Jaguar XJR Review

[@TransformationDetail]

This is my new favorite page! I've been binge-watching all of these videos. Thank you for the thorough walk-throughs. I've had my '03 XJR (X308) for many years now but now that I've found your videos, I'm looking to get down and dirty with mine. I'll be posting comments and asking questions throughout

[@LowTechGarage]

Welcome aboard! We really enjoy our British cars!

[@gregdettling6693]

The more I watch your videos the more I like them!

[@LowTechGarage]

Thanks!

[@gregdettling6693]

Bad news my timing chain to my cam completely broke. They don’t know if it damaged my motor on the XJR or not. They won’t be able to know until that’s fixed. We are thinking of replacing the entire motor in case it was badly damaged when the timing chain broke. The mechanic I’m dealing with thinks it might be the cheaper way to go and the better way to go in the long run.

[@gregdettling6693]

Damn! You are in Florida! That’s great !

[@jase6370]

Gorgeous looking car

[@LowTechGarage]

Thanks so much! We really love it!

[@seankelly2383]

I love how you Americans appreciate a good British classic - I love my XJR over here in the UK - Not a very common sight on our roads people look at it wherever I drive it

[@LowTechGarage]

They are not very common over here as well. They always get comments here and we love it! Wonderful motors! :)

[@patriciadcnp]

Beautiful car! I love the oatmeal-flavored seats!

[@LowTechGarage]

Me too!

[@jedipierre602]

Oh my! I love it!

[@LowTechGarage]

Thank you!!!!

[@Michael-dw7uz]

Great video! Glad to see the X350 in the driveway too :) Enjoy!

[@LowTechGarage]

Thank you! We will be posting some videos on the X350 as well. It has some service coming up.

[@dg3_tv]

Looking into getting one of these!! Beautiful car!

[@LowTechGarage]

You should! Its a lovely car!

[@alexandersonmei]

Came here from action kid! Amazing channel guys!

[@LowTechGarage]

Thanks so much! We try to keep getting better all the time, and you're support helps more than you know!

[@gregdettling6693]

@ LTG This is Greg in Canada back with a quick update on my black 98 XJR. First of all thank you for all of your help and advice so far. Okay in short. I’m now in direct contact with the owner of the shop I’m using. We now have now ordered a used motor that is an exact fit and it is on the way as of yesterday June 1. The owner was able to have the motor inspected. All in 4,500 Canadian for the motor and to have it sent. Compression tests came back good as did a water jacket test. And oil pressure test. And they checked the valves with a scope. So we should have a good motor on the way. 140,000 km on this used motor. But we won’t know ‘everything’ until it gets here in 1 to 2 weeks. But it is on the way. We will have parts available to us from the original motor that is in the car now and the owner has agreed to keep that motor that comes out at his shop free of charge for 6-8 months incase we need something off it that is in better condition. We will use the supercharger that is the best one out of the two. Both will be inspected to determine which one is the best to use. The motor that is coming does not look that good cosmetically speaking and the owner has proposed to have it painted ‘a dark British racing GREEN’ to make it look better. Free of charge. His own idea. I wanted to quickly ask you your thoughts on painting one of these motors green? I don’t know if that is such a great idea. I can see the spirit of it for this car but factory spec would be black I think. Do you have any thoughts on this. I’m kind of a just ‘stock’ sort of guy. Also with the fire retardant paint used for painting an engine......I worry that small microscopic dangerous chemicals might be coming into the interior over time. Because that would be something we just throw on the motor ourselves. Sounds a bit risky and a home made solution to me but the owner was pretty hot on the idea. I said I’d give it some thought before we jump on that. But clearly his heart is in this project 100%. As for the motor that comes out of this with broken timing chain, possible value damage and existing compression issues we will hold on to it. If in time we can re-build it we may be able to have it sold as these seem rare and worth a bit of money re-built. That in time we will have to see about. So for this message my questions are. Do you think painting the motor green is a good idea? We will perform an oil change with filer of course and do you recommend changing ALL the seals? Is there anything they have to watch out for or be highly sensitive to or careful of before and while doing this job? Complete engine replacement. One final thing is we will look into getting the new metal tensioners ‘after’ this motor is in. Does that sound correct to you? I’m sorry.....in advance....so many random questions on this. When watching your videos it seemed to me that you were especially carful with doing the seals perfectly and some of the bolts needed to be tightened perfectly and in a specific order. You had to be very precise with the seals and bolts if my memory is correct when watching your videos. If you have time.....thank you for answering my questions on this. Best, Greg. Up in Canada

[@LowTechGarage]

I would see if the motor could be degreased and jet washed (avoiding electrical components or openings into the motor) These are aluminum engine so they dont rust. I would also advise that you do the guides and tensioners before installing the motor, it will take far less time and you will have much better access to everything. I would advise replacing any seals that already look like they have leaked or any that may be in hard to reach places, also while the engine is out. I hope this helps and best of luck on your project!

