I'm really not in a good frame of mind right now. I just picked up my car from the mechanic who installed my thermostat tower, thermostat, and crossover pipe. The car now runs like crap!

When he had it all apart he told me I needed intake manifold gaskets (8) and an o-ring kit. He also suggested that I replace the heater hoses since he had it all apart -- yes, I agree that's a good idea, the problem was that I was supposed to go on vacation today and was going to drive this car. So, he suggested that since the parts weren't available until next week, and since I needed the car today, that he reuse the old gaskets. I agreed.

Now the car throws 12 codes -- misfires on all 8 cylinders (P0300-P0308), plus P1316 and P0340 and P03341.

Now I can't take this car on my trip -- I'm not a happy camper. It runs so poorly that I thought it was going to die at the stop light on the way home. The mechanic did warn me about this rough idle and demostrated it to me before I paid for the work. It didn't seem to be so bad in the garage, and it didn't show any CEL in the garage.

So, I guess you live and learn. I should've just paid him the $900 he wanted for the gaskets, o-rings and heater hoses and delayed my trip until next weekend, but since I found them for $199 from Welsh Enterprises, I ordered them myself and they won't be here until late next week or early the following week. I was hoping to drive this car 1,500 miles this weekend to my second home, park it, wait for the parts, and then get it fixed before coming back home in about three weeks or so. I have another car at the other house that I can drive while I'm waiting for parts and getting them installed, so that's not a problem.

Sorry for the long rant, I'm really upset.

QUESTION: Would you drive your car when it's showing those 12 codes? I'm going to guess the answer is no, but chime in, please!

Thanks for listening!

Mike

BTW I'm not postponing my vacation -- I'm going to drive a relative's 2003 S-Type -- it's a great ride, but not as great as my 2003 XJ8! I just have to wait until I get back at the end of the month to get the car fixed. That bugs me!

 

OldMike - I am sorry to hear of your misfortune and understand your being upset. It is clear that your car was not re-assembled correctly. I would not start or drive the car anywhere. You should immediately notify the mechanic that there are now 12 codes showing and ask how the mechanic plans to correct the problems.

If you drive the car you risk destroying the catalytic converters or far worse.

 

Thanks for the advice, I won't be driving it. It's going to sit in my garage until I get back from vacation -- I have to leave tomorrow morning so I won't have time to deal with the car until I get back later this month.

BTW I did call the mechanic and told him about the codes -- he said it was because it needs a new gasket set, he reused the old gaskets and now there's a leak -- that's what he told me. I don't know enough to second guess him, so for now I have to assume he's right. I have the gasket set on order but won't be able to get it installed until I get back.

 

Mike
Did the mechanic show you where the intake manifold is leaking?
Update: I guess I did not read rocklandjag post about the CATS exhaust system possibilities.
If it is really leaking then I agree and I would not use the car until the problem is fixed.

Maybe you can use the following info, if you still are having issues after the leak is resolved.
I am not sure, but you might try a hard reset.
Here is a weblink to comments from another hard reset post by forum member brutal, supersport and other members:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...d-reset-38112/

Look at post# 13, then #47, #48, and #49 in that hard reset thread.

Jim Lombardi

 

Sorry Mike. This is a bummer. There is no "half way" with these cars, and by being in the industry for far too long,....I don't trust ANYONE. I NEED to work on my own cars because of my mistrust of all mechanics, and service departments. I had so many confrontations with "service department managers" since I left the industry in the late 90s, that the ONLY way for me is to DIY.
I understand if you can not do it, but mixing "your parts" and "their labor", just invites problems. I've seen it MANY times when they return the car to the customer, and say "sorry, we did our part, it's your substandard parts", and they refuse ANY responsibility.
I hope you get this resolved. It's not a BIG problem per se, but I wouldn't drive it either, untill she purrs again.

 

The problem wasn't my substandard parts it was the lack of parts -- I needed the gaskets and o-rings but didn't have them so he reused the old ones on my insistence. My fault, I know.

I tried the hard reset and it worked - sort of. After doing the hard reset, I let it idle for a few minutes. It settled down (the idle) and so I took it for a drive. Drove slowly, not pushing it hard. I went back to the mechanic, he put his code reader on it and it showed that it was running lean. Plus it still showed the P0340 and P0341 codes -- I erased the codes after doing the hard reset, so these were new codes.

I drove it some more, was VERY happy. Loved it, figured it would be fine to drive to Wisconsin. Stopped for a short dinner and when I came out, the car was hard to start -- lots of cranking. It finally fired up and the CEL is on. I drove home and then I got the restricted performance message. It stuttered on slight acceleration. I don't have time to worry about it now, but it sure sucks!

