Here's what I know... (98 Xk8 198k)
 

OK I've got a few days off and I want to get this beast rolling...
Here is what I know about the car...
I bought an xk8 high miles and not running. I guy I got it from only had it a couple months... and the guy he got it from had it about 6 months... The man I bought the car from didnt even know what a come-a-long was so not sure this was a project he needed anyway. Got a car fax (F-I-L works at a dealership)(see attached) the car has had about 3k miles put on it since 2012. so it has ran recently but I dont know just how recently. I was told the car needed a fuel pump (I did that right away) and that the "main" computer had been changed recently and a jag mechanic had programed it. (I have the OEM computer as well.) and that is all I know from the previouse owner...

I have had a chance to mess around with the car a bit and have learned a few things. I'm prety sure the battery is bad, and will be replacing that Monday. If the battery in NOT bad there is something drawing a current enough to kill the battery to the point it's down to 10 volts or so in a few days. I changed the fule pump hopped in the car and NOTHING... ok.. 98.. Naskil engine... so I went to pull the spark plugs... plug wells full of oily water... dried that our before I pulled the plugs. few shots of oil, woth out the plugs in it I gave it a spin, then shot a little more oil and a squirt of starter fluid into the cylinders. turned it over and it fired ~ a little. but no fuel pumping from the new fuel pump... I gave it an alternate power source and I can hear fuel running through the throttle body and back into the tank and there is pressure at the schrader valve but I dont think the injector are firing and not sure about the coil packs.

Also some time while changing the fuel pump I picked up a trans fault and it wont shift out of park no without sticking a screwdriver down the hole by the J-gate and releasing the lock out. Obvously two things happened... I disconnected the battery and I jacked it up... electronic or physical? I also picked up a slew of other faults when I reconnected the battery... (see attached video)

there is also no coolant in the resivor, but the oil doesn't look milky so I'm not suspecting a blown headgasget. I have not filled it to see where a leak may be, I've been on 12 hour night shifts so I haven't had much time to tinker.

So I pick up a new battery tomorrow and I got my multi-meter out of storage today... ready to get busy... I've got three days off and want to be productive. Oh and I need to pick up a compression tester that will reach down the plug wells.

Any other advice??

Pull off cam covers and see if the tensioners are plastic (orange) or metal. Hopefully metal and all in one piece. Going forward without that knowledge could be a giant waste of time. Change your fuel filter and add coolant....these guys can overheat fatally very quickly. Sounds like a fuel issue if she fired on starter fluid. Good luck!

+1 pull the cam covers and make sure the flats line up before going any further. If they check out, battery is next.

You don't want thrill of victory (car stars purring and idles perfect) followed by the agony of defeat (tensioner breaks and valves make fast friends with pistons) I have lived that bad dream.

Oily water in the cylinders can mean but one thing..blown head gasket. Water cools the engine, pases by the cylinders on its way to circulate and cool the heads. A blown head gasket allows the water to pass over to the cylinders, into the oil passages, blah blah blah. No worry, all is not lost. Life did get harder for the car, but it can be fixed. Get a manual, get a torque wrench, get some gaskets and a camera for lots-o-pictures lest ye get lost. Then friday night send the kids and wife out of the garage and lock yourself in for a weekend-o-swearing....we're here for ya buddy...

Marvin,
the good news is that the water and oil weren't in the cylinders... it was in the spark plug wells before i pulled the plugs out.

You bought a non-running performance car of a complex nature.....You are an optimist-good! Get a wiring diagram and get familiar with it. Get teh workshop manual in some form. It will show you the fuel control system, that will help you get to things in the right order. Once the battery is in, if it will turn over, do a compression test. If this is good, you have a step in the right direction. Fill up the coolant, don't run the engine without known coolant! Track down the fuel pump problem. I would start with the pump relay. Be sure the inertia switch is not thrown. The ECM regulates the fuel pump, so it could be suspect. The shifting could be related to the battery, there is a solenoid that activates when the brake is pressed to unblock the shifter. Pull any codes in the memory, it may give some clues. Get a code reader that reads everything so you can get the ABS codes, that will help with the trac control messages.

:) I am an optomist... my Lotus was purchased in non-running order as well... and 39 LaSalle was in boxes...

this link is the thread from the last few days...

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...p-fuse-115361/

Thanks!