JustBadly

Am having faults P0172 & P0174 telling me fuel is lean on left and right bank. The codes appeared at the same time, so today I changed the MAF, air filter & fuel filter and although better the fault is still there. It happens when I am slowing down (shut throttle) but will clear after a few seconds when driving off. So I suspect the fuel pump is on the way out. My guess is that the pump is stopping instead of reduced flow, causing lean burn for a few seconds. Not surprised since mileage is 95k so is probably original. Will order one unless you guys have a better suggestion.

I had a flickering trunk light and this was traced to the wire loom from the trunk lid to the main body. The loom has to flex whenever the lid is opened and wires had become frayed. The wiring around the tail light has no leverage upon it, after checking for water ingress you might try the loom.

Don't know how original this one is, but it isn't used much although apparently runs.

This may be a coincidence but last week I added 'STP 5 in 1' petrol system cleaner to my Jag. This made quite a difference it is more free-revving and warms up quicker. Any probs with starting etc and I recommend this over everything else.

First thing is start with the basics. The gearbox will give a fault light if the fluid is low (this goes when you stop start) also it is going into safe mode. Change the filter and somehow get 6 litres+ into the transmission - I can give you advice. Unlikely to be anything else or the light would stay on.

Here is a quick guide to repair of the radio back light. If you want to do this you must have a soldering iron (fine tip), solder flux, tweezers, solder wick and 1206 green LED & 603 470R resistors. Only replacing the LEDs will not do, the load resistors must also be replaced since they are the cause of the fault. Remove the radio and dismantle, desolder the LCD screen then with the solder tip; load with solder and push off the resistors. The LEDs are removed by cutting then removing the tags with the iron. Spread flux onto the bare contacts then place components onto the board with tweezers and resolder. Good luck.

After a few drives I can say it takes a while to warm up, blanked off 1/² the radiator even so, about 10 minutes or so given 8°c air temp. Has to be a minimum flow past the thermostat to 'tell it' the temperature but this is only a 1.5mm hole in the back plate, might work on this in the future. Ignition is very stable and good spread of power now the ECU isn't having to compensate for erratic coolant temp. No leaks but filling up coolant took a while since there is the possibility of an air-lock around the thermostat. Winter running is often problematic but looking forward to summer.

There it is. All put together - will have some figures on warm-up time and running temperature after the coolant is in, etc. Thermostat is rated at 87°c will have an OBD2 reading for that.

Getting there. This pipe 'deletes' the thermostat from the lower position. I was worried about this one tbh since the radiator pipe is secured by a metal band, but a quick grind and off it came. The tubing is wire-wound since it has a fair curve from the rad to the pump.

Ha Ha, no what problem petrol S & X types have (excluding V8 & diesel) is overheating. It makes itself known by a water 'leak' due to over pressure, pinking on acceleration and general god awful running. The thermostat is placed 'after' the radiator and since that is rated at 87°C, the coolant post radiator is not hot enough to open it. Result no water flow, overheating cylinder heads, blown head gasket, etc. I've built up a few race engines and every time we find the thermostat post radiator it gets changed because it runs the engine too hot. No difference here so I've got a few more parts to arrive but it will all make sense once I've got this fitted. Jaguar have got a sprung blow-off valve on the thermostat housing and if the engine over revs while cold it will open and divert the excess pressure thru the radiator. Fingers crossed it will all go together nicely. Good luck finding anything about it on the net.

Getting everything together to start the conversion. I'm placing the thermostat valve at the top (entry) of the radiator, currently as many owners of the 2.5 & 3.0 know - the valve is at the bottom left (exit) of the radiator. All the pipes look way too big but they will be trimmed quite some way. The important thing is all the internal diameters are right. Just got to order a 90° pipe @ 38mm and several pipe clips. Easy really.

The ABS is connected to the front wheel sensors and the rear sensors. Any difference in rotation between them and the dashboard lights up. Cleaning the rear connectors usually works, the front sensors are a press-in sensor but no harm checking them over too. Whatever you do don't reset the diagnostics via OBD2 without rectifying the problem. By this I mean if you fix the fault on the car the light will go out. Resetting the diagnostics while the light is on will cause a delete of ECU data, itself another problem.

Just a tube of RTV from my local auto parts store. See the dusty strip behind the wiper arm? That's where the paste went - not the way I really want to do it but worked well enough.

I used a silicone RTV gasket formula to seal between the actual windscreen and the rubberised seal of the scuttle. The seal bulges and lets water into the engine bay. Since then all good except when I need to remove it I'll have to reseal it again.

Only read the first few lines and I thought MAFF sensor!

Having found the bearing totally stuck on, I decided to remove the upright and fit a replacement to facilitate the new bearing. After stripping down the front wheel assembly, this monster tool with its 12 tons of pressure made short work of the ball joint.

Yellow light or Red light? By the sound of it when the ignition is switched off the light is no longer there when you start the car again? Fluid level could be low, overheating (snatchy changes), or a solenoid fault. Failing that have the local vicar perform an exorcism.

The roof liner is quite easy to remove, the wires can be squeezed into the pillar covers and buy a special fuse with live terminal, fits into the passenger fuse box. I asked a local vehicle specialist about this and they said it's not that bad. I would've done this myself but all I would record is my awful driving!

Yes I have wondered about them but they have a lower temp thermostat valve, about 80° I think.

Overheating, it's a generic problem with the V6 Jags. I've got a temporary solution but you probably wouldn't like it. Basic reason is the thermostatic valve is at the wrong end of the radiator, engine heats up - radiator cools water but since the valve opens at 87°c the water is cooled below that and the valve doesn't open. Result? No water circulation and the engine overheats. Standard radiators are heavy and inefficient and just about run ok but an aftermarket radiator is often more efficient and the water post radiator never reaches temperature enough to open the valve. Unbelievable I know, you'd think Jaguar had never built a race car with a mistake like that.

Make sure you have a brake wind-back tool before removing rear pads. Piston tool Front pistons can be pushed in with this too. Park brake will apply if the keys are removed from the ignition so leave them in while doing the work.

Go to a well known parts supplier eg. Europarts search "Jaguar front brake pads" then click on one and enter your registration number. They will tell you what part you want. What bothers me more is the pad compound - some are very hard. I've got Mintex pads on mine.

It will be worth checking the torque of the ball joints on the front suspension, they might be loose. You don't say if yours is an early Jag, those ball joints 'point' downward. But I don't think driving is advised, in case the car falls to bits.

I wish you'd communicate your enthusiasm to the mechanic working on Huxley's car. Waste of money? tell that to an approved Jaguar dealer. I'll bet my 1-2 2-1 gear change is smoother than yours. etc etc.

eBay tooling.