Now I have done it. (How I ended up with a 2004 3.0l AWD X Type)

I have recently mentioned that I was going to start a thread about my new to me X Type and lay out the back story on how I ended up with this car.

So lets have a talk with Mr. Peabody and crank up the way back machine landing us at July 18th 2014.

A nice sunny day temps in the 70's a great day for a walk before work. As usual I decided to stop by the pick and pull that is on the way to the office so I can look at the used cars and the repairables as well as walk the isles of cars that can be picked from. This is a well organized yard that has like with like and keeps things neat and clean with a heavy layer of gravel so there is usually never any mud. The down side is that kneeling on the gravel (1" crusher run) to get parts off a car can be a bit irritating but I will take it over mud!!!.

My other goal has been to get more exercise some people use treadmills others like to walk around at the mall I walk the isles of the junk yard. It is free and feeds my car habit.

Anyway I am scoping out a EVO that has big frount end damage but the motor looks good. Then my attention is called to an alfa spider that is a great 30 footer but closer inspection finds that it as many small areas of bubbling paint on what appears to be a re spray. There is also an A6 avant that looks to be in great shape but is listed as 285K miles.

As I start to head out to the yard for my walk a flat bed comes in and there is a silver car on it with the rear facing twards me and me not really paying attention I think it is a tauris or some thing like that so I don't pay it much attention and head out to the rowes and rows of cars. I take my usualy run down the Saab isles and then the MB's and the Jags. There are severial S types as well as X types a couple Xj6's. There is one particular S type that looks like it could have been saved but it has now hit the Pick and pull area meaing the the tank has been either removed or emptied and there are signs of things being taken from it. To bad it looked to be a nice car.

As I come back out of the yard after about 3/4 of an hour I see that the silver car has been unloaded and now has "needs trans" written on it. But that is when I realize that it is not a run of the mill ford it is an X type. I quickly get over to it and give it the once over and the car looks dam near new. Paint is in great shape no dents or rust at all. Looking through the windows I see that the interior is black leather and looks equally good. A little dirt on the floors. I go in side and ask about it and they toss me the keys and say that there is no title for it. I go back out and go over it with a fine tooth comb. it starts and runs perfectly. The interior is just a bit dusty but it is a non smoker car. With 104K miles on it. The cars ash tray is clean and has some other keys and stuff in it. The tires are the factory conti's and look like new with the optional alu mags. The short of it is it is a really good car. I am now like the guy from wheeler dealers. I want this car!!!! I go back in and give them the key back and tell them I am interested in the car will they be able to get the title for it. They say yes but it may take some time. (Had I only known what that ment at the time). The lady that handels the bookkeeping in the place sais I can leave a deposit and that will hold the car and give me first right to it. I just so happen to have a fair pile of $$$ on me. I never carry cash. I usually barly carry coffee $$$$ and use cards for everything. So I peal off a $100 bill and ask if that is enough and she sais that is more than enough. I got to look at the paperwork on the car and realize that the previous owner was a good friend of my parents. The car had been donated as a charity car and I am told that it could take up to 8 weeks for them to get a title. That is fine with me as that gives me 8 weeks to tell my wife.

I see the car every now and then through the course of the summer but in august my work schedual changes and I don't have time to take junkyard walks and by October I had forgotten about it. Around December I am cleaning up my desk and putting some files away and I find the X type file with the deposit receipt in it so I stop by and they still don't have a title. But the car is still there and in the "pen" where they store cars that are not to be touched. After seeing it again I realize that the want for this car is very large. The holidays pass and I get into other things. Then we get all the snow and I have completely forgotten about the X Type. Then about a month ago I get a call from the Yard and it is the very nice lady that I had delt with previously and she sais that they got the title finaly but don't bother coming down as it is under 5 feet of snow. Fast forward to last weekend and I was looking at my Porsche and Mustang that have been sitting all winter and realize that they are virchally snow free so I had best get my self down to the yard and figuar out what the deal is with the X type. Mind you now I have not talked price on this thing yet with them!!

