Greetings fellow X100 enthusiasts! The other day my wife told me there was a strange noise from the front of car while turning that wasn't there when she left house minutes before. I got home, saw a drying puddle of something and a curved trail of it where she turned after backing out the driveway and took off. Looks like it sprayed a bunch of steering fluid out there and then, and it was gone within 2 miles where she called me. Below is a picture underneath where fluid is on the CV boot and on rack and pinion assembly.





Thoughts? Could I get away with a front end shop for this or you all think it's time for the trusty jaguar indie?

Thanks

 

First its not a CV boot its a steering rack gaiter. You need to clean it all off then re-fill and start it up while you look where its coming from . Then fix it. There should not be any oil inside the gaiter . If there is the oil seal on the rack has leaked and you need a re conditioned rack or you fit a new seal yourself. Could just be a loose union...fill it and look.
Why are Americans so obsessed with taking cars to dealers/ shops/garages?
I have had a least two cars always in my stable for 50 years and never and would never go to a dealer for anything.
When I was working I saw about 300 mechanics every week and to quote one of my colleagues " I could not find one I would trust to change a spark plug"

 

agree with Pistnbroke - clean up, refill and check for leak - most likely the high pressure side hose to the rack which is an easy DIY

 

You saw 300 mechanics a week? If I had known British cars were so unreliable, I never would have bought one (or three).

Actually, I know a couple of mechanics who do excellent work on my Jaguar. When the job is easy (I think), or I want to do it myself, I'll do it. I replaced an alternator last week, for example.
If the job is more complex and my time is limited, I trust my local mechanics to do the work. For example, I had my octopus hoses replaced. I could have done the work, but it was faster and easier to have a knowledgeable mechanic do the work for a reasonable price.
When I bought my car, I was interested in doing the work myself and had time to do it. Now I don't have time or interest, though I enjoy driving the car.
I do stay away from dealerships as I doubt they have many mechanics who have worked on 25 year old cars. And they are typically expensive.
I can't imagine that taking the car to a mechanic is an "American" thing however.

 

I worked in a garage for a couple of years. I wouldn't trust a mechanic to change one of my spark plugs, or an air filter. Sad, but true. Of course, if I drove a Toyota it would be a different story.

 

I agree, at the rate it leaked it had to be pressurized. I am doing this today to know what it is, before I bring it to the shop I love. But maybe I'll try DIY if it's just that hose in top portion of picture.

You all are not wrong, most mechanics are crap. But our local Jag mechanic is incredible. He is very well known for doing the timing guides service and he only works on older jags, ours being the newer years he knows. I like to do my little part to keep him in business and feeding his family.

And the other shop I mention (for front end and wheel/tire) is the only one of 3 shops I use. The 3rd is a land rover shop a friend of mine owns that works on our later model land rover (just an LR4) and newer Jaguars for over 15 years now. He told me years ago he doesn't touch any Jaguar older than 2009 or so and sends them to Euro-tech, Euro-tech sends newer stuff to my friend.

You have to know the shop you use or you will get screwed every time, and when you know a good shop you got to scratch their back every now and then!

 

It is crucial to know the owner of the shop and develop a relationship with them. There are two indie shops here in our neck of the woods that I know and trust. They have always been very fair with me from a pricing standpoint, and they have always done excellent work. If it is something I cannot DIY, I have no qualms going to either of them. The only problem is because they have such excellent reputations, getting an appointment with them can be difficult. Last time I checked, one of them is fully booked through the remainder of 2022....

 

Update, the high pressure hose (top of picture) is spraying when I turn the wheel. Glad it's not the rack or pump, but what a mess this makes lol. Gotta love hydraulics

 

When I talked to the 16 year old "apprentice mechanics" just starting their training ( you can train monkeys I am told)
They had no qualifications from school and one lad told me he got the job because his uncle owned the garage !
The technicians who came from Jaguar/Landrover/Triumph etc were a better quality bunch.
I remember one lad who could not understand at 18 that 1/2 was the same as 0.5 . I had to divide 1 by 2 on the blackboard using long division to convince him.!