Jaguar XK8 exterior and interior lighting modifications to enhance safety, improve lighting, reduce lamp-outage frequency and just because you like messing with your car.

 

Definitely going to be watching this after work!

 

My Jaguar XK8 that I took possession of yesterday has one of three dash lights not working. I am going to have a master mechanic of Jaguar cars remove the dash and replace all the bulbs.

 

Hi RoVerto,

I just did this last weekend with my '97 XK8. If you don't mind spending an hour or two
it's fairly easy. There are lots of posts about dash trim removal and about which bulbs
to use in the stickies. Rev Sam has some great videos you should also check out if
you are going to do it yourself.

 

If you are using a mechanic just to change a few bulbs then its easy to predict how your wallet will feel after a while with this car...

 

 

 

delete

 

I was told that a special tool is needed to remove the dash to be able to replace the light bulbs.

 

Special tools may exist that can make the job easier but I was able to do it with common tools.

The key is to be mindful of the stress you put on the wood panels. Go slow and easy when you pop the panels off.

 

+1 to Rothwell. Going slow and easy makes the difference. Don't rip tear. I didn't
need any special tools either. Just a phillips and a couple of torx screwdrivers.
I managed to get the panels off with some gentle prying and twisting. I used a
couple of cedar door shims to hold one part out while prying on another part of
the panel. The only problem I had was that I broke one of the retainer clips but
I crazy glued it back together and it works like new. I glued a few other broken
pieces of plastic I found in the dash and even ended up with a few less annoying
rattles.

 

If you're playing with panels, panel tools are always helpful. These days, there are a bunch of them that are quite inexpensive, e.g.

 

^^+1
They make life sooo much easier - especially the fastener tool.