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Rave's X300 4.0 Sport - 5/10/19 MOT achieved!


Rave

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In a masochistic way I quite enjoy lying under cars buggering about with exhausts. Replacing the 106 one was quite a satisfying job. To a certain extent I have little to lose trying it myself, it might end up really noisy if I succeed in removing the middle silencer box but not replacing it, but the garage is only a mile or so away so I could drive there without annoying too many people.

 

Anyway I take it nobody knows a place doing exhaust intermediate pipes for less than 70 quid then? :) I'll order one up tomorrow if not. There's an ebay seller, Jaguar Spares North East who is also doing a service kit with a genuine oil filter, a not-specified air filter (paper filters are much of a muchness unlike oil filters, so fair enough), and 6 Champion plugs for 38 quid. Sound reasonable? I've always been an NGK plug man in general, but Champion seem to be OEM. Oddly I've seen conflicting advice on what NGK plaugs to use anyway, most people seem to think BCPR6E but one chap reckons BKR6 is the correct (ISO) shape. Might have to do yet more tedious googling. If they are BPR6 that may even be the same as my Mondeo- I replaced all the plugs in that with Iridiums, but the Ford platinum ones I pulled out looked immaculate. So I might even be able to use those. The idle is a bit rough, so worth trying new plugs I think.

Me again. The OEM plug is normally on a 'sticker' on one of the inner wings in the engine bay. Saying that, there was a spark plug update from Jaguar which indicated that the updated spec would be EBC 8143, which when you look it up in most cases refers to Champion but not always as some companies will use an alternative under the Jaguar part number. From memory,which again may be faulty, the Champion RC9YC were the plug of choice over the NGK equivalent BCPR6ES. The link below helps with cross referencing:

http://www.sparkplug-crossreference.com/convert/CHAMP_PN/RC9YCC/

You'll notice a number of familiar part numbers and you'll find many conflicting opinions as to which is the best. I've used both and couldn't tell you if one was better than the other. Also a build up around the throttle body 'flap' 'butterfly' can be a cause along with a dirty MAF sensor. I use Halfords electrical contact cleaner sprayed into the air box (without the filter) keep the revs up a bit to stop it stalling. Best way for the throttle body is by hand with some good carb cleaner or the like with a rag.

Here's the 'Update' bulletin:

http://www.jagrepair.com/images/TSB/TSB2/XJS_XJ40/12Engine/12-54%20Spark%20Plugs%20%E2%80%93%20AJ16%20Engine.pdf

Here's yet another option that works in conjunction with the bulletin:

https://www.moss-europe.co.uk/spark-plug-set-of-6-genuine-jaguar-ebc8143.html

 

I'd like to say I hope this helps but it probably doesn't. So many conflicting opinions out there and mine is just another in the mix,sorry. I did have a really good conversation with a plug supplier when I was enquiring about using the more 'modern' plugs,iridium and so forth and he told me in no uncertain terms to stick to the OEM, so he actually had no bias as the OEM ones were much cheaper.

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Thanks mate, I will get the Champions then I guess. Not going to service it until I've got it through an MOT in any case! I'm a bit nervous about it as it appears you need to remove the cam cover or something to get at them? The Idle issue is a bit odd, it's basically fine when the car's in Park or Drive but put it in neutral and it starts shaking, so it might not even be anything to do with the engine at all.

 

In all probability it'll be a couple of weeks before I get it sorted as I'm moving house at the end of the week- just about a quarter of a mile away, into the house next door to my in-laws, but I'm not going to get away

with too much car fiddling when my wife thinks I should be packing. I can leave it parked up here outside my mum's no bother, which to a certain extent isn't a good thing as I work best when I'm up against a deadline...

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just a bump to hopefully attract the attention of the other X300 owners here (Broadsword?). I finally got an email from Helen Stodart yesterday asking for payment for my Andy Bracket, anyone else who was in the queue check your emails if you haven't done it already! Mine will be posted soon apparently.

 

It probably won't get fitted any time soon as I was packing last week and moving house this week, so working on cars has gone on the back burner. Might get some time next week, I'm just leaving all my cars dumped here for the time being, we're only moving a quarter of a mile away.

