The headliner is on my jobs to do list as well, at the moment I have some strategically placed drawing pins to stop it resting on my head!

Replaced my sunroof with one I rebuilt from the u-pull-it yard. I also mounted my newly chromed and widens wheels. 285-40-17's on the back!
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...b0c4310a8c.jpg


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...4f5e5a2545.jpg

The chrome wheels look great!

So 285s out back, no fitment/rubbing and they fit the OEM rim OK?


If I had the funds, I'd consider a set, but other priorities at the moment.


But I received my rebuilt radio from Southern Electronics yesterday, so I'll be reinstalling that very soon. And wow, they had it back in my hands in a week! Very excited to have a radio again.

.

I had the rear wheels widened 2". I am running 20mm h&r wheel spacers.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...98e8493f63.jpg

Wow and I thought my 255's were wide. The 285's look good. And this is with the H&R lowering springs? Did you need spacers in the front?

I have stock size 255's on the front so no need for spacers there.

Both wing mirrors now fixed! The duct tape is gone.

The drivers side has a entire replacement mirror from a wrecker and the passenger side one has been welded and adjusted.

And my new service shop did it for a really good price too!

Only a few little things left to sort now....

- Finally finished rehabilitating my center dash vent. Like almost every example, mine had the lazy/broken horizontal vanes, so I finally found a used vent where they weren't. Then also like all others, the metal clips that hold the vent in the dash had broken free of the ABS shell of the vent. Fortunately in this example it was just all four bottom clips, so I reinforced the top clips with epoxy and some metal strips, and then used some thin aluminum bar on the bottom to center the vent vertically when re-installed. It looks good now that the vent is no longer cock-eyed and rattling like mad. We'll see how long the horizontal vanes hold up, but I'll just be super careful with them I guess.

- I also finally reassembled my console stack. I got my clock back from Module Master, radio back from Southern Electronics, I touched up the black paint on my AC controls, and of course I installed it all in my rebuilt/reinforced plastic bezel/frame that will hopefully be a bit more durable than OEM where the 6 mounting tabs normally snap off. We'll see and time will tell.

- Also had my tires rotated and rebalanced.

- Finally gave the car a wash, and it then rained... of course! HA

.

I went to fit my brand new headlamp mounts, but remembered that would involve taking the bumper off. Some other time, perhaps.

Please more info on your rebuilt/reinforced mounting bracket. I have a broken tab or two.

See page 2 of this thread
 

No problem, here is the post:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...2/#post1238824

Bumper removal is easy
 

The bumper is super easy to remove. Two bolts up front and one wiring harness in front of driver's side wheel.

It's more like a list of things I did this week. New Bilstein rear shocks, new driver side output shaft bearing, installed X308 monostrut, and new rear sway bar bushing.

The shocks were particularly aggravating to do. I dropped the entire A-frame for easier access and the driver's side shock came off without a hitch. The lower bushing in the passenger side shock was so bad it had bent the mounting bolt. Making it impossible to remove conventionally. I ended up cutting it off. A trip to the local u-pull-it yard a few days later, and I managed to get a replacement bolt. Putting the new shocks on was a breeze.

I put a hose clamp on the hose at the bottom of the reservoir.
I got a pneumatic cooling system pressure tester from snap on yesterday and decided to learn how to use it today. I may have pressurized the system to quickly to the 120kpa too quickly cause the next thing I knew I heard air flowing and a waterfall. I noticed the hose connected to the reservoir popped off and it didn't have a hose clamp so I put one on, refilled and tested again. I would assume there was a hose clamp there at one point.

Those look beautiful! I'm impressed!

New rims are on my to-do list... The most recent thing I've done is put on these chrome arch trim pieces--I know a lot of people think they are tacky, but I think they look nice with the black paint, and it's a somewhat youthful twist I thought complemented the car. What do you guys think?

