I have a 2003 Jaguar S-Type with a 3.0 L engine. A month and a half ago, the oil in my engine got so thin to the point when I started to hear ticking noises from the engine. So I know that came from the lifters due to the oil being so thin. Sounded like a Diesel engine to me. One day, I was driving home from work and it the engine started heating up and I heard the noise again. The coolant sensor was faulty because it kept reading the engine temperature cold so I didn’t know if the engine was overheating or not. I got home and the car stalled out. Smoke came out of my hood and it smelt like burnt oil. I changed the valve cover gaskets, changed two ignition coils. The rest were fine. Changed the oil cap. Did the oil change. And also replaced the battery. Before I did any work to the car, I also smelled a gas. But I thought the engine was getting flooded. Last night I noticed the fuel hose had two punctures in it and a lot of gas was escaping that hose every time the engine would start. The oil from the dipstick didn’t look milky. I didn’t smell gas with the oil. Just smelt like oil. I am getting spark from the ignition coil. And there is no coolant leaks. I need some one to help me and tell me what I should get for my car to get it started???

 

Based on your description I would have your car towed to a competent mechanic.

 

Welcome to the forum Jake,

I've moved your question from General Tech Help to S-Type forum. This is the place to post technical questions about your model.

PRIORITISE - fix the fuel leak first before a breakdown turns into a meltdown.

Please follow this link New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the New Member Area - Intro a MUST forum and post some information about yourself and your vehicle for all members to see. In return you'll get a proper welcome and some useful advice about posting to the forum.

Graham

 

Wow, lots going on with that poor engine.

Definitely fix that leaking fuel hose before doing anything else.

Any idea how the oil got thinned out? Did you confirm the oil was actually thinned when you drained it? There isn't a lot that could cause that. If the engine was flooding badly enough to get unburnt fuel in the crankcase, you'd also be getting some fault codes. Is the Check Engine light on? If so, read out the codes and report back to us.

What about the slow cranking speed? For the moment, don't worry why it won't start. You need the cranking speed back to normal. Two broad categories there. The starter system (battery, starter, cables, control relay) may not be delivering enough oomph to spin the crankshaft so the engine can start. The other is internal binding in the engine is overloading the starter system. I'm a little concerned about the latter since you suspected the oil was thinned. I think it's very important to confirm that before delving deeper.

 

Yep Jake, I believe that post #2 is your best advice! Welcome to the forum and good luck with your vehicle.

 

KR98664, the reason why the oil thinned our is because I didn’t get an oil change for the engine for the past 5 months. I’m afraid the spark plugs are corroded and the starter might be going bad. Battery is brand new and I took the car in last month for rewriring the starter to the battery. But as long as the oil doesn’t look milky, that means I don’t have to worry about the heads right? Is it the components I have to change up? Like basically do a tune up and oil change?

 

What exactly does this mean?

How many kilometres/miles on the vehicle?

What other work was recently performed?

 

Hi Jake,

Not to bust your chops, but what is your experience level working on cars? We can probably walk you through some things to check, but it might seem overwhelming to you depending on your background.

At the very minimum, I'd get some fresh oil in there. Don't just start throwing parts at the poor car.

Before getting too deep with the slow starter, check the battery ground connection in the trunk. Look where the ground cable is bolted to the sheet metal. This bolt extends into the wheel well, and moisture tends to wick up via the threads and cause corrosion. I'd suggest disassembling this connection and making sure it's good and clean.

After that, there are some more things you can check, but I'd hate to overload you if you plan to just take it to a shop instead.

Keep us posted.