On my new-to-me 2015 R, I was checking the engine compartment and found that the hood is rubbing on the left edge of the engine cover and two fuel injectors. I closed the hood and sure enough, the portion of the hood that forms the left wheel well does appear lower than it should. Now the puzzle: If the left side of the hood is too low, I would have expected that it would also be low at the left rear corner of the hood where it meets the door... but it doesn't.

• Is this simply a case of screwing out the rubber bumpers on the left side?
• How can the hood be rubbing on the engine yet be aligned at the left rear corner?
• Do you guys agree that this is not a case of a failing engine mount, since that would presumably move it away from the hood. Now that I think of it, I don't know how much space there is between the hood and engine when it's not running... Hmm, maybe it could be an engine mount issue. Thoughts?

 

Yep, raising those rubber bumpers should go a long way to fixing the misalignment.
I would start with just the middle one first, the one behind the headlight and nearest to the power steering fluid reservoir.
Then maybe the one right at the front under the front edge of the hood/bonnet, but that might stuff up the height alignment of the front edge of the hood with the top of the front bumper.
You can also adjust the height of the back/top of the front bumper a little via the two 10 mm bolts just inboard of the very back/top edge of the bumper.
The problem is that whenever you try these types of adjustments as soon as you improve the alignment in one spot it stuffs up or makes worse the alignment somewhere else, the trick is to make a small adjustment to just one thing at a time then check the alignment, then try another adjustment and so on until you have it as best you can get it. Trouble is many of these gaps and alignments were way out when the car left the factory especially that hood to bumper alignment in your third pic (very common) and it is impossible to get everything 100%.
Last but not least those two hoses/pipes the hood is rubbing on are not fuel injectors they are coolant lines for the supercharger coolant jackets/radiators.

 

Thank you very much for the detailed reply. Before diving in, I realized that I'm assuming that it's rubbing now. I don't actually know that, like maybe the dealer fixed it recently. I'll put something like a piece of cardboard in there and see if it gets pinched. Regardless if it's rubbing now, the wheel well is definitely misaligned, so I'm try some baby steps first so I don't mess things up worse.

 

Misaligned body panels such as you picture were quite common with F-Types. My 2018 on the right side looked almost identical to what you show, but the dealer fixed it under warranty. There is a complete step-by-step description of how to correct it yourself on this site somewhere if you're so inclined.

 

Good idea but I use a bit of clay or play-dough instead of cardboard. Then I can measure what the clearance is after shutting the hood.
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Yeah I was actually going to say that but didn't want to confuse people about why anyone would use clay. I know it's used during engine builds to determine piston-to-valve clearance, but didn't feel like explaining that

 

I looked at it again and it's still puzzling. The front left corner of the hood is about 1/8" higher than the front bumper, the back left corner of the hood is just right (I think) yet the center left edge (over the tire and part of the fender) is low. I've looked close at the area and don't see any evidence of damage, so don't "think" it's ever been in an accident (CarFax is clean), yet I don't see how the left front and rear corners of the hood can be high or okay, and the middle be low. I guess I need to figure out where I am first before doing anything, using clay, and go from there. My concern is that this won't end well if ignored, likely eventually wearing through the coolant lines.

Thanks again for your reply.

 

All kidding aside, someone may have leaned or landed on the hood in the past. Do your best to align the edges and check again?

 

I thought of that, but would expect the hood to be bent or at least have a big dent in it, and there isn't anything as far as I can tell. I used some clay to measure the spacing and it's a very reasonable 3/4" (2cm), so it's not rubbing now, but keep reading.

I have the full Jag service record and it shows nothing that would be related, so that's out. Regarding the possibility of whether it had/has a broken engine mount, hmm. The marks are on the left side of the engine (facing forwards), and that's the side that would rise up if crank rotation is clockwise which most engines are, and if the left side engine mount is broken, it could be that. Sooo, there seems to be two possibilities: 1. That the owner had the broken mount fixed at an independent shop, so it's not in the official service records, or, 2. It has a broken engine mount right now.

I'll take the car for a drive and do the clay test again, do a hard acceleration, then quickly remove and measure the clay before it melts.

 

Puzzle solved. Placed a 1"-tall piece of clay on the engine cover, took the car out and accelerated hard briefly, then pulled over and opened the hood. Smashed flat...

Have already tried contacting the Jag dealer that did the PPI, and will see this goes. They probably won't refund my PPI fee, but on the other hand, I just proved that I'm a better inspector and troubleshooter than their own guys, so maybe the shame and humiliation is worth something...

 

Did you get any sort of warranty with the car?
Coz replacing a shot engine or trans mount or two would not be a cheap fix, and if your hood really has been bent as a result of this fault a new one would cost a packet.
If I were you I would think about getting legal advice quick smart.

 

Doubtful. Car is a 2015, so no factory warranty, and purchased from a non-Jaguar dealer "as-is." That said, I DID have a PPI done by an actual Jaguar dealer, and I'll be talking to them Monday morning to test their reaction. I suspect they learned long ago to accept no responsibility for missing stuff during PPIs but we'll see. I'm hoping that the aforementioned shame and humiliation is worth something.

I'm not beyond fixing it myself as I'm comfortable doing just about anything with cars, but since this Jag is new to me, it's a big unknown, plus I don't really have room at the moment to be doing this. That said, if they try charging $$$$ for this, I can do it myself and get a QuickJack setup "for free." I kinda doubt I'll get much from the dealer though. I mean, they'll probably say "oops, missed that", then stop talking. I mean, the PPI doesn't consist of any repairs, so it's not like they didn't replace something... thought they also did NOT do what they were paid to do, look over the car and report problems. This one's pretty big if an ordinary customer can outshine a "factory trained tech." I'll keep this updated.

 

Found this thread very useful if I do it myself, and gives an idea of what a garage would do if I pay someone else: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/f...mounts-221412/

 

Yep, excellent write-up on replacing the engine mounts by Itismejoshy.
One one problem though if you attempt to DIY, in at least two places he says you will need "patients" so you may need to visit a hospital and grab multiple inmates before you proceed!

 

Haha, yeah I resisted making various jokes about that, given how helpful the thread is. At this moment I think I'll give the dealer a chance to give their excuse/stance on the issue, and depending on that, take it there or a good independent shop. Since the car is nearly a total unknown to me, I may have whoever does the engine mount work (replace both maybe since the remaining one is being overly flexed), establish a baseline by also replacing or flushing ALL fluids, including coolant, brakes, oil, transmission, the diff and supercharger, inspecting the belts and hoses, and get their opinion on whether to "invest" in correcting the Y-pipe. If they talk me into that, then they "may as well" also do the water pump and any other sketchy-looking coolant lines while under the supercharger. Not cheap, but it gives a confidence in the car that I don't have right now. Or maybe I should say, I have an extremely squishy sense of confidence in it right now. In the hour I've driven it, it feels great, and the engine sounds perfect. When it contacts the hood, there is no noise whatsoever, so I feel it's okay to drive to the shop, just no hard acceleration.

I joked with someone that buying this used Jaguar is like inviting a stranger you meet into your home... you just have no idea what exactly you've got on your hands until having a long chat first.