June 2009
I have a 95 XJ6 3.2, which I've owned for the last four years. It's always been utterly excellent, has never let me down, and I always keep it well serviced.
I live in Jersey, and walk to work, so it only does about 10 miles a week these days, except when I take it back to the UK. There's 130,000 miles on the clock, and it always gets a couple of long runs on the motorway each year.
It always uses quite a bit of oil in winter, but in summer is usually fine. The oil pressure sensor is apparently a bit weak and needs replacing (which was the case when I bought it), so that after hard acceleration (which I do often!), oil pressure at idle is shown as 0 and the light comes on - though I have been assured that the oil pressure is fine.
I took it over to the UK in April. Oil and fluid were fine beforehand, and I checked the oil once or twice when I was over (for a month).
It actually went into a Jaguar dealer (Rybrook in Conwy) when it was in the UK, as the brakes needed sorting. I don't know if they would have bothered to check oil and water etc?
Anyway, I'm fairly sure that I checked oil and water before returning to Jersey. Taking a circuitous route with an overnight stop to see my parents, the total journey from Conwy to Poole was about 500 - 600 miles, at high speed.
When I got back here, I noticed a strange whining sound at about 30, which whined down as the engine slowed. A little worried, I meant to check the oil levels etc. I did a few more jouneys after this, totalling about 30 miles, before I got round to checking the levels.
When I checked them, the dipstick was bone dry. It took 4 1/2 litres to fill it back up. There are no signs of oil leaks, or of black/blue smoke from the exhausts. There's no sign of mayonnaise, the oil light never came on, and the temperature gauge never went above normal (always fractionally on the cold side of dead ahead).
After filling it with oil, I took it for a drive, and the whining noise had gone.
Have I done any lasting damage? Is there anything I can do to help, or do I just cross my fingers and hope (and remember to check levels frequently)?
It's got another month in the UK coming up, followed by two weeks here and then a long drive through France.
Any suggestions?
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w.e.f. 30 th June
An Order increases the fixed penalty from £30 to £60 for
the offences under section 14 (seat belts: adults),
15(2) and 15(4) (restrictions on carrying children not wearing seat belts in motor vehicles) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and
under section 59 of the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 (failure to fix prescribed registration mark to a vehicle in accordance with regulations made under section 23(4)(a) of that Act).
dvd
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Many Moons ago, my parents had this Fiat (i dont remeber what type).
As a baby i used to lie in a carry cot on the back seat, no seatbelts where installed and it just was placed on the back free to slide up and down as the car moved.
Next week I shall be making the journey to Bristol/Bath and we will be taking a 3 year old with us.
I would not dream of letting her travel without the seat and belts in the back. it just goes to show how times change and the risks that we "got away" with when the technology or thinking wasnt around.
Hi, I'm new to this forum and would like some help. My 2002 Grand Espace Dci has suffered some of the usual EGR problems listed elsewhere on this forum, BUT my biggest problem is an annoying rattle when accelerating hard, or putting the engine under load so to speak.
You can sit with it on the drive and rev the engine as hard as you like and apart from the agricultural noises these renault diesels make - no rattle at all. yet set off up the road, or uphill and accelerate and it makes a terrible rattling sound.
It seems to be coming from the right hand side of the engine, disapears after you reach a reasonable speed (35 - 40mph) can't be heard when you get it moving in 3r, 4th or 5th gear, or when the engine is not labouring , accelerating or under load.
The noise does not go up direcly in proportion with engine revs, only to a point - ie not like a sticking hydraulic tappet might. It sounds almost like something loose somewhere?
I bought the car with 70,000 miles on it and a FSH. I change the oil and filters evey 7500 miles and use a good quality semi-synthetic oil.
I have had the drivebelt changed, and the belt tensioner assembly. Six months ago the bottom pulley broke (metalised rubber came away from the centre of the pulley), so this was replaced and everything checked out again at that time and another new drive belt fitted.
Cam belt was changd at 75,000 (mileage now 104,000)
As far as I can tell, the altenator, power steering pump and air con compresor are all original items and do not appear damaged in any way. Nor does there seem to be anything loose anywhere under the bonnet.
I am worried about this noise - usually rattling noises are the forerunner to expensive repairs. Is it likely to be cam belt or cam belt tensioner related? Anyone got any ideas? anyone had a similar experience?
