STR engine codes

[tedg]

Hi All,

Short story long :-

I'm the recent proud owner of a 2007 S Type R with approx 46000 miles on the clock.

I bought it privately with a known 'rattle' on startup from cold which disappears after about a second.

The seller, who I have every reason to believe knows about such things, advised me it was lack of Oil in the VVT stuff & if I could put up with it It wouldn't cause any damage!

Because I really like the car & hope to keep it for a good few years I took it to my local main dealer for a health check & confirmation of the cause of 'rattle'.

The car is, thank goodness, in very good general condition but because the engine was hot they couldn't detect the 'rattle'.

They did however say that it couldn't be VVT  related as the engine was too early to have VVT & the rattle was almost certainly a timing chain issue!

Internet searches so far indicate that S Type Rs were initially fitted with engine code AJ33S (non VVT)  &  later AJ34S (with VVT).

Unfortunately I've not been able to determine when  the AJ33S was upgraded to the AJ34S or when the AJ34S was fitted to the S Type.

Some sites seem to imply that the AJ34S was fitted from 2003 - 2008!  

I can see there is a lot of in depth knowledge out there so I am hoping someone is still awake & able to enlighten me.

Regards

Ted

 

 

  

[Old Peter]

Welcome to the club, Ted.

I have an humble s type with the 2.7 diesel engine and don't get similar rattle, just a rumble of the big diesel.

There are several members with the s type R who will assist when they read this post.

Manufacturers used to put a loose nut inside a space to cause a rattle [so they say] which would get the dealer some money when the car was taken in to find the cause of the rattle.  That was in the fifties, though.

Let us know how you get on.

Regards,

Peter.

[tedg]

Hi Peter,

Thanks for your reply.

I had a diesel briefly but it had too many smallish issues to justify spending time & money on. The engine though was great - loads of torque & very smooth.

Regards

Ted

[Old Peter]

Hi Ted,

You can have bad luck with any car.  I had a brand new Ford Escort in 1972 with 5 dents in it when it was delivered, and very dodgy electrics such as light not working.

My S Type which came off the production line on the 13th March 2007 has been a dream.  Two owners from new and a small spell in Jaguar ownership during which time an Oil pump failed and Jaguar put in a new engine.  Since I have had the car only one issue  - Water pump had to be replaced.

May you have the same luck!

Regards,

Peter.

[tedg]

Thanks Peter,

I'm confident I've got a good one this time!

Just got to determine which engine I've got.

Called Jaguar Customer Relationship Centre this morning - they've gone off with my engine number & have promised to get back to me within a couple of days.

Regards

Ted

[Gareth livesley]

hi Ted 

I also have recently bought an s type r 2002 with 78 on the clock pulls like a train everything works apart from the phone at the moment 

only issue I have is that it needs some welding underneath to get it through an mot  going to take the sills off as well to check what they are like  

be interested to find out about the codes as well 

Gareth

[JOE-DOT-COM]

Hi Ted

VVT are known to rattle as they wear and can only be fixed by replacing

would not say its timing chain with that mileage, 4.2's all have updated tensioners  and are not known to fail, also timing chains tend to get louder the hotter they get.

to tell if you have VVT look at the front of the cam covers, if there a wires coming from it, it has VVT, if no wires, no VVT

VVT offers no performance upgrade on these, it was fitted solely for emissions

pics below

also check yours sills, they can rot terrible and are hidden by those plastic covers

also make sure it has the correct Oil, as wrong Oil will effect the VVT on start up, as they work on Oil pressure

cheers

Joe

THIS ONE HAS VVT

NO VVT

[Gareth livesley]

thanks for the info and pictures Joe handy to know👍

[tedg]

Hi Joe,

Many thanks for your reply.

Just braved the blizzard - we have VVT!

With such an obvious (when you know) distinction makes you wonder how a main dealer can miss it!

I don't have any problem with paying for necessary maintenance & indeed fully expect to have to quite frequently but object strongly to paying for wrong diagnosis!

Thanks again - I owe you one!

Regards

Ted 

[JOE-DOT-COM]

Hi

May be worth doing a Oil change first

if the Oil is too thick, it can cause the noise you described and it causes a delay in Oil pressure to the vvt

cheers

Joe

[tedg]

Thanks for the advice/info Joe.

I was assured that the recent Oil change (not by previously mentioned main dealer!) was with 'good' quality Oil. Will check what 'good' means.

Regards

Ted