I should be very stable. It should only move side to side but it shouldn't be loose at all. Its held on by a nut and some spring if you look under the hood. I haven't looked into it too much, but mine is definitely stable and very in tact. And yes, I do like the leaper.

 

There is also 3M molding tape or similar holding the base on. It won't move unless seriously provoked. Took me about 30 minutes to remove it and all trace of adhesive when I deleted mine.

 

my leaper is being held on by just a big nut kinda thing, like stated above it should move left and right but only if you use plenty of force.
i love my leaper! its so sexy!

 

It's not like a fancy stuff you add on your car, it's a leaper
So, I like hood ornaments

 

I LOVE my leaper. Make the jag unique. but mine came off i guess due to rusted cable or something.. The '*******' wanted 200.00 for a new leaper.. i just used some 3M heavy duty double sided tape.. And haven't had a problem since.. Even drove it through several car washes.. That thing won't budge...

 

I had mine stolen, then went and got one from JAGBITS for $110. (killer deal) Then had a body shop install it for free.

But anyways after i got it i JB Welded the leaper onto the base, been working great, ran through the car wash, its been snowing and that sucker aint moving.

 

The Leaper is the soul of the car. If you're going to "delete it" you might as well buy a Pontiac Aztec with 4wd - or a Tata Nano for $2500, or some other Tata-mobile - oh wait a sec, they bought the marque and deleted all the damn leapers, those *******s! I like the leaper so much I even bought one and installed it on wifey's Corolla!

 

meatbag, thats pretty funny. how does the corolla look with that on (if you werent being sarcastic)

 

The leaper is the soul of the car!! I love it too much to want to get rid of it. I had mine stolen in San Diego, but got a new one off of ebay for like 50 bucks... SUPER STEAL!! it came with a base and new hardware. See, it moves because of the spring. The spring is scrunched down and held on by 2 steel "hooks" that connect to the bottom of the leaper and then "hooks" over the bottom of the spring keeping it compressed, thus allowing movement to the leaper if needed, but has enough pressure being compressed that it stays on very snug to the base. The big plastic nut that you see under your hood is actually to hold the base to the car, it has nothing to do with the actual leaper. Also, when I replaced mine, I had to pry off the old base with a tiny electronic flathead to minimize paint damage, fish line kept snapping, I didn't have any heavy line. Also if you buy a new base and leaper, be prepared to drill a new hole into the top of the hood. The base has a "pin" that goes into the hole for alignment but the aftermarket had it in a different place slightly further back. But no worries, i just put down masking tape, marked and drilled. LOOKS GREAT!! I felt almost ashamed driving mine when the leaper was missing HAHAHA...

 

I deleted mine. It's almost a North America-only thing now as most X-Types around other parts of the world don't get it and people from those countries think us yanks apply them as aftermarket modifications. I think they look like chromed male genitalia from a distance. Hood ornaments in general are a bit outmoded and have been deemed either unsafe or an avoidable theft liability in the auto industry.

 

The only reason I bought my X-Type is that it was cheaper than buying a new leaper by itself from the dealer! Just kidding, of course. But I do love that leaper! A rose by any other name may smell as sweet, but a Jaguar without a leaper is... um, er... well, it's just not right!

 

I'm just waiting for one of the punks from the school beside my store to rip it off, hopefully the alarm will go off so I can give them a beating

 

The 'leaper' is part of the experience. It quite simply states "Jag". Having owned a 1960
MK II, and guardian to an 1999 XJ8, the leaper is literally a figurehead. I love it on my X-Type as it symbolizes British luxury. My E-Type, which I have been enjoying since 1972, does not display a leaper, as its design, by itself, needs no external badging to claim the Jaguar heritage.

I would guess that the younger generation would not associate the leaper as an icon for
the Jaguar marque. But, as many of the younger listers on this forum have implied, they
have acquired the knowledge to associate leaper/Jag.

Cheers,

Bruce

 

Weilding it aint that smart, well as long as you dont hit a pedestrian.

Mine got stolen, And i ended up get the same one back, paying a hundred backs, ( i wanted to murder the kid). But thats life

I then used a cable, and didnt think it was strong, so took it off, and used a metal rod to fasten it. Been there for a long time now, and it does not move at all.

 

A friend of mine lives on a farm and he was sick of the kids taking a bat to his mail box. He got back at them by making one out of stainless steel, painting it to look like wood and cementing it to the ground

 

Do you mind putting up a few pictures of the rod used and how you got it to work? please.

I JB Welded mine down. but if it get stolen again i wanted to steal your idea. thanx

 

The main reason I decided to get a Jaguar was because the wife happened to mention that she "likes Jaguars" when I was looking at the available used X-Types. Of course, I got one because I liked them anyway but discovered afterward that the wife likes the Jaguar leaper.

So, I bought her a new one off of ebay that she has on her desk as a decoration.

 

Just some information. Here is the US all hood ornaments have to be flexible enough so if a pedestrian is hit they won't be impaled on them. Jack

 

A jaguar without a leaper is naked! I like naked but not on a Jaguar!