A really beautiful car that I bought used. The previous owner ran it hot and you know what that means. Just too expensive for me to fix right now as I am tied up with a new business startup and don't have the extra cash to fix up this car that handles like a dream. Interior and exterior is in great shape. Transmission shifts just fine. Engine misfires on one cylinder at idle and smooths out when driving. Yep, I think it is sucking coolant into that one cylinder which probably means... gaskets at the least (but I doubt it), MAYBE a new top side for the motor, BUT, probably a new/rebuilt/salvage motor. We drive this car around town... errands and such... but I am afraid of a road trip. I've got $3500 in this ride and would like to break even. If you need a transmission or a front or rear clip or doors... It pains me to think of breaking this car up. I'm located on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Bring your car hauler and stay at the casinos on the beach.

 

Which cylinder is is misfiring? Is the car losing coolant? Steam from exhaust? any noise top end? Parts cars with bad engines sell for way less than 3500.

 

I don't know which cylinder is misfiring, but, you can hear a very small hollow popping noise at the exhaust. There is a small amount of steam coming out the exhaust.

There is the valve tapping noise. I assume this is due to the misfire caused by the coolant seepage.

It is losing coolant at a very slow rate. After driving it awhile and letting it get hot there is the distinct smell of hot coolant coming from the engine very close to the firewall.

The dash dummy light keeps informing me "Engine Coolant Low" even though it is full of coolant.

Also, when I remove the oil cap on the valve cover there is a very strong vacuum and the engine starts idling very rough. Replace the cap and the engine idle smooths out except for the misfire.

When driving and after shifting into second gear the engine runs very smoothly with no evidence of misfire. I am assuming the fuel mixture is overwhelming the introduction of coolant in that cylinder eliminating the misfire.

Regarding parts cars... I have no doubt that you are correct. I am a member of Copart, a national car auction with locations all across the US in every major metro area. If you are not familiar with them let me encourage you to check them out. I have been watching for sometime for a wrecked Jag with low miles to harvest another engine but the bidding usually goes to high, or the location is too far away for me to justify the trip to go and get that car. Wrecked Jags like mine are going for approx $2,000 plus auction fees. I have my eye on one now in NC with 56K miles with the nose pushed in. And, the mechanic I use is a real Ford lover. He would probably do a decent job on the engine swap and I would love to have a Jag hand do the job, if I am able to get to that point. Do you know anybody? I have a car hauler.

I don't really have the extra cash to sink into car repairs now as we are in the process of starting up a new business, but, I am still looking and hoping because I really like this car. My wife and I were driving around recently and because the Jag idles roughly at red lights I made a maneuver to avoid the light. There was some oncoming cars and I had to do a hurry-up left 90 degree turn. I did it without looking at the speedometer, but, it was a very quick turn. That Jag made the 90 like it was on rails and my wife was so surprised that she felt very little centrifugal force in that turn. And talk about get-up-and-go... this Jag has that for sure. Once in second gear the slightest touch on the gas pedal boosts that speed up in a hurry.

I really appreciate your response and should you have an interest, don't hesitate to contact me again. (If you would like to call... (228)762-2685) Or, if you have any further thoughts on my engine issues... they will be deeply appreciated.

 

IF YOU GET A CODE READER IT WILL TELL YOU WHAT CYLINDER IS MISFIRING.
coolant leaks are fairly common behind the engine. Octopus hose,valley hoses etc.
as far as stumble when you remove the oil filler cap,that is normal.
i have xk8 so some things are a little different. But i think you have an aj27 motor like mine. I would read codes,pull the plug on misfire Cylinder check compression and examine the plug.
how hot did the po get the engine?

 

OK... I will try that. I don't know how hot it got, but, the small threaded plug on the coolant reservoir was blown. I found a wide head SS screw and replaced the plastic plug with the screw and a little high temp silicone. The dummy light keeps telling me engine coolant is low so, I ASSUMED, that the engine had been run hot. I had read that it is common for this car's thermostat to stick and cause this problem. I ASSUMED, again, that the thermostat had been poorly replaced and maybe that was the cause of the coolant smell.
Thanks again for the input and I will post the results of the scan in a day or two.

