I hope someone can help me out here.Im working on a 1985 xj6 with 27000 original miles.This car has been in a heated garage its whole life.Out of nowhere when i took it out for its annual service it started skipping like crazy and my mechanic told me it has no compression in the number 2 cylinder.They didnt want to dig into it because they are not well versed in jaguar motors.where do i start? it sounds to me maybe a valve stuck open?I have experience in older american engines but not these.one jag mechanic i took it to said they did a leak down test and the air was going from cylinder 2 to cylinder4 ?? they wanted to rebuild the engine so i went and got it .thanks for any help

 

As you say sounds like a sticking valve. I recently pulled an engine from a 71 XJ6 that had been sitting for some years. No compression on 2 & 3 cylinders. Turned out the inlet valves were moving but not quite closing. I would remove the inlet cam then the bucket tappet, and try to get some form of lubricating fluid into No 2 valve stem. Inlet valves have a stem seal whereas exhaust do not. Whether this leads them to stick more easily, I could not say.