Long time lurker Jaguar X type 2.0d run around
Discussion
Having sold my fleet of interesting Volvo's not so long ago to free up some cash a daily runner was required to replace the lack of transport. It needed to be:
Spacious
Decent looking
Good on fuel - Diesel and euro 3
Decent on VED
Comfy
Adequate power
Always fancied an x type since they were new and at the moment they are so cheap and plentiful you can get good value for money (or maybe not like me!)
Anyway onto the car. It's a 2004 Euro 3 so no dpf, electric egr and strangled mapping (I know enough about diesel engines of the period to know which ones are worth having).
Had 114k miles, no history and was a trade in at local dealer. Took a gamble and fell in love with the colour and interior. Sills were checked and are fine, will underseal when it warms up.
Since owning the car, I've enhanced it a little by fitting the following:
Egr delete
Tuning box
Decat
Silicone boost hoses
Hid lights
Sport grille
Full audio upgrade including rare parcel shelf
Genuine spoiler
Genuine part roof bars c/w thule bike carriers
Piano black dash parts (nightmare to change)
Hard wired dash cam
Folding mirror relay c/w custom led puddle lights
Here's some pictures highlighting the mods and spec, it's had a nasty past so required a lot of tlc to get it to this stage but a little more work and it'll be sorted.
And yes, the amp is velcro'd to the wheel for ease of removal
Very hard to find parcel shelf dye'd black as was grey in colour
Spacious
Decent looking
Good on fuel - Diesel and euro 3
Decent on VED
Comfy
Adequate power
Always fancied an x type since they were new and at the moment they are so cheap and plentiful you can get good value for money (or maybe not like me!)
Anyway onto the car. It's a 2004 Euro 3 so no dpf, electric egr and strangled mapping (I know enough about diesel engines of the period to know which ones are worth having).
Had 114k miles, no history and was a trade in at local dealer. Took a gamble and fell in love with the colour and interior. Sills were checked and are fine, will underseal when it warms up.
Since owning the car, I've enhanced it a little by fitting the following:
Egr delete
Tuning box
Decat
Silicone boost hoses
Hid lights
Sport grille
Full audio upgrade including rare parcel shelf
Genuine spoiler
Genuine part roof bars c/w thule bike carriers
Piano black dash parts (nightmare to change)
Hard wired dash cam
Folding mirror relay c/w custom led puddle lights
Here's some pictures highlighting the mods and spec, it's had a nasty past so required a lot of tlc to get it to this stage but a little more work and it'll be sorted.
And yes, the amp is velcro'd to the wheel for ease of removal
Very hard to find parcel shelf dye'd black as was grey in colour
Hammer67 said:
What tuning box have you fitted?
What difference does it make to performance and economy?
Thanks.
Hey. I went for a used one from eBay. It's called a drake box. Used tuning boxes for years and have always received the same results when combined with an egr blanking plate and decat:What difference does it make to performance and economy?
Thanks.
Better throttle response
More mid range torque
Engine seems more willing
I don't monitor my mpg however I have never noticed much difference when using them. It all depends on how you drive the car. I prefer the extra power to be there at my disposal, don't expect an increase in mpg as that's not how they work (even though they usually advertise this).
Mike.
I had two of these as company cars, did over 100k in two years and overall they were great cars. Mine was the estate versions but they drove well comfortable and quiet on the inside.
Outside they were noisy when cold and the usual Mondeo jokes wore a bit thin but they are cheap to repair and I think are great value.
Depreciation on my two was epic but made cheap cars for somebody
Outside they were noisy when cold and the usual Mondeo jokes wore a bit thin but they are cheap to repair and I think are great value.
Depreciation on my two was epic but made cheap cars for somebody
spaximus said:
I had two of these as company cars, did over 100k in two years and overall they were great cars. Mine was the estate versions but they drove well comfortable and quiet on the inside.
Outside they were noisy when cold and the usual Mondeo jokes wore a bit thin but they are cheap to repair and I think are great value.
Depreciation on my two was epic but made cheap cars for somebody
Hey. It is noise when cold, sounds like a transit if I'm honest. On the go it's ok inside and then engine pulls well for its size and age, Ford fitted an overboost facility on these like the mondeos and it makes a difference to every day driving. Outside they were noisy when cold and the usual Mondeo jokes wore a bit thin but they are cheap to repair and I think are great value.
