Hey all,
So I'm 3 weeks into a project that I picked up blindly on a whim because the price was just too good to pass up on a New England jag with such low miles (only 100k) and zero rust. I knew it'd have its issues, it wasn't meant to be a daily, so I have time to make it nice and perfect before I throw her on the road for the summer. So three weeks into this, I've gotten it diagnosed thus far;
-ball joints need replacing
-passenger side external handle door bar (with the ball in joint, ball made of steel, joint of plastic. Do the math)
-old owner had a set of 18s on it.. Nice chromes but just too big for 245:45s, so one night he must've been doing donuts or something and hit a rock and it shot through the plastics and took out the windshield wiper pump. Finding the pump is impossible in New England. Need help even locating one if possible?
-need a new set of rims, obviously finding tires is less of an issue but was looking for ideas on classy looking rims for the classy car? It's black on black with the chrome touch up, so I was looking for another set of maybe Jag Chrome Revolvers or something if anybody knows of any out there for a decent price? Links are appreciated!!! Craigslist accepted!
-needs the now trashed passenger wheel well(?) plastics that are in between the wheel and the pump
-needs coolant flush, and I hate the mess.. But does anybody know off the top of their head what coolant it'll take? Can't find it online (maybe I'm blind) and the owners manual is to my knowledge missing from the vehicle
-needs new belts.. Something is squealing. Bad. No idea of service history. Can't pin point the squealing but sounds like passenger side/middle?
-the donuts above the manifolds are rusty and old. Apparently causing a minor leak. Need to replace the donuts but don't have an actual lift. Any solutions? Also worried the donuts are rusted on good, safest ways to cut em?
-needs a new battery, the kid lived way up north where winters kill car batteries overnight so he threw a battery that's wayyyyy too big in it. Doesn't sit right and rattles, ideal batteries?
-I took it through a car wash, touch free, not even thinking about the hood latch setup. Water was essentially shot off the windshield and straight through that rubber hosing. Need to replace it or repair it now (no more car washes either). Ideas?
-lastly, the car idles parked at about 1500. Sits in first at about 1000. Diagnostic help?

Thanks all, if you can't tell I'm new to this thing and not much of a mechanic to begin with. Any help is appreciated!
Mike

 

Are you sure it's the washer pump that was damaged - or just the reservoir has a crack or hole? A reservoir crack / hole can be repaired with silicone RTV and/or plastic welding.

I use Zerex G05 in my '95 .

Any OBD2 / check engine codes going on?

 

-Stock XJR wheel are nice, if you can find one that is. Try ebay or junkyard u might get lucky! the stock size is 255/45/17.
-In my XJR I have the green coolant, and i have always used it. no problem so far!
-Belts... there are 3 belts in the XJR, try pin pointing which one while the car is on and the squeek is there, spray some water or wd40 onto 1 belt and do it till the squeek is gone and u'll know which belt is defective.
-Battery,,, you can go to any parts store and they will help you find the right one.
-The car idles high... umm there is alot of post about high idle on the forum, hopefully you do not need throttle body adaption which require a jaguar dealership level software, you can however try cleaning the throttle body.
Its a pain in the *** in the xjr prob one of the hardest things u'll ever do

 

If you do go for the XK8 revolvers, note that they require different lug nuts from what the stock XJR wheels use. Same thread pitch, but different length and nut size. A minor pain when it comes time to switch to my winter/storage wheels, but they were cheap and otherwise worth it.

 

Check your lower condenser bushes to ensure they haven't departed; as a matter-of-fact, you probably want to order a complete set of radiator and condenser mounting bushes and renew those all around. Radiator bushes are one part-4 pcs. Condensers are 2 ea, upper and lower. Rock Auto has the radiator bushes and upper cond bushes for cheap. I haven't found the lowers anywhere reliably apart from the dealer - $8-$10 ea IIRC.

 

Hi
I am breaking a XJR 300 , I have a washer pump here, If you can sort postage you can have it free , the problem is I am in UK.

I can send you a photo it you are interested to check its the corect one
jim

 

I have a spare washer pump, but I would bench test your current pump before replacing it. A simple 9v battery should make it work.

Your battery is probably the correct one. My battery is also huge. The battery hold down in the trunk is a little plate held on by 2 bolts that clamps the bottom edge. They probably just didn't install it correctly.

What are you talking about donuts above the manifold? If you are talking about the seal between the exhaust manifolds and the cats, they can be removed by taking the cat assembly apart. You can do this with a jack and some jackstands. Do not try to cut them, or you will end up cutting off the studs on the exhaust manifolds. Check that there are no cracks in the downpipe catalyst. I had to cut off the heat shield on mine to weld up a nasty crack.

Unless your belts have some cracks forming in them, you may just need to tighten them up.

 

That's interesting, does your battery not have the big metal strap that runs the length of the top of the battery with a very long bolt at each end?

I've seen most with the big strap like mine, but also have occasionally seen the bottom edge "cleat" version you seem to be describing.

I wonder why some have the strap versus the cleat.


You can see a discussion of the "strap" version discussed in the X308 forum here:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...own-mod-78255/


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