Hey guys,
I'm a new owner of a 2002 Jaguar X-type 3.0 with 160,XXX miles. Although I would love to say that I'm out daily burning rubber or however the saying goes, things are far from sunshine and daisies for me here in sunny San Diego. Now I'm not sure whether or not this should be in the new member section or the x-type section but feel free to direct me.

Anyway here goes nothing,
A few weeks ago I purchased this Jaguar for an awesome deal at only $1500. It had a check engine and a less than gentle idle with a slight acceleration hesitation. I drove it around the next couple and days and everything seemed decent but I did notice a slight brake jerking as well as an ABS light. Being new to California I had just recently learned about smogging and decided to hire a mechanic to see if he could fix the issue with the check engine light. My first step mistake was calling a "mobile mechanic" from Craigslist. After a brief phone convo I was advised that the car most likely needed a full tune up and agreed to work on the car, upon his arrival he reads the engine codes and stated that I had codes P1701 and P1704. Mr.Mobile Mechanic tells me he thinks I should start with the spark plugs and that'd he'd also do the brakes for me for just a couple hundred bucks which I THOUGHT was a good deal. Now, I'll admit Mr.MM seemed shady comes the following day to work on the brakes & goes home after what seems like a long, hard day of work and I end up giving him half to finish the next day.

LET'S KEEP IN MIND THAT THE CAR WAS RUNNING AND DRIVING.

He comes again and begins by removing the upper intake manifold of the car and by this point I had a funny gut feeling that he was less than professional due to the fact that even with my brief knowledge and research of my jaguar within the last few weeks (due to all my enthusiasm) I seemed to know more about the x-type than he did because at one point in time he tried to tell me that my brake booster hose was an EGR valve!!!? SMH. So, Mr.MM removed both of my IMT valves as well as my throttle body and spent approximately 30+ minutes spraying the inside of the throttle body with awesome degreaser (don't worry, it was completely off the car). He then proceeds to tell me that he needed me to run to the store so he can reseal the manifold, throttle body as well as the IMT valves. During this process he not only breaks the hose that goes from the air duct to the lower manifold (breather hose? - Will include picture) as well my brake booster hose. He tries to reassure me that he can fix these things easily and that I shouldn't worry.
DESPITE MY FEELINGS OF HESITATION AND REGRET ABOUT HIRING THIS MECHANIC I ALLOWED HIM TO FINISH THE JOB AS HALF MY MONEY WAS GONE AND HALF MY MANIFOLD WAS APART!
I figured it was too hard of a job to do myself and continued on a hope and prayer that he would fix everything. After everything he removes my coils and spark plugs and installs the new Bosch Iridium ones I had purchased. He gets to "connecting everything back together" and starts to install my intake manifold and doing a pretty decent job of getting blue gasket sealer everywhere in an attempt to seal the upper and lower manifold (old gaskets still in place) as well as the IMT valve & throttle body (attempts to seal ALL with gasket maker). After he finishes hooking everything together I start the car and it starts running with a TERRIBLE idle so I start freaking out and MR.MM tries to explain it by saying that he most likely just gapped the spark plugs incorrectly and I tell him that I'm leaving to run an errand with my family and that I'd be back later which he said was fine and that he would take care of it all before I got back and upon returning I find my tools spread around on the ground, car still up on jacks, garage door open, and the hood of the car. I attempt to start the car, it starts briefly, idles VIOLENTLY and immediately proceeds to shut back off. I try again and it starts and runs with a SLIGHTLY less idle but still very much more than I had before I hired him. When I pressed the gas petal the engine would rev slightly and then sputter. I immediately try to contact him with no such luck of course. I'm guessing this SOB skipped town so I begin trying to self-diagnose the issue.
*Side note: Oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter had all been changed by me the day I purchased the car.
The first thing I did was purchase a new gasket for the upper intake manifold (Plenum), next I tried to search for any vacuum leaks upon inspecting I noticed that MM had tried to fix breather tube with tubing from the auto parts store and just connecting the parts that were broken and the seal seemed to be ok so I left it, same for the brake booster hose, but I was wondering about the importance of the valve looking piece that WAS in the middle prior to him breaking it. Both hoses seemed to be in functioning order as far as holding a vacuum seal goes. The BBH was still in tact at the elbow where it meets the manifold and the check valve where it meets the booster. Both hoses were missing the metal pieces where it connected the tubing. I removed the upper manifold and installed yet again new pre-gapped spark plugs in case he had tampered with the ones I had purchased previously. I replaced the old intake gasket and bolted down the manifold with the battery disconnected throughout the entire process. I have checked for vacuum leaks and have found none. when trying to start the car it will start and immediately cut back off. I plugged in my bluetooth scanner and got codes p0352 B; P0354D; p0356 F; P1368; C1145 (had when car was still running). I know there are no problems with the spark plugs and I have switched the coils on row 1 with all coils on row 2, disconnected the negative battery charge, and read reading the codes I'm still getting the same cylinder codes which makes me believe the coils are not at fault. Not sure what would be causing row 2 to not fire esp. since the car was running before manifold was removed. I've cleaned my mass air flow sensor as well.
Any ideas on what could be causing the P1368 code? Could I need to proper brake booster hose and one for throttle body? I'm out of ideas! Sorry for the long post just wanted to include any background info.