Depreciation on my two was epic but made cheap cars for somebody
They are rock bottom now price wise and eBay search shows hundreds on there.
Rewe said:
Looks like you have done a cracking job recommissioning that!
But..........can the next job be to sort out the piss stain on the drivers seat?
But..........can the next job be to sort out the piss stain on the drivers seat?
Cheers! Haha it's all creased and shows a shadow in the picture - my fluid retention system hasn't failed just yet, hopefully got many more years left in me!
XRMike said:
Hey. It is noise when cold, sounds like a transit if I'm honest. On the go it's ok inside and then engine pulls well for its size and age, Ford fitted an overboost facility on these like the mondeos and it makes a difference to every day driving.
They are rock bottom now price wise and eBay search shows hundreds on there.
That made me laugh! They are rock bottom now price wise and eBay search shows hundreds on there.
Back in 2005 I had a BMW 320td that I thought was a bit "tractory", but one day someone on the other side of the road fired up his X-Type diesel! What a racket.
Wow you’ve done a nice job on that!
I’ve always liked the shape of the X-Type and like Jaguars interior colour schemes.
I’ve known a few people who owned them and they were all very unreliable but it sounds like you got yours cheap and you’re handy with a spanner so why not!
My mums friend had a black facelift one in a sport spec fully blacked out from the factory with very nice diamond cut alloy wheels, it looked really nice so I asked to have a go in it and my god, it was the loudest and slowest diesel car I had ever driven, 2.0 diesel the same as yours and it’s like you said, it felt strangled and first gear was atrocious, I bet yours responded well to your mods.
Good luck with the car anyway
I’ve always liked the shape of the X-Type and like Jaguars interior colour schemes.
I’ve known a few people who owned them and they were all very unreliable but it sounds like you got yours cheap and you’re handy with a spanner so why not!
My mums friend had a black facelift one in a sport spec fully blacked out from the factory with very nice diamond cut alloy wheels, it looked really nice so I asked to have a go in it and my god, it was the loudest and slowest diesel car I had ever driven, 2.0 diesel the same as yours and it’s like you said, it felt strangled and first gear was atrocious, I bet yours responded well to your mods.
Good luck with the car anyway
Mr Tidy said:
XRMike said:
Hey. It is noise when cold, sounds like a transit if I'm honest. On the go it's ok inside and then engine pulls well for its size and age, Ford fitted an overboost facility on these like the mondeos and it makes a difference to every day driving.
They are rock bottom now price wise and eBay search shows hundreds on there.
That made me laugh! They are rock bottom now price wise and eBay search shows hundreds on there.
Back in 2005 I had a BMW 320td that I thought was a bit "tractory", but one day someone on the other side of the road fired up his X-Type diesel! What a racket.
Chestrockwell said:
Wow you’ve done a nice job on that!
I’ve always liked the shape of the X-Type and like Jaguars interior colour schemes.
I’ve known a few people who owned them and they were all very unreliable but it sounds like you got yours cheap and you’re handy with a spanner so why not!
My mums friend had a black facelift one in a sport spec fully blacked out from the factory with very nice diamond cut alloy wheels, it looked really nice so I asked to have a go in it and my god, it was the loudest and slowest diesel car I had ever driven, 2.0 diesel the same as yours and it’s like you said, it felt strangled and first gear was atrocious, I bet yours responded well to your mods.
Good luck with the car anyway
Well thanks! The colour combo won me over, I've always wanted a Jag and even though it's not a true Jaguar it's still a nice place to be inside. I’ve always liked the shape of the X-Type and like Jaguars interior colour schemes.
I’ve known a few people who owned them and they were all very unreliable but it sounds like you got yours cheap and you’re handy with a spanner so why not!
My mums friend had a black facelift one in a sport spec fully blacked out from the factory with very nice diamond cut alloy wheels, it looked really nice so I asked to have a go in it and my god, it was the loudest and slowest diesel car I had ever driven, 2.0 diesel the same as yours and it’s like you said, it felt strangled and first gear was atrocious, I bet yours responded well to your mods.
