into drive, there appears to be FAR too much play.

I had to make a massive adjustment (by making an adjustment with the adjuster nuts) as I show in the video, to move the shifter cable FORWARD enough, so that it lines up with the shifter mechanism (when transmission is in park).

When I try to manipulate the shifter to manipulate the cable (in other words when I snap the cable mechanism to the shifter pi), it just goes into reverse but never gets down into drive.

Way too much play, it appears.

I have a replacement shifter unit on the way (because it was locked up when this happened and I broke the stopping mechanism) but I can see now that the shifter unit is possibly not the problem).

It appears that either the cable is faulty (creating a whole bunch of play somehow) or ... the transmission linkage inside the transmission housing is having issues (D'oh!).

If the former is true, I can get another (used) cable for a little under a hundred bucks nearby and would have to save up some money (I'm guessing upwards of $200?) to have a shop install it.

If the issue is inside the transmission housing, I'll have to scrap the car due to finances.

A rebuilt transmission job on that car is actually just about as much or more than the car is worth (it has over 225,000 miles on it).

The rates I'm seeing are between $2,500 and $3,500 to fix the transmission.

The car is probably worth, in good condition, maybe $2,200?

Would love to get any feedback from transmission folks who might know more about this particular vehicle. (I'll go ahead and probably delete the video as soon as I handle the problem one way or the other).

My Rustoleum turbo Bumper painted and Cleared

dennis black — Mon, 25 May 2026 01:21:50 GMT

Well I have a 2017 Xjl portfolio and a 2005 jaguar x-type with
275,000 miles of daily driving, so the bumper needed some help,
so i painted on a budget, and I had doubts on
Rattle cans, but i surprised myself it came not too
bad, just needs a cut and buff

Clean Black on Black XJR

XKHawk — Sun, 24 May 2026 23:35:29 GMT

Beautiful X308 XJR for sale in NW Iowa.

85,000 miles, but presents like one with much lower miles.

Car currently has Coventry Whitley rims that are in pristine condition, but I do have the original Asteroids as well that are also an excellent shape.

I have recently replaced the rear shocks and bushing donuts and a rear wheel bearing along with a small coolant hose to fix a small leak.

Has barely broken in Michelin pilot sports but they are date coded 2018. Not a lot of miles have been put on it the car in the last 8-9 years.

Car turns heads and starts conversations everywhere I go.

The stereo system does need to be gone as I believe in a couple of the speakers foam is possibly deteriorated from age and it doesn't have much for low end bass. It doesn't sound bad, but my 2007 XKR sounds infinitely better.

More importantly, the radio has continual power (even if the car is shut off in the door is open you can still turn the radio back on) and it will drain the battery. For now, I pull the radio fuse underneath the rear seat anytime I'm going to let it sit more than a day or so.

From what I've read on this site it may need a new head unit. Everything else works as it should

Also in the one front photo you'll see a noticeable hood dent above the inner driver side headlight, the dent has been painlessly dent repaired. If you're looking closely you can still see a mark and it does have touch-up paint on it but it's much less noticeable today.

Auto dimmer rearview mirror is darkened/failed and the rear seat middle seat belt trim piece is missing.

I am considering placing on bring a trailer but they are trying to hold me to having a no reserve auction and I'd rather not do that. I figured I would try it here and some of the FB groups I belong to first.

It is a stunner and mechanically it runs out beautifully as it should.

Plenty more photos available upon request

Edit to add I am located about an hour north of the Omaha Nebraska airport and am willing to deliver to the parking garage there for a fly and drive home. I wouldn't hesitate to drive this car anywhere.

New Dream Car/Project on the way

hikerjohnm — Sun, 24 May 2026 22:14:49 GMT

Greetings everyone,

My son is graduating high school and said, "Dad, let's do a project car over the summer before college." Yeah, made my head snap back followed by a quick "absolutely."
Neither of us has experience, but my brother-in-law happens to have worked on many vehicles and owns a 1989 XJS that he said we could have. Unfortunately he lives in Western Massachusetts and we live in Maine.
Anyway, very excited to pick it up in late June and see where the project and car takes us. I'll test the limits of AI, Youtube and any other resource available to me. I am hoping, and will be very appreciate of, any support here.
And why a Jaguar? It's been my dream car since I was a child, and could never afford one any other way than this.

Thanks for being here,
John

Oil pressure fine at start, dies as engine warms up

CunningPike — Sun, 24 May 2026 21:17:26 GMT

I have thoroughly abused 97,000 mile 1998 XK8 convertible (AJ26 motor) that has over 50psi of oil pressure on a cold start and around 30psi warm on a warm start, but it gradually dies to near zero as it reaches operating temperature, and no amount of engine speed makes it recover.

