Rusted Rear Underside Bracing

S

stefan9107

New member
I test drove a car today that I'm very interested in. I had a look underneath for the known rust issue on the cross bracing and it looks like it is effected, so I'm interested to know if anyone has replaced theirs and how much it costs to do? Just in case.

I took a couple photos and it looks like its just surface corrosion on the two further back ones, but the furthest to the front looks like it might be a bit worse for wear.

Other than that the only issue was the front underside wind deflector being a bit scuffed up but still in tact. I assume replacing that is cheap and easy as it doesn't look like anything special.
 

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I think the parts might have been £650 or something. It will be in some previous post on here.

Part numbers are given in the link below. Type them into A
SNG Barratt for the current prices.

https://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=62142&hilit=Cross+brace+part+numbers#p62142
 
mickjaguar said:
I think the parts might have been £650 or something. It will be in some previous post on here.

Part numbers are given in the link below. Type them into A
SNG Barratt for the current prices.

https://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=62142&hilit=Cross+brace+part+numbers#p62142
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Awesome thanks. All comes out to about £600-700 before fitting but it might not all need complete replacement.
The car is from a Jag main dealer and has a good history etc. It's yet to go through prep but I doubt they'll look at it and go "that needs doing" before selling.

I'm wondering if I should try getting them to knock off the cost of getting it done/or asking them to do it as part of the deal. Anyone managed anything similar?
 
I doubt they'll do anything without being prompted. My local dealer always discounts parts for me 10-20% , so I would think the cost to them is a lot less than retail anyway (VAT reclaim alone drops it 20% for starters).
 
There’s a saving to be made if you get the two straight cross braces and the small rectangular plate powder coated - mine were about £80 (obviously you’ll have to remove and refit, 30 mins tops if you can get the car lifted a small amount)
 
Just be prepared for the dealer to say it’s cosmetic and ‘normal’ for age and mileage. They may offer a minor discount on overall price of car, but certainly can’t see them replacing the parts as they won’t remove and restore them.
Try, but build in the cost for diy.
 
I had a chat with my local independent Jag specialist and they didn't seem too concerned by it. They said although they've seen plenty with the problem, they haven't seen any get to the point of requiring immediate replacement or anything. It's just been more of a "you should probably get that sorted now before it gets bad" kind of deal. So I'm sure there are some examples in certain parts of the country or higher mileage ones that have serious issues with it, but this mostly seems like it's only one part that probably needs replacement sooner rather than later. Either way, they priced up the replacement and I got the dealer to knock pretty close to that off the price so I'm happy. Hopefully should pick it up this weekend and then I'll get it booked in at the independent for a once over. Will likely just get it all replaced and sealed.
 
stefan9107 said:
I had a chat with my local independent Jag specialist and they didn't seem too concerned by it. They said although they've seen plenty with the problem, they haven't seen any get to the point of requiring immediate replacement or anything. It's just been more of a "you should probably get that sorted now before it gets bad" kind of deal. So I'm sure there are some examples in certain parts of the country or higher mileage ones that have serious issues with it, but this mostly seems like it's only one part that probably needs replacement sooner rather than later. Either way, they priced up the replacement and I got the dealer to knock pretty close to that off the price so I'm happy. Hopefully should pick it up this weekend and then I'll get it booked in at the independent for a once over. Will likely just get it all replaced and sealed.
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I agree and would not worry about it. So far all those I've seen are cosmetic and I've never seen anything to suggest it's structural, albeit ugly. I gave mine a good rotary brush clean down and paint up with Hammerite and still sailing through MOT's at 10 yeas old and 60k.
Good to have negotiated a discount of around the cost so that's good to have in your back pocket.
 
stefan9107 said:
I had a chat with my local independent Jag specialist and they didn't seem too concerned by it. They said although they've seen plenty with the problem, they haven't seen any get to the point of requiring immediate replacement or anything. It's just been more of a "you should probably get that sorted now before it gets bad" kind of deal. So I'm sure there are some examples in certain parts of the country or higher mileage ones that have serious issues with it, but this mostly seems like it's only one part that probably needs replacement sooner rather than later. Either way, they priced up the replacement and I got the dealer to knock pretty close to that off the price so I'm happy. Hopefully should pick it up this weekend and then I'll get it booked in at the independent for a once over. Will likely just get it all replaced and sealed.
Click to expand...

Result! Exactly that's my understanding too - in absolutely most cases it's just a cosmetic matter.