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...7e5df91906.jpg

I spent the last few days renewing my front suspension with Powerflex bushings, new upper & lower OE Lemforder ball joints as well as H&R 40mm lowering springs. The car is definitely more like a BMW feel now. I am having it aligned in the am and haven't put the car through any paces yet, however, I feel like the H&R springs might be a tad much for the Bilstein Touring Class shocks. We'll see. I've driven the car maybe 20 miles. I will add this is a TON of work if everything went well, when things go awry, wowzers to the second power... I am bruised, slightly scraped up and sore. It will be good to know the bushings are done for good and no longer will need servicing. I just need top it off with new v-mount and front subframe bushes at some point. Right now I am glad I can drive my car again. I Uber'd from my shop and back the last night and slept there the previous two nights! Ha!

Not just today, but I haven't posted in a little while so here goes:

-Pinned up my sagging headliner; I think I prefer the pins, as I did some kind of quilted pattern. I'm going to keep it this way.
-Pulled off rear passenger door panel to inspect the unresponsive locking motor. Couldn't immediately diagnose it but I'm sure I'll need a new one, so I just put everything back together.
-Removed ski slope and radio/climate control to check for TSB-mentioned wire chafing. Had already had preventative maintenance done.
-Completely fixed the wiring in the boot. It's not pretty (there's blue butt connectors everywhere...) but it works!
-Plugged in valet switch--was unplugged for some reason. Got my key fob to work!!!
-Pulled out entire trunk carpeting to search for a bad ground or connection. Found nothing, but it's always educational.
-Replaced A/C belt--woops, wrong one, still getting squeaks. I'll take care of the alternator belt when I have time.
-Siphoned out excess tranny fluid, and it's shifting a lot better now! If anyone's reading this, you really do have to be exactly on the "hot" marker.

My to-do list:
-Find and fix whatever is keeping my lights on and driving me crazy
-Probably have to get new alternator and/or battery--to be determined
-Possibly replace starter motor
-Replace brushes in electric coolant pump so I can get hot air again
-Replace upper and lower radiator bushings; upper A/C condenser bushings as well
-Replace fuel pump (no idea when it was last done)
-Vacuum interior and condition leather
-Replace faulty mirror, maybe with a Gentex
-(in the Spring) use some ultimate compound, maybe polish, definitely wax, and I'll need some touchup paint as well

I'm really, really loving to work on my car. It's adding a whole new element to my smiles per gallon. I'm a total beginner but I do learn quickly, and I've already started doing maintenance on my relatives' cars.

Lots of Stuff
 

Another round of stuff fixed:-)
Replaced: Waterpump, Steering Rack and High pressure hose for the power steering, tie rods and belts. the water pump and steering rack were rebuilt from Coventry West. All the noises and whining from the pump and rack are gone and now all the leaks seem to have stopped, although i'll know better after a week or so.

When washing the Sovereign recently, I noticed that a small, 2 inch piece of the right hand wing near the junction with the sill had disappeared and the surrounding metal was scabby. Took it to my local excellent painter who, together with his mates, cut out the rot, welded in a new piece and repainted it. He then washed the car and did a bit of polishing. All for £100. What a good man!

Put the snow tires on yesterday. I hate the lug nuts. I had two spares, but I had to go get a long 7/8 inch socket to hammer on and get the 2 expanded ones off. The good ones all came off with a 22mm.

Re-glued the high mount (3rd light) brake light to the rear window and got my console all back together after repairing the radio and clock, and adding USB power under the dash and inside the console along with a lighter socket in the rear.

Al, my rear high brake light has also fallen off
what glue did you use?
cheers, Al

Here's a (LINK) to my "re-glue 3rd brake light" found in the FAQ section

I replaced my Crank Position Sensor @ 119,*** miles and wow. The vehicle idles so much better. So much quieter and smoother.

Ha, I just replaced my CKPS about an hour ago, but she doesn't idle as before (about 200 r's less) ... no doubt a bad coil.

I swapped out my steering rack from my donor car about a fortnight ago. Mine was leaking. Smoother, quieter steering now. Two days back I did an oil change, new filter, air filter, cleaned up the plugs, which were happily a nice clean tan colour as they should be.
Flushed and replaced diff oil. Topped up transmission fluid and sorted out an intermittent rear light. It used to go on and off with every bump in the road. Just a bad contact at the connector.
While down under the car, I noticed some rust which will need attention. It's on the rails up at the front end. Will post some pics soon. Likewise some rust behind the front wheels, at the bottom end of the wheel wells where they meet the sills. Not a big fix but I want to stop it going further.
Still a few other jobs on the "to do" list, but aren't there always!

