First of all, a warning! If you're going to try to remove your door latch, disconnect the battery first! I had my hand inside the door last night trying to remove the latch, when suddenly the window started rolling down all on its own. I nearly had my hand chopped off!

So anyway, I got inside the door, but on the latch mechanism there is a brass-looking rod that connects to the latch and then rises vertically to some unknown point. I couldn't figure out how to disconnect the rod, therefore I couldn't get the latch out. It looks like it should just snap on to the little nub on the mechanism, but I couldn't unsnap it. I didn't want to pull to hard and risk breaking it. Any idea how to take this rod off of the latch?

 

By the way, I looked at the JTIS and that rod connects to the door lock (where the key goes). The JTIS just says "Disconnect door handle and lock barrel (driver door only) operating rods from lock links." It doesn't say HOW to disconnect them. There must be a trick.

 

Brutal recommended this awhile back, and there have been some horror stories spread amongst us with this exact same cautionary tale.

sorry can't help you with the 'how to' part.

 

Sam, I just removed mine last weekend so I can help out.

There should actually be two brass colored rods which go to the door latch mechanism. One of them connects the door latch to the door handle and the other is connects the door latch to the door lock. You will need to remove the metal cover to access both, it is held on by the 7mm nut which secures the door handle to the door

First remove the rod that connects the door latch to the door handle. This will be the longer of the two which is closest to the front of the car. It is secured to the door latch by a plastic ball joint, I also had trouble removing this and was afraid I was going to break it. What I eventually found works best is to slide one hand around the backside to support the ball joint and then gently use a large flat head screwdriver as a pry bar to pop the joint free. I've done it several times now this way without damaging the latch or the plastic joint, but no matter how careful I've been its always resulted in a small blood donation to the jaguar.

The second rod which connects the door latch to the door lock is a little more difficult to access but is easier to remove. The connector on this one is a split plastic threaded tube with a sliding collar which locks the tube to the threaded rod attached to the door lock. I found its much easier to get this one loose by removing the weatherstripping on the top corner of the door and looking through that opening while your hand is inside the door.
After you slide the collar down the rod will pop out.

A few tips I've learned the hard way:
1. Wear mechanics gloves once you get the latch loose, you're going to have to contort it in all sorts of different positions to get it out with the cable still attached. The edges inside that door are sharp and without gloves you will bleed.
2. Disconnect the window track on the bottom left corner of the door to allow clearance to remove the latch once its free. unscrew the two silver mounting screws from the plastic housing instead of the hex adjusting post, this way you won't mess up the window adjustment
3. Once you get the rod which connects the door lock to the latch free remove it from the door lock. When trying to pull the door latch out and put it back in its likely you're going to knock it off and if it falls in the front lower seam of the door its almost impossible to find and get out.
4. When re-installing the door latch make sure the threaded plastic connector and collar which attach to the door lock rod are facing upward in the correct position. If they aren't there's no room in there to pivot them, you won't find out until you are almost done and you'll have to do it all over again.
5. When reattaching the rod for the door lock, make sure actual latch on the door latch assembly is opened and slide the rod as far down into the connector as you can before locking it with the collar. If its not inserted fully your security system will go haywire and you'll get a global opening event after a few tries locking the car once you power it back up.
6. Don't reattach your door panel until you've reconnected the window switch, powered the car back up and verified what is described in # 5 doesn't happen.

Hope this helps, If you've got any other questions let me know

 

I don't know if the 03 is the same as the 98 but I removed the 2 nuts holding door handle and gently pulled out on it. It gave me enough room to remove the lock rod and then remove the latch rod.

 

Thanks for the tips, guys! I'm going to try this again when I get home tonight.

By the way, I broke 3 of the little plastic rivet things that hold the door panel in place while removing it. I went to the Jaguar dealer this morning to get more. They are three dollars each! I bought 5, but they aren't in stock so he's going to order them and have them shipped to my house.

Then, on a whim I went to Autozone to see if they carry something similar. They actually have some that are nearly identical in every way. A packet of 6 was only 3 dollars!

 

maybe that's a 'ford'influenced part... I'm shocked, mine only cost $1+ at my dealer. Your parts dept must be hurting.

 

It's actually a GM part. Weird... I'll take some side-by-side pics when I get home.

 

I tried again tonight to fix the microswitch. This time I was able to get the latch mechanism out of the door, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to get to the microswitch. I could see the microswitch, but I couldn't figure out how to remove it. It had a little bit of corrosion on it, so I assume that's what caused the switch to fail. Anyway, I finally gave up and just hosed down the switch with WD-40. I'm kinda hoping it soaks in and causes the switch to start working again, but I don't have my hopes up.

 

Can you test the switch off the car Sam?

 

Sam, once you've got the latch out of the door the hard part is done. The switch is held into the dooor latch by four plastic pics molded into the switch body. Gently pull back on the small plastic tab that my finger is on in the picture and the switch should lift right out. Once you've got it out you can check whether its opening and closing by following the green and black wires back to the connector and checking continuity there with a multimeter.

 

I pushed on that tab, but I didn't want to break anything. I guess I should just buy a switch to have handy the next time I take the door apart.

 

My switch research at Allied resulted in a non-reply on Burgess's part. My contact tried multiple times via email and phone, but could not get a reply about the validity of the part.

If you think it's the correct model, just order it directly, and hope for the best.

 

Hi Everyone


Complete newbie here, just bought myself an XK8 with issue discussed in this topic. Thought it would be an easy fix at the time, but have since gone through a bit of hard work and cut my hand (wish I had seen this forum before I started).


Now, I'm at the part where I've got the latch out and replaced the switch. The bit I'm finding tricky is how do I get the pins out without the special tool it talks about in the service guide. I started off with a screwdriver, but I stopped when it looked like I would mess up the holes. I thought about cutting the wires, but was hoping someone has managed to repin it.


Thanks


Colin

 

A very old thread but many follow Reverend Sam's video so it's worth updating the correct operating rod disconnect procedure to avoid damage:

1. grip the black collar



2. slide it down the rod



3. pop the rod out of slot in the plastic link



The metal rod stays on the handle and the plastic link stays on the door latch which can then be removed from the vehicle.

Graham

 

OK, I managed to work it out without braking the harness. Middle yellow bit pulls out easily, then there is a tab on each pin that holds it in place.

GGG, your right to put up the correct procedure for the rod. I had to search around a bit to find the correct release method. Simple when you know how and one less thing broken

 

Thanks guys (any gals) for this posting. My handle broke and needed to replace it. Bought a great used one from Ebay for about $20. Had to keep keep the handle surround due to the custom color paint but only the chrome handle needed to be replaced. Was reluctant to tackle this but checked out the instructions, tore the door apart (wasn't the first time), removed the old handle, disassembled it and the replacement, swapped parts and put it all back together. Total time maybe 2 hours due to having to drill out the shaft pin and put it all back together.