Bought a 06 XJ8L with 105k miles, for a great price. It is in great exterior and interior shape.

The previous owner was taking the car home from work, pulling out of the driveway and, hit the speedbump. The car turned off and it didn't start or turn over.
He wound up pushing it back to the parking spot. It sat for a while and, the battery was taken out, hence not being able to pull codes.

Based on the feedback I got from the previous owner, my thoughts are,
- timing chain may have jumped,
- timing guides might be faulty/off

I don't want to crank it, just to be safe. I am going to take apart the top-end and try to hand crank it.
What could be the recommendations?

 

My guess from here, would be electrical.
Something i read a LONG time ago, gave a breakdown of the reasons, that a car doesn't start.
87% electrical, 10% fuel, 3% mechanical, found it to be pretty accurate in my experiences.
That said, if you believe the previous owners story.
Would not be too concerned with damaging the motor.
Get a new battery & get busy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I actually did get a new battery but, didn't want to risk cranking it.
The previous owner seemed to be a nice and honest guy and, didn't seem like he'd want to screw anyone over.

If I were to leave the car in the key-on position for a little while, would it pick up any codes?

 

Codes should still be there, is my understanding.

 

I very much doubt (but cannot promise, realistically) it's jumped timing.

Jogged a cable loose, yeah, quite likely.

Codes if any should still be there & as soon as you get to ign II you can read them. Doubt there will be any, though.

 

Hooked up my BlueDriver Scanner and found nothing, even had the key on for 15-20 minutes, multiple times.
Gonna jack up the front and see what I can check

On a side note, is there a way to raise the suspension without the engine on? The air springs are deflated due to sitting so long.



EDIT: no fault codes on the dash besides the vehicle being too low.

 

Had similar situation with my 2004 xj8. Car low and engine dead. No fuel pressure due to fuel pump not working. Replaced with 2004 Ford Crown Victoria pump for little cost. Engine started right away but it took a while for car to start lifting. Do not know of any way to run air compressor without engine running.

 

It could well be the inertia switch that cuts the voltage to the engine ECU as you mention the car having had a bump. This switch is there to stop the engine if a crash is detected by the switch. Look in the Owner Handbook on how to reset. I think it is somewhere on the left side on the side of the footwell behind a cover. There is a plunger that you have to push down to reset.

No way would the engine cam timing have been affected. However was this guy really telling you the truth about the car ?

 

The Jag is so quiet I can barely hear the fuel pump when I have the key on. I'll check it tomorrow by getting to it and checking the electrical.

Thanks for the suggestion, my father was sort leaning towards that. I will have to check it out and see.
I do believe the guy as he seemed upfront. I'm also going to jack it up and look underneath too.

I've set the battery to charge on a tender, to make sure it's topped off by tomorrow. Gonna try each suggestion and provide updates. (as much as part of me wants to just crank it!)

 

Update!

The car turned over and started.. barely. It started twice, hesitated and, turned off. When trying to start it again, the starter motor is clicking.
I'm going to get the starter rebuilt, provided it's original. There is a shop 5 minutes from me that'll do it for $100.

Thing is, I'm on jack stands and, getting to that last starter bolt is a pain! It's barely viewable/reachable, even with the right wheel off. Do I have to remove
the motor mount and/or alternate to gain enough room?
Also, the car has been sitting for almost a year in total (with the previous owner and my ownership) so the air springs are deflated (looks good slammed though I must say )

 

I can't see how a car hitting a speed bump rather too fast is going to damage the starter motor. Before you throw money at it, and end up as a disillusioned ex-Jaguar owner, you'd be better investigating the underside more extensively. I have to say that the previous owner may be being economical with the truth even if he seems genuine to you..

 

Starters usually give you plenty of notice, if you pay attention.
Many owners don't know, or too often don't want to know it needs repaired, or replaced, till it fails to start.
If the starter needs rebuilt the shop should tell you if it was, or not working.
Or take it apart, & look at the brushes yourself.
Worn out brushes are easy to replace, & cheap.

 

Update!

I am starting to think that way too. It is a little hard to get a jack under the left side of the car as, It is parked near a ledge on my driveway (hard to get a Jack under it from the side). Also, the car's springs are still deflated all the way.

I went to the shop and picked up a rebuilt Denso unit and swapped it.

It makes the same noise as it did before. In addition to the negative wire heating up at the battery, the starter tries to turn the engine but to no success. Makes a tuck type sound. Which is concerning me even more as, the car did turn over but didn't keep idle twice before with the previous starter. I'm leaning more and more of turning the engine manually to see what happens.

 

Keep digging, & you'll figure it out, eventually.
The harder it is to figure out.
The sweeter the victory, when you FINALLY solve the problem
You may just learn something about people, on your journey as well.

 

Update!

I managed to jack up the front, took off the skid plate and, attempted to turn the engine by hand. The engine would spin but would get stuck at a certain spot. I used the ratchet to spin the engine counterclockwise, it would turn just fine.

I then tried to crank it. The starter engaged, attempted to turn the motor but stopped abruptly. It makes the same noise, as if something is preventing it from turning over fully.
My guess is either something to do with the timing/cylinder heads. I am not ruling out the torque converter or flywheel though, although both are not impossible (the car was driving when it cut-off) I tried cranking it in Neutral, to no avail.

Going to take apart the front of the engine and see if there is any evidence of the timing chain or cams. I have the AJ33 engine, which I presume the guides were fixed by Jaguar?

P.S - Sure hope this engine isn't gone. They are expensive, even used.

 

FYI, don't turn the engine counter clockwise...

 

If all the spark pugs are removed.

Then you hit a point that STOPS the engines rotation.

Afraid this could be serious, hope i'm wrong.

 

I didn't turn it much at all, a 1/4 revolution, if that. Which is how I found out (when cranking by key) that the starter engages and tries to help the motor turn one full revolution, getting stuck at the certain point.

Indeed! Going to take out the spark plugs next to see what happens.
At the same time, I'm bracing to take apart the front of the engine to get to the timing chain.

 

Phew to the counter clockwise turning of the crank.

Definitely remove all the spark plugs and give her another try.

 

An Update,

I was going to take apart the valve covers and timing covers to take a look at the valvetrain and timing chain/guides.
Upon taking out the coils and spark plugs, on the right side of the engine, half the spark plug of Cylinder 7 came out.
I didn't see if the rest of the plug is stuck in the head or if it's stuck in the combustion chamber. I will check again and probably take a video/photo of it to see.
I also haven't checked the even side of the engine.

Would it an idea to try and drill it out, considering #7 is right next to the firewall?