What's it like owning a XJS?

[Shox Dr]

Perkings


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Coming to think of it, it was a rather large Cummins with a stoopidly large turbo. PittyI didnt hear [or see] it run

 

[Kayos]

Coming to think of it, it was a rather large Cummins with a stoopidly large turbo. PittyI didnt hear [or see] it run

Was going to say a bonnet stack and the turbo clocked so it sticks up is a Cummins favourite

 

[owas]

what sort of code reader do i need for this?
ive only owned land rovers so this is a little new to me

 

[Ruffian]

A generic obd2 reader should be fibe

P.s have 3 jag xj8's at work, 2 of which are starting to break. Lovely vehicle to have lunch in though

 

[rtcosic]

Trying to sell owas No2 son's 'Rolling Thunder' started him down the route to the X308.

LWB Daimler SuperV8 - last of the line. Every toy Jaguar made at the time and an LPG conversion.

But some cars are just too big for 'standard' garages and parking spaces!

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[Moosevan]

@Farside... perhaps something like this...? My son's toy out for a play

 

[owas]

i love this thing, everythings working as it should, no rust at all to deal with,
might just become my daily instead of the 110, i do need to get used to driving an auto and not having the defender seating position tho.

ill get some pics once its stopped raining

 

[rtcosic]

Learned to turn into the main road after stopping at a Tee junction without triggering the traction control yet??

 

[owas]

initialy i had traction control,stability control,abs and gearbox fault come up but soon dissapeared after driving abit so im putting that down to the battery.

i also felt a pull to the right, the tyre pressures were completely different for each side, 25psi and 35psi

did i mention i bought a 20 year old jag completly sight unseen 100 miles away?

 

[rtcosic]

initialy i had traction control,stability control,abs and gearbox fault come up but soon dissapeared after driving abit so im putting that down to the battery.

They all do that sir.

Very sensitive to slightly low battery voltage. Alexander's X308 is doing just that as I let the battery go flat and haven't driven it enough to reset its little brain.

My X358 can stand for a week at a time so I have a battery 'tender' (posh name for a battery charger).

Their other fun trick is deciding not to talk to the diagnostic tool. Plugged mine in one day and it spat its dummy out. Dashboard lit up every single warning light, flicked all the dials from min to max repeatedly and cycled through every known warning message. Unplugged, turned off ignition, plugged back in, turned ignition back on and it looked at me with that innocent doe-eyed spanked spaniel look - 'who me' - and continued its dialogue with the reader as if nothing had happened.

JLR still struggle to get the electronics right.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Have a good look at the rear suspension to body mounting area and if sound rustproof as that is the main area that rots which causes cars to be scrapped.

 

[owas]

Have a good look at the rear suspension to body mounting area and if sound rustproof as that is the main area that rots which causes cars to be scrapped.

ive been under properly now,
its been dintrolled(thats what i was told anyway) at some point and some of it is failing and peeling off, bit of surface corrosion here and there, nothing i need to reapir, but i do need to treat some areas.

i was thinking of giving it to these guys to do for around £500?
its a job i really do not want to do myself at all.

http://www.carrusttreatment.co.uk

 

[CompoSimmonite]

I think the body mounts that hold the rear suspension rot from inside out so cavity protection is more important than external corrosion.

 

[rtcosic]

Front 'Chassis Legs' are even worse area. Double skinned and triple at the subframe mounting points. Can look like minor surface rust from inside the wheel arch but once you lower the subframe all sorts of horrors can be revealed.
My elder two boys have done both of their X308s - properly too. Drop subframe, raise engine to allow access, cut away each layer and replace layer by layer.

Fun job!

Just like doing a Mazda MX-5 just MUCH bigger. Yup elder two have done those in my garage using my consumables too. Just waiting for youngest to phone 'Daaaaad, doing anything next weekend?'

Lashings of Dinitrol Cavity Wax and Hard Wax afterwards.

Neither had real issues with rear trailing arm mounts though. Even the rotten as a carrot XJ40 was fine in that area.

S-Types, 420s, Series 1,2 & 3 XJs are really bad for that though.

XJ40/X300/X308 other favourite point is where the bottom of the front bulkhead joins the floor - especially on the nearside (left, passenger)

 

[owas]

maybe i should just live in blissful ignorance?
just had 4 new bridgestones put on, feels so much better now!
but found a fair bit of play in the drivers side front wheel so need to get that sorted, the garage can do that though as i dont have a clue.

 

[owas]

great i just broke the drivers interior door handle

 

[rtcosic]

great i just broke the drivers interior door handle

How on earth did you manage that??? They are big lumps of chromed metal! Did you 'just' break the hinge pin or the pivots on the backplate?

I've just checked the 'might be useful one day' stocks and I threw them out as 'they never break'. I kept the bonnet release handle, cables and locks as that handle DOES break!

 

[owas]

How on earth did you manage that??? They are big lumps of chromed metal! Did you 'just' break the hinge pin or the pivots on the backplate?

I've just checked the 'might be useful one day' stocks and I threw them out as 'they never break'. I kept the bonnet release handle, cables and locks as that handle DOES break!

i think its just the cable ive broken, i dont think i pulled it hard,it just didnt do anything than didnt retract fully, ive bought a cable on ebay,looks like itll be an easy fix

 

[owas]

that was probably one of the easist fixes ive done on any car the old cable had frayed.

heres a picture of it btw,
im still in the put your foot down for no reason phase at the moment so im only averaging 12mpg

wheel alignment was completely off,everything had to be adjusted, but he did mention how rust free it was and how everything moved without issue

 

[rtcosic]

im still in the put your foot down for no reason phase at the moment so im only averaging 12mpg

wheel alignment was completely off,everything had to be adjusted, but he did mention how rust free it was and how everything moved without issue

Glad it's clean and rust free underneath.
Alexander never beat 20mpg with his X308. I have averaged just under 25mpg over 35k miles since I got the X358. But I am more than twice Alexander's age!