Bad news!

Seems a car with far more than its share of problems

 

Must remember for the future - if it tests like a cat and sounds like a cat and looks like a cat, it's almost certainly a cat. Waiting to hear from you, virtualgordon!

 

Not sure if you meant virtualgordon or me, but I drive the living daylights out of mine, after 160k+ miles @ 150 miles per day I'm not surprised stuff is going haywire

I will say this, I dropped the old girl off at a dealer awhile back to diagnose the transmission issue, and they loaned me a 2012 Merc C300. The Merc was nothing compared to the STR, it had a hard time getting out of its own way, handling seemed lazy and sloppy. The interior while sort of comfortable for a primary school classroom felt subpar, even down to the steering wheel leather. It seemed like it was over stretched and then someone quickly tied it together like they had to go to the restroom or something. I was just surprised at the poor quality of it all. A couple of days later I returned the Merc and drove my broken kitty home, and even though I was missing 4th/5th & 6th gear,iIt felt like I was home again, but I was far happier.

Not looking to offend anyone who might own one of these, perhaps I was loaned a bad example, but it only had like 700 miles on it.

*footnote* I had my transmission rebuilt for $3k USD and she's back to being her fantastic self again!

 

Hi All,

Update to getting my wheels rolling again:

I bought the Magnaflow 559975 2.25" cat to replace my damaged original cat-converter following recommendations in various threads:
I took the new cat to a workshop today to have it welded in and fitted. The engineer pointed out that:

1) the length of the cat is considerably shorter than the original

2) the original cat has the rear O2 sensor mounted right in the middle of its length - not exactly a post-cat sensor more like a mid-cat sensor

3) the original cat has a bulky heat-shield whereas the one I have bought is just a cylinder with spun ends to reduce the diameter back down to pipe-size.


Can anyone advise:

a) which end of the cat to mount flush to the down-stream cut-off with the original i.e. should the straight end or the angled end of the cat be facing down-stream joined to the exit-pipe without modification? I'm asking whether it is the upstream or downstream pipe which needs modification.

(Seems to me it should be the angled end joined flush to the cut-off downstream pipe and an extension added to the pipe from the exhaust-manifold to make up for the shorter cat-length...but this is just my opinion I haven't had the exhaust out and I'm not doing the job. I'm asking because the engineer wanted specific instructions; making modifications doesn't happen very often in England and workshops are cagey about fitting anything non-standard).


b) whether the downstream sensor should be mounted in the middle of the cat as per original or after the catalyst monolith just before the weld with the downstream pipe? (Does anyone have any images of sensor-location?)


c) Should a new heat-shield be fabricated as per original or is this not necessary?


I will be very grateful for any advice! I need this info before I return the vehicle to the workshop or they will not take on the job.


As ever,

Thanks and regards

Gordon

 

I would have gone with an OES cat converter or an Eastern direct OEM fit cat converter. Maybe you can return the one you purchased...

 

I too have to tackle the Restricted performance issue. I'm an electronic technician who used to repair consumer electronics and the one thing I always taught my techs was to look for the simple stuff first. A lot of times they would dig into something without taking the time to make a visual inspection of the unit. My point is sometimes we assume the worst when the problem might be starring us right in the eye. Sometimes I got caught by the same trap by assuming the worst.

 

Hi All,

I've had the replacement cat fitted today - I still haven't cleared the engine warning light because I don't have a diagnostic unit ...but I'm blown away by how much better it pulls and I'm getting an 8mpg improvement too! Thought I should mention this for the benefit of anyone undecided whether to tackle a troublesome cat or not...

Even driving very carefully on the same route I have just driven, previously I couldn't get above 22mpg average (19mpg was normal). Tonight after the replacement I have substantially more power and have just returned from an out-and-back test at 75mph with a bit of minor-road slow driving and the average (after resetting the trip-counter before setting off obviously) just dropped below 30mpg when approaching my house finishing up at 29.5mpg.

Very glad to have benefitted from your advice - grateful thanks!

Best regards

Gordon

 

The MIL should go off after a few drives (assuming it's fixed!). The code will be auto-erased after a much longer time.

 

Hi I am very interested in your experience of fitting new cats using the magnaflow 59975. I also live in the uk and recently my cats stated to rattle so I'm very interested where you had the work done and also how the pipe was constructed.
Did you have to order the cats from the US or did you manage to source them in the UK?
Did you place the O2 sensors before and after the Cat? Also did you have to fabricate a new manifold connection or weld on the old one ? How is it working ? Did you have any problems with the MIL light or was it ok once reset ?
How much did it cost you in the end ? The cheapest replacements I have been able to find are a crazy Ł1400 !!
Thanks in advance.

