Cluffy's Fleet - Resisting becoming a sheep....

[Matty]

Tbh even though it was one of those wierd daft problems that you found, I'd hundred percent agree that it was worth doing anyway. After all you will have improved the car which is always a plus!

[Cluffy]

I managed to get the shocks swapped over this evening. Some cash in hand to one of my local friendly mechanics... Although he goes off on one when you get him chatting, I managed to give them to him around half three to have him call me that they were done at five. Spot on. 

Doubt I'll have chance tomorrow, so hopefully Thursday evening I'll get a bit of time after work 🤞

I also ordered some crows feet socket adapters that I am hopeful will help with torquing the inner wishbone bolts back in. 

 

[Cluffy]

Progress this evening. Drivers side in. I just hope I've not damaged the brake lines as the hub slipped at the most inconvenient moment and the brake line and track rod took the weight for a few moments. 

It's bolted roughly back in, and aligned at the top. So now I need to hunt out all the torque specs and go round them all properly... And obviously do the passenger side!

[Cluffy]

And copy, paste:

Now both sides all torqued up. Took the load on the ball joint and did up the bushes on the arms. 160NM on your side under a car isn't fun but got there ...

Under tray and wheels back on in the morning and then it's test drive o'clock. Keep everything crossed for me......

[Cluffy]

Well, we have good news!! All seems to be sorted! I'll do a proper shakedown through the week, with the acid test being the devilish speed bumps on my route to work/car park. But from a short blast locally, no knocking from the front and very smooth with the shocks doing nice work. Cheers to @grogee for the words of support and wisdom throughout. 

The only noises now are par for the course with a 21 year old convertible (even if it is a Porsche...).

Let's see if it gets under my skin through the summer... I've had it 3 1/2 months and it's yet to truly fire my systems, given its been problematic since pretty much day one! It does sound mega at full throttle and has a nice amount of grip... I'll get an alignment done and do the tyre pressures after I've been pulling it all apart etc...

Have a couple of pics of it after my first drive in weeks...!

[Matty]

On anything of that age, a bit of a suspension refresh just transforms em. I've done both of ours this year (both 17/18 years old). Neither were noisy or sloppy as such, but new springs, dampers top mounts etc and they're like new cars. Bet you're glad you bothered now!

[Cluffy]

Yeah, I'm very pleased. Just not the easiest strut swap I've ever done (and cone shaped springs need specialist tools/better tools than mine to compress). Booked for an alignment week on Tuesday so hoping that's a further improvement.

Porsche still working but on way back home this morning, the Jag started screaming at me "Low Fuel Warning" and the gauge reading zero. Then normal service back briefly after restarting but then hit zero again. Got back home. Had lunch. Went out again, all back working fine. 

A bit of reading suggests there are two senders. Well done Jaguar. One is more accessible than the other (under seat rather than in tank) so if it's not just a glitch and keeps happening I'll look at the easy option first for any obvious signs of age/rust/damage...

My car job list just never gets smaller..!

[Cluffy]

Went out for a hot dog with my daughter and met up with @grogee for Classics at the local cricket pitch. Pics below for anyone interested. Spoiler alert, m'daughter took them so any complaint on quality, please don't direct at me!

@grogee wanted to buy this thing...

[High Jetter]

She did well. That Alpine, Lewes  reg, any more on it?

[Cluffy]

16 hours ago, High Jetter said:

She did well. That Alpine, Lewes  reg, any more on it?

No one near it when we walked by to chat to. However, I have seen it before so will look out for the owner next time

[Matty]

17 hours ago, High Jetter said:

She did well. That Alpine, Lewes  reg, any more on it?

Yeah it is a nice old thing isn't it

[jonathan_dyane]

Lovely but a shame that old beetle thing was blocking the view of the excellent Renault 18 estate

[Cluffy]

The Porsche is still driving really well (or it was on Friday). Long may it continue as the rest of the fleet is getting bloody annoying. 

I dropped the Jag off for wheel wobble diagnosis confirmation yesterday and they will look at it on Monday. It's now doing the "no fuel" thing all the time. They can look at that too if the wobble is warped disc(s) and therefore not too mad on money. 

The Mini has now decided that opening of the boot is not possible. I've had a tinker for 20 minutes or so and got the panelling clips out, but nothing doing. Probably needs a new latch as I can hear it actuate off the key or external handle. Just physically not undoing. But I need to be able to get at it first...

Any ideas on how to get at it from experience of F56s from anyone?? 

It's times like these I miss the days of the Golf that rarely ever didn't just do "car" to perfection

[Cluffy]

It's been a while since an update... 

And not a lot has happened..! Still awaiting the boot latch for the Mini. Seems my order from Lithuania is taking an age. Happy to wait - £35 vs over 200 from Mini....

