Recent member of the forum and this May have been previously covered.

Purchased an '04 3,0 with 68,860 miles on it recently. Going thru some of the old paperwork, I found a service order to, "replace rear axle ends", for $417.00 US for "joints" plus $780.00 for labor. Not sure if I've read the RO correctly but it appears the labor time was 6 hours which would equate to $130.00/hour. Taking the liberty to assume that "joints" are CV or similar U-joints.

My question is this; being pretty handy with a hammer, is this a job a guy might do himself? Are there special tools required? I've got a pretty good tool box and a bit of experience on US and Japanese vehicles. I'm certainly not expecting to see a need to do this job again but rather, trying to get a feel for what makes the Jag tick.

And....

Is there a service manual available for download?

Finally...

There is a plastic insert just aft of the shifter. Three slots (that seem convenient for storing three quarters or Sasqagewa dollars) plus a red light that illuminates occasionally. Any ideas what the light is supposed to indicate? And of course, what is the purpose of the slots?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

Joe, the rear axles are easy to do. If you can do CV axles on other vehicles, you can do them here. The fronts are a bit more involved as you need a special separator to pull the slip joint apart so you don't end up pulling the joint out of the transfer case and destroying the seal there.

As for the service manual, go to the top of the list here and find the sticky labeled "X-Type Downloads". Inside there, you will find a file called "JTIS". Download that and get it installed. That will have every step by step you would need for this car.

As for the slots, you have the right idea. They are a coin holder.

As for the red light, that is for the security system. If you walk up to the driver's door and stand there, you will see the light flash periodically just to let you know the car is watching itself. Then, if you press the keyfob to unlock the door, you will see the light flash again to let you know that it received the signal to unlock the door. Any time you use the keyfob, it will flash at you.

 

I find the pdf version of the manual easier to use and search through.
Workshop Manual in PDF. (thanks to LCGI).
Lots of information and help in X Type 'HOW TO' " quick links " found in the stickies at the top of this forums main page. X Type 'HOW TO' " quick links " model specs / info / accessories

 

Gawd! I hate being computer challenged!

First of all, what is a sticky?

I see the word in many of the posts and thought it was someone's name.

But I finally struggled thru the site, found 'download workshop manual, PDF' and gave it a go.

Wouldn't open on the iPad so off to the desktop this morning.

Both Microsoft security and my anti-virus threw a fit, the nicest thing being said, was 'unreliable'. It mentioned URL's and IR something; bottom line, no download.

When in the Air Force, I was an avionics tech and was pretty handy chasing electrons and kiliwinkles. While getting old has some benefits, grasping computerese hasn't been one of them for me.

Any thoughts on downloading that manual?