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Old Apr 7, 2016 | 05:21 AM
  #1  
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Hello ,

First i apologize because i never take the time to introduce myself since i registered to this excellent forum for jaguar.

So let's do it (i will do my best to write in English correctly):

I'm Guillaume, 41 years old, i live in France in Aquitaine and after looking for month for a great car, i bought a Jaguar Xk8 from 1998. (We, my family, love cars). I owned this car since January 2013.



When i had the car, i first want to check if everything was done correctly on it and if the maintenance was done as well. What a surprise, the last owner payed for that, but the job was not or never done, or not as expected !

So i decide, with all your help in this forum (i thank you all of you so much for the knowledge sharing) do to this. I'm not a mechanic but a DIY guy.

So first i had to change and refill all the fluid and filters, engine, trainy, diff, coolant, brake system, fuel. The trainy was reseted to shift as a new car. The airbox has a greenfilter.



Upgrading the thermostat housing and the water pump and some front hoses



The secondary timing chain tensioners, seals/gasket, spark plugs, breather






All the bushes front and rear (complete kit)








I painted the headlights in black (and tryed to fix the moisture issue) and install a mesh grille like the xkr





Then the rear wheels bearings because the noise came from the rear (i know now that is my diff )



Some trim like ring and gear selector surrounder







A Cat back from miltek non resonated (woaw, the sound is amazing !)








The upper spring mounting plate





The tires (Goodyear asymetric 3) 245/45/R18 Y front and 255/45/R18 Y rear






The car had geometry and alignment.


Next steps:


- I bought front wheel bearing but didn't replace them yet.
- I bought the gauge kit from TheJagwrangler and should install it asap

- Change all the hoses of the coolant system and the heating system
- The heater pump (rebuild)
- AC compressor rebuild with a new set of seals
- The complete set of the timing chain (primary, secondary tensioners and chain)

- The diff rebuild, swap, buy a new one or upgrade it with lsd (if you hav any advice, please help !!!)
- The rear view mirror (leaking)
- The headliner and arm
- The trainy rebuild and why not the complete set of seals and solenoids
- A xenon kit (not sure)
- Install lowered springs (improvement)
- install xkr brembo brakes (not sure)
- Paint the brake caliper
- Cleaning the engine compartment
- Change the hood liner
- ECU remap (why not, if possible)
- Everything i forgot
- Make a new paint of the car when everything will be finished

Last car picture



My main goal is to have the more efficient and reliable car as possible and drive it as long as possible.

If you have any recommendations, please let me know.
If some of you want to have more pictures for each step described, i could make a thread for this.

Guillaume
 

Last edited by iceempror; Apr 7, 2016 at 09:20 AM.
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Old Apr 7, 2016 | 07:28 AM
  #2  
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Welcome.

I like your approach with a "new to you car".

Do it ALL, do it ONCE, revist in 20 years or so.

Known issues, are known issues, sort them out, and you have done a GREAT job with all that.

Threads with snaps so others can follow are ALWAYS welcome. The XK8 section will welcome them.

By the way, your English is fine, I can inderstand you without any issues.
 
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Old Apr 7, 2016 | 08:33 AM
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Welcome to Jaguar Forums Guillaume,

Good to have you with us.
Great job so far, don't forget to post the pics and story in the tech section XK8 / XKR ( X100 ) - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum
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
 
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Old Apr 7, 2016 | 08:51 AM
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Welcome to the forum Guillaume,

Good to have you with us at Jaguar forums.

You have certainly worked though all the usual trouble spots on your XK8. It should now be ready for some long and enjoyable driving.

I can see 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.

You can also visit the Europe Region forum by following this link Europe - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum
to find other members in your region.

Enjoy the forums.

Graham
 
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Old Apr 7, 2016 | 09:04 AM
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Hello, Guillaume,
You have done a Massive amount of work on this car during your ownership! It looks like Good Work too! Congratulations!

Welcome to the forums from ElinorB.
(';')
 
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Old Apr 7, 2016 | 12:21 PM
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Thank you all,

There's a lot of job to do on my car, i hope that the car will be better after.

I will update the status of the todo list when there will be an update.

Guillaume
 
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Old Apr 7, 2016 | 04:03 PM
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Welcome aboard Guilluame.
 
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Old Apr 8, 2016 | 04:38 AM
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Welcome to the forum
 
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Old Apr 8, 2016 | 06:31 AM
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welcome to the forum - enjoy!!
 
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