Pulled a blower out of a 4.2 S type R at the junkyard, and only paid 40 bucks for it. Reasonably good condition i think, some rotor coating fading along rotor edges but mostly still there. Possibly needs new needle bearings. Parts cleanered it out at work as coworkers complained of the oil smell.

Pulling the intake apart to get the blower out was pretty enlightening, only took just over two hours, but that was being able to destructively remove finicky hoses and wires that were in the way. I hope I never have to replace those knock sensors...

 

I've had the s/c off my XJR-100 3 times since May. I've got it down to 1 1/2 hours, carefully w/o damaging anything. Great score on the 4.2 s/c for $40! It's should have the helical gear drive for quieter operation.

 

I drove it best part of 400 km today... Not one little problem! Engine ran like new. Tranny changed gears like it should. And it only cost me about €20 for the entire trip... I like tanking up a full tank load for €20

On the other hand I replaced a steering rack and end links as well as an indicator stalk on a friends X308 4.0l Sovereign... Lot of wprk required yet to get that looking like new...! Would be easier to do my rust bucket first!

 

Rrrr, rrr, rr, r, click. It's cold outside, battery was 6 years old, not bad. New one spins over nicer though.

 

Changed the oil and filter, cleaned the part load breather and gave the entire undercarriage a good look over.

Did it all in 30 minutes on my Maxjax, best tool I have ever purchased for my garage, period.

Pic of the Jag on the Maxjax from a few months ago:
Alden

 

That looks like an awesome thing to have Vector, however you need a spacious garage to house it!

 

Gave the old boy a wash... First time since I'd guess February I'm amazed how clean he came out... Meteorite Pearl isn't that much of a bad colour...

 

Not really, that is one of the reasons why I chose it.

I do have a 3 car garage, but it holds 3 cars, a golf cart, a 50" zero turn mower, 2 recumbent bikes, 2 large standup toolboxes, a large workbench and shelf storage around the perimeter too.

You can unbolt the Maxhax from the floor anchors and roll the lift rams out of the way when not in use. The hydraulic pump is on wheels too. In my garage, the lift stays in place and I just park one of the toy cars in between the lift arms. Plenty of room to get in and out of the car too.

Since it only goes up 44", you don't need a high ceiling either, mine is 8.5'.

It is easy to roll around and work underneath on a mechanic's stool with wheels.

I installed a new O2 sensor and condenser fan bi-metal sensor on my Ferrari last night too.

Having a lift is the best, makes most every under car task easy and quick.
Vector

 

I'm sorry, but your garage can only be described as palatial. If you can get all that in there and a lift albeit a storable one, then it's defiantly spacious.

In comparison my garage is 16ft x 8 ft and the door is only 6ft wide. No way will my Jaguar ever fit in there. It houses my Triumph Herald and a tool cabinet, and there isn't any room to spare with the car inside the garage. This is classed as a "standard UK garage", however the standard is well out of date. Many people now convert their attached garages into extra living space as modern cars can't fit in them.

 

Well, at least you guys have garages .

I am struggling in our underground parking.
Luckily I got one at the far end, and keep a low profile to prevent kicking out (cleaning up every night), but I have no electricity nor anything else.

And they don't come with the apartment, are in short supply, and sell at ~ USD. 50.000 each, normally sold within a couple of hours ...

 

At about $25 each, I would replace them pro-actively if you ever pull the SC.

On an NA engine knock sensors take about 30 minutes to replace. On a SC, removing and replacing the SC usually adds 8+ hours. (I know, someone is going to say they can pull a SC in 15 minutes while grilling burgers for the family at the same time, right?)
Vector

 

16x8? Ouch! We would call that a "golf cart garage" here!

Yes, I am lucky to have good size garage. It is one of the reasons I bought my house. We say I bought it for the garage, while my Wife bought it for the 3 closets in the master bedroom. One for me, one for her and one for her shoes!

