Hello,
I have been some sort of a repairman all my working life between cars, locomotives, and TV broadcast equipment, plus the usual household repairs and wood working jobs. I do all my Jag repairs except tires and the machine shop fixes but am not a real ASC certified mechanic by any means! This forum has been a lifesaver on a number of occasions and I thank the guys that are willing to share their experience and advice. I see problems discussed here that I've never had so there's still much to be learned!

I have wondered many times about the experience and backgrounds of the members. The experience ranges from guys that appear to have been Jaguar mechanics to guys that are buying their first XJ. There are people from all parts of the world which is also very interesting and refreshing to hear from. People with reasonable access to parts and some not so easy. Guys from population centers and rural areas in hot and cold climates that have challenges that I have not been faced with. It's a world of Jaguar owners wanting to help each other. That being said, I was wondering if you would be inclined to answer some general questions to the group?

In what country/ general area of the world do you live?
Do you consider yourself to be a master mechanic or a novice wanting to tackle any problem?
What level of repairs are you comfortable with?
What has been your the most challenging issue you have had to overcome?
Do you do your own work or what problem would you take your car into a repair shop for?
Is your background something that lends itself to car repairs?
What tools do you own to assist you?
Are there any other car problems you are dealing with beyond just keeping your car going? (Gasoline, taxes, other restrictions, etc.)

I could think of many other questions but this is a general discussion. I'll be interested in hearing from the group!

Best, Dave

 

sure I'll go.
38, live in NJ, first Jaguar.
I'd consider myself a master DIY'er, but there is always more to learn, especially with a new platform
I draw the line at gearbox rebuilds, primarily due to the number of specialty tools needed. I'm sure i could do it, but my ownership of gear pullers, big presses, etc is limited.
I've done just about everything else on other cars.
Most difficult...hmm, plugs on my Porsche 911 Turbo with the engine in the car is a challenge. Building a M96 porsche engine wasn't too hard, but a bit tricky. First time setting up a diff...that took me a few tries.
I don't weld or do trans rebuilds, but everything else is fair game. I haven't been to a repair shop or dealer in at least a decade.
tools...hmm. every manner of socket, ratchet, wrench etc. Good quality cordless tools have been very helpful, including my dewalt atomic mini impact, my milwaukee electric ratchet, good drill, etc. I've ended up with a lot of speciality tools at this point, but they are pretty vehicle specific

My current problem is having too many. Wife and I have daily drivers each, which are mostly reliable. Then you have a boxster track car which is stripped to bare metal right now, then E46 beater that is mostly fine, but could use a lot of work if I cared enough, then 993TT which I hardly ever drive, and then the jag, which is mid-head gasket job.

curious to hear other's experience as well

 

Never took any of the NIASE tests but I did get my A&P certification.(Airframe & Powerplant)
Never worked on aircraft because I made more money repairing Jaguars, Rolls Royces and VWs.(American Airlines wanted to start me at $8.25 an hour, I was making $20 a flat rate hour in the 1980s)

Back in the 1970s all the tests were based on Ford and Chevy type systems and I was mainly a VW and British car guy so I just decided I did not want to learn about American cars. Never needed at certification and my employers did not seem to care about it either.(do you have tools? can you use them? when can you start?)
Went to dealer training as that was required for service and repair.

I had a good reputation in the Fort Worth area for many years.

 

I have always made my living working in an air-conditioned office. To me restoring old cars is just a hobby that I've enjoyed for coming up on 40 years. 20 years ago I outgrew my 2-car suburban garage, moved to a larger lot and built a shop building in the back yard where I've since collected a 4-post lift, blast cabinet, shop press, small mill and lathe, mig welder, and a plethora of hand and power tools. A man can never have too many tools. I do 85% of my own work, even on the daily drivers too, but then again, since college I've been able to afford new or late model cars and they've been mostly reliable.