 

Hi Yellowfin,

Whereabouts in the UK are you? I'm in Nottingham near J27 of the M1 if you wish to inspect or take my vehicle to a garage as an example. (I also travel quite a bit to Norwich if that helps?). I had the work done by a company called Mr.Tyre in Mansfield 108 Chesterfield road and they made a beautiful job of it. They charged Ł130 per side to weld in the cats. I must stress that Mr.Tyre are just a tyre&exhaust shop like any other they are not a specialist fabricator - any exhaust shop should be able to do the same.

I ordered from Amazon in the US using the link in one of my posts above. I had to pay postal duty when it arrived unfortunately but that is a gamble you take so my advice is that it is irrelevant where you get it from just get it cheapest with suitable delivery time. eBay were an option too but the dealer didn't have any stock and I was in a hurry.

I placed the downstream sensor about 4" after the Cat and did not change the position of the upstream sensor. I welded onto the original manifold.

It is working well only problem is that I have restricted performance for about 2 miles from start then it clears and all is well. The check-engine light is on constantly and JagTech have confirmed that the code is due to the O2 sensor. There is a known fix for this thanks to the good folks on this forum - I intend to get a spacer to move the sensor out - just haven't gotten around to it since I have had other priorities with a failed throttle-body in the interim which surprisingly was giving a gearbox failure warning with engine racing to 4500 rpm at startup and regular surging to 2500rpm - sorted now and nothing whatever to do with the cats.

The cat job cost about Ł260 per side in the end after import duty etc was taken into account. I have restricted performance for 2 miles at start-up as mentioned but this doesn't affect me at all unless I really boot it or drive about 70mph until it clears after which I have 100% of a wonderful and extremely powerful luxury/performance car.

My advice is do the conversion - it was trouble-free and there is a simple fix to the problem I am experiencing which as mentioned is affecting me so little I haven't bothered to sort it out yet. You could deal with this in one when getting the job done just ask the worshop to space the sensor-mounting lug 15mm away from the pipe.

You're welcome to inspect my vehicle if this gives more confidence.

Again: thanks to the good folks on this site for making the information available in the first place. I have experienced all of the big 3 failures which amazingly cost me under Ł1000 combined as a result of the helpfullness and knowledge of members so I still love my awesome car which only this morning ate a disrespectful M5! :-)

Good luck!

Regards

Gordon

 

Thanks for the detailed reply Gordon,
much appreciated some great detail, interesting you welded it straight to the existing manifold. A real saving over the *******s prices. Amazing more people don't do it. I'll do some research on the spacer for the O2 sensors. I am down in Suffolk but thank you for the offer of viewing your car. I think this may be the way to go. I have also been offered a pair of secondhand cats which I need to investigate.
I'll let you know how I get on and what decision I make.

Thanks
Richard

 

Sounds good but one last suggestion?

The cat failed for a reason and you do have high miles. I would do a visual inspection on the other cat like you did to the first one. It might be failing slowly and as you found out the cat is usually pretty bad before it starts to really affect things.
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The cats have recently started to rattle and I think I caused this myself - we had a lot of flooding here before Christmas and driving home one night I went through some standing water which turned out to be much deeper than I first thought. I think I thermal shocked the cats, which has now started to make them rattle. I have also now lost a heater element in the downstream bank1 O2 sensor. I am going to change the sensor and while it is out put a small endoscope type camera in to look at the cat properly.
My own fault... be warned don't drive through standing water no matter how shallow it looks !

 

hello i need help or suggestions im having problems with my str i get restricted performance message i cheeked for codes and i got p0171 and p0174 which means combustion too lean so i was told it could be mass air flow sensor lcv valve but i cleaned the sensor repplac e the air filter also fuel filter actually the bass inside the filter was way to dirty and darker so i toguht new fuel filter would finally fix the problem but no still there still get restricted message after the car runs very fine and very smooth problem come when i hit the gass and sometimes check engine light blinks for less than a minute then goes off ,,, also i checked for some cracked hoses or possible air leak but didn't find anything ,,

 

Well that is a very common error code, have you done any searches? This may NOT be your problem but as our STR's get older I think it will effect 100% of the cars.

The problem for me was the P/B vacuum connection on the back elbow of the super charger intake.

Before I get to the solution you should know that I would NOT own a S Type unless you can DIY the repairs. Labor is just too much! Will you do it or pay to have it done?

Fixing this vacuum leak is only about $6 for the part but the entire SC needs to come off and the gaskets need to be changed (about $400 or so) and then what shape is the car in? You probably need to change the coolant and ALL the hoses plus a new thermostat. Do you know about the hose under the SC? Has the DCCV been changed?

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...-p0174-149418/
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My fix for P0171 was tightening the exhaust pipe to exhaust manifold bolts on bank 1 (right side). These cars are known to have these loosen thus allowing outside air to enter the exhaust pre-catalyst. This condition fools the O2 sensor into thinking there's a lean condition. The bolts are relatively easy to get at once the car is lifted.

 

I think yours is the first to do that in the 7 years I've been a regular here, but in any case he has both sides faulty and both do not loosen at the same moment.