Hi everyone. I have been lurking around her the past month and it’s time to introduce myself. I have a 03 STR 95k on the odomiter. I am loving it. I came from a 02 M5 so there have been some handling differences but the STR is a step up in comfort and ride. I see a break job in the near future with a possible stuck front caliper so I will be looking for any advice. I also have a weeping oil cooler hose that will need attention. Other than that I have put 2500 on her and I love it. I included the mandatory photos

P.S.
I read somewhere if the SC pulley is black it is aftermarket. Mine is black, how do I tell if it is the 1.5 or 3 psi increase?

 

Welcome to the forum,

Don't forget to post in the new members section also.

 

Welcome! Nice ride; love the 5-spoke wheels. Sorry, can't help with the pulley question, but there are some really great people / technicians in this forum who, I am sure, will have the answer. Best of luck with the new Jag.

 

Well on the brakes all of us STR guys really like the Akebono ceramic pads. The stock Brembo pads (Which with the age and miles of your car have probably already been replaced) dusk like demons and you will be cleaning the wheels daily!!

Also don't delay on your brake work because the STR has a kind of rare rotor and if you can avoid replacing them it will save you some money. Don't forget the parking brake pads because they can ruin a rotor to and the pads are hard to find.

As with all cars there are a few things that will most likely go wrong or hopefully have already been replaced on your car.

With your miles if it has not been done really consider changing the transmission fluid/pan/filter/sleeve/pan bolts. As well as re-flashing the TCM with the latest software. Our 6 speed ZF's suffer from the Lurch. Look that up for full details.

Do a lot of reading on this list to see the other common stuff. If you are coming from that year M5 I assume you do your own work? Because that's the only way you can hold the cost of ownership down. We have the factory parts manual (JEPC) and the factory service manual (JTIS) for free on this site. Get and download both them right now. That should be your first action on this forum!!

Any chance you have a list of service/maintenance done to your car?? You should be able to get a list from your local Jaguar dealer but with an old car they sometimes are not to helpful. Remember that Jaguar used the last six digits of your VIN to identify the car more than just the model year.

Be sure and use the forum sponsor for factory parts. We get 15% off list and free shipping on any order over $25.
Jeff is a great guy!














I forgot to add that your color Zircon is my favorite STR color.
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A fellow Minnesota STR owner! You have indeed purchased a rare auto for these parts. Enjoy being able to drive it without seeing another but perhaps one time per year. I work in Minneapolis, live in the northern suburbs, and rarely see another STR. I can literally count on one hand all that I've seen, and one was a repeat!

If you think a piston in your front caliper is stuck, get that looked at ASAP. Replacing the Brembo caliper is very expensive. I had to do one of mine last year and could not get a hold of a comparable non-OEM Brembo caliper in a reasonable amount of time, so I ended up buying an OEM one. There are piston kits available, but given that the caliper housing is aluminum, certain damage may make it impossible to fix.

This website is a great resource for the Brembos: Link

 

Very clean STR enjoy

 

If you have a 3# pulley, the snout would need to be machined down. If you can see behind the pulley with a mirror, you should be able to tell if its been machined or not. If its not machined, its the 1.5# (my guess is you have the 1.5#).

 

Welcome. Stick with your 1.5 lb pulley (20 hp). Pop on the Mina intake (10 hp) and Caldoofy air intake tube (10 hp), Magnaflow's hi-flow cats and Tru-X center muffler (10 hp). An ETG ecu tune will make it all work together plus 20 hp.

 

Did you ever get the ecu tune?

 

Very close. 1. Waiting for patient health insurance checks to pay for the tune. 2. Debating wether to maintain present 3 lb pulley or use the Mina 1.7 lb pulley I recieved last month. Otherwise, very close to pulling the trigger.

 

I'd be interested in results with the 3# pulley...

 

The stock pulley is black also. Which is probably what you have. Most str's you find are 100% stock.

 

Agree. OP, inspect the pulley for flat black paint (stock) vs glossy black paint (Mina or Eurotoys). Check if it's aluminum (Mina) or steel (Eurotoys) by taking a utility knife and gently try to cut into the pulley. If the knife easily makes a cut then it's aluminum, thus it's likely a Mina 1.5 lb.

 

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome. It seems my to-do list has grown a bit but that’s ok, it gets me out from behind my desk My first order of business will be to get the front breaks done. Thanks for the Pad recommendations. I get a shudder when light on the breaks so I am thinking that I will order up new rotors and a rebuild kit for the left front caliper with the pads.

Doryphoros86 I live in northern suburbs of Minneapolis too and commute to Edina. It’s about a 70 mile round trip three days a week. Curious where you get service work done. I had Jeff Flynn at Special Interest Auto look at it before I bought it and he replaced a diff seal. It’s close to my work but far from home. He seams very knowledgeable. I will probably stick with him since I have had a good experience so far.

 

Rockauto.com has rebuilt (by centric) OEM brembo calipers for relatively cheap once you return them your core, I found it cheaper quicker and easier to go with their reman calipers and return mine for the core, comes loads with centric brand pads, banjo bolt, washers, spring clip, pad pins,

Do the numbers on your end and decide if it works out better,

 

The XFR forum has a member with an 2009 XFR with the 4.2 s/c. He runs the 3 lb pulley with ETG ecu tune and has more power without problems.

 

With before & after dynos? Same PCM as in our STRs (Denso)? Same trans?

 

I think the XF and S share trans.

 

I brought it in for a tire balance and found out the slite vibration is due to a bent rim. I will need to get either a replacement or a new set of something, I like these rims and don't really want to get different ones

 

There are places to repair the bent rims. Google it.