I think it would be nice to have a sticky that just listed all the known universally persistent issues that these cars have. Like a check list that a person could use to evaluate a prospective purchase or for an owner to use in order to have a structured repair plan.

It could include the big faults like the 4.0 cam chain tensioner debacle, and also minor ones, like what I just discovered on my car, i.e. the hood insulation is rubbing on one of the intercooler hoses and abrading it.


Such a list would give people a checklist to investigate and deal with as preventive maintenance rather than piecemeal discovery after the issue causes the car to break down on the side of the road.

Z

 

Hi Z,
Member DevonDavid did a priceless summary of most of the known issues:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...21/#post958595

Brightened up my day anyway

 

yes, just like that, maybe a little more condensed, but that is essentially what I think would be nice as a STICKY so it's always easy to find for those new to these models.

Z

 

Has it really gotten to the point where everyone wants Cliff's Notes for everything?

 

LOL. Tried a search but couldn't find that one on the site? Link to free pdf download please.

Did stumble across Daniel Jackson's memorable line from Stargate, though...
https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-gu...nd-coordinates

 

 

Great idea - when are you going to write it?

The major issues come under three headings:

1. plastic tensioners on early years
2. cooling system
3. transmission - fluid and filter changes

Once you start going beyond this to front suspension (upper wishbone bushes/damper mounts) and then into the electrical/electronic issues then the checklist begins to morph into an FAQ.

That reminds me - I started to build a revised FAQ thread a few months ago and got diverted to other things. Must get back to it.

Graham

 

 

 

While I think that this is a noble idea, I'm not sure that the execution of it would be easy. I bought my car last summer. I did a few weeks research before doing so. I had never owned a Jaguar before. I was very quickly able to find the "issues" with the 4.0 timing chains and Niksal bores. The octopus hose and green shower quickly showed up as well. I was able to make ( IMO) an informed decision on the vehicle I wanted to buy.

A lot of items listed as "issues" seem to me, to be just normal maintenance on any vehicle that is 10+ years old. I had a rear wheel bearing fail a short while ago. Would that be an "issue" ? To me it seemed pretty normal for a 14+ year old car with 200,000 km on it. Changing transmission and differential fluids, any and all rubber hoses and suspension bits also seem like normal maintenance to me as well So I wonder how any person could make a decision about what to list as an "issue" and what would be considered prudent maintenance for an old sports car ?

I found JagRepair.com very useful as well as the XK8 'bible' which is a sticky on the forum

 

 

Indeed riding in a tow truck is no fun. One of the reasons i chose the XK8 over the XKR was because i didn't want to deal with the supercharger and its assorted extra bits and pieces. If this is a fairly common issue, why not ask the author to add a section in the XK8 Bible on the supercharger and its foibles ? You might even write up a few draft paragraphs to send him

 

When shopping for my car, I did go back and forth between the XK8 coupe and the XKR coupe. It's 6 of one, a half dozen of another as far as problem issues go. Budget-wise, I was restricted to the 4.0 L years, so one of the deciding factors for me was the problematic transmission of the XK8. I could be off in my thinking, but isn't a transmission overhaul more costly than a supercharger overhaul ?

So when I found an '02 XKR that had very recently had the tensioners and water pump replaced, the major known hurdles were in the rear view mirror. Done deal.

Z

PS put 600 miles on the XKR yesterday in a day trip to the Dallas area and back home to Northeast Oklahoma. Left early in the morning and got back in the garage just before nightfall. As usual, an exhilarating and smooth high speed journey in comfort, and of course, in more style than any other car that I shared the road with.