Aloha Ya'll

Just got my 03 XK8 Vert off the barge. Bought it 4 weeks ago sight unseen and have been awaiting it's arrival on Maui. So far the car is as advised with just a few issues which I hope to sort out ASAP along with a host of mods I've been reading up on. Car has 86K on it with full service records and appears to be in great shape. PO already upgraded to the 3 PC XKR grill and Victory smoked tail lights, this is a surprise as these were items I had planed to do, so more money for other mods.

One issue I was not made aware of is the chrome plated Apollo wheels has the chrome flacking on at least one of them. Not happy about this.

Another issue I was aware of is the drivers side door switch does not work, window goes down a little when the handle is grabed but goes back up when released, dome lights don't work with that door either but do work with the passenger door. Tried the window reset but no help. Have been reading up on the issue and have already ordered a new micro switch. This will be my first order of business to repair.

Also have an issue with the parking brake. It doesn't hold the car, if I pull up real hard on the handle it will hold reverse with just idle but not drive. This is a failure on my safety check for Hawaii so I need to sort this out ASAP.

Is there a cable adjustment for the P brake, any idea what I'm looking at for repair? Plan to do all repairs myself so any help or advise is greatly appreciated.

More to come as I get to know my new XK8 and pic's as soon as I get it cleaned up.

 

OK I searched the P brake issue and I have that one figured out, will be pulling the rear disc and she's what's what.

Spent the day running around getting the car registered and the CA cat is now a Maui cat.

Put about 50 miles on it today and I seem to have an issue with the front end. Car drives fine but when I hit a rough section of road the steering wheel vibrates badly, not a shimmy feeling but an actual vibration.

Any idea where I should start looking for this issue? Thinking bushings but not sure.

 

I have just replaced the door latch mechanism on my XKR. Not a bad job to do .There is a plate that covers the rods coming down from the door handle. This is held by one small bolt you can see the bolt if you ease up the inside window rubber from the top of the door , it's an 7 or 8mm bolt of I remember correctly. One rod connects to a plastic clip with a rubber piece that slides down and then pull the rod out sideways (there is a slot cut in the plastic connector. Please remember to disconnect the earth lead to the battery, you don't want to have the window drop with your hands inside!! Youtube has a couple of videos showing how to remove the door card and latch.

 

Welcome to the forums and good luck with your new Jaguar. I'll provide you with what I've considered (and some that I've Done already) since getting my 02 XKR. This I've done to any used car I buy, Jags are a bit more temperamental so take your time, hit the big ones and go from there.

- Radiator Flush and all new Coolant
- Oil change w Filter
- Fuel Filter
- Air Filter
- At some point you might check the transmission fluid, change filter / fluid.
- Front End, your Shock mounts are prob shot, DYI job and parts are reasonable.
You can then check all other components bushings and ball joints when you have the Wheels off.
- as you've mentioned, pull and check brakes, including parking drum
- Check belts and hoses for any cracking or loose connections.
- I did recently read about the duel fuel pumps, haven't checked mine yet but you might want to perform that test, to know where you stand.

Pretty straight forward and thankfully for those here there are how tos posted in these forums for all of these.

 

Good to hear the car arrived safely and is 'as described' plus it included some items you weren't expecting.

The usual problem with the Park Brake is the cable(s) stretching. Before tearing the rear disc apart, check the adjuster rod (item 5) on the Relay lever (item 4):


(click on the image to enlarge it)


If there is further adjustment available, it could save you a lot of unnecessary work.

Graham

 

OK fellow campers here's an update on repairs so far;

Throttle pedal adjustment...quite an improvement to throttle response. See Rev Sam's video.

Got my Nav clock to indicate the correct time thanks to some out of the box thinking by GGG.

Replaced the drivers side door switch...works like a charm. Followed several threads from different folks and of course Rev Sams videos on door card removal and lock removal. Learned a few things but mostly followed instructions. Here's a few items of note, most of these are mentioned by other folks in various threads which helped me a lot so I think they are worth repeating.

Window guide removal...
Lower the window about an inch and the top will slip off. Then reconnect the battery and put the window back up. Can't get the lock out unless the window is all the way up. Don't forget to disconnect the battery. Do the reverse when reinstalling. The top bolt is easier to work with if you pull the inside window rubber stripping off, just pops on and off.

