2003 Jaguar XJ 4.2 V8 SE

[anonymous-user]

I thought I'd start a thread to chronicle the inevitable pain that my acquisition of a 150,000 mile decade and a half old Jaguar is bound to cause.

I've owned several XJs and other Jaguars over the year, although the only one made in the 21st century involved a hate/hate relationship with an S-Type 2.7d. Having initially derided it for it's ill advised styling and poor detailing I have now come to tolerate the appearance of the X350; possibly because so much on the roads these days is so wilfully ugly it looks better by contrast.

It came from Tasker & Lacy, a long established and well known Jaguar specialist. It's far from their usual fare, they live towards to higher end of the middle aged Jaguar market, but it's a car they sold 5 years ago at 70k and have maintained since. I've got a good wad of invoices, including a NSF air strut change 20k miles ago, and front discs and pads. Full T&L service history for the last five years/ 80k miles and a somewhat patchier record befor then.





As I detailed in the Bargain Barge thread the condition is fantastic for the age and mileage, with almost no wear to the interior at all. Exterior is the same, with a few chips but nothing serious. When I viewed it the powerfold mirrors and electrically adjustable pedals weren't working but both are now fine, meaning every single feature and toy still works.

It's an SE spec, registed on Christmas eve 2013. Optional extras I am aware of are the 19" Custom wheels, electric sunblind, and built in telephone.

I'm in Leeds with the car now and very much looking forward to the long drive to Cardiff tomorrow!

[CornedBeef]

I've always liked the look of these, and had a sit in a colleagues one recently - favourite feature was a set of controls in the rear armrest for the radio, in case its being used as a chauffeur (spelling?!) car.

[Geekman]

Looks very nice in that color combo.

If an air strut has been changed recently, chances are one or more of the others will be needing replacement soon. If you don't want to spend a fortune on replacing them, plenty of companies such as Arnott and Suncore offer warrantied aftermarket ones which work perfectly fine. They're also easy to DIY change: I did one once in a carpark in a French village with only a few basic tools!

[anonymous-user]

Geekman said:

Looks very nice in that color combo.

If an air strut has been changed recently, chances are one or more of the others will be needing replacement soon. If you don't want to spend a fortune on replacing them, plenty of companies such as Arnott and Suncore offer warrantied aftermarket ones which work perfectly fine. They're also easy to DIY change: I did one once in a carpark in a French village with only a few basic tools!

I understand the fronts fail more often than the rears? They seem to be about £600 odd from Arnott, there is a company offering remanufactured ones for £300, and there are the highly suspicious eBay specials for £200 too.

Didn't realise they were that easy to change, certainly less dicey that using a spring compressor but that really is easy. I believe you have to disconnect the battery to avoid having to recalibrate the height, and support the hub so that you don't destroy the height sensors?

Edited by dme123 on Thursday 22 November 13:21

[Geekman]

dme123 said:

I understand the fronts fail more often than the rears? They seem to be about £600 odd from Arnott, there is a company offering remanufacturerd ones for £300, and there are the highly suspicious eBay specials for £200 too.

Didn't realise they were that easy to change, certainly less dicey that using a spring compressor but that really is easy. I believe you have to disconnect the battery to avoid having to recalibrate the height, and support the hub so that you don't destroy the height sensors?

They do indeed, although rear ones can and do fail as well (ask me how I know!)

When I last checked Arnott they were considerably cheaper than that, in the region of 300 each IIRC. I just bought a pair for my RRS from Suncore for 300, I can't imagine the X350 ones would be much more. Basically any warrantied strut which has been remanufactured with a new airbag, top mount and shock should be OK.

You do indeed need to disconnect the battery: as long as you disconnect it and reconnect it with the shocks in the same position it'll be fine: ignore anyone who says you need to recode it or anything like that. And yes, you need to support the hub but that's very easy to do with any type of jack, even the basic scissor one which comes with the car.