Good luck with the car anyway
Unfortunately the reliability issues with these cars is on a large scale, having come from Volvo which are kind of heavy duty if you like extra care and attention is needed with these to keep them going. That said parts are cheap being Ford based but I wish they had used Bosch engine management instead of Delphi.
Funny your comment about the later 2.0d facelift feeling strangled, the later the car the more emissions gubbins attached for Euro 4 emmisions and as a result the power is tamed, the 2.2d's were hit hard loosing the most power.
Mine being a Euro 3 has a basic egr valve and no dpf. It has responded well to some basic diesel tuning mods that I always apply to all my cars, this has woken the car up in effect and makes it much more lively. I could have had a 2.2d however they can be a little more troublesome and this came up at the right time for the right money.
Small update.
Following on from the audio upgrades, I wanted to add a subwoofer to fill in the lack of bass produced by the current speakers.
Key object was to retain all the boot space and utilise the amp I fitted, boot space in this car is not huge to what I'm used to so keeping the car practical is a must.
EBay produced a Bose spare wheel subwoofer that is fitted to various vehicles (some small differences between them). Unfortunately the Bose speaker uses the wrong independence for my amp so a correct speaker was sourced and fitted within the Bose housing. The Bose amp was also ditched so I could use my amp.
The spare wheel was flipped and the tool kit/jack relocated around the wheel allowing the amp to sit on top of the subwoofer.
All in all I have added some bass, abeit not as extreme as previous setups I've had however they have took up boot space.
Following on from the audio upgrades, I wanted to add a subwoofer to fill in the lack of bass produced by the current speakers.
Key object was to retain all the boot space and utilise the amp I fitted, boot space in this car is not huge to what I'm used to so keeping the car practical is a must.
EBay produced a Bose spare wheel subwoofer that is fitted to various vehicles (some small differences between them). Unfortunately the Bose speaker uses the wrong independence for my amp so a correct speaker was sourced and fitted within the Bose housing. The Bose amp was also ditched so I could use my amp.
The spare wheel was flipped and the tool kit/jack relocated around the wheel allowing the amp to sit on top of the subwoofer.
All in all I have added some bass, abeit not as extreme as previous setups I've had however they have took up boot space.
Some more progress has happened this weekend.
First up, the obd port was showing no power. Traced this back to a blown fuse, easy fix thankfully, need to diagnose a few electrical faults and would like a remap in the future so this was a relief. No pics.
Secondly the car received a full clean and polish using Autoglym SRP, I know there are better products out there (I have some to use for next time) however SRP has always been my favourite as it's easy to use and gives good results for a quick job. The colour of this car really makes it worthwhile to keep on top of it, my favourite colour for one of these.
Next up are some side and rear sunblinds, was lucky to stumble upon these for a low price. Objective is to lower the temprature in the car whilst adding some privacy. Easy to fit and much cheaper than window tints that I've had done in the past.
Finally the next job was more of a fail safe preparation. Its common on these for the electric boot release system to fail therefore eliminating access into the boot. There is no key overide nor any other means. Owners have had to strip seats out and climb in which is challenging.
I've devised a fail safe mechanical system that will allow access into the boot should the worst happen. For this I've simply used a bicycle cable and a few fitting I could find.
The boot plinth was removed and a hole drilled in the RH boot lamp housing allowing the cable guide to be bolted in place.
Washers and lock nuts were used to prevent any failiure and the cable was routed to allow for smooth operation.
Luckily American X type's actually have a system to allow passengers to escape the boot (must be their law), so I utilised the cut out in the lock housing and affixed the cable to the housing.
All in I'm pretty pleased with the outcome and it's been a generally productive weekend on the car.
Further jobs already planned include:
Remove sill covers to inspect and address any rust or rot.
Diagnose a few electrical issues.
New number plates.
Paint brake calipers.
Thanks for reading.
First up, the obd port was showing no power. Traced this back to a blown fuse, easy fix thankfully, need to diagnose a few electrical faults and would like a remap in the future so this was a relief. No pics.
Secondly the car received a full clean and polish using Autoglym SRP, I know there are better products out there (I have some to use for next time) however SRP has always been my favourite as it's easy to use and gives good results for a quick job. The colour of this car really makes it worthwhile to keep on top of it, my favourite colour for one of these.