Lock removal...
To remove the inside gold theft deterrent plate you have to take off one of the two small bolts that hold on the door handle. Go ahead and remove the other door handle bolt, it's easy to reach and makes the lock removal much easier as the door lock rod is a PIA to disconnect from the lock and you'll probably break it. So, pop the handle rod off the lock, I used a small Z shaped screw driver. The type with a Philips on one end and flat on the other, just insert the flat end under the ball pivot and pry it off. Now you can remove said gold plate. Unbolt the lock and slide it up while removing the door handle at the same time. A little fidgety but doable. When you have the handle off far enough you can disconnect the lock rod from the handle. This way you don't run the risk of breaking the connector. I also found that leaving the metal rod attached to the plastic part was a bugger trying to get the lock out so I unscrewed it. Used some whiteout and marked the threads before I took it off so I'd know how far to screw it back on. Take photos also as a reference. You might want to put painters tape on the outside of the door around the handle to prevent any possible scratches. Reverse this when putting back together. Make a note as to which way the Z shaped rod reattaches to the handle, I put mine on backwards the first time, the rod should be to the inside of the car on the door lock attachment. Also the black piece on the door lock rod where the metal rod screws on falls off easy so go ahead and take it off so you don't loose it.

Switch replacement...
The switch just prays off, nothing holding it in other than a plastic tab. Note which way the switch arm goes, again take a photo for reference. Bending the metal arm on the replacement switch correctly is critical. I used the Omron, go ahead and buy 2 as the other door will fail sooner or later
D2SW-3L3MS Omron Electronics | Mouser
Also working on the switch is easier if you go ahead and take the inside door handle cable off, see Rev Sam's video for this. I put the lock in a vise with the switch side up and toward me so I could work on it. Follow these instructions
JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource
For setting up the switch. Be sure the switch does not change state until the door is almost in the locked position, fiddle with the bend on the lever until you get this correct, took me about four tries. Be sure to secure the switch when testing as if it's loose the adjustment will change. I used two small countersink head sheet metal screws, not sure what size but they were just right to screw thru the plastic switch and hold it tightly. I think this is important as if the switch is loose at all the adjustment changes. Be sure to use a dill bit, I used a 1/4 inch, to countersink the screw heads.

Now put everything back together and test. Be sure to reset the windows before testing, I had to reset mine twice before everything worked correctly.

Also if your window needs adjusting as mine did this is a good time to do that also. Again see Rev SAMs video for this.

Well all is right with the world now on my door, everything went exactly as planned and it works perfect now. What a great and cheap repair!

Next is my front suspension work...collecting parts now and will update when I get to it.

 

Well I've had the car a little over 4 months now so thought I'd update my progress:

Completed the front end rebuild without to much hassle. Got lucky with the fulcrum bolts and both sides came right out. Replaced everything under the front except the coils and inner tie rod ends, drives much better but still chasing down a slight vibration when I hit rough road.

Did a simple mod to my front fog lights to come on anytime the car is running, I can turn them off with an aux switch I installed, dash switch still works.

Also did a quick wiring mod to make my rear fog lights work the same as the brake lights.

Had the before axle resonators removed for a little more sound and added 4" oval resonated exhaust tips.

Added a Mina Gallery open intake to compliment the better flowing exhaust. The exhaust mod alone was not quite loud enough but now with the open intake it growls just right when I get on it.

Installed Steve's remote top control....perfect!

Disconnected the power antenna and installed a powered antenna module, not happy with this so will be experimenting more.

So far very happy with the car, runs and looks great.

Looking at taking out the NAV screen and installing a new LCD for a backup camera, plan to move my trip reset control to where the lighter is in the console and put a small analog clock in the dash where the trip reset buttons are now. Will update when I get this done.

That's all for now folks, could not have done most of this without this great forum as a resource.

 

Which 4" oval resonated exhaust tips did you buy and install?

 

These:
Brand New Polished Stainless Oval Rolled Slant Resonated Exhaust Tip | eBay

The resonated tip made the exhaust note just a tad deeper but most probably would not be able to tell.

 

Here"'s another view.

I got the 2.25" and had to buy a sleeve to make them fit, the 2" would probably fit just right. Just used some exhaust sealer paste and pop rivets to secure. Look great and no issues with coming loose. Local shop wanted $50 to weld them on.