Car, by the way runs fine, does about 38-39mpg, nothing else untoward (well except the obvious impending doom of replacing EGR valves almost every 12 months or so!) Read more
Just a hypothetical question. We all have read about drivers being pinged for no insuance when they were insured.
What would be the position if you were captured and had your car impounded...but....you were towing a caravan or a boat...or even a horse in a trailer.
Would they take the lot ? Or would you and your family be left at the roadside with your trailer, etc. Or would they do the sensible thing and just issue a HO/RT/! ( producer )
Just wondering.
Ted Read more
...like a lot of outdated law...
I think the death penalty for arson in Her Majesty's dockyard was only abolished a few years ago.
Hi all,
I need to renew the corroded front brake pipes on my 405 for the MOT. It has the Bendix Integral ABS braking system from which I'm told is pretty specialist stuff and not to be tampered with, but how easy would it be for me to renew the brake pipes and can anyone tell me how to do it with this system?
Any help appreciated
Thanks
J Read more
Watched in horror, as my cars tracking was adjusted using two pairs of 'MoleGrips' ..... remember when people worked on your car with proper tools and took some pride in their work. Read more
What about a Ball pane hammer? Does it hurt? Only if you miss!
MD
Surely a Ball pain hammer then? Well.. erm, on second thoughts, maybe not.
Just amazed what I witnessed tonight on the A56 in south Manchester. Drivers racing the lights on amber and going through when the lights are on red. Also drivers going through a filter on amber getting stuck when the lights are on red blocking the filter. What amazes me is I saw about four cars blatently go through on red in the space of about 4 minutes. However there is a twist. About 500 yards before the lights there are camera signs, then just before the lights there are big yellow boxes with Tuvelo or something similar written on them.
People seem to be in such a rush to get home they ignore the road around them, I assume these people take the same route each rush hour and skip the lights so how the hell can they still have a licence?
It is amazing how people can blatently skip lights when there is a red light camera installed on them, yet we have people on her getting worried because they went through on amber and there is a little box on the lights (e.g flow monitors).
With the advice on people on here I now have a policy that green can only mean amber which means stop. I now only go through on amber if there is an absolute point of no return or some twit is tailgating me.
This happened from Dane Road (first set of lights with camera) the second was at Chester Road.
My other pet hate is when the lights have just changed to amber and I have plenty of time to stop safely the driver behind is on their mobile and dosn't even notice I am stopping and thus nearly going into the back of me. Read more
This sounds so like Spain! Traffic light sequences here have always had a large changeover margin and ALL drivers are prone to shoot through red or amber regardless of whether there's anyone following. Bus drivers, police, fire engines, pizza delivery - everyone does it. Since I first had a locally registered car I've had to follow the "system" just to avoid rear end shunts. Likewise it's last-one-to-leave's-a-sissy when the lights are ABOUT to change to green.
I once saw a family of four in a Corsa obediently stop on a red and almost get rear ended by a fully laden local bus, whose driver indignantly blasted the horn and shouted obscenities. The family were all wearing seatbelts, which should have alerted the bus driver that they were, predictably, tourists!
Sad story from Wales about a unlicenced and uninsured driver responsible for the death of a little lad.
tinyurl.com/nxsk5u
Should you have to show you've a licence when you buy a car? There could be a space in the V5 to be completed with the purchaser's licence details if the car is used or passed straight on to DVLA by the dealer if the car is new.
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Who ,polices it though? Buy a car from a private seller - are they to check the validity of the licence?
The only real solution would be to insist that to register a vehicle transfer you have to present yourself at a DVLA office with your licence. What about company/lease/pool cars?
Hi All,
Have an intermittent fault on a Mondeo mk3 where the ABS lights come on during driving. Regular stuff is checked, so possibly sensor, bearing, or something similar - would be handy to know which wheel to direct my attention to.
I tried to use an old OBD2 scanner on it, however I *think* I need a PWM scanner. is this likely correct? anyone recommend me a cheap scanner?
thanks, dave. Read more
Any ideas as to why the wipers juder across the screen & some times stop half way on the way back down?. They also dont park properley sometimes. This seems to happen when I use them on intermitant. Read more
it will need a new motor, and possibly a linkage ask them to check it for tight spots/partial seizure , Regards TB


Remember that the basic design of that engine goes back to the 1940's.