Just a small update today, since I had to reschedule my indie visit from yesterday til next week.

Got my “R” badge for the front grill.

long trip from China.

 

The factory didn't put that //R badge on the front grille for 4.2L XKR models.

No problem, I thought it looked good so I added one years ago. It's easy to remove as it's attached with 3M double sided automotive trim tape.

 

Have you not noticed Stuart? I’m copying you, just on a 2008 Port.
Next is dead pedal. Place you used doesn’t do jags anymore, so finding some fabricators as I was that R on it.
Then the spare/spacer solution.

 

I'm flattered! Here's something else you might want to do if you're worried about the idiot who parked next to you.

My pool noodle cost $1 from the Dollar Store, with suction cup mounts from Amazon. It fits easily in the trunk. That's cheap protection.

I even use it in my garage.

 

Have tons of pool noodles. That’s a great idea!

 

 

Errr, pool noodle on the car in the public…. I’ll pass, thanks ;-)

I think there’s therapy available for that too. ;-)

Italian GP qualifying is on shortly, got to go!

 

Heading to lose my Harbor Freight virginity.
After I stop by a drive-in car show.

Potentional items for HF:
Impact wrench (electric)
Drain pan
Spanners (or whatever they are called here)
Multimeter. (My $250 fluke died)

Any other suggestions?

 

Harbor Freight usually has a good deal on a basic torque wrench. I keep one in each of my cars, together with a HF rubber coated 19mm deep socket to fit my OEM Jaguar lug nuts. Torque spec is 92 ft -lbs. I paid $10 for each torque wrench, but that was a while ago and the price may have gone up. Perfect for my infrequent use.

Never, ever let a tire monkey use an impact wrench or his own socket on your OEM lug nuts unless you want them to get buggered.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...g-nuts-210103/

Stuart

 

Picked up a 3/8 and 1/2 torque a few days ago.
grabbed an oil drain container/pan, set of metric scanners, 2 wheel chocks and a few other tidbits.
<$60.
I can see why you guys swear by this joint.

 

Ok, as mentioned in the clicks and squeaks thread, I spent a couple hours investigating the fan not running and getting more and more paranoid.

Good news is, fan is running fine. Surprised how easy it is to force it to run.

My new Multimeter did show up nice and early. So I can properly test things.

Today's docket?
2 Car shows.
Mostly for the driving and listening/feeling for odd noises or behavior. But also to mingle. Wife has zero interest but I'm making her go.
She is my mingler. Can walk into any room and walk out with 20 new FB friends. Gift of gab.

Jag ownership here (Charlotte) feels niche and a bit lonely.
Yesterday the only two euro cars (out of maybe 75) were an MGB and a nice XK150? But the owners were nowhere to be found.
The rest are good ole boys with their 20s-70s hotrods. Nice to look at but different crowd than jag owners.
Oh and the usual couple of old guys (like old old) with their "I finally bought one" new 6-figure vettes.

No work today, just putting the fan shroud cover back on as well as the engine covers.
Still leaving the under engine shield off for now. At least until I feel comfortable with the coolant drip double-clamp fix.

 

Hopefully this is not important to you because it's not just Charlotte, in the US, it is pretty much anywhere and even in large cities, the proportion is significantly insignificant. I think the last numbers I saw the x150 total, spanning all years, sold. I'm thinking 25k in the US? You've got a rare bird there and parts and if you need someone to work on it will definitely remind you of this. I live in rural Southern VA and the issue is the same. I own four total jaguars and most of the other people I know who own them got them from me or are somehow associated with me. So in the overall community generally I find there's not a lot of in-person Jaguar camaraderie, but instead the larger car culture, I am "The Jag Guy". Interestingly, word gets around. I've been contacted several times by someone who got my name from someone else who wants me to go and look at a Jaguar. They are thinking about purchasing but they're further away. Easy money. Usually I get to test drive it so that's cool too.

 

Starting to get that feeling, which is OK, I love this online community.

I've found a few clubs here and there. I'll keep checking them out until I find my people.
There are a couple of Jag and British car clubs for my region, but at 56 I think I'll be the youngest (based on FB pics) by like 20 years.

