Second differential goes bad, shop does shoddy job

BTW, the shop was Mr. Jags run by Steve in Redmond, WA. So here's to help you make an informed decision.

So what exactly are the symptoms of your rear-end failure?

B.D.

Hmm..

Someone that does not want to discuss the issue but pastes names is to be treated with suspicion.

DieInterim

Actually Blake , there was a discussion previously and prior to his acknowledgement of the said suspicious shop..

dennis

As previously posted, the rear differential wines. "Mr. Jags" rebuilt the original one and after 5000 miles a bearing has come apart. This cost me

?? i already posted the issue. I take it you didnt take the time to read the original post?

Oh I read that, but until you posted below there was no mention of a bearing failure. Besides I dont think you read my post as it was a question regarding the symptoms.

Its better to interact than to react.

You and Dennis have a nice day.

DieInterim

Where? On this forum?

Yes on this forum "alt.autos.jaguar"

Blake,

Before you come to conclusions and start making accusations against me, read and understand the posts first. I did read your post and actually i did mention there was a bearing failure in my original message, which is why i didnt respond to your question.

Listen,

You have to understand how many people post false defaming things about others on the internet. Let me clarify that I am not jumping to any conclusion as I am only investigating. I am not here to lambaste you, but in fact help you. Again.. I look at your original post and there is no mention of a bearing failure.

That said...can we begin again?

What you paid is way too much and sadly, this is what us poor Jaguar owners often pay..too much. What I can say to you is if the shop dies not honor its work and it has been under 90 days, paid with a VISA, then call VISA and contest the bill. Many banks offer double warranties and protect against potential vermin. Otherwise its off to court.

I know of several complete used rear ends if you still need one.

Blake

Unfortunatly its been almost 3 years since it was done. It started going out about 5000 miles. Ive put on almost another 5000 miles. Yep i know, time works against me here. So much has been going on that this hadnt been a priority. I would love to take him to court, his policy is 30-days parts

His only offer was to take two hours off labor. He is making a healthy profit on parts as well and yes i am still looking for a differential, either new or rebuilt. I dont think i would trust a used one, they dont last that long and there was problems with early XJ40 differentials.

Thanks!

Often times, I disagree with Blake, but this time he is correct. I have an XJ40 and at 154,000 miles (3 years ago) I had to replace the rear differential bearings. Total cost $160 and 3 hours labor. This included bearings, crush collars, oil seals and O-Rings. I now have 210,000 miles on the car and it is still going strong. The design of the output bearings on these differentials was appalling. They went from a double bearing using taper bearings in the XJ6 Series to a HUGE single bearing using ball bearings in the XJ40. It was not their best design since the cage holding the ball bearings usually could not withstand the side to side movement. It is rare that a pinion gear or other major component in the differential will go out as compared to the output bearings. Output bearings will usually start to show major wear after 50,000 miles.

Like Blake, I would not be afraid of a used differential. In fact, in your particular case, I would probably welcome a swap. There is NO way of knowing what other damage was done to your differential by the mechanic.

I say it over and over and over again that a Jaguar owner's best defense and best tool when it comes to these cars is to be educated about them. A $15 Haynes manual will same you thousands of dollars in the long run because you know what is going on with the car -- even if you do not do the work yourself. Getting on this mail server is a step in the right direction. Join other lists like jag-lovers.org and read the manual of repairs written buy XJ40 owners like yourself who have been through the same experiences.

Continually I am being told that my 1988 XJ40 was the worst Jaguar ever built. Yet I have 210,000 miles on the original engine and drive train and I have no warning lights on the dash. The car gets 27 MPG on the highway and still performs like a champ and rides like the luxury car it is. As long as I have watched the little niggles that are common to this car it has never let me down. That is more than I can say for my 1997 Dodge truck which has cost a small fortune in repairs and doesn't even have 100,000 miles on the clock yet!!!

Stick with the car, educate yourself and you will have years of great performance going forward from your XJ40.

Webserve

"Often times, I disagree with Blake, but this time he is correct."

Dont hold back here Clark...let it rip.

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but I'd like to know the secrets to your success... I've been chasing 2 problems for years on my 89 XJ40 that are driving me nuts, and haven't found answers by posting here or elsewhere.

