The distributor in the marelli system is precisely that, a distributor of a spark created elsewhere and has absolutely NO bearing on the timing.
Better to have the rotor/ cap relationship set correctly but the motor is running so the spark is obviously going to the correct cylinder.

 

I just checked the fan blade tips, with the aid of a torch. It's a black replacement fan, just put in last year, and looks pristine. Tips seems a good 10 mm away from the shroud normally, so that would be a fair bit of rocking, I think.

 

Yep, the engine generally purrs like a cat with cream normally. The rotor was checked last year and found to be very clean (or so I was told).

 

OK,

Read ALL this again.

The engine mounts are a suspect, the LH engine mount is the main seperator, BUT, the transmission "cotton reel" bush, is also one that takes a hiding.

The fan blade look and see is SOUND advice.

If your carer of the car mentioned engine mounts a while back, then that now becomes paramount, they simply go "off the boil" in a hurry once seperation begins.

The movement of that engine with GOOD mounts is downright scary, worn/tired mounts is a shocker. Take the bonnet OFF, and go for a blast, you will be surprised.

As for driving it as is??????????, that is YOUR CALL to make, and I will NOT get dragged into that scenario in ANY way.

 

I have looked and seen the fan blades. Why would you think I did not consider it sound advice?

 

Silly suggestion but....has your car got cats? if so could it be loose/crumbling cores in the cats?

 

It does, yes. I'm not sure how one would check without actually pulling them apart, however. Would loose cores increase the exhaust temperature? If so, the High Exhaust Temperature might come on, which it hasn't. Otherwise I don't know what to look for.

I'll take the car in on Monday to get it looked at.

 

Hi Someday

I've never played a Computer game and I don't even know what Skyrim is (sad I know)
My new PC was an impulse buy (sort of)

A reasonable 2nd hand Laptop would be £150 and so resistance was useless and this one is so quiet you can't hear it run.

You don't even have to push a button to start it, you just wave your hand over the top and away she goes and I can even control it from my Smart Phone (how cool is that!)

 

Wave your hand over the top?? The mind boggles. Were you able to test it before buying, or was it truly a leap of faith?

I'm not a huge computer gamer by any means. Things like Tomb Raider and Half Life bore me easily. But Skyrim, like Oblivion before it, is great for two reasons:
1. It's totally open - you can wander through the wonderful landscapes anywhere you like. It's like visiting a national park without the hassle of, you know, actually getting up.
2. It can be heavily modded, and you can either use other peoples' mods, or make your own. Want a fancy house? Want different armour? Better trees? Anything goes.

 

Never said that, I was just stating that the advice given was sound.

 

Perhaps it was just all the capital letters and emphasis in your post that made me read it as being critical.

 

It was just sitting there in the Charity Shop everyone was walking past it, possibly discouraged by the £350 price tag!

The case was dead easy to open and although I'm not an expert, as soon as I saw the graphics card MSI GTX980 They are worth £300 on their own all day long!

Water Cooled and had more Fans than a Japanese Geisha!

There really wasn't any decision to make.

I offered £100 and could see they were very tempted but they said no, then I offered £130 and they said Yes!

 

They went down from £350 to £130? Damn.

If you don't game, what do you use the high-powered graphics card for? (I assume you do use it for something, considering you actually recognised it.) Actually, 3D modelling could require a hefty card, come to think of it.

 

Nope, the only thing that I use a Computer for is Blogging (on sites like this) the Graphics card is always a clue to how high end the rest of the set up is, so when I saw it had twin fans, I got out my smart phone and looked up the price. OMG!

So its just a little bit overkill for what I use it for but I suppose now I've got a gaming PC I could try playing a game on it but don't want to get addicted (so maybe not)

 

I keep forgetting smartphones allow immediate internet connections. My phone is an old battered flip phone. So very not smart.

As to getting addicted... yeah, that's one reason I haven't been in a huge rush to repair my computer. They can be a tremendous time suck indeed....

Hey, this is a car forum. Must talk about XJS stuff. Okay - I might stick my old "XJS" and "V12" badges on the front of my computer. There, XJS stuff....

 

Sometimes I feel like I am surrounded by people of a different era

Whilst I was at the car show yesterday, I was comparing anything I had in my hands with what Jaguar, SNG or even eBay would charge... All on my trusty Galaxy Note 4... Even things like throttle cable pulls etc

But then, every so often, people surprise me. I wouldn't have though OB would have a smartphone. But SDSD would... But then it is the other way around

 

Hi Daim

Massively Insulted! (Lol)

But I would have thought the same thing.

 

Every time I think about maybe getting a smartphone, which I am starting to acknowledge can be actually useful, new models come out, and there's all sorts of carrier and payment plans, and honestly I'd prefer a rotary phone at times when it all gets too confusing. I stick to tried and tested technology.

 

Hi Someday

They are dirt cheap these days, get one on Pay as you go. Xiomi Mi Max £140 Amazon

If you pull out that 'Flip Phone' (have you no shame!) they would never think you drove an XJS

 

Maybe they would - both old-school to the max....
British payment systems don't work over here, unfortunately. I could either pay through the nose for a major carrier, or go through the hassles of converting my number to an MVNO. And I wouldn't want an el cheapo no-name Chinese phone anyway - if you're going to do it, do it properly is my motto. That's why I got the V12 and not the I6.....