Well i,ve had a bad couple of weeks in regards to my STR. It started when i had my EGR valve replace due to it being clogged up and i had a fault code. The part was replaced and the code was cleared when i picked my car up i got 5 miles before the car started to jerk about and run poorly and low and behold engine check light came on. I returned my car to a local garage and the fault codes showed running lean bank one and O2 sensor delay bank 2. The garage had my car a week and claimed they discovered a hose that was leaking so they replaced it but after the work was done they took it for a test drive and guess what the faults came back, they then informed me they could not identify the fault and i would be better going to a jag specialist. I now have my car at home and decided to have a look myself and i have identified the problem area in 15 minutes, why the garage could not achieve this i do not know.
The leak is in and around the throttle body and you can clearly hear it hissing when the car is running but when you spray some brake cleaner in the general area it makes the car run sweet for about 5 seconds and this hissing goes away. So i have decided to remove the throttle body and surrounding vaccum hose's tomorrow to see if i can sort the problem out myself. It looks likely the garage caused this air leak as it was not there before and they cant be asked with the hassle to fix a mistake they have caused for free which has infuriated me. But if i can sort the problem with a bit of DIY it will be some good experience for me and hopefully helpful to others in the future.
Dont worry i have the correct tools and JTIS
Illl keep everyone posted. Wish me luck lol.

 

It would serve 'em right if you had a specialist fix it and charged the bad guys the cost (as you're entitled to do, the snag being if they refuse to pay you have to sue for the money).

If you can DIY fix it, may as well. Even a tiny leak that you can't hear hissing will upset fuel trims and can cause misfires.

 

Did they remove the blower to replace the EGR valve?

If they did let’s hope the coolant hose underneath was replaced at that time too!

Did they replace the EGR tube? They sometimes get a hole in them and they are very hard to get to.

Since you have done most of the work already to replace the EGR valve you might want to change the tube to?
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Well today after some digging i found the air leak in 15 minutes. It appears when the garage re attached the throttle body they over tightened two of the 4 bolts and now the bolts provide no bite whatsoever. To be sure this was the issue i applied some gasket sealent and clamped the throttle body and hey presto car is running fine again. But now for the bad news i will have to purchase a tapping set to re thread the alloy block the throttle body connects to this and this is not the most accessible item and i will have to drill the throttle body to accomodate the larger bolts that will be required. This should fix the problem so wish me luck.

Time to write a review on the garage who damaged my car and denied knowing what the problem was even tho they caused it.

 

Sorry to hear that!

That is bad damage from a shop. Any chance you could get them to fix it?
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To be honest i dont want them near any of my cars again. Id rather do it myself bit of satisfaction too.
Off to go buy the tapping set and new bolts now

 

Having a really bad day today, i took the car to bits and purchased the tap and dye set only to find i could only tap the front 2 bolts from an m6 to an m8 size. The rear 2 bolts are under metal work fixed to the car, i have re tapped these with a m6 tap and fitted new bolts to try and get some more bite but im so afraid to tighten them to much incase the block unthreads. The only way to rectify this would be to remove the engine from the car which = £££. The throttle body gasket is beyond repair and a replacement would need to be shipped from the USA so i have got some high temp rtv gasket which im letting dry for 6 hours before starting the car.
I really hope this is my air leak issue because in the back of my mind i could be wrong and my erg is leaking or its vac hose related problems all these components are within inches of each other.
The car is booked at a jag specialist garage for monday but i want to discount as many possible causes before they start charging me for parts all over the place.

 

Is the M8 tap too tall? Maybe lower the engine/trans a bit to gain room. Or can you drill hole in the sheet metal to allow for tap to fit?

 

No the tap fits however i cant find a hss drill bit long enough to go to the depth that i would require. I have put the car into a jag garage to solve as im fed up now lol.

 

Finally got a diagnosis from the garage, air is leaking from the EGR valve that was replaced as well as the throttle body gasket and another leak the opposite side of what the throttle body connects to. These issues did not exist before the EGR change so the previous garage must have been heavy handed. 4-5 hours labour required to solve the problem.

 

At their cost, then...

Leaking gaskets caused by a garage... pathetic. Inexcusable. Amateur - no, worse than amateur.

 

Totally agree

 

Finally got my car back at the cost of £500

 

Make them pay. Simple letter asking for it, with reasons in simple English. Money claim online if they won't.