I have a 2002 X-type with a 2.5L Manual. Head gasket problem led to swapping the motor 2 years ago with a 2005 2.5 L. About 6 months after the swap I got a check engine light and took it to a shop that said it was a water temp sensor and thermostat error code. I drove the car quite a bit with the light on, but didn't worry too much cause it always ran great and never got hot. Had to get a smog test which forced me to deal with clearing the code. I replaced the temp sensor and thermostat. Cleared that code and another came up for massive evap system leak. Found a hose on the firewall wasn't connected and cleared the code. Next code...catalytic converter Bank 2 efficiency...crap! The smog numbers look great...but no pass with the engine light and code. O.K. So, I plan to deal with the cat and O2 sensors. Looks like the front end is going to have to come off to get the cat out. All the while the car is driving fine...THen, as I'm cruising to work a red exlamation with a gear circle pops up on the dash and the engine stalls. Pull over and the car won't turn over. After about 10 min. with the ignition switch on the light goes out, car starts and drives like nothing was wrong. Next day..drive to work just fine, get in after work...key put into pre ignition and the light pops up again. Car won't turn over at all. Tow it home...take off/on battery terminal. nada. She's dead...Wish I had a stick of dynamite. Maybe the insurance company will beleive it was a terrorist act. Or....anybody got better idea!

 

I'm sorry... I have loved my x type, but there are always x types out there that were abused early on in their lives which makes them end up like this... I would see if you can delete the codes, try to drive it, and trade it in. Don't sell it to a private seller because that is just horrible. Trade it to a big dealership that is only giving you 50% of the value anyways and they will decide what to do with it. I had to do this with a 2001 xc70 that we had which we suspected had been in a flood which lead to all of its problems.

 

This car was not only abused by previous owners, it is being abused by this owner. You're only reaping what you sow.

 

Your quick to judge me. I don't abuse my car. I have a limited amount of money to spend on transportation. I have worked on my own cars since I was 13 years old. I've rebuilt cars from the ground up. I don't run to the dealer when a light comes on cause the dealership is 100 miles from my home, only open during the same times I have to work. So, even clearing a code costs me hundreds of dollars. All the local repair guys cringe and run when I ask them to take a look at the Jag. The catalytic converter part costs around $700 alone (California model) You have to either drop the motor or pull the front end off to get to it! Most other cars it's a simple piece in the exhaust line. Since the numbers coming from the smog report were acceptable I figured I would have time to replace the cat.

The car was running smoothly and not running hot. I had it looked at when I had the funds available. I change the oil and filters regularly, myself. I changed the spark plugs (which required removing the intake manifold...great engineering design there, ) again myself. I asked the dealer for the code to get a CD changer commuicating with my stereo. They wanted $200 to give me the code...(and remember I have to drive 200 miles RT and take off work to get that done...excessive. Not very $ freindly.) I love the way this car handles and drives. I like it's looks and amenities. I want to keep it and am willing to put money into it. It's just that sometimes when times get tough you have to shift priorities with your money. I would like to have it looked at now. If someone has an idea why the code came up let me know so I can tell the repair shop where to start. Would running the car over a period of time with the cat code on finally kill the engine?

 

To be sure you're having a bit of a bad time with all this, but perhaps it needs a cooler looking at? For example, removing the Bank 2 Cat is not that big a deal!! Certainly doesn't need the engine to be dropped and it depends what you mean by 'pull the front end off to get to it!', but there's not that much to take off! And that's if the cat needs changing. Jaguar's list of causes for the code (that I'm having to guess you mean - P0430?) is as follows:
HO2 Sensor disconnected
HO2 Sensor to ECM wiring fault
HO2 Sensor heater to ECM wiring fault
HO2 Sensor heater failure
Upstream HO2 Sensor failure
Downstream HO2 Sensor failure
Catalyst failure
So there's a few things to check before spending that $700 on a new cat. That said, it's not good practise to drive with an unknown cause of a MIL - see below about a scanner!
With the experience you have of maintenance work, you really ought to get yourself a code scanner - with the costs you give for going to the dealer, it'll pay for itself in no time. Same for a copy of JTIS that will help you in so many different ways - detailed code interpretation, how to remove the cats with minimum fuss, electrical diagrams, etc.
If you do decide to sell, you'll get a better price if you've sorted the faults first!

 

Qwik,

Google "cleaning a catalytic converter"

There are ways to clean them with mild citric acid soak, overnight, heated up of course. it seems to be largely effective and is quite harmless to the precious metals.

By the way, the reverse switch on the manual trans is prone to shorting out. Disconnect it and check the fuse. That fuse powers many things. Including power steering feel and the alternator field. I suspect you can fix the cat cheaply. I also suspect s blown fuse. And a low battery.

Oh, and any cheap scan tool will do just fine.

 

Better yet there are places that will open the CAT up and put new insides in them. I have an Honda Insight that has three of them and that is the only fix that is now
available. It ends up a lot cheaper than a new one only a couple of hundred.

On another note. You say you have limited funds to spend on transportation. I would say you bought the wrong car. Jag's are expensive to fix / maintain.

 

Thanks guys! Astromorg - I observed the code reader with the mechanic. It did not give a number, but actually displayed "Catalytic Converter Bank 2 efficiency Low" on screen. I don't know the quality of his code reader, or if it might say this even if the "efficiency" was due to one O2 sensor being older than the other. So, I was thinking about putting a new sensor in the upstream position assuming the new one would be more efficient and give a higher reading. then, the difference of the 2 sensors might be greater - thus efficiency goes up and the code goes out...theoretically. As far as having the cat refurbished or new catalyst inserted, I think that may be illegal in the ultra PC state of California. If you search for cats on the internet for instance, all other 49 states can use a cat that is 1/3 the cost for the "California Legal" one. Even if I can clean the cat or put in new material on my own, I would still need to get it out. I do have the JTIS manual on disc. Does it show that procedure in it? BY looking at it it seemed like there was no room to get to the manifold bolts without removing lots of stuff.

 

You are not dependent on dealers to read and clear powertrain ODB codes.

If you have a android based phone, you can get a the android app "Torque" for $5 and a bluetooth ELM237 based obd scanner for about $25.

If you want to use a PC, the best overall deal for you is the OBDLink SX($45) or ELM Compact($30). This is because the generic ELM327 scanners come with atrocious software. The two named devices ship with Obdwiz software included.

The suggestion for acquiring the ability to scan for codes is due to the probability that driving around with the first CEL cause masked the other codes as they started. Therefore, you did not know about them until an advanced stage. It will also allow you to clear codes without cost any time that you want.

 

Neither useful nor kind. You do not kick people when they're down.

 

Do you have a link for a these. I looked quickly for the bluetooth one and did not find it right off.

 

OK, let's be kind. Driving a car with a CEL for an extended period of time is asking for trouble in many ways. I consider it poor maintenance. Secondly, when something fails that's OK, but when one thing after another fails that's often a sign of something else. Lastly, when you can't even look in the manual to see you have a powertrain malfunction warning it doesn't show me a lot of care or attention.

 

Took the car to a repair shop. After 2 weeks they said they could not figure out the problem. Had it towed to the dealer (60 miles from me) total tow costs now are over $200. Dealer said it is an instrument pack (IP) malfunction. Nothing at all to do with the powertrain. The IP part is $900 and the cost to have it programmed at the factory (they put in the VIN and mileage) with install is another $600. I have never had a car with this type of problem or ever heard of it before. At this point I am seeing if the dealer wants to buy it. If not I guess I'll just bleed some more.