Graeme
Adamson
Here is what has been done so far, with costs. I am no longer keeping note of US$ prices due to fuctuations, apart from the total. To calculate the price of each repair in US$, divide the Rand price by the current R/$ exchange rate (R5.80/$1 as of 4 Dec 2004).
| Item | Action | Date | Cost (R) |
| Front End - done by Rivonia Auto | |||
| Front and rear main oil seals | Replaced | June 1999 | Total: 6100.00 |
| Torque converter oil seal | Replaced | ||
| Oil pressure release hose | Replaced | ||
| Engine sump gasket | Replaced | ||
| All 4 front suspension mountings | Replaced | ||
| Gearbox centre mounting | Replaced | ||
| Gearbox sump and side gaskets | Replaced | ||
| Speedo drive O-ring | Replaced | ||
| Alternator belt | Replaced | ||
| Main engine bearings | Replaced | ||
| Rear end, steering rack, brakes - done by Rivonia Auto | |||
| Wheel bearing play | Corrected | June 1999 | Total: 6625.00 |
| Park brake pads | Replaced | ||
| Rear brake disks | Replaced - old ones were very thin and chipped | ||
| Diff oil seals | Replaced | ||
| Rear radial arm bushes | Replaced | ||
| Tappet cover gasket and half-moons | Replaced | ||
| Steering rack | Completely rebuilt, including new seals, covers, and mountings | ||
| Brake master cylinder | New kit | ||
| Bonnet alignment | Aligned; second-hand spring used | ||
| Brake reservoir mounting rubbers | Replaced | ||
| Radiator flush plus antifreeze | Done | ||
| Wheel alignment | Necessary after a steering rack rebuild | ||
| Miscellaneous | |||
| Radio aerial non-powered | Replaced with black rubber stub aerial | May 1999 | 40.00 |
| Door side lights not working | Replaced bulbs | May 1999 | 10.00 |
| RF door lock not on central locking | Connected wire in door | May 1999 | 0 |
| Driving lights (we don't need foglights here) | Bought some, wired via relay to brights | May 1999 | 120.00 |
| Rear dampers worn | All 4 replaced. One was a different type, with a different type of cup and half-moons, so I had to buy a second-hand spring plus shock to get the right parts. | May & August 1999 | 1086.00 |
| Windscreen washer pump rusted through | Replaced | June 1999 | 25.00 |
| Spare tyre (passed by the roadworthy examination) had a 10cm hole | Replaced by one of the semi-OK tyres when the other tyres were replaced | June 1999 | 0 |
| Road tyres (BFGoodrich 205/70/15") had bulges on the sidewalls, and were worn thin in some spots | Replaced by four new Dunlop SP Stratos 205/65VR15 tyres. Very quiet, good looking too (and they look like they'll be great in the rain). Done by Rivonia Tyre. | June 1999 | 2400.00 |
| No anti-theft system (not that this is really a problem - only two Jags stolen and no Jags hijacked in South Africa ever), but the insurance company wanted it. | Immobiliser fitted (holes for the plug and LED light already existed in the console and steering column cover). Also included a fuel cut-off solenoid. | June 1999 | 570.00 |
| Headlamp fuse holders disintegrated, fuses overheating | Replaced with hard plastic inline fuse holders and ceramic fuses | June 1999 | 50.00 |
| Cheap radio | Replaced with Diamond radio/CD | June 1999 | 944.00 |
| Speakers buzzing | Replaced original speakers with 70W Pioneer 4" speakers | June 1999 | 200.00 |
| Dashboard air vents chipped | Replaced - 2nd hand | June 1999 | 40.00 |
| Window channelling missing, RF door | Bought some, inserted it | June 1999 | 50.00 |
| Power window switch spring broken | Replaced - 2nd hand | June 1999 | 25.00 |
| Clock not working | Replaced with refurbished Series III quartz clock done by Jag-Daimler Spares. | June 1999 | 450.00 |
| Header tank cap leaking | Replaced | June 1999 | 10.00 |
| Fuel cut-off switch plastic cover missing | Replaced - second hand | June 1999 | 15.00 |
| Mag wheel chrome hub covers missing | Bought 4 new ones; fortunately I had the plastic Jaguar centre badges. | June 1999 | 440.00 |
| Footwell vent covers missing | Replaced - second hand | June 1999 | 40.00 |
| Rear parcel shelf carpet in terrible shape | Re-covered in black felt | July 1999 | 30.00 |
