Hi.

After removing all the lining and spare wheel from the boot (trunk) of my XKR 100 convertible I appear to have these holes which are open to the road below.



Hard to believe these holes should be left clear, I'm concerned road water will ingress into the boot space on a long trip.

Any advice on what should be there with links, diagrams or part numbers would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,

 

I haven't had my tire out in a while but there are drain holes in the bottom. I had a large water bottle leak in the trunk and I went out the next morning to find something leaking out the bottom of the trunk area into a large puddle in the garage. Scared me at first because I thought I had ruptured the fuel tank. Fortunately for the drain holes, I didn't need to mop and vacuum out the trunk.

 

Interesting point you made Chillyphilly, maybe it's more to do with letting out, such as the fumes from the battery?

I'd still like to see what others have in their boot (trunk) floor though. I don't want to encourage rust in hidden places.

 

On the plus side you have found your VCATS sticker. Take a picture and archive that!

 

You had me intrigued so I pulled the spare tire and accessories out to compare. Over the eight visible large holes I have textured sheet metal squares fastened on to block them...I'm guessing some sort of adhesive was used as there are no signs of welding. The picture of the underside of the trunk was when I was installing my hitch. You can see the large round holes in question are blocked off. It looks like you are correct in thinking they should be shielded.

The drain holes are actually very small towards the front of the trunk, and are triangular shaped...there are two of them in my 2006 (there may be another directly under the battery tray, I didn't look).

I included a picture of where the battery vents. If you have the correct battery there should be a tube like fitting which protrudes out one end and connects to a small black rubber hose which vents out the bottom of the trunk.

For your viewing pleasure:

 

Lol. I thought the exact thing.

 

These holes are meant to be closed by metal plugs held in place by some sort of tar like adhesive. Mine were missing and I replaced them with 40mm body plugs and heavy aluminum air duct sealing tape. My tech says that it does not take much to knock out the originals or else the adhesive just quits and they fall out. The originals were metal disks with a cross mark on their surface. The original purpose of these holes was to position the lower panel on the assembly jig.

 

What is the hitch? Is this what we in the UK would call a towbar, for pulling a caravan or trailer?

 

Yes. Used for towing or mounting accessories like a bike rack.

 

Yes Diddion, a trailer hitch is the same as a tow bar. Curt makes it, and the model # is 11750. It is made for the pre XK8 bumper redesign, but you can modify your bumper the same way I did mine to make it fit. Though if I remember correctly, Europe's regulations on X100's towing are more strict than here in the states, while the x350 towing regulations are more strict in the states than there in Europe.

 

Strict isn't the word for it. UK x100s aren't allowed to tow, if first registered after 1august 1998. On that date type approval was brought in, to standardise fitting for safety reasons (all examples of each model having the same, approved, attachment method). I understand that Jaguar, in their infinite wisdom, decided that no x100 owner would ever wish to tow anything......., so didn't bother to apply for type approval. Cars registered prior to that date can have tow hitches fitted, though.

That rule applies right across the EU, including the UK, and i am sure will continue after Brexit, so any post August 1998 x100 towing anything would be breaking the law and, I think, uninsured.

 

Thanks for taking the trouble to show us the images Chillyphilly.

Only the triangular hole looks like it's designed for drainage.

I'll take WhiteHats advice and search out some body plugs after sealing the bare metal.

 

Perhaps the person who stole your wheel brace removed the plugs to distract your attention?

Graham

 

I have the wheel brace, it's the cars jack that's missing.

A sad case of being able to get my nuts out but not get it up.

 

Just find some rubber flat bungs the right size. Easy fix.