I'm going to venture that this sounds normal, as those are the same temps I see on mine constantly. I don't think I've ever seen it above 195 yet (granted I haven't been glued to the readout in summer, but even down south last week in traffic on the highway, 195 was where I was sitting)

 

When I went and looked at the car it appeared as though the coolant was green. It was evening light and I only looked into the top of the reservoir, but I said "is that green coolant?", and the seller said "yes, that's definitely green". So, I bought a new water pump, thermostat, temp sensor and two gallons of concentrated coolant of the correct type. So now that I'm going through the car at home, I pulled a little coolant out and it's crystal clear orange coolant. I think maybe I'll delay the coolant flush and water pump replacement for a while, but I will pay close attention to the temperature on my Ultragauge.

Incidentally, the below picture is a welcome sight when buying a used X308!

 

The OEM Jag parts look much nicer than the aftermarket tensioners

 

When I finish my to-do list I will let this thread die, I promise. lol

Current snag: The lower front shock bolt will not come out. The nut came off just fine, but the bolt will not come out. It won't even budge! I have used a bottle jack to relieve presser on the shock, it rattles and moves indicating it is free.

I thought maybe that bolt was part of the bracket assembly and so I would need to remove the entire lower bracket, but when I shop for the part it is just a flat plate with no bolts made into it. I am at an impasse.

 

More than likely corrosion has the sleeve within the bushing and the bolt locked together.
Put the nut back on to protect the threads and try a few smacks with a hammer or apply pressure with a pry bar.

 

As usual, you are right on time. Since I knew it was SUPPOSED to come out, I had the courage to actually hit it pretty hard with a hammer. It was amazingly corroded, yet the other side came out with no problem. I am hoping to figure out a way to replace those bushings without taking the shocks off the car.

Ok, time to get ready for church.

 

Rust and corrosion are just part of life in the salt belt..
Use neversieze or grease on them going back in.

 

Will do. I ordered (and received) bushings part number MND2153AA to replace the old ones. Some sites said they only fit the XJ8, other sites said they fit both the XJ8 and XJR. It seems there was a forum member who confirmed they also fit the XJR, but I can't find the thread again. I guess I will find out.

 

That's what they list here.
SHOCK BUSHING for 2002 Jaguar XJR|MND2153AA

 

New battery should see the electrical faults cured, or the majority of them, go back and buy the car before someone else off the forum does lol!

 

I really hesitate to mention spark plugs, and I have spent a few hours over the past year just reading spark plug threads....but,

My 2003 XJR owners manual calls for a 5 heat range spark plug. The plug I pulled out of the car is an IFR5N10 # 7866 NGK plug. I don't know if this is the original plug since supposedly this car had a full 90,000 miles service at a Jaguar dealer in Nevada (according to CarFax). I would hope that new plugs would be part of that service? Either way, they would have been installed by Jaguar. The one I pulled out looks ok, but it was difficult to remove. Don't know if that's because it's been in there a very long time, or because oil from the leaking valve cover has seeped into and contaminated the threads.

I was about to hit "order" for a set of the IFR5N10 # 7866 plugs. But pretty much every place I do a search for my car it does NOT bring up that plug. And the places I go to order them from say "this plug will not fit your car". What's up with that?

Hi Sean, I bought the car last week!

EDIT-- You know what? Never mind..... I do not want to start a spark plug debate, there are already too many. The AJ8 4575 Jaguar plug specified for my car cross references to the NGK 7866, and that is what was in there which ran fine. I am ordering 8 more of them. Please forgive me for bringing this up. haha

 

I wasn't even gonna reply on this one.. Way to many debates on plugs.
And my 98 calls for something different anyway.
Don't have the owner's manual for the 02...

 

The listings I find shows the PFR6G-13E for 98-03 XJR. Which is also what my Jag care manual shows. So a "6" heat range.
"5" range is listed for NON supercharged XJ8
Keep in mind wth NGK the lower# is a hotter plug.
https://www.ngksparkplugs.com/about-...rk-plug-basics

 

Yes, whenever I search non-Jaguar databases the plug comes up a 6 heat range. I am attaching a picture of my owners manual page listing recommended spark plug. It lists a double platinum plug, the NGK 7866 I believe is the Iridium equivalent.

I am also attaching a picture of the cover page and then spark plug page (17) from the Jaguar manual from the year my car was built. It lists AJ8 4575 for my model and year, which is a direct cross-reference to the NGK 7866.

I don't know why so many current sources recommend a different plug!

 

Interesting. So Jag says the 6 up to 2000my, then the 5 from 2000my
My 98 manual shows the 6.

 

I got the lower front shock bushing out! I used a small pitman puller and it fit perfectly. But, I can's seem to push the new bushing in. The Pittman puller fits, but the bushing won't stay straight.

 

Nut, bolt, fender washers.
and a little soapy water solution.

 

Thank you again. As usual, that worked and the lower front shock bushings are installed. I torqued them to around 50 ft lbs. I saw a thread where that was within the recommended torque range but it felt really tight, I guess it'll be fine.

The new NGK 7866 plugs came today and I'm about to install them. According to the owners manual (which lists platinum plugs) the gap is supposed to be .40 to .43. The Jag reference online that lists the iridium plug says .35 to .39. They came in the box pre-gapped to about .37 so I'm just going to install them as they are; not to keen on adjusting iridium plug gaps anyway.

Thanks again for all the help Convincor. Most of the time I have been asking these questions I've been at work so research really wasn't an option. Plus, I wanted to know the answers so when I got home I could maximize what little time I have to work on the car.

Word of mouth got out that I am selling my 2001 XJ8, and someone came to see it today. I haven't even listed it anywhere yet! I have a reputation for taking good care of my cars so if I have one for sale I get good word of mouth. I think he may actually buy it! He test drove it and loved it....

 

Got all the new brakes installed and lines flushed with new fluid.

Got the supercharger belt and accessory belt changed.

Trying to change the supercharger oil now... The straw will not go into the hole. If I angle it a certain way it will go, but it's so tight I'm scared the straw will break off inside the supercharger. I used my inspection camera and it appears something is blocking the hole from the inside. I tried loosening the belt and turning the supercharger pulley to see if anything moved out of the way. That didn't work. Anybody run into this?

 

I just completed this recently. You just need to take your time, angle the straw down once it is in the hole. I used a red straw from a WD-40 can...or the like.

Also, on my '02 XJR I bought the PFR6G-13E spark plugs, as that is what my 2002 owners manual called for. The plugs that were in there were IFR5N0-10. Impossible to tell if they were original or not, they were certainly old. But, I wanted to install what was correct, so I did. Take it as you will