I'll be leaving it at home and won't be able to get back to it until the end of the month.

As I've said before - this is all my fault. I should've left it alone. The only good thing is that the coolant leak was truly coming from a crack in the thermostat tower - so that should be fixed! When I get back at the end of the month, I'll have the gaskets and o-rings replaced.

BTW The mechanic also said I should get the PCV hose that runs from near the front of the manifold to the rear of the engine. Any idea what the part number is for that?

Thanks, as always! I surely appreciate the help I get on this site. I'm confident that this car will be back up and running next month -- almost tempted to cancel my vacation and stay home to take care of it, but I just really need a vacation! LOL

 

Anytime you collect oil, water, anti freeze etc on the coil and spark plugs it will run
very rough. Fix it before driving it will save you $$$. I've have to remove the coil
cover and clean oil out of the spark plug holes to get the car to run. Some pretty
minor things can make it run really bad.

 

Mike
The PCV hose might be either the Heater Feed hose or the Heater Return hose or some other hose.

There is a TSB 303-48 on replacing these 2 hoses and although the TSB shows model years for X308 (XJ) 1998 and 1999 - it info actually covers 1998 thru 2003 of the XJ models.

To view the illustrations for the hoses - look at page 2 for the Heater Feed hose (part# NCA3945CD) and page 3 for the Heater Return hose (part# NNE3946CA) in the TSB PDF file.

Here is the TSB 303-48 PDF file:
attachments/xj-x308-xj8-xjr-27/37819d1364613479-t-s-b-s-303-48am-coolant-leakage-heater-hoses-pdf

Jim Lombardi

 

I did this job on my XJ8 today. The faster/easier route is to lift the intake manifold out of the way- I chose to make a tool that would unbolt the rear tower bolts without disturbing the manifold. (READ: snapped an 8mm box end wrench)

I imagine he removed (or just lifted and attempted to reseat) the manifold and the gaskets either weren't salvageable or didn't seat correctly. Definitely gonna need to R&R the intake. Do yourself a favor and replace the two coolant pipes running below the manifold while you are at it. Matter of fact, clean out the throttle body too.

 

Are the coolant pipes you refer to the heater hoses? If so, I have that covered (parts on order!), if not let me know so I can order even more parts. Throttle body was cleaned not too long ago.

I'm confident (hoping) that the problem stems from removing the manifold and replacing it without using new gaskets. If not, then something went terribly wrong!

 

The shame of it all is, as dsnyder586 says, is that your mechanic caused the problem by lifting the intake manifold. Lots of us have replaced the coolant tower with a crowsfoot or a bent box wrench or a ground socket. While an 8mm crowsfoot is a little hard to find here in the colonies it is what Jaguar specifies to remove the tower.

 

I don't see how the screw would even come out without removing the manifold. My back screws were under the front edge of the manifold. I didn't see how my mechanic did it, but I do know that he removed the manifold. Oh well, what's done is done, now it's a matter of getting it fixed so I can drive it again. Right now I'm 1,000 miles into a 1,500 mile trip and the XJ8 is sitting in garage at home. I won't be able to do anything with it until I get back -- unless I figure out a way to get the car and the parts to my mechanic while I'm on vacation -- now that's an idea! LOL


As for the PCV hose, I know I posted a photo of my engine but I can't find it -- getting too old, I guess, must not have hit the right buttons! So, I'll post it here -- this photo was not taken as part of this project but it shows the part that I'm trying to identify - it's the connector right above the red dipstick handle in this photo.

 

That's the part load breather tube, easy to break when it gets brittle with age.

 

On a side note- HOW do you keep your engine so CLEAN?

 

Hi OldMike,
Very sorry to hear about what happened to your Jaguar. Enjoy your vacation. Let us know how it goes when you get back.

 

I live in FL -- not much of a mess down there! I also wipe it down every time I wash my car - which is quite often!

The part load breather -- will have to find one -- could that be causing some or all of my problems?

 

It could certainly contribute if it's allowing air in.

 

How difficult is it to replace? Seems like a lot easier than removing the manifold and doing the gaskets.

 

AJ8004880 breather tube $29 on CAR PARTS DISCOUNT Auto Parts Stores & Online Warehouse
They break. Get a spare. I can personally attest to the fact that it will
run poorly if cracked. I just keep extra's of all the plastic lines around
just in case.

 

Will order that hose right away, thanks!