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Crumbly upper front shock mounts means it is past time to replace them. Given that the newest of these XK8s/XKRs is now approaching 13 years old, every one of them should have been through this process at least once by now....
I went with the Welsh poly upper shock mounts a little over two years ago in my wife's 2006 XK8 and am glad I choose that route instead of the OEM replacement....
hmm.... it seems like I may have the same issue with my shock mounts.
Simple diagnostic: check the ride height as per the Vehicle Spec Book on jagrepair.com. The way you are describing it, the mount is on it's way out (I suppose they all are). Consider the Welsh mount instead of the stock part, unless you like to do this job every few years...
She's up on jack stands right now , but I'll check the ride height when I get her down. Really don't want to spend another $250cdn on parts right now I'll probably drop into Welsh this summer on my way to visit cousins in Ohio........and smuggle them back
The material on my parcel shelf was sun burnt and looking tired so i re trimmed it with quilted leather, a modification which cost me £10 in material from eBay and a can of spray adhesive. Really happy with this look.
I've just bought a new (old) catalytic converter for my '97 XK8, Left bank, because I can hear that the old one has broken up internally.
Oil leak from the cam cover (a common problem, it seems, but more usually onto the exhaust manifold) had filled No.7 spark plug well. This got so full of oil and crud that it caused the plug to short and resulted in a no-ignition misfire. The OBD code reader actually identified the correct cylinder.
The overfuelled exhaust seems to have been sufficient to cook the cat internally, hence the need for replacement. I had already changed out the lambda sensor for this bank, also cooked, in order for her to pass the annual emission check.
So; new gaskets first, new (old) cat while I'm in there. Not sure whether to use red goo sealant around the new gaskets, my guess is that a sparing application will work best. I can also check the upper tensioner condition while I'm in there. I'm sure its been changed, but no harm in looking.
Did an oil & filter change / tire rotation / wheel speed sensor scrubbing on my wife's 2006 XK8 as it approaches 115,000 miles. The car is running perfectly now....
Nice work Rothwell. Great pictures too. I did mine a couple of months ago - what came out of the filter looked like old tea from a teapot. Yuck. Why don't the dealers change it? We pay enough for their services. Anyway, one less thing to worry about.
After the filter change, I could hear a 'tinkling' noise and thought that it was the heatshield making it since I had peeled it away a little as you describe. You show it clearly on your thread to the right of the filter body. A little more listening and the opinion of my garage determined it to be the cat, as described above. So I guess I shouldn't have worried about moving the heat shield and nor should readers of this thread.
The weather was so nice today I washed the old girl and re sealed the top with 303. Then I cleaned the paint up with a clay bar and machine polished with Meguiars D151. Tied up a few odds and ends like polishing the chrome exhaust tips with Mothers polish, but didn’t get around to the interior. That’ll have to wait for another day, as I needed some time for a top down drive before getting too late.
Drove the XK8 with front anti-sway bar disconnected and it rode noticeably smoother and quieter. Will change out the sway bar bushings tomorrow and reconnect the links. The car did not "sway" when driven spiritedly on winding roads. There were a couple of loud clunks when hitting a few small potholes. I hope it's the worn out bushings letting the bar hit against the frame. We'll see.
Replaced all 8 lamps in the 2005 XK8 instrument cluster. Cleaned all 4 speed sensors. Looks like front brake pads need to be next. 97K miles. All the previous how-to posts were a great help.
I changed the high pressure power steering hose in the 20004 XK8. I saw lots of ways to repair the hose but I bit the bullet and went for the JAG OEM part. If I keep making fixes that aren't quite right it won't even be a JAG anymore after 10 years. Hardest part of the job is getting the new hose in place, it only goes in through the top. You also need the right tool to get the fitting apart at the location under the air box. Second time I could do this job in 15 minutes.
You have to have a set of these for this car.
You could do a lot of damage trying to get this fitting apart without the right tool.
To hell with that lousy plastic fitting. I much prefer the brass hose barb connector fix....
I would say that for a 14 year old car to have just developed a small leak after 123,000 miles the parts are over designed. I worked for the big three most of my life and I can tell you some accountant would be in engineering telling everybody the parts don't need to be that good. If I can get another 14 years out of the OEM part I will be pleased.
I would say that for a 14 year old car to have just developed a small leak after 123,000 miles the parts are over designed. I worked for the big three most of my life and I can tell you some accountant would be in engineering telling everybody the parts don't need to be that good. If I can get another 14 years out of the OEM part I will be pleased.
The great thing about these fluid leads are they are free corrosion prevention.
Upon taking the Black Cat out of winter storage on my first drive I got an amber message, "Suspension Fault". In addition the car seemed to be riding quite harshly. With thoughts of needing new expensive adaptive shocks, I pulled the electrical plugs from the top of the front shocks, gave them a good shot of electrical contact cleaner, let dry and reinstalled. Happy days, message cleared and car now rides like it should.
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Triple black convertable XKR
Ricardo seats
Persang 20 inch wheels
Performance suspension
Took advantage of a rare dry day so polished and waxed from top to bottom. All four wheels off and cleaned, along with the wheel arches. Surprising how much dirt gets trapped when you think you havent' driven in anything but dry conditions.
Cleaned the floor mats using a $9.95 spray bottle of carpet cleaner my wife purchased from the supermarket. Did as good a job as the $29.95 stuff from the auto parts store!
Cleaned the front seats and then fed them with Connolly Hide Food.
Getting the car ready for the Australian Jaguar National Rally near Adelaide beginning the 12th of April. Should be a great road trip (2020 km/1250 miles).
Just beginning to learn how to service/maintain my 2005 S type. Today I replaced my cabin air filter and the engine air filter. Thanks to others on this forum it was very straight forward. I would not have done it without all of your help. Thanks! Tomorrow, the fuel filter.
I'll probably drop into Welsh this summer on my way to visit cousins in Ohio........and smuggle them back 
