I have looked at a TON of VIN decoder sites and services. They all seem to have the same BASIC information about the number of paint, engine, factory, accidents, spotty maintenance history, number of owners, etc, etc. Is there an owners database SOMEWHERE where we can plug in our VIN and get DETAILED information about everything on the car...like shok type and part numbers, brake pad and rotor specifications that are SPECIFIC TO MY S-TYPE. Right now I'm just trying to get some new front and rear rotors and pads for my 2008 S-type 3.0l Base sedan. For the life of me I don't know whether I have the BREMBO brakes, regular brakes, or high-performance brakes. Three times I've purchased brakes for "2008 Jaguar S-type 3.0 Base Sedan" and three times now I bought the wrong thing. I'd like to know which brakes (and shocks and suspension type, etc.) are installed on my car and be able to look up the specs on whichever they may be so I can cross check the sopecs of whatever brand I buy before I go and hand it to the mechanic. I find they HATE IT when u buy your own parts, but they REALLY HATE IT IF YOU BUY THE WRONG PARTS. I'm frustrated, and my mechanic is really irked because he took it all apart without checking the parts. NEWBIE TO DIY.

 

sorry, that I think qualifies as a rant not a question, and I THOUGHT I was posting in the NEWBIE forum. oops.

 

You may be able to contact JLR corporate at their customer relations number and see if they can provide the information. They may or may not still have that in the database given the age of the vehicle.

Also, have a look at this website:

https://monroneylabels.com/

 

I got a lot of detailed info by asking my local dealer to print it out (they were kind and did it free). Some of what is asked above is not included but there was more than I've needed in the last about 10 years.

 

Try this: https://www.jaguarmerriamparts.com. You can enter your VIN or look up by model info

 

Also have a look here: https://parts.jaguarlandroverclassic.../brand/jaguar/

The S-Type had a few disc size options through the years. Iirc, the last of the S-Types had ATE calipers with 326mm discs all round which might make your search a bit easier (VIN from
N52048).

 

Welcome to the forums nersveen,

YES - that does go more towards the RANT category than the QUESTION category.

A Jaguar Dealer can lookup the original build specification for your vehicle from the VIN on the old Direct Dealer Warranty system. No decoder website / guru / navel gazer can do that. With the age of the vehicle, the build records won't be available through Jaguar TOPIx which is the easy way to get specification details on current and recent vehicles.

If your mechanic can't identify the type of brakes fitted to your S-Type just by looking from across the street, you may need to consider finding another mechanic.

Graham

 

the mechanic stunk, and he calls himself a jag expert. Anyway the new mechanic says there’s TWO different size brake systems on the 08 ST. There’s the ones with the big 326 mm rotors and some that are smaller. I have the latter and I bought parts for the former. New mechanic says the 326mm rotors are too big to use with the smaller calipers. He says that he can still put on the 326mm rotors on if the calipers of the smaller brakes mount the same way with same hardware attach points then he can just upgrade the whole cat up to 326 mm rotors then I should only need new 326mm companion calipers and ceramic pads if the all mount the same way. Can someone confirm that? ie: that the smaller 08 standard brakes and the larger “standard plus” 08 brakes w 326mm rotors all attach to the cat using the same mount points to the vehicle?