Jaguar XJ Series Engine questions and issues

tedman

I purchased a 99 XJ8L with a remanufactured engine at 54k miles in 2003. My CHECK ENGINE LIGHT came on @72k in 2007 so I went to my mechanic who worked for Mercedes-Benz. He has a side business. He said I needed 4 sensors @1600 and an Air Flow Meter @ 260.00. The job was done but the C.E.L. stayed on. I took it to the dealership. The service man said that my air filter housing was cracked along with a hose and minor wirirng of 307 dollars. He called me and said everything is ok and to pick it up after he test drives it 5 or 10 miles. It was driven 18 miles. The service man called me and said I would need another engine. I still owe on vehicle. Is it worth the money to fix or should I suck it up and take lost? Is there reliable data on these engines?Are there legal avenues to pursue? The car was doing fine before I took it in.

freeoppressed

Sure doesn't pass the smell test. The was a period of time when XJ8's had a problem with NiCad linings on their cylinder walls. I don't know if the problem stretched into 99 or not. There is plenty of info about the issue ont the web. Certainly, you don't run less than 20,000 miles and need to replace the engine each time. I have a 1998 Jag XJ8 that I purchased with 72,000 miles. It now has 203,000 miles; doesn't use a drop of oil; and runs like a top. If somebody didn't satisfy my inquiries, I think I would look into legal avenues to approach.

tibimakai

I wouldn't buy a pre 2000 XJ Jaguar. They could have a Nicasil problems in the engine. If it has this problem you need to replace the engine(!!). Check the VIN # to have the last five characters beginning with A_ _ _ _(the A is important). Those cars with A in the VIN # have steel cylinder walls not like the pre 2000 once(cylinders bored out from the aluminum block and coated with Nicasil). To make sure that you don't have this problem you should take the car to a shop where they can make a cylinder leak down test.

kwrp

I discovered an oil and white pasty leak under the front part of the engine. Any idea what causes this and how to fix it?

euphonium

Check for leaks in the transmission cooler line. Often tranny coolers have a small radiator mounted in front of the engine radiator and tranny fluid is cooled by it.

Another possibility is the need to replace one or both of the main radiator hoses due to corruption over time.

kwrp

Thanks for the response, I took it to my mechanic and they couldn't find an oil leak. But had to top of the trans fluid. I'll definitely keep your comments in mind as I start out this driving season.

eshaze

Hi there i've got a 96 XJR, I started it 6months ago with no problems it used to be a daily driver however since moving abroad I haven't started it for 6 months. After coming back into the UK I knew that the battery would need replacing so I bought a new one, I've turned it over and tried to start it and it doesn't fire what so ever, what could have happened in the time that it was standing?? any help greatly accepted thankyou Sam

euphonium

Perhaps there wasn't enough fuel stabilizer in the petrol tank while in storage. For ignition you need fire and fuel. Your battery supplies the fire so I question the quality of the fuel.

kwrp

I can tell you what happened to my '94 XJ12. I bought a new battery and discovered that the starter wires had corroded sp? and had new ones replaced. It starts every time.

lzolidis

The ASC not available and TRAC not available lights came on when I was driving last week, triggering "Failsafe Engine Mode" as an immediate response. The dealership service center tells me the car needs a new throttle body assembly at a cost of $1550. They looked at the exact same problem 8 months ago and replaced a module (for $1700). Should the throttle body issue have been caught on the first visit? Since the dealer says the current problem is "new," it falls outside the 12-month guarantee of their work and I'll be out both for the repair and the rental car.

notaclue2

First off, I apologize for not posting this in the correct spot - as my user name indicates, I truly don't have a clue about any of this. My ex-husband left me with a 1985 XJ-6 that he had put a 350 chevy engine in. I know that at one time he had it running and drove it off and on, but the last I knew he said it needed a starter and had an oil leak. It's really in decent shape - white with blue leather interior. Can someone give me an idea of what I could get for it if I sold it as is? I really need to get it out of the shop but have no idea what to ask for it. Thanks for any help you can give me.

euphonium

Another division of Edmunds is their True Value Appraisal feature. Locate it and fill in the blanks. It considers many factors including location.

There were quite a few Jags converted to the 350 Chevy engine in and around the Portland, OR area and the shop charged $1,000 for the conversion.

Repair the starter problem, fix the oil leak, and have it detailed before putting it up for sale. (you never get a 2nd chance at a 1st impression)

jkoonce

I own a 1991 XJS with the 5.3 V12 with 69,000 miles and everytime I take it out, after about an hour or hour and 1/2 the oil presure will drop to 25lbs, 15lbs then finally it will just die. It is very hard to re-start and shows no oil presure as I crank it. Sometimes won't start until the engine is completely cooled down.

