I thought you guys might be interested in my car, so here's a brief outline of what I have found myself with.

After my Alfa was rudely smacked by a Toyota Echo last year and therefore off the road being repaired, I was kindly offered a loaner X300 Sovereign by a friend of mine. I have always liked Jaguars, and particularly enjoyed occasionally driving my dad's S-Type V8 before he rudely sold it and bought a Volvo.

Driving the Sovereign to work was a lovely and relaxing experience, and I found myself much more fresh when I arrived at the office. When our circumstances changed and I needed a second car, the Jaguar hunt commenced. Finding a reasonable X300 isn't easy and we looked at a number around Melbourne which were in differing states of condition, and either underwhelming or overpriced. I found a nice looking 1996 "Sport" in Sydney at a wholesale dealer, got it professionally inspected and found that its "full service history" only went to 2009, had a dry dipstick and no working power windows. The dealer refused to budge on price and I moved on.

I found my X300 on Ebay, at a dealer on the Gold Coast. It was being auctioned with no reserve. It was a very low price, the dealer had good feedback and the pictures showed a standard XJ6 in that beautiful sapphire blue which looked straight, with an interior that was... okay. 174,000km also seemed reasonable. I bid, and won the auction at $5400.

After picking it up from the transport depot after New Years, other than being filthy (had to run it through the soft wash so I could see out the windows!), it all seemed to be almost as expected. Driving it home there was a distinct sound of differential noise, and upon closer inspection we decided it was either diff or wheel bearings. Wheel bearings were replaced and the noise reduced, but the diff whine remained.

Also not working was:
- Electric seats (switch packs buggered)
- Rear passenger door wouldn't open
- Seatbelt on drivers seat buckle housing was gone meaning the seatbelt warning light never turned off.
- ABS Light was on
- Scraping noise from the engine bay indicated pulley in A/C belt needed replacement.
- A/C didn't blow cold.
- Rear bumper coming loose (dodgy repair at some stage in its past)
- Central locking remote fob

Some things my mechanically minded friend and I have been able to repair (lots of "Jaguar tape" has fixed the door mechanism and seat belt housing for example). After that it sailed through a road worthy which was great. Obligatory fluid changes were done, and we gassed up the A/C but it still didn't blow cold!

It's currently at my local garage, having the diff inspected and oil changed and additives put in. It's also idling rough (I'd describe it as lumpy) when cold, and very occasionally "misses" when cruising at 80km/h. Getting spark plugs changed and fuel/air filters done.

The A/C belt pulley has been changed but the noises remain, and the mechanic reckons its the compressor clutch as well as the water pump which is causing the noise.

So far, not turning out to be the most economical purchase of my life, but it still is a delight to drive and hoping that soon enough I will get it to a satisfactory standard.

 

Mark your crank-damper in accordance with posts found in the X300 section in order to confirm or eliminate damper delamination as the source of your belt noise.


Good chance your ABS issue is the C1095 code but you won't know for sure without getting it read. If so, you may need to cut into the module and solder the motor pins.


Run it at night with the coil cover (Plastic piece that says "Jaguar" on top of cam-cover) removed and watch for a "light show" indicative of a failed coil(s) for the miss.


Thanks for bringing one back from the state of disrepair...

 

Hi MS1982,
good to know you haven't just given up on it or put it in the too hard pile..
I too bought a Jag at a song ($1200) knowing full well it will have issues.
I am slowly ironing them all out 1 at a time....
Perseverance is the key my friend.... don't give up on her..... once done she will love and take care of you in return.

 

Thanks guys,
Going to pick it up from the garage shortly. Never look forward to seeing the bills for these things!
But hopefully, bit by bit, piece by piece, and dollar by hundreds, I can get it there!
Cheers
Michael

 

Hi Guys,
I paid 2 grand for my xj6 series1,knowing there would be $$$ to spent at some point. I had it road worthy and rego'd for $3100 total(including purchase price) it now owes me around $3600 and building. But I do get to drive it daily,even if it is school run or bottle shop I get it out most days.
As I've said before it is still cheaper than some of my mates golf clubs and we get to use it as a daily. And on my days off I have a driveable project car to do as much or as little as time and money allows.
I have not paid a mechanic since 1989 to work on my cars except for aircon work. Just park it up and nut it out. Oh, and my best mate is a service manager and my neighbor is a retired mechanic so plenty of help about,and the guys on this forum are invaluable.
You can't but a rusty HQ or XB falcon for three times the price. Enjoy your cars.



Clarke

 

Totally agree o1xjr,
Like I said, bought mine for $1200 and drive it daily....
The only probs I have are little annoying things like light globes, fuses and broken wires.
the biggest jobs I have had to do to it so far is rip out the door handles and modify them so they work better than new.... both front outer handles were broken when I bought it.

I do have to put in new brake pads, but you have to do that kind of thing with any car....
For $1200 I don't mind..... even if I have to spend another $1000 on her (and I don't) its still well worth it.
I love my Jag and I will just slowly restore her while at the same time still being able to enjoy driving her.