I took my XK into my local dealership yesterday as they are offering a free multipoint inspection. Since the car is new to me, I thought it best to let the experts check it over and see what may need work.

To the credit of the team at the dealership, they went beyond the checks that are part of that inspection, not only getting the car up and looking at more than fluids, belts and lights, but they also invited me to view the car's underside myself so that things could be shown to me. I really appreciated this... though they other side of this coin is that I'm sure the free inspection is so that they can preempt some additional repair business.

Here are the suggestions and the otherwise-good inspection results, which seem a little alarming for a well running car, so I'll go through them to get your guys' input on priority and costs.
FWIW, I did some searching and came across this thread, though not sure what the final costs were for that effort: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...acting-187320/

The biggest line item is the rack and pinion. There's nothing wrong with the steering, other than a seal that's broken somewhere inside such that some power steering fluid is on a hose at the bottom of the unit. Rather than try and find the offending seal, the suggestion is to replace the whole unit. The technician told me this isn't a priority until the steering feels unusual. My thinking is it can be topped up with fluid in the interim. Refurbished units are available on Amazon for ~$700, and then $300 rebate when sending in the old one. Worth investigating the seal itself?

The front tie rods, which could be done at the same time as the rack, are simply showing their age and are not a priority from the tech's perspective.

Rear toe links were highlighted to me as showing a bit more wear than their age would suggest. Stabilizer bar wasn't mentioned explicitly.

Rear brakes is an odd one, as I was told one area of the pads was nearly gone though on the inspection they got graded as yellow rather than red. I'm happy to spend on replacing the brakes, and look to you for input on what to use and pricing.

Power steering flush was odd to me. Not mentioned during the inspection, and not sure why the price is different to the usual line item. I'm competent to do this myself, and will be inspecting the fluid condition myself today... am I missing something?

Front upper control arms, in particular the right hand side one, were highlighted as showing wear and the technician could her a bit of noise from the ball and socket when making a sharp turn. This, along with the brakes are top of my list... though the price seems high. Looks like brand new ones cost ~$150 for each side of the car. Thinking to get my mechanic friend to do these jobs for me after getting the parts.

The oil coolant hose was an odd one. There's no leak, just the end of the hose next to the oil filter has an additional clamp on it, looks like someone fixed the leak with the clamp rather than replace the sizable hose. Seems like this could wait until there's a more obvious problem? Haven't looked for the part cost on this yet...

Wheel alignment... the car probably could use this anyway, and especially so if replacing all these control arms/joints.

Note to self, and advice to others: don't show the bottom line to your spouse at least until explaining everything first. Perhaps not at all! It's just a number

Thanks in advance!



Additional recommendations

Multipoint inspection

 

At 12 years old, I'm not suprised at the suspension wear and hoses being noted if they have never been replaced.

However, that's where my equanimity stops. The biggest problem with any dealer now is they have neither the competence, training nor desire to overhaul units. Replacement is the quickest, easiest and most cost effective approach with the greatest profit margin. I have no issue with paying Jaguar prices for Jaguar parts but will never throw away a perfectly good assembly simply because a seal or a bearing or a bush needs replacing.

There's $4194 sliced off the bill if you DIY.

Graham

 

A power streering flush would be included in the rack replacement.

If the fluid was never replaced, then you should flush it. Easy DIY.

However after I flushed my fluid, I brought it to the dealer for new tires a week later. They told me I needed a power steering fluid flush, hmmmm.

 

Thanks guys - to shed a bit more light on the steering leak, here are some pics. I wiped some of the wet area at the bottom, and it was very sticky/oily. I'm wondering if there's an active leak at all or if the shiny oily appearance is giving that impression. Thinking to clean it then see if anything emerges. FWIW the fluid color was a reddish brown, could use a change but had been overfilled in the reservoir. Something the documentation on here is clear about: do not overfill!

 

$10K in fixes for a perfectly running car?

The only reason to take your car for repairs to dealership is if you are doing warranty work. Take that report and your car to a reliable indy and that $10K quote will shrink an order of magnitude.

Sure, some of these items might become an actual problem at some point. It is good idea to refresh suspension parts, in places where it is warranted. I suggest always replacing symmetrically (both sides).

I am not sure about XK steering box, but in general they are rebuildable. You don't need a new one unless there is a lot of play or dead center. I would also do a steering pump rebuild and replace high pressure hose at the same time so you are good for another 10+ years in this area. If you decide to do steering flush without fixing anything first, it may result in your leak worsening. I would start by cleaning the area up and then driving for couple weeks to see how much is actually leaking. Make sure that fluid doesn't run low, and you won't be causing any damage by just driving it. The leak will become worse at some point, but timing is impossible to predict, it can take years if you drive it lightly and don't frequently turn wheels while the car is stationary.

