I purchased a 97/ XJ6 4.0 Jag this past Saturday. I must say I love the car already but I have a few questions and problems I'm looking to start working on. Let me first start out by saying I love working on cars, I owned a 2000 Impala for 10 years because I loved that body and how smooth it rode. I did most of the repairs and enjoyed working on her. With my new jag I'm so looking forward to working on it and changing things as they go bad, I know that the better you treat the car the longer she will be around.

So what is the best gas, Plus? Premium? Shell? Chevron? What are your opinions?

I was able to open the trunk on Saturday when I bought the car, but I pressed the valet button in the middle console and now it won't open. Also, the valet switch didn't stay one side or the other, so how do you turn it off? With the key release on the trunk?

there is a sound coming from the front driver's side, doesn't make it all the time but I think it might be in need of new tires. Any idea of what else the sound might be?

Thanks for all of your help and I will defiantly post my solutions to the problems.

Cheers

 

Sir, I believe it is petrol you are talking about, right? Because I don't think that gas installations are that popular in the US of A
Well, then, get yourself one of Andy's brackets, he just had a new batch made, and then pour nice 97 octane (at least). And don't buy some cheap supermarket urine, just proper petrol
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...nigines-66536/

And then have a read through some of those links here

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...t-s-b-s-27318/

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...k-links-20088/

And don't panic, there's always solution to everything. Just stay calm, and wait patiently, there's always someone willing to answer your questions or point you in the right direction

 

You can still run youre jaguars on 95RON fuel (equivalent to 90 pump octane in the US) after fitting one of my brackets. If you don'ty have one of my brackets then there is no advantage in using a highe roctane fuel. I can't comment on brands of fuel.

Your noise could be a lower front damper bush. Other customer report that these wear out. It would help if you could be a bit more specific about the noise.

 

Thanks XJ Rengineer...I will do some more trouble shooting and let you know what I come up with.

So any 90-91 octane fuel should work well? Or would a 87 octane fuel work just as well?

 

Would there be any noticeable advantage to running higher than the 90-92 octane with your bracket? I found a place only 5 minutes down the road that serves up 100. I'm willing to spend the extra dollars if it makes a difference in any way.

 

This subject comes up all the time an solicits all sorts of responses similar to 'what's the best beer'.

With respect to one brand over another in terms of quality, there's no real difference one to another. Choose your own favourite, the car itself couldn't care less. All gasoline has sufficient additives to keep the engine clean despite advertising claims of fresher breath, regrowth of lost hair or promises of bikini clad supermodels draped on the hood.

As for octane ratings- be aware that North America has a different rating system than the rest of the world. The owners handbook generally uses the RON rating system and may state that 95 or higher be used on your car. 95 RON is equivalent to 91 AKI that we have here.

If you want to use less than recommended octane levels, this in itself is a subject of much contention. Debating guns laws might be simpler and less emotional.

 

Regarding octane, I'm half a tank in this week wth 89 and so far no knocking or other issues. I use 93 normally but the LCD screen at the 93 pump was blank, and with rising gas prices this month in the US who knows how much I'd have been charged for a 93 filling. So I just went with the mid-grade 89 and it has been uneventful.

95 XJ6

 

I alternate between 89 and 93 octane, filling at the half tank. Discussions abound, just use the search function. There is some data that indicates higher detergent level in major brands vs. cheaper fuels.

The noise from the front, is it a grinding sound or a clunk? The front wheel bearings might be bad, or just need adjusting. The sway bar links and bushings should probably be replaced if they do not look new, an inexpensive and easy fix.

Get the bracket from XJRengineer, a very simple mod.

If you need a factory repair manual you will find the Jaguar Heritage CD on ebay for $15.

 

HA! Too true. Worse even than "which oil?"

Aside: The other day I overheard an old timer refer to high octane fuel as "Ethyl". Haven't heard that term in years.

My dad used to call it "High Test".

Speaking of my dad, he was one the people who positively swore that his car did everything better when he (needlessly) used "Hi Test". It not only ran like a million bucks but the paint was shinier and the radio sounded better and....well...all was just right with the world when he sprung for "Hi Test".

