Chrome exhaust trims

[Saxon]

My XJ8 has a rather poor set of chrome exhaust trims and I guess I have two options - duraglit the existing ones or put a new pair on. Can anyone advise how much a new set are? Are there any aftermarket suppliers ones that will fit? Can anyone recommend the best way to clean the ones I have?

Thanks,

Jonathan

[daveji]

Hello Jonathan
I think you may find your exhaust trims are stainless steel rather than chrome plated......they are SS on my 2001 car.
Any good proprietary "chrome" cleaner plus elbow grease will do the job. I have ALU-MAGIC and Meguires and both are fine.

[Saxon]

Thanks admin, I had a bash at them this afternoon after HA Fox in Guildford quoted about £96 fitted for a new set!!

I used my Autoglym chrome polish and some Duraglit. I found the Autoglim worked well with a wire wool brillo pad! As a result they are much much better and I will have another bash at the very tips which have a sort of caked in brown residue I would like to shift - I wonder if oven cleaner might work as it's a bit like the stuff that accumulates on oven roasting tins after a while!

Anyway - thanks for the tips! She's really looking tip top now with the rear bumper respray and the re-connolised and cleaned interior! I'm tremendously proud of the car having loved Jags and lusted after one for so long. I don't think you can knock £4000 for her with the LPG conversion as well, although I'm expecting to have spent around £1000 on top of that all in to sort all the mechanical and cosmetic stuff out.

Anyway, good to have the forum here - shamed more members don't post!

Saxon

[joejag308]

Saxon try using some fine wire wool with no additional cleaner on it
It may appear to be having no effect at first but you must persevere.
Try taking them off and put them on a bench or use a bench buffer.
An old trick for the brown stains used to be some cellulose thinners and some T Cut on a rag that did the trick initially...........if all that fails i was wondering around Halfords of all places and saw some very nice trims similar to my Daimler ones for about £24 each...........Joe

[Brakebuster]

i use a ' scotch pad ' to get most of the crud off along with some thinners,

then its out with the metal polish , whichever brand you use,

lots of elbow grease and time, they always come up like new

one thing to think about is that original jaguar trims will always polish up and never rust, aftermarket ones will never last as long, even if they look better for six months before they go bad

BB

[blackflash]

How easy is it to remove the stainless steel end-pipes? Do the nuts/bolts/whatever tend to seize up over time?

Mine are looking tired and I was thinking of replacing them but I am happy, having read the above, to dedicate a few hours to giving them a good old clean and polish. I think I'd find the job easier and would be able to it more thoroughly if they were off the car.

All advice gratefully received, particularly from someone who has "been there, done that".

All the best,

Nigel

[BrianG]

Hi blackflash,

I haven't done it yet, but I read as similar question the other day on Jaglovers site about getting the trims off. Apparently the hex "nut" on the underneath is in fact a tapped bush, so don't bother trying to turn it with a spanner. Inside the threaded section is a screw which nips up on exhaust pipe, so it's that which has to be undone after application lots of WD40 / Plusgas etc.

[blackflash]

Thanks Brian. Noted and saves me getting frustrated with my spanner!

[joejag308]

Hi guys i have only this week done the deed.....don't try to get the allen type key bits off they will be solid........i went to my local exhaust guys at
Longlife Exhausts in Leeds ....they got the ends off with some heat and some big grips............then they welded a stainless steel nut to the trim (underneath) with a bolt going through the centre to grip the exhaust pipe,
It cant be seen from the top when in place and i can remove the trim anytime i wish for cleaning.........they actually had a leather type buffer which put my trims (10 years old) back to brand new......cost £10.
A happy bunny at that........Joe

[blackflash]

Thanks Joe. Sounds like you're onto a winner there!

They're not planning on opening a Melton Mowbray (NE Leicestershire) branch anytime soon are they?

[joejag308]

Blackflash.........maybe they are after all its a national franchise..........look them up.....
Or im sure if you go to any decent exhaust garage and tell them what you want im sure they will be able to accomodate you.........the particular fastenings are of an allen key design rather poor actually......but any fastenings on exhaust systems that may need to be taken off at sometime in the future, should be either stainless steel or brass. Joe