Domestic Short-hair

[Renrut]

Thought I'd start a thread on here for my new daily driver in case it develops into something more - An early 2001 Jag S-type Sport with the 3.0V6 and a 5 speed manual.

The sport means I get stiffer and slightly lower springs, a nice exhaust note, some fancy alloys and a leather interior that isn't death by beige.





V6 engine is a development of the Ford Duratec V6 with a few extra bells and whistles to give it 240bhp rather than the 220 in the mondeo. The manual box gives it a 0-60 sprint under 7s, only 0.5s behind the V8 car and way ahead of the auto V6.

Chassis is supposedly shared with the Lincoln LS, some parts interchangeability exists which makes getting spares easier and avoids the dealer phrase "sorry that part is only available as a complete assembly".

Its a very well setup chassis, tight when you want it but very comfortable ride the rest of the time.

Worth noting is that these alloys are a pig, they need a special valve to even blow up a tyre, something I didn't get with the car and only realised after the event. Jag relieved me of some molah for the privilege but the dealer I bought the car from (possibly the most decent one I've ever met!) has offered to refund the amount as "its something you should have got with the car"

So first plans are sort out the alignment, took a knock from a kerb the other day and wrecked a wheel and put the wishbone alignment out. Nothing bent or damaged other than the wheel though. So new wheel at £89 from a breakers and tyre (pirelli P Zero Rosso 245/40ZR18) at £190 and just the alignment to do. Decided to splash out on a full 4 wheel geometry setup as I wasn't quite happy with it before the knock anyway.

Once thats done I'll need a towbar fitted as it's gonna be the new Renrut towcar. Then it'll be enjoy it until the power becomes not enough.

At that point do I see if the V8 will mate up to the manual box or do I go hunting for a thing with pulleys on it?

[205 Turbo]

twin banks and one pulley or twin banks and twin turbos

[Renrut]

twin banks and one pulley or twin banks and twin turbos

Apparently a twin turbo version of the v6 is what noble use in the m400. But a supercharger would be nice, they're cheap too!

[Renrut]

First few bits of maintenance have been carried out so far.

Front wheel hub bearing done. Got a good used hub from a jag breaker down in Speke. Top bloke. Didn't follow his advice to soak the old upright in plus gas for a few days before trying to remove it. Instead I spent 3 hours trying to remove the hub from the aluminium upright. Ended up turning the angle grinder on it and cutting through the axle to get it off. Whoever thought the idea of a removable steel insert on an aluminium upright was a good idea needs his head examining.

Anyway next job was a rear tie rod replacement. Simples I think. Similar story in that I ended up cutting the nuts off at both ends as they were seized solid. Pattern part drops right in no hassle but then I discovered that the bolt holding it to the hub is M10 10.9 rated and should be tightened to 100Nm, best I have on a bank holiday weekend is an 8.8 in that size which I know won't withstand 100Nm. So I've done it up as best it'll go and I'll have to get a proper replacement on Tuesday when the proper shops open up again. Driving like a granny until then though.

Still got lots of jobs to do but its getting there. The misfire seems to have disappeared but now the drivers side wiper is being dodgy and failing to wipe the screen at all. I suspect its just unclipped itself from the arm...

[jnoiles]

Nice beast. I'm in the market for a tow car soon but I doubt it'll be quite this flash. I'm thinking more the kind of thing that I can chuck parts and greasy oily bits in without worry

[Renrut]

Nice beast. I'm in the market for a tow car soon but I doubt it'll be quite this flash. I'm thinking more the kind of thing that I can chuck parts and greasy oily bits in without worry

In that case I suggest you look at the ones I was considering but turned down as they weren't exactly what I wanted but did have estate variants and 4x4

Skoda Octavia 1.8T 4x4 - not heard a bad thing about them and someone I work with uses one to tow karts. Your cento can't be much heavier by now

VW Passat 4Motion VR6 thingy, can't remember if it was a 2.8 or 3.2 engine but the one I tried was quick just very very bland. Rare as rocking horse s**t though.

