Hi all. I haven't been on here as much recently, and I wish it was to tell you great things, but sadly, that is not the case. I store the car (2000 XK8) every winter and use a battery maintainer. This winter was a bit longer than usual, and with the COVID-19 pandemic, I kept the car stored even longer. I wanted to get the car out last week (right before my birthday) and get it ready for spring/summer/fall. I went to start the car and it caught for a split second and immediately died. I didn't have my foot in a position to give it gas to keep it running and subsequent attempts to start it would crank but do nothing more. Thinking it flooded, I gave it a little bit and tried again. Nothing. Now the car is a nikisil car and I suspected bore wash, but I did check to see if I had fuel at the fuel rail Schrader valve. Pressing the valve dribbled fuel out (car off and cold). Should I have more pressure than this? I couldn't tell for sure, but I was thinking that was sufficient. I was thinking bore wash more and more, given that it caught and immediately died the first attempt to start. I did the bore wash procedure (first just using the pedal to the floor and then eventually pulling the plugs and adding a little oil). This has had no effect and the car simply cranks. Any ideas where to go from here? How do I verify that I am getting spark? I didn't change the plugs when I was in there as they only have 30k on them and they are iridium. Any and all suggestions would be great. This is the first time the car has me a bit stumped and I'm considering bringing it to an indy shop. One last thing. There are no codes showing.

Thanks everyone.

 

Geez! No start after winter hibernation. On your birthday too

I would guess the fuel pump has gone. After turning key to on (not start) I can hear the pump prime in my 1999 XK8. If I depress the valve at the fuel rail, before starting, I get BIG fuel pressure squirt.

For you, this wouldn’t be the first time a fuel pump seized/gummed up after a prolonged period of inactivity.

There’s a fuel pump relay to play with it with minimal fuss.

 

Welcome back Keith,

Having eliminated bore wash, I agree with the suggestion that failed fuel pump is then top of the list.

Graham

 

Another vote for a failed fuel pump, one of the most common failures on these cars after having been stored away for winter hibernation. Wayne (cjd777) and I had to replace his 2000 XK8's fuel pump back in January. The good news is that decent aftermarket pumps for the 4.0 cars are readily available for less than $100. The bad news is that this can be a difficult and time-consuming job, but the right tools combined with knowing the tips and tricks involved can indeed get you through the process. There are numerous threads here on the forum to guide you. Use "XK8 fuel pump replacement" as your search phrase and prepare to do quite a bit of reading and studying. Wayne's thread describing all of our efforts back in January is entitled "Best Fuel Pump for the 2000 XK8"....

We opted to pull the fully-drained fuel tank forward (which actually means towards the rear of the car) inside the trunk in order to access the fuel pump assembly (which is inside the top of the fuel tank). Some owners opt to cut a hole through the metal barrier above the fuel tank and go in that way. The most difficult part of the job was disconnecting and then reconnecting the metal fuel lines underneath the car to allow us to pull the fuel tank forward. Once we acquired a very skinny 22-inch-long flat-blade screwdriver from Harbor Freight (and Wayne ground the tip of it down to match the curve required to push its tip up into the fuel line sockets to reattach the metal fuel lines), Wayne had those lines reattached in just a couple of minutes. It is very difficult to get to those metal fuel lines because of all the bracing underneath and around them. I held the flashlight for him which helped somewhat, but he was essentially going by feel rather than by sight....

Allow yourself a full day to do this job and if you have the right tools, shout the right cursewords at the right time, and are fortunate, you may knock it out in a half day or so (especially if you can get someone to assist you). Good luck....

 

That's what I figured. I've heard of people going through the subwoofer hole on a coupe, but I don't suppose there is any easy access on a convertible (hence some people cutting a hole). I'll check out that other thread and see what I'm getting into. Rev. Sam has a video when he did it on his '03, so I'm gonna sit down and watch that too.

