Success - and also good to find you caught a potential serious failure of the plastic tensioners in time.

Are you away from the UK in the XK8?

Graham

 

Yes, I am in France with the XK8. Did the job with dad in law near Troyes - he has been a Jaguar fanatic for 30 years, still is, with a great deal of mecanical experience and tons of tools accumulated over the years (and a ramp!). I have learned a lot over these few days working with him in the engine bay. That has certainly helped in demystifying the car.

I am now in Strasbourg with my own family. Weather is rainy but will improve soon so I can hopefully take the roof off. My boys have enjoyed the whole trip with me so far. Who said that the back seats were not usable in the XK8 - for people under 10 years old they are ! :-)

No issues so far, no leaks whatsoever. The engine is very sweet as it should and what a pleasure to rev it now without this worry in the back of your mind !

 

Splendid.

Enjoy the remainder of the trip and hopefully some dry weather for open air motoring.

Graham

 

Pics hereafter !

 

I also took the opportunity to closely check for possible corrosion, especially in the wheel arches. Looks really good, only small patches of very superficial corrosion. I have treated with appropriate products. That then complements the seal my Jaguar specialist applied a few months ago on the floor pans. The only "concern" might be the front part of the exhaust which shows some significant corrosion, especially the lower part of the downpipe catalytic converter, which is very exposed by nature.

 

Jerome,

Here's photos of my 2001 XK8 (taken 18 months ago) for comparison.





Your wheel arch looks a bit better and the Cat slightly worse but nothing unusual or extreme there.

Graham

 

Thanks Graham. It does confirm my good feeling about this car. It's clean and honest.

On a different note, I bought myself the CTEK battery charger. Since I use it, from time to time, no more incoherent / random messages of failure (traction control, ABS...). It does confirm what many already said on this forum: these cars do not cope well with a drop in voltage, however small it is.

I have a significant "clac clac" noise when driving on uneven roads, coming from the rear suspension. We have inspected the various bushes and things seems to be in good order. So far it does not impact the road handling. Do you think the shock absorbers could be the culprits ?

 

The CTEK is an excellent investment.

As for the "clac clac", the usual suspect is the bottom bush in the shock absorber but also check the exhaust centre and rear hangers. The rubber inserts can split allowing metal to metal contact.

Graham

 

Welcome aboard.

You will find a ton of helpful information for all things Jaguar around here.

We have model section "How To's", great and helpful tech minded members.

And a model specific FREE Tech File Download Library.

Which apart from the various forum menus can be found through the Download link in my signature.