Hi,

I have had my XKR coupe for around six months. I've got the car mechanically pretty much where I want and I am turning my attention to a few exterior items.

Corrosion behind Window trims
As you know there is black beading around where the window glass meets the car when the door shuts. There seems to be some corrosion in these beads/trim behind the black rubber.

Is the solution to change the black beading / window surround?

Strip on top of door not flush
Similarly the strip on top of the door is not flush when it closes, it again seems there is some corroding behind the black strip. Can anything be done in this regard?


Cracked "Rabbits" Teeth
The two rabbits teeth over-rides on the front are cracked. Are these just plastic covers? Do you know if they can be purchased?


Cracked Number Plate Mount/Surround
The black plastic mount/surround to which you mount your front number plate is cracked, see below, again can these be purchased from anywhere? I am in the UK so sadly I have to have a front plate.

Cheers for any thoughts - these are all minor and I feel lucky that are the only things coming to my attention!

Nick

 

Hi, the door waist seal's ( Dorchester Gray Trim ) are aluminium bonded to rubber,
the aluminium corrodes and separates from the rubber,
i did a temporary fix by cleaning out the white corrosion and put some epoxy glue between the two and jammed a length of wood between the garage wall and the trim to keep it forced together until the glue went off,
(be careful as the glue will squash out,protect the door paint)
This was done with the trim still on the car as a temp fix till i sorest a good replacement (mine was a lot worse than yours)
XK8/R door waist seal's are not cheep, take a look on ebay you should get the parts you want.

 

You might find this an interesting read. Click Me to jump to webpage That is for your window trims.

The reason the top trim does not line up is because your door hinge has 'dropped'. This happens due to the sheer weight of the door. This is where someone chips in and suggests putting a block of wood under the end of the door and jacking the door back up to re-align it. In a word DON'T. I tried that and the door did align. Happy bunny for a while till it dropped again.

This is what happened to my hinge. Click Me

Any other quires do not hesitate to ask. There are many helpful guys on this, and other, forums.

One last bit of 'hindsight' I would share with you. Change your headlamp hi beam system to HID. Wish Id done it years ago when I first got my car. Makes a big difference to your nighttime driving.

Good luck and happy motoring.

FrankC

 

Hello,

Thanks for the thoughts here.

Regarding the first issue - corrosion behind window trims - I have ordered these replacement items on eBay, which were mentioned on another Jaguar forum. They don't have any metal components so will not rust like the original ones. Paid just under £40 for the pair. Will report how easy they are to fix, but apparently they simply push on. See https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/173837171768?ul_noapp=true

I have removed some of the white powder "rust" from the waist line seal/trim, I may try gluing that for now. This is the lest bothersome imperfection on my car.

Regarding the over-rider / rabbits teeth , there are used and new ones for sale on eBay, does anyone know how involved it is to replace them?

Frankc the HID upgrade you mention, how is that achieved? Is it an aftermarket kit or the headlights from a later year?

Thanks,
Nick

 

I just replaced my chrome splitter and (missing) overriders yesterday.
the overriders are just held by 4 plastic plugs, flip those up, then the overriders slide forward.
Beware, there are different shapes for different years.

 

First off the strips. You realize you ordered the small seals that go up the frame and not the ones below the window? I am sure you do The door waist seals are $500 + EACH, if you can find any. Frightening isn't it.

As for the lights I bought some good quality ones from the UK, where I live. They were the brightest you could buy legally before going into the realms of Blue Light. Which in the UK are illegal, not to mention annoying. I did one of my usual write ups about it. Will see if I can find it. Be right back..........

Here you go. Just click and jump to my 'What I did' to replace my headlamps. You can judge for yourself if you think they are worth doing. So here you go just............ Click Here

Hope this helps.

 

Not being a bulb modifier, I hadn't followed the story of the epidemic of these infuriating headlamps. Good to know why I don't see them now.

Graham

 

Hi Frank,

Yes I am aware the ones I've ordered are those that are at the top of the window glass - those are the worst item on my car. The waistline seal on one side is slightly corroded and the end sticks out as a regard, but given the price I can live with it
Frank thanks for the link where did you get the HID bulbs you mention? I am in the UK too.

Nick

 

I am pretty sure it was these people https://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/

I replaced the Main/High beams on mine with HID. I do not recognise the make they sell now, Stealth, but they look good. The claim is 400% brighter for £65. I also replaced the dips with bulbs 300% brighter ones.

With my old bulbs in I could drive down the motorway and if I had forgotten to dip I rarely got flashed. With these new ones in if I forget I get lots of reminders.

 

Love the color

Oops wrong thread.sorry