[@gregdettling6693]

This is good advice and I’ll take a screenshot of this to pass it on to the shop I’m using at an appropriate time so as not to overwhelm anyone there. The motor will be here today or by Monday. We will know more when it arrives. In Japan this process is much easier and smoother I feel but in Canada it is a long heavy project with some unknown parts to the puzzle. You help a lot to fill in the puzzle!

[@gregdettling6693]

@LTG one further note: It may be worth mentioning that my shop knew about this in advance. They knew I was having timing chains issues and did not tell me to stop driving it. They could not get to it until February. But it broke about 3 weeks after they knew. From Greg

[@LowTechGarage]

Ahhhh that is not great! You can see how to service those in our head gasket series

[@gregdettling6693]

@LTG Can you please direct me to that KZbin video? This story is a bit complicated....my mechanic had a close working relationship and friendship with my former mechanic. Who is out at the moment taking care of some stress and burn out. Hope to see him back on his feet. This is one reason I wanted to use him exclusively. He knew my old right hand man well. And he is said to be the best in town. But he needed to get on holidays for a well deserved break - some time off for a month over Christmas and New Years to fly back home to see his children. And I wanted to respect that. Before Christmas they were booked up solid. So even they knew I needed timing chain work done they couldn’t get to it immediately. It was thought it would be okay until late January/ early February. Unfortunately it broke on the day he went on holidays. December 15. And he is just getting to it now. We are going to do what should have been done in Early December. ....Replace the guides and tensioners and timing chains. What we need to know is did the timing chain failure cause internal damage to the engine? My mechanic has said on some of these engines they do and on some of these engines they don’t. He has stated that: it depends how close the cylinders are to the valves.

[@citizenpark2782]

What year is ur XJR?

[@LowTechGarage]

Mine is a 2000

[@citizenpark2782]

@@LowTechGarage it’s beautiful… and thanks for sharing ur awesome sorry. I’m on a similar journey but in the earlier stages. I’m still trying to find out the cosmetic differences between a 2000 and 2003. Would you know? 😬

[@LowTechGarage]

@@citizenpark2782 if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask!

[@citizenpark2782]

@@LowTechGarage appreciate that! Aside from the rear sensors, do you know of other cosmetic differences between the ‘00 and ‘03?

[@djkasdjkasdjdjdj]

the most amazing thing on this video is the jag ran the whole time!

[@LowTechGarage]

Jag Magic :)

[@Buffalobulltofta]

Hehe! The many X300 and X308's i have owned have been very reliable.

[@SirMrShanks]

Jaguar V8s are incredibly reliable

[@emekaiheanacho274]

@@SirMrShanks it's the electronics that are sus

[@SirMrShanks]

@@emekaiheanacho274 Few niggles but not major bad

[@roman29m]

Great video, thanks for posting. I tried twice to buy green/oatmeal XJR X308 at auctions, but my bids were beaten (both times by Florida competitors, by the way). Bought white/oatmeal XJR instead. It makes me very glad that people of my age starting to buy such great cars as XJR etc. instead of modern trash. Keep it up this way, it's a good investment. And thanks for the music, it fits the video perfectly. What track is being played between 4:12 and 6:35?

[@LowTechGarage]

Thanks for the comment. We will be posting more about this car and the other ones we have to share with the community. We agree that these are great cars and VERY under appreciated by many! As far as track id here you go: Back To The Future Jellyfish - NoMeBe

[@roman29m]

@@LowTechGarage Thanks for letting me know the track ID, I will try it out in my XJR. Their audio systems are amazing. Jag is also perfect car for long-distance marathons, you can drive about 300-400 miles a day and hardly get tired (former S-Type V6 driver here). Would be great to see more about the XJR. It's even good that they are underrated by many, otherwise it would be impossible to get a good one for affordable sum, especially if taking into consideration that their retail price was over 70k 20 years ago. I can't stop enjoying the timeless design of XJR in X308 body, really. That's why I decided to get one and not S-Type R (these are cheaper and faster) or X100 XKR (even more exclusive car, especially if coupe). Good luck with the Jag. Looking forward for new videos from you.

