Thanks, the holes are filled with screws washers and caps. When the car is washed, water easily penetrates the boot seal. I'll snap a photo of the seal on my n/a sedan if and post to seek an opinion on the matter.

 

Not necessary on my account, I'll wait to read that your new boot lid seal fixed your problem. Hopefully that won't prompt everyone who smells something in their car to go out and buy a new boot lid seal.

 

In my case I'm pretty certain it's not the gas. I'm a gas *****...I buy from anybody...Exxon, Shell, Texico, discount brands. Whatever station is close when I run low.

I also tend to discount the idea of an opening in the bodywork. Cruising at any speed...20,40 or 70...and I get no smell at all.

It's only under moderate to hard acceleration that the smell occures...from a stop or when rolling. From that I tend to conclude that the cause is associated with a) increased revs, b) increased power demand, c) increased oil pressure or d) some other factor that I'm not thinking of.

I agree with JTO that it is probably an oil smell. My theory is that when I accelerate, a small amount of oil is dripping on the manifold or catalytic converter. What I can't figure out is why this only happens when I accelerate. I've looked pretty carefully and haven't been able to find any signs of where the drip is occuring. At this point I'm just waiting for it to get worse and become obvious.

Beyond my theory, I'm stumped!!

 

Thanks eagle, it just sounds like the best starting point in your case, wherever it ends up leading.

Governator, I'd add one component to your list of factors, which is e) increased heat. That's a result of a) and b), but baked gook will bake a little more when you get it hotter.

Try taping off the air inlet screen at your cowl, base of the windshield and see if that makes any difference. If any oil (or baked oil gook) is burning off your exhaust manifolds, the vapors are likely entering the cabin through the climate control ducts. See if you think this has an effect.

 

JTO....good point about the heat. However, the smell occures after even a short burst of acceleration which shouldn't produce much additional heat. Over the weekend I'm going to try:
a) your cowl idea
b) see if the smell only occures when the tranny downshifts under acceleration...ie.lots more revs

Thanks again for your interest and help.

 

One of the early contributors to this thread, rusbel, just posted the following on another thread:

rusbel
Member Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 37

Update

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So after having gone to the dealer multiple times with my new '08 XJR for rough cold idle issues ( 2-3 second smimmy ) and having the EGR, spark plugs and O-rings replaced, it appears that the problem may have been fuel-related...After the EGR was replaced, I started using BP gasoline ( just because I moved and the Station was closer to my home). Everything was great, until I filled up at a Mobil on the interstate...the following morning the shimmy came back...it continued until I refilled the car with BP fuel and the problem was gone....I called my dealer...they told me that Jaguar recommends BP..?!?!?!?...Does that make any sense? Can the car be this sensitive? I mean, Mobil is Tier 1 company...I had an '06 E55 prior to this and it didn't matter what brand gas i put in it...

Interestingly, the first time this shimmy ever happened I had filled up with Phillips 66 fuel ( again, switching from BP )
__________________
2008 Ebony XJR
__________________________________________________ ____________________

Now I hope that rusbel's engine performance problems have been corrected, and it would be interesting to learn that the blend of gasoline in his supercharged sedan was the sole reason for the rough running.

The point is that anything funny rusbel was smelling was likely due to the fact that his engine was running rough, and so there was at least some degree of incomplete combustion going on. I wouldn't doubt for a minute that his exhaust smelled bad, and perhaps smelled like sulphur.

So this is what I said to Strateloss, and I'll say it to rusbel too; not as any sort of insult, just on basis of fact:

"I have been of the opinion all along that all of these owners, you included, have different problems that are being falsely lumped together".

 

At JTO's suggestion I ran some tests over the past few days. The results:

a) Cowl vents taped closed and drivers side window open a crack = smell
b) Cowl vents taped closed and drivers side window closed = no smell
c) Cowl vents open and drivers side window open a crack = smell
d) Cowl vents taped closed and drivers side window closed = no smell

Soooo, it appears that the smell is coming through the window.....stupid me, I didn't try the same tests with the passengers side window open and closed. At this point I starting to think that it may be exhaust smell and that it must be coming from somewhere towards the front to make its way into the open window. Interestingly, the smell seems to be greater when the window is open just an inch or so and less when it is wide open. I'm chalking this up to an aerodynamic mystery.

Anyone have any thoughts? More tests? I'm bound and determined to solve this.

 

Are (b) and (d) intended to be worded exactly the same? They are now.

Thoughts: B is a good enough indication to me that the source of the odor is not coming from under the hood.

I smoke cigarettes, like a fiend and when I drive my own cars. If I crack the window at speed, the smoke gets sucked out of the cabin: that's the direction of the air flow.

So now when we go back to Mr. Brown's example, where exhaust can enter the cabin, we can theorize that it is getting sucked past your nose and out the window. Yes, I'm serious, bear with me.

I doubt you're missing a lisence plate lamp, look for anything obvious. Take the spare tire out and make sure all the round body sealing plates are in place in the trunk floor.

Test:

Car in the garage, cold, engine off, all windows closed, key on, blowers on high speed. Climb out and shut the door. Go around the back of the car and feel all body seams, around the lamps, etc. Of more benefit is a stethoscope with an open hose, or just a piece of hose held up to your ear, to listen for air exiting the cabin. Lay down and feel/ listen around under the trunk, too. If you can at least get a listen under the car while laying along side, give it a try.

This is about pressurizing the cabin, and seeing where the air is escaping. It's how I used to check Series III XJ6 for door and sunroof seal leaks, you can hear the inside air blowing out any gaps.

