So, on Saturday before Christmas, with the car loaded with baggage, presents, family and what else, having just locked the front door and with the car on idle I heard wierd whoosh-whoosh-whooosh´y sound. On closer inspection I found the water pump wheel wobbling more than 5 mm at the perimeter (!). Obvisously a failing water pump. :facepalm4:That is being repaired at the moment, but made me wonder if I've had all the engine-model-related issues there are, except for the timing chain (yet?).

• Failing temperature sensor(s)
• Cracked plastic tubes in the cooling system - labour-intensive repair...
• Cracked plastic thermostat housing
• Failing water pump
• Timing chain snapping

What else can I expect as the owner of a first-year-in-existence AJ133?

That's actually a pretty short list & the only thing I can think of to add is the supercharger snout for that variant of the AJ133.

 

I actually have to disagree that it's a short list, especially when each repair approaches or exceeds €1000, possibly by far. The only engine related problem I've had in the 18 years of car ownership (VWs and Citroën) before the XF was a slow coolant leak that didn't cost much to repair. You can probably tell that I'm quite disappointed in the reliability of my, otherwise exquisite, jaaag.

 

And the timing chain issues tend to be the tensioners rather than the chain itself.

 

Ouch, bad luck with the timing there krej.

Yep, that list seems pretty complete and applies to both the AJ133 and AJ126.

The water pump seems to be the most given issue - the first thing the Jag tech mentioned when I got my current car and asked about issues to expect.

As Phil says, any timing chain problems rather seem to be secondary effects of tensioner issues. Kind of like engine damage due to overheating could be a secondary effect of the coolant system or water pump issues.

I guess there's also much more labour involved in fixing the coolant system related issues on supercharged versions because the supercharger often has to come off.

 

Ouch, bad luck with the timing there krej.

Well.. I preferred to identify the problem before leaving rather than breaking down in intense holiday traffic.. And my backup Citroën performed just fine, as always, over christmas.

 

Long list? Spik i foten! as they say in Sweden. Here's the long list:

https://www.jaginfo.org/showthread.php?88362-Typical-problems-things-to-check-before-warranty-expiry/page3

I'd say it comes with the type and complexity of the engine and can't quite compare to smaller engines from larger manufacturers. As far as I can see comparable engines from other brands also have their fair share of foibles. I get the impression that the smaller Jaguar engines of the same era (the 2.2D and 2.0T) also are more reliable.

However there is definitely one thing which truly is an utter farce - the design and material choice (plastic ) in above all the coolant system but also other bits like the inlet manifolds.

 

Long list? Spik i foten! as they say in Sweden. Here's the long list:

https://www.jaginfo.org/showthread.php?88362-Typical-problems-things-to-check-before-warranty-expiry/page3

wow, that list was certainly comprehensive. Have to check how many I can tick off...
- bootlid rust
- delaminated windscreen
- fuel flap
- front door rattle
- water pump
- coolant system leaks
- front door leather bubbles
- front reading lights

 

Add manufacturing defects on tappets. Rare, but not unheard of.

 

Seems this tech fro the states knows of this issue very well, as well as other common issues.

 

I would love a 5.0 V8 Jag, it would probably be ideal for my short commutes. But the timing chain and tensioner issues alone are enough to scare me off. I would make a presumption that the IS-F would be a safer choice?

 

My grandson has a Mercedes C class.about 3 years old. Looks beautiful. He shows off in it-- and why not ?
BUT his gearbox suddenly disintegrated....£3,500... Ouch !

 

Ninjag - The ISF is a lot of fun, but the Jag V8 is much more of a car. I'm on my 3rd Jag V8 with no engine problems.

 

Thanks, I think it's going to have to remain a happy thought though. The estate is just too convenient, especially for the family, and to be honest I think I've got a well looked after car here (fingers crossed) and future costs are more than tolerable so I'm going to keep her hopefully for a good number of years to come.

 

Interesting video. Also interesting that he mentions/confirms the revision of the parts in 2014.

 

Yeah that's why I posted the link. I've watched Samcrac's videos for a while now and this just popped up today so I thought I'd share it, he rarely has anything that isn't German.

I can only assume mine being an early 2014 car it doesn't have any of these upgrades. Who knows when they actually made it into vehicles. Shrek had tappet issues and his car is a 2015.

 

Once again makes me happy that I ended up getting a MY18 engine.

This also supports that it's probably worth it to pay for extended warranty for cars with the earlier revisions of the offending parts.

 

2nd instalment, supercharger snout repair

 

I watched this last night and forgot to post it.

Very interesting actually seeing the failure and the aftermarket fix. They also show the tensioners and chain guides.


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Next episode

 

So was it the dealer who fudged it, or was it a DIY mistake?

 

Why did they need to take the injectors out and if they needed to, why didn’t they attempt it when then heads were off instead of struggling in situ?