Funny thing is that everybody knows that I work on old cars and so they frequently describe unusual noises or behaviors and ask me what might be wrong with their car. I really have no clue. It's not like I'm motorcarman above, with customers bringing me different cars and sometimes fixing two or three different problems each day. I only have experience with the handful of car problems that I've actually dealt with, i.e. I'm still an intern by comparison. Heck, even when I've dealt with something before, I often have to research it all over again because the last time was 15 or 20 years ago (Its he!! getting old).

I'm willing to try to tackle most anything, but the 15% that I don't do is mostly a function of still not having the equipment or in some cases the skills to use it. I do some bodywork and will spray primer, but I leave the final paint job to a professional with a booth and the muscle-memory to swing a spray gun (its not like swinging a wrench). I visit my paintless dent repair place often enough too. I tried to teach myself how to weld but I can't see well enough in the dark. I can stick a couple of pieces of angle-iron together as long as it doesn't have to look neat, but repairing rusty body panels or making sure the exhaust doesn't leak I also leave to the professionals. I always take my cars in for alignment after doing suspension work. I've certainly bought a lot of tools and equipment that I don't use often, and yes, there's some consumer DIY alignment systems that would be cool to have, but there's a shop with a computer alignment system 3-blocks away.

Most challenging issue is with modern cars and simple accessibility, having to spend several weekends just to dismantle the car far enough to get to the broken part. That's another factor that sometimes has me taking a daily driver in for repair. Something goes wrong with the XF, its very possible it would take me the next six weekends (between mowing the lawn and everything else modern life throws at me) vs my local indy could fix it in a day or two. That'd be time away from the current restoration project. So in some such cases I will bite the bullet.

 

I'll play along:

In what country/ general area of the world do you live? Ogallala, Nebraska, which is the western part of the state on I-80.
Do you consider yourself to be a master mechanic or a novice wanting to tackle any problem? Definitely a novice - hobby mechanic
What level of repairs are you comfortable with? I'm game for almost anything since the invention of internet forums and YouTube videos.
What has been your the most challenging issue you have had to overcome? Transmission shifting issue that spanned about 2 years of troubleshooting before I figured it out.
Do you do your own work or what problem would you take your car into a repair shop for? I do my own work in my spare time except when it's something I either don't have the equipment to do, or something that needs to look professional when it's done. Done professionally: transmission, ECM programming, repaint the exterior, and I had Madera Concepts refinish the wood pieces for me. Done myself: everything else! Not done or not needed yet: engine overhaul. I would likely have this done professionally when or if the day comes.
Is your background something that lends itself to car repairs? Yes and no. I grew up on a grain and livestock farm, so impromptu repairs from electrical to mechanical were a part of life. I'm in finance now, and I enjoy tinkering with my vehicles.
What tools do you own to assist you? The single best "tool" I have is a two post lift in my shop. I have a sand/soda blaster, small hydraulic press, and other stuff that I've accumulated over the years that make most repairs at least theoretically possible for me to do myself!
Are there any other car problems you are dealing with beyond just keeping your car going? (Gasoline, taxes, other restrictions, etc.) Not that I can think of.

 

I'm in the "mostly harmless" category. I'm a retired journalist/freelance writer/government speechwriter and PR guy by former trades located in northern VA just outside DC. I'm in the thoroughly novice/hobby category for mechanical work, though I do have a basic understanding of how many systems work -- except electricity. That, friends, is just plain black magic.

I've done pads/rotors, fluid changes, uncounted door handle repair/replacements on an '89 xj40; by elimination (and help of this list) I figured out a failed door latch causing a battery drain but let a pro fix it; and with help of a friend with a lift and lots and lots of tools, WE (meaning I held the scalpels and the like) took down the subframe on an X300L(multiple times in a day to get it right) to replace the rear shocks and subframe bushings along with the front shocks.

I'm in a townhouse without a garage, and because I'm rushing headlong into my mid 70s, these days I pretty much hire out everything. It doesn't bother me one bit to turn things over to the professionals. I am both in awe of and envious of all the talent on this list. The one thing I'm still chasing is a driveline hum between 50 and 60. There's a driveline shop near me recommended by the regular indy guy which soon will get a visit.