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Thanks mate, I will get the Champions then I guess. Not going to service it until I've got it through an MOT in any case! I'm a bit nervous about it as it appears you need to remove the cam cover or something to get at them? The Idle issue is a bit odd, it's basically fine when the car's in Park or Drive but put it in neutral and it starts shaking, so it might not even be anything to do with the engine at all.

 

In all probability it'll be a couple of weeks before I get it sorted as I'm moving house at the end of the week- just about a quarter of a mile away, into the house next door to my in-laws, but I'm not going to get away

with too much car fiddling when my wife thinks I should be packing. I can leave it parked up here outside my mum's no bother, which to a certain extent isn't a good thing as I work best when I'm up against a deadline...

 

Don't worry about the plugs removal. It's not the actual cam cover,just an extra cover on top of it that hides the coil packs and subsequently the plugs underneath. Two bolts and a good tug will remove the coil packs.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Finally got organised to attempt some work on this. Well sort of, having planned to leave my house mid-morning, I actually left at 2pm. Anyway I didn't sod about any further when I got to my mum's, jumped straight in. First problem was that it started up reasonably OK the first time, but then immediately stalled when I put it in drive. It was then very reluctant to restart, and I could hear the battery starting to fade. On my final attempt I could hear it trying to catch, so I kept at it, and it did eventually fire. Idle speed was all over the place though, initially it would idle about 1300rpm, then if you gave the throttle a little prod it would settle to a shaky 750-odd, then if you revved it to 2000 it would settle back at 1300 again. After warming it up for a couple of minutes I figured I'd give it another go, and managed to turn it around so the nearside was facing the kerb. It clearly doesn't seem to like being left for too long.

 

Anyway I then stuck my trolley jack under the rear wishbone mount and got it pretty high in the air. Put my axle stand under the jacking point and dropped it on. But jacking the other side was unnerving, it felt like it was toppling forwards a bit, and indeed one of the feet on the axle stand was no longer firmly pressed into the ground. I dropped it again and put the trolley jack lengthways under the car, hoping it would roll along as the car went up, but it didn't, and so in the end I didn't put it as high as the other side and left it on the jack with the other axle stand there to catch it if it sagged or dropped. Chocked the front wheels with some bricks.

 

Anyway the very first thing to do with both wheels in the air was of course to see if it's fitted with the optional LSD. Once I'd figured out that you have to take the handbrake off but leave the box in park I wanged one of the wheels round and...the other one turned in the opposite direction with no apparent resistance :( . I had rather hoped that whoever originally specced up this 4.0 Sport, having had the good sense not to spec a sunroof, would have then eagerly ticked the OMGDRIFTYO box, but it seems not.

 

Anyway with the wheel off and under the sill, I undid the U-clamp holding the broken centre section to the back box, and shuffled it along. I couldn't persuade the pipes to come apart though, and nor was I expecting to be able to without putting some torque on it, as the clamp obviously crimps the two sections of pipe together. So I figured I'd try taking the whole lot off, but I couldn't move the back box enough to get it out of its mounting rubber. Now I'm typing this up I have realized that I might be being a bit dim and that possibly I could have moved it backwards and removed the centre pipe mount first instead, but never mind. It appears the rear mount is actually bolted to the chassis, so I briefly considered trying to take it off before deciding that I didn't fancy the potential irritation if that went wrong at all. I then turned my attention to the clamp holding the centre box to the rest of the exhaust and hit a brick wall- it was so rusty that I couldn't even see where the thread stopped and the nut began!

 

And so I think my plan of action is going to have to be as follows: 1) buy another centre clamp 2) Park it up on the high kerb outside my house rather than risk the dodgy jacking again* 3) angle grind or hacksaw the bolt out of the old one 4) swear and grunt a lot trying to get the old pipe off 5) in all probability, give up at that point and get my local garage to do the job properly.

 

* or finally buy myself some ramps, I suppose.

 

So then, having dropped the car without mishap I turned it around again and jacked the OS up for another look at the ABS sensor. Having found last time that the wire had been bodged together with crap bullet connectors, and then found that there was no continuity at all between the centre wire and the shield whatever resistance measuring scale I set my multimeter to, I figured I would see if there was any potential for another bodge with some fresh wire by cutting the old wire 4" from the sensor, in case there was another break further along. But sadly, still nothing. I gather that ABS sensors should read about 1.7KOhms, but no amount of poking the probes into the cable got any response. Can anyone confirm that these Jag sensors are like that? It's not expecting to see a voltage or anything?

