Wash day & topped her off w/ that lovely $2.09 per gallon premium gas.

 

$2.09 a gallon!. Your gas price stateside always depresses me... Regular unleaded is about $5.80 here in the UK, the lowest it's been for a LONG time!

Car looks stunning!

 

Yesterday (Saturday) I replaced the rear discs/rotors and brake pads on my 2002 XJR. I did the front one some years back.
I gave my car a regular service a few weeks ago, including refreshing the brake fluid. I also checked the thickness of the various brake parts only to find out the rear discs were already below the minimum thickness. I ordered new discs and new pads.

Getting the old ones of is straightforward. Both were stuck a bit, but nothing some penetration oil and some hammering and wriggling would not sort.

The only thing I need to recheck; The old discs had little metal dust caps in the access hole for the parking brake adjustment. They did not fit on the new discs, so I need to get hold of them, or fabricate something similar myself

Jeroen

 

Re balanced wheels after two summers of driving. No more vibration. Changed brake fluid too while wheels were off. Last time I fill it up 98oct was 5.2$ a gallon. Not too cheap here in Finland. And here too prices are way cheaper than normal.

 

Not just it, but your guides are also factory original plastic. My bet they are cracked and missing sections also that have most likely fallen down into the sump as bits. I found bits of mine stuck in the oil suction strainer.

 

Yeah, got a new kit on the way. All fun and games!

 

There are different quality tensioners and guides.

OE style have an oil hole in the tip of the primary tensioners that passes oil through a slot in the chain guide. Cheap aftermarket ones do not have an oil hole or a slot to transfer oil to the chain in the chain guide. I have photos in another part of the forum ... search for this thread "Cheap timing chain kits - missing primary chain oiler holes"

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...95c85d2d6f.jpg

 

What did I do to my X308 today...........I drove it!

First time in several, several weeks, and oh how nice it was, I had forgotten just how smooth, how comfortable, how fussless and how nice it is to drive.

I've been adding pull-out drawers to the cupboards in my garage, over the years I seem to have accumulated tools and equipment at a rate greater than the storage space allocated for their storage, and so the answer is pull-out drawers which increases the storage capacity by 2-3 fold.

So, a picture of my drawers!

And an old picture of my coveted XJ8 VDP

 

So where's the vehicle lift CK?

 

I wish!

I wrote a note to Santa, but it got "return to sender"!

 

Problem with a lift is you end up putting something on it, like my TR250 getting a J Type OD, new Differential seals rear driveline rebuild, new dash and new interior

This setup allows me to double park my X308 under when I am not working under something else, but my X350 won't fit, it is 4" taller than an X308.

This lift also saved me hundreds of hours in time crawling around on the floor on my back saving a lot of wear and tear on my own chassis.

I promise there is a lift in this picture somewhere, all my XJ's have spent time on it, LOTS of time. My garage is a standard 9' ceiling.

After the TR250 is done, the 2000 X308 goes on the rack for a top end engine rebuild. With a lift, I can do an oil change in 10 minutes flat with a full bumper to bumper undercarriage inspection, and my back never touches the ground or a roller dolly.




Yes Virginia, there IS a Santa Claus!

 

Cleaned part throttle breather stub. Didn't have 2.5mm drill bit. But had 2.4mm plastic spray can pipe. It was slightly snung at first. But then moved freely. Dont know when it it has been cleaned. Noticed that the seal between stub and valvecover is swollen and cut. No wonder it area §around the stub is always dirty..

I dont even know is there replaceable seal to it? Comes only with valvecover?

 

Changed out the drivers side lower control arms without decompressing and removing the spring. Thanks to a post by Motorcarman for that.
Spring retained by threaded bar. But augmented for security by a bottle jack under the side of the pan you are working on. I removed and replaced rear first, then the front. Tip - Fully tighten the Torx 55 screw attaching the apex of the arms, and the rear shock bracket,prior to torquing up the pan to arm bolts.
Everything lined up easily just a bit of a fight to pop the lower ball joint but with the rotor and dust shield out of the way there is great access.

 

I re-added the lower coach line on the fenders after the workshop had to remove them to get rid of all the nasty rust.
First, my plan was to paint them on the clear coat (as done by the factory). But I decided to give vinyl stripes a try and I'm quite happy with the result.




Kind regards,
Alex

 

Drove it. Rain was on/off all day. So I wasn't able to wash it. But thought i'd share a pic. Also, looks like a PO put polyurethane bushings?

 

I replaced my XJR’s rather tattered bonnet liner. Since a new factory one cannot be had, I bought a 65” by 48” by 0.5” batt of hood insulation material from Jegs. I removed the old one and saved the plastic screw rivets. Using the old one as a template, I cut the new material, and just to be safe, I cut about 18” by 25” piece from some thinner hood insulation I’d bought and glued it (using 3M Super 77 spray) to the area directly above the supercharger. I tried to attach the new material with the screw rivets, but quickly found that they pulled through the insulation, so I resorted again to the Super 77. It’s a definite improvement in appearance, and I started the car with the bonnet closed and had no problems. If I do after driving it, I’ll let you all know.

Original liner in place.

I thoroughly cleaned the underside of the bonnet and let it dry overnight.

I’ll save the old liner as a template.

Finished result—not perfect, but much improved.

 

Looks nice and thick and should improve sound deadening over the original.

If you do have problems with adhesion you could maybe try some extra large diameter plastic retainers from your local hardware store.

 

Wow, that came out nice, mine has a rip, was thinking of grabbing one at the yard. Is the insulation necessary, looks great without it?

 

The material is fairly lightweight, so I’m hopeful it will stay stuck. I had some large plastic washers and tried one, but it pushed through. Fortunately I was able to glue in a patch.

 

The blower makes a lot of heat, so I didn’t want to take a chance on blistering the paint.