Here's one that I have no idea if I can fix without taking it to a body shop, or if it means my car is ruined now.

I got a nail on one of my tires yesterday. I drove on my spare for a bit (donut spare) until I could pull in to the nearest mom-&-pop's tire shop. I paid for a tire patch and was ready to just have them work their magic. The technician, a young lad about 18 proceeded to jack up the car from the front subframe piece (the under directly beneath the radiator). He didn't put a wheel chuck on the rear while in a small gradient (less than 15º). Then I watched in horror as the car rolled forwards as his jack tilted sideways. I heard a loud clunk. The jack somehow caught on an imperfection in the ground and was tilted sideways, which prevented the car from slamming onto the ground. No one got hurt but...

My lower radiator support is now quite bent, and the plastic cover was sheared off. Miraculously my radiator is intact but, it is now unstable in its possible. The shop owner gave the kid a proper scolding and then sent over a more experienced employee to finish the job. Got the patch done, and drove the car. It drives well. Just like before the damage. No alignment issues, no noises. Everything seems fine. The radiator didn't lose a drop of coolant either and there were no differences according to the RealGauge.

Can this damage be fixed? And if so, how? Would insurance total the car over this? I think I would like to get it fixed without involving insurance for fear of them totaling the car. In fact, I would like to learn how to fix it myself if possible without a chassis straightener.

 

ouch !

shouldn’t the shop fix it for free ?

I can’t answer your questions, but you certainly have my sympathy,

Best of luck moving forward.

Z

PS this may end up being an inexpensive lesson: don’t take your eyes off of your car for a minute when an unknown shop is working on it.

 

Last time I got my tyres done I told them exactly where to jack the car up, I used the side jack points only because the one you used never seemed all that strong to me. I guess thos proved my point. I would say this could be bent back but it will probably be weaker.

 

I would expect that will straighten out relatively easily with a bit of ingenuity.
For what it's worth, that is the designated lift point at front and l have used it many times without issue, but usually use a timber spreader between the crossmember and jack.

 

That is 100% the responsibility of the tyre place to fix.

 

As others have said, that shop owes you the complete fix, whatever it turns out to be....

And always keep an 18-inch-long section of 2x4 lumber in your trunk to help spread the load across the bottom of that crossmember...

 

As others have said, that is an official jacking point which I have used many times and, just because the car has rolled forwards, I'm amazed that that alone has caused so much damage.
I'm sure that it can be straightened but will presumably need the engine to be removed. I'm sure that an insurance company will write it off as structural damage so I would get some quotes without involving them.

Richard

 

A body shop will be able to fix that easily.

 

while they are at it , have them do a bit of reinforcement. Once it’s been bent, it will bend easier the next time around.

Z

PS and the tire shop picks
up the bill (100%)

 

Sympathise. I would be seriously p*ssed off by this incompetence.

Have to agree that the damage repair should be totally down to the shop on its liability insurance.

 

I was able to speak to the shop owner. He informed me that the incident report we had made had already been sent to their liability insurance company and they will be contacting me shortly to send an insurance adjuster to assess the extent of the damage. I then have to go to a body shop to get an estimate. After that process is taken care of, the insurance company will verify the estimate and approve the fix then make a check to me or the body shop. Apparently, because of corporate bureaucracy, the process may take a few months. Go figure.

 

make them give you a new radiator .

 

^^^^^^^^ This ! ^^^^^^^

and it has to be a Jaguar branded one, not Nissen’s. I know from experience that the Nissen radiator does not cool as well.

Z

 

I also know from experience that the Nissen's radiator is not very good in the XKR. Let's see if it works out.

 

Does my 2002 XKR overheat with the Nissens radiator ? No, not per se. It just runs 10+ degrees F hotter. And that’s in the fall and winter. I used to run about 185-195 F in stop and go traffic . Now it’s up to 195-205 F in the same circumstances.

I just don’t like it. And that’s without the ATF using the engine radiator for its cooling. If I hadn’t put in a separate cooler for the transmission I bet the engine temp would be even higher !

Next summer I’ll be getting the best used Jaguar radiator I can find.

Z

 

Well, this is probably the best one you can find. An uprated, all aluminum, black powder-coated radiator from Radtec. However, it is pricy. I have been eyeing it for a while. You can have ask for them to send it non-powder coated upon request.

https://radtec.co.uk/shop/makes/jagu...xk/jaguar-xkr/

 

I have seen that one. So, yes, there is an alternative to the Nissen product if cost is not a consideration.

Z

 

My own two bobs worth on the nissens product, l fitted one after a hairline crack developed on the jag original.
It has performed flawlessly in Aussie conditions but l should note, the fan assembly to radiator required a little sealing work on each side. Maybe without this sealing work efficiency does suffer.

 

One other thing to check on is for any damage to the AC condenser.

 

I took the trouble to head off this possibility after reading on the forum the reports of degraded cooling with the Nissen radiators, specifically on XKR’s.

i bought some dense foam weatherstripping of varying thicknesses and used it on both sides and the bottom of the radiator. Also put the weatherstripping on the underside of the plastic “cap” that sits over the top of the radiator. I had to experiment with the thicknesses in order to get the tightest fit.

I’m confident not a molecule of air gets thru anywhere except via the backside of the fan assembly.

It’s easy to compare the Jaguar radiator to the Nissen product and see where Nissen cut corners . The fin count is nowhere close to matching the Jaguar’s.


Z