Old Peter

Welcome to the club, Rob. The first x type was a rebadged Mondeo. It didn't sell as it was a Mondeo Ghia, and was discontinued in week and Halewood were given a proper Jaguar to build. The platform was a Mondeo as was the gearbox but that is not unusual in motor manufacturing. The x type is a great car, and car you have was very popular is the USA and in Canada. I had a 2.5 litre AWD, which was tremendous, but someone else liked it too and I was car jacked. [The three thieves got 8 years apiece last week]. Enjoy both your car and the club. Peter.

Trevor points to the coil pack, Deane, and that also is a possibility. I had a power loss on my Rover Sterling V6 petrol and one of the coils on the pack was duff. Peter.

Hi Charlie, Sorry you feel the need to stop posting, or indeed leave the club. My best wishes. Regards, Peter.

Hi Deane, I am no expert but I would look at plug leads and possibly the timing. I used to be able to sort things like that out on my 1962 Triumph Herald, and My A40. These modern cars are a bit more complicated. Regards, Peter.

Hi Charlie, Sam loves his S type - and why not.? While it may be getting old the mechanics seem sound and the S type is a future classic, with Sam's car being one of the very early ones. There are many members with cars older than the early s types and they are not bangers -- they are well looked after, and age means nothing when it comes to a well maintained vehicle. There are not than many old s types around and Sam was keen to keep his going, and scrapping it was not really a helpful answer. Regards, Peter.

Hi Deane, I am a bit mystified and you have done the obvious thing. I think it could be something else electrical rather than mechanical. Good Luck, Peter.

Hi Trevor, Us Northerners [i am an Lancastrian in exile] are tough, and can take bad winters. In Lancashire, and even Yorkshire where I worked for 12 years as a missionary, we made light of four feet of snow, and putting on Winter tyres and using snow chains was regarded as nesh [Northern word]. I does surprise me when Scots get grumpy during the winter. Being grumpy about the weather, though, does not mean you can say something which could offend someone. When someone asked for help in the winter, you get out the shovel from your boot and help dig him/her out. I hope that this could be classed as a gentle comment that is understood. Reagrds, Peter.

Why, Charlie? The S type is a great car. Peter.

Welcome to the club, Geon. I know nothing about the XK, but I do know that there is a well thought of garage in Northfield listed in the Jaguar Owners Lounge. Try him before the main dealers. Regards, Peter.

I too was a bit mystified, Trevor. My favourite tool is a lump hammer, but that doesn't work on electrical things. You could be right on the problem with alarm, but resetting the ECU by disconnecting the battery should solve that. The key fob too is a wonderful piece of enigmatic equipment that women do not understand, so it could be that. Let us know how you get on. Peter. PS. My wife once bought a car because she liked the colour [bright green] of the seat belts.

Hi Sam and welcome to the club. I am mystified, but inclined to start from square 1. The Jaguar is a sensitive beast and like everything to be in place. I am no expert, but just a lover of the marque, so I would disconnect the battery, wait 10 minutes and see if it is back to normal. If it isn't, then I would suggest the battery is not doing its job and would put it on charge. These great cars do like a good battery, and if is failing it will start letting you down in other areas. Next I would have the key fob checked out and possibly replace the batteries. I am neither an electrical or mechanical expert --- a damn good accountant, though --- so I look for the cheapest solution, Regards, Peter.

Hi Frank, It has happened twice to me. A brand new Ford Escort [Company car] delivered to my house and within 50 miles of usage the oil smell was there. The second time was when my son's mini was smelling and leaking after a service from a garage round the corner. The gasket on the rocker box was a touch twister, very simple solution is to do it right. Regards, Petr.

Hi Dean, Check around the rocker box cover for any oil, and run the engine and sniff around it when it is hot. Peter.

Welcome to the Club, Gary. I am no expert on electrics, and can only think that there is some bad connection somewhere. There will be others with more savvy than me who will be able to offer ideas. Regards, Peter.

