Pete1982

Had the coolant leak diagnosed as water pump leak. Meh. Better than the head gasket(s) though so kinda happy!

Hi everyone, I have just had to top up the coolant for the second time on my 09 XF-R in 3 or 4 months. Only done about 1500 miles in that time. So obviously I'm starting to think the worst about head gaskets. Is there any obvious signs on the 5.0L engines that should be looked for to confirm or discount a head gasket? I know in older cars the oil would often milk up or steam or white smoke would be seen from the exhaust, I dont know if these indications are valid on modern engines. Any pointers?

Update: The wheel speed sensor has been replaced (part £108 + VAT) and all systems working fine. No battery issues to report, car has been laid up for a while and is all good. Thanks for the time taken to respond to my request for advice!

Update: I had all 4 rear wishbones / control arms replaced. Cost £800 in genuine parts, I got a deal on labour as my wife works for the garage that fitted them. Car feels great in dynamic mode, perhaps she feels tighter at the back but I could be imagining that as I've missed driving her for the last month while she's been laid up. Thanks all for your advice and thoughts.

Well I have been quoted £140 for the lower arm and £118 for the upper. But I don't know if that includes VAT, I do know that those prices are trade as my wife works at an indie garage, not a Jag specialist sadly, that'd be too awesome. I would hazard a guess at an hour labour per side.

Thanks for the advice guys. Surely buying the bushes only will incur more labour charges as the components require work on the bench, so you could end up with the same sized bill whether you do the bushes or the arms? I get that doing the bushes yourself would be far cheaper, but I just don't have the time anymore - kids, job, degree study, soft hands from lack of practice...... I strongly suspect the best thing to do is replace all 4 arms, then one can pare back depending on budget.

The car won't be back the garage for a little while, so I won't be able to update or progress fixing it till then. The bits will be ordered tomorrow then I'll get a slot booked for the work. I suppose a busy garage is a good sign!

I have been told that Jag don't sell bushes, just the whole arm assemblies. I have spotted poly bushes as sets but honestly I think the car is stiff enough and I would like to keep it as OEM as possible.

It could well have been me Old Peter!

It's a start............

So in dropping off what appeared to be a fault free XF-R for MOT, allegedly "during test" the front off side wheel speed sensor packed up and now I have the following warnings; DSC unavailable ABS fault E-Diff not available Adaptive Dynamics fault and the engine management light is now on too. So I'm going to get the sensor changed and go from there. Also of note is that recently the car has suffered from a low battery voltage as I hadn't used it for a long drive in a while and I know XF's are sensitive to below par batteries. If anyone has any knowledge of these faults it would be good to hear from you, otherwise I'll keep you all posted on how it goes.

I had the same issue, I went to an independent paint shop, turns out he was an ex Jag-Land Rover painter, he gave the car the once over with some kinda polishing tool to buff the lacquer, it worked a treat, only cost me £40. He was confident about the quantity or lacquer though. The first place I visited wanted me to sign up to being prepared for a respray of the whole side of the car. regards Pete.

My 2009 XF-R failed the MOT on one of the bushes on the lower offside rear wishbone - excessive movement. I would like to know people's thoughts on replacing the wishbone; whether I need to do the upper and lower on the same side, or, should I do the lowers on the near and off sides leaving the tops alone, or, should I do all four rear wishbones / control arms. Car is on 105,000 miles, to my knowledge these are the original parts still. Thoughts?

Hey everyone, I am on my first Jaguar, had it for a year now. As a previous owner of an original mini I enjoyed the small acknowledgment all us mini drivers used to give each other; a wave or a quick head light flash when passing by. Given that we are all Jaguar enthusiasts here, I think we should start acknowledging each other with a wave or flash of the lights, I think it adds to a sense of community among owners. Why not give a brief wave to other people enjoying their choice of vehicle? So if you find yourself in Dorset and some weirdo in a blue XF-R waves or flashes lights at you for no reason, that'll probably be me!

Shaftesbury, Dorset.