Going to change both of them at the same time.
I`m a mechanic by trade, (heavy trucks)and first Jag owner,1998 XK8 conv, with a hood that opens up backwards!!!!
My problem is I`m not as flexable as I use to be.
Please tell me you take the hood off of the car before you work on it.
You guy`s don`t lean over the side of the car do you, to work on the front of the engine? Or do you remove the gas shocks from the hood and let it lean forward, then lean over, or remove the hood?
What is the best way to remove the hood and get it back straight again?Leave the hinges bolted to the car and unbolt the hood from them or unbolt the hinges from the car leaving the hood bolted to the hinges
Any help would be great

 

hey
i never remove the hood.. not even when doing engines.. just pop the struts off then the hood should open more and stay.. where you put it.. have seen accident cars.. where the hood wont stay open when unclipped..

 

Do not remove the hood. There is an 90' upright setting. Pull the two struts from their sockets and manually raise the hood until it is perpendicular to the car. You will observe two holes in the forward hinges line up. Have a short 10 mm bolt ready to insert as they match up. This will secure your hood in an upright position for work on the front of the engine.

A couple of tips: Cut out a peiece of cardboard and place it in front of the radiator to protect the fins.

Also you will discover the two rear hold down bolts on the t-stat housing are difficult to reach. Buy a cheap 8 mm box wrench. Heat and bend it 90" and use vice grips to turn it. The front two bolts may be accessed using a ¼” drive and swivel; but the rear two bolts have limited access.

Use Vice Grips

The bent-wrench should be used in conjunction with a needle nose vice grip, and another regular style vice grip twisting the first.

The box head end provides for a tight and secure grip on the 8mm bolts. Using the vice Grips, there is plenty of torque available to tighten the housing base down without fear of stripping the bolts or scraping your knuckles. Forget about the ground down sockets... this is the tool to use.

Shorter Bolts in Two Rear Holes

When replacing the new aluminum housing, use the old 8mm bolts that attach the T-Stat cover to the OEM plastic housing. They are a little shorter which allows for them to be inserted easier. I used needle nose pliers to first insert them in the rear holes.

Grind Screwdriver Slots in the Rear Bolts

It is simply too tight in there for you to get anything more than the tip of a finger on these bolts. Use a dremel or similar tool to cut cross slots in the heads of the two rear bolts. These slots will allow a screwdriver to turn down the bolts until they become snug. A screwdriver makes it easy. Then use the bent-wrench for final tightening.

 

Thanks for the great tips guy`s
this is why this forum is great

 

Is there any trick to remove the struts from the sockets? Will these just pull off or do you somehow need to manipulate or remove the metal clips?

Thanks,

Doug

 

I get a very small screwdriver and pry between the ball and socket. The spring clip will slip back to allow the ball to be extracted. Hold a shop rag around the assembly to keep the spring clip from flying off and becoming part of the unknown universe. gordo

 

GordoCatCar I bought my 2000 XK8 this past November. Two days after I bought it the housing blew coolant all over the front of the engine. The selling dealer replaced the thermostat housing and stat with an OEM plastic unit. I was told they had to lift the intake housing because the rear thermo housing bolts were too long to be removed. They replaced the intake gasket too.

Reading your message and the tool to use were your bolts too long to be removed or allow you to remove the thermo housing? In the future if this unit leaks again I'm going to replace it with the metal unit.

 

The bolts for the housing has two that go in the rear holes and are shorter than the others for that reason. Mine came out without any problem. Unless someone had previously installed the longer bolts in the rear it should not be necessary to lift the intake.