O.K., I'll admit to being cheap. Well, not cheap but p.o.'d at the ridiculous prices some parts carry. $45 for a reach motor drive cable? Does anyone have one they can slide a caliper and tape measure across? I would rather have something close to the right size handy before dropping the column, so I would only have to do it once.

My thinking is that the cable is probably heavier than standard speedo cable )I have about 60' of that on hand) but what about weedeater drive cable, or similar? I'd rather spend a few bucks down the street at the mower shop than $45 online. If need be, I'll make a set of dies and pound out a bunch.

 

When I bought my '99 XK8, the reach motor was inop, bad cable. I went to the hardware store and bought some 5/16" square rod (1/4" was not available), cut it to length, ground the ends to the right thickness, then ground the center to perhaps 1/8" (as a weak point to shear in case of motor bind up). Its been working for almost 2 years now, though not as quiet as the original cable. Only cost about 2 bucks, with enough material to make 3 or 4 more.

 

Nice contribution jones!

 

Here are the dimensions:

Overall Length - 3.875"
Square end diameter - 0.155"
Length of squared end - 0.850"

Now take pictures of your repair. I took mine apart but could not get the two bolts out to drop the steering shaft.

Matt, we need a 'Hints from Heloise' Sticky.

 

I'm confused. Does the cable not have to be able to flex? If not, why didn't they just use a drive shaft?

 

Rev,

I think the cable does flex somewhat, but with a little clearance (play) in the squared end, it is enough to work. That is why it is a little noisier than the cable.

Incidentally, I think the reason the end of the cable frays, is that it is a little short, and slides into the motor, leaving an inadequte contact surface on the column receiver. At least that's what mine looked like, as the cable wasn't broken, just frayed and unwound.

 

Thanks for the measurements! As I suspected there is nothing really special about the sizing. Normal speedo cables have a .104" square drive. Heavy trucks can use a slightly larger size - .150". Who's going to quibble about .005"?

Soooo.... a little side trip through the parts room yielded a large amount of .150 cable, used on old trucks we used to have and probably replaced by electronic versions. A quick perusal through the accompanying parts drawer provided a couple .150 drive ends (actually .1475, nominal.) The staking dies were conveniently sitting nearby. About four minutes later, voila! It will probably be Saturday before I get around to installing it. I'll try to document the replacement procedure, plus a how-to on measuring for center of the sensor.

I suppose, if need be, I could trim the socket ends to allow more cable flex. Let's just call this a prototype until I install it.

 

definitely a good DIY to document for the forum, have an extra beverage on me. (after you finish the writeup of course)

 

Hmm... did the pic come through because all I can see is the red 'X' on my screen? I don't keep a online repository for pics so I used FB to host the file (since this site didn't allow me to access my drive directly.)(I know, storage, bandwidth, etc.) If it didn't, I can email it to someone that can host it.

Too late, all I saw was the, "...have an extra on me..." and progressed directly in that direction. Did not wait to pass Go, did not finish the write-up...

I'm thinking this would probably be in the neighborhood of few $$ worth of parts. I like using the drive ends vs. just mashing the cable into a square. We'll see how it plays out after I install it. For those of you that want to follow suit, call your local truck brake and parts house. Easily available parts, maybe cost a couple extra bucks to have it cut and swedged. If it works o.k. I'll pound out a handful and make available, probably as a fundraiser for the site. I think that's only fair...

 

fundraiser? now you're talking! I always have aspirations to do a jaguar jacket and/or shirt giveaway or drawing, maybe shoot a gift card to some of our more dedicated techs and members who go above and beyond the call, but if it didn't come out of my right pocket, I'm afraid that gesture would go unfunded. But, you do with the proceeds whatever you like, and if you need help of any kind, my inbox is awaiting your message.

 

I look at this way: I've been a pro tech for 40+ years and while I've worked on a number of Jags over the years, I find it easier to look for answers here than to try to reinvent the wheel each time my car has an issue. So why shouldn't I look for some way to give back to the community?

 

You're a champ Beav. Thanks for the creativity. I'll be watching for the test results as my 97 needs this.

 

Careful with the undersized cable ends. It has been reported that if the plastic (nylon?) connector piece that the cable fits into is ruined the entire shaft is toast. Replacements shafts only available from the wreaking yard or the parts counter.

Oh . . . N o o o o o o o o ! ! ! ! !

Not the parts counter Mr. Bill.

 

As I am the one that makes these cables being talked about, I figured I should say a few words. The cable is not standard speedo cable but very similar and is .180" in diameter. That is necessary so that when it is crimped, the square is the correct size. We elected to make these and after sourcing the cable, we had to have a squaring tool made that would give the correct results. That ended up costing around $400. Once squared, the ends need to be finished off or there will be loose frays. This could be done by the home mechanic if the correct tools are available. The $45.00 is the retail internet price. Call one of our salesmen and you should be able to do better. We started making these because prior to that, you could only get one as used or with a motor assembly from Jaguar.

 

OK Guys. What the heck is a "Reach" cable?

 

The little flex cable connects the steering wheel shaft 'reach' motor to the shaft telescoping function thus adjusting how far you have to 'reach' to grip the steering wheel.

Dick, give post purchase discounts?

 

I can appreciate your investment and time spent to provide something not found on the market. I'm reasonably certain that those who purchased your product are satisfied with what you produced. However, for me, the swedging fixture and dies are not that difficult to find. I was told that the fixture and original dies we have on the shelf were less than $100. We have three sets of different size dies, each set allowing two swedging sizes and includes staking provisions also.

What I came up with uses pre-made .150 ends staked onto a .150 cable. I won't have to worry about finishing the twisted cable ends that way. I may eventually find that doesn't work and have to go another route. My motor runs with no more than just the sound of the motor itself, I may have to come up with a completely different plan if other damage exists.

 

Maybe one of the mods will grab the photo from photobucket and make the change to the post. Photobucket has a bad habit of deleting old images and ruining posts for later viewers.

 

The pic is up on #7 now.

 

It still shows as being a photobucket url on right click, properties. That was after a hard refresh.