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Broadsword's Fleet Thread


Broadsword

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Oh earth points are a pig on the x350, behind the front lights are fun too. Usually the rh from front falls off killing the compressor feed and the lh and rh bother cause repeated bulb failures. I did both on my last one and it fixed so many faults it was unreal. A good big alloy bolt and the covered in Tinmans solder bar.

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Things aren't getting better at the moment. I can't seem to catch a break.

The Range Rover I thought was fixed. It can sit 2-3 days and start up ok. It's driving very nicely also. So this morning I fired it up. It took some cranking, but seemed ok. Then I went to get fuel, tried to restart and the started would just click. Now I was stranded. The only car that was working at all at this stage was the XJR6. I'm thinking starter motor failure on the P38 at this point. In an effort to get out of the petrol station, towrope deployed and the unnerving task of tugging about 2.25 tonnes of Range Rover with a Jag X300 began. The first thing that happened was the tow rope snapped. Great. At least my local storage place was close. I was dead lucky and got a nice 4.5 tonne tow rope to borrow. Gingerly we got moving. Amazingly the XJR can pull the Range Rover at tickover. I was still worried helming the Ranger Rover with no power steering or brake servo. Went for it though as the towing distance to the farm was less than two miles in two straight lines. Once clear of the petrol station a jump start was attempted but it wouldn't turn over, just nudge the starter a tiny, tiny bit. We made it to the farm fortunately, but it was not a nice experience. At this point I really wanted to get a car working that can top 20 MPG.

So the Lupo is just too involved to fix in one session and I haven't had any time till this afternoon to fix any car. The X350 became undrivable over the past week after initially being usable. Amidst miles in the very poor weather, various warning lights and then the suspension collapsed. When I got a moment to do some work today after the Ranger Rover FTP, I quickly realized there was a serious earth problem in the engine bay (still that one that snapped last week, which had to be bodged). A new earth strap to a more convenient location where it bolts down easy brought the suspension air pump back to life. Then I removed the rear wheels to look at the ABS sensors. Both the sensors tested ok and the reluctor rings are in one piece. I decided to clean everything up as best as possible. There was quite a lot of clag on the reluctor rings. I got them back to shiny. Then I noticed one rear tyre was starting to separate on the inner sidewall. It is not far for blowing out so I'm glad I caught it. Optimism levels were low at this point. At least the full sized spare is in good shape and promptly went on. Then I cleared the codes on my cheap scanner tool. Amazingly it worked. For the first time I had zero warning lights on the car. An extended test drive revealed the cruise control worked and the weird stuttering seemed to vanish. Then on the way back the ABS/DSC fail came back at about 65 MPH. A quick stop and clear again and it was fixed, then it came back immediately on the next start up, then vanished, then flashed the traction control light for a bit and came back. The remaining code I can pull is from my scanner is C1165, right rear ABS sensor. I'll have another look as I think it's nearly fixed. I have a feeling maybe there is some damage to the ABS sensor wire given the intermittent nature of the error now that it has been perturbed.

All in all a bit tricky. If I could just get the X350 to behave then one car can be relied on for a bit. I need more time to get to the Lupo. The Range Rover I'm hoping it's the starter motor. All a bit hectic.

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Lucky indeed. That kind of tyre failure is insidious. It's rather off-putting when you find it. I'm sure many of us do a regular check on the outer sidewall and tread of a tyre (I like to have a look once a week), but let's face it the inner side wall only usually gets checked when the wheel is off.

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Today the starter motor came off the Range Rover. It did crank with a fully charged battery, but on the bench it would only throw the pinion out and not spin. It was also stiff to turn. New starter on the way. I've cleaned it up previously and noted it was already quite worn, hence going for a new part.

It felt like the X350 ABS/DSC error was so close to fixed, but now it is getting further away. So it was working perfectly for about 5 glorious miles after cleaning rear wheel speed sensors and reluctor rings yesterday. When in this state the car certainly runs and driver better. Then the old error came back intermittently. The chassis code I keep getting is C1165 (right rear speed sensor). I looked at that side once more today and somehow the speed sensor had come slightly loose. Ok, simple enough, button everything up and low and behold everything working perfect again... for one mile. Same error, same side wheel off again. No loose sensor, but opted to try the spare sensor and check the wire carefully. Everything seemed fine. Back on the road ABS/DSC warning once more. Then I cleaned up the driver's side earth point in the engine bay. It was very dirty and corroded. Also unplugged and inspected ABS module. Pins were fine, blasted some contact cleaner through. Still the same ABS/DSC error with some intermittent action with just anti-skid flashing and the car lurching, but now I think it has settled back down to square one. Sad.

While battling with this I noted the passenger side rear anti-rollbar link has broken. Damn.

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1 hour ago, Zelandeth said:

Something which definitely seems worth doing at this point would be checking continuity between that ABS sensor and the relevant ECU socket.

