To whom it may concern
I just played jaguar mechanic and changed out the white plastic shifter block that can break if it gets stuck in park, So I'm told!
Will I can see why. They have a metal nipple for lack of a better word going onto a cheap plastic grove and it will grind the edges of the plastic over time. This is why the shifter lever gets to wiggle more as the car is driven more. I'd recommend the aluminum one! Remember this 2000 Jaguar 4.0 has 55,700 miles on it and there was some wear showing

 

Thanks for sharing. Pictures of the OEM would really be appreciated if possible.

 

Would also like pictures and a descriPtion of how to do the job.

Thanks

 

There's some good info here

S Type Shifter Upgrade Part

 

WOW Norri, where did that link come from? First I have seen of it.

 

I went to search for a pic and got lucky!
I think I'll email him and ask if he minds if we put a link in the "How To's"

 

It's shameful that it takes a CPA to design and manufacture a better part than the engineers that were assigned to the original task.

Think about it.

 

hmm, do you think cost may just perhaps possibly maybe been a consideration?

And weight.

 

Always. But it would have been a very minor saving in both weight and cost. The amount charged by the CPA does not reflect what a part in mass production would cost.

Which one would you rather have?

 

As an Engineer I look at it a bit differently. It's a mechanical fuse. The safety joint that fails first to save more expensive stuff down stream. After all in the end a tow truck call is cheaper and quicker than fixing the transmission.

Should it lock in gear? Of course not, that's definitely a design fault. Seems like again the early cars suffer more from this? My 2005 on any surface has never had any problems. Including many steep drive ways and parking lots. With the automatic parking brake it catches it so the car does not load the parking pawl.
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I have "rescued" a early S-Type on a driveway that has less than a 1 in 50 grade. The driver parked in the driveway without even really realising that the driveway had any kind of slope.

As a "fuse", that part looks more like specifying a 5 amp fuse on a circuit that regularly draws 20 amps. Not good.

 

After you replace the plastic part with metal. Then force the shifter. What's the next piece to break?
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The same can be said of the plastic headlamp adjusters - 99.9% of the time you will find the plastic adjusters broken inside of the headlamp assembly rendering the headlamp useless... I found upgrades through Ebay (thanks Brutal) that are 1,000X better than original...

 

This part from Welsh inc is metal an only 65.00 and when I took out the black screws that held the bottom half of the console I was able to pull it back toward the back seat just enough to get the side side screws on th metal plate. I didn't need to remove the whole block enclosure to take out the white shifter block. There are two screws under the little insert thing just below the AC outlet in the back seat. They are all torgue screws in the console. For those that think you will break something with the metal part. If you go inside and to the back of the shifter you can release the shifter from a solenoid just under the back of the housing. if you pull too hard on the shifter I think the new metal block from Welsh could break off also, "be gentle"