So last Monday I head down to the yard on my way to the office and there it is. Out frount again in the same spot it was when I first saw it. The dam thing is calling me but I must be strong. I have run the math in my head and I have to keep the spend low to get this car and have it still make financial cense. But the other side of my brain is saying that the car looks as good if not better than i remembered. I find the Owner of the yard (I have been dealing with him for 25 years) and we haggle a bit on the price and settle on $900. Then the lady behind the desk tells me that there was some one in over the weekend that wanted it but when they said that there was a deposit on it. The other party was going to be coming back mid week to see about getting the car and the yard was going to be calling me had he come back. This made my realize I needed to get this car out of there so I went to the Bank and at the same time called the my go to tow company and asked how quickly they could pull the car. They said with in the hour. I got back and paid for the car got the paperwork sorted and just we we completed it the ramp truck arrived. I had the car halled down to the garadge that I help out at on weekends.

Now there is one small problem. .. . . I still have not discussed this with my wife. So I figuar I better let her know. I mean the title is signed over at this point. I call her and she is at the computer when I call so I ask her to google images 2004 X type. So does and her first reaction is what a bueatiful car. I say Good because I just purchased one. She is thrilled (I neglected to tell her the little detail about the trans). Anyway at least she likes it.

Fast forward to the next day and I am now looking around car-parts.com for transmissions and finally found one with 42K on it but with no price up in NH (about a 90 min drive) so I call and ask and they put me on hold for a couple minutes and come back with $600. I tell them to take a my credit card info to hold it. I will be up to get it on Friday. All the local ones I could find are over $850 and we are talking 130K mile son them. Ones under 50K are in the $1000-$1200 range. Friday I had a meeting in the AM and then set the GPS for NH and picked up the trans. I called a friend of mine that works on these cars all the time and has chaged these transmissions. He and I are going to swap out the trans this weekend. According to him it is a 4 hour job. We will see.

So for now I am sourcing new gaskets for the trans as well as a new main seal for the motor. I am also looking to get trans fluid and trancfer case fluid to do a complete fluid change before I put it in the car as they are drained by the yard.

So for those that are keeping track of the $$$$

• $900 for the car
• $75 for the flatbed
• $600 for the trans
• $110 for trans fluid
• $18 for transfer case fluid
• $30 Misk seals and gaskets
• $100 TCM re program to adaptive mode and have them do the re adaptation of TCM to the trans (by local trans shop I know and called to get the price)
• So that puts me at a tad under $1,850.

My initial budget to get it on the road is $2,000 or less and then another $500-1K for misk upgrades and improvements. So All in I want to be at or under 3K. If all goes to plan I should be able to do that no problem

Things I will probably do once I get it back on the road.

Pads and rotors (but they look like they are in very good condition) Hoses and belts Fuel filter Air filter Basic tune up Detail of interior and exterior

I did get a chance to go through the car and I found all the service records (from the local jag dealer)for the car along with the owners manual and the computer security access codes and the bar code scan things.

I am very pleased with the car so far. What little work I have done to it poking around and there a zero surprises. It looks to be an honest 100k garage kept car dealer services car with nothing more than a bad trans. That was otherwise well cared for.

Stay tuned I will update this as things go along.

No for the obligatory Photos other wise it never happened, LOL

As I found it:

The A6 I was looking at that day

From the other day at the Garage where I will be swapping the trans. Took these this week. Some of the interior and better over all photos.

Nice score.

What kind of yard do you go to that they have Evos?

You sure it's not just low on ATF?

bgkast wrote: You sure it's not just low on ATF?

There are REALLY bad noises coming from inside the Trans. Kind of like there is a chain flapping around in there when you put it in gear.

Swank Force One wrote: What kind of yard do you go to that they have Evos?

At the time they had one, a really new one, that had taken a really good hit to the front. It was gone in a matter of days. The car was never put in the pick and pull area it went to the "pen". The motor was gone the next day and the car was sold to another dealer in a week.

Nice score. Mine was a really nice riding car. Only problem I really had with it was it kept losing coolant some where and it had an oil leak that pooled up on the trans. It had to be coming from Narnia bc I absolutely no idea where it was coming from. But yours is in much better shape than mine was.

Can't wait to see how this comes together.

Who the hell buys a car and doesn't tell their husband/wife/Sig other? Blows my mind. Neither of will spend more than $100 without at least touching base with the other.

Adrian_Thompson wrote: Can't wait to see how this comes together. Who the hell buys a car and doesn't tell their husband/wife/Sig other? Blows my mind. Neither of will spend more than $100 without at least touching base with the other.

How long have you been married?

