Some of you may remember my questions about my car "rocking" after receiving a fuel/air induction service, but I'm going to do a quick recap, and then also ask about a couple of things. Hopefully someone will be able to quell my nerves.

I've had my "cat" for just over 3 years. She's been a great car! Of course, when I got her the antenna wasn't working, the rear view mirror was messed up (but safe to use) the telescoping steering wheel adjustment was broken. Not bad.

I did buy this car with noticable damage on the front corners, but I had it inspected - at 2 different places - and no issues were found. After driving it for 2 years, it developed a "popping" on turns. Ask for the mechanic to check it out, but he didn't see anything.

Had a tiny oil leak. (I'm not a mechanic so I don't do my own work.) The guy told me it had a bit of a leak, but for the mileage/age it wasn't unexpected and keep and eye on the levels. Well, the levels weren't the issue! The oil leaked into my ignition coils and ruined them.

So, 6 new coils, plugs, new wiring for good measure, she was doing pretty good, still popping but getting around.

Changed the shocks, new tires. Still popping.

Went to get my emission in the spring and it read "not ready". Drove the .... well, I pushed her and she finally threw a code. They said it needed a fuel/air induction service. Passed emissions but afterward was rocking like a boat on the restless sea.

That mellowed out over the course of the next 3 months, then one day - boom, check engine light and transmission light came on. She wouldn't run unless I had RPMS at about 3500 and holding her back with the brake.

I called a buddy and he recommended a new place that he knew could handle the Jag work. It took them over a week to duplicate the problem, but when she finally did the answer was "you need to have a fuel/air induction service performed". I told them I just had it done, and they said that most places didn't have the computer equipment necessary to reset the system after the service, and that would have to be done for the car to run right.

So, another fuel/air induction service. And they found the popping noise, too.

Ripped subframe!

I had her towed home and I just couldn't bear to have thrown all that other work down the drain. Well, the tires would be easy enough to switch over to something else before I sent her to the grave, but you all know how much this stuff had been! 2 services were $600, the coils, plugs, wires (and fixing the oil leak) $1400, plus tires and shocks - all within 10 months of the bad news.

Quote for repair $800, not including the parts. So I finally decided that I would just do it. I mean, otherwise I'm buying another car that I haven't known for 3 years for a lot more than that. I bought all the necessary parts, and the total for getting her fixed fell just under $1400 (again).

She sat in the backyard for 3 months while I collected the parts and saved the money.

Got her back just a couple of days ago. Running strong, driving great.

Sitting at the light today, she "hiccupped". That's the only word I know to describe it. Just a little jump.

Came home, sat in the driveway with her for 20 minutes, and never did it again.

I had the battery tested and charged in the early part of the summer, but I noticed that when the car is cranking, the voltmeter on the instrument panel is showing about 10. Once cranked, it's up at 13.5.

I guess I'm just nervous now. I haven't driven her for 3 months. The last time I did, I thought I would blow her up just trying to get off the road.

Thoughts?

 

Don't be paranoid. There will always be little things going wrong, it's not a new car. The previous owner of my '95 invested $14 in the five years prior to selling it, and was probably relieved to see it go. But I do my own repairs and am not worried about the future, and if you keep on top of things, your car will probably last many years now.

 

Just recharge the battery. If you haven't used the car in 3 months, it is not surprising that the voltage may be a tad low. As RJ237 said, keep on top of regular maintenance and you should be fine.

You didn't mention it but the oil in your coils was probably from a leak in he cam cover, did you replace the gasket and boss seals? If not, this will happen again!! It's an easy fix.

These cars really require owner involvement in maintenance or they will be very expensive to upkeep.

 

RJ - I'm trying not to be paranoid. I drove the car without a hitch for 2 years, and if it has finally been repaired properly, then there shouldn't be anything major. I wish I could work on my own car, I wouldn't know where to start. I know how to replace a battery, and that's the end of my skills!

Allan - I did have the oil leak fixed when they replaced the coils. I mentioned it in the post.

