hello to all i am a new x350 4.2 owner i have had a x308 and a s type in the past. I brought the car in great condition 2004 1 owner with 64k miles and am just going through a bucket list of what i need to get the car into mint condition. If i sound like a newbie i am sorry have been in a GS 430 Lexus for the last 2 years and that car was basic but very fun and easy to fix. so my questions are as follows.

when i got the car i found the brakes a bit rubbish so i replaced the front discs and pads + fluid and what a difference. I also found that i have that dreaded ZF lurch when i am about to stop. So my first questions was when i go for a fluid/filter change next month should i have the tranny reset or have the software updated i am not sure what most people ask for.

Second questions is i had my local jaguar dealer check the car over when i purchased the car and all they found was the car needed new brakes and wheels re balanced. Since having my wheels balanced my ride has become very harsh it feels worse than driving a ford focus. The car is together as i hit holes in the road and i seem to have no rattles its just a poor ride and slight vibration in the steering wheel. So is there a chance they miss balanced the wheels?

Sorry with all the questions the next one is i have seen alot about the corrosion on the bodies of these cars. My car is a 2004 and has no history or any signs of repair or corrosion, so does that mean if it hasn't happened yet it is unlikely to occur in the future?

many thanks for any responses feels good to be back in a jaguar again my father has a 06 S type R and grandfather has a 65 E type(XKE). so feels good to be part of the family again. I am very mechanically minded so hopefully repairs shouldnt be to much to deal with.

 

Hi,
I'm in a quite similar situation like you. I recently bought my 350 and I try to get rid of the lurch and harsh shiftings.
As fluid changes seem to be quite expensive without satisfying results, I'll try a tranny flash first. Some rare postings state, that it also might be the torque converter.

Corrosion doesn't seem to be a big issue on 350, compared to other brands...

 

Having had many cars before I learned to have the wheels rebalanced on the car. The advantage is that all brake pads, bearings and remaining moving parts' vibrations are taken into account. In the current X350 I changed all tires, had the wheels rebalanced on car, learned about the torsional vibrations, had the tires replaced because of this, and still would not get rid of vibrations around 70 - 80 mph. My next shot is to have the drive shaft balanced. I don't have an idea what to do next if that won't help. I hope you won't have to go through all of this.

 

Definitely get them rebalanced, ask for a 'road force' balance, makes a huge difference.

Body is aluminum, so corrosion won't be a factor.

As for the transmission, do the pan change w/ filter, and fluid replacement yourself, then take your car to the dealer to 'reflash your TCM software' or if they say there isn't an update, ask for 'adaptations to be cleared', then follow the 'learning' procedure for a newly hatched TCM. Dealer tech can do the test drive, or you can yourself, the procedure is pretty simple. Its documented on here, and in ZF 6hp26 documents. off of the top of my head, its maintaining RPM no higher than 1450 rpm to 5th gear, then decelerating to 2nd, no braking until then. Repeat this 5 times at least...you'll likely get a gearbox faultone or two times in attempting it, but the key is the RPM limit.

 

thank you for all the information so far, got car booked into my local jaguar tomorrow to have the auto box updated and reset at the same time for around 230 GBP not sure on what that is in US. Did my first oil change fully synth on her today and easiest car ever you dont even need to jack the car up to do anything remove the tray and slide under the pan and away you go. I guess i have got long arms though. Only headache was cap on the oil container snapped so i had to cut it off and ended up getting half a litre of oil over the side of the engine. Its all good cleaned it up and just had little steam of one bank.

i have also noticed that i smoke alot under hard acceleration but have no signs of coolant loss or contaminated oil. The car goes like a bat out of hell, just wondering if it is due to this PCV valve that i have heard about. I would doubt headgasket due to no loss of anything and i heard about a piston ring going but in my experience this car goes and idles 2 well for that. I guess the fact it is -1 celsius here in the uk might make a bit more condenstation. I had the wife rev the car as i held a white cloth over the tail pipe and no oil or sweet smelling coolant. i was told when i got the car that it was an old couple and one passed away so the wife sold his car on. so maybe the car has had an easy life going no more than 20mph all its life till i come along and redline the car. I have added a fuel cleaner and aim to change plugs soon.

 

Aluminum will corrode, however it will not rust!

 

Although there is no rust, the aluminium bodies of these cars can suffer from filiform or crevice corrosion. Normally, on exposure to air, aluminium rapidly forms an oxide layer on the surface that prevents further attack. Anodising is an industrial process that increases the depth and resistance of this layer as well as allowing colours to be put in the layer. On painted aluminium, where a paint defect occurs and there is absence of oxygen, then corrosion can start to creep under the paint layer.

It can seem puzzling that the corrosion can creep under the paint; after all, doesn't the paint stop water, salt, and atmospheric pollution from getting to the aluminium ? Well, yes it does almost all the time, but if a concentrated solution of salts forms near the paint defect, this causes osmotic pressure on the paint layer, and water can pass across the paint layer and allows the corrosion process to continue. This type of corrosion also occurs on steel and other metals.

