Adventures with bikes & "regular" cars

[Heidel_Kakao]

1 hour ago, lesapandre said:

What's the red thing?

I wondered that, it appears to be a bung that seals that pipe for some reason, I might have to ask on the Jag FB page and get back to you 

[Imhotep]

Could be where the sunroof drain would go if it had one 

[Heidel_Kakao]

@Imhotep Ah yeah that sounds logical!

[Heidel_Kakao]

I popped down to the localish Bridgnorth branch of SNG Barrat the other day and spent £115 on a windscreen washer pump as I have the MOT booked for next month. I guess it could have been worse but that's easily the most I have ever spent on one.

I also did an oil and filter change today and if the parts arrive in time I will be changing the rear discs and pads as I noticed they were quite worn when I was giving it a pre MOT once over but otherwise it will hopefully pass without too much bother.

[Heidel_Kakao]

Bumper off for more rust proofing and also so I can properly clean the washer fluid bottle as I don't want any gunk going through my brand new pump!

[Heidel_Kakao]

I went to replace the rear brakes Tuesday and found out that there was zero friction material on the handbrake shoes on one side and I hadn't bothered to order new ones so I had to get some delivered next day as the MOT test is Thursday morning.

All back together 🙂I have new discs and pads for the front as well but will get that done after the MOT.

[Heidel_Kakao]

Well the XJR failed but nothing too major thankfully. The brakes did feel a bit spongey after I had done the rears even though I just pushed the piston back to fit the new pads and didn't open any bleed nipple's. I will order some new braided hoses all round and bleed them, not sure what the calipers being inadequately mounted is about though.... Going to have my lunch then order a bunch of parts.

[Heidel_Kakao]

I made a start while it wasn't raining and found the exhaust leak, should hopefully be able to MIG it up good enough to pass for now

[kevins]

aren't the spring clips supossed to be on the hub side of the lugs? if so that would be your insecure caliper.

[Marina door handles]

I think the spring clips should be more like this...

But it goes without saying you should probably check your sliders and main caliper carrier bolts as well.

[Heidel_Kakao]

@kevins @Marina door handles Yeah I think you are right, I really need to get into the habit of taking reference photos before I dismantle things, I normally just work on one side at a time so I can refer to the other side but didn't bother this time. It's all going to have come apart again as I think the easiest way to replace the half shaft UJ's will be to remove the hub nut and just pull everything off and do the wheel bearings while I am in there.

[straightSix]

12 minutes ago, Heidel_Kakao said:

@kevins @Marina door handles Yeah I think you are right, I really need to get into the habit of taking reference photos before I dismantle things, I normally just work on one side at a time so I can refer to the other side but didn't bother this time. It's all going to have come apart again as I think the easiest way to replace the half shaft UJ's will be to remove the hub nut and just pull everything off and do the wheel bearings while I am in there.

If it's like the xj40 I had there is a chance you can get another test out of the UJs by pumping them full of grease to reduce the play 

[Heidel_Kakao]

@straightSixYeah the tester did say to just grease them but I have ordered everything now as they were not particularly expensive to be honest.

[Heidel_Kakao]

One rather crusty looking half shaft removed, despite all the surface rust etc all the bolts came undone fairly easily and I have new nuts on the way for the diff output flange thingy.

The hub came off this side with minimal effort using a slide hammer but the other side is being a git, why is it always one side that is worse than the other?

[Heidel_Kakao]

@Imhotep Dropped off his hub removal tool that he got to do his GT86 but even that didn't make a difference.

So I decided it would be easier to remove the whole hub carrier and then put the whole lot in the hydraulic press and remove the driveshaft that way but that's a job for tomorrow.

I wanted to get pretty much all the dismantling required done today while the weather is still okay as it's meant to be raining the next week or so and that way I can slowly put it back together as the parts arrive while dodging the weather. Retest is booked for the 17th so I should be able to get it done in time assuming everything I need arrives.

[Heidel_Kakao]

Removing rusty split rings is "fun", the proper tool had no chance so I found this old screw and a hammer to work best. At some point during this driveshaft refurbishment I am going to wonder why I didn't just buy ones already done but they are a lot more expensive and I have already ordered the UJ's.

[Heidel_Kakao]

Tie rod ends arrived and got fitted, I just counted how many turns they took to remove and wound the new ones back on the same amount so the tracking should be roughly ok but I will be getting a four wheel alignment done before I get the Penta wheels refurbished and new tyres put on.

I noticed the air box rubber mounting had disintegrated and the correct replacement is £40 which I wasn't prepared to pay so I purchased a generic M6 threaded bobbin mount for £2 and that works fine.

