Feb 01 2014 wes General No Comments

Here’s our buddy Jerry and his gorgeous XKR.  It came to see me because it was losing Pentosin CHF-11S from the power top mechanism.  This one button system is super cool but the lines are a problem sometimes. The pump is in the trunk. And so was the first leak.  Right at the fitting. These lines run from the pump in the right side of the trunk, up the left side A-pillar, over to the latch.  Repair means taking most …

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914 Exsanguination

Jan 19 2014 wes General 1 Comment

This is a cool car…one owner 2L in really nice driving shape.  Only trouble was she is bleeding to death.  Several small leaks and one biggie, the main. So out with the drivetrain and off with the flywheel. Look at all that oil slinging out. While we’re in there we’ll take care of this.  With the engine back in we see this.  Mechanics did this on these cars for years.  They add another solenoid instead of fixing the starting system.  We’ll …

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Sep 29 2013 wes Editorial No Comments

Ever driven a 6-volt 356 with sealed beam lights at night?  You usually end up hoping for a clear night and a full moon.  Here we’re doing the popular fix that Joe Leoni started.  I don’t think you can buy the kits from him anymore but any good 356 guy can do it for you. I usually mark on masking tape where these are going before I put them in.  It is very easy to get those wires confused once …

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Apr 29 2013 wes Editorial No Comments

I’ve been using a treatment on my old crusty R comps to bring them back to life and have always wondered if they really did anything.  It always felt like they did but I didn’t know if it was placebo effect or not. I decided to find out.  I put on a lab coat and glasses, dug out the Type A durometer, grabbed a clipboard and went to work finding out. Here is a freshly minted Hoosier R6… And here …

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Apr 10 2013 wes Editorial No Comments

We’re going through another set-up from another shop that just couldn’t get the Webers right. Trying to do all the carb work on the car with homemade stuff won’t work.  But if you are looking for a quick baseline before deciding where to go with the car, or making changes to fresh carbs, these tips can help.  As always check plugs, cap, rotor, timing, compression, fuel pressure and valve adjustment before try to put a good tune on the carbs. First change we had to make to these were the …

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Apr 10 2013 wes Editorial No Comments

When you suddenly can’t open your door from the outside on an X5 the typical issue is that the mechanism that the outer handle goes into has broken.  When this one came in that is what we found. Remove the door panel, somebody had been here before and broken nearly all of the clips When you fix this it’s important to get the BMW style clips with the rubber bushing on them if you want the panel to stay snug. The two screws to …

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Mar 19 2013 wes Editorial No Comments

And that’s a good thing.  Anyone who knows me knows how much I love the XJ8/XK8.  When treated well they are just great cars, period.  Fast, pretty, great interiors, roomy, and the best ride anywhere. This very tidy 2000 XJ8 limped in with stability management and cruise turned off by the ECU and placed in full “limp mode.” First thing found was a miss on bank 2, cyl 2 (or cyl #6 for everyone but jag) Not hard to run that …

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Mar 19 2013 wes Editorial 1 Comment

  If you have a Jag with the BBS wheels w/chrome trim ring this job is not nearly as bad as it looks.  I would recommend doing it the easy way.  Bring you Jaguar to RennsportKC and come pick it up finished 🙂 These wheels were hammered.  The PO was not kind to them.  I am pretty sure they were vision impaired and should not have been driving. Air inflation port. Pretty simple start, use a regular valve core removal tool …

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Mar 06 2013 wes Editorial 2 Comments

So this is turning into Jag month.  Today we have an XKR that the door opens well, but something is amiss when closing.  We found that while the first microswitch in the door is working when the handle is lifted and the door is opened.  The window drops about a half inch like it should.  But when the handle is released the window returns to the full closed position.  Then when you shut the door the glass catches the weatherstrip and …

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Mar 04 2013 wes Editorial No Comments

XJ8/XK8 series cars have frequent problems with the power headrests.   It is usually because the cable comes out.  That wasn’t the case here.  Somehow the clamp that holds the headrest motor was gone.  I have no idea where it went.  Couldn’t find it anywhere in the seat.  Just gone.  Here’s how you get to it…. Then fab up a new bracket since the old one was MIA. And here it is, solid as a rock: Working like a champ now! …

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