This is a new fix for the Headrest Cable Housing I used a 5/16 Compression Union The cable from the end of the housing to the end of the cable was 29 MM I cut the housing so that I had 41mm.
That would be Aprox 16 mm Off Housing!
Installed Compression Union Assembled Unit Works Great and will not come Apart!!!

 

Could you expand on the procedure? Where do you get these couplings/housings?

Doug

 

This is a Simple Plumbing compression Union picked mine up at Orchard Supply & Hardware Size 5/16 Cost About Six dollars.
I measured from the end of the Cable housing were the drive cable comes out to the end of the cable that inserts into the Moter
Hope this Helps.

 

good job..seems better than heat shrink wrap

 

Brilliant solution!

As a finishing touch, I would add tape or heat shrink tubing to prevent the metal-on-metal contact.

I love this forum.

 

Mike,

That's a wonderful piece of lateral thinking to use a gas compression union as a connector.

I've got to ask. What plans do you have for your passenger that made you think 'gas' when you had the seat apart?

Graham

 

Nice job Mike, thanks for sharing

One for the FAQ's?

 

Very creative, clever solution indeed! I second Ed's suggestion for some insulation over the union to reduce the chance of noise from vibration.

 

Good idea, I'll add the link in the FAQ's.

 

Nice job! Gotta love it when there's actual metal involved in any fix....

I'm still happy with the heat-shrink tubing fix on our passenger side headrest a little over a month ago. But my only goal with that fix was just to get that headrest to return to the fully-down position and stay there, never to be moved again (at least as long as we own the car, anyway)....

 

Howdy Mike:
This is definitely a superior fix. (Even to my stainless hose clamp method). I did not have a 5/16 union on hand at the time. The last time I found 5/16" fittings was at a " hometown hardware" as my big home centers went from 1/4" to 3/8".
I am thinking that not all unions are the same length, and the EFFECTIVE length reduction must be maintained at 12mm regardless of how much physical length is removed. (measuring between tick marks made on the housing above and below the union can verify this 12mm.)
Although I do think it is a good ideal to insulate for noise, I have not detected any metal to metal noise.
Thanks for this permanent fix contribution.

 

Have not noticed any noise but the moter running but a rap of electrical tape wound not hurt.
I Want to Thank everyone For the Info I have Learned on this Forum I have Fixed Many Things I got my car in November had not been Reg. in four Years has many more problems to sort out before I even try to smog it but thats the fun of DYI.

 

The idea of a plumbing fitting got me thinking that SMC makes pneumatic fittings that are all plastic (no rattles) and are slip connections, so would be very easy to install. They have an internal o-ring to keep everything aligned and a inward facing "teeth" to hold it in place.

I used 5/16 but 8mm should also work, as they are the same size. Total length of cable sheath removed was 20mm (12 from the TSB and an additional 8 for the length of the fitting.

SMC KQ2H09
SMC Corporation - KQ2H09-00 - Pneumatics - Fittings - Allied Electronics

 

Beautiful fix--almost looks OEM. If my "standard TSB" fix gives up again, I will opt for one of the fixes using the metal or plastic fittings.

Doug

 

Thanks for the info I wish I had not done mine with shrink tubing, but they work OK. I probably will not use the headrests as they are all the way down and they fit perfect. FYI I found these fittings on Ebay for $3.99 plus $1.99 shipping.

wcnesta
03 XKR vert
01 XK8 vert (currently for sale)

 

I always keep mine down too but it bugged me that they didn't work, even if I never use them. Still need to do the passenger side.

I have to wonder why Jaguar didn't prescribe a fitting like this in the original TSB. They are fairly inexpensive and easier to install than the shrink tubing. Probably more reliable too.

 

I used the plastic union. works very nice.


I have some extras. If you are in bay area PM me.

 

I still haven't done my headrest repairs, but my plan is to have longer inner cables made to avoid cutting the outer cable altogether. I will report how that goes when I finally get there!

 

That is really probably the better solution. I would think that speedometer cable of the type used for the headrest movement is relatively easy to find and then cut to the length you want. The only glitch would be if this was not really "typical" speedometer cable but rather some size or spec made specifically for Jaguar.

Doug

 

That should have been the fix from Jaguar.