Does anyone have any idea what this might be? Oil looks clean, warms up to just slightly above the "N" on the temp gage.

Lost in Charlotte,NC

Mr_Shiftright

Well for one thing Jaguar V-12 oil pressure sensors and gauges are notorious for giving faulty readings. So you might not have low oil pressure at all. So have that checked.

Also, you MUST use 20W50 oil. If you have lighter oil, you will lose oil pressure in this engine

As for hard starting, this may be a different problem, with the ignition sensors for the flywheel rpm and the crankshaft sensors. They fail with age, as they heat up.

there are also sensors for engine temperature that will shut the engine down if the sensor (right or wrong) "thinks" the engine is overheating.

These are all kind of typical Jaguar V-12 issues. You need to have these things diagnosed one by one.

krasnow

Anyone know of motion sickness problem due to air suspension? and what can be done. thanks

gmcsweyn

I have a 1992 Jaguar XJ6 and the heater motor quit running, not sure if the fuse has blown, not able to find the fuse box and is there a replacement blower motor available.

actionjack

i have a 1996 jaguar xj6. the problem is the oil switch gauge keep going down to empty. i have to punch the gas pedel to make it move back to the full area reading. what causes this. and what must i do to fix it? any help would be appreicated.

actionjack

i think some of the fuses are located in the trunk .

exjaglover

I purchased a 1998 carnival red xjr 48000k in 2003. I adored this car and the many extras I added for a xjr different from the rest. 18 inch jag 5 spoke replaced the center caps red to match the car. Purchased 4 more red centercaps peeled off the brackets an installed on every seat in the back rest 4 inch tv where the sunglass holder was and a system without changing any stock items no subs in the trunk 1 behind drivers seat just for anice touch of bass. alot moreinvested tolist in changed low beam, high beam, fog and parking to blue lights looks mean and serious head turner. this my 3rd jag i had a 91 xj6 and a 95 xj6 and might consider a 04 xjr

johnwesley1

Help. I also have a 1991 XJS v12 mine also loses oil pressure after it gets up to normal operating temp. not going down the road at say 55mph but if i slow down to 30 or so mph it drops to below 25 lbs at a stop sign or stop light it falls to 0 then as i get moving again it comes back up. The temp gauge says normal operating temp. althought the engine seems to be hotter than normal. It does not die or its not hard to start at all. My question is rather than pays a dealership alot of money to tell me nothing may or may not be wrong with my engine i would rather just install a set of after market temp, and oil pressure gauges so i can be sure of my oil pressure and engine temp. can anyone tell me where the oil pressure and engine temp sending units are so i can disconnect them and install the after market gauges. thank you for any info. you can help me with

Mr_Shiftright

The gauge must be inaccurate. If your oil pressure was actually zero, you would certainly be the first to know about it.

Are you using an OEM filter and the proper weight oil?

My books don't go back that far to locate your oil sender but surely the person who works on your car would tell you?

OH WAIT! I see a diagram. It looks like it is between the V of the engine, up front, and there's a long hose arching over it. It's a small round cylinder with a wire attached to it that screw in.

The book says:

12 cylinder:
Open the bonnet.
Disconnect the battery earth lead.
Disconnect the rubber boot and the transmitter feed wire.
Unscrew and remove the transmitter
Fit and tighten the new transmitter.
Reconnectthe transmitter feed wire and the rubber boot.
Reconnect the battery earth lead.
Close the bonnet.

johnwesley1

thank you mr. shiftright that should help, and yes i am using the right oil 20 w 50 not sure what an OEM filter is though I did use and after market filter from the local parts store not sure its the filter though had the same problem before and after the oil change. now not sure if i should replace the old sending unit to see if that cures the problem or go ahead and istall an after market oil pressure guage. seems to be alot of problems with jag. gauges not the only one here that seems to have that problem. anyway thank you for your info. nice to have folks who care.

Mr_Shiftright

Well that sending unit is over $100, so you might not want to be guessing. At the very least, I'd be more inclined to pay a mechanic $100 to screw in an accurate mechanical gauge and tell you what's what for SURE. The aftermarket gauges aren't very attractive, after all, hanging like that under your dash.

british_rover

Depending on how good the parts stores are in your area you might be able to borrow/rent/lease a mechanical gauge from them.

snowboy

so was it the throttle body? or something else

kconklin

I own a 2001 Jaguar XJR. Every once in a while I have the same problem. I take it to my dealership and they find that the gear-shift cable requires adjustment. I'm not a certified mechanic, but I understand cars quite well, and this makes sense for my particular problem. It's never needed replacement, just a slight tweak here and there, and it goes away for a while. This has happened three times in four. I hope this helps.

kconklin

My 2001 XJR, 97kmi, is overheating. I can stay at idle all day long with no problem, but as soon as I take it around the neigborhood for five minutes the needle hits the red. I don't have to exceed 30mph at 3k rpm to duplicate the malfunction. Any ideas?

