Hey Guys,

I just purchased my first Jag Nov 23rd, and thanks to this forum I found out about the dreaded drone at 1250 rpm's. The dealer installed the Catalytic converter brackets and the noise is GONE. Others have stated that the fix merely moves the sound to a different range of rpm's, but thats not the case with my Jag. A few have wondered if they could fabricate the brackets but I think that would be fairly difficult, Anyway I also thought I would post a few pics for those that asked.

I put her up on my lift to get a better look.



The brackets are at the front of the Cats both are black.



Drivers side



Passengers side



Notice that both side use two bolts on the transmission to secure them.

 

How many hours to do the job? What was the parts cost?

 

I'm jealous of your awesome garage!!!

 

I assume the dealer installed an official Jaguar part; and, if so, the dealer may have referenced the part number(s) on your invoice. Please check your invoice and post the part numbers for us. Thanks!

 

Thanks as well, I'm glad to finally see some shots of the bracket...
Not an easy thing to replicate, thats for sure!

Vince

 

Sorry, I was going to post the costs, etc but forgot. Total cost was $729.31, labor was $168.75. Brackets part numbers C2P13477 and C2P13478 $280.28 each.

 

Dang... That ain't cheap for those brackets!

 

Tried to order the brackets from Sacramento Jaguar over the internet. Here is their reply:

In checking availability on these, the status show ‘contact customer service’. In speaking with them, these brackets can only be ordered through a tech hotline case, which means that the vehicle has to be in the shop and the technician has to must work directly with Jaguar for approval before they will send out the part. So unfortunately, we cannot order these brackets. I’m sorry that we could not help but thanks for inquiring.

 

Yeah, when I called our dealer I was informed they needed to confirm the problem and contact Jaguar. Bottom line is they had my Jag for 2 weeks. They were waiting for the confirmation, then the parts, then they sent the wrong parts, blah,blah,blah! If Jag is so fussy about approval you would think they would pay for this!

 

Wow.... That's simply wrong of Jag on so many levels.....

(Makes me want to get under there and fabricate something! grrr)

Vince

 

2007 JAGUAR XK Parts - Direct JPLV Porsche Parts.com

Those bkts show up on the online Gaudin site for $189 ea.

 

Very clever solution; thus the Engine, transmission and exhaust are all still rubber mounted.
But brackets at $280 apiece must have been made by a Swiss Dental Firm!
I think I'll just change gear......................or buy some gold!
Thanks for pics
Adrian

PS
Gaudin has always been a great place to do buisness IMHO

 

I don't have a droning sound at 1250 rpm. Or at least my brain doesn't recognize it... yet!

 

Any opinion why jaguar wouldnt do this under some extended warranty? Maybe we should be making some noise? Its a high price to pay for what is an original defect....

 

lol Agreed!

I'm lucky, because although my 07 does have the drone, it is far too soft to be annoying. If it were, I'd be down at the muffler shop with these pics, and they would have a bracket made and installed in under an hour.

 

I wonder if there is any problem of heat conduction from the cats to the transmission? Or is there some sort of insulator on the band part of the bracket? No need to be heating the tranny fluid any more than necessary.

 

As much as we love the brand, Jag is no different from certain other auto companies. They cover up huge and minor design blunders and pass the cost on to unwary owners, usually 2nd or 3rd generation. Think of the great air suspension screw up on the 04 and up XJs, the chain tensioner & nikasil liners on early XKs, etc,etc,etc. Then to compound it all, they adapt a policy of restricted service info, predatory parts/service pricing at the dealer level and non communication with the out of warranty mkt.

All of the above results in thousands of otherwise perfectly well running beautiful cars going off to an early grave, a shrinking dealer network and an undeserved reputation for bad "general" reliability.

Come to think of it, the above describes GM and certain other European auto manufacturers. I had an 2000 Buick that had 6 power window failures just for starters. The rub is Jag does not have the US government/tax payer to bail it out and they operate in a "niche" mkt. I"m a Jag owner for 40+ years and the Ford experience was my last hope. Can nobody save us?

 

Is a droning sound really going to put any XKs into an early grave? Sheesh!

Cars just aren't designed perfectly, and I don't think we can expect them to be. What car have you ever driven that was perfectly engineered? Even my old Lexus LS400, which is the pinnacle of precision in terms of engineering and manufacturing, had many flaws. Every car company produces vehicles with seemingly obvious flaws that owners feel entitled to be free from.

If I were a car company, I certainly wouldn't spend thousands of dollars on each car I sold installing new exhaust systems on six year old specimens, or even go through the trouble of re-engineering parts for said specimens when I should be focusing on R&D for new models.

IMO, when a car is put into production, the design of that car is already complete and isn't going to get any better. Any design flaws will manifest themselves over time. As these problems occur, the best they can really do is to make sure these problems don't happen on future models.

I guess my point is, I agree with you--Jaguar is no different than other car companies, but why would we expect it to be? I don't find this disappointing or upsetting.

 

FWIW, the drone at 1250 -1400 on the XK isn't limited to early models. I have it too, especially when I'm in a higher gear. Driving in sport mode helps to avoid it because the gears run at higher rpm, and of course, downshifting stops it too. The fact that I have the Mina exhaust might also be part of the cause. I never drove the car without the Mina, so I don't know if the drone is there without it.

 

I placed an on-line order for the brackets from Gaudin Jaguar; and included in my comments the specific quote from Sacramento Jaguar refusing my earlier order. The order was accepted on-line yesterday. No news yet as to whether or not Gaudin can fulfill the order. I will keep the forum posted