My first car was a 1965 MGB. My first tune up on that car put it out of service for a month while I figured out how Lucas points worked, and my first brake job was the cause of my first automobile accident when the brakes subsequently failed. That was 1967. Since then I have owned and repaired many cars, but for the last 20 years I have owned a 1978 Jaguar XJ-S V12, converted to a 5 speed Toyota manual from Conversion Components NZ, and a 1985/2 Porsche 944. Since 2011 my daily driver has been a 2009 Mini Cooper which now has 120K on it, just broken in.

I had seen an 97 XK8 advertised locally on craigslist.org for what appeared to be a fairly attractive price, $6500. My brother and I have a bad habit of perusing the classifieds for interesting sports cars and motorcycles. Anyway, The ad said the car ran and looked excellent with only 53K miles; the Air Bag light was on so some sensor needed replacing. All of this did not sound too bad to me. The reviews I had read on the 97 XK8 said these cars were "a witch dressed in queens clothing". That review spawned the name RedWitch.

The car needed (short list) a right front wheel bearing, upper control arm bushings, tires and timing chains. It started well and overall was in good shape. I offered $6K. That was Feb, 2018.

Todate both front wheel bearings have been replaced, Yokohama Avid Envigor tires mounted, timimg chains and both primary and secondary tensioners have been replaced. At 52,616 miles the secondary tensioners were fine, however one of the primary tensioners blades was cracked. Throughout the repairs Jaguarforums has been my guiding light.

On timing chain and tensioner replacement; a point of clarification; the cam lockdown tool does not provide a tight fit on the flats of the cam but rather allows the cam to settle into the tool from valve spring tension. The legs on the cam tool are 15mm tall, (if anyone is interested), and allows for clearance between the flats and the tool.

On code readers, the iCarsoft Land Rover/Jaguar Vehicle Diagnostic Tool i930 OBDII provides menu items, but no functionality. I purchased and returned this unit when it provided no insight into the SRS system. It provided no advantage over my Innova 31003.

Thank you all for the help provided.

 

Welcome to the forum RedWitch,

Good to have you with us at Jaguar forums. Thanks for a great Intro.

It sounds like you've already found your way to the XK8/XKR forum so there's no need for a link to it from me. The 'HOW TO' thread at the top is a good place to start for information on regular issues.

Please remember to add vehicle details to your Signature to help others to give relevant advice. Go to the User CP button on the left of the top menu bar, then Settings & Options under Your Control Panel. Select Edit Signature and enter the details.

You can also visit the US Northeast Region forum by following this link https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/us-northeast-35/ to find other members in your region.

Enjoy the forums.

Graham

 

That's quite a list of repairs already! But what 20 year old car doesn't need some attention?! Good Job on all those repairs.

Welcome to the forums from ElinorB.
(';')

 

Welcome aboard.

 

Welcome to the forums.

 

Welcome.

Well done on that one.

 

welcome to the forum - enjoy!!

 

Welcome to Jaguar Forums RedWitch,

Good to have you with us.
Enjoy the forum.

If you haven't done so already you should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.
If you need help with getting around and using the forum follow this link for some help Forum Help

 

Welcome RedWitch,



If you see a Sapphire Blue XK8 running around your neighborhood around the 4th of July. That would be me.