I know my baby has a power steering and coolant leak.

The local mechanic wants this: USD 2200+

-severe power steering rack leak. (this i know)
-slack in outer tie rod ends. (no clue what this means)
-bushings in front shock absorbers are bad/noisy. (no clue here either)
-coolant leak at junction point off of the coolant reservoir. (this i know)

They want 2200+ to fix the above. I said, hell no. Am I being an ***?

 

Welcome to the forum kFMIF,

I've moved your question from General Tech Help to X308 forum. Members here with the same model will be able to help.

Please follow this link New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the New Member Area - Intro a MUST forum and post some info about yourself and your vehicle for all members to see. In return you'll get a proper welcome and some useful advice about posting to the forum.

Graham

 

A remanufactured rack and new tie rod ends = $500 in parts
Going to need alignment $100
Shock bushings on eBay for $40
Coolant leak could be simple as o-rings from hardware store.. $2.00
The know how to fix the problems= $1558 I guess..

 

"no clue here either"

Time to get a clue, or you will be taken for a ride. In general terms, these cars have reasonable running costs if you can do most of the maintenance yourself. If you pay someone to do everything, the costs stack up fast.

But that quote does seem a bit steep. Parts can't come to more than $600, so $1600 for labour? That's 16 hours around here. Too much.

 

I don't expect everything done for me.

I would change the hose (ps) if I had a real garage. But 2k is way too much. Just wanted some opinions, is all.

 

Yes that's steep, Godspeed.

 

i am screwed, ain't i?

 

A new car will cost you more than $2200.
Shop around for a new mechanic.
What problem is the worst? I'd say the PS. Fix that first.
Then move on to the next. It's a 14 year old car, its going to need maintenance.
The key is to fix problems as they occur. Not wait until there's multiple all at once. That's what breaks people..
Another thing that keeps me positive is the fact that when new this was a $70,000 car. Isn't it worth saving?? Can you afford a new one? If so I don't think this conversation would be going on..
Sorry for the rant... But I love my $1300 Jag.

 

went in to get an alignment at Midas...they quoted me $400 on my 99 xjr ... took it to a tire shop for $114 and was out in 25 minutes... pays to shop around.

 

Ask for a rebuilt rack. Ask for what is really causing the coolant leak, the car is worth fixing, but none of these is so vital you can't wait to price it right. At end game, $2200 is cheaper than a Civic or Corolla car payment; and what difference in ride.

 

Hey Convincor, can i ask you about the comment on "Coolant leak could be simple as o-rings from hardware store.. $2.00"?

kFMIF said his leak was from the coolant reservoir.

My 2003 XJ8 has a small coolant leak that appears to be at the back of the engine and in my estimation may be coming from the coolant reservoir although i cannot see anything dripping there but it also doesn't leak all the time either. Are there any attachments lower down on the reservoir that use o-rings that could deteriorate and allow a leak when the system is under pressure that you were referring to in your response?

many thanks

 

All of the quick connect fittings that connect to the reservoir have o-rings the seal the connection. Those are up higher on the reservoir.
The bottom of the reservoir has a connection to the heater hoses and circulation pump.
Could be any one of the connections or a crack in the reservoir.
Reference pics Jaguar Engine Coolant Expansion Recovery Reservoir Tank 1 MNC4400AC | eBay
heat hoses http://www.jagbits.com/product/MNC6733AE.html

 

The slightest coolant leak can be very destructive, as even if there is plenty of coolant in the system, the leak will stop the system from pressurising correctly. The system is intended to operate at pressure, to prevent localised nucleate boiling inside the cylinder heads.

Do not continue to drive with even the slightest leak.

 

Ask around for other mechanics. Post your location, someone here may know someone local. Not saying yours is bad, just always good to get big view. Did your $2200 come with a parts/labor breakdown? Parts markup can be around 100%. My mechanic lets me bring my own parts, big help on price (sacrifice any warranty on work). Also, guessing the tie rods need to come off to do rack, so should be some labor cost saving there. The coolant reservoir could be a diy, although there's a scary amount of hoses done underneath it. Seen reservoirs for around $60.

 

to share

I changed my rack and pinion because of the leaking issue. got the part from detriot axels from ebay(also can be from Amazon) for 200 and some change. they offer life warranty if you return the core part.

the rack comes with tie rods already

and 3 hours of labor for installation