Yesterday, I spent about 5 hours working on my Jag while my brother got his Eagle SX4 ready for the road!

Inspected the undercarriage, and I have to say, it's completely rust free! A Canadian car, exposed to ice and salt! What? So the -only- rust on the car is the rear wheel arches, and of course a bit of surface rust on the exhaust. Definitely surprised me.

I noticed that my lower ball joints up front are open, though I'm not getting any noise or anything. I'll be packing them with grease and replacing them soon. Couldn't find any play in the transmission, as I'd expected the mount to be on its way out--could a bad spring cause weirdness under load?

I also found the balls to play with the alignment, since the toe was out by a few inches. My first attempt was dangerous. Second attempt was better, and my final attempt was perfect except the steering wheel is off centre just a bit. I'll be fixing that today.

I also cleaned up all the ground points, but I couldn't find a supposed trouble zone which is supposedly behind the firewall near the arch? I also found only one engine ground, and I was sure there were more than one. Maybe I was just tired.

It was a good day for some learning, and my plans for spring are to replace every bushing as well as the rear shocks--then I'll sort out some of the gremlins. A panoramic sunroof is officially on my to-do list, and I'll be extending the headliner biscuit for more head room, and also because the new sunroof won't need to tuck itself under the headliner.

I used Permatex rear view mirror glue, which is made for reattaching the metal tab to front windshields that mounts the rear view mirror.

.

Got some good and bad"ish" news from the mechanic the other day when they performed an oil change and overall inspection.... they finally observed and confirmed that something isn't right with my brakes! Finally.

I've been saying from the day I bought this car, and after pad changes, etc.. that the brakes on this car just seemed like there was way too much effort necessary to get them to initially bite. But not having ever driven another X300 and having the mechanics test drive it before without being able to confirm the issue, they finally noted that something is amiss the other day. So that's a relief to finally have someone confirm something isn't normal as I just couldn't believe the brakes were this poor on this car, and couldn't attribute it to their just being "softer" than other cars on the X300 as we've discussed here often. Mine are just too hard to get to initially bite, like I don't have power brakes.

Now, so far we don't know why, but I suspect the booster. I have to take it back for a thorough inspection of the brake system to identify the issue.

.

The third brake in my $200 green X300 was adrift - I had the aforementioned glass cement obtained for a previous mirror attachment that never materialized, but I needed a quick-fix as I just remembered it was adrift before heading uptown for the state inspection. I used 3M molding tape - figuring I could always cut it off later for a re-do with some monofilament fishing line if I've a mind to. So far, works fine...but it is a project car and hasn't seen any miles since the weekend of inspection back around Christmas.

Thermostat was stuck open on the Black 96; Inasmuch as we only recently obtained it, I thought if replacing T-stat, I should renew the coolant, if renewing coolant, I should renew all the hoses that carry it. Removed the T-stat, flushed the cooling system with distilled water, back-washed the heater matrix, renewed all the hoses save one - Rad-to-header tank new hose was a 3-ended affair, ostensibly requires a single-nipple header tank - this one has 2 nipples, one to rad, the other to T-stat housing. Re-ordered the proper right angle hose for future fitment - but this can be changed without coolant loss. Topped up with a little over 6L of Zerex G-05 for a 50/50 mix and as Grant may say, "Sweet as...."

Hoses were surprisingly pliant and appeared in good-nick. Particularly surprised by the B*st*rd hose - pliable and "fairly" easy to remove as opposed to the one on my 95 which was more the consistency of fiberglass than rubber when I changed it last year. I will box them and hold on-station for possible future use on the green car, christened "Spruce Bruce" by my daughter.

Had planned to renew both drive belts with stock-on-hand...but have misplaced my $15 "Burroughs Guage" somewhere in the bowels of my shop...so I reckon I'll have to do a general clean-up til it surfaces and then fit the new belts.

I wish I could find a 15 dollar Borroughs gauge!