Next up are some side and rear sunblinds, was lucky to stumble upon these for a low price. Objective is to lower the temprature in the car whilst adding some privacy. Easy to fit and much cheaper than window tints that I've had done in the past.
Finally the next job was more of a fail safe preparation. Its common on these for the electric boot release system to fail therefore eliminating access into the boot. There is no key overide nor any other means. Owners have had to strip seats out and climb in which is challenging.
I've devised a fail safe mechanical system that will allow access into the boot should the worst happen. For this I've simply used a bicycle cable and a few fitting I could find.
The boot plinth was removed and a hole drilled in the RH boot lamp housing allowing the cable guide to be bolted in place.
Washers and lock nuts were used to prevent any failiure and the cable was routed to allow for smooth operation.
Luckily American X type's actually have a system to allow passengers to escape the boot (must be their law), so I utilised the cut out in the lock housing and affixed the cable to the housing.
All in I'm pretty pleased with the outcome and it's been a generally productive weekend on the car.
Further jobs already planned include:
Remove sill covers to inspect and address any rust or rot.
Diagnose a few electrical issues.
New number plates.
Paint brake calipers.
Thanks for reading.
Hi Mike,
Long time no speak! Car looks great, a friend had one many years ago and another friend tried to buy an AWD 3.0 estate more recently but we always ended up poking holes in the sills on the test drive and he ended up with a 9-3 2.8T!
Looks like you have made an excellent transformation on this one - surprised to see it doesn't have climate control!
Long time no speak! Car looks great, a friend had one many years ago and another friend tried to buy an AWD 3.0 estate more recently but we always ended up poking holes in the sills on the test drive and he ended up with a 9-3 2.8T!
Looks like you have made an excellent transformation on this one - surprised to see it doesn't have climate control!
Max M4X WW said:
Hi Mike,
Long time no speak! Car looks great, a friend had one many years ago and another friend tried to buy an AWD 3.0 estate more recently but we always ended up poking holes in the sills on the test drive and he ended up with a 9-3 2.8T!
Looks like you have made an excellent transformation on this one - surprised to see it doesn't have climate control!
Long time no speak! Car looks great, a friend had one many years ago and another friend tried to buy an AWD 3.0 estate more recently but we always ended up poking holes in the sills on the test drive and he ended up with a 9-3 2.8T!
Looks like you have made an excellent transformation on this one - surprised to see it doesn't have climate control!
Hi Max. Hope you are well.
Unfortunately this is the case with most, however they are rock bottom price wise and there's loads to choose from!
Would love a V6 93 turbo, maybe one day! Thanks a lot. The spec of this particular one is highly confusing, half electric full leather, 17" alloys yet manual air con, no cruise control nor obc.
Mike.
Small and relatively boring update.
More carrying capacity was required from the car. Tow bar was considered but due to the high cost and I do not want to be investing into non transferable items a roof box was required. I already have a very large one from years ago in storage however it was well suited to my large Volvo estate but was too large for the Jaguar. Also I use Thule bike carriers so some spare was required.
A local search via facebook marketplace revealed this Thule Karrite Sportpak. Its much narrower than the usual boxes so has left me with 50% of roof space.
£30 later and it was mine, came with two keys but was missing the mounting kit. Had to tie it on with rope and bungee's and stay under 50mph for the trip home.
Gave it a good scrub, fitted some m6 coach bolts into the T track and found some alloy spreaders in work to fit it correctly.
Now as a precaution, I have witnessed lock failiure and in my past career I know how easy it is for these to pop open, sometimes overpacking, lack of lock maintenance or mis-aligning of the lid can be a contributing factor for the box to pop open at speed. I managed to source a wheel chair lap belt and bolt it to the centre as a failsafe.
Finally the finished article after a few hours work and a £30 investment that can be used on future cars.
Thanks for reading. Mike.
More carrying capacity was required from the car. Tow bar was considered but due to the high cost and I do not want to be investing into non transferable items a roof box was required. I already have a very large one from years ago in storage however it was well suited to my large Volvo estate but was too large for the Jaguar. Also I use Thule bike carriers so some spare was required.
A local search via facebook marketplace revealed this Thule Karrite Sportpak. Its much narrower than the usual boxes so has left me with 50% of roof space.
