Wrecked Jaguars

Seeing as today is Halloween I thought it would be fitting to share some truly terrifying images. That's right, wrecked Jaguars!  The only thing scarier is not having insurance in these situations.

Pin It

Jaguar XJ8 Throttle Body Cleaning

One of the flaws of the Jaguar XJ8 design from the 1998-2003 model was the throttle body.  It's very sensitive to carbon building up inside it which also complicates things with a TPS sensor that isn't as reliable as it should be.  In my short year and a half of owning this vehicle I've had to address both of these issues first hand.

While I was able to resolve my throttle body/TPS issue by swapping out the TPS from a salvaged part in the summer, I actually had some success earlier in the spring by cleaning the throttle body altogether.  While the TPS failing will actually throw you a code and will put the car into failsafe mode, a dirty throttle body will instead cause the car to stall or make it feel very jerky on acceleration.  It is possible that the code and failsafe mode could be linked to a dirty throttle body, but there obviously isn't a code that tells you to clean your car.  

This is something you can feel when you're driving though.  It's like the RPMs will putter out when you slow down or your acceleration will feel sticky on lower revs.  At the very least, knowing how to check out your throttle body is a valuable skill with this car that will save you time and money in the shop.  Cleaning is a relatively simple fix for a lot of this stuff.

To summarize what you need to do, you're just trying to clean the black carbon and soot that has built up underneath the butterfly valve in your throttle body.  Below I've posted pictures of what the engine looks like with the air intake tube removed.  At the top of the engine is the throttle body.  Cleaning it is as simple as buying throttle body cleaner, spraying it on a micro-fiber cloth, and diligently cleaning the soot from underneath the valve.

What is happening with a dirty throttle body is when that carbon/soot heats up it becomes a bit sticky and also reduces the narrow opening of the butterfly valve when the car is idling.  This explains why the car feels like it's about to stall sometimes and why the acceleration feels like it's lurching more than it should.

CLICK HERE to download the step by step guide and walk through of how to specifically clean the Jaguar throttle body (with pictures illustrating the process).  These are the instructions I used, and I noticed a huge difference immediately after completing this job.

Pin It

1961 Road & Track Magazine Cover

This Road and Track magazine cover from 1961 features the famed Jaguar E-Type (or XKE as it was known in the States).  It's as iconic now as it was when this cover came out.  

Pin It

The Door Dent Incident

At the beginning of this year I had an unfortunate mishap with my car when it was parked in the lot outside of my building.  The letter I wrote to the main office clarifies what happened exactly:

On the afternoon of February 2, 2011 I was asked to move my vehicle into parking stall number 2 after waiting for the space to be cleaned from the day previous.  Snow still surrounded the space after it was shovelled by hand, and it is now clear that the space had not been properly salted or sanded as my car slid into the concrete barrier adjacent my spot, damaging the rear passenger side door, immediately after it had been parked in the space.

Parking space number 2 is narrow in the best of conditions, and given its location on an incline it seems crucial for winter safety and an irresponsible oversight to not properly clean and sand that side of the lot when the spaces are required for daily use.

I ended up having to get my Jaguar winched out of the spot and then have the dent repaired. Watching your car slide into something when you're not even in it is one way to get your adrenaline pumping. I went out of my way to complain at the head office, but when all was said and done the repair was under $200. As a result I had my parking spot upgraded to the management space directly out front of the building, which has actually been a really nice perk. Sometimes you just have to look for the silver lining.

Pin It

Paradise by the Dashboard Light

There's something romantic about driving my Jaguar at night.  The paint looks even glossier as the street lights strobe across it.  The gauges and speedometer glow a soft neon green, and the atmosphere of the cabin feels cosier under the weight of the darkness.  There's an added elegance as the comfort of the car seems even more appropriate during those late nights or very early mornings. It's exactly what you want it to be.  

Pin It

Stolen Hood Ornament - Round 2

The irony is that I just posted the story about my hood ornament being stolen from my Jaguar XJ8 in 2010 a couple of days ago, and then on Friday night it happened again. I came out on Saturday morning and there it was missing. Needless to say, frustration ensued.

It's one of those things that I don't have a solution for without replacing the ornament with a simple badge instead. Once again, it seems those who want to maintain nice things suffer from those who couldn't care less. It's made no difference that this year, especially these last few months, have been especially taxing and draining despite my best efforts to make things right. Having my car vandalized just feels like salt in the wound at this point. I'm kind of at a loss.