TIA!

**EDIT** I forgot to mention that he also attempted to change my oil. and in the process drained some of my tranny fluid ! when he realized what was happening he stopped it and eventually after searching the internet we found what seemed to be the correct place to refill it. not sure if that has anything to do with it but just thought I'd be thorough.

 

Welcome to the forum CatsDaddy,

I've copied this from your Intro. You definitely need help from the model experts here.

Graham

 

Thanks man I can't what to get some feedback.

 

Seems like maybe there are still a bunch of vacuum leaks..the Brake booster valve is a check valve, without it, it will cause the vacuum to fluctuate. The IMT's need NEW "O" rings ..The Intake Manifold need new GASKETS..Check to see if the PCV hose (larger black vacuum hose nearest the middle part of engine just behind the radiator)..More than likely the Magilla Gorilla broke it too....all those thing are compounding the problems..

Good luck

 

Give thermo a chance to log in and see your post, he will be more than willing to assist you.

 

Can anyone tell me about the ignition module fuses and how I could check them ? Could it be my ECU ? Also, I went to take a look at my crankshaft position sensor (I believe) and it is covered in what seems to be oil dripping down the connector line onto the connector. Is the crankshaft position sensor something I would access under the car ? Could it be causing my p1368 code ? How would I remove and check my ECU ?

T.I.A

 

Don't rule out all coils on one bank to go out at the same time, it has happened in the past. I wish I could help you more but I am new to these cars too, luckily I only had one bad coil, worn plugs.

I found this: P1368 Jaguar DTC: Ignition amplifier - ECM signal - Bank 2
I think that code maybe coming from one or more bad coils, I would say less likely a bad ECM.

Bad sensor could be the issue with runnability and there seems to be 2 or this car. picture location below. Bank 2 sensor could be part of your issue.
Jaguar X Type Camshaft Position Sensors

Good luck.

 

I was thinking it may be the coils but I have already switched out the front coils with the ones on the back and I still have the same codes. Also, car was running before mechanic removed manifold . It seems as if there is an amount of oil or some liquid sitting on top of the lower intake manifold. Could there be a leak somewhere causing a whole bank not to fire ?

 

+1.. Wait for Thermo to join in..
Lol
All the stuff that guy did was wrong... X type does not like iridium plugs from what i remember.. (Opposite may b true.. Lol)
Dont panic, this is a great forum and we will get you running back to normal... B4 i start troubleshooting, i'll wait for Thermo!
Welcome!

 

Thanks for the response, I'm not gonna lie I was kinda thinking I might not hear anything back from anyone again.
Feels good knowing you guys have my back and I can't wait to be able to help others in the future.

*update* I have JUST removed my lower intake manifold and there is a TON of liquid just sitting there. I put my fingers in the liquid and its like 2-3 inches deep guys. It's kinda clear. Not sure but it may be oil. Could this be the issue ? I will post a pic if I can.

 

I guess what I'm trying to figure out is what is this fluid and where could it be coming from

 

Catsdaddy, from the sounds of things, the fluid that you are seeing in the intake is more than like gasoline. Whatever the fluid is (hard to say what the "mechanic" did), it needs to be out of the intake. PERIOD!!!!! Fluid inside the cylinder is not going to end in a good day.

As for your P0352/0354/0356 codes, I would be looking at the front left corner (behind the passenger headlight for you) of the engine. You should see some wires coming to a spot on the engine block and they will be bolted down. Trace the wire that goes back towards the front of the engine that will then jump from coil to coil. It is possible in the act of trying to move things around, he damaged this wire which would then lead to other issues. Please keep in mind that cylinders 2/4/6 are the ones near the radiator, not the ones on the back of the engine. So, this should make repairs a little easier. The other thing that I would attempt is to have all 3 of the front coils (for cylinders 2/4/6) disconnected from the wiring. Now, if you look at the wiring for the #6 cylinder (ie, the one on the far right or nearest the driver's side headlight), you should see a black wire that will jump to each of the coils. I want you to put the red lead of a multimeter on the pin that has the black wire attached (pin 3, it should be written on the plug where you can see the metal pin) and touch the black lead to any metal part of the engine as you are measuring resistance. You should get a very low resistance (something under 5 ohms is good). If you are getting a high resistance (ie, the multimeter is saying "OL"), then this would indicate that you have a broken wire. if you need ideas of how to fix this, let me know.

This will hopefully resolve your spark issue.