Has anyone else experienced this, and knows what it could be a symptom of?

It came as a non-runner full of clean new oil after a "top end rebuild" - I've since got it running, but don't know what oil is in it. Could the wrong oil type be causing it, or is it more serious (oil pickup or pump)?

TIA,

another part number question...

dwgates — Sun, 24 May 2026 21:15:02 GMT

Hopefully I won't be throwing away my freshly cleaned intake elbow over this.
I disconnected the power brake booster vacuum hose from the right side of the intake elbow to avoid breaking the rigid line while working in that area.
I reinstalled the line then found I was going to have to remove the supercharger for the heating hoses underneath it.
The second time removing the PB booster hose it came out much easier.
While cleaning the intake elbow to get ready for reassembly the black plastic collar I depressed to release the PB hose fell out in my hand.
There's no way this will seal up now!
Does anyone know the part number for that black plastic collar?

Fuel trim - whats going on?

NorXKR — Sun, 24 May 2026 21:11:52 GMT

OK, I'm stupid and curious. My 2000 XKR starts and runs great, no engine light and no problems. BUT I'm using a ODB reader and the Carscanner app on my phone to monitor mainly water temp and voltage.
Unfortunately I have monitored the AFR, STFT and LTFT (Air/Fuel ratio, Short term fuel trim and Long term fuel trim)
Last couple of days I have driven at 50 mph with the cruise control on and suddenly the AFR are 11 on both banks and the STFT is -25 ? OK maybe my AFM are bad - but wait after a while the AFR at bank 1 is 14,6, but still 11-12 at bank 2 ??
If I use the throttle and drive at higher RPM it often get better and both banks become normal. So maybe the fuel pressure regulator are faulty or missing vacuum? But why not both banks all the time?
The LFTF are constantly changing, is this normal? I thought Long Term was longer than a few seconds?
Any thoughts? Anyone else that has monitored the AFR and Fuel trims and can tell me whats normal?

C-X75 EV?

cwisenheimer — Sun, 24 May 2026 21:08:34 GMT

Here's a question for the Jag sports car faithful here.

The original concept for the C-X75 was for it to be a turbine/electric hybrid. It was gorgeous and not only ahead of its time, but ahead of the competition (Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren). Furthermore, the shape would look brand new today if it debuted now. The turbine engines were a technological stretch too far so JLR substituted an F-1 derived super- and turbo-charged engine. Then the balance sheet was deemed unworkable, so the project was shelved. However...

If Jaguar were to release a new car that was basically a C-X75 with a modern EV-only powertrain, would you want one? As long as this is hypothetical, let's say it had Model S Plaid acceleration/speed, 350 miles of range, and F-Type handling, all priced at 10% more than the final F-Type.

02 wiper arms on 01

Beretta9 — Sun, 24 May 2026 20:34:29 GMT

Anyone know if it�s possible to change the 01 wiper arms to the 02 size wipers arms so that the blades can be staggered 24� drivers and 18� passenger instead of 22� wipers on drivers side and passenger side? I know there�s a chance I�ll crack one if I swap them to find out but the staggering setup never squeals like the first iteration does on the 01 and it drives me insane when it rains. I�ve tried different wiper blades and still getting that annoying squeak

Roughness after cold start 2005 3.0 S-type

Doug — Sun, 24 May 2026 19:06:43 GMT

A small issue has recently developed.

On a cold start (fully cold, after sitting overnight) I'm getting a bit of engine roughness. I call it a "chuggle" or "tuggle", if you get what I mean. This lasts for maybe 10 seconds at the most and will not repeat until the next morning.

No codes. No CEL. About 45k miles on the car, BTW

At this stage it is really just slightly annoying curiosity. It's probably a case where I'll have to wait for it to get much worse before there's anything to wrap my hands around, so to speak. Unless, that is, some of you with lots of S-Type experience can recommend some quick-n-easy checks that might be fruitful :)

Thanks for any thoughts and advice.

Cheers
DD

convertible top

yamie1 — Sun, 24 May 2026 18:38:21 GMT

being a new owner of a new to me 2007 xk , i have a lot of ???. lol.i'm planning on taking a few extended trips this summer. if during these trips i get into rain , how water tight is the convertible top.

Invictus GT3

dibbit — Sun, 24 May 2026 18:21:16 GMT

I came across this on a local for sale site - I've never seen one of these before.

Yours for a mere �29,000.

1970 OTS .. 3.07 Ring and Gear Set Sources

johnrmclean — Sun, 24 May 2026 17:19:13 GMT

After much consideration as I rebuild my rear end I�m considering including a swap from 3.54 to 3.07 gearing but having trouble finding any sources other than MOSS which has a kit but includes all the bearings and seals which I already have.