Hello jagforums,
I have a somewhat unusual problem with my X-Type 2003 2.5L; both exhausts do not smoke at all which sounds like an amazing thing but the downside is, i can also smell fuel through those pipes instead. There's no soot whatsoever in the tailpipes and I don't get the torque expected of a V6 engine. Engine vibrates a little at cold starts.

Any clues as to where to look first? I'm pretty comfortable working around engines.
Thanks in advance for every advice that comes.

Regards.
worried jaguar owner.

 

Onielle, first off, if you are seeing/smelling this when the car is first started, then this is normal. The engine is run rich and you will get a small amount of fuel coming out of the exhaust in that case. This is especially true because the catalytic converters need to be warm to properly handle the unburnt fuel. So, if this is the case, your car is working just like it should.

Now, if you have been driving the car for say 30 minutes and this is the case, then the first check I would do is to get an IR thermometer and check the temp of the 2 catalytic converters. A local shop should know what is good and bad. But, they should be up around 900F. If you find them running cold (this is relative here), then yes, you can have a problem. Kinda like you may also find that they are going to be running very hot (may even start to have a red glow to the metal). This would indicate a plugging of the catalytic converter, which would also explain the loss of power. This is where you can try removing the catalytic converters and soaking them in some citric acid. This will help clean out the internals and not damage the sensitive metal inside the cat. I am not suspecting a bad O2 sensor as that should be causing some error codes to show up (you don't mention any codes or the check engine light).

Lets start here and then see what we have.

 

Thanks Thermo.
You are always a big help.
I'd get the engine warm enough and get the cat convertors checked.

Will keep you posted on results.

Cheers Champ!

 

UPDATE!

Dear Thermo,
I had two O2 sensors and all Six plug coils replaced.
Now my car is running like i just picked it up from the showroom.

Thanks for your assistance.