Jaguar S Bype R - An Imposter, saving a bird, and that effin supercharger!

[MVX11V]

Literally felt that the car was going to break up and I was going to die at 140mph. I took away from that experience that I am way too over-cautious with Sbype when there is a little creak or a rattle developing, also that having a 30 odd year old British twin turbo V6 less than a foot away from the back of your head at 5 grand is an awakening unlike anthing else.

[MVX11V]

On 08/02/2025 at 19:56, MVX11V said:

All that work and what did I do? Nothing. 

It sat there for ages. I had a work project which I could cycle to everyday, so this just sat.

Well one day I had to take my youngest daughter to a swimming party thing at the local pool. So in readiness I thought that I'd use the car, but it hadn't had a proper shakedown . I drove it for 40 miles, hot, cold, hard and fast... Apart from a bit of tadts supercharger belt squeak on putting the hammer down, it was great. 

So I took it to the pool. I parked on level 7 of a multi storey and decided to hang around for the 2 hours until it was time to get my daughter home. 

1.5 hours in, I had this overwhelming desire to go check the car and the engine. Up to level 7, lifted the bonnet and visually gave it the once over and under. Nothing was wrong. Nothing. 

I went back to the pool side.

I never did finish this.

I got in the car, started it and went to move off but the steering was 'notchy'. Thinking some ecu or system component somewhere hadn't started up properly, I turned off the engine and restarted, but it was still 'notchy'. This proved to be a mistake because as I was descending the car parks ramps to the exit, 'Gearbox fault' lit up. I got to the exit barrier and smoke started to rise from under the bonnet. Thinking the car was now on fire, I dumped it at the side of the road and instead of removing my child and getting the fire extiguisher, just went and opened the bonnet... Good god, there was so much smoke and then I saw the trail of fluid goingback to the car park. 

A high pressure gearbox fluid hose had blown off the cooler and shot oil all over the freshly painted engine. Car no drivey. I called the insurance breakdown line and being a bloke who had foolishly let his young child jump ship into a paasing friends car for a lift home, had an 8 hour waiting time.

Bollocks to that, I left the car and got a cab home. Once recovery called me, I just drove my other car back to the dead sbype to watch it get loaded and dropped back home.

The clean up was intense, plus the cost of the oil which is made from mermaids tears, but fortunately, the box survived shitting itself. I take the blame for that and the failure of my experimental high pressure connections. It lasted longer than I thought, just enough time to exstablish a bit of confidence that it might actually work! I redone the connections the second time with copper compression fittings (and lots of PTFE tape) which have lasted to this day. The issue is that the Jag pipe from the box is not 13mm or 1/2 inch, it's somewhere in between and that needs to reduce down to 10mm. The 10mm bit is fine, but copper fittings aren't an exact size either so it's a challenge. It works, I'll leave that there.

I recently discovered that the gearbox does not like being thrashed in 'D' and it can cause a 2nd to 3rd shift issue DTC on occassion, so I learnt to drive J gate and why did I never do that sooner? I use D for motorway and traffic, the rest of the time I change gear when I want, spirited driving 'S' gets selected which firms the suspension up and loses 6th gear.

[MVX11V]

Here's this weeks conundrum.

I absolutely hat the orange light of doom. I have gone over and beyond to put that fucker to sleep and here it is again, in it's most annoying form yet. Here's how it's been going over the last 4 months of daily use:

• MAF fault- Replacement used Jag MAF cured
• Air intake 2 sensor fault- Replacement AIT2 sensor cured
• Misfire cylinder 5- replaced coil pack
• Supercharger cooling relay fault- Performance AVT pump had melted, fitted original back on.
• Now this: So you thought you beat me Bro?

I'm halfway through replacing all the creaking front suspension which is costing billions and rising, which is gr8 because I replace 1 pair of parts and it still creaks over the smallest deviation, it just creaks less! Still... only the 2 upper wishbones and track ends to change now, and I've gotta buy decent ones before the unamed Chinesium budget parts hit over 100£ each!

I've had to buy new disc brakes and pads all round because they are shaking the car to shit from 70+ mph, admittedly I'm not scrimping on this car, so that came in at just over 300£. I've replaced 4 coil packs so far, about 20£ each and I need another 4, and now I've got to remove the supercharger again to replace both knock sensors, they range from 'I'll break again in 4 months time' 16£ to ' I may last a little longer' £80 each.

LTFT's are now at 14% too from 11 so theres an idle air leak that's getting worse. 

What a champ.

 

[Dave_Q]

They've spelt S BYPE wrong

[MVX11V]

Well Mr Q... This was supposed to be painted over as it wasn't sharp enough and you can't see it anyways, however, I forgot, so now it's an 'Easter egg'.