 

Anyway I gave the old sensor a good dose of plusgas before I put the wheel back on and gave up for the day, so hopefully once I finally bite the bullet and order a replacement changing it won't be too much of a pain.

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I have seen so many cases of XJs getting rather strange symptoms after standing. One was an 4.0 Sport I wanted to buy (they always illude me!). Twice I went to look at it. First time it refused to fire up, second it ran terrible. Another was an XJR6 which had developed an issue where it would not rev over 3000 rpm purely because it sat a couple of months. My 3.2 Sport always rewards me with improved running after a couple of good longer runs and a bit of kick down action!

 

I vote for getting a garage to tackle the exhaust. I absolutely hate scrabbling on a driveway trying to work on exhaust systems. It always ends in tears and injury.

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These cars are probably number three or four on the "cars which hate sitting for more than a week" list in my experience. Especially where electrical gremlins are concerned.

 

As for the exhaust? If you can, get a garage to do it. They're awkward, fiddly, heavy, ungainly systems. It will be so much easier for the folks with the right jacks, wedges, stands ramps etc to do. Especially trying to get the back boxes to both not touch the bodywork.

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  • 11 months later...

Time for a long overdue update on this. I left it sitting outside my mum's until the tax ran out, along with my 106, and then having cleared a space on the drive of my new house by fixing my Passat, I dumped them both there. I now need the driveway space for my other 106 whose tax ran out a couple of days ago, so as I figured the Jag would be an easier fix than the red pug, which needs its boot floor welding up, I've been working on it in between torrential downpours.

I decided some time ago that I would just bite the bullet and cough up the 220-odd quid that genuine Jag ABS sensors cost- only to find that they're out of stock everywhere. Emailed Naki, who was very nice, but couldn't help. The only way to get one now it seems is to pay £400+ to import one from the US. I think I asked about it in Ask A Shiter, and someone who I can't remember but am very grateful to pointed me to a thread on a Jag forum saying that you can bodge in a sensor from a B5 Audi A4. So I bought one on ebay for about 25 quid IIRC. I was expecting the old sensor to be well stuck in, but what I wasn't expecting was that when I twisted it the cap would simply come off and leave the cylindrical bit in the hole! I thought about it for a bit, and then figured that if I drilled out the contents of it I should be able to collapse the casing in on itself and get it out that way. So I ran a drill down it and pulled out a couple of magnets and thousands of strands of very fine copper wire. Then I attacked the cylinder and soon had it loose. What I hadn't realized was that the cylinder bit is about an inch long, but the hole in the hub it sits in is only about 1cm deep with open space on the other side, so of course as the metal creased part of it expanded and jammed it in. A lot of death-grip-on-my-pipe-pliers and hard yanking action eventually got it out.

You have to remove the rear seat base to get at the sensor plug, which was easy enough. I did a pretty amateurish job of crimping the old plug onto the new sensor with my Lidl crimping kit, but putting the multimeter across the plug terminals gave about 1.7KOhm resistance once I had. Hurrah! I knew that the Audi sensor was a bit longer than the Jag one and that I'd have to shim it, but I hadn't expected it to be about 7mm longer! I'd planned on just cutting some bits of plastic out of a milk bottle or margarine tub, but having cut a long strip out of a 4 pinter and folded it up a dozen times I found that that still only gave me about 4mm, and would be an absolute pig of a job to make holes in. In the end I decided to cut down the cap of the old sensor. I got it down to very near 7mm just by luck on the first cut with the angle grinder, and bunged it in. With both sides up on stands and the other back wheel removed (it needed to come off for the exhaust change anyway), I bunged it in drive and tried to spin the hubs up to see if the ABS light would go out. No joy ? , though I couldn't get the speedo, which it transpires runs off the N/S/R wheel sensor, much above 10mph.