Now, as for the vacuum lines that the "mechanic" destroyed. this may also be leading to your idle issue. First things first. The hose between the brake booster and the intake, buy a new one. they are like $30, but will be well worth the money to get the car back on the road. Next, replace the other line that the mechanic destroyed.

Now, since you have the intake apart, clean all that blue RTV off of the engine from the intake gaskets and the IMT valves. if you look around the site, I have posted the O-ring part numbers for the Felpro o-ring kits for your car. The o-rings are like $18 at your local auto parts store. Unfortunately, you will need to get the IMT o-rings when you get the brake booster hose as both of these are not something that you will be able to find at your local auto parts store (unless you have a European specialty shop).

Another common issue that I have seen is there is a hose on the back side of the intake (between the intake and the firewall). If this is not installed properly or is leaking because the hose is cracked, it can cause the car to idle poorly. so, check to make sure that is good. You will also find that there is a green hose and a red hose down under the throttlebody. With time, these get brittle and have been known to cause vacuum leaks.

At this point, lets see what you have and go from there. I don't want to information overload you. Please keep in mind that the intake o-rings are re-useable. They only need to be replaced if you see that they are severely crushed or are damaged (cracked, have pieces of the rubber missing, etc). I am saying to replace them now just because by this point in the engine's life, they are probably about due and also because it is hard to say what the mechanic did. So, we are removing the potential problems without killing your wallet at the same time.

 

Catsdaddy, the best advice that I can tell you is to take a rag or something and suck up a bit of the fluid. then get it close to your nose to get a slight whiff of the fluid. That should tell you what the fluid is. Also, if you use a white cloth, you will be able to tell what color fluid it is. A light green or orange colored fluid would indicate coolant. A light brown fluid would most likely be oil. If it is clear, then the idiot somehow got water inside the engine. I would also do a check of all your fluids (washer fluid, power steering, brake fluid, coolant) and see which one is running low. That would also be a good indicator of where the fluid is coming from. If all the levels look good, then odds are he spilled some water into the engine (just proving how much of a @#$%^ he really is).

 

seriously, An excellent response Thermo//hats off to you..

 

Ahh ! The legendary Thermo . Pleasure to meet you !

Okay so I have replaced the brake booster hose.
Then I checked the resistance of the wires like you said and they all have a resistance of around 2-3 ohms.

I haven't had much luck in identifying the fluid that is resting in between the valve covers. The liquid is is making my white paper towels turn brown when I dip them but I am not sure if it is due to the liquid now being dirty. It seems to have a slight oily consistency but not much viscousty , pretty watery. I am sitting here with my valve cover removed on the front bank. Trying to soak up any fluid and the more I do this the more I believe it is coolant that I am dealing with . How could that happen ?

 

Could I have fluid in my plug wells ? And would cleaning them out fix the issue ? I am not sure how to do that but I am thinking of removing the spark plugs and cleaning out the wells . I'm assuming I should replace these plugs as well

 

Catsdaddy, as for the fluid, if it is coming up brown, then I would be checking your oil level just to make sure that it is up near the full mark (where it should have been left at the end of the oil change). If you are questioning fluid in the plug wells, then remove the #2 coil (front, left side, behind the headlight, the easiest one to get to) and pull off the coil. If you see fluid on the end of the coil's rubber boot, you have an issue. If you see no fluid, you can then look down the well for any signs of fluid. If you see fluid, then you most likely have a bad seal around the plug wells and you will need to redo the gasket for the valve covers (if you need help, let us know).

As for the fluid in the valley of the engine, it is possible to get coolant there from the hoses going to the throttlebody. You will see 2 hoses on the underside that warm up the throttlebody and therefore warms up the air going to the engine (improves emissions and helps slightly with mileage too). If you pull on these lines too much when you are doing intake work, you can rip the hose(s) and that will cause coolant to flow on to the engine. But, again, you should be seeing your overflow bottle loosing level too.

If the coolant isn't coming from the throttlebody, then it is possible that it is coming from the passenger side of the engine as there are a few coolant hoses that run across the top of the engine there. If you are suspecting these hoses, then the best advice that I can give you is to wipe up all the fluid that you can and then start up the engine and using a flashlight (even during the day), look over the engine and see if you can spot where the coolant is coming from. I am not suspecting the water pump as this tends to run water down on to the tranny, not up into the valley of the engine. So, you are most likely looking at a hose with a pin hole leak in it.

A simple check that you can do is soak up some of the fluid and with it near your nose, take a wiff. If you set a sweet smell from it, then that would be coolant. If you are getting more of a chemical smell, then it most likely is oil.

 

A shop vac is good for getting grit and gunk out of spark plug wells. I hope you are getting your cat squared away.

 

Once you get this cat fixed: and you will!!!
then you will realise like most of us, from bitter experience, that you either fix it yourself, with the help of forums.
Or only use recommended indies?

As Thermo is trying to lead you: the problem now, will most likely be vacuum or wiring related.
Good luck and follow the advice step at a time don't look for issues or try to second guess.