[MVX11V]

Been looking at top front arms for this right. Berkshire want £3 hunnit for 2 and that aint happening. I done a bit of searching and found a crossover on britparts to the XF, AutoDoc also show XF but use the 'from chassis' and the S type number is in there. I bit the bullet and got 2 OE for 70's with 6% discount and some funds from selling fuct Jaguar parts (sold as ornaments). Visually, there is no difference in the arms, if I lose, I lose... it won't be the first time!

[MVX11V]

Brakes order arrived and it is comedy huge (insert that's what she said gag here) . 365mm huge! They are cross drilled and grooved because I reckon, and most importantly, they'll look the bollocks, but secondly, they are a high qwaliti item so I'm expecting to stop better than I am now. That ain't hard really. The destructions tell me to mount the disc and check for runout, and adjust the disc to seat on the hub accordingly. This reduces vibration... whatdya mean you do that all the time? 

I'll be doing that tomorrow, and if the missis allows, I'll be checking for intake leaks with my new smoke machine.

Got 4 more coils on the way, the 4 I fitted made a helluva difference, just smoothed the lumps out. Knock sensors are ordered, I went with genuine used from Autoreserve, at least I can blame myself when they pack up, I just can't put cheap parts in the depths of the engine, but I'm also not made of effing money either. This car has just spontaniously swallowed the healthy part of a grand in parts.

Do you know though, I've done 2 big motorway runs since changing bank 2 coils and the orange nemisis hasn't shown once? This is the false sense of security Jags like to falsely comfort their owner with, and just as they think they have cured it... BOOM! There she is, glowing more orangey than the sun!

[robt100]

Where did you get the discs from @MVX11V? Got the same Brembo setup on the XJR, but seems options are reasonably limited.

[MVX11V]

Here you go buddy. SOMEBODY STOP MEEE£! You get stickers too.

Fitted them today and it took all day too, only because of the extra cleaning and painting of bits along the way. Checked the runout of the old discs too but I couldn't attach the gauge to anything on the car because it's all ally, so had to set up on an axle stand. Despite picking up movements from the jacked up car and play in the suspension (I'm working on it!) I could see that the drivers side was 0.09mm out, the passenger was 0.05 on the outer most edges. I don't think the discs are warped enough to cause the mad vibrations on the motorway or the slow moving jerking. What i did see though was that the rear pads were tight in the caliper, there was no way that they could move freely and this was because of corrosion between the ally caliper and a metal plate the pads sat on. On the front, the pads just felt rock hard and glazed, gawd knows how long they've been in there.

I also noticed the osf hub has been a hub too long and will want replacing, but its having high speeds at the moment without generating excessive heat so I'll leave that for now.

 

I've chucked it down the road since fitting the bits and the jerking has gone, noticed immediately. Gor pads, Berksire Have TRW which I went for because they are LR original and I've used them numerous times, but it looks Like Berkshire don't have them so sent me Borg and Beck, a tenner saved, and those guys know a thing or 4 about friction, so I'm going with those. Big test will be on the M11 tomorrow where I'll be bitterly disappoint when, despite so far changing 70% of the front suspension and new brakes all round, it'll still shake like a shitting dog when I drop the anchor.

 

[beko1987]

That looks TEH SEX 👌

[robt100]

Ahh yes, I had seen Mtec, looks like their prices have come down a bit too. Think I'd be tempted into the C-hook design ones myself! Good to know they work well, another thing to add to the long list of things I dont need yet as its still broken...

[MVX11V]

After testing this morning, they do work. Agreed that the prices have come down, as they have been in my watched items for a while... but were over 300 smakeroonies. 

I reckon I had pad issues on all 4 wheels, the front hardened like stone and the rears stuck in the calipers.

Back on to replacing bits on the front suspension. Noticed yesterday that the rear suspension was looking tired and perished and I knew this was around the corner so I have all that already to go on, just need the time to do all!

[MVX11V]

The other 4 coil packs arrived yesterday along with XF top front arms... hope they will fit. Coil packs fitted and it does make a difference, where it smooves out the lumpy bits.

I've switched to BP ultimate for now as I want to eliminate Momentum99 from the Knock sensor enquiry, but I have those coming. Two track ends and ARB links turned up today so all the bits for the front are here now.

The brakes are awesome and do all the brake things that one could imagine. That's the first time I've had proper working brakes on this car!

Been toying wihth the idea of wheels again and have spent another couple of hours searching for the one. I found a couple of sets I liked for the car, but then the colour, and the off set was different and pushed the rims outwards, and some were 9J not 9.5 and it just went on. I came to the same conclusion as I did on my last hunt, the original Zeus alloys are just all the car needs. I've decided to get them refurbished fairly soon as the rears have no paint on the insides and they are getting a bit corroded, hell, I might even do them myself! Just on the lookout for a spare set, and they ain't cheap either!

