V6S Break Down

[LordOxton]

Changing the plugs on this car is a right royal pain. I'd be interested to know how long a Jag mechanic thinks it should take.

There are lots of pipes & rubber shield type things to remove. Disconnecting pipes without breaking anything requires caution. Not everything wants to come undone as easily as you might hope.

The coil bolts are torx and hard to reach. Dropping torx bits and coil bolts is very easy. Torx sockets are of limited use due to access. A torx bit wrench is essential. A very long one with an adjustable head angle and reversible ratchet borrowed off my mechanic mate saved the day.

Then there's the plugs themselves. The recesses are narrow, deep, angled and hidden away. I needed my mountain bike torch just to find them. You need a 14mm plug socket to hold the plug firmly or you'll struggle to seat them cleanly on the way back in. Plug 2 (middle near side) deserves special mention due to the suspension housing that's slap bang in the way. I tried lots of combinations of ratchets, unions, flexible connectors & extension bars.

The only bigger pain-in-the-butt job I've done is Honda V4 motorbike carbs. I'm not pulling them out again unless I have no choice!

[CJSJAG]

Thanks, I understand and shll never feel motivated to do that job!
One last (probably useless) thought is whether this could have been related to an engine oil overfill?
Might explain the black plugs.

[fogle]

sorry but from my experience it sounds like injector fault .

[fogle]

number 5 cylinder injector first to fail on v6.

[fogle]

just try and get it out .

[AJB2]

Being the diligent sort of chap that I am, my V6S was recently treated to new gearbox oil & sump, new diff oil and new supercharger oil.

The gearbox oil was sourced from Smith & Allan (£6.65/l), the ZF sump from Autodoc (£64), the diff oil from the Jag dealer (£35/l) and the supercharger oil from Powerhouse (£24).

Not only does this represent a *huge* saving on Jag prices, Jag won't sell you any oil for the supercharger on the basis that it's sealed for life. Eaton beg to differ, as I'm sure you all know.

Anyway, the work was carried out by my local Jag specialists who looked after my E Type for 20 years. They were happy with all of the lubes & parts I supplied. Trust me, they double-checked everything.

So, there I am on a sunny day with the roof down after the work has been done...all of a sudden...strange noises and lots of smoke...oh no!!!

I quickly pulled over, the car was recovered back to my house, my mechanic mate's diagnostic machine was attached and misfire faults were reported on cylinders 5 and 6.

Coil packs or injectors were suggested by 'those in the know'. OK, I'll start with the basics and check the plugs while we're in there I thought. What a pig of a job!!!

This is what they looked like:

download/file.php?mode=view&id=7559&sid ... c85c95bd25

These plugs were changed at 42k miles by a Jag dealer according to the service history. That would suggest they've done 16k miles.

Anyway, I changed the plugs and *nothing else* and the car is running fine again. Who'd a thunk it!

Lesson : assume nothing about the work that has supposedly been done in the past...

Would you be kind enough to share the links/part numbers for these fluids please?