I've done LOADS with the Porsche and by that I mean zero tinkering and MAXIMUM driving..! I'm using it as a daily and it just wants to be thrashed everywhere. Which means I'm getting about 25mpg ! 😅

Lots on the list for winter with it, though. I'll get a list up here soon and look for any pointers...

Finally, the Jag. I've been wanting to do something about the creaky roof for some time. I grease it and it's quiet for a few weeks before starting to knock/creak again. They all do it pretty much ..

I'd seen a chap online who'd put some thick tape along the edges with good success. Mine already had old tape on but very thin. So I removed it. To find:

Hmmmmmm, grotty. Seen worse etc and can't get upset really as, again, they all do it. So, set to with sanding it back and then two coats of kurust, then two coats of fake hammerite:

Then finally some new deep tape to hopefully make it less noisy on the move:

We've a trip to South Wales at the weekend so that should be the acid test. Also, partially in prep for that, I've replaced the pollen filter. Best £6 I've spent in a while:

Pretty grotty and now with the new one there's a much less foisty smell when not running a/c. A cheap win. 

[Cluffy]

440 miles complete in the Jag over the last week to South Wales and back Zero noise from the roof to report, so my thick tape fix appears to have helped massively (for now!). Even bigger test coming soon with a road trip through France. 

The Mini boot is finally fixed. The latch arrived before my jolly to Wales but I had Covid and felt crap. Easy to unbolt but a pain to unplug. A bit of corrosion on the plug so cleaned that up and all back to operational. It has its MOT on Monday so fingers crossed for that...

No Porsche news. I shall get it out of the garage tomorrow and give it a brief thrashing. 

[Matty]

On 15/07/2025 at 11:47, Cluffy said:

It's been a while since an update... 

And not a lot has happened..! Still awaiting the boot latch for the Mini. Seems my order from Lithuania is taking an age. Happy to wait - £35 vs over 200 from Mini....

I've done LOADS with the Porsche and by that I mean zero tinkering and MAXIMUM driving..! I'm using it as a daily and it just wants to be thrashed everywhere. Which means I'm getting about 25mpg ! 😅

Lots on the list for winter with it, though. I'll get a list up here soon and look for any pointers...

Finally, the Jag. I've been wanting to do something about the creaky roof for some time. I grease it and it's quiet for a few weeks before starting to knock/creak again. They all do it pretty much ..

I'd seen a chap online who'd put some thick tape along the edges with good success. Mine already had old tape on but very thin. So I removed it. To find:

Hmmmmmm, grotty. Seen worse etc and can't get upset really as, again, they all do it. So, set to with sanding it back and then two coats of kurust, then two coats of fake hammerite:

Then finally some new deep tape to hopefully make it less noisy on the move:

We've a trip to South Wales at the weekend so that should be the acid test. Also, partially in prep for that, I've replaced the pollen filter. Best £6 I've spent in a while:

Pretty grotty and now with the new one there's a much less foisty smell when not running a/c. A cheap win. 

Why can't they nail a car together right for the money they charged? The XJ is a stunning piece of design but surely the roof runners shouldn't look like that yet.

Still would mind.

[Cluffy]

Yeah, the build quality isn't tank like, but it's 15 years old on 121k... An S class is built better, but those of the same age have usually rotted heavily by now. These are just so much fun to chuck about and it has real grunt to make it fly along. And comfy too. I'd swap it for a good series 3, though 😁

Outstanding bits to fix are the fuel gauge nonsense, crackling rear speaker and the rear check strap. All doable at home with time and patience (and in some cases a second set of hands). I also want to find someone local to give the gearbox a flush but as it operates fine, that's not urgent. 

[Cluffy]

Bonjour a' tous!

Just returned back from 11 days driving in/around France with the XJ. Paris followed by the coast near La Rochelle. 

I can not recommend one of these highly enough for distance. Soooo comfortable and the double glazing makes for very low wind noise even at French Motorway speeds. 

46mpg at an average of 62mph is mega to me. Probably pushing two tonnes at three up with all the clobber on board...

God knows how we ended up with Heart FM on....

On the negative side, seems like there is something more and more amiss with the rear sir suspension. I'd been getting an intermittent "Suspension Fault" yellow warning probably once every couple of weeks but now it appears on most drive cycles. I will take a look at the pump /piping when I get chance / can be bothered. Online suggestions are that the piston seal wears over time. If that's what it is, apparently it's interchangeable with a LR or BMW pump for a lot less than Jag OEM. Let's see ...

The joy of Barge motoring...! I'll get the Boxster out for daily duties and put this in the corner for a fettle..! Needs a clean!

[Cluffy]

Oh and having just popped out for post-holiday essentials, we now have this milestone reached: