1999 XK8 ran and I parked it now it will not start. It did this before and I had it towed to the Jag dealer and they said it was flooded. They cleaned the plugs and it has been fine for the last 6 months until today. Acts the same way. The fuel pump was replace last year so it rally don't think it is that.

Anyone else seen or heard this issue?

-Craig

 

How far did you drive?

Early Nikasil engines are subject to something called cylinder wash when you drive a very short distance and don't warm the engine up. There are some links in the DIY sticky thread that describe it in detail and also what to do when it happens.

http://jagrepair.com/NikasilNoStartCylinderWashing.htm

 

Aka "bore wash". The jag 4.0 V8 (regardless of Nikasil) can suffer it. Clears if you make sure nothing under accel pedal and press 100% to the floor then crank for a few seconds only at a time (to avoid burning out the starter). You may need to charge battery and repeat. Adding oil per cylinder is a really good idea but more hassle. You're needing to get compression back. The repeated cranking removes the excess fuel and pedal to floor tells PCM not to add any fuel at all.

 

Never stop the engine before it's reached it's operating temperature - stopping it "cold" will almost guarantee a flooded engine. And was the reason for Nikasil failure in the bad old days of high sulphur fuel.

 

Add Restore to the oil after you get it started it will help to prevent the cylinder washing. It is a band-aid for the cylinder washing that most of the time works.

 

Thanks for all the responses. I pulled the plugs and injected about a teaspoon of oil in each cylinder, replaced the plugs but same results. All though it sounds like it wants to start once in a while. Recharging the battery now and will try again. I'm a dummy because I had this happen before because I didn't let it get up to temperature before shutting it off. I just moved it into the garage from the driveway and shut it off... Now it will not start. The shop wants $185 just to look at it plus towing and repair...

Ugh

 

There is a schrader valve on the fuel rail. Press it with a small screwdriver (and a rag handy) after cranking and see if you get a strong squirt of fuel. If not it is probably the fuel pump again. Some aftermarket ones are known to fail prematurely and sometimes the link lead electrical noise filter to the fuel pump (in the tank) can fail.

 

Eureka! Just started! Thanks again for all the help.
-Craig