Audi, pretty much anything but even the A3 quattro ones can tow quite a weight but an A4 has a bigger boot and an A6 will probably be cheaper.

Most of those are kicking around the sub £5K bracket now in enough numbers that bargain ones can be found. The jag isn't in immaculate condition and it seems to be cursed. Saturday my drive to the shops was interrupted by that familiar dull rumble from the rear. I'd managed to pick up a 3" x 1/4" steel bar in the passenger side rear tyre. Luckily a slow puncture so it hadn't gone flat and wrecked the tyre wall but its left a sizable hole that the kwikfit monkeys wouldn't touch (only place open on a bank holiday weekend) and suggested I needed a 'specialist'.

So gonna try a few places today that do truck tyres as they always seem to be decent and no nonsense. If its a new tyre then it'll be some new wheels (16" s-type wheels are cheap as chips!) as I can't justify spending £180 a corner at this regularity!

ETA - Oh and the wiper is fixed now. Combination of slightly bent wiper arm (2mins of Renrut-handling to fix) and a blade that had hardened to the point of crumbling (2x22" blades for £20 at the fraud shop).

[Renrut]

Right I've had the Jaaag for over a month now. Towbar is due to be fitted today (fingers crossed), £270 from a mobile fitted, not bad at all. Although some places wanted to charge north of £600!

Reading through the manual its max towing weight is 1850kg which limits things a bit (no big car trailers etc) but otherwise thats fine. Something I did notice in the manual is that they specifically allow up to 10% ethanol in with a petrol. It also lists a load of other alcohol type chemicals I could use as alternatives to bolster the petrol as long as the octane rating is above 95.

Also considering LPG conversion for it. But it's not anywhere near as thirsty as I though it would be. Computer says 21.4mpg around town and about 30-34 mpg on motorway depending on traffic density. Real test will be towing the little car assuming I can sort out a trailer!

[jnoiles]

Skoda Octavia 1.8T 4x4 - not heard a bad thing about them and someone I work with uses one to tow karts. Your cento can't be much heavier by now

Moved on a bit from the Cinq:



I need to drag this beast at 1050kgs plus some tools, spare tyres, drinks, jerry cans etc. I'm thinking Iveco diesel vans at the moment. Or maybe a 2.5 turbo diesel pajero.

At the moment the race car is road legal and I'm driving her to rounds but I reckon there's at least a few seconds a lap in hesitation factor, ie knowing I'd have to get her towed home if I bent her.

[jnoiles]

Also, I'm at the £999 tomorrow. I'll be hanging around the old school panda that's entered. Come say hello

[Renrut]

Was good to see you there!

If its a tow car and you're not bothered about anything else you'll struggle to do better than a proper 4x4. Thats mostly cos most trailers that you can hire are 500kg ish, and you'll need about 1000kg for the car, and anther few hundred for tyres and spares.

Maybe you should start with what trailer you need to tow. Theres a few websites that you can punch in the trailer weight and it'll tell you what cars can tow that.

That is a very cool AW11 btw, gives me a hankering for another one!

[Renrut]

Right I've had this moggy now for a month or more and the 'to-do' list has gotten quite big, I'll document it here as its a nice place to do it and it shows how expensive or not a car like this really is. Wanting to dispel a few myths about these.

Front drivers side lower wishbone front bush is shagged leading to a front end vagueness and very odd handling characteristics. Can buy new bushes for about £30. Or I could get a good second hand wishbone for about £60. I'm tempted to go for the later as I hate doing wishbone bushes and this would mean I can just swap the wishbones over and maybe keep the old one for next time I need them replacing so I can get them swapped without any downtime on the car.

Ambient temp sensor is up the spout, temp gradually climbs as the car is used, peaked at 37deg C yesterday on a long drive, needless to say this makes the A/C and climate control a pig to use. £5 for a new one and should only be 10mins to swap it over.

Rear shock lower bush on drivers side is knackered. Must have been for a while as its made the tyre lumpy. Found this when swapping it to the front, gives a hellish wobble at 65mph but fine the rest of the time. New bush is about £20. Not sure what to do about the tyre as its a Pirelli P Zero Rosso @ £180 a corner but its still got a good 3-4mm tread left. Might just bung it on the back again and ignore it.

