Following some requests, I've posted photos in the following thread dedicated to this installation:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-sound-211303/

.

 

(Yesterday) I got out before work and swapped out all 6 spark plugs. Old ones were OE type champions, gap had increased to .041-.043 but otherwise looked alright. I replaced them with NGK G-power platinums (7092?). So far I'm very happy with them! The occasional misfire I'd recently developed at idle is gone, faster starting, improved throttle response, and overall smoother throughout the rpm range. Some lost power seems to be restored as well. I know advice on here is generally copper champions only, but I'm stubborn and would prefer a longer change interval. So far they are flawless, so knock on wood they perform well throughout their intended lifespan!

I'm definitely able to appreciate the inline-6 smoothness much more now

 

Did you finish the trans bushing? I may need to do the same soon.

 

30a shore strength was way too soft,i will try at 80a

 

Slow month for this thread ....must be the weather for us northern-hemisphere folks!

So, a few things:

1) Finally installed my Bluetooth adapter setup so I can now use BT with the factory radio, and maintain CD changer use. This latter part, maintaining CD changer function is key (for me) and usually most solutions render the CD changer no longer functional. I had been using a cassette BT adapter, which surprisingly worked pretty well, but wasn't ideal for many reasons not the least of which was its requirement to be charged periodically and hearing the tape mechanism noise.

I had originally planned to install the kit in the trunk alongside the CD changer, which would have been fine. But since I had the radio, etc pulled out to remove the clock I went ahead and installed the kit in the dash behind the glove box which required a lot less effort.

More detail of what I cobbled together here:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...4/#post1630706

1a) Removed clock and sent to Module Master for warrantee repair after almost 4 years the clock started to display Klingon again. Good news, Module Master has a five year warrantee and are great to deal with.

2) Also finally installed a NOS drivers side sun visor. It took five years to run across one, as all the used ones were junk for various reasons, and no one on eBay seems to know the difference between gray and beige

3) Installed one of the rare birds eye maple 1995 (only year used) XJR door switch control bezel/surrounds in the passenger door. The clearcoat is cracked, but it looks fine from a distance. I'll keep an eye out for a perfect one, but they are really hard to come across. I've had the rear door bezels for a couple years now, and am still on the lookout for the North America drivers door bezel.

4) And I finished my HMSL repair, as detailed here:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...l-tell-212312/


..... and of of course for those that have followed my year-long stalling thread, the car still doesn't reliably run, which is a whole other issue of more significance. But I'm down to the IACV, and we've got a new local mechanic that has worked on Jaguars and seems willing, able and with experience using heat to remove the threadlocked IACV throtttle body bolts for me. So I plan to have the XJR towed to his shop in the next month or so, and keeping crossed fingers that the IACV is the problem

 

Almost forgot, although this is something that was done about a month ago....

So, almost a year ago I took the XJR to Discount Tire for its free lifetime tire rotation and balance that is part of the deal when one buys tires from them. Discount Tire is a chain tire store here in the US.

Well, after the rotation/balance I noticed upon getting home that it appeared that Discount Tire had damaged all four wheels around the hub and lug nut areas. Now to be fair, these were 20+ year old wheels and were far from perfect, had realistic wear & scratches on the clearcoat finish, and even one had an inch long curb rash on one bead. But it was clear that Discount Tire had used the wrong wheel chuck/cone/adapter on the balancer and consequently chewed up the face of the wheel around the edge of each hub. And it appeared that someone was very loose and careless with the impact wrench, significantly scratching up the finish on the hub "cone" and around the lug holes. It looked like they had just "sprayed and prayed" with the impact wrench until the socket hit the lugs.

So I gave Discount Tire a call, expecting them to probably give me a hard time about not bringing it to their attention immediately while still at the shop, or that the rims were old and hard to prove they caused the damage.... etc.... But to my surprise Discount Tire didn't try to make any excuses, apologized, and asked me to bring the car by when it was next convenient so they could inspect the wheels.

I brought the car by in a couple days, and almost immediately upon laying eyes on the rims without much direction from me, the Discount Tire manager said "yep, wow that's a shame, we'll make it right". He then offered to first try to repair the rims at his cost, which I thought was reasonable since the wheels weren't perfect to begin with. Unfortunately upon inspection by his wheel restoration "guy", they determined that he couldn't make the rims right since the wheels weren't just silver painted cast aluminum and there was physical damage.

So, the manager offered to replace the rims.... and if you know anything about these X300 XJR rims, they aren't available new anymore as far I can tell, and even if they were Discount Tire wanted to first find some refurbished wheels which again seems reasonable since the wheels weren't perfect and new before they damaged them.

Now, apparently Discount Tire also has a "refurbished wheel guy" but they unsurprisingly didn't have the X300 XJR wheels in their inventory of available wheels. They were just too old and uncommon.

So Discount Tire asked if I could find someone with the wheels and they would buy the wheels from them.... and that's what I did. Discount Tire then immediately ordered the wheels, and they came in a couple weeks later.... a year ago..... and then the XJR died.