[MVX11V]

On 26/09/2025 at 19:20, MVX11V said:

Been looking at top front arms for this right. Berkshire want £3 hunnit for 2 and that aint happening. I done a bit of searching and found a crossover on britparts to the XF, AutoDoc also show XF but use the 'from chassis' and the S type number is in there. I bit the bullet and got 2 OE for 70's with 6% discount and some funds from selling fuct Jaguar parts (sold as ornaments). Visually, there is no difference in the arms, if I lose, I lose... it won't be the first time!

Welp. they are the same.

 

OEM stype left, Meyle XF right.

I can understand a change in the design would warrent a new part number but come on... It's the same? I fitted those and li nk rods and the track rod ends but the ends were for the earlier X200 and not compatible with the big brembo calipers as the thread hit them. I hacked off 10mm and they fit perfectly well. I had to get the alignment done though. 

The top mounts are fucked and are creaking still. I bought a massive spring compressor and apparently the top mounts are the same across the years, front and rear so I'll be paying the black car a visit for some genuine items, and saving 50 quid on Chineseium.

[angle]

Saw this Bolvo and thought of you. 

[MVX11V]

After some successful time (about a month) with this car in general use, C1421 fault appeared today, first thing in the morning. I have been trying to fix an car to take the load of this car but parts have not been arriving, meaning excessive use of Sbype. The lanes have killed the suspension off which is what I was waiting for and it appears that the front left CATS damper has been a damper too long. So now the suspension has defaulted to full blown racecar mode which is stiff as fuck.

So, a knackered leg has been ordered in the hope that it works and I'll be having to use the cadbury ole for a bit, until i get some time to replace the only bits i haven't replaced on the front suspension yet! 

 

[MVX11V]

Replacement leg fitting day arrived. Stripped it down and the spring seat is rotten. You get what you pay for.

Ohh well, weldherup and slap some paint on it...

Fortunately, it works and the fault has gone which means normal service can resume. Both front dampers got new top mounts but the right front damper is misting so I didn't bother cleaning that up, it'll be dead soon.

 

 

[MVX11V]

I've been spending an unhealthy amount of time on this car recently and having a poke and a prod. I've been looking for bits that still need attention like

• the onset of rot in the rear arches 
• The sills that haven't been reaperd to my high* standards
• rear subframe and suspension overhaul which is long overdue
• the gearbox oil leak that blows onto the cat and stinks at traffic lights
• The oil change it so desperately needs

And no matter how differently I think about and prioritise all these things, I come to the same conclusion every time... She needs lowering. 

My biggest worry with this is not about hitting stuff, exploding the cats system, or putting my seat through my spleen, no, it's how to break this news to the ageing Jaguar community, trying to make them see that these cars, with some adventurous thinking... Can be, dare I say it... fun. 

So, instead of working, I'm mostly spending this week looking at going down.

[robt100]

3 hours ago, MVX11V said:

My biggest worry with this is not about hitting stuff, exploding the cats system, or putting my seat through my spleen, no, it's how to break this news to the ageing Jaguar community, trying to make them see that these cars, with some adventurous thinking... Can be, dare I say it... fun. 

 

Time to give swallows Jaguar a ring then!
60mm drop🙈
https://swallows-jag.co.uk/product/swallows-racing-avo-gtz-coilovers-s-type/

or auto reserve jaguar

https://www.autoreservejaguar.com/s-type-2002-2007-coilover-shock-spring-kit.html

[MVX11V]

Blow me down M9!

I looked at BC and H&R.. totally missed these mofos. Question there is am I prepared to mash two bags into the nearest pothole.... I'm not so sure

[robt100]

People seem to recommend the BC's as a good option, the fact they have ride height adjsutment as well as preload is quite nice, can make the car low without being crashy, or high but stiff (ooer) etc. £822 vs £1400 also. I must admit, I do like the fact Auto Reserve have taken an XJ and went "that air suspension needs to be lowered coilovers" 😅 that last photo on the listing is very un-XJ

EDIT: Just noticed you are over on the Jag forum. There is a lot of the 'keep it standard' brigade about, especially for the S-type. X350 section is a bit more free to coilovers, but I think that is more because its the only financially viable option once the air suspension gives way. 

[MVX11V]

It's got to be coilovers. Need to look into AVO and how they do things compared to BC. Aware Swallows can be pricey as i paid very a lot for their valley pipe, but hey, if it's the good stuff then I've gotta go for it.

[robt100]

Is that the silicon valley pipes? Got a few of their offerings when I re-did my cooling, the rest all sadly had to be OEM jag (which cost an arm and a leg). 

Worth seeing if you can get them direct from AVO or somwhere else too. Could just be that much due to quantities of scale, which may explain why the BCs are cheaper, if more people have purchased them.

[MVX11V]

Yes the sv pipes. I custom made others that needed replaced with ASH hoses. Spent some time searching about last night, I am sold on them. Mainly because they explain the development that has gone into them to perform at different levels between standard and race. Need to save for these though plus buy some spa sessions for the missus.