This issue is probably most common among you guys in the UK compared to elsewhere in the world because so many people in the UK have the odd habit of having lovely cars like the F-Type without having a proper garage for it. ;)
 
MajorTom said:
stefan9107 said:
I had a chat with my local independent Jag specialist and they didn't seem too concerned by it. They said although they've seen plenty with the problem, they haven't seen any get to the point of requiring immediate replacement or anything. It's just been more of a "you should probably get that sorted now before it gets bad" kind of deal. So I'm sure there are some examples in certain parts of the country or higher mileage ones that have serious issues with it, but this mostly seems like it's only one part that probably needs replacement sooner rather than later. Either way, they priced up the replacement and I got the dealer to knock pretty close to that off the price so I'm happy. Hopefully should pick it up this weekend and then I'll get it booked in at the independent for a once over. Will likely just get it all replaced and sealed.
Click to expand...

Result! Exactly that's my understanding too - in absolutely most cases it's just a cosmetic matter.

This issue is probably most common among you guys in the UK compared to elsewhere in the world because so many people in the UK have the odd habit of having lovely cars like the F-Type without having a proper garage for it. ;)
Click to expand...

Yeh it is a bit of a problem... I could probably just about squeeze it in the garage but I wouldnt be able to get out of it!
 
MajorTom said:
This issue is probably most common among you guys in the UK compared to elsewhere in the world because so many people in the UK have the odd habit of having lovely cars like the F-Type without having a proper garage for it. ;)
Click to expand...

And because we have lots of water on our roads, which also get salted in the winter months. :(
 
MajorTom said:
stefan9107 said:
I had a chat with my local independent Jag specialist and they didn't seem too concerned by it. They said although they've seen plenty with the problem, they haven't seen any get to the point of requiring immediate replacement or anything. It's just been more of a "you should probably get that sorted now before it gets bad" kind of deal. So I'm sure there are some examples in certain parts of the country or higher mileage ones that have serious issues with it, but this mostly seems like it's only one part that probably needs replacement sooner rather than later. Either way, they priced up the replacement and I got the dealer to knock pretty close to that off the price so I'm happy. Hopefully should pick it up this weekend and then I'll get it booked in at the independent for a once over. Will likely just get it all replaced and sealed.
Click to expand...

Result! Exactly that's my understanding too - in absolutely most cases it's just a cosmetic matter.

This issue is probably most common among you guys in the UK compared to elsewhere in the world because so many people in the UK have the odd habit of having lovely cars like the F-Type without having a proper garage for it. ;)
Click to expand...

Don't assume a garage in the UK solves the issue. We suffer from large humidity and temperature changes. In colder months the garage cools to ambient temperature, As soon as it warms up the typical concrete base slab remains cold and creates huge amounts of condensation from warmer humid air flowing in. The cycle continues. many times per season. I have a dehumidifier in the garage which runs whenever the humidity is above 40% and it can draw 2 litres per day out of the garage air.
Add in the comment re SCM about salt from roads and we create pretty hostile environments for cars.
 
Hello, some feedback on my experiences with the rear X-brace rusting issue:
1. Almost all early F-Types suffer from it, to the extent that JLR dealers now consider it 'normal' (it's not normal, just super-common)
2. Caused by very poor quality control in the manufacturing process, inadequate plating, etc.
3. Thankfully, not particularly difficult to replace once you get the car up on a ramp, although some of the bolts may be seized due to galvanic corrosion effects
4. I obtained a full X-brace (3 parts) from another Forum member who had replaced his own with new, they were shot-peened, etched, and repainted black before sale
5. My friendly local indie replaced the set on my MY14 V6S in about 1.5 hours and charged me £95 for the work done, old parts were only fit for scrap metal skip
If you plan to get the old ones off, spend some time under the car with PlusGas, rusted-thread-penetrator, wire brush etc. (use eye protection, you'll be on your back) to give the bolts a chance of coming out whole.
Happy with the result and should now last my time with this car.
Cheers 8-) :D
 
kookaburra1457 said:
Hello, some feedback on my experiences with the rear X-brace rusting issue:
1. Almost all early F-Types suffer from it, to the extent that JLR dealers now consider it 'normal' (it's not normal, just super-common)
2. Caused by very poor quality control in the manufacturing process, inadequate plating, etc.
3. Thankfully, not particularly difficult to replace once you get the car up on a ramp, although some of the bolts may be seized due to galvanic corrosion effects
4. I obtained a full X-brace (3 parts) from another Forum member who had replaced his own with new, they were shot-peened, etched, and repainted black before sale
5. My friendly local indie replaced the set on my MY14 V6S in about 1.5 hours and charged me £95 for the work done, old parts were only fit for scrap metal skip
If you plan to get the old ones off, spend some time under the car with PlusGas, rusted-thread-penetrator, wire brush etc. (use eye protection, you'll be on your back) to give the bolts a chance of coming out whole.
Happy with the result and should now last my time with this car.
Cheers 8-) :D
Click to expand...

Appreciate the info. Unfortunately I really don't have the patience to do it myself and no access to a ramp. My local indie garage are pretty reasonable though so I was going to get them to do it and have a chat about what else can be done to protect the more exposed and prone the rust areas.
 
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