Car: 2003 XKR supercharged 4.2L, 80,000 miles

Symptom: Gradual increase of raw fuel smell particularly when cold. Over a couple of weeks this just went from - Huuuh, I think I smell fuel to: Sh*t! Look at that leak!! I can barely see the dripping by looking under the charge air cooler, between the cooler and the top of the valve cover with a flashlight. At a cold start the left side fuel rail's pulsation dampener is dripping fuel on the head so bad its practically a stream!!!! - then within about 30 sec (when the engine idles down) it slows to a drip, drip, drip about once every 10sec.

Solution (possibility): I have seen by a couple of older posts that this is a problem that has cropped up on other's cars too. I did see a part number for the damper AJ84080 (about $40 but I don't know if that was for a 2003 model engine) and heard that the damper, like the injectors, is sealed to the fuel rail by O-rings. Perhaps I can just replace the O ring or rings and not have to replace the entire fuel rail. Anybody??

Huge Scary Problem: It appears as though, I can not get to the fuel rail or the damper (or injectors) WITHOUT TAKING THE ENTIRE TOP OF THE ENGINE OFF!!!! Is this the case !!!!! AaaaaaahhhhhHHHH!!! Off comes the Supercharger, Charge Air Coolers, Ten coolant hoses, $180 worth of gaskets and two days of work to get to the fuel rail??? Please tell me this isn't true... There HAS to be an easier way to repair such a seemingly simple problem. I saw that member "Tomcaticus" had the same problem (in Dec 2011) and had it repaired professionally a cost of 4 hours of labor - but I have a sneekin' suspicion Tom's XJ was not supercharged.

This one's a big one for a DIY guy like me, aint it?

Any help, ideas and/or commiserating would be appreciated...

-Max

 

JTIS, I fear, confirms your worst nightmare. Maybe someone has done this another way but it starts with
Remove Charge Air cooler,
and the first line of that section starts Remove supercharger.
Great engineering.
Without the supercharger it is an easy job.

 

What a great opportunity to swap to a TS ;-)

But seriously, it is a good opportunity to have the injectors professionally cleaned.

 

Yeah, Dreaming about what could be 500-600 HP after a new TS supercharger actually makes the inevitability of future hours bent over the fenders a bit more interesting and fun to think about - but, alas, in "todays economy" I pretty much know what's in store for me.... My best hope is that I fix the leak and get all the pieces put back together (with a bit of cleaning here and there) and my beauty runs well again.

I have the JTIS disk for my car - but it wont run AT ALL on any of the computers I have at hand - I work on MACs exclusively and we don't own a PC at home either.... Could one of you guys kindly transfer the sections for removal of the supercharger and charge air coolers to a .pdf for me. I can probably figure out how to do the job on my own, but the factory procedure is always helpful, right?

Avos, you have a good idea re: the injector cleaning - can you or anyone else point me toward a reputable, tried and true vendor in the states?

Does everyone recommend slotting that blasted bolt hole on the back of the SC to facilitate reassembly? Also, I presume replacing that nasty coolant hose under the supercharger would be advisable too, huh?

I'm getting into "my ZEN" by listening to soothing music and doing back exercises in preparation for this trial.

Thanks guys!

 

Have no direct experience my self with companies in the US, you may have a look here for the cleaning part, Brutal also recommends them:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-photos-70199/

 

Give me a moment and I'll sort out the JTIS pdf.
Edit - having looked at it you really need the illustrations not just the text and I don't know how to do that.
Graham ! Help !!

 

I've a PM notification from you which just opens your profile - no message.

Presumably it's about printing from JTIS?

Graham

 

Yes, I had a system crash when I pressed 'send' and JF must have lied to me about sending the message.

 

Is it Fuel Charging & Controls - Fuel Injection Supply Manifold section you want?

Too big a document for a forum attachment but I can put it on MediaFire for download.