Mr_Shiftright

I would guess a coolant circulation problem rather than an air circulation problem, so it's not the cooling fans, etc but rather a restriction in flow or inadequate circulation. So, clogged radiator, bad thermostat, bad water pump or perhaps a leaking head gasket as the worst case scenario.

djagman

the radiator is low in the vehile .they are prone to hitting parking stops and if you drove afterwards you might not notice the engine siezing.do you have insurance?and mbz is not jaguar...

brit644

Have been very fortunate in never having had problemswith my beautiful Jag. However this weekend it just slowly died at a traffic light. Maneged to limp the 300 yds home. When I power up the revs go to 2k revs in park with no accelerator use, then slowly..on its own drops until it stalls. It will start again but same process, changed the fuel filter figuring fuel problem [the fuel coming from inlet side of filter was extremly brown/rusty] I also noticed that on occassion the pedal needs a tap or two to take from tickover, thought this may be throttle linkage etc etc sticking but wouldnt explain the stalling. I have a fear its electrical..as most posts on hear appear so. Once in ablue moon the 'trac-off' comes on but not while driving, a switch off and back on solves this.
Have just completed 100k miles so not too many for this year.

aziegler

well if it's an 85 then the chevy engine scores you major reliability points

aziegler

Hey I am looking at a 99 Jag XJR now, and am ready to go but some of the bad experiences some folks have had have me just slightly nervous. Mostly with the 03, 04, but mostly positive from the slightly older ones. What have your experiences been with reliability? That is my main concern. Jags sure depriciate fast, do you happen to know the reason behind that?

johnwesley1

have ask questions before and always got help. hoping for more help now,I have a 1991 xjs on the trunk is an emblem that says Collections Classic. Never thought anything of till I was in a classic dealers show room and they had 1 and claimed it was 1 of only 273. There were a few differances between this one and mine. first this one had a jag. hood ornament mine has a gold medallion with a jaguar head on it. His console was all one color that matched the interior with a wood handle on the shifter. Mine the console has a wood top that matches the dash with a leather handle on the shifter. They both have the collections classic emblem on the trunk. Can someone help me to find out if i have 1 of 273 ? Are there are any sure way to tell if it is really 1 of 273..thank you for any help you may have

johnwesley1

still needing answers is there a way to tell for sure if my jag. xjs is 1 of 273 it does have the emblem on the trunk saying classic collection. other than that how do you tell? Please give me some help..thank you

Mr_Shiftright

Yes the Classic Collection was a special trim package you could order. Jaguar did a number of these over the years as marketing schemes-- another one was called Collection Rouge. Classic Collection cars featured special piping on the seats, leather wrapped gearshift and elm veneer wood trim, and I think some selected paint colors.

I would caution you though that trim packages don't often translate into any extra value, since they don't represent any major mechanical or body changes of any kind, just cosmetics. Also, the reason they are rare is because not many people ordered them.

so you may indeed have one of 273 but it may not matter as far as value is concerned. Still it's nice to have something a little different and it might represent a small bump in value if you want to sell it--maybe 5% or so.

johnwesley1

thank you Mr. shiftright.Your information was very helpful I do indeed have the model you spoke of. It is a beautiful bright red and has all the features you said. I have seen 2 of these on ebay they both were above the $12,000.00 price tag. Mine is very very nice but not perfect it has 75,000 miles on it. If anyone is interested it is forsale and less money.. contact me i have photos for you to see again thanks for the info.

Mr_Shiftright

Well you can't sell or advertise a car in these forums but we wish you luck. Asking prices are the eBayers exercising their First Amendment Rights, but $12K is a mighty strong price for such a car. If someone offered you anything from $8500 on up in this economy, I'd sure consider taking it.

craig09

I had the same thing happen but the oppisite the dealer replaced the throttle body then it happened again and they supposedly called in and expert and they replaced it again then told me that the computer was no good. I and a good friend who works on cars started looking and found the plug on the throttle body was not making good contact we tie wrapped it up and it worked good for 6 months now I am looking for another plug or harness.
Good Luck
Craig

craig09

Does anyone know were I can buy the wiring harness for the throttle body for a 2001 xj8 ?

