Hi my 95 X300 has a few issues that I wish to ask about, it has been well maintained but has done 124,000 and of course is getting on.

The clutch is quite heavy, the biting point is halfway up and it doesn't slip but it's probably original. Any ideas on replacement options and ideas on the amount of labour involved? I understand the dual mass flywheels are very expensive, could I get away with reusing it when the time comes?

The car drives nicely but can wander a bit and there is some knocking occasionally, are there some likely starting points and again how hard is it to re bush these cars? The steering is a bit heavy at parking speeds but lightens up when you raise the engine rpm, the rack was recently replaced by the last owner so does that point to the pas pump getting tired? That's it for now, hope I'm not taking liberties with all this! Thanks

 

Another fellow with manual gearbox!

I think I'll stick up to this question on the suspension bushings as well, I think my top ones are overused by the look of it. I think I've read in one of the posts, that the spring has to be compressed before replacing them, can anyone confirm? Shame that most of posts about any of the works done don't include pictures... Never mind though, with good instructions from forum fellows I shall fix that by adding pictures whenever I replace anything!

 

No liberties taken, tis what we are here for.

I've no experience with a clutch change.

Bushings are, well bushings, Polybush do offer different ranges, performance, comfort, soft IIRC. As per any car, a complete set is a labour intensive job, but a new complete set will transform the car.

Re your steering stiffness, have you checked your tyre pressures, and are you running wider than stock tyres.

OK the pump could be getting tired, especially if the car has always lived in the city, lots of low speed repetitive manoeuvres, but you say that when the revs increase then, things improve.

Seems to indicate that the pump is actually doing it's job.

Check fluid level and importantly condition. Old watery fluid will give poor results.

In other words, exhaust everything simple before going for an expensive replacement.

And yes, we do like pictorial repair procedures.

 

Ok I tried the steering again and have decided that engine speed has no discernible affect on the level of assistance. Could this problem be linked to the speed sensitive aspect?

 

Have you had the opportunity to drive another XJ6 3.2 to be able to make a comparison?

Unless you meet up with FireCrow, the chances of coming across another manual transmission will be remote but steering and suspension respond the same on manual and automatic transmission models.

New suspension bushes make a phenomenal difference. If you don't want to do the whole car, the front alone will make a tremendous difference to both ride quality and steering.

As for the steering, check the fluid level in the reservoir and look for any leaks on the rack before thinking about pump replacement.

Graham

 

Hi Matthew! You asked me in my thread about the clutch! Well, I had a chance to move the Jag a bit, the clutch starts catching a bit lower than middle, and then you can feel clutch fully engaged above the middle. Pedal is rather comfortable. It is a bit noisy though while in neutral, from time to time... Hope that helps! If not, then keep asking more questions!