I was perusing Craigslist and I came across this ad. I kinda feel sorry for the guy and I'd like to help him out. He just bought a 2000 XJ8 and he's selling if for a loss because of something that may be a simple fix.

Here's the "meat" of his CL ad:
I emailed him to let him know I'll help him fix the problem. No... I'm not going to charge him.

 

Well how can he fix the problem?

 

Never mind. I just realized I'm in the wrong forum! Sorry!

 

Make sure he's not singing a song.

Is the spelling and grammar in that CL post really the result of an expensive college education? Might as well blow the tuition on an extended spring break ... or repairs. No wonder the economy is in dire straits.

 

Sam, I think that's a noble and generous offer. It may take all of a 1/2 day to diagnose and get his car running well. He may spend a few hundred on parts...if coils, plugs, or hoses are needed...but its worth a shot. Have him at least sign up, read thru the xj8-xjr section for his codes and common performance issues to gain some confidence in the prospect. I'd be interested to see if he'd want to help you get dirty to fix the car...if he isn't interested in that, I wouldn't waste your time.

 

I went to look at the guys car today. It had several codes. I forget all of the numbers, but they all pointed to a cylinder misfire, and specifically to the #8 cylinder. We unscrewed the cover over the coils, and the inside was covered with moisture. After drying everything off I pulled the coil off of the #8 cylinder and water came pouring out of the little tube on the coil, even though I had dried everything. We dried out the tube, swapped the #8 coil with the #7 coil (which was dry on the inside of the tube) and started it up.

OK... we TRIED to start it up. It wouldn't start. It was completely unrelated to the coil, however. It wouldn't even turn over. He said that it was like that when he bought it () but the dealer said that you just need to turn the key on and off several times and it would start. I thought maybe the battery was weak because it would make a clicking noise but it wouldn't crank. We tried jumper cables to no avail. I could smell a burnt electrical smell from the fuse box on the front left of the engine bay. I looked at all of the relays in that fuse box and they all had the exact same numbers on them, so we (I) swapped the relays around. It still wouldn't crank. At that point I gave up and told him he was on his own. I left, but he apparently kept at it for a while. About 15 minutes later he called me and excitedly told me that it finally started. The codes were gone (I had cleared them) but he could feel a vibration in the engine which to me indicates that he still has a misfire. I told him to drive it for a while and when the CEL light comes back on to take it to Autozone to get the codes read. If the code indicates a #7 cylinder misfire then he needs to order a new coil, and if it stays on cylinder #8 he needs to pull out the spark plug and look at it. We didn't pull the spark plug when I was there because my extension was too long (my wife complains about that, too) and it wouldn't fit into the space back by the #8 cylinder.

By the way, the engine bay was nearly spotless. I think the dealer took a pressure washer to the engine and forced some water underneath the gasket on the coil cover plate. He also might have gotten some water in the fuse box because something was causing that burnt electrical smell.

I'm going to call the college kid tomorrow and see if the engine stopped vibrating. We left the cover off of the coils just to allow them to dry out after the engine warmed up. Maybe the misfire will go away on its own after everything dries.

The sad thing is that all of the problems started on the drive home after he left the used car lot. He didn't even get to show off the car to his friends. He got the "restricted performance" error as he was driving home and he just pulled the car into the nearest parking lot where it's been sitting for the past few weeks. He paid $4000 for it, and now he's offering it to me for $3000. I'd buy it except it has about a foot long crease in the driver's door where it looks like someone scraped it with a bumper as they were pulling out of a parking space. I can do mechanical and electrical work, but I can't do body work.

 

classic mistake with the engine bay being washed, and hopefully the advice you gave him will be retained. If he learned a bit from you, it sounds like he only needs to pull every coil, every electrical cover and connection, and let it dry out. He may have caught it in time before permanent damage could be done.

 

WOW, you went to his location and help him out , what a helpful person you are , I apprciate that


Engine washing is a terrible idea , my car was washed by stupid staff once (despite my warning) and developed misfire during on the way home according to the driver who brought the car to me .He was luckily a handful person to overcome that problem

 

I only wash the engine when I have the battery disconnected and then let the bay dry for a few hours in the sun. My rover taught me that one . I pressure washed it after having gotten the thing filthy off road. Steam and fizzle sounds started coming from the fuse box. I removed the battery cable in a panic and let it dry. Luckily nothing was damaged...

 

I've cleaned the engine in my Jag twice with no problems. I know that doesn't prove anything, but just about every car dealer cleans the engines of the cars they sell. I use a silicon engine spray that dissolves the grease and grime, let it soak in for a while, then hose it off just like the instructions say. I'm careful not to point the hose near the electrical bits. I think in this case the dealer used a pressure washer and forced water under the gasket on the coil cover. I don't see how that much water could have gotten in there any other way. The cover was bolted down and the gasket was fine.

 

"...turn key several times to get it crunk "

He claims to be going to college?

It's great that you helped him out though.

 

Well, sounds like you did a great thing. You walk the walk!

 

LOL! You guys are cruel. The government controlled education system let him down. He seemed like a nice guy. He really got screwed over by that used car dealer, though. One of the codes was a P1000, which means that the codes had been cleared recently. Apparently the dealer cleared the codes to turn off the CEL. In North Carolina it's against the law for a dealer to sell a car with a CEL on, or to clear the CEL in order to sell the car. Fat chance proving it, though.

 

You really did a good thing here regardless of the final outcome. Please keep us posted.

 

Your a good man Sam!!!

Sorry to read about your extension problems, Joyce doesn't have to deal with that problem

 

Heard back from the college student with the XJ Reverend?

 

I called him a couple of days later and he seemed indifferent to the problems he was having. I was going to suggest that he drop off the car at my house so I could fiddle with it for a day or two, but he just acted like it was no big deal, so I guess he's on his own now.