1. Bulb failure message: comes on sometimes with stop lights and frequently if turn signal is also on (accompanied by double-speed turn signal noise, and sometimes the left turn signal bulbs cease blinking when this happens, sometimes they continue blinking normally); it can occur spontaneoulsly (but seldom) like when just cruising on the freeway with no lights turned on. Have replaced all rear bulbs, cleaned sockets, swapped rear bulb failure modules, resoldered all joints in both rear bulb failure modules, and replaced one module. Nothing helped.
2. Door locks: I never had a remote so we are talking manual by key or the plunger. They used to work fine. Now unlocking either front door unlocks the rear doors. Locking either front door locks the rear doors. Neither front door lock affects the other front door lock. The dash lock button does nothing except elicit a faint clicking noise. All doors lock when the ignition is turned on and unlock when the ignition key is turned off (almost always... but the passenger door doesn't always unlock). Result is I have to walk around the car to lock the passenger door nearly every time I park (or stretch way across and push the plunger), or to let a passenger into the car. Most components are expensive and difficult to replace, and I have no idea how to determine which are the bad part(s). I've had both front doors apart several times, to no avail (nothing obvious found amiss). I've replaced both front door handles (for mechanical failure reasons, and replacement did not affect this problem). The fact that the dash button doesn't unlock any of the doors is probably a big clue (ie, does it control one door's locking motor which in turn affects the others? is it a problem in the central door lock control box under the dash?) but I can't follow Jag's electrical diagrams well enough to figure it out and don't want to tear both front doors apart and replace 2 motors at 0 or so each just to see if they are the problem..

Wow, you have done nearly every thing on the BFM unit. Here is what I suggest. Take the Left BFM out again and pull the top circuit board off the lower board. Steal one of your wife's nail file emery boards and sand all the prong contacts as well as the plug sockets so they all have decent electrical contact. This is a LIGHT procedure -- do not over do it. Also GENTLY spread the prongs out a bit to make sure there is contact. With the intermittent problem you describe, I believe it is a contact problem for the circuit obviously works -- just not all the time. As for the door locks. This is an obvious electrical problem as well. Fortunately, one I have not had to deal with. You problem is not with the actuator for if you turn the correct key -- it locks or unlocks. So all the actuators are working. It seems there is an electrical disconnect between the front door locks and the button. Does the button close the sun roof. If you get out of the car and hold the key in the lock position in the driver's door do all the doors lock, the windows go up and the sun roof close? Doing that should determine where the problem lies.

It is odd that your doors all lock and unlock with the ignition -- mine don't.

BTW, didn't you move to Ca from Va and sell your XJS or is that a different WayneC??

Webserve

"WayneC" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com...

experiences.

I've done the sockets.

I'm not sure which "prongs" you are referring to... in the BFM? I have a low confidence level since I've already swapped AND replaced that BFM (with another used one). And in fact I bought a second used BFM that I haven't tried yet.

Yeah, but no one knows how to troubleshoot the system.

Yep, I knew that (assuming you mean the mechanical plunger or the switch at the key tumbler... which do you mean?

Depends on what you mean by an actuator.. if you mean the switch, yes.

But, neither front door ever locks without using the key or the manual plunger on that same door... turning the key does in fact mechanically move the lock plunger on that door. It does not electrically actuate the other front door lock. That goes for both front doors, and for unlocking.

I'll have to try that... I believe it used to, though I rarely used that button; I do recall that it used to lock the doors. The sunroof is another (newer) issue, as I need a new headliner... if I open the sunroof it hits the hanging material, thus I stopped opening it. I'll fix the roofliner as soon as I decide if I'm going to keep this car (I've owned it 5 or 6 years, always had the BF messages and mostly ignored it, the lock problems are maybe a year old now; my patience is wearing thin with those problems)

All BUT the passenger front door lock. In fact, after the last time I fooled around with the driver door handle, it works TOO good, making it just about impossible to leave my windows cracked about half an inch, which I like to do (gets hot around here). By the time I can turn the key quickly, the mindows are shut.

I'll have to doublecheck that, I thought they did, perhaps not. I know the passenger door often seems to get unlocked (when I haven't any passengers) because I keep having to walk around or reach over to lock it (the unlocking may happen when the driver door is opened). I think the trunk lid gets locked, too, when the ignition is turned on, but I won't swear to that.

I know all the locks are tied together electrically, I just don't know the routing... I suspect the dash rocker switch button causes the central lock controller under the dash to pass current to ONE of the lock motors, either passenger or driver door, and the movement of that lock then causes the other 3 to lock. The routing to the other 3 may be through the central lock controller, or may not. So I'm thinking I might have a problem in the central controller or in one or both of the front door lock motors (on the locking side of the circuit), or a bad wire contact somewhere. The question is which component is bad (since all are expensive to replace), or where is the fault in the wiring.

Must be a different WayneC, I still have an XJS and I never lived in VA. Bought both the XJ40 and XJS after moving here. The XJS is in slightly better shape with about 85k miles vs 135k, but it, too, is starting to feel it's age (1984).

Since your rear end is driving you into bankruptcy, try some creative thinking and use the lock problem to your advantage- leave it unlocked and hope someone steals the thing and your insurance company pays you enough to buy another car.