LairdScooby

Glad to hear you got a much better payout, also worth checking out this website and suggesting to your insurers they may be able to arbitrate over the £500 they are shorting you : https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers/complaints-can-help/insurance You almost certainly have a case on the "face value" of their words, i believe (but not sure) that every complaint made to the Obudsman incurs a charge on the insurer that they have to pay regardless so they may decide it's cheaper to pay you the £500 than pay the Mbudsman and then still have to pay you on top.

Glad to help Max, good luck with the restoration! 😉 😄

With cars above 60000 miles (~100000km) i've always adopted the "part-change" method or as some call it, the "sump dump" method. Undo the drain plug after a 5-8 mile run and drain the contents of the sump. Refit the drain plug and top up with fresh fluid to the correct level. Repeat 3 times at 1-200 mile intervals and then do one drain/refill operation a year to keep it fresh. This means you are adding the new, thicker fluid gently and with it, the seal conditioner present in all ATFs. The conditioner will have worn away in the old fluid, potentially allowing the seals to become dry and brittle and if all the fluid is changed in one go (like in the flushing or "Gibbon" method) then it suddenly gets all new, thicker fluid with the associated increases in pressure. This can cause rupture of seals that are dry/brittle due to the extra pressure before the seal conditioner has time to do its magic. Also this way of doing 4 part-changes means any dirt has 4 chances of being drained, further cleaning the inside of the box. I also subscribe that no fluid lasts the lifetime with the theory that once it fails, so does the unit it lubes - to that end it has lasted the lifetime of the unit but that lifetime could be so much longer if the fluid is regularly changed.

It's funny you mention this, my S Type does this too. Thinking it was just the way the suspension is, i ignored it until your post and then started thinking back, firstly to my Series III 4.2 Jag Sovereign (one of the first Jag Sovereigns) followed by my XJ40 3.6 and they both did it. Then i thought about other cars i've had with IRS and RWD, only ones i can bring to mind instantly are Nissan 300C and a Datsun 240KGT Skyline (3 of those!) and they all did it too - twichy on the back end up to 30-50mph depending on model then above that, settled down and felt supreglued to the road while absorbing bumps and ripples seamlessly. Even my Rover 827 Sterling did similar on the back end and that was FWD but overall handled more like a RWD car. I would hazard a guess it's a characteristic of RWD with IRS as my Volvo 700 series (all estates) didn't do it, or at least not so obviously, presumably the live axle damped it although sometimes in the last one, a 760GLE V6, if i was giving it the beans it could be a bit twitchy but never lost traction - again it settled down above city speeds. With that in mind i would still suggest you get the tyres (especially the back ones) checked as sometimes they can distort, saw one once on an Astra that was a distic=nctive S shape! 😮 If all is good and the bushes etc are good then i would say it's a characteristic and adopt it as a means of telling you if you're within certain speed limits.

Plasma

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On the premise that prevention is better than cure, it would probably pay to rub some silicone grease into the boot seal, leave it 20-30 minutes to soak in then wipe off gently. Also clean the boot lid around where it meets the seal. Try and find out where the water is getting in and fix the ingress. For what it's worth, silicone grease is a good alternative to dielectric grease, both are waterproof and non-carbon based and (i'm told by someone who said he knew) are near enough identical. Silicone grease tends to be more wallet-friendly and easier to find though.

What Joe said ^^^^^ 👍 Can i ask what the original problem was that you were trying to solve?

Supply

There are many that would say, "Before integrated technology, the weather app was accessed by looking through the windscreen" 😛 Joking aside, i sometimes wonder how useful technology is if we can't use it as intended. Just bought a Honda CR-V to replace my ageing Volvo 760 and it has satnag built in to the radio/CD player. It won't read the satnag DVD, presumably because the disc is outdated or a copy but it renders the satnag part of the original ICE as useless. This means ultimately i'll probably replace it with an aftermarket double-DIN head unit with Android satnag built-in plus of course BT connectivity for my phone etc. How long will it be before subsequent owners of things like i-Paces replace the orignal head units with ones that keep up with maps etc? First thing i did when i got my S Type a year ago was fit an aftermarket single-DIN head unit with BT connectivity so i now have full duplex handsfree on my phone plus music and satnag from the phone through the car audio system - even a handsfree mic mounted at the top of the A pillar trim. Still need to make a new fascia plate to mount it nicely but that's another story involving a (yet to be designed and built) English Wheel and a 3mm sheet of aluminium...........

