Two things this morning: when I did my last post (#59) the "EUREKA" post wasn't there, even though the time stamp is almost two hours earlier. And the pictures didn't come through. WTF !? My post would have been a lot different, as in Woo-Hoo !!!

There's a TSB out for those ducts, attached. The redesign prevents the ducts from collapsing. Google the duct part number AJ86925 and you'll get some pictures and where to buy. You can get all the part numbers from the TSB. I've found that Harper Jaguar has the best prices for "Genuine" Jag parts.

Hopefully you're going to do a rebuild on the SC (?) Or at least replace the snout bearings, rear rotor bearings, and the coupler. Those solid couplers don't do anything but create that rattle at idle. The main rotor bearings usually don't need to be replaced as they don't have the pressure on them like the snout bearings. However, the rotors might need replacing due to wear; they can get nicks and scratches as the tolerances between the rotors are pretty tight. The rears are needle bearings with grease in them, so they get gunked-up as the grease wears down. The last time I did a rebuild on the Eaton I put in a set of rotors from Highspeed Labs. Those worked out really well as the rotors are timed and fitted to the SC center plate. It's all pretty easy IF you have the pulley puller and a shop press. The Eaton that I rebuilt is now sitting in a storage room in with less than 10k miles on it. That $700 SC mentioned above probably has new snout and rear bearings, so for the same price you can have the one in the storage room. PM me if you're interested.

For the rest of the plan, if you're just going to replace the ducts between the SC outlet plate and intercoolers, you don't need to remove anything but the plates holding the ducts, when you get the new stuff. If it gets a little tight and you need to move the outlet plate, just unscrew it; no need to remove coolant or undo the hoses as it will easily move forward. I haven't had any problems with torquing the screws for that stuff, but yea, the TB needs to be out of the way to get to the screws. The TB can be unbolted and moved around some to create the space to get to the duct screws without removing anything else. My trick for easy R&R of the TB and intake elbow is to glue the gaskets on with Permatex Ultra Black. I've always removed the intake elbow when doing any SC work and give it a bath in some parts cleaner to get all the gunk and accumulated oil from the breathers and EGR out. According to wifey, I get somewhat meticulous with doing that stuff; she calls it "wasting time." I call it keeping things tidy.

I think we're all relieved that the problem has been solved and you'll be back sitting on the LA freeways soon!

 

I also call it "keeping things tidy"! hahaha
The engineers who design these things know infinitely more than I do about why they designed them in whatever specific ways, and I want things to work the way they should, so parts baths are definitely part of the play book! (Sadly I'm in an apartment now and no longer have access to a press or a big chest full of diesel cocktail to soak parts in

I was wondering in the back of my mind if the SC cover coolant hoses would be flexible enough to let the piece move out of the way enough... you've answered that so I'm grateful.
And how about those two gaskets at Harper for $88 each + tax & shipping?!? "How do you plan to craft raw composite rubber into this particular shape, sir? That's what I thought. That'll be ninety bucks, please."

Very thankful for you all - I will report back with my results!

 

You will also need the redesigned plates that hold those rubber ducts. The new ducts have a rib on the inside and the outer pieces of the plates have a groove that the ribs fit into. Obviously, this upgrade is a must; I did mine about 15 years ago when the cost was about $250 for all of the pieces.

I didn't realize that you're in an apartment. The last time I had an apartment, about 7 years ago, they didn't allow any maintenance on vehicles. I did a few things anyway that don't take too much time, like change out the front shock towers. Are you going to be able to get away with doing that fuel pipe? I don't think it can get out from under the SC without raising the front up a few inches and the TSTAT/Crossover pipe will be in the way, so it will need to come off. That means some coolant drainage. I don't think that it can be maneuvered under the SC with the sound insulation pad in there. Maybe someone else can chime in on that.

 

Well my friends, that gasket was the thing. I used a helicoil to repair the thread that was weak, buttoned everything down (the plate now crimps the gasket lip in place as it was supposed to) and it fired right up and drives around as if nothing ever happened.

So we can all add "check for SC gasket air leaks" to the list of thoughts when someone has 8 cylinders misfiring and both banks O2 sensors reporting too lean.

That was two and a half weeks of drama :\ And I don't think I would've survived it without all of you.

@hispeed42 yeah, I'm really good friends with the building managers so they do let me get away with some stuff. I spent a full Saturday & Sunday 4 months ago ripping the entire top of my kid's 2007 Lincoln TC engine off, to replace the intake manifold - which are plastic and all crack on that model/series. They even gave me an unused double space for the weekend that was near enough to outlets so I could plug in lights & stuff. I did my fuel pumps down there; I siphoned all my gas out from the open tank last week; replaced fuel filters twice -- so mid-sized jobs like pulling the SC and replacing the fuel pipe are no big deal. To recondition the SC myself, on the other hand... Not possible. No bench, no press, no vice.

Now that I know how simple it is to replace the SC tube gaskets, not needing to drain coolant or anything crazy, I'm going to be doing that as soon as I can get the parts here. And Jaguar Heaven did have the fuel pipe as you suggested so that's gonna be all set, too.

Much love and blessings to everyone here for the time and thought invested in helping me get back on the road!!

Garrison

 

Sounds good on the repairs. If you want to get rid of that SC rattle, replace the coupler while you have the SC out. It's pretty easy and the only specialty tools needed are torx sockets and a rubber/plastic hammer. I have a new OEM coupler that I won't be needing; if you want it PM me.