Personal assessment

XK8
1

My wife and I have owned our 2000 XK8 Coupe for 3 months. It is not lonely since we have a number of other Jaguars and other makes of classic cars. I just posted a short note about my changing the front shocks, mounts and upper A-arm bushings. The car had just over 91,000 miles on it when we bought it. It hadn’t seen rain in the 10 years before we got. The PO took very good cosmetic and general care of it. I noticed it seemed to be riding low in the front and checked some photos of others and found it to be about three inches low. With the new parts it is sitting with about 21/2 inches of clearance above the tire to the bottom of the fender lip. Is this normal or should it be higher ? I think I’ll check my service manual. I still get a bit of rub if I hit a large dip at speed. like in twisties.
We love the car. It does have it’s own personality. We have XJ-S, pre and post facelift, a Majestic, and an XJ12. Each is special in its own way. What I haver noticed is the lack of ongoing correspondence on this forum. I’m hoping it is because not much goes wrong with the XK8 or the issues have all been worked out here.
What I am happy about is that our car does not have the adaptive suspension. I almost gagged when I saw the cost ($ 500.00 +) per shock. I also budget at least $ 1,000.00 for repairs for any vehicle I buy no matter how nice it is or how well it has been taken care of. They always seem to put up a certain amount of distain for me as the new owner. They then settle in and accept me, most of the time.

I’d post a picture but it is the same as the forum picture except ours has upgraded wheels.
Peace, safety, and prosperity,

Stephen

2

Hi Stephen. Welcome to XK8 ownership. The most important thing to know about the pre-4.2 l. engine is the plastic timing chain tensioner guides have to be replaced ASAP. The plastic water pump and thermostat housing also cause problems and should be replaced too. Check to see these things have been done by a prior owner.

3

Correct ride height is given as 400mm (15.74") front and 405mm (15.94") rear. These are the measurments from centre of wheel to fender lip directly above.
Not sure what wheels/tyres you have fitted but some rough math has your ride height pretty close to what it should be.

4

Grahame,

Thanks for the response. Those items have been done by a previous owner. Now that the front shocks, mounts and upper A-arm bushes have been replaced I think I’m good for a while.

Stephen

5

Just measured the ride height. The front is at about a tad over 15" and the rear is at about 15 1/2". My front springs may be a little tired. There are 245/50/17 tires on the ar.