I recently purchased the below 2002 Xj8 Vanden

The car has sat since 2010 in a parking garage.
I had the car towed to garage where we had all fluids changed, tires replaced, o2 sensors changed and battery. The car was taken to jag to have programming done..
Did I mention the car just turned 30K miles...

THis is the first week of gently driving the car and little failures keep popping up:
O2 sensors, bad fuel cap, bad evaporator pump, and now HVAC only cools when driving and not when at a light.

Quick questions for the group.. If you found a 30 car that had been sitting for a year what would you change before it failed on you on the road?

I am still looking for answers to the ac, it is full of gas and we have ordered a compressor but I think it has to be something else.

Both passenger rear doors will not work from inside and child locks are off..

 

Get the codes read. Reset them. Do a hard reset of the battery: disconnect the negative cable and touch to the positive post to drain all chips. Tighten the battery cable and check for any issues that still exist.

O2 Sensors were probably installed wrong.

Fuel cap can be replaced (or cleaned).

A/C may need a charge: simple to do yourself (excellent YouTube), do not overcharge or you will blow the switch.

Sometimes when things sit for a long time, oxidation builds up on electric switches. Maybe just use it . . . .?

Sounds like a real steal.

 

I have a 1999 Jag VDP with 80,000 miles. Since it is 19 years old, I replaced all the hoses and belts including the spider hose. I also replaced all fluids and then replaced the AC compressor, water pump, power steering pump.

The clock spring was causing an error code for the air bags, so I replaced that. I had the throttle body reconditioned (engine was hesitating). Check to see if the tensioners require replacement - they are plastic on some models and tend to deteriorate and crack, which can cause catastrophic engine failure.

Cam shaft gaskets might require replacements – check for gasket leaks. I replaced the cancellation cassette module in the steering column, because some lights and the trunk switch were not working (a lot of lights and switches run through the unit).

Also, the glue on the head liner tends to deteriorate over time and sags, which will require that the liner has to be replaced.

Problem that I have heard from Jag mechanics about older Jags, especially ones that sit for a long time is that the gaskets dry out during the idle years, but they don’t leak right away. After driving the car for a while the gaskets start to leak and require replacement. Don't think a year is a long time, but depends on how much it was driven before then. With only 30K it might have sat a lot in the past years.

 

Responding to a four month old post . . ..?

 

Thanks, Jhartz. Didn't realize there was a time limit...

 

There is no time limit!
While the original OP may have moved on the information given by restcon should be embraced as many others will review this post and benefit from it.
Encouraging people not to respond to a post is ridiculous on a auto forum.
Just sayin