Changed P.A.S.P

[Andy P]

Hi everyone,
Went to go to work one night a couple of weeks ago and as I backed out of my driveway I noticed there was no power steering,on the drive there was evidence of my lost fluid,at first I hoped it was just a split hose but on further investigation the fluid was leaking from the pump itself,looked into getting another one and was quite surprised at how much they cost,between £200 & £400 depending on quality I suppose,anyway a quick look on ebay and found a chap on there breaking a 2000 XK8 and bought his pump for a very reasonable £20.00 inc p&p.
Now this is the first job I've had to do on the car since I've had it,so after a bit of research found out that after getting the hoses off and the pulley it's only held on by three bolts but access is a bit restricted if you have hands on the large side like me .
Anyway got to the bolts and low and behold one has started to round off so after a lot of head scratching and swearing and the buying of stud extractors and nut removers plus a welder I eventually removed the offending bolt.Put the second hand pump on and connected all up and filled with Dextron 3 which I was quite surprised at,I thought it was going to be a special fluid only available from Jaguar at £££.I actually had some in stock from when I had my American R.V. and that transmission took Dextron 3 so all good there.Followed the fill procedure from the manual and all back to normal,if it wasn't for the rounded bolt it wouldn't of took so long but I at least I've got some tools at hand the next time I've got a rounded nut or bolt and I always get that satisfying feeling when it's all done and working.
On closer inspection of the old pump it seems to be in two halves and joined by a gasket which seems to be where the leak was coming from,in the manual it says it is a non serviceable part but I shall take it apart and see whats inside and make a new gasket and put it back together if all's good and keep it on the shelf for spares.
So if your power assisted steering pump fails it's not that hard of a job to do yourself.
Hope this might help someone in the future.
Enjoy your Jaguar's
Take Care
Andy

[J44EAG]

A Jaguar is a fairly expensive car to buy. It is marketed as premium grade. The parts used are also large and frequently expensive. That goes with the game.

Servicing dealers tend not to overhaul prime parts when they fail. It is cheaper, quicker and more satisfactory for them, and often the customer, to fit all new components and avoid claims which might otherwise arise by fitting a rebuilt part. That is the nature of the beast. Only enthusiastic owners like ourselves will have the time and patience to refurbish defective parts. Take a look at my air suspension pump rebuild article in the X350 pages of May 2017 magazine to see just that scenario. I rebuilt that pump using a couple of overhaul kits. It is fine for the DIY guy who has the time to do such work but that person also has to realise that if failure again occurs, then there is no warranty and there is always the chance that the job may have to receive further work possibly in the not to distant future. I saved a couple of hundred pounds but am totally aware that the work may have to be done again at some later point.

Fitting second hand parts of unknown mileage may not be a total cure. Sometimes it works. On other occasions failure can occur fairly rapidly. So there is a large risk involved with fitting used components that operate at high stress levels. However, for such a lower purchase figure, it is often worth the attempt to fix an issue for minimal cost. If it goes pop again, at least you know how to get the unit off and you are less likely to have the removal difficulties you experienced removing the original unit which will have almost welded itself through corrosion to the car or has rusted and soft bolts which are resistant to removal.

The pump on this 308 model and also the XK8 of the similar construction period have often caused owners removal difficulties. So your struggle is not an unknown problem. You have done a nasty job and got things going again. One of the joys of owning one of these large and complex cars. Well done, Andy.

Mike K

[Andy P]

Totally agree Mike,my thoughts exactly but I couldn't let that pump go by at that price but will be prepared to do it again if this one fails.
Have a nice B/H Mike.
Take Care
Andy