Agreed on using the 3M emblem tape as an alternative on the 3rd light repair. Using that tape is on my list to try next if the rear view mirror adhesive doesn't hold up. That tape is amazing. Read up on it; it "flows" into the material it is attached to over several hours at a microscopic level, and the industrial uses it has been applied to such as fitting high-rise building windows is surprising. It really is amazing stuff.

I have one of those "click" belt tension gauges, which seems to work well enough. They are dirt cheap.

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Yeah, Al, that's what I've misplaced....Littlelic, I teasingly refer to it as my "Burroughs" gauge.


Al, you remind me why I still have that mirror cement: Purchased it to fit a Homelink mirror to the lad's Tundra, but had the 3M, and it looked so much easier, we stuck it on with that. Held up fine for nearly a year til one of his schoolmates rear-ended him at a stoplight, totaling the truck. As added bonus, we were able to cut it off, bracket and all, and refit the original to its bracket, still fitted to the windshield before surrendering the vehicle to insurance.

My x300 has had some welding done to the nearside front inner sill , a drop test on it's alternator ( fine ) and now working on failed rear brake lights , looking at the ECM in boot as possible cause .. all this today and tomorrow , before our other x300 goes in for a touch up on it's bodywork and rear axle leak to be sorted .. going to be busy for day's I think .. pauljag

New A/C Belt, Tires Rotated and Balanced. At which point leaking Rack and Pinion and Power steering pump was found. Already knew the return line from the reservoir had small leak and was going to have that replaced. Also front wheel bearings shot and rear pads at 5%, rotors were too thin to machine again so new rotors new front bearings and rear pads installed. Waiting for the Rack and Pinion to ship (surprisingly cheap) now to source a power steering pump that is in stock that can ship now vs having to send a core in to get rebuilt. Any tips for that? All potential buyer is going to get quite a bargain with all these new repairs :)

Welding finished ( great job ) and rear lights sorted , it was the ECM in the boot and a replacement from an online auction site for £20.00 plus postage worked wonders , checked alternator ( 11.8 volts ) under load so now attempting to source replacement .. other car going into body shop on the 22nd February for professional rust repair around rear arches and scuttle beneath rear window and fresh paint .. pauljag

Hello again,a few updates from the past two weeks,the good and bad.

Replaced the alternator 4 times,now have it figured out it is easier to buy the ingiter and voltage regulator and brushes myself,seems it is the same as a 90s dodge caravan so on a diy it can be done at about $60.

Replaced upper shock bushings in the rear passenger side,took about an hour but need to take it apart again because the upper spring cushion was trashed and I did not have a replacement one,so for the drivers side I ordered the bushings and the cushion for both sides.

Picked up from the junk yard,a replacement rear view mirror,a replacement passenger front interior door handle but the PO swedged the cable to the other one so now I need to get the cable,the drivers side exterior door handle assembly all for $50

But it is 3 weeks later and they still have not pulled my other parts that I paid for back then.

New tires but the installers lost the center cap on one rim and at first it was my fault according to them for what ever reason,so I gave them a reason to believe it was not my fault.

Temporarily hung a set of cheap $7 rear brake pads,until I finish the rest of the mechanical then I will up grade properly.

Charged the A/C but it only gets cold for the driver and not any of the other vents but they all blow air.

Changed both headlight assemblies,now when I turn the parking lights on the left headlight also comes on.Fix one thing and something else goes funny in typical Jag fashion.Never has had front running lights.

Re-soldered and taped up the broken wires at the trunk (boot) could not for the life of me find my shrink wrap which would have been ideal,until two hours after I had finished so I get to do that all over again.

I still drive this car everyday.

Went to clean the ISC and one of the bolts snapped off,so that project was shelved and sooner or later I am going to have to tackle the rough idle aspect.

On a side note the ISC looks like a mid 80s ford 5.0 ISC ,I am going to try one and see if I can match the specs if possible their price is half of the replacement one.

This week I get to install the front lower shock bushings which are no longer there,they are the same as the control arm bushings? But different price.

The upper sub-frame mount,drives side is busted and sounds really nice going over the RR tracks.

The rear upper shock bushings AND spring cushions,windshield wiper interior control,it is a bit of a pia to stick a toothpick in the relay when it is raining to get wipers.