All in all - I love my car. I wish I had beaucoups of dollars to throw into it. When I bought it, I was using money from when my previous car was totalled by a tree limb, and I had said that with the money I had to use, I'd rather buy an old car with high miles that was well built, than to get a newer car that was cheaply built.

I settled on the XJ6 after doing quite a bit of research. Although I was aware of the picky way the car reacts to things, I knew that the engine and transmission were well built and, like you say - if I keep on top of the maintenance it will last a few more years.

I guess I kinda feel like a girl whose boyfriend hit her in the past. Worried about exactly when it's gonna happen again! I hate being stranded.

 

I'm confused as to how oil leaks around the spark plugs damaged the coils. A little oil leak around the plugs is no big deal. The coils are located on top of the cam cover several inches above the plugs and the oil only gets to the base of the plugs. I am suspicious your shop wasn't telling you something. This is one reason you really need to be very involved in the maintenance and talk to us on this forum when anything at all happens. We like to help.

 

Glad that you have got things sorted.

Your battery will be somewhat feeble after not being used for three months.

 

EZ - Without knowing how the car is put together, you could be right. Where I take the car for an oil change is who told me about the leak. The car started misfiring really bad and I took it to the mechanic I normally use. He told me there was oil in the coils, and since they needed to replace the coils he suggested I go ahead and change the plugs and wires. Of course the plugs and wires were minimal cost. They found the leak and repaired it as well.

Although I don't know much about cars and how they are put together, I do trust that mechanic. He has been in business for 30 or more years and often looks at my car/s and doesn't find particular problems, and then refers me out to another shop. Or if he finds the problem but doesn't feel qualified to perform the work.

The shop that originally did the fuel/air induction service was a shop I'd never used. They were located 1/2 mile from my house. I just went there for emissions, and they did the induction service which really messed up how the car ran.

The shop that just completed my subframe work really appears to know what they are doing. A friend of mine owns a wrecker service (hooray for me!) and he said that is THE place to take the jag. He's known them for years and has nothing but good stuff to say about them.

The original mechanic - while good, and as far as I know, trustworthy - was not a "Jaguar" savvy mechanic, and that's why he always referred me out to other places. The shop that I took the car for emission to happened to go out of business right after I found out about the subframe. I wasn't surprised about that.

 

Here's part off the Lincoln LS C.O.P bulletin (same set-up as Jaguar COP)

" Some of the affected vehicles may experience an engine misfire condition predominantly due to internal breakdown in the coil and lack of adhesion between the epoxy and the coil housing material. These issues may cause the coil to operate at an insufficient voltage level, resulting in ignition coil misfires. In addition, on some of these vehicles, the valve cover gaskets may allow engine oil to enter the spark plug well and cause degradation of the ignition coil boot, resulting in ignition coil misfire. Drivability symptoms associated with an ignition coil misfire include rough running engine, surge or hesitation on acceleration, and/or illumination of the check engine light"

It's a pretty known condition in the COP world that oil in the plug well will cause pre-mature coil failure, so much that Lincoln had to realize it was a legit problem and started replacing COP's and cam cover gaskets as an extended plan on their later LS vehicles when the condition would arise prior to 100k, after 100K you were on your own.

 

....also on the Jaguar cam cover between 95 and 97 there can be imperfections at the well the head circular gasket point. One on my wifes was sufficiently deformed from the factory and would not make proper contact which had to be made up with a well placed smear of gasket black and the car to sit 24 hours after placement to allow good adhesion and prevent any more oil coming in the well. The boots WILL through capillary action wick the oil up causing the coil to have to fire through the oil and also degrading the boot connection/seal point causing arcing. These COP's are expensive enough and a complete gasket change and plug well connection point check is good value to replace compared to the expense replacing faulty COP's.

 

And to aid those searching in the future, there is a rubber seal attached to the bottom of each spark plug well on the cam cover. Over time, those seals degrade and allow COPIOUS amounts of oil to pool inside the spark plug wells. An amount of oil sufficient to see the lower qtr of the rubber coil boot to permanently sit in a pool of oil. That 200+ degree oil then degrades the rubber coil boot opening up a clear path for arching related misfires. I suggest that application of sealant to those seals occur every time the cam cover is removed, and every 100,000 miles/or 10 years, whichever comes first.




