Hey All

I've been going through my to-do list and next up is my differential oil change. What I'm trying to find out is can the hole in trunk method work for a 2003 Convertible? Have been searching and haven't come across anything definitive for this year/model. Most times I'm finding or coming across information on early x100s and coupes. I have absolutely no problem drilling a hole and plugging it when the service is done. As always thanks in advance

Cheers!

Andrew

 

I'm sure the method would work but first I would check whether you need to use that method as you might have enough clearance without any drilling. It's worth investigating as you might need to drill through two sheets of steel which complicates the process a little. You will be able to determine that once you are under the car.

Richard

 

I drilled a hole in my 01 XKR and found the EVAP canisters were in the way. Any suggestions on which oil to use. I heard synthetic was not a good idea.

 

Evap canister huh? I thought I remember reading at some point there's a support brace in that area that can be in your way. Guess that's why I'm asking because I would hate to go through the process only to find I'm not able to access the plug or drain/fill easily. As far as the oil from what I've been reading is important due to compatibility, noise, etc... Search the old threads there should be tons of information on the best oils to use.

 

You need a GL5 gear oil. These are usually synthetic which is best but there are some mineral/semi-synthetic versions meeting the GL5 spec which would also be fine if you can't obtain the synthetic version. Viscosity is a much debated are as Jaguar used original diff oil specially manufactured for them by Shell and neither company has ever released the viscosity spec. Even Jaguar dealers are not aware of the spec of the original oil which has not been available for decades.

Many owners use a 75W - 90 or similar which would be fine. However, I use a 75W-140 as my extensive research many years ago suggested that this was closer to the original Shell spec.

Richard

 

I’ll try to have a look today but if anyone has a definitive answer I would love to hear it.

 

I managed to change my differential oil using a series of 3/8" drive wobble bars although I think I had to start it off with a 1/4" drive in the plug and belted it with a hammer. It was tedious more than difficult and I didn't fancy drilling holes.

 

Battling with the issue myself. Tried to get at it from underneath, which is a challenge, so even if you get the plug out (which I didn't get to yet), it'll be a pain to remove the old oil and re-fill. I then looked into drilling the hole, but with the later models there's indeed 2 sheets of metal to go through and there's a hose (evap?) in the way. However, once it's in and in the right location, changing the oil should be easier. I'm now leaning towards removing some of the stabiliser bars that are in the way underneath and get to it that way. There are videos for both ways on youtube. Either way sucks and how you do it comes down to what you hate less.

 

As I recall I either used a giant syringe thing to suck the oil out (and I certainly used that to get the oil in) or the vacuum pump thing I have for changing the oil without removing the sump plug. Getting the plug back in and started off without cross threading was pretty tedious.