 

Here's what you're looking at. You are literally replacing seals. Not knowing your skill set, others have rebuilt their steering racks (on the x350), but lets say it's not your thing. How much would they charge to R&R one that you provide as I presume that's not just a labor charge? You can look, starting on page 8 of the attachment for what you need specifically. You're not looking at a complete rebuild. You're replacing a few seals. I haven't looked to see if that can be done in situ. Don't know how much clearance you have.

Assuming dealership won't do the rebuild, the car will occupy a bay in their shop if you have them send it for repair. That may or may not fly. They also may not install a rebuilt provided by you. Part of their profit is made in parts markup.

Clearly the leak is minor. I personally can't stand leaks, and this is a job I would do myself but given the lack of severity, I would do it in conjunction with replacing suspension bits.

I'm guessing they bumped the cost of the flush because of the replacement?

The upper control arms are not a big job IMO and that price seems over the top.

Get a second opinion. Find an indy who specializes in Jaguars. They would prolly recommend the same work but maybe a lower cost.

 

That would be my first move.

Graham

 

In general terms, some hard-learned advice on owning and driving an aging luxury car:

1. Go above and beyond on maintenance, you will be paying your future self... no fluid or filter in the car should be older than 5 years.
2. Focus on proactively addressing known weak points that could lead to catastrophic damage. In this case, it is water pump and cooling system. If you dump all coolant and don't pull over in time you will need a new engine. So unless it was already done, I'd just replace water pump. Also ask mechanic to pressure test the system.
3. Don't neglect your transmission - regular fluid and filter will keep it going forever. Anecdote - I had 90s BMW with a lifetime fill transmission. First gearbox died at around 70K a year out of warranty. Second gearbox, a used one, with regular (every 2 years) ATF changes was still going strong at 375K when the rust killed the car.
4. You can't ever fix rust. So take car to prevent it. If the car is driven in the winter/salt (outside of Florida), take care to thoroughly wash it. If it sees salt regularly, take care to do dripping rust protection spray.
5. If convertible, take care of your top - never fold wet and keep it out of the sun when parked (car port, garage, or cover) if possible.
6. Clean your rubber seals, replacing them is huge PITA but you can easily double their life with basic rubber care and cleaning.
7. Dash will eventually crack, it will be ugly and expensive to fix. You can postpone that eventuality by using windshield screen when parking outside and using SPF blocking dash treatment.
8. Human secretions are bad for the interior. Take care of cleaning off any bodily fluids and oils from all carpets, seat surfaces, and controls on a regular basis.

 

Just what is it you are doing while in your car?

 

On second thought, I don't want to know.

 

Lol @ JagRag!

Thank all for the words of wisdom, which seems to coincide with my own. For the record, I had to put some WD40 on a rag to get the stuff off the steering rack and here's the result. I've put an alert in my calendar to check this next week, and we'll see if there is actually a leak!

 

I would NOT recommend trying to refurbish the steering rack yourself. It's not an easy process at all, and that's only if you can get a rebuild kit. You will need to check tolerances, which means you need to find tolerances for the rack components... looks like SeanW has the ZF rack guide, which does help you a lot... but at 61 pages, should give you an idea what you're up against.. You'll also likely need some specialized tools for removing c-clips and other rings and seals, and a spotless area to lay out the components in order.

Here's an example rebuild guide for the Porsche 928, which is a similar ZF rack design with photos:

https://rennlist.com/how-tos/a/porsc...ng-rack-383853

These cars are new enough that a remanufactured rack will likely be on its first rebuild... cars 20+ years old that are looking for rebuilt racks are likely on their 3-4th rebuild before you install it, and are more prone to premature failure because of that. Of course, that will also depend on the integrity and honesty of the rebuild house that inspected tolerances on the internal rack components to see what still has life before it's worn beyond re-use.

 

Here is the bottom of my 2012. 26K miles and no snow and in rain 2 or 3 times.

 

Show of

 

My favorite part...

 

I had my diff fluid changed a few days ago, and while on the lift I noticed that the guy I paid to install the X-pipe and eliminate the resonators cheesed-out on the last connection where it connects to the back box clamps.... the last two inches is mild steel and has some surface rust. Plus, it evidently leaks just a bit as there is some soot coming from the area marking up the stainless back box pipes. I'm gonna have to fix that before it becomes a problem, dissimilar metals and all that.

 

Now you know what's attracting all the mice!

 

And yet bizarrely we are willing to pay good money to drink bodily secretions of barn animals.
Most leather conditioners are bodily oils (mink) or brain fat or lanolin from glands of sheep.

 

Did I see a $9000 quote, on a car with a resale value of maybe $11000? Whaaaaaa?


Oppp sorry....$10,000 quote..........

 

I see maybe $1000 in parts, and $800 - $1000 in labor for everything listed.