Hello all,

Here is a quick run down of everything wrong with my 97 xk8 rescue. Again this car sat for 4+ years with only 1-2 turn overs in that time and yesterday I freed it from it's tomb of blue tarp.

- Tires cracked and leaking / chrome rims have pitting/bloom
- 1 Battery terminal connector is broken
- Spare tire missing
- passenger side valve cover missing in bay
- Missing toolbox
- Clicking from front of engine is intermittent, this is a valve opening and closing, not a 'ticking" from engine noise, is intermittent (my tech suggests it is low of freon and the ac must be recharged, the click is the ac pump trying to turn on)
- Drain tubes may need clearing, water may be entering vehicle during rain
- Hood shut, but error reads that it is open
- Poor performance error
- Stability Control Error / ABS light on (seems like the control unit for these goes bad, am I correct? Previous owner said this was a pre-existing problem they couldn't solve. My question, is the stability control really compromised or is it just throwing a code?)
- Windshield fluid squirters shoot wildly to the right and need aiming?
- Missing interior floor mats
- Driver seat bolster torn/needs repairs
- Brake pressure - pedal feels soft, has a lot of travel.. but pressure holds and brakes grab. Should feel firmer I assume.
- Not to mention the caked on dirt/grime on paint/seams/etc... but the paint seems intact, clear coat shows no peeling. Very minor scrapes/blemishes.

After I register the beast this week I will get on the fluid refresh... thanks again for the warm welcome and helpful advice.

 

You already have the best tool in your toolbox with membership of this forum. I highly recommend that you get a cheap ELM-type OBD code reader as your next best friend. They're available for little money and there is software out there for both Android and iOS smartphones.

Your to-do list doesn't look too onerous:- mostly niggles so just proritise the items and work through as and when.

ABS will be inoperative with the ABS fault light which could be due to the usual failed soldering. Not a difficult DIY and you will find the information here.

There is a drain at the bottom of each false bulkhead under the plastic covers, although it's not the easiest of things to spot. They do get bunged up allowing the compartment to fill up and overflow.

Please make the tensioner check a high priority so you don't suddenly inherit a much bigger project.


Enjoy the journey and looking forward to following your progress.

Good luck!

 

+1 with Michael. When you said valve covers, you mean the plastic Jaguar piece right? Probably only going to find that on Ebay or from parts vehicle.

Sorry to hear about the wheels. I've seen plenty of posts about wheel restoration entities on this forum.

I forgot did you put a new battery in yet?

Just thought of 1 more thing: the idler pulley on our cars (above alternator) goes bad frequently after this many years. It'll make noises that will scare you (and nearby pedestrians), but cheap and easy to replace. When you get to it: release belt tension, spin by hand, you'll know immediately if bearings are bad. Should be a smooth effort less spin.

Jojn

 

Your list actually isn’t too bad and some may be quick wins.

One bit of advice on using this forum, is to ask individual questions/problems in separate threads. You’ll get a more targeted response from those of us who have had that particular problem.

After you’ve done an overall service, let’s see how your cat runs ....

 

Good luck, we are all here to help so ask away!

Are you in Ncal or Socal?

 

Just a note...when your error message window says the hood isn't locked, that means the convertible top, not the bonnet (hood to us west of the pond folks ).

 

My chrome revolvers had pitting, I thought they were too far gone, bu it all easily polished out:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...2/#post1412687

 

Is it really un-locked or is this a symptom of the bad pcm/ecu issue?

 

This might be the purge valve. It is on for, say, 1 min, then completely off for a min. This is PWM-controlled valve, and can be heard ticking, mostly at idle sitting at a light. This is located in the driver side wheel well, behind the plastic liner. Jagrepair.com has several TSBs on this. Beware, there were MANY revisions of this part over the years.

There have been suggestions before that storing a car with a "cloth" convertible top under a tarp is a bad idea, and (confusingly) lead to leaks. Likely has to do with surface tension or condensation and all that. I am not a convertible guy, but maybe a treatment of the top is required instead. There is extensive knowledge on convertible tops on this forum, so hopefully someone can help with more on-point recommendation..

Best of luck, keep us posted.

 

I am going to bring this up one more time: I wanted to suggest that you focus your initial effort on identifying the status of these secondary tensioners. You are already facing a list of issues with some expense involved (nothing bank-breaking) on a not-too-expensive car, leaving you "ahead", so to speak. That value proposition would quickly collapse if you were to face an engine replacement of even the parts list involved for dealing with failed tensioners. I realize that a full tensioner job is a bit overwhelming, but the secondaries are really a must, not expensive, and manageable for a determined home mechanic (look up the zip-tie method). Somewhere on this forum is a picture of a pile of these failed/cracked tensioners as a sort of graveyard collected over the years by one of the pro mechanics on this forum. Your car, your choice of course, but the risk is real.

xk8-how-do-i-tell-if-pretensioners-have-been-changed-188762/#post1755086

Best of luck, keep us posted.