With the car stationary, the cabin air is blowing out. Not so when you're driving with the window cracked, and the cabin pressure is decreased. So maybe a point of exit is becoming a point of entrance. If you take a lisence plate lamp off when you do this test, I'll bet you'd feel air blowing out the hole.

There are air extractor ducts in the back of all Jaguar models, that's how the cabin "exhales".
I don't know how they are configured on a 2006 XKR coupe, but the idea is basically a one-way flap that opens when cabin pressure is high enough, and is otherwise closed. You'll find them when you do the test, and those points of exit will be normal. The extractor ducts are probably behind the side casings in your trunk and exit behind the sides of the rear bumper cover. You WON'T know if they are properly closing unless you remove them for inspection.

So maybe we learn something else, and find a problem or keep looking. It's another simple way to try and eliminate a possibility.

 

Attached is a sketch that was posted in another forum when I inquired about this issue some time ago. Hope the link works.

http://forums.roadfly.com/forums/jag...8726060-1.html

FWIW
brdave

 

great info - i wonder if you could get a spray bottle and wet the seams or would the air pressure be so low that the water might actually seal off any cracks? on that note could you put an air hose thru the window or some where and tape it up to add even more pressure in the cabin?

btw my smell is still gone than goodness, mark

 

for brdave, FWIW:

Thanks Dave, I think the JTIS reprint was worth alot: particularly the last line, where it says the air extractors are located above the mufflers.

That's from the original 1996 manual, so the specific layout in the Governator's car is unknown but probably similar. I looked in a parts microfiche of the same vintage last night, but could not find any extractor assembly or housing, just the grilles in the trunk. No XK's here to look at for the moment.

Dave, was this possibility ever explored when testing or troubleshooting your car? This would be another duct tape test for me, with some disassembly required. I'd be removing the air extractors on at a time and taping off the hole in the bodywork to eliminate the possibility, and road testing the car.

In the beginning of this thread, I was referring to "internal aerodynamics": that's what Govatos first test was altering, and blocking off the exit is another way of altering it.

If one of these two extractors has a flap that is not closing, we might find an answer as soon as we remove it and have a look.

Mark Brown, good points which I have not considered, and both would likely prove some benefit. It's easy to find air leaks on a pressurized tire with your method, not so effective if it only is at 5 PSI. So water testing might help, and adding pressure to the cabin would help even more. I think in the case of significant leaks, you'll feel the leak, and hear it, particularly with a stethoscope. But a soap bubble solution might work too.

If there are no other obvious holes in Govatos's car, the air extractors are the next place to look.

 

JTO, d) should have been: Cowl vents open and drivers side window closed = no smell

Like you, I'm a smoker which is why I keep the window open a crack. You're right it does suck the smoke right out. However, I've noticed that during the summer I also get a blast of hot air coming into the cabin at the same time. Guess I need to explore where that is coming from. I'm definitely going to look into the air extractor vents....that makes some sense.

Again, thanks to all for your help and info.

 

I have recently had the same problem when hard accelarating, Yestarday i fitted a new air flow meter, and the smell has gone!

if the air mixture is wrong the cat will have more to burn off which gives the smell.

 

That's good, glad your car is doing just fine. The others we are discussing in this thread have all been to Dealership service departments on numerous ocasions, all with unresolved issues. It would be nice to think that technicians checked the basics, but perhaps we will find out otherwise.

 

The only hole I have in the rear section of my car is the one for the key to open the lock for the boot lid - therefore one can assume that the sulphur smell is coming in from somewhere else. In any event, I re-iterate that a 'Jaguar' should not have these problems.

 

Don't the idiots at jaguar approved dealers and garages know how to find solutions without us the clients having to spoon feed them with forum trial repairs advise?

 

Greetings Mr. Davidson,

The only answer I have to your question is "apparently not".

Sorry that you have not appreciated the effort just the same. Examining the preceding discussion about the rear air extractors might be of some benefit to you. I have no idea if that has relevance to your particular vehicle, all that can be done from my position is to suggest a pattern of troubleshooting by process of elimination.

More and more it has become apparent to me that the many "mysteries" reported on these Forums, once dissected, are caused by fundamental problems that were overlooked or incorrectly addressed. The best you or any owner can hope for in terms of a remote diagnosis is some well-intentioned advice. The man with the tools is the only one who can fix your car. Not much I can do if yours isn't man enough for the job.

 

Hehe... My ex-GF absolutely hated when I told her this. I love it...

 

my 2002 xk8 has made this smell since i bought it new.

Ive just come to take it as something the car emits when you go over 100mph or turn the S button on and hit it hard.

 

Hi all. Apologies for taking a while to get back to this thread. Thanks to JTO and brdave I spent last Sunday tearing my trunk apart and hunting for the air extractor duct. Sure enough, it's there under the carpet on the drivers side. A plastic duct with one way flaps... and it was broken. The duck empties into the enclosed fender well in the trunk and so far, I still haven't figured out where this air exits to the outside....maybe it doesn't. Interesting that the whole area behind the carpet was covered in fine dust....I guess it got dumped there from inside the car. Also interesting that the plastic duct sits right under the carpet. Put something heavy on it...like golf clubs...and it could easily break.

I haven't quite figured out how you would replace the duct. There's really not much room to see or maneuver back there and I suspect it will be a bitch. To see if this is the cause of my smell problem, I sealed it up with duct tape (I'll bet even on a Formula 1 car you'll find some duct tape somewhere). No luck, I still get the smell....damn!

Since the smell only occurs when the window is open, I'm starting to think that I have an exhaust leak somewhere towards the front of the car and that the exhaust is finding its way in the window.

The hunt continues!