X308 XJ - Jaguar world magazine

[Zippyworld]

In the Jan 2010 issue of Jaguarworld there is a decent article on modifying the X308.

More interestingly to me is a point thats made and I quote "Most owners will now be aware of the long standing problem of drive belt noise: the accessory belt should always be changed together with a new idler pulley and tensioner assembly, while for the XJR Jaguar has introduced a new belt which must be fitted with a revised tensioner and mounting bracket"

Now I am assuming that in this article the drive belt is also the accessory belt, and secondly I have been ignorant of this fault.

However I was driving through central manchester ( stopped by the dibble too for excessive speed, but they let me off !) and I noticed a rotational squeaking / rasping type noise reverberating off the buildings. It is definitely my car but I cannot tell where its coming from. I am wondering if this is the issue described in the article.

Anyone had this fault and what are the symptoms ?

[Jaguar steve]

Puff some talcum powder onto the belt with the engine ticking over. If the creaky squeak stops instantly - and it will if it's the belt that's making the noise - then problem found.

[Zippyworld]

Hi Steve,

This sound is not coming from the front end, belts or otherwise. Had a mechanic check it out earlier today.

Mechanic seems to think there is an issue with the handbrake and the way its shoes are fitted.

He may have a point as the handbrake is very poor anyway.

As an aside, Opie oils are telling me the car needs 1.9 litres of oil to refill the diffon a 98 XJR. Have you done this before and is he right?

They did supply some oil for me 10 months ago and it seems that they have supplied the wrong one ! There is a better quality one that they are sending to me free of charge.

As the car has hardly done any mileage there should me neglible damage if any at all.

Thanks for your response.

[Jaguar steve]

Zippyworld said:

Hi Steve,

This sound is not coming from the front end, belts or otherwise. Had a mechanic check it out earlier today.

Mechanic seems to think there is an issue with the handbrake and the way its shoes are fitted.

He may have a point as the handbrake is very poor anyway.

As an aside, Opie oils are telling me the car needs 1.9 litres of oil to refill the diffon a 98 XJR. Have you done this before and is he right?

They did supply some oil for me 10 months ago and it seems that they have supplied the wrong one ! There is a better quality one that they are sending to me free of charge.

As the car has hardly done any mileage there should me neglible damage if any at all.

Thanks for your response.

Handbrakes are pretty rubbish on XJ's. Most people with automatics never use them anyway and wonder why the car fails an MOT because the handbrake has lost efficency or is half siezed up through lack of use. If you suspect that's the source of noise then put yourself in a situation where you can clearly hear the noise - quiet road surface, tall buildings, windows open and pull the handbrake on gently when driving at 30MPH or so. Listen for a change in the noise as you do so. If you have a rotational squeaking coming from the rear that's not influenced by handbrake use I'd also grease the driveshaft UJ's ASAP just in case one of these is dry.

I do several gentle stops a year using just the handbrake to keep it exercised and free. I also deliberately trigger the traction control whenever the opportunity presents on wet grass to keep the ABS pump working freely too.

1.9 litres is the correct quantity of oil for an XJ/R 'diff. Jaguar specify Shell Spirax 90 - I have no idea why, it's nothing special - but I'd use a fully synthetic EP 75/90 or if it's already got a little whiny (I'll get flamed for this because it's out of spec.) somthing like Penrite's EP 85/140 will quiten it down a treat.

I've changed the 'diff oil on my XJ three times, last time I posted some pictures on here. Have a trawl through to find the post to get an idea of what's involved.

Edited by Jaguar steve on Tuesday 15th December 06:21

[RW774]

Jaguar steve said:

Puff some talcum powder onto the belt with the engine ticking over. If the creaky squeak stops instantly - and it will if it's the belt that's making the noise - then problem found.

What sort of Talc steve?, Old spice or baby application
Have a good christmas man

[Jaguar steve]

RW774 said:

Jaguar steve said:

Puff some talcum powder onto the belt with the engine ticking over. If the creaky squeak stops instantly - and it will if it's the belt that's making the noise - then problem found.

What sort of Talc steve?, Old spice or baby application
Have a good christmas man

Oh dearie me no.. Certainly wouldn't be Old Spice.

That smell still reminds me of a middle aged batchelor Housemaster at school who had a mouthfull of rotten teeth and an unhealthy interest in little boys. He wore gallons of the stuff

Have a good one yourself and let us know when your next open day is

[Zippyworld]

Got some Hai Karate for the job....

[Zippyworld]

I am gonna call the guys at Jaguarworld and ask the question...watch this space

[cml]

Recently noticed my belts (X300) were very noisy too. Mechanuc said to spray a dab of WD40 on them. The noise stopped instantly, however it creeps back in.

[Zippyworld]

It turns out that this is something to do with the handbrake and the shoes. The handbrake capability was very poor, and I am surprised it recently passed an MOT, however thye mechanic has stripped the handbrake and the shoes and drum type thing down and cleaned and checked for wear.

He says this has cured the noise, I pick the motor up on Monday and will soon know for definite.