The dear old guy...who was I to argue? If using high octane fuel made him feel that much better, well, what a bargain, eh? Shoot, the world might be a better place for all humanity with more "Hi Test" in our tanks.

Cheers
DD

 

I remember that too, as well as the old joke about heading down to the gas station to 'pump Ethyl'. I knew a girl named Ethyl at the time, somehow she didn't think it was funny in the least.

The myths and misunderstanding of gasoline are many. The changeover of the octane rating system here in the late 70s from RON to AKI still causes many to believe that gasoline was better in the good old days.

 

If you run an AJ16 engined Jaguar on anything less than 91 pump octane ((RON+MON)/2) and you can't hear it knock, then it probably means the knock control system that I helped to develop, is doing its job and retarding the ignition timing of any cylinder than knocks, until it stops.

 

I know its not octane related but I have been adding 1.9ML per litre of TC-W3 ash-less 2 stroke outboard oil to every litre of fuel
I had first been using it in my diesel engined Grand Cherokee made a phenomenal difference so started using it in my 4 stroke vehicles I.E. my motorbikes and Jaguar in the Jaguar the engine always had a slight rough idle its so smooth now my mate reckons he could stand a 50 cent coin on the engine he also said the exhaust note changed to a deeper tone
I had been reading about it on the LS 1 forum and thought what the heck I will try it works very well with ethanol fuels apparently in the US they are adding or plan to add ethanol to all fuels
We are going the same way here in Australia here is the LS1 forum link to what this guy has Been testing its gotten more pages since I last read it so ill be reading all the new comments tonight

I still use 98 octane fuel as Andy has remapped my computer but adding the TC-W3 makes me feel a lot better about the coming of ethanol that's for sure

 

Let me calm your fears. Most of North America has been using E10 fuel for 20-30 years, and actual documented cases of poor running or damage attributed to the ethanol are almost unheard of. I don't know of anyone that doctors their fuel with any additive, especially 2 stroke lubrication oil, nor can I imagine how it could achieve any of the benefits mentioned.

I'm no supporter of these fuels- what a political boondoggle- but I'm not going to allow ignorance, fear or internet rumour influence my technical decisions either.

If there is a concern, it might be with fuel system components that are not compatible with ethanol. Although cars are pretty much isolated from this, some garden or similar small engines were built until recently with poor quality fuel lines that turn hard and fracture with the fuel. Easy enough to replace.

Just my 2 cents, do what makes you feel is best for your car.

 

I started to make an input to the gas octane rating that I use and then decided not to. That subjece is like starting WWIII.

 

That's the beauty of these forums you get lots of different inputs opininions and ideas
my XJR has 242.000 k,s on the clock and anything that is going to make the engine live longer ill try you will know by the way the car behaves if its good for it or bad
I personally will be using the TC-W3 oil in all my engines I even use it in my scooter traffic buster she runs sweet as and its not just 2 stroke oil its got to be TC-W3 rated its the additive pack in the TC-W3 you want
As for ethenol fuel whatever they say its rubbish Ill continue to use normal fuel or as normal as possible
I had a costly repair a few years ago in my 2000 model transit van due to ethanol fuel took it to the mechanic he couldn't fix it had to take it to the ford dealer went back 9 times in the end it was the crappy ethanol fuel it had corroded the fuel lines fuel rail and injectors I also had problems with my 80 450SL using ethanol fuel
the guys in the know at the time suspected because of the extremely high humidity and heat as well as constant raining here in summer had something to do with it
I just switched to regular fuel check my brands even rang a few oil company,s helplines to figure out who has ethanol in there fuel so I can make an educated choice
Rememebr our x300,s are getting old now the way my engine feels at 240.000 k,s its just getting run in (LOL)

 

Yes, ethanol in the presence of water is corrosive. It is mentioned in studies done by the fuel tranport industry. That is, pipeline operators, fuel depot operators and industry suppliers.