| Right fuel gauge not working | Replaced flooded float with a champagne cork; I felt obliged to drink the champagne since I'd bought it for the cork, so the repair was done in a bit of a haze. | July 1999 | 22.00 |
| LH mirror didn't go inward enough | Reassembled correctly, with washers used as extra spacers | July 1999 | 0 |
| Gear selector plastic cover cracked | Replaced - 2nd hand | July 1999 | 10.00 |
| Fuel vapour vent pipes cracked | Replaced | July 1999 | 15.00 |
| Front and rear exhaust silencer boxes, including over-axle pipes | Replaced by SupaQuick and Rivonia Exhaust. | July 1999 | 1500.00 |
| Lube service | Including two full oil changes and engine flush; done by Rivonia Auto. | July 1999 | 760.00 |
| Front carpet mats disintegrated | Bought a new set of 4 from the Jaguar Club; they're charcoal, but actually look rather good in the brown interior. | July 1999 | 150.00 |
| Vinyl on centre console and drivers armrest handgrip cracked | I re-covered the vinyl. The colour match isn't perfect, but it's close enough. | July 1999 | 50.00 |
| Header tank overflow pipe leaking slightly | Replaced with longer pipe routed to vent to the ground instead of into the engine compartment. | August 1999 | 3.00 |
| Rust under battery and on header tank | Painted with rust primer. | August 1999 | 26.00 |
| Vacuum piping suspect | Replaced all vacuum pipes in the engine bay; discovered that the vacuum advance diaphragm is perforated. | August 1999 | 60.00 |
| Fuel pipe repaired | The fuel pipe running from the pumps to the metal underbody pipe broke, and it was neatly and properly reattached by JTR Motors. | August 1999 | 0 |
| Replaced distributor | I replaced the distributor (because it was cheaper to get a second-hand distributor complete with vacuum advance unit than to buy a new vacuum advance unit for R760). I stripped and cleaned the replacement, and had JTR set the timing. | August 1999 | 150.00 |
| Carbs tuned | JTR stripped and reassembled the AED (replacing one perforated diaphragm), reset the timing and tuned the carbs. | August 1999 | 980.00 |
| Vinyl on passenger's armrest handgrip cracked and torn, chrome trim strip on handgrip missing | Re-covered in vinyl, with second-hand trim piece. | August 1999 | 0 |
| Passenger side carpeting disintegrated | Replaced with carpet from old rear mats cut to fit. | August 1999 | 0 |
| Black wiring covers from engine compartment missing | Replaced with second-hand parts, sprayed black. | September 1999 | 30.00 |
| Replaced crankcase breather | The crankcase breather rubber was cracked, so I replaced it with a second-hand part. | September 1999 | 10.00 |
| Fuel/Heated Windows and Interior/Map Light switches very dim at night | Repainted interior of switch white, resulting in a great improvement in brightness. | September 1999 | 0 |
| Cleaned front brakes | Removed wheels, removed pads, sanded pads a bit and replaced. | September 1999 | 0 |
| Fascia side trim pieces missing | Replaced with second-hand parts. | September 1999 | 10.00 |
| Doors not sealing properly | Rather than replace all the door rubbers, I ran a strip on 8mm wide self-adhesive foam rubber all the way around the door frame where the door rubber seals. This has improved wind noise considerably, and probably water leaks too. | September 1999 | 0 |
| Bonnet mounting area near hinge tearing | Welded by Rivonia Auto (no exterior paint damage), now much better. | September 1999 | 0 |
| Bonnet alignment out | I did a small bit of hammering in the car's hinge area, and managed to get the bonnet aligned decently. | September 1999 | 0 |
| Boot mat torn | Replaced with a good second-hand mat. | September 1999 | 25.00 |
| "Executive" badge on boot worn down to a brass colour | Replaced with a nice shiny second-hand badge. | September 1999 | 25.00 |
| Jaguar plastic badges on sides yellow and cracked | Replaced with two new chrome badges. I discovered that the right-hand badge had been located 6cm lower than the left, and that there were no locating holes. I did the measurements and drilled two new holes, and mounted the new badges. | September 1999 | 100.00 |