Agreed. The annoying thing is that I have to work in short stints, but I'll get there in the end. I'm hoping the wire itself isn't too difficult to replace if there is a subtle break somewhere.

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Haven't found the pinout for the ABS module yet, but I tripped over this on YouTube and it make a very interesting point.

The link between rubbing marks on the abs sensors and the problem clearing briefly when the abs sensor was a bit loose in my case could certainly make me believe that shimming the sensors might help.

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Hmm, things keep getting worse. X350 now making banging noises and “gearbox fault” on the dash. It might just be dead.

EDIT: cheap OBD2 scanner picking up P0701 and P0732 codes which sound like very worrying transmission faults. Clearing them doesn’t help.

EDIT 2: the car made it to the farm but the gearbox is done, this is bad. Just after filling up with gas too. The streak of bad out comes continues.

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Well, today has been pretty terrible. The XJR got a tiny little bump on the rear bumper (due to inky darkness and an idiotically parked enormous pickup truck)  and guess what then... ABS/TRACS light on. The XJR is currently the only roadworthy car full stop. Just waiting for the day to be over at this stage.

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The two earth points behind the headlights really need sorting properly. The passenger side as you e realised does amongst other things the compressor. Look closely at the abs pump plug and also where you suspect it’s earth point to be. I replaced every earth stud on my last x350 and dropped tinmans solder over the alloy bolts I used at the body joint to slow any corrosion down. Aluminium loves the protect itself which leads to earthing issues. I’d put good money on connections rather than sensors on these.

Also battery side look at the earth block at that end I’ve had the small wires fatigue crack at the earth point.

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Some progress made. Working in the cold, dark and rain is not so nice. Anyway the Lupo is once again mobile. A new breaker bar, Plusgas and a 18 mm impact socket made short work of getting the front strut off (like 2 mins). At this point I had a full set of coilovers ready to go (specifically coilovers at the front, and somewhat adjustable rear springs and new rear shocks sitting in a box). However I didn't have the time and the tools to do that big job properly so for a few quid I made a quick run to UPullit and found a tidy replacement used strut. That went on withing a few minutes. I tidied the brake disc up as best as I could and buttoned the car up for a test drive. All well within reason. Sitting hasn't harmed it at all. Tomorrow I should check the other side and replace the drop link. While I was at it I found why the driver's side rear had a small intermittent leak. There is a nail in the tyre. It's very central so I'll have a go doing a puncture repair, but it will get a new driver's side front tyre anyway. In short, it's usable once again. I might sell the suspension kit I got. It was on offer which pushed me over the edge to buy, but I just need the Lupo reliably on the road right now what with so many things going wrong. While we are on the topic of things going wrong...

The Range Rover got a new starter motor today. It went' on in 5 mins flat and does a much, much better got of turning the big old BMW lump over. Then I had a strange compulsion to test the alternator. Good thing I did too, it's not charging at all.  Seem the bad luck continues. At least it looks a very easy alternator to change. Anyone got one lying around? I need one yesterday.

The XJR was not in fact broken fortunately. It was playing up because you have to be careful to tighten up the battery cut off switch fully when disconnecting the battery. It has been faultless all week as the only working car. It's tremoundous as a driving experience, but guzzled 3 times the fuel the Lupo would doing equivalent miles. Also it's slightly frightening in the current weather Yorkshire is experiencing, even on good tyres. It's just too fast and the way the torque is delivered in a lump from no revs means you are gripping the steering wheel for deal life sometimes. Also, it almost makes more sense to have the traction control off because it just ends up bogging down too much and you worry about someone driving into the back of you. What a thug of a car. I'm still drawn worryingly towards XK8s though. I shouldn't since the XJR is pretty robust in comparison.

So tomorrow I will finish off the Lupo, clean the XJR up so it can rest and then look again at the X350. I'll do the earths again. Battery is out and charging and the ABS sensors will be checked. It will go on a 99p auction it the gearbox really is dead. Today on the way back from the farm it was displaying some strange readings on the speedo, completely wrong. To drive it you need to manually select gears. Drive is a no-no. Maybe I made the wrong call on this one. I was too tempted by the fresh MOT it had. Looking at it now, it shouldn't really have passed the MOT. There are some bits they clearly had missed. Anyway if I'm lucky and this all really just is electrical issues it can live on, but if it's gearbox failure + all the other issues then game over I'm afraid.

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Good to see the plucky Lupo up and running again!

I could be miles out on this but IIRC the 1.7 SDI had different springs up front when compared with petrol variants to accommodate the 1.7 boat anchor so depending on what model that strut came from, if you notice any pulling to one side or odd handling look there. The main thing is it's up, running, use-able and providing 50+mpg £30 PA tax transport. The Jaaaag looks great in that colour as mentioned, I actually can see the appeal of them now but they still strike me as being a proper brass ring piece job in terms of liability, perhaps one day when I'm older/richer/don't have to put money aside to buy shoes for the bairn etc.

