door panel removal

[milburn]

hi---i am new to this forum and would like some advice on my jag s-type 2000 model. today the rear window went down and it sounds like the window has jumped off the track of the window mechanism. Doea anyone know how to remove the door panel to see what's up?? this car has an extended warranty and i will not know until tomorrow if this is covered, but the nearest dealer is 100 miles away and i would like to diagnose this myself to save some time---maybe it just needs to be reseated somehow. thanks. also , out of curiosity, i just had the jag emblem stolen off this car last week---it seems these are collector's items, and this little replacement jewel cost me $250. Is this a common occurrence for other jag owners?? i am designing the new emblem with a much heavier cable on the spring so that it will be much harder to remove---i am also connecting a switch so that when the cat is pulled past a certain point it will activate the horn. I am looking at ways to add voltage to the mix.......any ideas??? thanks

 

[Dale]

Welcome to this finest of forums. Can't help with your specific problem, but am confident you'll get some responses from this crew shortly.

 

[milburn]

thanks dale. i have a brother in Albequerque(sp?) in med school. He has my, and now his, '72 TR-6 that we had restored. I miss it, but at least i know it's not corroding out there like it would be here on the coast. thanks again for the reply.

 

[J. Christian]

As to the hood emblem: be careful how well you attach it. My 79 Jag had the same problem, so the previous owner bolted the leaping cat on solidly from the bottom. Apparently, it took a large crowbar to remove it the last time. They pulled the nuts right through the sheetmetal, after denting the hood up pretty well.

 

[milburn]

yes, i was thinking about possible damage to the car if its stolen again. thats why i am attaching it to a switch which is wired to the horn. so when the cat is pulled up about 1/4 inch the horn will blow. maybe the noise will scare them off, and nevertheless they will have to work to get it. its a shame that stuff like this happens--i guess its just jealously because that type will never have such a car. Instead of building themselves up to a standard, most people just take the easy way out and try to lower others. theft is a problem with mercedes stars also. i dont know why jag cant incorporate the cat into the anti-theft system, so the car will alarm when its tampered with. What i would really like is to put about 15k volts to it when its being tamperd with, so when i get back to the car there is nothing but a frying carcass holding it that i can just back away from and leave. its possible, but i'm worrying about starting a fire somehow. i dont like the car without the cat, and i hate to give it up without a fight.

 

[skawtland]

That's an interesting idea... wiring the leaper to the horn or alarm system!

Regarding the expensive cost of the bonnet leaper figure, have you tried looking on eBay for one? They appear to go significantly cheaper than $250 on there. But, by all accounts, it seems Jaguar could do with your $250 for the ornament! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Scott

 

[milburn]

yes, i saw the cats on ebay after buying the entire unit from jag, but insurance bought it this time. there is no deductible for theft. i just got the cat wired to the horn today and it works great. i ran a wire to a limit switch under the hood and right under the cat. i replaced the jag wire and crimp with 300lb. stainless steel shark cable and SS fishing crimps to secure, so physically it will be a great challenge to remove it again by hand. i left the cable long, drilled a hole in the limit switch arm to run the cable thru, and secured the limit switch directly under the cat in a small box i built for it, and epoxied it into place. now when the cat is moved very much in any direction the horn blows. since the horn is right on top of you, it seems pretty loud and i hope will be a deterent to future theft. i still am working on the voltage thing---i think a 12 v coil hooked into this system and tied into the insulated cat will do the trick. i would wire a double barrel sawed off under the grill covering also if i thought i could get away with it!!! the moral is, if you see a black S-type, stay away from the cat!!!

i am taking the car to the jag dealer on thurs. to get the rear window fixed, under warranty. its a drive, but at least i will see how to remove the door panel on their dime and without me inadvertently breaking some overpriced plastic buttons or something.

i wrote jag about tying the cat into the alarm system, and they said they would consult their design team.....i am confident ford will go for that when their bean counters count their bottom line pennies!!! after all, we dont pay enuf for these cars, right???