I cycled to the South of France on one of those, Trevor, for a bet of 5/-.

Hi Rich and Karen, and welcome to the club. I heavenly come across this once, and with great pleasure I can tell you it happened to Jeremy Clarkson. He had just spend £250k of a wonderful high performance car with all the advanced bells and whistles, and he was driving it into London from Cornwall when his mobile rand [hands free of course] telling him that his car had been stolen and was moving towards South London. Ford sorted it out for him of course. I am inclined to go along with Trevor, but I would first try disconnecting the battery and leaving it for about 10m minutes which will shut down the ECU, and then start it up again. All your setting will need to be redone, but it is quick and cheap. Make sure you have your radio code before shutting down. Failing that, a local indie might do the trick. They are usually better than most main dealers and a bit cheaper. Diesel engines benefit greatly from Terraclean which is really a decoke without taking the engine apart. Just google it and see. Peter.

Charlie, All cars with and Engine management system. My son has a 13 year old Skoda 1.8 petrol and limp home mode came on a month or so ago. Going back to diesel fumes being carcinogenic, the World Health organisation, in the same article, cites wood dust as more concinogenic. Peter.

The CO2 emissions in diesel cars are minimal, and that is why their road fund tax is lowed, whereas the nitrous oxygen emissions are greater but more controlled. The diesel engine burns less fuel and need less maintenance, which is the main reason why us impecunious pensioners use them. Peter.

Charlie, the MOT covers a DPF removal, but it is a visual inspection. If the filter box is removed and the innards stripped out, rewelded, and then the empty unit without the filtering elements put back, the MOT tester will miss it. On lorries and buses only modern vehicles will have DPF fitted, whereas most of the older vehicles will not.. There is talk about London 'buses having a retrofit of DPFs and EGR valves. Peter.

Trevor, You make my point. Lorry and coach drivers are usually driving vehicles with large diesel engines that are frequently without EGR valves and Diesel Particulate filters. Peter.

I am not an expert in exhaust emissions, but I can say that diesel engines burn less fuel than similar petrol engines. and consequently less exhaust gas is generated. The CO2 emissions from a petrol engine are a bigger cause of air pollution than the modern diesel engine, and in fact, the modern diesel engine emissions are not penalised as much as some of the bigger petrol engines who pay double Road tax than most modern diesels. Road tax in the UK is based on exhaust emissions. The biggest cause of pollution is the number of older vehicles on the roads which do not have the far more sophisticated exhaust systems than modern vehicles. Peter.

Hi Neil, Welcome to the Club. You will enjoy your s type and the 2.5 engine is a very good power unit, eclipsed a bit by the 3 litre. A friend of mine had the 2.5 engine in his s type, and I had the same engine in my x type and never a mechanical problem. Regards, Peter.

Hi Steve, and Welcome to the club. Trevor has given you some suggestions. BV Electronics sell OBD Code readers -- simple one for around £20. [ I have one myself]. If it is a turbo charger, there are two dealers in Brummagem who are turbo specialists. And their prices are less than £1500. Try Supreme Auto Supplies [0121 246 1223] or GAP-Turbos [0121 459 8170]. If you have a friendly local garage that you normally use I would be inclined to asked him to plug it in for you. The other question could be "Can you fit a turbo if I supply it?" Supreme A S. seem quite good and have a look at their website. Additionally it would be worth giving your car a Terraclean service --- about £130 --- which is very beneficial for diesels. Let us know how you get on. Regards, Peter. PS. I used to keep my caravan in Henley.

On the blurb that the site gave me, they indicated that it had been tried and tested in motorsport over quite a few years. Sods law is also tried and tested so if I ever need it I will be disappointed. I had a bad puncture in 2001 and carried a trolley jack every time I took the caravan out. Once that trolley jack was in the boot I never had a puncture. Peter.

That's great, Trevor. That's what I got from a Main Dealer when I bought my s type June before last ---- just three weeks after my x type was stolen. You will have your Jaguar fixed and then you will really enjoy the Jaguar experience, Peter.