Got the oil change and they tried charging me $10 extra for the oil filter because it was a Jaguar.I used to own quick lubes in the 90s,I know better then that.

But here is the thing,I know that this is a 18 year old car and none of the above bothers me in the least it is just a part of life.

The kicker is I bought this car 3 weeks ago and it had no cat on the hood (bonnet) which I fully understand,they get lost or stolen or maybe even just fell off,it happens.

So I am browsing the want adds still looking for the evasive red XJR and what do I see?

Ha,a replacement cat at the low price of $65,I look at the contact number and low and behold it is the person that sold me the car,what kind of person removes the hood ornament before selling the car then resells it.

I think he should be banned from looking at,thinking about,touching or even dreaming about a Jaguar for the rest of his life and forced to drive a AMC Pacer with busted out side windows and black trash bags taped in their place for the rest of his life.

Replaced all four speakers today. What a difference, in with the bass, out with the crackling. Replaced them with 6.5 inch three way Pioneer coaxial speakers. The tweeters cleared the outer grill but I still had to make a spacer since I didn't want the rubber surround of the speaker pressed up against the door panel cutout.

I have a new headunit but I ordered an autoleads jaguar to iso harness and iso to Pioneer harness and they haven't come in yet. That will be a job for next weekend.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...ee2fe915b4.jpg

Put the head unit in yesterday. Was surprised to see the factory unit was only 20 watts per channel. Decided to use the fascia to bring it out rather than having it sit in farther.

The head unit came with a microphone for Bluetooth calling and I decided to hide it in the air vent. I just didn't want it showing. Although the downside is I can't close the door to cut the air off the left vent. If you have the blower speed lower than half you can't hear the wind blowing past the mic, but high speed it sounds pretty bad. But it is what it is.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...e51f09bfc6.jpg

Doesn't look too out of place, I think!

I love the stock look of the alpine unit. I would really love to be able to keep that look while swapping out the internals with something a lot better, but I'm not even sure if that's possible. I will be fitting the same or similar speakers as you, though. Did they require any modification to fit?

It wasn't today, exactly, but I spent days sorting out my suspension--you can't blame me, it was my first attempt at anything slightly challenging on a car.

I replaced the lower ball joints, tie rod ends, brake pads, and fitted four new shocks. The shocks are Sensen and I picked them up on a whim because, hell, it was 100 bucks for all 4. They make the car handle great but the ride quality has definitely diminished a bit. The rear shocks were original and blown, and the fronts were seized KYBs which were sporadically too firm. I'll be getting Konis for the front, and possibly for the back, but I really don't want to have to do the rear shocks again... I'm confident I could do it in a few hours now, but after spending hours trying to find out why the seat wouldn't come out (what do you know... studs!) and resorting to a pry bar and some careful maneuvering, I'm a little ticked off at the thought of the job. I had to cut out the old shocks because they were rust welded onto the lower bolt.

What was lost in the process:
-lower shock bolts (temporarily have them secured with some run of the mill grade 3s)
-rear passenger-side ABS sensor, where when I removed it the sensor remained and the + - plug came out and refused to ever work again
-front passenger-side sway bar link bushing--it won't stay seated any longer, and I have it secured with a washer and lock nut, but it loves to clunk around at low speeds and mess with my steering when there's G force involved

I just ordered two new sway bar links, sway bar bushings, 4 upper control arm bushings, 2 rear control arm bushings, and a replacement antenna (10 bucks, if you can believe that!). I look forward to finally getting this out of the way. I'm hoping it restores some ride quality. If not, I'll get the Konis ASAP. I've heard they're very comfortable.

Still on the to-do list:
-fix memory potentiometers (thanks JapThug!)
-fit miscellaneous parts including missing sunroof trim
-continue draining and filling transmission, and replace the filter because I couldn't get the fill tube bolt off last time
-all the suspension pieces above
-when everything's said and done, getting soft new tires and an alignment, as I've been adjusting the tie rods myself and there's no way it's correct--I also suspect some crabbing from the rear toe being off
-fit an Andy bracket which I just ordered!

I know this isn't a journal... but it feels good to get it out in text instead of confusing everyone I know in person. :o