Anyway I figured I'd have to drive it round the block to test it properly so moved on to the exhaust. I couldn't get the bits apart in situ, so decided to cut the already broken centre pipe off near the back box with an angle grinder, which was OK, if as painful as usual with hot sparks flying everywhere. The back box then came out easily and I managed to get the remaining stub of pipe out of it with more angle grinder action and a run with a diamond grinder in my knock off dremel on the inner bit. I took it to the wheely bin to shake the metal flakes from the grinding out, and half the bloody baffle fell out into the bin. Fuck's sake! So ordered a new backbox as well, which arrived in one day and came with a clamp, so that was good at least. With everything that I needed to finish the job I gingerly crawled right underneath to try and get the centre box loose, fully expecting to fail, but by levering the pipe open with a screwdriver and then twatting the sticky out bits backwards with a lump hammer it came off, much to my surprise. So I figured while I was on a roll I'd get the new bits on quick, only to find that with the car on axle stands I can't get the new centre section over the back axle, there's not enough room. It'll have to be done on a ramp.

Meanwhile in between showers I'd been adjusting the rear handbrake shoes to try and get a bit more bite, as the handbrake was always high and weak. And while I was under there I noticed that the pipes from the fuel filter were rusty, so I've given them a quick rub with a brass brush and slapped some rust converter on them, not done a brilliant job though TBH as it's hard to get round the back of them. I might spray some wax over them later.

So I bunged the wheels back on, dropped the car, pumped up the tyres, and rang my MOT station to see if they could fit me in to bung the new pipe on and then MOT it. Not till tomorrow, apparently. But having booked it in I figured I'd risk driving round the block outside my house which is very quiet, though obviously less so with three out of six cylinders completely unsilenced. Got it off the drive and round the first corner- ABS light still on. Jabbed the throttle to get it up to the 20mph speed limit and...out it went! GET IN!??

Unfortunately the brakes are noisy from having sat, and more worryingly are noticeably pulsing where I guess the pads have rusted on, or something. I've got till tomorrow morning anyway so I'm wondering if I should get the wheels off again and attack the discs with a flap wheel in the grinder to try and clean them up, or whether to take a circuitous route to the MOT station and hope they even up with some use? What do you reckon? They stop the car no bother, though the pedal feels a bit soft, it's so long since I last drove it that I've no idea what it was like before.

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I rang my local MOT station and told them that I needed the exhaust fitting and then the car MOTd. They told me to come in on Thursday morning. However when I got there it transpired that their mechanic hadn't turned up for work, so they told me to try Friday. So I turned up at the appointed time on Friday only to find that he still wasn't there, and nor was the geezer I'd spoken to on the phone. They told me to come back today. Meanwhile I was having to drive the untaxed and untested car back home each time which was dodgy, but it's only about a mile and the police round my neck of the woods have bigger fish to fry.

Today I got there and the mechanic still wasn't in, but I persuaded them to stick it on the ramp for me so I could have a go myself. It was lucky that I'd left my breaker bar and torque wrench in the boot as in the end I needed to undo one of the tie bars from the diff mount to the body to get the link pipe into the centre mount- the mount on the pipe needed a bit of manipulation with a hammer as well, which was a bit nerve wracking as I was worried it'd split the weld or tear the pipe, but in the end brute force and ignorance got it on.

So then it was just a case of waiting for a slot in the MOT queue, and after pointing out that it's basically a rusty old piece of crap the tester eventually furnished me with a pass sheet, though as usual there was a long nerve wracking wait for the computer to spit it out. Looking online it seems he first failed it for low brake fluid, which I know isn't true because I'd checked it, so I suspect he uses my shitty old cars to get his fail percentage up, which to be fair I don't have any problem with as they're pretty good to me in there, recent fobbing off notwithstanding.

So I was finally able to get home and stick the out-of-tax 106 on the driveway and get it SORNed, hopefully got away with that one- I wasn't exactly bricking it as a friend of mine used to work for a DVSA clamping contractor and apparently they're not allowed to touch them for the first month after the tax expires, but I was half expecting a grumpy letter. Which may still arrive I guess. The SORN website didn't tell me off.

So I'm going to fit the Andy Bracket to the Jag, give it a wash and maybe take it for a joy ride or two, before I write an ad. But it's definitely going to be for sale, so in the unlikely event that anyone's got the horn for it just from reading this thread, please make yourselves known...

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  • 3 weeks later...

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