Occasional knock when engaging 1st gear at a standstill at lights etc. I suspect this is a problem with the propshaft or diff mounts anyone know of a good way to find out without getting dirty under the car? Also occasional difficultly getting 2nd on hard launches I suspect this is the rear gearbox mount that's gone or is maybe just not designed for that kind of behaviour. Struggling to find any aftermarket places that do this mount so it might be a trip to Jag.

Wheel locking nuts. Basically they're cr@p. The nuts are soft and the key is even softer and relies on 2 skinny little teeth to grip the nut. Needless to say it looks like someone has used an airgun with it in the past and I might be able to get a couple of nuts off before this one breaks completely. So I'm on the lookout for a set of locking nuts of the right type (big floating washer type for a jag stud) so I can swap them over and get away from that potential disaster. The McGard website suggests that p/n 24137 will fit but it doesn't have the broad shoulder that the existing wheel nuts have

Engine misfire under heavy load / idle. Occasional misfire at idle and more often on heavy load (above 3/4 throttle). Driving it like a granny at the minute because I know that can wreck cats (this has 2 of them to be wrecked as well!). I know the plugs only last 100,000 miles which I've just tipped over. Coils are known to fail on these as well so while I've got the inlet manifold off I'll change the 3 under there anyway. I've ordered all the bits to do the plugs, 3 of the coils (the ones under the inlet manifold), all the manifold gaskets plus a pair of cam cover gaskets in case oil is weeping out there. Hopefully they'll arrive before next weekend and I can get on and get it done. Should be a simple job but a long one.

After that there's just a few other things I might want to sort out. Slight rust showing on the B pillar door trims. Should be just an afternoon with some sandpaper and some paint to sort them out. Plenty of stone chips that need doing. Need to get a pro's opinion on them as to if its easier to get the whole car resprayed or just get them touched up.

Last and least there is a rattle from the passenger side exhaust heat shield as the silencer runs past the spare wheel well. Looks to be a matter of fitting a couple of penny washers and job done.

Long term I'm thinking it would be nice to have it running a 4.0 or 4.2 V8 and a manual box. Need to do research as to if the existing box will take it (I doubt it) and if it's easier to get a complete s-type V8 and strip the bits out or just buy the engine and go aftermarket. LPG is also something to think about, good reports of it on the S and with it getting 35mpg on motorway runs anyway it could be a genuine practical performance car with the V8.

[Renrut]

Update time. Last weekend I swapped the plugs and coils for new. Looks like the drivers side bank had never been done in the 100,000 miles its done. Combined with a little bit of silicone sealant around the washer jets and the misfire is exorcised. Pulls nice and smooth and cleanly from 1000rpm right up to 7500rpm. Very happy with that now.

Got rid of the old locking wheel nuts, the key broke while I was removing the last 2 so it was out with the nut removal tool. Worked a treat and I'm not rolling on 5 standard nuts. Jag lock nuts are all too weak, even the new ones so advice is to keep them as the non-locking type. No one would steal 4 bubbly alloys anyway.

Also had to swap the coolant hose to the expansion tank. It has a clever 3 way valve in it which when putting things back together decided to crumble. New one was £17+VAT. British Parts got one out to me quick enough and I managed to bodge it for the short drive to work until it was fixed.

Still have a slight coolant leak but tis very minor. I'll jsut keep an eye on it for now.

Swapping the drivers side wishbone today for a 2nd hand one with some good bushes in it. The front bush on that side is knackered leading to vague steering and some odd handling behaviour.

Also got the rear shock bushes to do. I've got a couple of days booked off work so I should be able to get them done this weekend as well.

tried to sort out the rear rattle and fastened down the heatshield properly but the rattle is still there. I suspect when fitting the towbar the guy has dropped something down behind the trim. I'll have to get it off to do the shock bushes anyway so I'll look then.

[Renrut]

Update time as I've now had the Jag for a few months.