To Motorcarman: I learned how turbos work when studying for my private pilots license. I just re-upped my medical under the BasicMed program for four more years, though finding opportunities to get remotely current are few and far between as I'm a caregiver in retirement. And to the discussion starter: I have a passing familiarity with your area of Georgia. I went to school at Oxford and GSU and have many friends and a handful of relatives throughout that area.

Cheers to all.

 

I guess I should post something more since I started this thread! My dad was an electrician on the railroad and had a motorcycle shop when I has a kid. He had a great shop and I learned a lot from him and have been fixing things all my life...not just cars. I own a lot of the usual tools and have a decent larger two car garage but not a lift! With no machine shop I do need to take those tasks out of house but that's OK. Would buy a press if I had the room though.
Have always wanted to move to a place that I could install a lift but hasn't been in the cards. My brother has a large shop with a lift but that is in Pennsylvania so I have driven up for visits and done a number of heavy repairs on my first 2000 VDP. (Dropped the subframe and replaced all the mounts and rubber parts, new engine seals, and rear shocks, etc.)
Have repaired almost everything on the cars I have owned over the years, not just the Jaguars. These include a 1983 XJ6, a 1993 XJ6, and at this point have owned three red 2000 VDPs, a 1999 XJ8, and now have a 2003 XJR project that I hope to get started on soon! I have all the parts needed for the engine work I'm planning for that but have fixed a number of other items so far. Right now I have too many family projects getting in the way and I want a full week to get it all done. Maybe the following week?

Back in my railroad mechanic days we had a complete shop and rebuilt engines, heads, and everything else. It was fun and having all those heavy tools was quite the experience. In the winter we would never shut the locomotives down because if they got cold they would not start or may freeze up. One early morning we were called to service a locomotives that been idling all night with temps in the single digits. It was a cloudless day with full sun and blue sky but no wind The mechanism that opened and closed the radiator shutters froze open so engine the temperature got low and started fouling the injectors, When we arrived on the scene, it was running about 20-30 RPM and popping out huge white smoke rings that just hung in the air and slowly drifted up and across the railyard! Since there was no wind, the sky was full of them! Quite a sight but that was in 1970 before cell phone photos so no pictures....

 

No longer work on cars. Age related issue. First worked on cars in High School at a neighborhood gas station in Bethesda MD; couple of years doing lube, tuneups and brakes in Ford garages in Pittsburgh and College Park MD. Did the usual mechanical engineering courses in college before discovering girls and more fun ways to finish. Couple of years as an auto claims adjuster before the Vietnam War caught me; 21 years naval intelligence. Bought a new Ford after college: truly Fix Or Repair Daily. Lots of BMWs (even worked tuneups and brakes at BMW dealer in Honolulu back in the late 60's: junior officers with two kids starved until time in service, rank, and cost of living fixed poverty). Systems Engineer for major space house and original equipment manufacturer after Navy. Learned to appreciate why the Japanese were putting us out of business in this country: made cars that were perfect (sigma six or better for all OEM parts). First two jags were always under warranty. Same for Land Rovers. Traded Range Rover Sport to get back into 01 X308. Didn't do any heavy work (rear shocks, fuel pump, left side upper lambda sensor; never got hurt by bad tranny or heads); did all the rest for four years, doubling tool count (battery powered screwdrivers and impact wrenches a life saver when you have arthritis). Blessed (or damned!) with a curiosity that has me read every forum thread (less so for guys hot rodding XJRs), with fairly good recall -- Which allows me to contribute where I can even though I no longer own.

When this Lincoln lease is up will probably go back to JLR: I like this new Defender series. That said, I am seeing a lot of new series XJs on the used market with low mileage at give-away prices . . .

 

That’s because in my experience the 2010 on up Jags (& Rovers) suck. DI cars are definitely fast but, lack reliability. The cooling systems are subpar at best and the whole “change your oil every 15k miles” is a joke.