Also worth noting, often coils are misdiagnosed as bad when in fact only their rubber boots have been compromised. ALWAYS try wrapping the rubber boots in electrical tape when you experience a misfire. If that cures the misfire, then you just need to replace the rubber boot, which is sold separately for $12-$15 - FAR better than a coil replacement.

 

What wires did you replace?

 

mgb4tim - It's been a year now, and so I can't be sure - but I believe they replaced the spark plug wires.

The car is still having the little shudder when idling in drive. Not in park - it's fine. Runs fine on acceleration, smooth and sure.

The shudder did happen the first time immediately before (the day before) the coils went bad from the oil leak.

After the coils/plugs/wires were replaced (and the leak fixed) the car ran great until the fuel/air induction service. Problems since then.

The "shudder" however, is similar to what it did just prior to the coil issue.

 

I'm going to go out on a limb with this response. There is no way I believe that oil leaking around the plug wells will cause a coil to fail. I don't care what Lincoln says. The plug wells are not Submerged in oil up to the coil that sits on top of the cam cover. I suppose you can get enough oil in there to deterate the boot which may cause a misfire. But the boot is easily replaced. As far as spark plug wires there aren't any in the way think of plug wires on engines before computer controlled engines. There is one coil for each plug and each plug is controlled by the computer by means of low voltage wires in a wiring harnes that sits on top of the cam cover where the coils (6) sit. I think your mechanic is leading you along with statements that only apply to cars built in the 50s and 60s.

I would suggest that you go to a shop and have them remove the cover (not the cam cover) over the plug coils (three small screws) so you can see the coils and how they are wired. Next go to find a salvage yard with one that has a XJ6 engine with the cam cover off so you can see how the plug wells are built. You are being taken advantage of and you need to understand what is going on to manage you cars maintenance. Otherwise it will cost you a fortune.

Contact me directly and I will send you pictures and diagrams of anything I can to help you deal with shop mechanics.

 

EZ - I understand what you are saying, but here's the thing:

Where I had my oil changed is who told me I had a leak. Not my regular mechanic.

I never had the leak fixed, because he said it was minor.

4 months later my coils burned out. My regular mechanic diagnosed this, and after the repairs, which I believe included some wires - but I can't be sure - the car ran GREAT!!!!! He said the coils had oil in them. He also fixed the oil leak.

When I took the car to get emissions just down the street, NOT at my regular mechanic - they needed the computer to become "ready", and when I drove it, a code was thrown for the EGR valve.

It was THIS place that did the fuel/air induction service, and the car has not been running right ever since.

When I took it back to my regular mechanic, he said he could NOT diagnose the problem, because he couldn't get a reading from the computer on it. So, my friend who is a wrecker driver recommended me to yet ANOTHER shop that once again said "fuel/air induction service". My friend has known these guys for years, and they did the front subframe repair when I couldn't get a quote for the job from anyone else to do it. I asked my regular mechanic if he knew these people, and he said yes, and that he agreed that they did good work.

They showed me the ripped frame, it was pretty obvious.

So, WHO is it that you think is taking me for a ride??? Which one of these guys is being dishonest with me?

I'm very confused.

 

Your probably right, with there being so much info on the subject on the web and a major car manufacture actually giving up money to fix a non-problem. I'd just let oil leak into the wells, what could it hurt?

I'm going to also go out on a limb and say that if it were MY car AND I had evidence of oil in the wells I'd fix a simple cheap gasket and "O" rings before I had to change out the pricey COP's...but heck what do I and Lincoln know.

I've had up to an inch of oil in the wells of my LS and my XJ6L, guess what, I discovered it after those coils failed...guess what, I changed out the gaskets and "O" rings on both cars and no more COP failures AND the only COP's that have ever failed were the ones with oil in the wells! Do you actually understand the physics of capillary action and it's effect even when the item is above the oil level? I'm not here to lead anyone astray or pass along "bum" info or bad advice.

Part 4 -Testing FORD Coil-on-Plug (COP) Coils.