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My thoughts exactly as regards the front strut on the Lupo. Amazingly though the strut from a petrol donor car (a 1.4 I think because it was an automatic) was an exact match. Same part number and everything. There was a 1.0 Seat Arosa in the yard and again it was exactly the same. Tracking is dead straight after the job which is nice and the car sits level as far as I can tell. It makes no sense the different models all have the same springs and shocks, but it seems to be the case. It would explain why the SDI has so much body roll perhaps if it’s on suspension designed for a 1.0 petrol presumably.

Fair point on the Jags being a liability. How much of a hit you take really depends on of course depending on how much work you can do yourself. In the case of the XJR it is still well in credit because the only real expense has been some welding. Bearing in mind it cost well under £2000 it is a bargain for such a nice toy. Parts not really expensive if you know where to look, insurance is pennies, tax not bad as the old system based on engine size so the only remaining liability is 20 MPG. For the amount of joy it generates, that is a trade I’m stupid enough to buy into. If the X350 is dead then that is the first bad apple in a bunch of quite a few Jags over a couple of years. Boy was it frugal while it worked though, if only the XJR had LPG!

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48 minutes ago, Broadsword said:

My thoughts exactly as regards the front strut on the Lupo. Amazingly though the strut from a petrol donor car (a 1.4 I think because it was an automatic) was an exact match. Same part number and everything. There was a 1.0 Seat Arosa in the yard and again it was exactly the same.

Part number is the same for the dampers on the petrol variants, the part number for the coil springs is the bit that's different as they're stiffer(As mentioned this is purely based on memory)

Either way, if it sits ok and drives acceptably then who cares.

A frugal Jag sounds like a decent proposition,  I said I'd never drive a Volvo but I've managed 2 in the last year so never say never eh?

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So the X350 is in gearbox limp home mode as far as I can tell. It seems to be driving everywhere in 3rd. Rear ABS sensor on right hand side had been rubbing again so that was replaced with the original working and a washer to shim it. Same on the other side, earths fettled with and codes cleared but the ABS/DSC gearbox fault keeps returning. At this stage I think there are just too many permutations of what could be wrong so I think I will call it quits. Coming to an eBay near you soon 99p, no reserve. Shame. About a week a go for a few glorious miles it was all working.

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So final jobs of the weekend were do a puncture repair on the Lupo rear tyre (went really rather well) and replace passenger side drop link. The old one had pulled clean through the bottom washer. Replacement was very easy though. Lets hope the Lupo can cope with WBOD duties now (can't see why not). As a parting shot I doused the brake bias valve thingy with plusgas as it like to go PING!

Attention turned to getting the crud off the XJR6. It was also treated to Osram Nightbreaker dipped beam bulbs (H1) as one was out, and a few odds and ends were sorted. I need to touch up a few paint chips next week and try a stronger throttle return spring, but otherwise I think we are all good. It still hasn't used a noticeable amount of oil, which is pleasing.

X350 listing has been roughed out. It will go on auction at 9 pm tonight for 5 days. I would like it gone next weekend ideally.

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we had an X306 XJR-6.......

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MOT check says its not been tested for 18 months, so i assume it's been crashed or blown up or otherwise come to a sticky end.....

it was glorious.

and needy, so very, very needy. 

great when it was working, BUT there was always something with it. on ours it was the tractiuon control/ASB thing that wouldn't work properly.

take it to the local specialist, get the bit clean up, and codes reset. it would fuck up again in a matter of weeks or (towards the end) days later.

we won't have another Jaguar.

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7 minutes ago, bezzabsa said:

lpg the XJR....... YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!!!

Yes it’s a nice thought. If that were to be done though you have to invest a couple of grand and get the best possible conversion done so as to avoid trashing the engine. I don’t think it’s worth it and then I would end up putting huge mileage on it, which I don’t want to do. What would be much more interesting is to find a rougher one with LPG already on it. They do turn up from time to time. Even better a beater LPG XK8.

Auction now live and had my first text message offer for some cash tomorrow M8, but I will let the auction run. Here’s hoping I get some money back.

Oh and to add to next weeks to-do list. I really must have the Range Rover up and running for when the weather gets nasty. Would have been useful o flooded roads recently. It only has a month of MOT left now so need to book it in.

 

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17 hours ago, Isaac Hunt said:

Did you get a price form one of the Indy Jag Specialists to fit a secondhand box if you sourced one.

One of them, you can have the car for a second long as you need it and Fitbit in around others jobs type of arrangements. 

I did. It would cost more than what I paid  for the car and have invested into it with the suspension pump. The problem doing that is what is the price of the car once it has a gearbox and all the periphery issues sorted is hard to quantify. If it were a set price to get it sorted then that would be great, but it keeps doing unpredictable things hence the decision to move on. Great car though.

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