So I played phone tag with the Discount Tire management for a year letting them know I'd get the XJR up to the store as soon as possible, and talked to them about it when I'd bring other cars by for tires or free rotation/balance, all the time worrying that they'd give up and sell the wheels or a management change would complicate the deal. But none of those problems ever arose.

In the end, since the XJR is still not running, I asked Discount Tire if I could just bring the old wheels up and have them swap the tires over, which they said "of course". So I brought the wheels up to the store, and they moved the tires over to the "new" rims and also installed my TPMS sensors for free which I provided.

So win-win, I now have shiny new refurbished X300 XJR wheels which I'd always wanted to get, but just wan't a priority due to cost


So, while this probably sounded like it was going to be some vendor-bashing or other cautionary tale.... instead I'd like to say that Discount Tire has always treated us well, and this was the ultimate example. Again, I think Discount Tire could have given me a hard time about the value of the wheels due to age & condition, and could have tried to argue that it couldn't be proven they caused the damage, but instead were completely customer service focused about making it right. That's hard to find in these days of customer and vendor anonymity and apathy.

Good job and thanks Discount Tire!

 

I reattached my third brake light as well, however not nearly as involved as your job! After I had purchased rearview mirror adhesive, I realized someone else had already attempted repairs with 3m tape, and jb weld (probably "kwik-weld"). Since I wasn't sure how to remove the epoxy without causing damage, I just left it alone and applied some original JB weld and left it propped up for close to 24 hours without being disturbed. So far its holding, but we'll see!

 

I also changed my front shocks Saturday, and reinstalled the top bushing shims Sunday on the driver's side after realizing (A) I had installed them wrong and (B) it does make a difference.... Thats what happens when I rush..

 

Finally got an alignment done. $80 by a local independent shop. Was having a problem finding someone who could do the alignment since I didn't want to take it to the dealer.

 

I gave the wheel badges the same color as my X 300

 

I like the leaping jaguar on the side

Source ?

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-Glossy....c100005.m1851

 

 

new plugs

 

96x300 Great to hear, you took the plunge and tried out the new plugs. I've always eyed them off and erred on the side of caution, generally because of the multiple recommendations, against them here. Can you report back, if they are still working as described, after a month on the road?

 

Removed the clock and sent it off for repair.

 

It passed its annual MOT test! Hooray! But with a few advisories concerning some suspension bushes. The mechanic said the water pump was very tight - had a new one fitted, and the pulley had play - changed. With the new rear brake pads we are go for a little while longer. Keep off the ice!

 

First thing was to test the resistance on the ABS sensors. The front ones are all accessible under the hood and the rear sensor connections to the wiring harness are under the back seats, and below the foam lining.
All of the sensors were reading just above 1k Ohms, so I then tested them again from the ABS module plug and I got the same resistance readings, which ruled out any problem with the wiring harness.

Second, I tested the resistance on the power connector and this showed no resistance at all, which suggests the solder joints within the module had failed. This is shown in other posts, but I have some photos below. Then I removed the ABS Controller Module, which was a lot easier that I thought as you can unbolt it and (carefully) rotate it round to access the 2 long bolts underneath to release the controller unit.

Third was the job of getting to and re-soldering the power connector pins. Using a drill I removed the pressed ends of the bolt shafts, then used Dremmel with the mini angle grinder tool to cut around the bonded seal and then a hack saw to cut across the bolt holes.

Once the unit was open I used a sharp knife to remove the silicone layer on the soldered joints and with a soldering iron, re-soldered the joints. I also added some extra solder to give it a good chance of not breaking again. I am now getting 182.2k Ohms on the power connectors instead of zero.

Then using a two part epoxy resin sealed the unit back up again and left it overnight to cure. After refitting the unit I went for a drive and the Anti Lock light stayed off, so far so good. YAY!

Hopefully this might give someone the confidence to do this themselves as it's not as tough a job as I thought it would be.

The only thing I'm not sure about is that the brakes don't feel that different, Does anyone know if I should be able to feel the ABS working? There are no codes or warning lights, so I'm assuming that its all working.


Ready for surgery (one Bolt Shaft drilled)

Bolt Shafts before drilling

Bolt shafts after drilling

Unit opened

power joints before cleaning

After re-soldering

Some extra solder (probably more for my peace of mind)

Testing resistance to the power connectors

Resistance to the connectors (182.2k Ohms)

 

Well today I received a rebuilt stereo with added bluetooth capability.... put it in the cat and WOW.... worth every penny.
Nice to have a working stereo again.

 

1. Finished refurbishing calipers
2. Started painting rear a-frame that I cleaned out using electrolysis some time ago
3. Put the monobrace from x308 into the electrolysis tank as I bought it quite rusty, should be good as new in the morning











Electrolysis is amazing!
I can highly recommend graphite rods for sacrificial anodes, there is 0 mess when using them and if you use steel then you get a rusty soup mess on top.