Cater

Welcome aboard both Glen and Andy! Glen - my previous car was a 1994 Rover Sterling and through the owners forum got to know a few people that, like yourself, worked on external production of various parts - always nice to have an example of the fruits of your own labour! Hope you enjoy your X300! Andy - what can i say, a 2018 C Type? Very nice! Not jealous at all, lying thrugh my teeth! 😛

When i made the indicators into extra reverse lamps on my Rover, i drilled out the indicators bulb holder from the cluster (similar idea to the S Type) to 16mm if memory serves and pushed one of these in : https://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/product/1608/category/81#product_img_1-1 Connected the earth of the case to the earth rail on the original bulbholder, soldered one of the wires onto the original indicator feed then ran a separate wire for the reverse lamp connection. Used a similar method to upgrade the outer of the two rear lamps to stop/tail from stop only, that was easier as the tail lamp was inboard. A similar method could be used on a pair of old/spare front indicator bulb holders for the Jag to create the DRL/indicator bulbholders. Yes it would be fond if someone pulled the bulbholder out but otherwise unobtrusive.

https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/products/bay15d-1157-white-and-amber-tail-sidelight-and-indicator-combined-led-380?_pos=5&_sid=c4bc4eac1&_ss=r These are available in +ve earth which would save a lot of jiggery-pokery with relays to swap polarity for the bulbs. Bulbholders with tails on could then connect to the indicator feed and the +ve, relay coil fed via ignition could then switch the relay to earth to bring the DRLs on - still at the thinking stage!

Thanks for the link Joe, having looked at yours i think i might do it slightly differently using a pair of these in +ve earth flavour : https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/products/bay15d-1157-white-and-amber-tail-sidelight-and-indicator-combined-led-380?_pos=5&_sid=c4bc4eac1&_ss=r Change the bulbholders to suit the new bulb, sacrifice a couple of filament bulbs to make plugs to connect the indicators then run an ignition fed relay coil to bring the DRLs on via a separate wire to the new bulbholder for the DRLs or perhaps go back along the loom to where the existing indicator plugs in - several ideas but need to check what's there first! I did something similar on my 827 Sterling about 7-8 years back, also added extra reversing lamps to it using similar bulbs. Making the front indicators into DRLs/indicators meant stripping the housing down and removing an amber lens inside the housing so it could be bi-colour.

Glad to hear you're all fixed up now! 😉 😄

A fe little bits of information that will help fill in the edges Russ - i've had my 827 Sterling a long time (16 years next February 29th) and had planned on keeping it for considerably longer. However a rotten sill which was meant to be welded by the MoT tester that failed it was only half done and then it was uglier than an ugly thing that lost a fight with the ugly stick. When i submitted it for MoT later that year (it took 6 months to get the car back!), the tester basically threw it off the ramp and showed my why. Many parts weren't even welded, leaving the car unsafe at best and a death trap at worst, no wonder it felt wrong while driving! A few months (April last year) i spotted my S Type and bought it. It filled the formula the 827 had, big Japanese derived V6, Stone Beige/Light Stone leather interior (Rover/Jaguar names for the same leather!), very comfortable with all the toys and importantly for me, the S Type has an LPG conversion. It's also only the second car to put a smile on my face whenever i drive it, the Sterling was the first. Also had my Volvo about 7 years, had three 740GLEs before that but had always wanted the V6 (like the Sterling, a 90deg V6 unusually) 760GLE but in all honesty, having owned this one for that long and done many jobs on it, discovered much of the Volvo engineering is the paper bag and scissors style then put something nice looking over the bodge to hide it. Yes, the mechanical side is good but the cosmetics are a bit rough in places and as for using soya bean derived wiring insulation, that's just silly! Having also had some Hondas before and of course the Rover being codeveloped with Honda when the first Legend was made (Project XX (Rover)/HX (Honda), it made a Honda a natural choice for me as a replacement for the Volvo. The rest i think you know! As for the Discos and MG-f you own, many parts are shared with the 800, depending on year etc so if you find yourself struggling for any parts, give me a shout, i may either have the right bits or know of someone who does or what will fit in place, even if it's not officially an MG/Land Rover part. Another one that is useful for us S Type owners, certainly the early ones anyway, the screenwash pump is also used on a variety of Fords (Transit, Connect, Mondeo, Sierra and others) and the first gen Volvo S80 so a replacement is available on ebay for under a tenner.