The one shining star is that there is a guy who opened a rent-a-lift place.
He is marketing it as more of a rental shop that has lifts, the heavier equipt most people don't keep in their garage and rents indoor storage, but also a social aspect like a lounge.
Meeting with him this coming week and touring the place. I'll ask about his financials as well.
I think he should focus more heavily on the Men's Club aspect and expand to "all people who love cool cars", not just who work on them.
Have a place where men can go lounge around, watch a game, chit chat away from their wives. And maybe even lend a hand to someone who is doing work.

We shall see.

End of day:
Just gonna edit so I don’t keep jumping to the top.

Went to the first car gathering. Small group.
There was a row (7) badass 2021 and newer vettes, extremely decked out, that just came from a 9/11 tribute event. Super cool guys.
Found an MGB so parked near it and popped my hood.
Chatted with the owner for a bit. Then a guy who had a Model A, it was gorgeous. He owns a local shop and knows jags a bit.
Then met a guy who just traded his XJ supercharged 5.0 (2003?) for a truck, but misses the Jag dearly. He had several jags before that. Gave me the name of another Jag specialist Indie shop I can try out.

Overall a great day. Got home, got her on jacks and put the under engine shield back on.
Coolant temp never got above 204 and that was in heavy traffic.
Now she rests for the night. She deserves it.

 

I'm only about 40 minutes from Charlotte and had been planning on going to a show over the weekend, but the rain we had last week got the leather around the seatbelt opening damp and it decided to do that "shrivel up into a raisin" thing on Friday; which I've not figured out how I want to repair yet.

 

Mine has the same thing on the drivers side. Probably happened before the prev owner replaced the top.

PM me if you decide to go to a show around Charlotte, I’ll see if I can make it.

 

Just came back from the indie shop.
Great guys and they have a shop Doberman so that was a bonus.
List stayed mostly the same but good to confirm.
In order if their priority:
- Engine/Trans mounts
- Rear differential service & clean vent
- Suspension:
—Replace both front lower control arms (forward and rearward)
— Rear toe adjustment link replacement
— Rear sway bar link rod replacement
- Serpentine belt!?

Their parts are wild. $400 per motor mount and $200 for the trans mount.
Found all three for $206 online. Saves $1000.

Off to research DIY lower control arms, toe adj links and sway bar links. Not gonna drop $3700 for just those if I don’t have to.

 

All good things. Do them all at once because you'll need a wheel alignment afterward

 

The original OEM is lemforder. Harder to find, some are available if you look. An alternative that is somewhat well regarded is eurospare. Avoid no name stuff from eBay and Amazon. Most of the bushings are individually available, with a few exceptions. While you're in there definitely do the sway bar bushings. They get hard and Shrink slightly, causing a thump when you go over speed bumps.

 

If I had to do the lower arms on the front I would go all out do the upper, lower, might as well replace the hub and brake pipe at the same time as its all disconnected at that point dont forget wheel speed sensors. I can say the rear tow adjustment is a bitch, the nut under the car is difficult to get to, in the end I got it loose enough and the car high enough I could get a chop saw on it and cut it off as access is limited. That was the most difficult bit changing rear end components.

You can get kits, might rear kit excluding hubs was from British car parts here in the UK. Should be one for the front. At least on the rear of mine I know its all new and will be good for a long time to come

 

When I got my car I went around the whole thing, all new control arms upper and lower front and rear, tie rods, drop links, new front and rear calipers with both sets being surprisingly cheap off ebay. As you know of a previous thread of mine i dropeed the whole rear subframe to replace it, but taking the diff off and cleaning it all up with a 4" grinder and twisted wire brush then cleaning and inspecting the insides before re sealing the case prior to reassembling the subframe. I have also replaced the alternator, water pump, oil pump, thermostat housing, vaccum pipes, radiator, aircon radiator. Also removed the front and rear bumpers and stripped them down for repaint and they are back on now.

I am not by any means a mechanic, I just sat down and did a lot of reading and research and making notes before I started. I went on amazon for all the tools I needed and with the warm weather we had this year slowly got things done. The one thing I wish I had was a garage to put the car in, close the door and turn on the lights to be able to tinker when its raining.

I have read so many other members posts on here since joining to find so many good tips and tricks, this forum is an invaluable place of info as are other sites.

Looking forward to seeing how you progress with the work on your car.

Regards!