 

They already knew that the valves on the LHS bank were stuffed and possibly the pistons as well (it so far has turned out that the pistons may be repairable), so the head had to come off. Once the head is taken off it needs to be checked for damage and possibly honed, and to do this the injectors must be removed.
If the injectors are still OK and not damaged beyond repair in theory it is much easier to get them out in situ (leave the head on) using the special JLR injector removal tool.
Our friends tried this twice, using two different (but identical) tools, but still some of those damn injectors would not budge. They were stuck super tight due to burnt on carbon deposits, a common thing on higher mileage AJ133s (and 126s) which has been reported many times on the Yank forum. At least one case reported there of an injector being stuck so tight that wrapping a chain around the injector removal tool and winching it up lifted the whole car off the ground and still the injector would not budge!
So they were forced to take the LHS head off with the three stuck injectors in place and send that head off for repair.
When they tried to get the injectors out of the RHS head the rearmost one would not budge and it eventually broke off.
So that head had to come off as well to get the broken injector out, and they did so by punching it out from the back side.
Putting all that together, yes they could have simply pulled the heads off and punched out all the injectors from the back sides. But that will always destroy the injector(s) and new ones ain't cheap (and they only come as matched sets of four), let alone the labour and parts cost of removing the head(s). Muuuuuuch cheaper if the injectors can be removed in situ with the special tool, cleaned up and refitted!

 

I wonder if the previous owner actually knew it was down to a faulty repair!

Makes me worry even more about doing it as a preventative measure.......
Another chap on Jaguar Forums did it and ended up regretted it saying the wear on the tensioner blade wasn't that severe and he ended up with various fault codes and the timing out after he finished.

I talk to/thank the car a lot, hopefully she'll look after me and decide not to smash her pistons and valves together anytime soon. Fingers crossed.

 

This gives me the V8 fear.

 

Agreed, super interesting videos.

Yes it's odd with all the Ford engine confusion and I think you Kim have a good explanation there. The FoMoCo ancillaries do confuse people. Another mix-up I saw from some motoring journalist praising the AJ133 was that it was a design from the late 90ies. Maybe that's another source of confusion - the whole Ford history and that the older (4.0 / 4.2) V8s before the AJ133 maybe had more Ford involvement.

Without the introduction of new engines I really can't see them stopping AJ133 / AJ126 production this year. That would mean no ICE Jaguar with a properly powerful engine with more than 300 horses. Times are changing but that just seems too unrealistic for the company's survival.

 

Not sure if I posted here or elsewhere but I heard that they were gearing up to build the AJ133 engine is small quantities at the Wolverhampton plant.

I still don’t understand why it’s taking so long to release the “BMW” V8 in a JLR product. I first heard about it testing in an XF back in 2014, that’s 6 years of testing.


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Not sure if I posted here or elsewhere but I heard that they were gearing up to build the AJ133 engine is small quantities at the Wolverhampton plant.

I still don’t understand why it’s taking so long to release the “BMW” V8 in a JLR product. I first heard about it testing in an XF back in 2014, that’s 6 years of testing.


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Because they have the Ingenium i6

 

Yes I saw that about preparing for building them in Wolverhampton. Good thing and I hope they'll be able to handle more than small quantities. Don't know what their sales look like now but trying to sell Jags with only four bangers and diesels on other markets than the UK doesn't sound like a good idea.

 

I would hope that it's only small numbers to get them over the hump of releasing the new "BMW" engine. But who knows, especially with everything else going on.

 

I'm having a bit of a brain fart. I'm sure I read somewhere about the ECU adjusting the air/fuel mix on the fly (up to a point) but I can't remember what the phrase used to describe it or whether I'm just completely mis-remembering.

 

yip, every FI car does this every stroke, to try to maintain the 14.7:1 ratio (for petrol)

 

nothing to see here 😁

 

I've been watching Samcrac's video's for a year or two now and this L322 has been in the background of a few of his video's so it's interesting to see him finally getting around to it.

Been a while since his last instalment though! I'm impatient and would love to see it finished. I also saw a video on a website for Atlantic British where they replace the timing chain and guides on a 5.0 Range Rover Sport. Having watched that, if my XFR ever gave me problems outside of it's warranty I'd probably do the chain and tensioners myself.

David.

 

If anyone has a spare hour here's the video showing the timing chain replacement on a Range Rover Sport.

Quite an informative video showing most of the steps.

David.

 

Bang! Sold!

After the water pump failure last Christmas, I was hoping for a year without trouble. Not so... one day in April the car abruptly died while driving and when attempting to start the engine there was a lot of light smoke from the exhaust. After having it towed first home and then to the Jag garage (where they know me by name by now...) the verdict was one failed fuel injector. It was stuck fully open. Fortunately it caused no permanent damage, but a new injector, an oil change and something else still ended up costing > 1600 EUR and three weeks in another car.

Well, that was it for me, and I decided to sell it. sigh

Now I'm the curious owner of a BMW i3s REX instead.

 

Bang! Sold!

After the water pump failure last Christmas, I was hoping for a year without trouble. Not so... one day in April the car abruptly died while driving and when attempting to start the engine there was a lot of light smoke from the exhaust. After having it towed first home and then to the Jag garage (where they know me by name by now...) the verdict was one failed fuel injector. It was stuck fully open. Fortunately it caused no permanent damage, but a new injector, an oil change and something else still ended up costing > 1600 EUR and three weeks in another car.

Well, that was it for me, and I decided to sell it. sigh

Now I'm the curious owner of a BMW i3s REX instead.

Ouch! Sounds like you had a fair bit of bad luck with your car. Did you feed it with 95 or 98 during your ownership and did you ever use any injector cleaning products like BG44K?

Quite a shift to go from a V8 Jag to a leccy BMW!

 

Maybe we should do a list of common problems for the AJ34s engine too... Let's see...

Valley coolant pipe joints

Secondary coolant pump

Erm, that's all I can think of 😂