Ok in late July I had a crash course with double glass doors in my XJ8L (literally)due to a loose floor mat. Car ran great I was just taking my time locating the best shape body parts. I made sure to crank it & let it run, getting on & off the throttle for several minutes once a week.

Well today my last shipment of parts arrive, low & behold I go to crank the car it shows light grey or white smoke from the exhaust w/ a faint smell of fuel. 5-7 minutes later after a heavy foot throttle push there's a rough return to idle then I get the dreaded "RESTRICTED PERFORMANCE" light.

Side note : (124,000 pampered miles) I checked all fluids often after crash, all were fine as were the belt & fan) nothing but body damage. Parked July 26th w/ nearly full tank of premium gas.

The hood/bonnet does have a bigger than normal gap/opening(due to the dent) & it has been raining torrentialy here for a while now. I'm wondering if something got wet underneath there ?!

After hunting down all the parts & paying for shipping cross country, I'd really hate to give this gem up but if this light is the harbinger of major engine repair. I just don't know lol.

I swear this is a reality comic strip, as it waits until the day I get my last body part lol.

Going to let it dry out, & see what happens then get the codes scanned if they are still there.

 

Keep your head up and don't let it get you down! You complete the comic strip and don't let the situation dictate it's completion! Good luck.

 

Indeed, I'm almost convinced it's rain related.

 

Able to read any codes? My xj8 was in an accident earlier in its life (former owner) and under my ownership I eventually got a "restricted performance" that ended up being related to a knock sensor (replaced myself cheap and easy). Now, the fact you have smoke and gas smell wouldn't directly relate to a knock sensor failure - but code reading would help. Any chance water got into the gas tank during the rain? The gas filling / cap "housing" drain is prone to clogging and it can easily and quickly fill up. I have heard of water infiltration from such area. Now, while these cars should have a rain resistant DNA (speaking about UK ;-) sure enough it doesn't react well to water is places it's not supposed to reach. Good luck and chin up!

Cheers

 

No codes yet, it's supposed to be sunny the next 2 days, first sun in weeks lol. Going to open up the hood & let it get direct sun for a few hours, If it isn't cleared I'll have them pulled.

 

Don't give up yet. If you are going to keep this car, you must have an OBD reader. They are cheap to buy, and can provide information to enable the forum to help you.
Here is a link to OBD readers that work for Jaguars.
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/g...oved-**-33347/
Your problem is most likely a poor electrical connection, the reader will point you in the right direction

 

Well I let the car go earlier this year due to my regular body guy grew ill & I didn't trust any other. So I sold it to a so-called "enthusiast" actually from the UK. He agreed to restore it as I sold it with every single part needed to repair then give me first shot @ re-buying it when done. Well 6 months later I see him zipping around town in a still wrecked car (scratches head) lol.

Last night I found a mint 1998 XJ8, the mileage kind of spooked me but he has completely done everything to engine & tranny w/ paperwork. It's BRG & gorgeous I may pull the trigger on it soon & rejoin the Jaguar clan lol.

 

Do it.

 

+1

 

Wheel bearing, lower ball joints, control arm bushings, rear brake lines, oil pan leak... Trams leaking next with blue solenoids

 

Well my prospective "mint" XJ8's owner turned out to be a flake w/ multiple personalities & a bad memory so that deal's off lol. But our very own mcm97 has enlightened me that his meticulously cared for cat is on the market. We may just keep it in the forum family lol.

 

I found another 2000 w/ tranny & all timing hot-spots addressed even has some remaining warranting on the upgrades !












So far operational wise only things I've noticed is that the brakes are not as responsive as should be, so I'm getting those checked out this week.


Creature comfort-wise, I get no tones for turn signals & lights etc. so I gather the steering column speaker has some issues. Being the paper coned door speakers have seen 15 years of southern US sun & heat I'm getting all those replaced/upgraded as one is developing the irritating rattle of death lol. So I'll have the audio guy check the sterring speaker while he's in there. I also plan on deep conditioning the leather & re-dyeing the scuffed areas. Anyone have any experience on doing the air bag cover portion of the steering wheel as that's discolored & bothering me lol.

For what I paid for this & having all the paperwork from the upgrades seeing what it cost the last owner, I feel ecstatic lol !

So I am back in black, err BRG lol !

 

It looks a peach, good score by the sound of it, well done Charles

 

I'm getting some creaks & rattles from the rear section whilest driving, I'm hoping when I have the wheel sensors cleaned & tires balanced it will remedy a lot of it. Because there is definitely a slight wobble going on with rear end. Going to have someone else drive it so I can sit back there & track down the sound.

 

Oil change : Done today
Rear Differential oil : Checked & looked good
Windshield replaced : Safelite due this weekend
Headliner : Wed. next week
Audio : Wed. next week
ABS/Trac warning : Diagnostics Tomm. morning
Wheel balancing : Doing after ABS diagnostics, as I plan to have them clean the wheel sensors while they have them off. Hopefully kill multiple birds with one stone lol.