I fixed the low coolant warning light
I added coolant. I wish all of the warning lights were that easy.
I fixed the low coolant warning light
I added coolant. I wish all of the warning lights were that easy.
The glove box latch. James Bondo wasn't very welcoming to my wife. I think it sensed her proclivity to German cars. On the ride home in the dark she decided to explore the glove box and the latch got all James Bondo and self-destructed in her hand.
Thanks to LKQ, problem solved the old fashioned way.
Next up were rear shocks. There was a massive clunk coming from the rear since I got it. Ordered new Bilsteins and mounting bushings and hardware. Coils over the shocks, did the job without needing a spring compressor. Undo the lower shock bolt and unbolt the braces and it was possible to lever the A-arm down enough to wiggle them out. The bushings condition explained the thunking. The tops were almost completely disintegrated and gone.
As delivered the console lid leather was cracked
Thanks to the LKQ donor car. The cupholder and overall condition of the original was nicer so I disassembled both and swapped the parts car leather onto the original console frame. I added a section of foam underneath to give the elbow a little more cushion.
Thanks to this guy
We scored a perfect and cheap spare tire cover/trunk floor
to replace this temporary work of art
Rewrapped the A pillars and header piece to eliminate the wrinkles and sagging
dude! looking good!
Nice! I am stoked that this thing is getting a third opertunity at greatness.
Oil change - not used to having the drain plug and oil filter both near the front of the engine and about three inches apart
I was pretty proud of this one - put a new battery in and didn't have a connector to match up to the vent tube in the trunk. Discovered that the plastic sheath over an electrical butt connector with the metal functional part removed worked perfectly!
Now on to the two most egregious issues: All of the ABS/traction dash lights, and the inoperable top.
First, fixing the top. PimpM3 was pretty sure a hose failed in the trunk, so he sourced a set of used lines from eBay and included them for my entertainment. Joke was partially (ok, fully) on me.
To begin, bleed on the motherberkeleyer and make sure to leave DNA on the carpet under the seat for the next person to discover and wonder.
After bleeding, remove, well, everything.
Took this time to clean the seatbelts really well, which returned them to their retracting glory rather than having to feed it back in one inch at a time. That was very classy when I had to do that before exiting the car.
Took the pump out and found the line that freed itself from the fitting still attached to the pump
This is when I discovered Jaguar XK8 esoteric info. All model years used a left rear set of hoses with the same connections to the top and bottom of the ram. the 1997-1999 cars used the same traditional hose fitting on the top and bottom of the ram. The 2000- cars used a right rear hose to the bottom of the ram with a different fitting.
So now that the car is disassembled and I can see the light at the end of the project, yep, dead halt. I had a set of early hoses. I got lauged out of every hydraulic shop in town when they saw the size of the hose and fitting. "that must be fer one of them furrin convertibles, try the dealer, we don't have anything smaller than 1/4"
Ended up purchasing a set from Top Hydraulics. The right side pair alone was $200 but I wasn't seeing any other option. One week later we were ready to finish up. Weed wacker orange line in place to fish the hoses through.
Refill the reservoir, fit the pump back into its home over the DVD/nav drive (so that all of the hydraulic fluid can leak down onto the electronics), interior is "assembly is the reverse of disassembly" and then press the button. It took about 6 top cycles to fill the lines and purge itself. Not only did it operate perfectly as it should, the rear quarter windows moved right in the proper sequence! It's a convertible again!!!
At this point I spent a little extra money. Thank to the age of the car and a vibrant marque specific forum, someone already deduced that the reason the lines burst - usually the hydraulic latch on the windshield header, which leads to the infamous "green shower" of hydraulic fluid from around the dome lamp - were pressure spikes from the pump that didn't align with the rating on the hoses, especially as they age. A solution was designed with a specific pressure reducing valve and appropriate replumbing of the pump.
removed the pump and fit the reducing valve
The online community claims no knowledge of a car to have lines fail after this valve is installed. Hopefully this will keep me or the next owners from having to deal with the front latch. Those lines run under the carpet, under the console and up the A-pillar. Not difficult but not fun to disassemble that much.
Next up, the ABS/traction control intermittent lights. Code reader showed C1155 for left front wheel speed sensor and the dreaded C1095 ABS pump circuit failure. Most common cause for this one is broken solder joints in the ABS module.
Loosen the four ABS unit mounting bolts to push the module toward the engine for some working room, remove four E5 bolts and bend the brake lines to give enough clearance for the electronics box to wiggle out.
Next up, a little surgery to get to the solder positions on the board.
A little solder, some crossed fingers that I did it right and reassembly.
Then, nir-frickin-vana!
Now, to be fair, the check engine light came back on after the normal two key cycles because of the known O2 sensor. And the ABS lights did reappear after a few drives, but now the scan only shows the wheel speed sensor. I was waiting on this part to see if the solder would heal it but it didn't. These are typically wiring related so the wire connector is on order and I have a speed sensor already. The car still has its personality. The only time the ABS lights show up is when the car is sitting still at a red light, never when the wheels are actually moving. It's an odd duck.
It's nice to drive this with the dash lights staying quiet. Almost like a normal car!
Next up, replacing the wheel speed sensor and wiring, and then installing the wiring kit to make the center gauge cluster function. After that, the project list is complete other than the hood paint and front bumper paint cracking. It drives great, very smooth and surprisingly quiet with the top up. The muffler delete gives it a nice growl on acceleration.
And it looks so right
As luck would have it, I might be re-inheriting a car I gave my son, which means I'll be out of space again. I'm not really ready to sell this one yet, but if anyone out there has the hankering for a Jaaag, I know that timing is everything so I figured I would put this out there even though I'm not ready to make a formal for sale posting yet.
I am glad to hear you got the top working that is great! Throw the other lines on eBay you might be able to recoup some of the new hose cost.
I've been looking at these for a year, trying to decide if it would be a bottomless money pit or something a GRM DIY'er can do. Your success is encouraging. I didn't read the first thread - did you update the timing chain?
Would like to know when you're ready to part with it.
I had the timing chain done at a shop when it was in my possession. ...About 1000 miles before the tree fell on it.
And with this mail out for delivery, the torch will pass to another GRM'r. I look forward to following the continued saga.......
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