Hi all!

Ok so I just received a 1999 XK8 left to me as an inheritance. The car is a coupe it looks great once I washed about an inch of dust off it. Interior is great as well. Found a receipt that states the engine was replaced by the dealer under warranty so it appears to have about 30000 km on the new motor. Battery is dead and a note was left by my uncle stating the car no longer drives requires new transmission. I love the look of the car and I would like to bring it back to life but I'm worried about what its going to take and what I[m getting into. Should I invest in a new transmission and start to enjoy the car? I here that these cars are unreliable and cost is high to maintain. Is that true? Tell me like it is guys/girls. I'd love to make this my summer ride

 

Welcome to the forum Rezzz.

I would start by changing all the fluids and filters including the transmission. Fully charge or replace the battery.

Get a code reader, start the car and see what, if anything it throws up.

Then you will be able to decide, but keep us posted so that we may be of help to you.

 

Welcome to the forum Rezzz,

Good to have you here with us at Jaguar Forums.

Follow this link XK8 / XKR - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the XK8/XKR forum for help, advice and information. The 'HOW TO' thread at the top is a good place to start for info on regular issues. Plenty there on transmissions.

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 Canada Region forum by following this link Canada - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to find other members in your country.

Enjoy the forums.

Graham

 

welcome to the forum and the Jag family!! plenty of info and support here simply follow the links Graham has provided. Enjoy!

 

Welcome to Jaguar Forums Rezzz,

Good to have you with us.
Could be a worthwhile project but you will need to put some time and maybe cash in to be sure.
Post up all the details and pics in the tech section and take it from there.
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

 

Hi Rezzz and welcome form a fellow Canadian. What part of our great country are you in? We have many members from Ontario, followed up by BC, the Prairie Provinces, Quebec and then the Maritimes.

Graham has given you the link to our dedicated regional section, stop by once in a while to see what's happening.

 

Ok some pics before I took it from the storage location where it was being held.

 

I was expecting a lot worse from your initial description.

Get a fully charged battery on it so you can see what codes, if any are stored.

You'll then also be able to reset the windows so the door doesn't have to be forced open past the rubber seal and can start to assess what needs doing and whether it makes economic sense.

Graham

 

Hi and welcome aboard, its good to have you here with us here at Jaguarforums

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There are lots of members local to you with the same interests with info on local dealers and possible meets.
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See you in the forums....

 

Ok, well I got the 1999 XK8 home before the snow falls here (expecting about 15 cm) and I changed out the fluids, fresh battery and got it started. The Transmission is pouched! No doubt in my mind you cannot get this thing to move. It will not engage gears and you need to substantially increase the rpm of the motor to get some action from the transmission. Resetting the windows was a synch, thanks Graham! I decided not to waste any more time on the transmission and have moved onto the remainder of the car. So far this is what I have found and it has led me to believe that it is a worthwhile project to restore the Jag and have fun with it as a summer driver:
1. Hoses, cables, air intake hose and the rest of the rubber and plastic parts under the hood appear ok.
2. Interior is in great shape and besides having some wear on the top of the console compartment cover and a cup holder that appears to require some repair, a little bit of cleaning to get rid of some dust and it will look like new. Power head rest does not work but I found a link to fix it on the forum. Incredible wealth of information you Guys and Gals have assembled here.
3. Body has some scuffs and a couple of small scratches but no dents. A friend of mine that operates a body shop came over and is trying to convince me to repaint it and add some Euro skirting. It never ceases to amaze me how any project involving a car always ends up as a great night of lengthy discussion surrounding some beers and a seemingly endless bank account. Anyway I think the idea may have some merit . Any links to Euro skirt vendors that make something classy (No star wars stuff here please) of high quality that you recommend?
4. A review of the breaks indicate the rotors appear to be ok but I will need to mic them. If they can be turned I'm going to do so but I will need new pads . Not sure which ones I will go with yet. Still sifting through the seemingly endless forum discussion on this. Any Suggestions?
5. The wheels are in great shape and the tires appear to be new. The last tag on the plate was Nov 2012 so the car was running at least a year ago or so.
6. I have a number of fault codes to look into but do not have the device to do so. That I will save for a visit from a mechanic who is a buddy of a buddies to come over next week (a few more beers). Once I have acquired that information then I will search through the forum to see what I can find.
7. Like I said the transmission is pouched. I would like to price a re-manufactured one. I found a guy in Michigan that has them 98 99 00 01 02 03 Jaguar XJ8 XK8 Remanufactured Transmission 2 Year Warranty | eBay. Not sure if this is a fair price or not. Anyone else have a supplier for one out there?
8. Took a valve cover off and the tensioners are the old ones. That is I see plastic. So I'm going to get into this right away. I'm going to do the cam and timing tensioners given what I have read, better safe than sorry. It appears to me, from what I have read, the Ford equivalent parts appear to be the way to go. I need to start to price this up, I have decided to change the thermostat housing, coolant pump and the hoses while I'm at the tensioner work. Any suggestions on packaged pricing? I have priced the entire parts list mentioned above and including a gasket kit from Welsh for $766.80 out the door.

Anyway that is my story to date. I love the look of this car and my friends tell me I will love the drive so even though it is a 1999 I'm going to go for it and hopefully I will end up with a nice cruiser to enjoy some backwoods two lane flattop roads in Michigan and Ontario.

 

Sounds like you have got the measure of it Rezzz, so keep at it, you won't be disappointed when it is up and running properly.

Before you shell out on a transmission, remove the centre console and check the operation of the various solenoids, also check the wiring and connectors.
It could be a simple fix.

 

+1 on checking the transmission controls.

You know the worst case scenario is a rebuild /exchange but you could save yourself $$$ if it's only a fault in the selector assembly/controls.

Graham

 

Thanks to both of you. I was not aware of the fact that this is a common problem. Is there a procedure identified in the Forum anywhere where this is covered?

 

You will find the Workshop Manual a.k.a. JTIS (Jaguar Technical Information System) very useful. It's available for download from General Tech Help forum:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/g...rchives-65926/

There is also a lot of information on transmissions in the HOW TO sticky at the top of XK8/XKR forum.

Graham

 

Trans is pouched!! Well now begins the pricing for a rebuilt and or rebuild the one I have.

 

Sorry to hear that. Not the outcome we were all hoping for.

If your target is still getting the car ready as your Summer ride, there's plenty of time to have the original transmission rebuilt. This way you know its history whereas with an exchange you can never be absolutely certain it's come from exactly the right vehicle or hasn't been taken out of a total crash wreck.

Graham

 

Agreed. I think that's good advice I need to look through the forum and locate a trany removal post

 

And so begins the tear down

 

Rezz, nice going so far, kudos to you.

Now, this is the new members section and you're unlikely to get the attention it deserves or the help you need,so....

Please create a thread in the XK8 section, entitled My XK8 project or similar and add everything in there as you go.
You can of course add a link to your newbie intro here too if you like?

This way people can view, add comments or suggestions / likes etc or just view your progress.

Att he end of the day it'll also be a diary of sorts of your car from start to finish and everything good or bad in between.

Good luck
Jim

 

Welcome to the forum rezzz,how could you not want that for a summer car !!
Good luck it will be well worth it.
Rab