£30 later and it was mine, came with two keys but was missing the mounting kit. Had to tie it on with rope and bungee's and stay under 50mph for the trip home.
Gave it a good scrub, fitted some m6 coach bolts into the T track and found some alloy spreaders in work to fit it correctly.
Now as a precaution, I have witnessed lock failiure and in my past career I know how easy it is for these to pop open, sometimes overpacking, lack of lock maintenance or mis-aligning of the lid can be a contributing factor for the box to pop open at speed. I managed to source a wheel chair lap belt and bolt it to the centre as a failsafe.
Finally the finished article after a few hours work and a £30 investment that can be used on future cars.
Thanks for reading. Mike.
Another boring update!
Its funny how life works out. A few weeks ago I gave up on the hunt for a cheap towbar for the Jag, new ones range from £130 onwards then add the wiring kit in and theres some change from £200. So that was out of the question really.
However a Sunday morning trawl through ebay led to the discovery of a recently listed within the last hour Genuine Jaguar towbar complete with the Genuine plug and play wiring kit. Located 75 miles away but after a small haggle I managed to get it for £55!.
Anyone buying stuff like this will know how much better OEM stuff can be in comparison with the aftermarket stuff. The wiring kit alone is the bit that makes it worthwhile as it is simply plug and play into the cars existing loom, utilising all the cars lighting circuit and also muting the parking sensors.
Here's the ad picture.
After collection I spent a few hours with a wire wheel and some satin black Ronseal paint and freshend up the whole lot. Most of it was surface rust luckily.
Upon fitting the bumper was removed to aid fitting (not really required) and copper grease was used throughout the installation, particularly in the cars mounting areas after these were cleaned up.
Here's some picture's of the finished work. I need to glue the plastic blanking plug together at some point but overall a good result.
Its funny how life works out. A few weeks ago I gave up on the hunt for a cheap towbar for the Jag, new ones range from £130 onwards then add the wiring kit in and theres some change from £200. So that was out of the question really.
However a Sunday morning trawl through ebay led to the discovery of a recently listed within the last hour Genuine Jaguar towbar complete with the Genuine plug and play wiring kit. Located 75 miles away but after a small haggle I managed to get it for £55!.
Anyone buying stuff like this will know how much better OEM stuff can be in comparison with the aftermarket stuff. The wiring kit alone is the bit that makes it worthwhile as it is simply plug and play into the cars existing loom, utilising all the cars lighting circuit and also muting the parking sensors.
Here's the ad picture.
After collection I spent a few hours with a wire wheel and some satin black Ronseal paint and freshend up the whole lot. Most of it was surface rust luckily.
Upon fitting the bumper was removed to aid fitting (not really required) and copper grease was used throughout the installation, particularly in the cars mounting areas after these were cleaned up.
Here's some picture's of the finished work. I need to glue the plastic blanking plug together at some point but overall a good result.
Fresh small but productive update.
Firstly the car has been undertaking various lifestyle tasks such as transporting our bicycles, roof box with our camping gear and recently we got a paddle board which the car coped with very well considering its over 11 foot long.
A small adjustment to the tuning box has resulted in a much better power delivery at lower to mid Rpm which is more suited to my driving and the car, we have been covering many miles as of late and its been faultless.
The major breakthrough has been obtaining an OBD reader that will actually talk to the car and downloading of an App called Dashcommand. This has opened up many doors as I am now able to iron out small electrical gremlins as well as monitoring the engine via live data (abeit very basic).
The car has been in my possession for 1 year now, it seems to have proved itself worthy, next task is to check the sills again and underseal.
Firstly the car has been undertaking various lifestyle tasks such as transporting our bicycles, roof box with our camping gear and recently we got a paddle board which the car coped with very well considering its over 11 foot long.
A small adjustment to the tuning box has resulted in a much better power delivery at lower to mid Rpm which is more suited to my driving and the car, we have been covering many miles as of late and its been faultless.
The major breakthrough has been obtaining an OBD reader that will actually talk to the car and downloading of an App called Dashcommand. This has opened up many doors as I am now able to iron out small electrical gremlins as well as monitoring the engine via live data (abeit very basic).
The car has been in my possession for 1 year now, it seems to have proved itself worthy, next task is to check the sills again and underseal.
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