Thank You

stancho

I have a 2001 xj8. I had to replace 2 throttle bodies and the problem was still there. failsafe/ no asc/no trac.
someone posted on one of the forums that his connecting wires where loose on the throttle. I have cleaned all connectors with the connector cleaning spray - from pepboys and never had any problems again. the throttles cost me more han 2,000 and it was a simple connector issue to the sensors on the throttle.

lzolidis

Thanks for your advice on the throttle connector. I haven't had the throttle body issue come up again since the second replacement in 2007, but shortly after that procedure I began to get smoke from the exhaust pipe on a "cold" start to the car (i.e. after it was sitting for awhile). The dealer took the entire engine apart and found sludge from the prior leaseholder (Jaguar owned before I bought it). They claimed they got all the sludge, but then it happened again. After the second very expensive clean-out, where they claimed to take the engine apart "even further" than the supposedly complete first attempt, I changed dealers to one nearly an hour's drive from my house. I am much happier with the new place. The 10,000 mile checks are more thorough and done MUCH faster than the old, awful place, and customer service is excellent. My advice in the DFW area: use Overseas Motors for service, not Autobahn.

jagzilla

Ahoy,

I've recently encountered the same problem as described above in these last two posts after returning from a long mountain trip back home. I have a '99 XJ8 and the throttle stuck as I tried to break at the first traffic light. Didn't want to stop but after hitting the brakes hard and steady, it slowed, shuddered, stopped and stalled. If I hadn't reacted quickly enough, I would probably have plowed into a vehicle at the light. Ugh! My now disappeared mech told me last year the throttle body would probably need some work or costly repairs down the road, and he was right. It won't start at all now and is sitting in the drive till I sort all my options out, plus already bought a '97 XJR, heh heh! Double trouble eh? Stability Control Failure light is on the dash, already located the inertia fuel disconnect switch under the passenger floorboard, which wasn't triggered, and already disconnected the battery to see if it's an ECM issue as to why it won't start. Any ideas out here?

Zagzilla

denham

Fail Safe comes on at times when using cruse control. Cut engine take key out and back to normal with no Fail Safe showing.

jagzilla

Hi Denham,

Thanks for this info. I can't remember now if I had turned off the cruise switch on the gear console when this situation occurred now, but stopping the vehicle and trying to get it started again was a battery draining waste of time. It's been sitting in my driveway since the incident while I pondered the best possible solution to it's diagnosis and repair. My solution so far was last Monday,,bought a '97 XJR, LOL! Already had issues with it, being christened in with a new alternator after the old one fried to a crisp Saturday morning. Been a real dramatic week! The only OBDII code on the XJ8 showing is a pending P1112 which translates to an Air Temp Sensor issue which shouldn't be a major concern. It also shows the Stability Control Failure on the dash, but that is an amber code so it should at least still start right?

Cheers,
Jagzilla

junklamby

junklamby

I have an oppurtunity to buy a 2000 XJ8 for a possible steal. Owner was told the motor was locked but it turns over fine by hand. Try to jump it and it just gives you a hard click at the starter. On any other car, I would buy it, put a starter in, and cross my fingers. Problem is, I know nothing about the Jags and any other potential explanations??? Any advice would be appreciated.

Mr_Shiftright

If it were hydro-locked (bent rods) it might turn part of the cycle through the compression or exhaust stroke.

I would only buy it on the presumption that the locked motor diagnosis is correct, and pay accordingly---in other words, pay the junk price for it. That's the only rational way to approach it.

A 2000 XJ8 is not a valuable car. If you really want one, just go buy a running one for not a lot of money.

Basically, this car, with a bad engine, is totalled. And even if the engine weren't bad, you still can't check out all the other functions (AC, trans, suspension, brakes, electronics), so it could end up running and *still* be a loss to you.

I'd say "pass" or buy it for what you can sell it to a wrecker for.

junklamby

Thanks Mr. Shiftright. Always good to get the voice of good reason behind you.

Mr_Shiftright

Well you could get lucky, but place a small bet in this case, since the house is stacked against you.

vandemplas99

I had the valve cover gaskets replaced to repair a leak and after 6-8 months the leak had reappeared, this time causing smoke upon going up a steep hill as oil from the oil pan was full of hot oil and would get thrown across the engine parts at very hot temps therefore causing smoke. The shop was going to redo their work on the valve cover gaskets as I could point to the oil in the oil pan and show leakage appearing on the valve cover that covers the ignition coils. By the time the parts came in two weeks later, the car starter would engage but the engine was not sparking at all. My feeling was this was oil leak damage to the ignition coils where you can see oil spots on the valve cover. But the shop said it was a compression problem with the engine that had to be towed to the dealer. Do oil changes affect engine compression? That's the only thing I had done just prior to getting the shop to agree to redo the valve cover gaskets.

denham

Oil change will not affect engine compression, but over fill of oil can do damage
in going up a steep hill should the oil flow back in the oil pan and the crankshaft and piston rod ends hit the oil. This would build pressure in the oil pan and valve covers making for oil leakage and a engine mess.
Also if the valve cover gaskets were very bad or the covers loose this could have made you problem. Replace the valve covers is not a big deal, and maybe a good pressure wash and hot air dry will take care of you problem.
Let me know!