My name is Robt100, and I have an addiction to Autoshite purchases....

[robt100]

1 hour ago, Marshall2810 said:

Sorry Rob just seen this. I always go to Glenn's Tyres in Mansfield for tyres/alignment. Free check and it was £18 if anything needed adjusting last time I went a year or so back

thanks for the recommendation. Any idea if he does camber too? or just 4 wheel stuff?

[Marshall2810]

33 minutes ago, robt100 said:

thanks for the recommendation. Any idea if he does camber too? or just 4 wheel stuff?

Not sure, definitely 4 wheel anyhow give them a ring 

[motorpunk]

The front shocks and rear airbags are all original. I replaced one coil spring on the front (perhaps both, check the file) some years back. It’s never had a knock as far as I know so I’m surprised it needs an alignment (even with a billion miles on it). Keep us posted!

[robt100]

5 hours ago, motorpunk said:

The front shocks and rear airbags are all original. I replaced one coil spring on the front (perhaps both, check the file) some years back. It’s never had a knock as far as I know so I’m surprised it needs an alignment (even with a billion miles on it). Keep us posted!

Well it must have happened since then, because its iffy as anything on the motorway! Constantly fighting it from wandering off somewhere. Hopefully next week (as this week ironically we have over 400 miles to do) I can give the place @Marshall2810 recommended a ring and get it booked in. Might order up some spare arms&bolts from autodoc in the meantime in case they are shot.

Oh, and it was front left coil replaced, possibly 2022 😉 (read the paperwork and some things get stuck in my head!)

[robt100]

Right, there has been updates on the Jaaaag, and a Motorbike added since my last post on here....

But I'm afraid it is BMW time again!


It is being a right pain getting into reverse after sitting for a while. USually the Mrs having issues with it, then today - which typically was my one day off this week so had planned a lay in - shouts up to me at 8am that she can't get the car in reverse.

It will go into the reverse slot, but not 'click' into position or engage. With the door open, you could hear it clunk as you hit the end of the gear lever travel, bit like a lump hammer gently tapping/being put down on a worktop. Have fixed it before by doing a full gear run up the gears, then it just popped in, but not this time.  No idea what is causing it, think it may need a fluid change anyway, as when parked where she did (why she doesn't reverse in I dont know) means all the fluid will run into the tail of the box, so might just be a bit low. But the gear lever does feel like its being held by elastic bands, so I reckon maybe the bushes are shot on the selector lever. 

Kinda getting fed up with the list getting bigger and bigger on this thing,  only just had the brakes and rear upper arms arrive ready to replace as they all need doing (along with new tyres as the tracking is horrific), and now this keeps rearing its head. I don't have the money for a new box or clutch/DMF..... anyone got any suggestions what it might be, before I start giving @Jikovron nightmares that another of my cars of doom will turn up at his lockup needing fixing!

[MrBig]

I'm not familiar with these, is it a cable shift or linkage? If you put it into neutral, clutch up, give it a blip on the throttle and then try again does it go in to reverse?

[robt100]

54 minutes ago, MrBig said:

I'm not familiar with these, is it a cable shift or linkage? If you put it into neutral, clutch up, give it a blip on the throttle and then try again does it go in to reverse?

Direct linkage on these, no cables. Shaft bar with a bush at either end iirc.

Will give it a go tomorrow if I remember! I'm guessing if it does then thats something horrible like Syncros?

 

[MrBig]

That's my usual method of trying to figure out if its clutch/linkage/cable related rather than something more scary and expensive like syncros. However it's entirely possible someone with more knowledge will advise that it's not a foolproof test!

[robt100]

Right, small update, the Mrs has just mentioned after I managed to get it off the drive this morning, the crunch/grind I heard wasn't her getting 1st, it was changing into 2nd 😬
It was very much like there was a physical block on getting into reverse, like I was pushing the gear lever into a solid block. Starting to think maybe the selector forks are shot? Just so odd how its fine after you get going. Another thing to add to the tale, the brakes are VERY worn (on the to-do list for the weekend), and im wondering if the fluid is shared between brake/clutch if its just not adding enough pressure due to lack of fluid. OR maybe a release bearing on the clutch? Wouldnt explain why its mainly reverse, but may explain why it feels so jerky releasing the clutch and its not the diverter/limit valve after all!

[motorpunk]

Sad to see this is turning into a bit of a needy car now, but I can’t help but think the clutch is the cause of these gear selection problems.
 

Mike Smith cars in Leicester will give you a quote for this, they’re great guys and looked after this car for c.100k miles during my ownership. 

[robt100]

17 hours ago, motorpunk said:

Sad to see this is turning into a bit of a needy car now, but I can’t help but think the clutch is the cause of these gear selection problems.
 

Mike Smith cars in Leicester will give you a quote for this, they’re great guys and looked after this car for c.100k miles during my ownership. 

tbh, it has been to the moon, things usually need a bit of TLC at that point. I got it for a good price, looking at what they are advertised for, even sinking in the money for the brakes, arms and a new DMF&Clutch would still keep me quids in......


