Hello everyone, I'm in the market for a S-type R within the next 3 months. I'm a big Taurus SHO guy which is already a quarkey car. I used to run SCCA Solo 1 with it and kept it as my daily driver with minor upgrades (Roush springs, sway bars and torque converter). My SHO is getting up there in mileage and I want to retire it from daily driver status. I've always been in love with the S-type R's and have been reading up on them for the last 6 months. It seems very similar to the SHO in the sense that they have their weak points and the reliability of the car is based around how it was maintained. I have a couple of questions primarily about average life of the supercharger and transmission (assuming maintenance was done frequently). How is the motor overall any weak points? And any suggestions in general on what to look out for? The majority of the maintenance will be done by me. I'm looking for a 2005 S-type R I figured that's the newest model I can buy and still keep the Brembo Brakes. I posted on Car Reddit and got attacked by a bunch of BMW and AMG guys so I figure I'd ask here. Anyways I'm a big forum guy on shoforum and I'm sure I'll be hitting Jaguar forums up a lot through the life of my Jag. Thanks

 

Welcome to the forum mtesta1985,

You certainly won't get beat up here, the R guys will be along soon to give you advice.
In the meantime why not ell us something about yourself in the new members area.

 

Mostly the STRs just work but the expensive worry is the valley pipe - hose under the SC - which needs a lot taking off to get at it. Threads on here if you want to know more just go reading.

Next most expensive worry is fines for speeding...

 

There are a few people 120k+ miles with no issues (besides the normal coil packs, coolant hose under s/c, dccv, and coolant reservoir)

 

Welcome to the forum, mtesta1985. Like you, I knew I wanted an '05 STR, and like you, I did a lot of reading before the plunge. So, by now you probably have most of the answers you need, but I'll add this info again. Forum member Avos is near completion of a twin-screw supercharger kit for the STR that will add up to 200 HP and let you blow the socks off those BMW and AMG guys....

 

I have an '05 and it is my daily driver. Bought it with 50k miles and have put on 10k+ virtually trouble free in the first year.

 

Awesome, thanks for the advice. I've read that the Coolant reservoir is faulty in other places. The Coolant hose under the supercharger, should I just plan to replace it as soon as I get the car? I'm probably going to do a repeat of when I bought my SHO, I picked it up at 56k miles. At 60k I swapped the plugs, all the coil packs, and welded the camsprocket (That is the weak point for SHO's, Cam sprocket walks off the camshaft), and changed the tranny fluid and filter, which I read for jags the filter is one with the pan.

 

Good idea. Since you know the weak points from reading here, there are many good DIY posts, some with step-by-step photos. Some even videos. Take your time shopping and buy the best you can afford up front.

 

The coolant reservoirs break easily when mechanics are doing other work. That nipple is very fragile. Don't stress the hose fittings at all!

The hose under the SC is a a real SOB job so I would wait on that one. Some people have taken their SC off and found that the hose was just perfect so if it ain't broke ...

 

2005 was the last year with the Brembo package, so you're correct there. There are quite a few affordable 05's right now.

 

Well you and I followed similar paths. I came from the SHO world and wrote part of the SHOTimes FAQ. Put over 200K miles on two different 1993 ATX SHO's. Auto crossed them regularly.

First there is no comparison between the two cars. Ford had major multiple problems with the SHO they never fixed as you well know with the welded cams on your 3rd gen SHO. The STR has what I consider pretty minor problems. Even the hose under the supercharger is just a lot of labor to replace a $20 hose! My 2005 STR still has the original hose so it's not a for sure repair. The transmission and engine are rock solid just read up on the "Lurch" for transmission roughness.

The STR is just built so incredibly better. The entire car is Engineered properly. The engine is tuned very mild on purpose. The downside to this is we have little to no aftermarket so if you were like me, you modified the Hell out of your SHO. But be prepared to be disappointed when it comes to modifying your STR.

The SHO had cams, MAF's, ECU tunes, all kinds of tweaks. A good example is the brakes. I added larger disc's and SS flex lines, removed the rear balance plugs on both of my SHO's but the STR comes stock with 4 piston Brembos and 14.3" front rotors as well as SS lines. So not really any need to upgrade unless you truly will be using the car on the track. Just remember there are far better cars to run on the track than the STR. It's a street machine for sure!

It's a much more expensive car. Not so much to buy as they depreciate like a rock but that does NOT reduce the cost of parts and service. You are very wise to DIY because I think that's the only smart way to own this car. Parts will almost always be dealer only but another advantage to the SHO is Jaguar does not obsolete stuff as fast as Ford does. I can pretty much still order any and all pieces and parts for the STR but with a high price tag. Example was my drivers side sun visor which started to get sagging fabric. The only decent one was new and that was $231!! But I got it within 5 days and the sun visor is now new.

I have had my 2005 STR for over 5 years and have run from 32k miles up to the current 90K miles with the car being my only daily driver. I almost get bored compared to the SHO because the car just does not require much repair and I had finally gave up on much if any mods. But I STILL want the twin screw blower badly!!

I will always remember one SHO Timers signature. “You can’t make a race car out of a pig. BUT you can make one fast pig!”
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I too had a SHO back in highschool. 89 and I loved that car. Actually, I think I loved all my old cars

 

Back when the SHO came out it was a bargain performance car and totally under the radar. After all it was a Taurus! It's just a shame Ford never updated it. The same 3.0L 220 HP from 1988-1995 while the competition was updating and adding things every year. In 1988 it was at the top and by 1995 they barely sold 2000 cars. Even the 1996-1999 V-8 SHO was only 235 HP. A gem of a motor but then the cam gears started coming off which destroyed the engine. Finally some hot rodders figured out how to weld the cams and then the engine lasted fine. My friend purchased a brand new 1996 SHO and put on 160K trouble free miles but he did weld the cams at about 85K miles.

I just look at what Jaguar did while under Ford ownership to the S Type from 2000-2008. So much was changed for the better even though the car still looked about the same.
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