Mine are still on the to-do list Russ, the intention was get it through the MoT and then get them. However i misread the date on the MoT, i thought it said 23/3/23 but it actually said 23/2/23, think you can see how i made the mistake! In between whiles i picked up two punctures which involved replacement tyres and then i wasn't able to swap the wheels around (i'm not in great health so sometimes a bit tricky) and by the time i realised the MoT was late and i'd got the tyres swapped, the battery was flat. Caalogue of errors you might say! Anyway, in other news, i've also been looking for a replacement for my Volvo 760, ideally a Honda CR-V, preferably the Executive with the leather, AC etc and if i was really lucky, in silver. Been trawling ebay, Autotrader and so on to no avail, found several but then discovered there was a reason not to buy them (usually rough MoT history, Cat N/S or similar) so was really waiting until next month and was planning on getting the Jag in for MoT soon. Quite by chance and on a hunch, i went into a local, relatively new, car dealer as i thought i'd spotted a few CR-Vs in there. Knowing they also rent to USAF personnel, i didn'y have my hopes too high but i had spotted two silver ones, side by side, one at least was for sale but the other one had really caught my eye. Odd as they were both the same colour (silver) and from a distance, looked identical. The second one didn't have a price on the screen but the one i wasn't interested in did for £3495. I asked about the other, new MoT screen price will be £2795 but " probaby let it go for two". Long story short, i said i was hoping to do a PX and roughly the deal i was after and also that i'm waiting on a pension lump sum next month on or just after my brithday. A deal was struck, subject to test drive, of £1200 + the Volvo. He warned me of a couple of dodgy ball joints that were an advisory on the recent MoT (i've since checked and they were the only advisory) and it might be a bit clonky but they would be done. and away we went. All was good so hands were shaken then this morning i had a couple of texts from him basically offering to do the swap and settle up the cash next month when my funds arrive. This has obviously made me short on time, the Volvo has aftermarket cruise control that i want to use on the Honda (for some odd reason it doesn't have it) and also need my dashcam out of the Volvo. Once i've got the Honda and the dust settles i'll be able to get the Jag for MoT then look at getting the LED bulbs for the Jag! Bit of a "round the houses" explanation there but hopefully (at least slightly) intersting!

My current LED bulbs are 6000K Russ as they are very close to natural daylight in colour temperature. Makes night driving much more relaxing and less eye strain. I'll certainly go for the same again! As you say, the ones with the blue tinge don't really look that good, on a Jag or anywhere else come to that! 😮 I find the 3000K or halogen colour temperature lacking in many areas, particularly during rain and dusk with all lights. One benefit of the LED bulbs, certainly with 6000K is that they tend to make animals eyes reflect light back so if there's a deer/rabbit/fox on the verge of the rural road you're traceling along, you actually get to see them so you can avoid them.

These are the ones i was originally planning on getting Russ : https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/products/led-headlight-conversion-bulbs-h7-4600-lumen-philips-z-es-main-dipped-glb477?_pos=6&_sid=9012460b2&_ss=r Not polarity conscious so no problems on the S Type, reversible heatsink collar so will fit inside the cover and 4600Lm per pair/2300 each - the Twenty20 doesn't specify if the 400Lm is per bulb or per pair but i would suspect per pair. https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/products/pair-of-led-headlight-conversion-bulbs-hb3-hb4-4600-lumen-main-dipped-p20d-p22d?_pos=1&_psq=hb3+led&_ss=e&_v=1.0 The HB3 version for the inner main beams ^^^^^ similar spec in terms of not polarity conscious, reversible heatsink and 4600Lm/pair but obviously different fittings for the actual physical parts. Should fit in with the heatsink reversed. I've used that supplier for amny years now and recommended them to many, only had to use their refund service once and that was on something experimental so nothing to do with the products bought except too many were bought! I'm also a bit of a fan of the Z-ES Lumileds, those aren't specified on the Twenty20 bulbs so i might go with what i know, especially as they're a smidge cheaper!

Have you got a link to the ebay DRL kit please? Might be an interesting upgrade, i made my own using switchback combined DRL/indicators LED bulbs for my 827 Sterling, quite a game as the indicator lamp units have a removable orange lens inside so had to strip and rebuild them. Hmmmm, i really want to get a longer beam as well as actually having illumination of the road in front. I know on both my Volvo 760 and Rover 827, the beam distance improved with H4 LED bulbs so i was kind of hoping the beam distance would improve on the S Type too. On the Volvo, because the reflectors were tarnished (they are 35 years old this year so are allowed to be! 😛 ) they wouldn't actually give a definite beam pattern on filament bulbs, it was only just good enough to get a pass on the MoT but the tester muttered about poor beam pattern, not likely to pass next year (that was 7 years ago and had LEDs in since) but the Rover had new headlights and both gave an improvement on beam length. Because of my experience with both cars and doing the outer beams (dipped and main combined on the H4) both got inner beam improvements too, the Rover got some el-cheapo "Chinabay" H3 LEDs that used COB LEDs instead of the better Lumiled type used on the H4 jobbies. This resulted in no beam pattern at all on the inner beams but because they were so bright (something like 10000Lm if memory serves, might be 6000Lm per H3 LED bulb) switching to main beam is like turning the sun on. The Volvo got 35W HID conversions for the driving and fog lights, both inboard of the outer combined dipped/main beam lights. As it's a 1988 car the MoT testers pass it anyway because it gives all correct beam patterns. Not had a problem with the Rover either but that was before they changed the law and i changed MoT stations thanks to the previous one bodging a repair on the Rover and making it unsafe to test, never mind drive! For now in my S Type i have some cheapy ebay "Xenon look" halogens that work well - normally! Although a vast improvement on the original (nearly black so probably original to the car) bulbs, still not great especially at dusk. Having been used to LEDs for so long on my other cars as soon as i get the Jag in for MoT (and hopefully through it too) i'll be getting some LED H7 and also HB3 bulbs for it.