PD Miller

The flexi brake hoses on my XJ6 while still legal have seen better days with some surface rusting on the metal ends. New OE ones are about £70 each and the rears seem to be hard to find. There are companies who make up braided hoses to customers specifications for much less and with stainless fittings. Has anyone had any experience of these and other aftermarket hoses? Thanks Pete

Hi John Unfortunately it's all back together now, it's a convertible but I would imagine that they are all the same? The clips are a couple of inches up from the bottom edge of the panel in a straight line and there are 4 of them equally spaced. You have to give it a fair tug to free them, I think I pulled it from the top towards the front of the car. Good luck Pete

I managed to get the connectors off this time, there's a little plastic lug on each side of the connectors which my 66 year old eyesight had failed to detect first time round. Both sides are pressed simultaneously and the connector pops off. Sadly no broken wires were found so the auto lights still don't work.

Popped into the main dealers yesterday and they printed off the spec sheets for me. The car has auto lights so when time permits I'll have a go at it. Seemingly the wire coming through the stalk on the light switch is the prime suspect. Wish me luck.

Almost frightened to say this but I tried (very gingerly)and after much deliberation, one of the dry wax polishes. , I think it's called Showroom Shine. I was pleasantly surprised at the result. No swirl marks or scratches. The car wasn't covered in mud or salt before I started and I experimented on the Wife's car first but if you follow the instructions it seems to work. I did the XK which is dark green and it looks great but if it was filthy I would be tempted to wash it first. I've also had reasonable success with Colour Magic which fills the scratches and lasts a month or two before you have to do it again.

Off on a slight tangent. I lay my XK8 up over the winter and when I start it after a few months of inactivity I hate the idea of it bursting into life without any oil in the vital places. In the old days of classic cars a few turns of the starting handle with the ignition off did the trick. I wonder if removing the fuel pump fuse or the injector fuse and spinning the engine before starting would be beneficial. Any ideas and theories most welcome

Hi Peter I ran an 06 SE 2L diesel for about 6 years. It returned excellent MPG averaging mid 50s and sometimes 60 on a run after I blanked off the EGR valve but I tend not to hammer my cars. The auxy drive belt tensioner rattled on tick over so I replaced it but after a while the new one rattled so I just ignored it. Never had a problem with injectors or DM flywheel but the car was still under 80K miles when I sold it earlier this year so maybe those joys are waiting to surprise the new owner. I also replaced one rear suspension lower arm but other than that it was just normal servicing. In all a very reliable and economical car. I replaced it with an XJ6 which I find more comfortable and more in keeping with my advancing years. Thankfully not an issue with your Son. Wouldn't hesitate to have another one. Happy hunting Pete

Hi again John. Just remembered I had the same problem with mine a while ago and just opened the boot with the key, thinking I would get round to it eventually. Strangely it just fixed itself after a while. Good luck Pete

Hi John There are 4 hidden fasteners towards the bottom of the panel. You just have to give it a tug towards the front of the car and they pop off. I've got mine off at the minute so if you aren't happy about yanking it I'll send a photo and reveal all Cheers Pete

Hi Richard Welcome to the club. XF looks great. Pete ( we're not all called Peter by the way)

Good thinking Peter and well worth doing before I do something I might regret. A good excuse to go and drool over the new shape XJ in the dealers showroom. I love those slanty rear lights but I still think my oldies have more character. :D Maybe in a decade or so. Thanks Pete

Hmm You've got me wondering now Nige The car is a 2001 and has the auto position on the switch and the adjuster knob on the mirror so I assumed that Auto Lights are fitted.....but maybe not. It's no bother to switch the lights on manually, just a bit annoying that it doesn't work. If it's there of course. Next time I feel like living dangerously I'll have another go at the air bag :(

Hi All The auto lights on my XK8 have never worked and I have been told that the problem probably lies in the wiring to the stalk switch. I plucked up the courage to remove the air bag in order to remove the steering wheel to gain access to the switch. The 2 wiring connectors to the air bag resisted all my attempts at disconnection and I gave up fearing I was about to break something or set the airbag off, even though I disconnected the battery.. Any advice welcome as to how to disconnect the wiring and also Am I looking in the right area? Thanks Pete

Thanks Peter The previous owner had also stuck a badge on the boot lid which I managed to remove using dental floss then white spirits to get the glue off. Cars never look quite right to me when they have badges etc that they weren't designed for. The leaper however has sort of grown on me and I wonder if the 3 Litre round badge that I bought off Ebay to replace it would look even more odd in it's place. One day I'll just go and do it and Henry will come back to haunt me. Back on topic my old Wolseley 4/44 which I owned for 20 years was always known as Wendy the Wolseley. I wonder where she is now Probably reincarnated as a Nissan Micra.

Henry. My XJ6 came complete with bonnet leaper fitted by a previous owner. I tried unsuccessfully to remove it thinking I might replace it with a badge. Fearing damage to the paintwork due to the unbelievably strong tape keeping it on I gave up and decided to live with it. It now sneers at me ever time I look at it because it has won. Henry the family cat died around the time the Jag arrived and as he had spent 15 years annoying me by scratching carpets, using the veg plot as a toilet, waking me up in the middle of the night etc etc I thought the name should live on. The XK8 is Kate for obvious reasons. :P

Hi All I joined a while ago then tried to upgrade yesterday to a premium membership. I seem to have joined twice and wonder how I can cancel one of the memberships. :( Any advice welcome Thanks Pete

Hi All After much searching, haggling and dithering I finally took delivery of a 2004 XJ6 just before Xmas. It's as good as I'd hoped for and returns surprisingly good MPG for a 3 litre petrol, The only thing I'm still not sure about is the leaper on the bonnet which is very reluctant to leave it's perch because of some ridiculously strong adhesive. I thought I might replace it with a 3 Litre S type badge to hide the hole but even with the big plastic nut removed it refuses to budge. I've heard that dental floss and gentle heat might be the way to go. I hate to admit it but it's starting to grow on me and the fear of tearing off a strip of paint or lacquer might persuade me to let it live there for a bit longer. A bit more worrying was a total electrical blackout the other day when I tried to engage the cruise control. Engine stopped, lights, wipers radio the lot. Only the hazards worked. When I managed to stop and switch it off and back on again everything came back. I'm waiting for a good time to try it again (ie when the wife's not there) and I'll report back. Meanwhile any theories would be much appreciated. Thanks Pete

Hi Trevor I have a 2006 X Type 2.0L diesel with 60K miles on the clock. About 2 years ago the glowplug warning light came on then reset after stopping the engine and starting it again but it kept coming back and when it was on the engine performance was restricted. no fault codes showed up. I removed the EGR valve and found it about 50% blocked with carbon/soot, I replaced the valve and blanked it off with the plate without the hole ( about £6 on Ebay) So far so good, 2 years later it hasn't come back and fuel consumption has improved by about 4MPG. Hope this helps. Pete

Hi All Nice to see that there are a few of us mature types on the club. I've been running a 2006 X type diesel for about 5 years now and found it to be very reliable and economical. Recently I concluded a 2 year search and bought a 2001 XK8 with 33K miles. It's a convertible in a strange dark green colour that sometimes appears blue or even black depending on the light. I did the dreaded upper chain tensioners just to be on the safe side and fitted a pressure regulating valve to the hood hydraulics to hopefully prevent the hoses bursting. The XK uses about 2.5 times as much fuel as the X type but I love it and as long as the Wife continues to believe that it does 35 MPG I should be ok. Cheers Pete