Thing is it is almost all a cosmetic thing on the X350, the filiform corrosion points look unsightly. I had to have some remedial work done on my X350, but it has been OK since completion in mid 2010. Main points are: -

- leading edge of trunk lid - starts on underside where nobody notices, then creeps round to top side. Cut off the horizantal lip on the lower screen seal to prevent recurrence (poor piece fo design here)

- creep out from below trunk lid chrome 'jaguar' finisher
- creep out from LH and RH lower side of rear screen seal
- rear corners of doors

 

funny what you say about cutting off lip at the bottom of the rear window seal my car has a piece almost an inch long missing so guessing has some history in the past.

right update on the car got the gearbox software updated and reset yesterday at local jaguar and woo what a difference i can drive it like a normal car now plus she shifts smoother too. I did ask for a quick check over again and they did vacuum test on the coolant system and all was fine. They did go out in my car and then jumped staight into another xj and said that my ride was the same as the other car. I do not believe this as you should have any shakes in seat pedal or steering wheel on a car like this. I do get a pulsing noise at 70mph so i think that i have some parts on the way out but they dont want to admit as i had a winter check last week and they couldnt find anything wrong with the car. Did check history and last year she had a new lower trailing arm on the front due to failing an inspection so i can only guess the other one is on the way out too. The woman did say if i wasnt happy go back again i guess i can ask to driver another XJ and check but if this is what you get with these cars she shall be gone and swapped with an S type because the ride is much better than the XJ at the mo

 

well after a 100 miles gearbox is like a dream what a silly software fault to have. I think it is good to have a gearbox that has adaptions because we dont all drive the same but why have a box that once learnt stays that way it should be constantly adapting or if least be reset from hardreset from battery not need a main dealer.

Complained to my local dealer saying my car should not have any vibration no matter how small. i have done some hard breaking and some long runs just to get tires nice and hot and bearings ect so can pin point some problems. I have found the car a lot better but still has a tiny vibration at higher speeds. Also found when pushing the jag through a country lane the back when hit a bumb felt not connected so will guess that is where any play will be in the car.

 

What is your wheel size ? The larger diameters with very low profile tyres are not good at giving a smooth ride, and the slightest wheel damage causes vibration. Tyres need to be absolutely perfect, too. I know these wheels look good, but it seems one has to suffer for good looks !

FWFW I swapped from 20" to 18" and it transformed the car (beneficially)

 

I have the 18 luxury wheels are they called the are they 230/50/18 off top of my head with the jaguar pirelli p6000J tires all with 6mm min on. It has become better but its ever so slight feeling. Almost like suspension is good but one bush may look ok but start to ware out.

 

Wheel size looks good, so it should be OK. You could try wheel swap front to rear to see what happens.

 

yeh shall try that also my dad has the s type r so may borrow his wheels as the larger ones as you said will multiply any problems. I wish jaguar just found a bearing of a weak bush so i could just get it out dont care cost of problem just want it gone so i can focus on getting paint work repaired and wheels refurbed plus the little touches like picnic tables and umbrella holder

 

Mine XJ8 also slightly makes a vibrating noise above 140km/h. Although its very silent, it varies with the thrust you put on the pedal.
In an other thread I read about this to be a defective torque converter, but I have no comparison, where the "normal" sound ends and the "defective" will start..
Do you have similar effects ?

 

umm only time i can hear any growling is when she is cold at very slow speed. I did have a problem like that when i first got the car, i found when i had a look to see how clean the air filter was that it was bent in half letting alot of air pass once new filter in rumbling had gone.

i have noticed that the AJ8 is smoother than my lexus 4.3 v8 but she does grumble alot more

 

well went to use my dads s type r alloy wheels and found that one has a crack in it so i thought that might not help me narrow down things. I did notice before that i had one loose wheel nut after jaguar had the car for balancing. so i went along and checked the torque and what do you know some barely on some to tight so i loosened everything then put the nuts to the factory torque and that helped my ride a little. but after i filled an online questioner about my dealer i got a phone call asking be about my problems. I stated about calling the one guy several times just to get dont worry nothing wrong with your car and i will get back to you and i had to keep calling. I mean it took 5 calls to get the paint repair quote they did for me. Anyway manager looking into it and i think car will be going back in just after Christmas and manager will make sure it gets the all clear as that is twice they said nothing wrong with it.

i mean how many places can you go and say i have money i dont care what it costs to fix just do it and then them not openly take the business because they cant be bothered to call you

 

I have the same problem with my local dealer also. to make a long story short, last Saturday a traffic cone fell off a passing truck going thru the front grille of my XJ8. First thing Monday morning I went to Ray Catena Jaguar and a week later I still don't have an estimate. I guess they don't want the work.

 

Baker Jag in Charleston sucks as well.....took over a week to replace a windshield and they returned the car to me with glass all over the interior.

 

just as this post is still active thought would ask anyone about brakes, i changed the front rotor and pads plus changed the fluid. All is good with the car apart from whenever coming to a stop the car seems to clamp the brakes to hard at the last second and rock the car. it is soooo annoying especial as i have just had the lurch sorted out. i know that my rear rotors need changing so is it a chance that the fronts are over powerful and the rears arent doing much so the car is only really braking the front and then locking the front brakes up (eg dragging its ***)

 

well thing suspension is soon to be sorted checked the bearings today and althought feel fine when car is off the ground driving at 60 mph turning left she whines and groans but doesnt affect steering. and then turning right all is silent and on washboard road can only slighty hear it. Having my alloy wheels refurbed next week so when they are balance and new again will rotate the wheels just to check its that bearing.