I said in my previous post this is one of the quirks in owning a Jaguar. I'm also feeling like this is an example of life kicking you when your down. 

Pin It

Beckham's New Jaguar XJ Supersport

David Beckham goes through exotic cars like t-shirts, but recently he purchased a new Jaguar XJ Supersport.  He's seen here with his wife, Victoria as they go for drive.  

Pin It

Stolen Hood Ornament

Last year I had the hood ornament stolen from my '99 Jaguar XJ8.  Sadly, this seems to be a common trend for Jaguar owners because of how recognizable and detailed the famed leaper ornaments are.  I quickly ordered a replacement for my car at around $150 (it's about $300 from Jaguar directly), but if you've been through this experience like I have, you probably wanted to break the hands of who ever pointlessly vandalized your car.

What frustrated me about it was that it wasn't even like the person could sell it or do anything with it because they just broke the base removing it.  It was a stupid thing to do.

I explored potential security options to help protect the leaper hood ornament, but none of them seemed very practical.  You could have it wired to your car alarm or someone even suggested putting razor blades on the under side of the ornament so you'd cut your hand if you grabbed it. All of these options seemed like they'd cause more of an issue than provide a solution, not to mention that if someone really just wanted to take it again they probably could anyway.

The best option is the obvious one, which is parking your car in a well lit and highly visible location.  It takes a lot of effort to actually pull that ornament off, so chances are that no one would bother if they felt like they were being watched.  It's just another one of the quirks of owning a Jaguar I suppose.  

Replacement of the ornament wasn't difficult to do when it arrived.  There's a plastic plug that you can use a pair of pliers to unscrew underneath the hood.  The remaining base was pretty much loose from the force of the actual leaper being removed, so installing the new leaper just meant lining up the new ornament with the holes on the hood and screwing the plug on underneath.  I think I used tape to hold the leaper in place while I attached the plug with the hood open.  There was some minor damage to the paint from the force of the hood ornament being stolen, but the picture below is from after I replaced the leaper.  It looks good as new.

Pin It

Seventies Jags

These images come from a 1976 brochure featuring the Jaguar XJ6 and XJ12.  In true Jaguar fashion, the cars are shot against other modes of transportation, including helicopters, boats, and horses.  The detail shots are particularly interesting because of how slender and sharp all of the gadgets look.  Still a very beautiful car even after all these years.   

Pin It

Driving the Crowsnest Highway

Over the weekend I got out of town to visit my sister in Lethbridge.  As I've done for previous trips I snapped a few pictures along the way to document the drive.  There was some beautiful country scenery along the way. No trip along the #3 would be complete without a quick stop to see Pinto the bean and the giant putter in Bow Island though, now would it?  

Pin It

Launch of the XK8

The following images come from a 1996 UK press packet that announced the launch of the brand new Jaguar XK8, which was replacing the XJS.  This remained Jaguar's preeminent sports car until they redesigned the XK line in 2006.

Pin It

Battling the Repair Shop

It's been another eventful week. After dropping my car off at the shop last week to repair what they suggested was a leaky thermostat housing, it was immediately clear over the Thanksgiving weekend that the problem hadn't been fixed at all. Seeing as this leak stemmed back to a repair I had this very shop do on my car back in January, you could say that this is when I became livid.

I wrote a full account of my experience and repair history with this shop, attached my invoices, and snapped pictures of the very obvious leak. First thing on Tuesday morning I walked into the shop and laid it all out. I was pissed. I had spent hundreds of dollars, taken time off work, and had been into the shop four times this year (three of which were specifically to fix the leak, and the very first time where it seemed the leak was caused).

It was a strange feeling to be on that end of the table where I genuinely felt like I had been taken advantage of. I told them point blank that I wasn't going to pay them any more money, but that I was holding them accountable for what I'd already paid for. The thermostat housing turned out not to be leaking at all, and here it was the water pump - again - just like I had said it was since they changed it back in January.

The saving grace in this whole experience was that I finally got the treatment I deserved. The squeaky wheel gets the grease as they say. They took my car in right away the next day, diagnosed the leaky water pump and replaced it with a newly designed (from those they previously used) water pump that was more suitable for my Jaguar. They also covered the full cost of the parts and labour - as they should have seeing as I'd already paid them to do it before.

I now have my car back and the leak is finally gone (knock on wood), but it's been such a headache of a repair job that should have been so simple from the get-go. I'm just happy that I can hit the open road this weekend to go visit my sister without having to worry about this issue anymore. Sometimes car ownership is just a pain in the ass.



Pin It