I took my car in to get it inspected, and it passed. Yippee

I took it in to the tire shop to get a slow leak taken care of, and found out the leak was being caused by some brake part heating up the tire. Had to replace the pads anyway, so the boys at the shop took care of it for me.

Budget is running low.

Okay great; the car is running and half way legal, so to celebrate we went to dinner, and took my car. In all the excitement, we went the wrong way, and turned into a church parking lot to turn around. Would you believe I hopped a curb. The crunching noise was unbelievable.

Within moments, the car started losing power, but didn't die. We barely made it to the restaurant, and had to take the back roads home. The Omish horse and buggies were passing us. lol

Too much information?

Anyway, the car starts, and runs for a few minutes before it starts losing power again.

The car had been sitting in an old garage for almost a year before I started fixing it up. Someone told me it could be bad gas; maybe the jolt caused some crud to clog the fuel filter. If only I could be so lucky.

Any suggestions? Should I get a new fuel filter and try changing it out? I'm a 62 yr old woman and no mechanic. Is there a special tool I'll need? I have enough money to buy a fuel filter, but not to take to have it towed to a shop.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

Sorry to hear your predicament

I'm not sure how the fuel lines run on an XJ40, but is it possible the run over the kerb could have flattened a fuel line under the car ? If the line is flattened you ma be having problems getting enough fuel to the engine. The problem could be in the feed line or the return line. If the return line is constrained, the result will be overfuelling from too much fuel pressure at the fuel rail.

 

I've been under my car (not a pleasant place, but interesting) for the last 20 minutes, and even took a few pics. The car really sits low to the ground, so I'll make sure not to run up over any curbs in the future.

From what I can see, there's nothing bent or flattened or even scraped. I didn't see any signs of damage, but keep in mind, I've been under a car before. lol

I took a few photos in hopes of seeing something I couldn't get to visually. Maybe you'll see something I don't see. I did smell a hint of gas, but maybe that's normal when you're under a car?

Thanks for your interest




I should also mention, it smells gassy when I start it. It normally idles at 7 or 8 rpms, but now it will increase to 12 and then slowly drop until it chokes out and dies. When I press on the gas, that seems to choke it out even more; sometimes, but not always. It has moments when it's perfectly normal.

 

You can see the fuel lines in the last picture. They are "higher" up than the bottom of the chassis rail, so it would be pretty difficult to squash them (This arrangement is not the case on all Jaguars)

Based on the assumption that your poor running was caused when you kerbed the car, I would maybe start looking under the hood to see if there are any electrical connectors that have come loose as a result.

The smell of fuel and also the erratic idle are clues.

There are better XJ40 gurus (DonB) who will hopefully be along soon to help further, but in the mean time, I would just do a quick look under the hood and look for any wiring and or vacuum tubing that has come adrift.

 

Will do, and thanks so much

 

Another tid bit. I checked the fuse to the fuel pump, and it's good.

 

Pretty much a stab in the dark.

Fault: Inconsitent fuel flow.
Cause: The jolt of curb hopping jarred some rust loose in the tank. Inconsitent flow of fuel results.
Diagnostic method. A fuel pressure guage on the fuel rail. Consitent circ 90 PSI on the incoming?
Fix: If so, drain and flush the tank.
Prevention: Add a low PSI filter/s before the pump.

Or: In some manner, the jolt jarred trapped debris in the filter and occluded it's flow.

But, i'd scan carefully in the engine bay for loose wires. Do the "jiggle" test. with care, trhe engine running, wiggle various harness and see if that induces the fault.

Off to chores and errands....

Carl

 

Not that it's related to your loss of power issue, but the story about the brakes causing a slow leak in the tire makes no sense.

I think that the chances of you finding the loss of power problem on your own are slim. Is there a trusted Jag mechanic nearby?

 

Carl, you're way over my head with the gauge thing, but hoping you're right about the rust and crap getting into the gas; it's an old car after all.

I've found a few utube videos on draining the gas and changing the fuel filter. It's something I might be able to do with the right tools. Just have to put my work clothes on and get my mind right. Much appreciated.

Mikey, maybe you're right about the tire. Being a woman, I know I get taken advantage of, especially being an older woman, but they showed me the tire, and it did look like it was melted a bit; close to the rim. They were a nice bunch of guys in a small town; for whatever it's worth. lol



You could very well be right about me not finding the problem, but when I'm done, I'll have a new fuel filter out of the deal, and a little practice at tire changing too, and at least I'll know what it's not.

I will be looking over those wires. Also advised by Sarc, and yes, I'll start it up during the inspection, and hope it stays running.

No matter, it's nice to have someone to talk to about it. I live in the middle of no where, and can't earn money until my cars running; catch 22

Thanks to all of you.