[anonymous-user]

Geekman said:

They do indeed, although rear ones can and do fail as well (ask me how I know!)

When I last checked Arnott they were considerably cheaper than that, in the region of 300 each IIRC. I just bought a pair for my RRS from Suncore for 300, I can't imagine the X350 ones would be much more. Basically any warrantied strut which has been remanufactured with a new airbag, top mount and shock should be OK.

You do indeed need to disconnect the battery: as long as you disconnect it and reconnect it with the shocks in the same position it'll be fine: ignore anyone who says you need to recode it or anything like that. And yes, you need to support the hub but that's very easy to do with any type of jack, even the basic scissor one which comes with the car.

Just watched the Arnott video, looks very straightforward. The rears look like they'd take an hour, including getting that corner off the ground!

At 150k miles I'd have changed the dampers on any other car as a matter of course, but with the damper nicely sealed inside the unit I don't know if these are done in by 100k like a conventional one?

[Eyersey1234]

Nice car, I like Jaguars. I think the colour suits it.

[Geekman]

dme123 said:

Just watched the Arnott video, looks very straightforward. The rears look like they'd take an hour, including getting that corner off the ground!

At 150k miles I'd have changed the dampers on any other car as a matter of course, but with the damper nicely sealed inside the unit I don't know if these are done in by 100k like a conventional one?

Short answer, yes. You may not notice it as much as on a conventional one, but by 100k it will handle considerably worse than when new.

[anonymous-user]

I might be doing it sooner rather than later, the front has levelled itself to “very low”. I suspect one front shock has leaked and when it woke up for its 24 hourly levelling it lowered the other to match. I’ve reinflated it and will see how it looks in 16 hours. As the OSF is new I see a replacement NSF in my future. JustJags sell Arnott parts for £303.

Edited by dme123 on Thursday 22 November 17:29

[Geekman]

dme123 said:

I might be doing it sooner rather than later, the front has levelled itself to “very low”. I suspect one front shock has leaked and when it woke up for its 24 hourly levelling it lowered the other to match. I’ve reinflated it and will see how it looks in 16 hours. As the OSF is new I see a replacement NSF in my future. JustJags sell Arnott parts for £303.

Edited by dme123 on Thursday 22 November 17:29

If you leave the car for a week or two without moving, then it’s normal for it to drop slightly. If however it’s getting very low in a matter of a day or two, I’d guess the other shock is leaking. It could also be the height sensor, but is more likely to be the shock, and if it’s 100k old you may as well replace it anyway.

My RRS started doing the same thing recently, I replaced both front shocks and it’s totally fine now.

[cmvtec]

Lovely Jag.

I fancy an X350 to replace my X-Type, but there's a one very local to me that looks fantastic and in good condition other than it seems to drag its arse around town, but only every other time I see it. It looks like a Jack Russel dragging its backside across the carpet.

[anonymous-user]

dme123 said:

I thought I'd start a thread to chronicle the inevitable pain that my acquisition of a 150,000 mile decade and a half old Jaguar is bound to cause.

Lovely lovely car, I had one of these and everyone told me it would be a money pit, turned out to be one of he most reliable cars I have ever owned and a pleasure to drive on every occasion thanks to that lovely interior. Enjoy.

[anonymous-user]

One tank of fuel in. 375.9 miles and a calculated 24.48mpg. I've had lots of high speed motorway runs and given it full beans at every possible opportunity so that's pretty impressive.

It hasn't levelled itself out again, so all may indeed be well. Gearbox seems to be learning how to change gear under proper throttle openings, apparently the PO drove it very gently indeed.

It seems to be loosening up from the exercise, and it is really quite brisk. Muted but quite a pleasant noise, and it is very planted at license endangering speeds. Nothing has fallen off, no serious maladies...

[Flumpo]

Very nice. I would have to change the front grill to a sports model. But very nice indeed.

[Mr Tidy]

Your car looks stunning OP.

