Good morning all,

I've had my 2006 XK for a couple of months and I've been too busy driving it to wash it properly! Anyway, yesterday I had the morning free so thought I'd give it a thorough clean.

Aside from noticing a few marks I didn't know were there and a little corrosion bubbling, I also found that the front grille was loose on the offside. It was pushed back about an inch on that side. I tried pulling it forward and it seems to do so with no problem but wont 'lock' in place, meaning any high speed driving sees it (just that side) is pushed back again. I can get a picture if that would help, but I'm sure I'm missing some locating tabs / clips or something!! As far as I can see, nothing looks damaged or broken. All of the locating tabs are there but it seems to not want to clip back in to place.

Any help much appreciated - just hoping it is nothing major and I can get it sorted the first time I get the car serviced.

Cheers in advance,
Cluffy

 

There should be a metal clip behind each tab. They have been know to fall off. If they did they might still be in the undertray.

Unfortunately though, to get access behind the grill to clip them back, the front bumper cover must be removed first.

 

Thanks for the feedback WhiteXKR - To be honest I imagined that would be the case - is the bumper removal a difficult job (does anyone have experience of the job)? Are the metal clips available to buy seperate from the grille?

I don't really want to have to spend over £100 for essentially a few clips as the grille I have at the minute is in good condition...

 

Yes I believe the clips are available from a dealer and are not expensive. I have some conflicting information on the part number, so best check with a dealer.

Bumper removal also requires removal of the undertray and headlamps. All told, there are a few dozen fasteners to remove. There are several fasteners in the lip of the wheel well and they are easy to miss. You need to raise up the car and get access underneath. It is tedious, but not that difficult.

 

Thanks again for the feedback - I will check with the specialist I intend to use - I assume they can get all the parts as I don't really want to pay dealer rates. I'll report back!

 

Hi again,

Well I have managed to source new clips for under £10 delivered so not a great outlay! Next job is fitting them - is anyone able to confirm either way whether or not it will be possible "just" removing the undertray? It looks like it might be possible but that's contrary to the advice above... I really hope so!

Thanks in advance, Cluffy

 

When I did the same repair - clips missing - we took off the bumper to get to the back of the grill. In the tech spec for bumper removal, it says to remove the headlights, but we didn't need to do that. Also rather than use clips, we used self tappers in the tabs to ensure they wouldn't pop again from losing a clip. Best of luck, Jeff

 

I had the front bumper off a few times (grill and horn replacement) and headlights never had to come off.

 

Morning again all,
Thanks to the feedback above - seems 100% tht the bumper does need removing just to reattach these clips

So, are there any good workshop manuals available online etc? I have a fantastic one for my Alfa Spider that I got online but I know these things are often available on CD through EBay etc... Is that the case for the XK?

I would like to know what's involved as it may be I get stuck in myself so to save a job (and some cash) when I take the car in for a service... I have quite a decent set of tools from working on my Alfa/cars of friends - but the thought of working on the Jag is a little more daunting as if it goes wrong the cost to fix could be significantly more!
Many thanks, Kieran

 

Go to jagdocs.com - you can download the workshop manuals from there (under $10 each, IIRC)