Fatigued...

So... One of the 'wee things' has actually turned into quite a big thing. The checkstrap on the driver's door has completely pulled out of the frame. It seems that over time the metal plate in the door where the strap bolts on to suffers from metal fatigue, especially if the checkstrap mechanism is stiff, and this eventually leads to the bolts which hold it being pulled or pushed through the door on the X300's. That's exactly what's happened to mine. It seems when the strap got stuck in the fully extended position, my pulling the door shut forced the securing bolts through the frame. This was confirmed today thanks to the boroscope (camera on a stick) at the college. Seeing as it's now useless, the strap has been disconnected from the a-post so that the door can open and close freely but I need to be really careful opening it until I can have repairs carried out.

Knowledge is power though so I made a point today of going round all the other checkstraps with lots of white spray grease to make sure they don't seize. I lubricated the aerial, plus the bonnet catches too - scoring a consolatory victory by adjusting the driver's side one so that the bonnet now sits flat when closed. The transmission fluid was topped up a wee bit and all the other levels checked. It seems the oil level is a bit high so a full service is next on the cards to address that.

Although the weather was rotten I gave the Jag another wash then headed out to an automotive spray painters that Mulsanne use. They had a look over the Jag and the painting quote (for getting both bumpers re-sprayed, fixing the tiny (less than 5mm across) rust bubbles on the edge of the roof and scabbiness in the sunroof well, a full roof re-spray, and the rest of the car fully machine polished to fix the scratches) came in at about £500. I reckon for the work to be done, which would include refitting the rear bumper on new brackets I'd need to supply, the quote isn't too bad. Okay, the cost is almost the same as the whole car, and yes it does look okay the now, but the value that such work would add to the car pretty much justifies having it done. I've seen many XJ6's with rotten bodywork. I don't want mine to end up like them.