 

OK... got some codes this morning...
Stored Codes:
P0300, P0301, P0305, P0307, P0308, P1313, P1314, P1316
Pending Codes:
P0302, P0307, P1000, P1316

Its misfiring. The P0300 suggests random misfiring. This seems to be the case because when we drive the car the misfiring occurs in 1st gear in Park or idling at a red light. When we get into 2nd gear the misfire seems to completely disappear. This car runs really smooth after getting out of 1st gear.
Any thoughts?

 

reverend sam has compiled a list of jaguar obd codes.
https://www.jaguarforums.com/.../complete-list-all-obd-codes-45032/
Go through your list of codes and compare them.
Then pose the questions regarding them on the tech forum and you will get some help with trying to get to the bottom of the trouble.
Maybe some inexpensive fixes, maybe not, but worth trying to understand
What your cat is experiencing and then deciding what to do next.

 

Thank you for your interest and help. It is really appreciated.

 

Hopefully you have sorted out the problem or discovered a fix that does not involve engine
replacement. I recently experienced the random misfire issue on a car that I have been fixing to sell. I replaced the injectors and mass air flow sensor and now runs as new.

 

Hello Again,

Thank you for the input...
And, I think you may be correct.

Misfires can be one of the hardest problems to diagnose.
Check all the wiring connections.
Starting with the plugs and coils is the first step.
Then move onto the fuel injectors.
I drive the car on short hops around town and it is performing just fine
with smooth acceleration and no misfires after it gets out of 1st gear.
I've experienced misfires in other vehicles and the misfires were very
obvious on an inclined grade. I've put the Jag on the same grade and no
misfires.

I did some research in the forum and learned that the ECM connection may
cause this problem via a dirty connection.
Or, it may be a badly clogged fuel filter. For the cost of a new fuel
filter; I probably need to do this anyway.

When I first got the car I have an OBD II scanner that connects to my
laptop and it indicated an issue with the MAF. I cleaned the MAF and did
not obtain any improvement in the misfire. Subsequent scans no longer yield
a MAF P-code.
Per your suggestion, MAF replacement may be an option. I've noticed a wide
variety of prices (and probably quality) on eBay. Where did you get yours
and how much did it cost?

At this point, I would like to find a mechanic with a diagnostic scanning
system that will "tickle" every sensor in the vehicle and yield a report
that may provide better insight. We shall see.

I " *assumed *" that this engine had been run hot. When I first got the
car the "bleed screw" on the coolant reservoir was leaking badly and when
the engine came to temp the coolant would boil out where the previous owner
had tried to glue the bleed screw back. I replaced the faulty plastic
bleed screw with a #2 phillips wide head stainless sheet metal screw (about
$1 from Lowes) and sealed it with high temp silicone. I drove the car very
little after that and it sat idle for most of the winter. I started
driving the car a little more often for the last 2 months and there is no
more smell of hot coolant. I am puzzled why the coolant smell
that "seemed" to be coming from the firewall area is gone. I am still
getting the dash message that "engine coolant low" even though this car has
not lost any coolant whatsoever. And, the temp gauge rises to and stays on
the middle hash mark, so no overheating. After checking the forum blogs I
learned that it is "probably" the coolant tank sensor that is the culprit
for the . So, my assumption that the engine had been run hot and I had a
warped head leaking coolant has been somewhat mitigated. Another sensor
issue!!! And, I learned (through the forum) that the whole coolant tank
must be replaced because the sensors are not sold separately. Have you had
this issue?

This brings me back to the search for the mother of all diagnostic
systems. My nearest Jag dealer is in Mobile, AL and I have not contacted
them yet. Any suggestions on the wisdom of this approach or who (other
than the Jag dealer) may have the best engine diagnostic computer system?

After your and another member's response, I am taking a slower approach to
the solution of this problem and thinking about stopping my for sale
listing.

Again, thank you very much for your interest and inputs. They are deeply
appreciated.

Sincerely,

Steve Thomas

 

i used a delphi. about 120.00 just ordered a denzo from parts geek for 117. + 8 shipping.