Hi all, just bought a 97 Jag XK8, beautiful car, 137000. miles, ive had it for a week and its got gremlins, please help,
The gas guage is hit or miss, sometimes with a full tank of gas it reads empty, then i restart it and it corrects itself, sometimes not.
Now i was driving it and the check engine light comes on, with a poor performance code. poor performance code went off, but check engine light is still on, car seems to run fine, starts right up no loss of power. i don't have a code reader, but will stop by auto parts store and use theres. is this going to be the cause of many more problems, did i buy a night mare?
any help would be appreciated,

 

Did you take the time to track down the service history and documentation for this car before you purchased it? There are crucial issues with the 4.0 engine that must be resolved to prevent it from destroying itself. Without the proper service records you must assume that your car has not had these issues addressed. Spend some time reading the sticky notes at the top of the XK8 forum to educate yourself on what you may be facing, and keep in mind that if you cannot DIY the vast majority of the maintenance and repairs yourself, these cars can empty your checkbook in a hurry....

Requirement No. 1 is a strong battery. Without it, many gremlins indeed show up on a random basis. How old is yours?

 

As you are already finding out, buy a code reader this will not be the last time you need one and to get accurate assistance from the group here having the correct info is needed.

Lots of things can cause your problems so more info s needed.

Someone will chime in n the gas guage issue, in the mean time do a search and start reading.

At the top of the forum referred to as the stickies you will find the service manual for your car, download it.

These cars can be very frustrating but also very rewarding. Took me a year to sort out all the issues with mine but it is now a joy to drive and own.

A word of advice on using the forum.
Stop by the new members section and introduce yourself
Add a signature line in profiles listing your Car info. This way everyone knows what car you are asking help with and you don't have to say it on every thread.
Be more descriptive on the post title, short details on the issue and start a new thread for new issues.
Use the "Thanks" button when someone helps you.

This is a great forum with a lot of very helpful folks who will spend their time trying to assist. Good luck with the new Jag!

 

Welcome to the forum Hanso,

Please follow this link New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the New Member Area - Intro a MUST forum and post some info about yourself and your vehicle for all members to see. In return you'll get a proper welcome and some useful advice about posting to the forum.

Graham

 

Hanso, you may not realize but all of us need to recycle the ignition switch to read/recalibrate fuel level if ignition is on during feuling.

IOW pull into gas station, radio on (good song), fill up tank, gas gauge will still show nearly empty until you turn ignition off, then on.

I forget, miles to empty may just reset live. Bet it probably does because we've all been through this logical dediction and wonder if the Guage is faulty.

Hope that nails it for you.

John

 

Code ready first, -then post questions

 

Thanks, the shop i stopped at couldn't get a code, so went old school. Found some leaking vacume lines under the intake and replaced the lines, made the whistle go away. I had these problems with a '72 xke i had so went with what i know.
will do the site correctly when my son comes home, definatly not a computer guy.
As far as service records, i bought it as a trade in on a honda, owner said he had the cam tensioners replaced as well as the water pump at about 110,000 miles, from looking at it the parts (water pump) etc, looked newer. Engine doesn't tick and the compression was good.
will go to my mechanic tomorrow and put it on the machine and record the codes. Do those chips make any difference on performance? I put one in my Audi and it was great, did it to a M-B and didn't make a difference

 

Nope chips are snake oil on these cars. I got a code reader for $40 on eBay that works great on my 03 XK8.

Toptak TP-270 CAN OBD II Code scanner / Reader (new)

 

thanks for the heads up, battery looks new, tested it and its in good nick. got the car as a trade in for a honda, just couldn't say no. so there are no service records, previous owner says he had the cam guides and water pump done, the pump looks reasonably new so my fingers are crossed. I'm a decent shade tree mechanic and have had and worked on everything from Audis to Zundapps. Last jag was a 72 xke 2x2 12 cyl that was gorgeous but an adventure in misery to fix. Well wish me luck and thanks for the help.

 

if you have a android phone you can download the TORQUE PRO app and by the ELM 327 blue tooth device that plugs into the cars OBDII port and you then have you own scanner that you can use any any of your cars with OBDII. You just set up a profile for each car you have and choose that one when you need to read codes.

Super Mini OBD2 OBDII ELM327 v2.1 Android Bluetooth Adapter Auto Scanner Torque | eBay

 

This link should help you troubleshoot your fuel level indication problem.

Link JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

As for the other problem get a code reader or go by AutoZone, Advance auto or Sears and get them to read the codes. Copy the codes (P1000) that they find (not what they tell you they mean) and post them to this thread and we can help you with your problem.

 

Will this be a mistake ?
Apparently I was accsedent / mistake , and I was troublesome , but my mum still loves me .
Just give it some love and it will go far .

 

x2 on the Torque Pro ($4.99) app for iPhone/Android, and the ELM 327 bluetooth code reader. Got my ELM for about $20 off Amazon and use it on all my cars.

 

well it happened. started the car this morning, a tapping noise in the front of the motor, shut it off, restarted it and it died. looks like the timing chain tensioners gave up the ghost.
taking it to my friends garage on a flatbed in the morning. he wont overcharge me, but can anyone give me an idea of how much this should cost if thats all that needs to be done?
been fixing odds and ends, (fuel guage sending unit, electric seat switch, ) but not ready to jump into this repair.
anyone interested in a 77 ford ranchero,

 

I paid $2200 including a timing chain change. From what I've seen that's at medium high range.

 

Thanks, thats about what i thought. Well in for a dime, in for a dollar. You guys are great on this sight. Still trying to figure out how to do the intro, again thanks for the info

 

I had a similar fuel sending gemlin, kind of funny that it showed up more at a refill to full tank or maybe that is just what I was noticing. After driving a while it seems to have gotten better, might have been lack of use cars hate sitting for long periods and will show you some love when put back into use.

 

i took the leads off of the sending unit in the trunk and cleaned them, that seemed to correct the issue. give it a try, don't cost nothing and its easy to get to. good luck

 

well i was wrong, motor is shiese. valves are bent. i now have a splendid piece of lawn art. anyone got a motor cheap or know where to find one. i'm not working much right now and low on funds so price is a major issue. hate to do it but might have to put american v8 in the brit.
opinions are quite welcome, its time to start drinking heavily=animal house

 

I am just curious to know, how do you know the valves are bent? Did you remove the valve cover to have a look at the chain tensioner? Compression test?