Several upscale European cars use the under-trays ... I think it's because on their super highways they can travel at triple digit speeds legally.

At USA speeds I've noticed no difference in MPGs and and been running it for 70,000 miles in all kinds of weather with no issues.

None of my other cars have under-trays.

But, YMMV.

Norm

 

As regards ramp clearance you can put blocks of wood in front/on the ramps to give it a little boost

 

well I can't quite picture how the wood helps ramp usage, any further guidance?

as far as oil change, Mobil One recommendation is 5w30 here in the States not 0w30. I did use the oil selector and provided information that the car could be driven in temperatures below 0F. That is not often but can occur rarely in southern NH. I do have a cloud of oil smoke at times when starting the car cold, particularly if not run for a week or so. I do not see any notable oil consumption, between oil changes.

I am concerned about corrosion of mechanical and electrical components, so for now will continue to keep reinstalling the lower cover.

RyeJag

 

my previous car had a two-part undertray (left hand and right hand). A budget local garage I used to go to, either lost or damaged or stole the rhs tray.

Prior to its sale, I spent quite a bit of time under it, and it was very noticable that the rhs suspension, drive shaft, chassis members were very much more rusty than the protected side. Most of the paint had also been blasted off the sump on that side, and there was some damage where I guess it had hit some road debris and there was a dent, and an almost invisible crack, in the sump, which is why I spent so much time under it.

The alternator, compressor and drive belts were on that side, and I am sure the dirt and wet did them no good at all.

I happened to see an X350 identical to mine at the indie, having its rusty and perforated sump replaced. It had no undertray.

The other purpose of the tray is to help achieve the designed airflow through the radiator, oil cooler and aircon heat exchanger.

 

Blocks of wood wise if you take a foot of 2x4 and place it on the first or second rung of the ramp it'll lift up the front of the car as you drive up onto it before it meets the higher bit of the ramp

 

A few photos for ramp clearance....

 

reyesl

thanks for the photos. I have ramps just like the yellow ones in the photo and scrap 3/4 inch plywood to make the lead in ramps. But you have tried and made all the options. Oil change planned for the warmer weather, with ramps!

RyeJag

 

I also have the yellow ramps and I use 2 layers of 2x8s to get the front-end clearance. I cannot post a photo as they are currently covered under snow and ice...

 

The store ramps didn't give me the clearance I wanted. I found out why when I decided to make my own. To get the height, you need a gentle slope, and it has to take the load! I also wanted to disconnect the ramps once airborne for access. Yep, this all adds weight so my ramps weigh in at 90lbs each. Probably over engineered, but i am under the vehicle. And thats why you can't buy them at HF or Walmart!

 

Many thanks to all those that have posted here. The text and photos provided wealth of information and my first Jaguar oil change was a success. The engine cover/shield was the hardest part of it.

My concern is that after changing the oil and adding 6.5 qts., the dipstick reads at the MIN level. Not above or below, but right at it.

I don't want to add more than the recommended amount of oil in the engine, but I am not sure how I will know if the oil is low in the future.

Any ideas?
Thanks in advance.

 

does yours have a supercharger? that uses a little extra.


the capacities are specified in litres, and I expect were converted to the nearest equivalent in pints and gallons (UK pints, quarts and gallons are bigger than American ones)


I think you just need to top it up a bit. IIRC it is one litre from the bottom mark to the top.

 

I fill with 7 qts on my XJR and it comes right to the top of the dipstick

RyeJag

 

s
After the oil change and circulating the oil by running the engine, it takes time for the oil to drain down. I would let the car sit for a couple of hours and recheck the oil level. If it is still low add another half quart or less, then repeat the process.

 

Due to it taking awhile to drain down, I always go by what it reads in the morning.

 

I got those yellow ramps too since my first vehicle back in the early 90’s. 20 yrs later still in service for the Jag. I will be adding a 3/4 plywood to make the clearance.
A lot of controversies about what type of filter and oil but the most important thing is to change the oil more often. For me 3k miles or less for conventional oil and 5k miles or less for the synthetic type but it really depends on your preference.
For my XJ, I’m switching back to Wix from Fram filter due to small difference in price.

 

I have an XKR and the XJ8 and both of them hit the ramps I had, damaging the front bodywork. I found a better ramp that is more gradual from Race Ramps at Amazon. These foam ramps are longer and more gradual and the problem is gone. I like that they are also very light and easy to use.

 

Thanks for these instructions! I did find a couple of anomalies I wanted to bring up...

To save everyone having to beg a friend to take them back to the auto parts store because you bought a filter wrench that's too small and the oil has already been drained from your ride , you need a wrench that will fit a 3-inch diameter oil filter.

This confused the hell out of me when I got under my 2004 XJR. The drain bolt is actually facing the right (passenger) side of the car. It's only facing the left if you're standing in front of the bonnet looking toward the boot. But when you're on your back under the car (and you've presumably slid under the car from the front and your head is pointing towards the rear), the drain bolt is facing right.

Also, the drain bolt on my 2004 XJR is 14mm, not 16mm. Any idea why there would be a discrepancy?

 

Scot,

Funny you should ask about filter wrenches. Since I have a drawer full of them that I have accumulated over the years, I didn't think to include that specification. For the Jaguar I used an adjustable style that fits smaller diameter filters. Size diameter and length appears to vary slightly depending on the filter manufacturer. The wrench will have to minimally open slightly over 3" or 76 mm to span the filter. Not sure why the end of the your drain plug had a different size bolt end. Hopefully you had a set of metric sockets already, so this should not have been a big problem.

In the procedure for locating the drain bolt, the photograph was taken viewing the over all car standing in front of the car, so the description followed that initial view. When you view the detailed picture taken from under the car, the orientation is clearly indicated with arrows. This was done so that both the drain bolt and filter could be viewed in one image. You are correct obviously, it is on the passenger side of the oil pan. Hope you didn't have to walk too far for a wrench. I have added additional detail to the procedure.

 

You are correct, I just found out there is an error in the manual when they converted quarts to litres. 6 litres is actually 6.34 quarts and not 5.45 quarts as the manual states. This is what I get for trusting the manual... I should have gone to the trusty internet first!

 

very late to the party, but I think I've found the cause. (My manual only shows the capacities in litres.) I can only suppose that whoever calculated the conversion was not aware that:


6 litres is 10.559 UK pints (about five and a quarter UK quarts)


6 litres is 12.68026 US pints (about six and a half US quarts)


However, 6 UK litres is exactly 6 Canadian, Australian, US, German, French, Swedish and Japanese litres, so for many purposes is a better international standard.


Quarts are not used in any scientific or engineering text in RoW. SI units are used for this very reason.