Graham

 

It's section 303-12,
Removal + Installation
subsection 'Supercharger (18 50 16)'

 

Here it is:

JTIS - 2003 XKR Supercharger Outlet Pipe.pdf

Do you need the associated docs it references?

Graham

 

Graham,
Yes please OP will need the 18 50 15 section starting
Remove the throttle body.
Remove the exhaust manifold to exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve tube.
Remove the supercharger outlet pipe.
and going on for several days.....
En passant, as we might say, is it worth a JIC replacement of the knock sensor while he's got the chest cavity open?

 

It's 5.2mB and way over the forum attachment limit. I've put on my MediaFire account. It can be downloaded from this link:

Free Cloud Storage - MediaFire

That's certainly getting into the guts of the beast. Well worth a close inspection of the entrails otherwise hidden from view for any timely transplants.

Graham

 

Graham,
Thanks for the magik. I really hope I never have to do this.
Perhaps I should have bought a Morris Minor instead but when that engine growls......

 

Graham, Steve, Avos - You guys totally Rock! Thanks so much for your help on this.

I have said this before (last fall) when there was an outpouring of help from forum members when I had to dig my fuel pump out of the tank and replace it** - but I feel compelled to say it again:

I COULD NOT DRIVE THE CAR I CONSIDER THE BEST, COOLEST, AND MY FAVORITE WITHOUT THIS FORUM!

Thanks to all. I plan to start on the "project from hell" tonight. I'll report in on my progress.

** Why do so many of the repair projects on my Jags seem to take days to complete?

 

Well, I have the top of the engine taken off! That was a bit of a time consuming ordeal - but I just had to dive in and get too it. (It took me about 6 hours.)

I was able to get the injectors and rail off and they have been sent for cleaning and inspection to "InjectorRX" in Houston,TX.

As my luck would have it, In an attemp to find the leak, I pulled the system off the engine as a whole (leaving the injectors in place,) plugged the fuel inlet, added fuel until I felt the rails were entirely full and using schrader valve pressurized valve to 45psi. I found no leaks whatsoever!!!! What appeared to be a bad leak at one of the pressure dampers could NOT be found! I was pretty disillusioned... I hope InjectorRX finds the leak.

Anyway, while I have the "chest cavity" of my engine open - I thought it best to replace the inaccessible things that are libel to go kaput in the future - Like the knock sensors and the evil rubber hoses. But....

I can't find part numbers I am confident are accurate for the hoses (please see attachment) anywhere I have looked. If one of you guys knows for certain what the P/N for the hoses I have marked in the pic as "A" and "B" please let me know.

Thanks again guys - A full write up of this ugly job is in the future...

 

Iirc the normal operating pressure is 65 psi or so fo rthe 4.2 engines. En once you floor it, you need to add the 11 psi boost as well, so in total you can get 76 psi.

 

Just noticed a green colour which I assume is from the coolant, which is odd as you should have an orange coloured one. What is it you use?

 

Hah!!! I knew someone would say something about that!

I bought the car in Feb of 2011. I noted to the previous owner that I thought that the coolant was wrong when I saw the car. He told me that he had an "independent Jaguar shop" in Long Beach CA., change the water pump and flush the system. They used "Peak Antifreeze & Coolant" to refill it. I saw that it was pure "Peak green" in color - so I figured his shop must have truly flushed the system and not just added green to the orange Jaguar Spec fluid. He gave me about 3/4 jug of the "Peak" brand he said he used to top it off with.

When I got back to Missouri with the car, I looked "Peak" up on the internet, and saw that it claimed to be "universal" and mixed safely with any current coolant and that it met or exceeded all current "ASTM and SAE standards." So at that point, I thought it best to stay with what he had been using.

Now that I have drained most of the system, when put new coolant in, I will go back to using the Jag recommended fluid.

By the way, what is the newest "coolant of the hour" recommended for our engines?


Still need those hose part numbers!

 

I can't find them in either JTIS or JEPC.
Sorry!
Hopefully Graham (GGG) with his encyclopaedic knowledge of The Bits will pop up and help you.