 

UPDATE: Well, all signs pointed to the fuel pump, so I order the full Delphi kit that is advertised as plug and play (and I believe was the same kit recommended in another post on here). The first time they sent me all of the harnesses, seals, and hoses...but not the pumpm, so I was delayed a bit. I decided to cut an access hatch in the parcel shelf as that seemed the easiest route to go and the results would be hidden. My angle grinder was going to be a stuggle to fit in there, so I picked up a 3" disc cut-off tool from Harbor Freight (I didn't think I would use it much after this project, so I went cheap) and with 10 cutoff disks (I only used one, but i figure I'd shatter one if I only bought one), spent aroudn $20. I cut a square opening that I could hinge open and then be able to hinge back down. This gave me pretty good access. The kit came with one piece of hose and there are three hoses at the top of the tank. They were on there so tightly that I was unable to free them without cutting them, so off to the local parts store for more hose. the two small hoses were easy, but the larger breather hose was a real headache. It appears to be around 5/8" on one side and 3/4" on the other. The distance this hose runs is about 2" so no step up hose could be used. Since it is a breather, I managed to force a 1/2" hose on one side and then put a 3/4" hose over top of that to connect to both sides. A bit rigged up, but effective. As far as the pump itself, The rubber mounts that came with it didn't fit into the bracket, so I attempted to fit the old ones...but those didn't quite fit the new pump. I did a little bit of modification and managed to still reuse the old rubber mounts. Now for the wiring. The new pump has a different plug, but that shouldn't be an issue either right, since it has a new harness that is "plug-and-play"? Well...that harness was too short and had the wrong connecter on one end to mate with the car. So I had to cut the old harness and the new harness and splice them together with solder and good shrink wrap. Then it's just a matter of putting the pump back in....excapt there is a metal baffle that has to line up and the screw that goes in to mount things is really short....and I dropped the screw into the tank....twice! Ouch. It's a really tight space to work in if you leave the tank in place (I'm 6'8" and don't fit in the back seat very well. It's a tight squeeze above the rear seat but below the sloping convertible roof. I finally got the screw in and put everything together. The moment of truth had finally come. The car last ran mid-November before i put it away for winter and before COVID delayed me getting it out. My last tank of gas was October 30, 2019. Crank the starter and it fired off so fast! Success!! I ran the last of the bad gas through the system (under Restricted Performance due to the car wanting to knock). Ran some fuel system cleaner in a new tank and she purrrrrs now. Thanks for all the support everyone. It wasn't the most fun project and I'm still not sure if cutting the hatch and working in really tight quarters was better than the extra work to pull the tank or not, but I'm done and the car is happy. I'm happy too and that is all that matters.

 

Well done, and as info, Jon89 is also your size and no way can I see him working in the area without taking the top off and laying across the trunk lid.
I was surprised you had to solder the wires together. the pig tail with my pump fit right into the original plug in the tank. OH, and yes, had to use the original rubber surround after a little cut in the bottom of the rubber.
That part was a little disappointing, along with the fit of the filter,
For those wanting to tackle this job, filter did not come with the pump as described by the seller (Rockauto), They did give me a check to cover the price I had to pay for the Autozone one, tax and all, so it pays to complain. Told them the car was apart and needed to be finished now, which it did.
Next one will be much easier. and quicker.
Glad you are back on the road, enjoy.

 

Well done Keith,

It does seem that all these after market parts that claim to be plug and play... just aren’t.

Well done on the fix and bet you’re happy now, and proud of your all your work around solutions for all the little problems.

Bet soldering wires around an open fuel tank was a bit of a worry.

Happy motoring again.

 

Well done. Wayne (cjd777) and I learned a lot when we replaced the dying fuel pump in his 2000 XK8 back in January. We opted not to cut any access holes and pulled the fuel tank out towards the rear of the car in order to do the job - that is indeed a hassle because you must disconnect and then reconnect the fuel lines underneath the car, but I believe it gives you more working room inside the tank....

I make certain that my wife's 2006 XK8 is driven at least weekly all year round in an effort to keep us from ever having to do this job again....