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Could be the fuel filler cap that is not air tight anymore. It is the easiest thing to try first.
^^^^^^ this ^^^^^^
note: I went thru 2 Jaguar branded filler caps before I had one that would reliably give the proper seal.
I had almost given up on the issue being the cap, but had a feeling that the first two new OEM (w/ logo) caps that I tried had aged out of usefulness / reliability.
As pointed out the important part, the body, is metal. The part that rubs on the chain will never be metal. Universally it will be either a plastic or rubber compound.. Rubber was commonplace many years ago, nowadays not so much.
Thanks. I love this forum, I feel like as long as I've long as I've put a bit of effort in that no question is too stupid. And I'm sure I'll be testing that assumption!
I feel like as long as I've long as I've put a bit of effort in that no question is too stupid.
“There are naive questions, tedious questions, ill-phrased questions, questions put after inadequate self-criticism. But every question is a cry to understand the world. There is no such thing as a dumb question.” Carl Sagan
Worked a slow leak on the front tire. Assumed it was a standard issue nail/screw, as usual. Pulled the wheel off, and cleanup up the tread for a better look. Nothing obvious. I then started with the soapy water on the sidewall, and discovered a sizeable bubble-producing leak around the inner bead with the wheel. So much for my cheap plug kit from the box store, won't cut it this time. Out of desperation, I bled the tire of all pressure, and started messing with the leak. Used a hammer handle to put pressure on it. Eventually used a tire iron to pull the tire bead away from the wheel rim a bit and "cleaned" the area with a rag (nothing to loose). Lo and behold, I refilled the tire and the leak was gone, no more bubbles. I am pretty sure I did nothing of substance (almost literally kicked the tire), but it somehow worked in my favor this time. $0 fix, I'll take it.
Spent the first day with my new acquisition, a 1997 XK8 Sport. I found the radio code and got that working. When out for my first drive, I got a Restricted Performance message, although it didn't seem to change its behaviour much. I parked the car and went back to it later, and all was fine. My research tells me that I need a scanner. That's on its way! The air conditioning is a bit feeble, so I did the self test and got a code14 - water temperature output. I noticed that the plug on the temperature sensor had lost its clip and was free to move. I've temporarily secured it with a cable tie. I'll get the AC system checked and regassed as necessary
It's handy to have a brother in the trade.
All in all a great day on spent getting to know a fantastic car. I'm looking forward to knowing more.
Phil
____________
2019 EPace
1997 XK8
I finally turned Pandora, (97 XK8 Coupe) over to my trusty mechanic to have the required safety inspection done, as well as hunt down any other issues. True to her name, there was a Pandora's box waiting. Ball joints, wheel bearings, leaky power steering pump, abs fault even after having the module repaired, serpentine belt noise. There might have been a couple of other things I've forgotten, but that about covers it to the tune of somewhere between $2K and $4k. He's not sure until he gets it all torn down. Probably about $3k, Then it's off to the body shop. to spend some real money, but she will be fit and ready for the spring.
Don't misunderstand, I'm not complaining. I bought her for a song and named her based on what I expected.
Even at a $4k bill plus possibly another $4k for paint and bodywork, the final cost would be less than what people are getting locally for similar unsafetied examples of unknown condition.. plus Pandora will have been brought up to snuff mechanically and cosmetically.
So yeah, I had hoped it would be better news, but I knew what I was getting into, and I'm not disappointed.
My wife's 2006 XK8 passed the annual state inspection with flying colors this morning at 123,415 miles. We have now owned this vehicle for exactly 10 years. It is a great time to sell a car but even though she has only driven her XK8 once in the past 18 months, she wants to keep it as "a work of art". Sheesh....
Worked a slow leak on the front tire. Assumed it was a standard issue nail/screw, as usual. Pulled the wheel off, and cleanup up the tread for a better look. Nothing obvious. I then started with the soapy water on the sidewall, and discovered a sizeable bubble-producing leak around the inner bead with the wheel. So much for my cheap plug kit from the box store, won't cut it this time. Out of desperation, I bled the tire of all pressure, and started messing with the leak. Used a hammer handle to put pressure on it. Eventually used a tire iron to pull the tire bead away from the wheel rim a bit and "cleaned" the area with a rag (nothing to loose). Lo and behold, I refilled the tire and the leak was gone, no more bubbles. I am pretty sure I did nothing of substance (almost literally kicked the tire), but it somehow worked in my favor this time. $0 fix, I'll take it.
I had this same problem several years ago. At that time I took all 4 rims to the tire shop and had them remove the tires. I took the rims home and cleaned them with a rotary wire brush to remove all the oxidation from the bead area and spray painted it. All has been good for several years.
My best guess is that moisture inside the tire and the soap they put on the tire bead causes the oxidation. Welcome to my world!
The problem is that once the ali oxidizes its almost impossible to 100% remove . You would have been better to wire brush it all down and then coat with some marine epoxy by brush . this takes 24 hrs to go off and penetrates fully thro the oxide encapsulating it . I have use this as a varnish on my wooden boats and it is super shiny. Dont use the Cheap Polyester that takes 10 min to go off that's not suitable.
Installed a new pair of VVT solenoid O-ring seals this afternoon. Assuming the factory ones were still on this car when we purchased it in early February 2012, this is the fourth pair it has had....
01-28-2022, 05:23 PM