Driveshaft refurbishment didn't go so great..... I got one dismantled with a lot of effort pressing out the old bearing caps and when I went to put a new UJ in it was taking a lot of effort and I managed to destroy a new bearing cap ☹️

So I had a Google and Auto Reserve have used half shafts for £30 each and I phoned to check that the UJ's in them would be okay and they said yes so new plan is to buy a pair and grease then before fitting.

So with my new plan decided I cut off the old driveshaft from the one I had trouble removing to make room for it to fit in the press then I pressed out the remains.

Then the slide hammer worked to remove the hub from the hub carrier as it was evidently the rust between the splines of the driveshaft and hub that was making it difficult to remove.

[Heidel_Kakao]

Replacement half shaft greased and installed with new  nyloc nuts, I couldn't be bothered to paint it but I did use a knotwheel wire brush in the angle grinder to make it look presentable and I kinda like the brushed look.

I came across a useful tip that you can use the space saver spare wheel to help with tightening the hub nut as it has a hole in the middle which the 27mm socket fits through. Great I thought and went to fit the space saver that came with the car...... It's the completely wrong PCD! Fuck knows what it's from but it isn't from this car .

Luckily @Lord Sterling doesn't live far from me and he also has an X308 so he kindly lent me his wheel.

The hub nuts are apparently torque to yield and meant to be single use only so I got a pair at £30 each which was annoying but hey ho. I also needed to get a new torque wrench as my existing one didn't go as high as the 305NM required. Anyway I tightened up the old nut to the specified torque to make sure the new wheel bearings felt okay and they did so then I put the new nut on and that's one side finished and just the other to do.

[captain_cal]

Looks like an X350 spare to me, though mine is fluorescent orange for whatever reason.

[Heidel_Kakao]

It passed the retest so hopefully another year of freedom from having to fuck around underneath it although I do have all the stuff to service the autobox.

I was a bit down about the car when I discovered the rust and got that sinking feeling from when you realise that the car isn't as nice as an example as you initially thought but I still do really like it. The general public seem to like it as well judging by how many positive comments I have received from random strangers so that's nice too.

[straightSix]

On 13/06/2026 at 18:11, Heidel_Kakao said:

Replacement half shaft greased and installed with new  nyloc nuts, I couldn't be bothered to paint it but I did use a knotwheel wire brush in the angle grinder to make it look presentable and I kinda like the brushed look.

I came across a useful tip that you can use the space saver spare wheel to help with tightening the hub nut as it has a hole in the middle which the 27mm socket fits through. Great I thought and went to fit the space saver that came with the car...... It's the completely wrong PCD! Fuck knows what it's from but it isn't from this car .

Luckily @Lord Sterling doesn't live far from me and he also has an X308 so he kindly lent me his wheel.

The hub nuts are apparently torque to yield and meant to be single use only so I got a pair at £30 each which was annoying but hey ho. I also needed to get a new torque wrench as my existing one didn't go as high as the 305NM required. Anyway I tightened up the old nut to the specified torque to make sure the new wheel bearings felt okay and they did so then I put the new nut on and that's one side finished and just the other to do.

If you're ever Redditch way I've got a space saver off an X300 (it's the same as x308 etc) I'd let go for cheap 

[Lord Sterling]

On 17/06/2026 at 11:39, Heidel_Kakao said:

The general public seem to like it as well judging by how many positive comments I have received from random strangers so that's nice too.

Same with my '308. I've had random strangers give me the thumbs up and I've heard comments from people passing about it being a nice Jaguar etc...

[Schaefft]

2 hours ago, Lord Sterling said:

Same with my '308. I've had random strangers give me the thumbs up and I've heard comments from people passing about it being a nice Jaguar etc...

Even my rather rough around the edges XJR received some positive comments, it's hard to believe for what is generally considered a cheap beater by many car people nowadays but they still have presence.

[Lord Sterling]

I think thats because it's still a style that can easily trace its roots back to the Sir William Lyons & William Heynes penned 1968 Series 1 XJ6 cars.

Stick a 68' S1 XJ6 next to a late X308 and you can easily the lineage:

People can see that and respect it. It still looks good and very classy after all of these years.

I have extremely positive comments, thumbs up, smiles etc... from the public, particularly in Europe.

I must admit, that I am also beginning to see the a similar thing happen with the S-Type, but to a much lesser degree.

[Heidel_Kakao]

Bolted a few more new parts to the Corrado, for the rear brakes I am using some brake adaptor plates which allows you to use Polo 9N stub axles and hubs which have pre fitted roller bearings that are superior to the MK3 tapered bearings and no need to faff about setting preload etc.

It also gives you an upgrade to 256mm vented discs instead of 230mm solid ones and I am using the rear calipers from the TT which again are an upgrade with a superior handbrake mechanism which doesn't seize up like the MK3 ones tend to, I popped on a wheel just to double check I could still use the OEM 15" Speedlines and yeah no clearance issues at all. The calipers won't be staying red as I prefer boring black and have some caliper paint to spray them with.