My wife and I both have "our own" money as well as we have shared money. Furthermore I don't feel the need to "monitor" what my wife is purchasing nor do I feel the need to ask permission to spend money. I never understood that. One should trust ones spouse that they will make purchases that are not going to effect ones day to days living and or your long term plan. I can see it if you are living check to check and money is tight. In either case It is not a money thing at all with my wife.

The real issue with my wife and me getting another car is the "another car" part of it. I have 5 running driving cars in the driveway at the moment not counting the Jag and that is really her limit. I actually agree with her. To many cars and it starts to look trashy. I was going to thin the heard this spring anyway. The mustang is going to move on as will wither the Porsche or my Expedition.

I have been looking for a replacement for my dd for a while. The Porsche has developed low oil pressure issue last fall and when I started it this spring it has got significantly worse. The Expedishion while mechanically really good it is suffering from the typical rust. Technicly it will not pass inspection this coming august due to the rust. The other issue with it is parking in Boston with it is a SOB. And places like to charge you double because it is a truck or just don't let you in the lot at all. This was greatly magnified this year with all the snow. A serious PITA.

The Jag is actually almost the perfect car for me. I wanted a mid size sedan with AWD. No MB No BMW. As discussed in another thread, I am a consultant and clients get the wrong impression when you drive up in one of those types of cars. You spend the first 15 minutes explaining that your 15 year old BMW actually costs less than there secretary's 2 year old Honda. The jag on the other hand does not seem to convey that as much around these parts. Kind of the same "status" as a SAAB in terms of clients first impression and perception of me. Even my 25 year old Porsche raised some questions from clients. Yes it is stupid but that is the way it is.

The AWD was wanted as I drive to Boston and here in the NE AWD is a very nice thing to have for three of the four seasons. It means I don't have to sweat the drive home from work when we get snow starting at 3:00. Just makes things easier.

I am very pleased with it so far. Hopefully it works out well. One of the things that I liked about the X type is that for some reason the seats are very comfortable for me and when in the proper position for driving everything else works well ergonomically. The car fits me well. The Porsche was bad at this. Never could get the seat proper so the peddles were correct and the steering wheel was comfortable or visa versa. Same goes for the Mustang. I would always hit my head getting in to that dam car.

So the good news is the transmission in the car appears to be OK. The bad news is the transfer case is the issue, They are about the same price but the transfer case is easier to replace. I don't have to pull the trans to get it out.

I took this photo the other day. Much better photo of what the condition of the car is in.

To update this thread a bit.

So last weekend I went to move the car in to the garage to change the trans. And it would not move. The driveline was locked up. After putting it on dollies and getting it up on the lift I figured out that the trans is actually fine. the issue is that the transfer case is junk. SO off to find a transfer case and the car has to sit another week. Monday I found a transfer case and picked it up at lunch. There were about 10 to chose from locally ranging from really high millage ones that were around $500 to one that had only 12K on it that they wanted $1400 for. I picked up one with 47k on it for $900 BUT it comes with a 1 year warranty. There were other comparable ones in the 800 range but only a 30 day warranty so I decided to spend a little more for the warranty hoping I will never need it. This weekend I will be replacing the transfer case and hopfully it will then drive.

As for the budjet. The new numbers are:

• $900 for the car
• $75 for the flatbed
• $900 for Transfer Case
• $110 for trans fluid
• $18 for transfer case fluid
• So that puts me at $2003

I have not returned the Transmission yet. My wife told me to hang on to the transmission. I got a really good deal on it so I may. If I keep it it almost guarantees that the one in the car will last for ever. If I return it my trans will blow up in a week.

So for now If you count the transmission cost I am at $2603.

I am still well under my final budget for the car.

I did however hear what appears to be an exhaust leak up by the motor some place. I will have to investigate that further and see what that is all about. When I swap the transfer case this weekend I will investigate that one with the car on the lift.

My buddy had this car with a 5 speed. Lots of fun.

He decided to sell it after the auto-on wipers stopped working in a rainstorm driving on the highway at speed.

Everyone kept stealing the center caps on the wheels, so he stopped buying them. (it was a NE car too)

Stock up on rain-x and have fun! Can't loose at that price!

Well replaced the transfer case and it now moves under it's own power.

Things I need to address.

Tires. While working on it I found that there I a big chunk of tred missing from my right frount. I can see the cords in about a one inch square with a chunk carved out. It looks like it was cut by somthing. I suspect that it may have been when we pulled it off the flatbed. So that is a bummer as the tires otherwise look virtually new. I will check tread depth and see if I can just replace two. Otherwise with the awd four may be in order.