....though the climate control fan is also now intermittent! So we will see how that goes😅🙈 Got a bit of a surge/wave to it when it is running, so im guessing a dodgy connection on a bearing on the way out. Gotta take the dash apart to fit a new head unit anyway, so can look at it then.

[robt100]

No photos I'm afraid (new phone, don't want grubby hands on it!), but got started on the brakes this evening after work.

First off, had to get the front wheels driven up onto a few planks to get the jack underneath, I really need to invest in a low profile jack, as I've never had a car the "normal" one fits, having to put it on some old floorboards so it doesn't sink into the crappy tarmac probably doesn't help!

First point of 'ah, well that might explain something', the slide pins were rather stiff and had no lubrication whatsoever, made the most hideous squeal/squeak whilst undoing them, dry as a bone and slightly pitted. Got these cleaned up on the bench polisher and now moving as good as new. Reckon this was casuing the uneven wear, as the inner side of the disc is about half the thickness of the outside! Pads were down to about 1-2mm, so glad I've got them replaced. Points where the pads sit in the caliper/carrier were all pitted and rusty too, so given them a good clean up and a bit of grease, so hopefully things will move as they should now. Gone for Brembo discs upfront, bosch on the rear, and brembo pads all round....mainly because they were cheap on Autodoc at the time of ordering 🙈

though, so far, as I'm knackered after work and learning the brake setup as I go, only 1 corner done so far! Will do the other front tomorrow, then probably do the rears at a later date as this week is rather busy, and I need to get the car off the axle stands and out the way of the back gate so the Mrs can take the ZX6R for its damper replacement.


Jag updates (whilst im here) in brief:

Turns out all the hoses are shot
Turns out hoses (bar three) are Jag main dealer only
Turns out the heating pump is fried, so need to get a replacement....thankfully a £80 alternative rather than the £350 Jag item!
Turns out that even with a bit of snooping on ebay, it still costs £400 for a full set of hoses
Turns out I forgot one, so needed to order it in a hurry
Turns out that when you order from ebay because their delivery date starts 2 days earlier than jag and you're in a hurry, what actually happens is the guy doesn't dispatch it till the last day in the delivery window and it still hasn't turned up 1 week after it was meant to get here

On the plus side, having the engine half-stripped for the valley hoses means the supercharger is off, so a little bit of machining later and a 10% smaller pulley has been added 🤯

[robt100]

Front brakes are done!

Both sides has slide pins that were totally lubricant/grease free and heavily marked. Cleaned them up as best I can so hope they are going to be ok. Passenger side was a bit of a pain, turns out by new pads didnt have a clip/slot for the brake wear sensor, so thats now tied up out of the way😅
Interestingly, where the outer brake pad sits in the caliper carrier, it had a lot of trouble going in on the passenger side, almost like the tab was too large, sanded it down as best I could but needs a proper cut/grind to make space, but im too busy for that at the moment. Took it out for a quick spin and all seems OK, it may have even got rid of that wobble!

[robt100]

Well the brake change didnt fix the wobble...


But more pressing issues with the Jag atm.
Finally got all the new coolant pipes delivered and fitted, BUT...

with @Jikovron running through a check before the MOT, rear light issues have surfaced!

https://streamable.com/xdv1lg

https://streamable.com/e999l1

https://streamable.com/3dfom3

https://streamable.com/e40xq5

https://streamable.com/yxwyn6


Anyone near chesterfield/matlock with Jaguar SDD or similar who could plug it in and see if they can reset the REM or at least track down the fault? Basic code readers dont help sadly. ( @DirtyDaily if not with your experience of SDD, I may have to get you to talk me through/show me how to get that mongoose cable working on my laptop so I can drive over and take a look). I know the earths can be funny on these which might be doing it...but it also has a towbar, so the extra wiring may also be playing silly buggers, wondering if something in the plug by the towbar is shorting out?

[DirtyDaily]

Well the brake change didnt fix the wobble...


But more pressing issues with the Jag atm.
Finally got all the new coolant pipes delivered and fitted, BUT...

with [mention=17322]Jikovron[/mention] running through a check before the MOT, rear light issues have surfaced!
https://streamable.com/xdv1lg
https://streamable.com/e999l1
https://streamable.com/3dfom3
https://streamable.com/e40xq5
https://streamable.com/yxwyn6


Anyone near chesterfield/matlock with Jaguar SDD or similar who could plug it in and see if they can reset the REM or at least track down the fault? Basic code readers dont help sadly. ( [mention=28666]DirtyDaily[/mention] if not with your experience of SDD, I may have to get you to talk me through/show me how to get that mongoose cable working on my laptop so I can drive over and take a look). I know the earths can be funny on these which might be doing it...but it also has a towbar, so the extra wiring may also be playing silly buggers, wondering if something in the plug by the towbar is shorting out?

I never used that mongoose cable as i have a jaguar land rover icarsoft thing that can read all the modules so i may not be much use unfortunately

[robt100]

Another week, another problem!




