Wait, so you leave your OBD dongle plugged in all the time?

 

for what it’s worth, I have one of Amazon sourced OBD-2 multi gauges that sits on the left hand edge of the dash and is plugged in all time. It shuts itself off when the engine is not running (and draws no current).

it’s been plugged in for about 7 years so far….






Z

 

My 'repair' to the XKR fob by spraying the internals with contact cleaner didn't hold up for long, so I bit the bullet and replaced the switches:


Dead 'bugs' replaced

Not particularly difficult if you're careful removing the old ones. Replacements came from a cheapo selection box off Amazon.

I was surprised to find that the chip inside is a PIC16LF84A - hence a programmable rather than dedicated microcontroller.

This is the later (post-2000) fob.

 

The most recent thing I worked on was replacing the fuel pump. Now, on the repairing the inoperative convertible top but can't forget the ABS.

 

This winter i have spend some time going over the engine with replacing all chains and tensioners in the front, while there i also went through the ordeal of measuring and adjusting all valve clearances. Quite time consuming but worth it in the end. First i measured all valve clearances with a feelergauge... then i got uncertain if the cheap gauge was good enough, bought a new better one and redid it all, got uncertain again if i recorded it well enough, shorted the feelergauge to the (unprotected) fuse next to the ABS unit and welded it shut, bought new feeler gauge did it all again.
Removed all cams and measured all tappet shims with a micrometer, made records, cleared the rh bank as good enough and are now pondering over the results from the lh bank measurements... l guess maybe 3-4 tappet shim will be replaced since the clearance was a tad to much off.
-Its easy to think that if the clearance is on the upper limit that the heat to the valve stem will make it a little taller and close that gap and bring it in to tolerance, BUT, the cylinder head gets hot too, moving the cam away a little.. so i believe the net "gain" is not more than maybe 0,01-0,02 mm.
Fingers crossed, "Gemitus" (misery) will be back on the Swedish summer roads again in 2-3 weeks..


New water pump, front end open (what a struggle to get the steering pump bracket out of the way)

Measuring all tappet shim. (the little suction cup to pull the buckets out, speaker magnet to pull the shim off bucket)

LH side awaiting for its turn.

Cams.. measured all lobe lifts..

 

I recently set up a little corner of my business shop to work on my Jags. It's still a work in progress. Yesterday I started on a huge list of items on my XK8. The first of which is the shock mounts. I managed to get the assembly out on the drivers side. Let's just say the other side will go much faster! As I was closing down the shop I looked over and saw this view. It was certainly a kodak moment.

 

Today I found a spindle of writable CDs in my shed, so naturally I downloaded some music and burnt a cartridge worth of CDs.



25 years old and works perfectly - I'd forgotten what a big step forward boot mounted multi disc CD players were over tapes - takes me back to the 1990s.

 

Today I'm replacing the sway bar links and rubber mounts, a trivial job but the left side is a real PITA due to the trans cooler pipes.

This is a tactical fix as I get ready for a complete front end rebuild, both sway bar rubbers were worn out and making a horrible clonk on our third world roads.

 

Oh yea definitely, I actually went crazy and bought load of CDs again from bands I love, mostly "top hits" and collections and loaded my CD changer. Oh the memories. It is one of reasons I love old cars.

 

Finally got "Gemitus" through the MOT with no remarks, everything just fine.

But.. (somehow there is always a "but" when it comes to these cars) the one second rattle is still present.. and considering all the work previously done on the engine, im 100% certain its the VVT actuators that are making the noise.. and that is a bummer.. I have not yet read anything about anyone been able to get rid of this just replacing the VVT solenoids..

Anyway.. are now engaged in replacing both door lock microswitches.. ordered home a few different ones to try out.. fixing the anti rattle rubber strips at the same time..

 

Finally got the annoying P0442 and P0456 codes for small EVAP leaks cleared. Checked out the usual suspects: gas cap, hoses, purge valve, CCV, canister o-ring and while I did, more preventatively, replace a deteriorating hose coming off the purge valve, all looked ok, but still the codes returned.
Unfortunately I read somewhere something that questioned the effectiveness of a smoke machine, so I did not purchase one until after I had spent a lot of time figuring out the evap system components and trying to find the source of the leak the hard way. Once I had purchased a cheap smoke machine and hooked it up, found the leak in 2 minutes. (it was the driver's side canister o-ring).
So, my 2 cents: start with a smoke test, don't finish with it.

 

It's a minor thing but I finally pulled the dash cluster and replaced the bulbs. The two on the RH side had failed and I couldn't see the temp or fuel gauges at night. I replaced them all, just in case. It's a minor thing but it's amazing the satisfaction it brought.

 

this is actually one of the things on my wish list as the green "lights on" is not working. Since it's the only one im not sure if it's worth the hassle, but it does annoy me. Other threads mention it could cause more harm than good. Is it really a minor thing?

 

I finally got round to converting the convertible top to manual latch operation given the 25 year old hydraulic hoses are falling apart. Two caps (pictured) were bought for €7 and fitted in 10 minutes. The latch can now be manually opened/closed and the rest of the operation is automatic as before. A lot simpler than replacing the hoses - which I might get round to eventually.

With thanks to @Dennis07 who documented this conversion.

 

Hi Dibbit,

how did you solve the problem with the small windows and the convertible top's attachment and detachment?

Regards, Willi

 

The only thing that changes is the roof latch itself which you open/close with the hex key that's supplied with the car (attached to the pump in the boot). Once you open the latch manually, you press the roof open button and everything happens as normal. Same for closing the roof, you just have to latch it manually once the roof is in the closed position.

I think this is the main thread on how to do the conversion:-

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...eration-89085/

 

Thanks

 

Well done....

 

Thanks. If you look at that thread I linked to you'll see quite a few people contributed to this seemingly simple conversion as they worked out how the pump/solenoids work and came up with the whole idea. The roof system is way more complicated than you would imagine. I just capped two ports and that was it. As ever this forum is the best tool you can have.

 

Gents, there is a link in my signature line below to a write-up of the manual latch conversion. It saves a lot of reading compared to the original thread.