I'm risking a 400 mile delivery trip on an unknown 2004 STR with 142K. The car is owned by a Jag mechanic and has been well maintained (hose under SC replaced, all belts including SC and its' oil, transmission fluid, etc. etc. ) Thought I should have it transported but decided to bite the bullet and drive it home. How stupid am I? (Getting AAA as plan B).

 

nothing stupid about that ! it was built for driving ! enjoy the cruse

 

Ahhh brings me back to almost 8 years ago. Purchased our S Type site unseen, flew in drove home 600+ miles, not one hiccup until about 3 days later. The rest of the story is in the "How To's" above, many W/Pics!

 

Those were the days, Rick....

 

just looked at the tranny r/r pictures and thread. man, i really don't want to go there again. i'm hoping for minimal wrenching to this car.

 

I'm with Rick.

Drive the thing.

Most of mine have appeared in my driveway from a loooooooong distance away, with me/us flying and driving them home, and no issues at all ever.

 

grant - you've got a lot of cats under your belt! when i was rebuilding the xjc there was a large group of coupe lads downunder. lots of help from them. g'day. thanks to all . . .going for the car on sunday.




picking it up soon . . . can't wait

 

I picked up my STR from a cadillac dealer in Arkansas. Only issue I had driving the 8.5 hours home was finding out one of the fuel level sensors was out. And l didn't think to bring enough tunes for the drive.

These things LOVE highway drives. Better MPG than city - and you don't chew up them front brakes as fast.

 

Have fun - but watch your speed! It's easy to be going too fast...

 

Thppppbbtt.....Rick, you're a piker! By my calculations, that was a mere 4 yr old Jag. A little over a year ago I stole a page from your playbook and ran that option...but on a 96 X300! Flew into Phoenix, AZ for my first look at a car purchased a few weeks earlier over the web, completed the paperwork, took it to the hotel, and set off on a non-stop drive to Decatur, TX the next day - something over 1,000 miles. Car performed flawlessly, though I'll admit the flapping/flopping of the damaged H-K sub-woofer in the rear shelf became a bit nerve-wracking about 8-10 hrs into the journey....

Now, to be fair...the used-car-dealer included, with purchase, a 30-day, 500 mile warranty. When completing the deal, I opined: "You'll be out of warranty coverage by tomorrow afternoon!" At which point he informed me, "Likely sooner, you see, even though it is 500 mi/30 days, it is only good within the confines of the state of AZ."

Jagstuart, go pick it up...and stand on her til you smell stink!

 

Well heck! Whole deal went pear shaped when I asked via text for a list of r/r and services so I didn't repeat wrenching on anything like tensioners etc. Was accused of being a suspicious prat. Didn't really need the stress of two days of driving and buying from someone who was pissed at me. Cancelled all my travel arrangements and called it a day. . .there's always another one.

 

STR tensioners have no known weaknesses and are not normally replaced. (Though I suppose eventually everything that moves wears out.)