Heater fan in the BMW decided to give up completely. So had to take out pretty much 80% of the dash (inc centre tunnel and glovebox) to change it over along with the regulator. Trust me to have the end of this week just gone available to do it, could only work till about 11am each day as it got too hot.
Also switched over the headunit to one of those newfangled chinese dooberrys, seems to work very well! Makes going back to the old BMW iDrive menu look like something out of the 1990s.

In total, 3 (partial) days to get it all working, including a good hour of me trying to trace a left-over connector by dissasembling half of it again...only to realise it wasn't left over, it was for the hazard light button I hadn't connected yet 🥴

But job done, motor fixed (albeit sounds like a bit of paper stuck in it at very low speeds, but I aint doing it again, so it can just wear down instead!) and back to cool AC. Just the 70mph wobble and tracking to fix. And the Jaaag again (Big apologies to @Jikovron that it is still taking up room at his site, the horror will be over soon I promise🤣)

[robt100]

Well, I had fun driving home on the motorway today

https://streamable.com/2qfkt7



 

 Drivers side windscreen wiper mechanism decided to part ways with the car just as I hit 70mph on the A1 in torrential rain! Nothing quite like seeing a whole wiper and bars/panels fly up your windscreen and off into oblivion 😬
Thankfully the passenger side was still working, so managed to drive home looking like an inverse Ace Ventura by staring out of the passenger side of the windscreen🤣
Good news is, @motorpunk had already ordered a spare one back when he owned the car, so I'm guessing its been an issue for a while. So once it dries up (and new wiper blades arrive) I can fit the new parts to the car.

 

[motorpunk]

I remember lifting the wipers to clean the car and noticing that the arm bushing was slack so ordered the spare. That must have been 2-3 years ago at least! Receipt will be in the file. Hopefully not too much faff. 

[robt100]

12 hours ago, motorpunk said:

I remember lifting the wipers to clean the car and noticing that the arm bushing was slack so ordered the spare. That must have been 2-3 years ago at least! Receipt will be in the file. Hopefully not too much faff. 

Looks like it'll just be two bolts to change the mechanism. Just need to find a spare bolt to attach the wiper arm, but im sure I have something somewhere. Just got to wait for the rest to arrive, in the meantime, Mrs Robt100 has the 'unfortunate' task of having to use her ZX6-R to go places 🙈

[robt100]

Good news!

New wiper arrived, as did the cover. New mechanism fitted and bearing area packed with grease. Working tip-top again.

Next update will be some time next week. Off to @Jikovron to get the rear toe arms done on the BMW, and plug myself into the Jag to try and sort out the lights and the suspension error, lets just hope the SDD program works😬

I've also had a nice suprise with the Jag, whilst googling to find out which towbar it uses -as the detachable bit has detached itself into a previous owners garage - I came across a post on a mainly US based jag forum for someone asking about fitting a full towbar. Someone had replied offering their detachable part as their jag had been scrapped. Needless to say I jumped onto the forum and managed to negotiate its safe passage to my ownership, all the guy wanted was a small donation to charity..........bit better than the £350 that was being asked by someone on ebay!

[DirtyDaily]

Good news!

New wiper arrived, as did the cover. New mechanism fitted and bearing area packed with grease. Working tip-top again.

Next update will be some time next week. Off to [mention=17322]Jikovron[/mention] to get the rear toe arms done on the BMW, and plug myself into the Jag to try and sort out the lights and the suspension error, lets just hope the SDD program works

Have you actually got no rear lights? From memory ive had a couple of jags that gave had rear light cluster codes but all the lights work.

[robt100]

2 minutes ago, DirtyDaily said:

3 minutes ago, robt100 said:

Good news!

New wiper arrived, as did the cover. New mechanism fitted and bearing area packed with grease. Working tip-top again.

Next update will be some time next week. Off to [mention=17322]Jikovron[/mention] to get the rear toe arms done on the BMW, and plug myself into the Jag to try and sort out the lights and the suspension error, lets just hope the SDD program works

Have you actually got no rear lights? From memory ive had a couple of jags that gave had rear light cluster codes but all the lights work.

Got lights, they just, do what they want if you try to use indicators when the fogs are on. which would be MOT fail, should be some links a few posts back, I shall renew them in a few mins if they have expired.

[robt100]

here @DirtyDaily

[DirtyDaily]

Thats SCREAMING bad earth to me

[DirtyDaily]

Looking on the interwebs the general consensus is on a bad rear fuse box.
https://www.autoreservejaguar.com/xj-x350-2003-2006-fusebox-in-boot-trunk.html

[robt100]

Yup, thats what I'm thinking too, especially as it has also pinged on an air suspension fault on the journey there when I first took it. Probably going to take it out, clean it up, and see if that helps, plus check the rear earth and re-do the three in the front as they are all a little iffy imo

 

[robt100]

Looking at the fusebox layout. Air suspension, left hand stop/tail lamps and right hand reverse/indictor/fog lamps are all on the same horizontal 'strip' of the fusebox. With the left hand lamps and 2nd air suspension fuse on the same vertical 'strip' in another section....so yeah, looking likely!