 

I believe there is a sticker around the filler that says "premium fuel only" isn't there? Certainly the car was designed to use 91 AKI fuel. Can you get away with less? Certainly, if you understand how an engines octane needs vary. Generally speaking, octane need is reduced by elevation and temperature, so if you regularly drive at 5000' elevation in the middle of winter at -40 you don't need as much octane as Florida in July.

If you use lower octane at sea level, the knock sensors will just retard the timing and the engines overall efficiency drops. Sure, you can use regular but your mpg will drop. I've no idea if the increased fuel usage balances the higher cost of premium, that breakeven point will depend on your driving, weather conditions and fuel prices.

The best fuel is that which is designated Top Tier. See Top Tier Gasoline

That being said, a friend of mine used to be a bigwig in a major Canadian oil company, and his daughter is a chemist for another oil company and she works in formulating gasoline. She says that Shell is the best in the industry for having the cleanest burning gasoline. And no, she doesn't work for Shell.

 

That would be pretty much what XJRengineer was alluding to when he states that the ecm will pull advance as it was designed to do. The result of that of course is a commensurate reduction in power production and gas mileage. (edit: as you state in your second paragraph)

 

Several years okay, but 20-30 years is a real stretch. The legislative history for North American jurisdictions starts somewhere around 2007 as far as I can determine.

Now, a couple of actual documented cases of damage attributed to ethanol by the manufacturers themselves:

Must read 07 08 ls460 recall (ethanol and fuel rails) - Club Lexus Forums

Ethanol leads to recall of some Lexus models
Notice that these are not "old" cars which is the common escape clause used by ethanol proponents.

Defect Investigations Results | Safercar.gov | NHTSA

Again, not an "old" vehicle.

The problem found in the Hyundai investigation is eerily similar to the multiple fuel pump replacements experienced by a number of later Jaguar XK models using the returnless fuel system. One member has had six fuel pump replacements in the last couple of years.

Before someone wails that the two cases are somehow about E85, no ... they are specifically about the common E10.

When multiple manufacturers admit to problems with ethanol, with credible defect analysis and it carries the concurrence of NHTSA, any assertion to the contrary had better be based on credible, detailed analysis. Just saying "it ain't so" carries no weight whatsoever to an informed reader. No amount of hand waving, smoke and mirrors changes the facts and real life experience.

++

 

My owners manual says E10 is fine for my 1995 Jag. And, after 140k miles, it appears to be true. So it looks like Jaguar might've done their homework, at least as far as E10 goes.

Perhaps recall-plagued Hyundai and Toyota shoulda done a bit more research before choosing materials? Just like BMW and Jaguar should've done before using Nikasil? Tsk, Tsk. These car guys. Always shifting blame

I won't say that ethanol *can't* cause a problem. But I also can't say that ethanol *will* cause a problem. After all, let's not forget the many....probably the vast majority, actually....who have no problems at all.

Shoot, in my neck of the woods we've had only E10 for umpteen years......certainly wayyyy before 2007. After all, my 1995 owners manual specifically mentions the use of E10 fuel, as I said above. I wanna say it became common up here in the late 90s.

The youngest car in my family is 9 year old. The oldest is 24. All have well over 100k miles...one approaching 200k. All have had a virtually constant diet of E10 fuel. Nary a single fuel pump failure, or leaky fuel pipe, or any fuel related problems that I can think of.

(I take that back. My brothers '89 Chevy did suffer a pump failure a couple years ago. Nowdays I'm quite sure many would gleefully blame the failure on E10 fuel. Maybe so. Or maybe it just died of old age....22 years. I dunno. What I DO know is that laying on a wet driveway in 33ºF weather, rain pouring down, dropping the fuel tank, is misery! )

I won't entirely discount the ethanol horror stories but, when forming an opinion, I have to take my own actual "real life" experiences (which are factual) into account as well. A combined total of about 700k miles with no apparent fuel problems...save one pump which was 22 years old, cause of failure not determined....makes it difficult for me to get too hot and bothered about E10 fuel, even while I concede that there is at least a kernal of truth to the tales of woe.

Cheers
DD