| Windscreen washer pump in wrong location | Relocated from behind LF bright to inside engine compartment further back from header tank. New washer tubing obtained from a pet shop (fish tank air pipe). | September 1999 | 0 |
| LHS bonnet spring missing | I got a 2nd-hand bonnet spring and inserted it. The bonnet now raises much more easily. | September 1999 | 10.00 |
| Gearbox lost 2nd gear, wouldn't want to change from 1st | Gearbox (BW65) rebuilt, including new 2nd band, new friction materials and filter, and an additional line filter before the transmission cooler. Done by Westbridge Auto Services. | September 1999 | 3122.00 |
| Auxiliary fans not working | Fixed wiring, replaced dead relay, and added a manual switch on the console. | September 1999 | 0 |
| Oil change needed | I changed the oil and filter. | September 1999 | 210.00 |
| Water pump leaking | Replaced with second-hand pump by Rivonia Auto. | October 1999 | 800.00 |
| Torquatrol loose and fan blade bent | Replaced with a second-hand part | October 1999 | 280.00 |
| Damaged exhaust pipe on a driveway | Repaired pipe with Gun Gum Exhaust Bandage | October 1999 | 30.00 |
| Exhaust bandage disintegrated | Repaired with a tin can, Gun Gum paste, and two worm clamps. | October 1999 | 0 |
| Horns not working and in wrong location (in front of top of radiator) | Relocated then to behind the front bumper, and redid the wiring to them (they weren't grounding properly). | October 1999 | 0 |
| Cruise control not working | My father-in-law Ian Mawbey did most of this lot, having installed a number of cruise control systems: Replaced Speed-O-Cruise bellows and throttle cable. Reconnected all cables to Speed-O-Cruise computer, repaired and cleaned brake switch (spring was broken). Calibration was still perfect. | October 1999 | 0 |
| Dirty-looking fuel filter | Replaced. | October 1999 | 9.00 |
| Gaps around radiator shroud | Mostly blocked with self-adhesive foam rubber. | October 1999 | 0 |
| More shroud gaps blocked | Now completely (I hope) blocked around the shroud. | October 1999 | 0 |
| Radiator cap possibly leaking | Replaced with a new cap. | October 1999 | 15 |
| Flaky bullet connectors | Removed bullet connectors in engine compartment wiring, and soldered wiring. | October 1999 | 0 |
| Bonnet still not aligned perfectly | Took a heavy-duty file to the weld beads on the hinge mounting point, now much better. | October 1999 | 0 |
| Re-routed coolant overflow pipe | My car came with the coolant overflow pipe pointing inside the engine compartment, which obviously led to coolant messing the inside up. I had routed a longer pipe down to near the exhaust pipe, but now I've re-routed the pipe to the LH wheel well, down to the fender mounting bracket at the front. Thus coolant should end up getting dumped right on the ground in front of and inside the LF wheel. | October 1999 | 0 |
| The Accident - all done by Dash Panelbeaters | |||
| Front of car smashed | Bonnet, both fenders, one headlight, both brights, both foglights, both horns, support rail, radiator fan, visco, entire bumper assembly, lower and main grilles, headlight chrome surrounds, aircon condenser and drier were replaced. Front end pulled straight and front box sections straightened. Radiator was replaced with a 3-row tropical radiator. Bonnet later replaced with another bonnet, as the first started buckling. | January 2000 | 16000.00 |
| Painting | Entire front end, all doors, and rear fenders resprayed. | ||
| Paint on boot cracked | Boot surface stripped down and resprayed. | ||
| New engine | |||
| Engine shot | New engine purchased from Basil Michaelides. New engines is completely rebuilt, balanced, blueprinted, and gasflowed. | February 2000 | 12000.00 |
| Starter motor worn | Reconditioned by Cruz Auto Electrical | February 2000 | 592.80 |
| Overflow tank corroding | Second-hand brass tank bought | February 2000 | 150.00 |
| AED not working | Replaced by electric choke (electric fuel valve hooked up to carbs via AED pipes). | February 2000 | 300.00 |
