I have an N plate (1996 MY) Jaguar X300 with a manual transmission. Rare beast stateside!

Lately, the shifter has been very sloppy but it will go into gear if one is careful. Having owned a TR8, I figured I had a fairly good idea what was going on once I saw the parts breakdown. Put it up on the lift today and sure enough the shouldered rubber bushings are virtually non existent. The job looks near impossible to do from below, even if the transmission cross member is removed because there is still a massive flange on the rear of the gearbox in the way.

However, looking up it seems like it could much more easily be done from above inside the car! Looking at where the tunnel cover plate fasteners are, I don't even think the whole console needs to come out? Also, I reckon once the "ski slope" is removed said cover should be easy to get to since there won't all the extra bits in that area that an auto has? Does anyone know if the shifter boot is held to the ski slope from the underside?

Seems like the bushings (which the catalogue calls for four of) would actually be eight a la TR8. Jaguar part# FRC7418J are NLA (what a surprise, I deal with that on a daily basis) but I think they can be obtained on Ebay? I want the original rubber ones.

Also, does anyone know the size of the hex bit required for the gearbox fill plug? It looks huge.

I shall try to post some photos as I do this job. Don't feel like tearing into it before Christmas though and the bushings are on Ebay UK as I recall.

Thanks, Brad

 

Here is a diagram of the manual gearbox linkages and bushings. Most of these items would have decomposed or broken causing difficulty in shifting. However, most factory parts are no longer available so your best chance is getting an aftermarket full set or a quick set from Simply Performance which also sells them on eBay.

 

Yes, it may be easier to access the assembly from the top. Here is a step-by-step guide how to remove the ski slope and once removed the central console can be taken out if needed.
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...300-faq-57038/

 

Yes, it can be done from underneath. You will need plenty of extensions, articulating joints, and a 10mm socket. Along with a refined set of abuses to hurl. ALTHOUGH it is easier to do from the top ...you still will need to go under to access the lower two bolts

The shifter boot is screwed and can only be accessed from the top

Uses 8 bushes. I also used a TR7/TR8 kit but I replaced it with polyurethane bushes. The slop still exists...a lot less but such is the nature of the beast. Maybe try a firmer material (Al or Delrin?) but it's not really that bad tbh. You should replace the plastic white spherical bearing that houses the shifter itself too. It is the same as the BMW one (part number 25111469397 or 25111220600)

If I remember correctly, it was a 17mm hex for the drain and refill bolt. Be careful not to break the reverse switch wires. Ask me how I know...