[@LowTechGarage]

So true! The drive back for us really wasn't bad and we did nearly 1,200 miles in 24 hours.

[@stuartcR]

Love these cars. Mine won't stop over heating though and i don't know why. Very sad

[@LowTechGarage]

What year is yours?

[@usmansheikh1653]

Impose as thermostat or water pump . Or air in the system

[@RUNSMINT]

WHICH JAG IS BEST JAG? X308 JAG IS BEST JAG BECAUSE SINGLE FRONT WIPER

[@jamesbanfield7958]

Because asteroid wheels!

[@ryanc87]

I agree, but also the XJ40 and X300 had the single blade

[@LowTechGarage]

Now this is someone that knows their stuff!

[@JimS870]

That car is stunning. You got the best color!! How's the reliability been?

[@LowTechGarage]

I love the color combination so much, held out until I found one! The reliability has been great, almost all of the service videos you see on our channel are preventative maintenance that I chose to do, rather than something actually failing. Pretty much they are just known for the possibility of a coolant leak in the valley of the engine. I would definitely say well worth owning one!

[@gregdettling6693]

@LTG I have a quick but very urgent and important question. I’m sorry to bother you with this in advance. To make a long story short I’m up here in Canada and I had a timing chain failure with my recently purchased 1998 Jaguar XJR supercharged, black on Black. My mechanic has thought it best to replace the engine with a used Jag engine ( 4.0 L V8 supercharged ) however only one was found in Canada and when I viewed photos of it yesterday it looked terrible. Old dirty and rusty. Shockingly terrible. This very rusty and ugly engine is said to be an exact fit and will cost me about 4000 CND including shipping. The photos of it were so absolutely dreadful that I have asked my shop to cancel ordering it. This means we are going to order new Jaguar parts and just fix my broken timing chain and replace all of them to my understanding along with the plastic guides and tensioners. Here is the thing. And my question. My mechanic tells me that even after doing this there is a chance that my engine will have serious internal damage particularly to the valves as it was running for a while with timing chain completely broken. My mechanic has stated that some do and some don’t. It just depends on the engine. And he has stated that there is no information on this. So there is a chance we do this work and the engine still won’t be good. And there is also a chance we do it and the engine will be fine. Do you have any idea? Do you have any knowledge about this? From Greg

[@MitchGrooms]

Great vid and car. I have the same car in red. Funny about this video is that I live in Atlanta and I have a 2nd gen Trans Am. I have a car channel here too, new Subscriber.

[@LowTechGarage]

Thanks a lot! I am glad you caught the TA in the video, we thought it was great seeing it on the highway and thanks for Subscribing! You have a new follower too.

[@MitchGrooms]

@@LowTechGarage waiting for a video where you show the car closup..;-)

[@ejvelarde6129]

Dude, how much you make a video about the freaking Car

[@LowTechGarage]

Look at our content

[@tomdnyc1]

This video was siiiick... You guys better have gotten the All Star Special at Waffle House!

[@LowTechGarage]

We got the emergency pit stop special!

[@Nosensev57]

Holy shit people are short in america. Im from the netherlands and everyone here just hits the roof in my xjr.

[@LowTechGarage]

We just use the power seat and lower it down. Works a treat! :)

[@QuoVadis316]

Gewoon je schuifdak open doen 😜 Ik bracht een x een collega thuis die op staande voet ontslagen was (moest direct zijn zaakauto laten staan) Het voertuig wat ik op dat moment bij me had was een Mercedes SLK. De ex collega was 1.90+ Ik vermoed dat ie nog steeds bij de fysio loopt. Natuurlijk, SLK is cabrio, maar het regende🤷🏻‍♂️

[@Hattonbank]

Well Dutch people are the tallest in the world, right?

[@dennynisevic7848]

I found 98xjr, same color, same mileage, 7k, people said that year is garbage. Please HELP. Subscriber

[@LowTechGarage]

The early cars had potential nikisil liner issues. HOWEVER in general if the car is still on the road and running good you will likely not have to worry about it. The most important thing when buying these cars is overall condition any maintenance records. If those are limited, just be prepared to do a lot of the work outlined on the channel.

[@saturningregatourian1951]

scuse my french!

[@LowTechGarage]

Haha

[@Tigerfire75]

Instead of driving back you could just have lived in Indiana

[@LowTechGarage]

hahaha