| New engine to be fitted | Fitted by Rivonia Auto. Radiator modified, engine fitted, new belts and hoses, new radiator cap, rotor, points, condenser, plugs, and breather valve. Core plugs leaking, so they were replaced with brass plugs. Steering column stripped and reassembled correctly. Electric choke fitted. | February 2000 | 4465.90 |
| Heater valve leaking | Replaced with a 2nd-hand Series 3 valve | February 2000 | 100.00 |
| Aircon not working | Condenser flushed, new drier, several new hoses, plus R12. | February 2000 | 1803.30 |
| Exhaust pipe leaking | Replaced by Rivonia Exhaust | April 2000 | 430.00 |
| Grille badge missing | Replaced with a new badge | April 2000 | 250.00 |
| 1000km service; 200km on odometer. | Lube service. Oil changed for Total Quartz 7000 15W-50 semi-synthetic oil, several minor points attended to. Done by Rivonia Auto. | April 2000 | 539.22 |
| Battery leaking acid | Replaced by a new battery in a second-hand battery box, with a "Lucas" sticker. | April 2000 | 270.00 |
| Cosmetics needed improvement | Wiring neatened and bound in black ribbon, in many places, and cable tied where appropriate. | April 2000 | 0 |
| Plain water being used as coolant | Once I'd verified that there weren't any coolant leaks, water was replaced by a proper antifreeze mixture - 6 litres of antifreeze, 6 litres of distilled water. | April 2000 | 120.00 |
| Minor radiator leak | The radiator neck on the top hose had a small hole. Repaired with cold solder and Pratley Steel Epoxy. | April 2000 | 0 |
| Boot light not working well | Remounted. Two new manually operated boot lights added. | April 2000 | 21.00 |
| Fan clutch freewheeling | Replaced with a fan clutch from Jag-Daimler spares. Three hours of bleeding knuckles to replace it. | April 2000 | 1000.00 |
| Radiator leaking again | Radiator removed and rebrazed. Another small leak was repaired with Solderlene, and later stopped with Bar's Leaks. | May 2000 | 20.00 |
| Diff leaking | Pinion seal replaced. Also, all front shock bushes replaced. Front brake pads replaced. Added diff fluid conditioner. Diff and rear suspension steam-cleaned to get grease off rear discs. | May 2000 | 1300.00 |
| Crack on bonnet paintwork | Mostly covered up by buying and fitting a leaper. | May 2000 | 400.00 |
| Wheels balanced and aligned | Balanced and aligned by Rivonia Tyre. The balancing was very poorly done. | May 2000 | 180.00 |
| Wheels re-balanced | Balanced properly by Tiger Wheel and Tyre. | May 2000 | 80.00 |
| Passenger side mirror glass broken | Replaced at PG Glass | May 2000 | 50.00 |
| Throttle bush perished | Replaced (it involved stripping most of the throttle assembly - easy but tedious) | June 2000 | 30.00 |
| No "Jaguar" on cam cover | Sticker purchased and applied | June 2000 | 25.00 |
| Fan came off, into radiator. | Radiator replaced, fan replaced, fan and clutch mounted more securely. Covered under my extended warranty. | June 2000 | 1000.00 |
| Compressor seal blew | Compressor replaced, R1000 of which was covered by my extended warranty. | July 2000 | 1135.00 |
| Hole in exhaust manifold | Welded by Supa Quick. | August 2000 | 51.00 |
| Replaced rear dashboard | Had board cut to the right shape, covered it in vinyl, and mounted it. | August 2000 | 40.00 |
| Points & condenser failed | Replaced | October 2000 | 70.00 |
| Header tank cap leaking | Replaced | October 2000 | 15.00 |
| Oil change, 6500km | Oil changed with Castrol Futron 20W-60 | December 2000 | 200.00 |
| Wheels unbalanced | Wheels balanced | January 2001 | 80 |
| Total so far (Rand): | 70420.22 | ||
| (US Dollars): | 9030.00 | ||
Things I still need to have done, either as maintenance or as a "feature":
Replace steering column universal joint.
Replace heater hoses behind engine.
Fit Series III electric mirrors.
Fit an electric cooling fan to the front of the radiator, wired to the aux. fans. A BMW fan or a Mercedes fan would probably be about right.
Replace radiator fan with electric fans.
Replace ATF and diff oil with synthetics.
Copyright © 2000 G R Adamson
Last updated: 4 December 2004