A decade or so ago my job involved quite a bit of travel out of Heathrow and my employer had a contract with a local chauffeur hire firm who used a subbie with an XJ8 - it may have been a bit older than their regular S-Classes, 7 Series, A8s, RL Mercs, etc. but it was by far the most cossetting experience.

The ride quality was in a different league, and the interior trim was fantastic!

[1Toomanycars]

Love these after viewing a cheap one owner 3.0 V6 last year and will own one myself when the right one comes up.

Congrats on yours, looking forward to the thread progressing.

[ali_XF]

Looks lovely. I had a 4.2 sport in 2009, lasted me about 4 years. These big old buses have aged very well. Echo the comment about a grille change- the facelift one from the X358 suits the car but they are quite hard to find now. Love the custom wheels, still one of my favourite designs.

[anonymous-user]

ali_XF said:

Looks lovely. I had a 4.2 sport in 2009, lasted me about 4 years. These big old buses have aged very well. Echo the comment about a grille change- the facelift one from the X358 suits the car but they are quite hard to find now. Love the custom wheels, still one of my favourite designs.

That's a looker, and rare to see the NASP V8 on a later car. I'm liking this so much that I think in a year or two I might find the budget for an X351.

I've spent enough time to develop a few impressions of the car now:

• Ride is good by modern standards but far firmer and less 'flowing' than the X300s I owned. Admittedly these were on 16" wheels with 225/55 or 225/60 tyres, so 123mm or 135mm of sidewall vs the (very attractive) 19" wheels with 255/40 tyres and 104mm of sidewall.
• Air suspension feels weird and behaves in unexpected ways over certain bumps and surfaces
• Engine makes a nice noise but it's muted. I'm curious what it sounds like outside the car as what I'm hearing inside is all engine noise and not exhaust
• Very easy to drive very quickly, it really settles down at higher speeds and accelerates smartly well into three figures
• Premium audio is OK. Miles better than the standard audio with Ford Focus oval cones that my S-Type had, but coming from the excellent 900W Dynaudio system in my Mk2 C70 it's a bit lacking. It's probably on a par with or not quite as good as the standard system in my old V70 and it's a lot better than the disappointing standard system in a 2 year old XC60
• CD changer is st. It skips on bumps and it skips when you boot it. Not good enough in 2003, I had a DIscman with shock protection in 1994
• Build, fit and finish are extremely good. Astronomical Units ahead of X300/X308 in quality. It doesn't need apologies made for it in so many areas like the older models
• It's a cliche but it does feel like it shrinks around you, doesn't feel nearly as big as it is
• The V6 would be more than adequate for 90% of drivers 90% of the time
• I don't hate the grille as much as some, but given the choice I'd prefer it body coloured with mesh. I doubt very much that I'll spend money on this
• Paint is good but has light swirls, I might sort that out in the summer
• Almost too much seat adjustment when combined with the electric pedals, but I seem to be comfortable enough
• Halogen headlights are not much cop. Having spent last week with the minature suns in the XC60 I might need to address this
• Light is stuck on in the glovebox. First fault!
• Weird red lights above the rear grab handles are distracting
• The heated seats are feeble
• A Jaguar more than six years old without a sagging headliner. I thought I'd never see the day.

So based on my experience so far I recommend one to the bargain barge crowd. Won't rust like a Mercedes, piss oil everwhere like a BMW V8, or be full of poor quality parts that are comically difficult to access and expensive to replace like anything from VAG. Hopefully it also won't have things you didn't even know existed break expensively, like any of the other three seem to do.

Edited by dme123 on Sunday 25th November 11:12

[LanceRS]

I like the grill (and the rest of the car), reminds me of the Series 2 XJs my dad owned in the seventies when I was young.

[Wooda80]

I'm sure I recognise that car ( the OP's Radiance Red one ) . If you still have the service book, has it ever been into Dunham Jaguar in Stockport or Royles in Wilmslow?