Then there's my engine, which hadn't run at all, just a half second fire and die situation.
Personally I will avoid moving the car around the driveway, because if it happens again, I'm looking at two hours to get it going and reassembled.
I have no shortage of cars, but heaven help the man who only has the Jag. I had a plane to catch that morning, so the VW was pressed into service.

 

Rob:
Could you clarify your case for me, please? You said you used the "Jaguar method" to try and restart, I believe, but I never really understood which method you meant. Did you floor the accelerator, then attempt to crank, while holding the pedal down?
Thanks

 

Sparkenzap;
Yes, that's what I did, as per the method listed in the XK8 FAQ section. However, it did nothing other than heat up my starter, and flatten my battery. The sound of the engine cranking never changed, and it would not fire at all.

 

I am so pleased that you got it started and the information on my page helped. It is often hard to distinguish between what works and what does not on the internet. Please take time to read my page on the cause of the cylinder washing this information may help to prevent it from taking place again. Good fuel presentation is one of the key factors in preventing cylinder washing. The other is the use of thicker oil or Restore to the oil. Restore is not listed on my page because it was not tested but recommended by Brutal. It was tested on Nikasil and it is everything Brutal said it would be.

 

Flooring the accelerator pedal did squat for the XJ8 we picked up. ('97, 175k, orignal nikasil lump)

Pull the fuel pump fuse in the boot and crank for 30 secs. It'll usually go.

If really wet, pull the plugs, pull the fuel fuse, dry plugs (thoroughly), refit and crank. It'll go.

 

Hello Gus,
what should the compression cylinder readings be for a 1999 XJ8 VDP 4.0 non-aspirated engine? Should be the fuel pump be disengaged for each cylinder test?

Thank you

<<<Mathew>>>

 

I would say 150 +/- a few would be OK. I would pull the fuse on the fuel pump and remove all plugs this removes fuel and spark from interfering.

 

Matthew, why are you doing a compression test?
Do you have a starting problem?

 

Thanks Ya'll for all the cylinder wash information. Just had my first "wash" last week. I was afraid to add the oil because of the dispute between two of the several "top dogs", even though I had not been lead down a single wrong road yet...so I added the oil, AFTER:

1. Testing for fuel (shrader valve on the rail, noise at the pump),
2. Then spark (pulled one coil/plug, grounded plug to engine with wire and secured plug to coil rubber thing),
3. Didn't test compression because the car was running the day before (yes, I moved it without letting it warm up),
4. First I added a scaredy-cat amount of about 2 TEASPOON into each cylinder HAHAHAHAHAHAHA Cranked several times until my battery died
5. Installed a new battery
6. Pulled all the coils/plugs and pulled fuel pump relay in trunk
7. Took a clear rubber hose and stuck it into a quart of 10w40 oil ciphoned the oil up into the rubber hose. Put my thumb over the top of the hose to hold the oil in, then inserted the hose down into the spark plug hole and released my thumb - instant oil injection (as Gus said somewhere, about 1 TABLESPOON) into EACH cylinder.
8. Cranked the engine over about 5 seconds, then REPLACED the fuel pump relay in trunk.
9. Cranked the engine and it started right up with smoothest action of the engine since I've had the car and as an extra bonus that glorious blaze of white bellowing smoke from the exhaust that filled my garage LOL.

So - yes, this was a cheap fix, I was, however, afraid to add the oil ONLY because there was decent about using it. Adding the oil (about 1 tablespoon each) was, in my opinion, the practice that fixed the vehicle, the "official" method did NOT WORK FOR ME, and it caused me to have to buy a new battery. Had I just not been a baby and added the oil in the right quantity, I would have had this done in ONE day, not 4.

 

The concerns over adding oil to the cylinders are unfounded and without support. Kudos to you! On the road again.

 

I'm glad you got her going, Dan. This site has been a huge help to me as well.
After my problem I ran Seafoam in the tank, and added Restore to the Castrol 10/40 GTX.

Neither made any difference to how it runs, but I feel better.

I have not had any reoccurrence, but I am religious about letting it run a couple minutes, even if I'm just moving it out of the driveway. I've reduced my fleet by two, and now I need the Jag more than ever!

 

Here we go again. My son, (bless his heart) moved my car to the street so he could wash his. He then moved it back. This morning it only fired once or twice during the crank, and that was it.
Wish me luck, I'm off to get her going again.

 

One hour later, she's running. Removing the fuel relay didn't help. I decided to see if I could cheat and get away with it. I only pulled the left bank plugs, cleaned them, oiled the cylinders and gave it a whirl. She was pretty reluctant, but as before, around 80 or 90% throttle was where she'd fire.
I'm letting her warm up while I pack away the tools.........

 

Congrats.
It's always easier when you have done it before.

 

Kudos to you! On the road again.

 

Maybe I will get the injectors cleaned one day. Restore and Seafoam obviously hasn't cured the issue.

 

Not in your neighborhood, but I recommend SD Faircloth: Jaguar Fuel Injector Service

I had a wide range of flow rates going in and he was able to even them out with no replacements required.

His website is funky, I know, but he was very reasonable, communicative, and did a great job, with before and after documentation.

 

Get a can of BG 44K it works every time.

 

My experience with the starting concerns is basically it is usually a different resolution each time it happens. What I always tried first was the throttle modulation. All the way down was a "clear flood" mode. This would disable the fuel injectors. I would crank that way for a while then let off the pedal, this would allow a little bit of vacuum to build up then go to nearly wide open. That point that it wants to fire off. Usually this would get it going again with trying the pedal back and forth. The tough ones did require removing the plugs but since that is a tedious job, that was last resort. Sometimes even then some of those stubborn ones wouldn't run. those we would let sit overnight with the plugs out and let things dry out. Oiling the cylinders will not hurt anything. Coolant will. Oiling the cylinders is just remembering that there is only so much space the oil can go on full compression. Since liquids are incompressible, severe damage can occur if too much is put in. It looks like most of y'all have that under control. By the way, BMW had the same problem starting about 92 with the then new 2.5 I6 engine. It got better in 96 with the updated engine but still occurred. The BMW V8 was the worst with washout and many short blocks were replaced because the engines completely lost compression. This is NOT what Jaguar engines are dealing with. The best resolution, and you guys have figured it out, is to NEVER start and stop that engine. Let it run for a while and always keep the battery charged.
Just my thoughts from my experience.
Happy motoring.

 

This might help with understanding the situation Nikasil