Need a ball joint. Ordered two. They are less than $15 each. The bushings look good on the a arms so I got the bolt in replacements instead of the whole a arm assembly. Those are 170 a side.

Needs a mid pipe with the resonator and I ordered that as well. Again it was cheap. Less than $100

The car I missing several of the plastic inner fender liner pieces. There at least three pieces per side. Those are on the way from a local dismantler.

I will be replacing at least one rear caliper as one appears to be hanging. Probibly just do them both but pricing on these are steep.

I need to look at the e brake. Only one side seemed to be working.

All that seems like alot but it should only take a morning.

dean1484 wrote: I will check tread depth and see if I can just replace two. Otherwise with the awd four may be in order.

Yep, I wrecked the drivetrain on an AWD Legacy when I was young and only replaced two and it caused enough difference in the OD's of front and rear.

I would replace the set and sell the current on CL to recoup some of the expense.

Or, you'll have practice replacing the transfer case so the next one will only take you half as long....

Swank Force One wrote: What kind of yard do you go to that they have Evos?

I have one not far from me. One side recycles good cars like that and new stuff, the other side is a pick and pull that gets all the boring stuff.

Adrian_Thompson wrote: Can't wait to see how this comes together. Who the hell buys a car and doesn't tell their husband/wife/Sig other? Blows my mind. Neither of will spend more than $100 without at least touching base with the other.

I do it all the time. When I made the deal on the 930 I texted her a picture of it....after the deal was done. She had no problems with it and doesn't need my permission to make purchases either.

Ya I here you about the tires. I will do all four.

I was doing some reading and I am probibly due for the 100k tune up. Unless I can find documentation it was done I will be adding that to the list.

1. this should be in the builds sections so i can lurk more effectively.

2. where is the u pull yard dean? I moved north of boston, and have no idea where a guy can pull his own parts.

Rt 128 Used Auto in Waltham MA Right next to Rt 128/95 Off of Rt 117

Quick update:

Took it for its maden voyage.

Things of note were it shifts fine. The transmission seems to be in great shape however since the transfer case seems to have been killed by lack of maintenance (it was all but empty of gear oil) I can only assume that the transmission is on the original oil. I looked at the transmission fluid and it is dark but not burnt. It smells fine however I have 10 quarts of amesoil transmission fluid for it so I am thinking of getting it over to the local transmission shop to see about swapping out the fluid.

Brakes were a bit grabby but theyw ere dirty and had a bit of surface rust from sitting for so long.

Frount end feels fins except for the known bad ball joint.

The power steering was a bit jerky and the pum sounded like it was low on fluid (I did not check it before driving it)

And there is the exaust flex pipe that is in need of replacement.

On a side note I was at the pick and pull today and they have an X type there that I was snooping around and it came to my attention that it has what appears to be a Borla cat back system In it. Now that interests me as I did not see a listing in the Borla catalog for the X type but looking at the mufflers they look legit. They are not the stock ones and they look to be very nicely tig welded stainless steel mufflers. The tips said Borla on them but that could just be tips some one added. So I am not sure. I asked the guy I know there if they can put the car up on the rack for me next week so I can pull them and see what they are.

Does anyone know what to look for on a Borla muffler to tell if it is the real deal?

Depending on what I find and how much they want for it I may add it to my car or just re sell them (if they are the real deal). I am not sure I want my car to have a more pronounced exhaust note but on the other hand if they are legitimate Borla pieces the exhausts I have head from Borla do sound nice. I just don't want any kind of drone in the exhaust when cursing. That would really irritate me.

Other than that the pick and pull car donated rear calipers (probably use them as cores for new ones). The front fender liners were long gone. There are a lot of other usable bits in that car.

So with any luck I will have my X type on the road in a week or two.

Every Borla muffler that I have seen has Borla embossed on it's case.

Nick_Comstock wrote: Every Borla muffler that I have seen has Borla embossed on it's case.

Thanks Nick!!!

That is what I was looking for. I could not see under them as the car is sitting with out wheels on it so if It was embossed on the bottom I could not see it. I should go back and see if I can reach in under it and feel it.

Another thing I saw was what appeared to be drilled and slotted rotors on the car. Not something that interests me but it tells me that the person who had the car was an enthusiast at least. Maybe the Borla exhaust is the real deal.

These are essentially Mondeo's aren't they?