But I also have a normal size bath, how do you guys get by with such tiny spaces? :-) And low ceilings. I bang my head a couple of times a day in our "charming" apartment in Paris.

I was in Belgium a few months ago and even my friends who had new, what I would consider normal size, homes had tiny bathrooms. I am 6'4" and need some room to shut the door when I mount the throne, lol!

Sorry, off topic, back to Jag repair!
Vector

 

I replaced rear brakes yesterday on the XJR: Rotors and pads. Went with Akebono ceramic pads and Zimmerman rotors, both bought at FCP Euro who I greatly recommend for their excellent site and customer service. Prices were good and as a plus shipping was free.

Since the brakes didn't take long, I decided to pull the back seat and rear shelf and install my new OEM sunblinds and my reworked Alpine OEM subwoofer. That all took some time and I hope I never have to take all that apart again!

I had previously pulled the speaker out of a parts car, and sent it to Springfield Speaker in Springfield Missouri for them to rework. They replaced the old sun rotted foam, repaired a small tear in the cone and tested the speaker prior to returning it to me. The results were excellent. Their service was excellent as well, and I really recommend them to anyone needing a DIY foam kit or full speaker service.

 

Ok, today I replaced the speaker in the dash column that went bad. Really easy to fix. Ordered a new one a few weeks ago. Comes under the heading of be careful what you ask for. The turn signals are LOUD :-;

Installed a volt capacitor in the car today and did a hard restart. Car runs much smoother. Battery system is charging at 14.4 > 14.6 consistently now. No drain when the headlights, heat, and all electrical items are running.

 

I opened up the hole for the 2nd tail light (as standard on the x300) and modified the fitting plate for the additional 10W lamp.
Now got some extra visibility, and hopefully some extra security by being a bit more visible in the night.

 

Scott,
Did you buy the blinds new?
Any info?
I would love have some (one piece version in my case) but anything after market I have seen so far sucks.
Eric

 

I like this, any shots of it from further away (entire back of car)? The x308 tails do look a bit too small at night.. I'm assuming it's only the running light, and not a bifilament bulb like the brake light?

Isn't there a big voltage smoothing cap hooked up from the factory already? Called the "suppression module" in the electrical diagram. Maybe some markets didn't have them fitted, I don't remember..

 

Yup, it is only the additional 10W running light on each side of the car, not the brake light.
Just as it is/was for the x300, but kind of omitted for the x308.

The hardware is already partly there, but you will need to create power in the lamp socket (or buy a x300 lamp holder, very cheap), provide power to it, and create a small hole in the taillight itself for the bulb to stick through.

The bulb is behind the red reflector, and both lights have the same intensity. On below (sorry, crappy) picture the flash reflects in the reflector though, hence it looks a bit like it is a brake light.

 

I personally like the smaller tail lights on the X308, it's another retro styling cue.

 

Hi Eric,
Yes, the Jaguar OEM blinds are still made, and I bought them new from Jaguar Heritage in the UK . Here is the link that I used which was supplied by Luc back in 2014: Part no. JLM21262LFJ | Backlight glass sunblind parts from Jaguar Classic Parts UK

This is for the 2 piece blind which is required when the car is equipped with the Premium Alpine Sound system with the rear shelf mounted subwoofer. I believe the single blind may still be available too from Jaguar Heritage, but I don't know the link or part number. There are different colors depending on car interior (designated by the LFJ on the end of the above part number). Try putting your 3 digit interior code there if it is different from mine

My XJR is Warm Charcoal with Nimbus Grey inside, and these were a perfect match. The mounting holes in the rear panel were factory pre-drilled, I just had to poke holes through the vinyl. The most "fun" part of this job is the removal of the rear seat and shelf and dealing with the seatbelt reels.

I realize I could have just tinted the rear window(s) and saved myself alot of work, but have had tint in other cars and don't like how dark it is when driving at night. To me, the sunblinds are a good alternative.