Had an alignment done over at the Jag dealer in Warrington, top job and just shy of £60. They did the usual inspection and gave me a list of things that were needed ITO. Lower shock bushes was one, along with tyres (2 rears are down to 2mm and the fronts are on about 4 but with some serious saw tooth going on with one of them), queries about the front passenger wishbone (I replaced the drivers side so there is some difference in bush play)

Considering if the shocks bushes should be done or if I should just replace all the shocks. They're £90 a shock, and they're 10yrs old and from the very full history I can't see them having ever been done. Passes the bounce test but I'd rather it was in tip top shape.

Tyres are def needed So instead of forking out the neck end of £200 per corner for the badly corroded alloys its wearing I've gone and bought some cheap 16"s with good tyres - £300 for the lot. This should have many benefits:
narrower less high performance tyres = better grip in slush which there seems to be a lot of right now,
narrower tyres = less drag on cruise meaning I might see 35mpg more regularly,
narrower tyres = £60 a corner rather than a minimum of £120 for ditchfinders,
higher profile = even more cushy ride,
higher profile = less unstrung weight for given size,
Different wheels = I can refurb the old split rims when I get chance and keep them as my summer posing wheels.

Coolant leak has been located at some pipe joints around the heater valve, its only a little dribble though so its more annoying than anything else. Its located at the front behind the fog lights but all the screws holding the undertray on are corroded, so I'll need to spend an afternoon removing and replacing them. Probably just a lose hose clamp but won't know until I look. New valve is £115.

It has an oil leak from the sump gasket. Seems to gradually lose oil over a few weeks. Topping up for now until the weather is a bit better I'll order a new gasket and do a proper oil flush and change, it seems like the service before I bought it amounted to a new air filter

Also needs a new top idler pulley. Its gotten squeaky lately in the cold weather and is very annoying over the almost silent V6 idle. Can't find one available cheaply. Its very similar to the ford 3.0 V6 in the ST220, does anyone know if it has the same top idler pulley as ford ones are rather cheap?

Still not bored of the power it kicks out although having driven the OHs civic diesel recently I can see why people think diesels are fast - the big lump of torque makes you think you're really shifting but comparing the way they pile on the speed the jag has is whipped even with a roll on from 30mph in a high gear, its just so silky with the way it does it you don't notice. Ya canna beat lots o'cubes

[Renrut]

MOT booked for tomorrow afternoon - fingers crossed it'll be painless although I'm expecting a few suspension bushes to be raised as concerns as it is 10yrs old.

New wheels and tyres:
(before anyone asks yes they are made from moon dust)

A pair of Avon ZZ3s on the front and Bridgestone ER300s on the rear. Figured this car eats rear tyres so with the harder touring ones on the back they might stand a chance.

Changed them over yesterday and learned a valuable lesson - don't try to remove and replace 4 wheels using a 12V impact driver without the car running - it flattens the battery! All fine now after a an hours charge though.

Now I need to decide what to do with the 18" BBS split rims as they're damned bulky and I don't have a lot of storage space. They need a refurb which I'd do myself but it might take some time. Might enquire about getting them done by a pro, anyone know a good one in liverpool/manchester/west yorkshire area? New ones or refurbs go for about £800 so well worth doing.

And I've ordered a new sump gasket and idler pulley as the squeaking has become very annoying! Turned out the cheapest place for the parts was the local jag dealers (Rybrook in Warrington). Really beginning to like them, always helpful, even emailled me the pictures of the belt system so that I could be sure of getting the right part. Should have it all in on saturday morning for me to get it all done this weekend

Figured I may as well post mpg figures now as I've had it a while and it seems to be the thing most people ask about it - 22mpg round town, 34mpg on a run, 30mpg on a run with a heavy foot.

[OilyFingers]

There is something magical about a big cat that the Germans, Italians, Americans and certainly not the Japanese can master. My dad had a series 3 4.2 soverign when I was a kid, it was falling to bits but it always felt special.

Those MPG figures are good. I get 25 around town, 40 on a run (double zero cruising altitiude) and about 22 when I'm late for work from an 1800 Mondeo FFS!