[xj40] mysterious noise and no start

XJ40
1

The aj-6 in my 94 VDP now has 139,000 miles. Last week as soon as
I started the car in the AM, a noise that reminded me of a bearing
burning up came from the engine compartment. I immediatley shut it
down and took my other Jag to work. That evening The car would turn
over very slowly for a few seconds, give a hint that it wanted to
start then stop. I could do this repeatedly and complete a
revolution of the crank without any apparent internal parts hitting
one another. This engine has been well maintained, runs smooth
without clattering lifters etc. I never had any prior warning. I
know how strong the internals are in the aj-6 and I have never even
read a post talking about bearings bieng spun so I am hoping it is
somthing else. I have checked all the belt driven pulleys to no
avail. I would appreciate some suggestions of where to look next
for whatever is creating the drag and caused that awful screech.
Tonight I will try starting with the tranny in nuetral and perhaps
pull the valve cover and see if anything looks suspicious with the
timing chain, cam bearings, etc.–
kellyj 94 Vanden Plas 137M miles, 95 xjs 4.0 conv 68M mil
Albuquerque,NM, United States
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2

In a message dated 4/11/2006 4:40:06 PM Eastern Daylight Time, “kellyj” jaguarjeff65@msn.com writes:

The aj-6 in my 94 VDP now has 139,000 miles. Last week as soon as
I �started the car in the AM, a noise that reminded me of a bearing
burning up came from the engine compartment. I immediatley shut it
down and took my other Jag to work. That evening The car would turn
over very slowly for a few seconds, give a hint that it wanted to
start then stop. I could do this repeatedly and complete a
revolution of the crank without any apparent internal parts hitting
one another.

I have checked all the belt driven pulleys to no
avail.

Not sure what you mean by that – have you checked all belt idlers to see that none has seized? Was the sound similar to a slipping belt? Perhaps the A/C compressor, or even water pump bearing has seized. It would be very unusual for an engine bearing to make such a sound, particularly on cold start with no prior problems.

I would suggest removing belts, one at a time to see if there is a problem with a belt-driven component or idler.

George Balthrop, Clifton, VA USA
85 & 89 XJ-S Coupes; 89 XJ40 VDP

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3

In reply to a message from GBalthropXJS@aol.com sent Tue 11 Apr 2006:

I think its your starter motor coming apart. listen carefully
stick your head under the hood have someone crank it. pajtas–
jaguarjoe 54 XK 120 rdstr 1961 MKIX 94 XJ6
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4

In reply to a message from GBalthropXJS@aol.com sent Tue 11 Apr 2006:

I agree with George, I think a belt-driven component has seized,
water pump, alternator, AC compressor, idler or similar.–
Brian Caro 96XJ6 4.0 63E-TypeS1FHC
Newport News, VA, United States
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5

In reply to a message from Brian Caro sent Wed 12 Apr 2006:

Thanks for the great suggestions from George, Brian, and Pajitas.
I have not been able to work on the cat for awhile but I have now
just finished trying to start her up with all belts removed and she
still turns over very slowly. I replaced the starter and still no
improvement. I Tried starting in nuetral with no change. My battery
is fully charged and I have 12 volts going to the starter. It seems
to turn over a little easier when its warm during the day. I cant
think of anything else it could be other than an internal siezure.
Where should I begin looking? What can I test without tearing out
every rotating part?–
kellyj 94 Vanden Plas 137M miles, 95 xjs 4.0 conv 68M mil
Albuquerque,NM, United States
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6

In a message dated 5/6/2006 3:28:34 PM Eastern Daylight Time, “kellyj” jaguarjeff65@msn.com writes:

just finished trying to start her up with all belts removed and she
still turns over very slowly. I replaced the starter and still no
improvement. I Tried starting in nuetral with no change. My battery
is fully charged and I have 12 volts going to the starter. It seems
to turn over a little easier when its warm during the day. I cant
think of anything else it could be other than an internal siezure.
Where should I begin looking? What can I test without tearing out
every rotating part?

Are you hearing any squeaking, grinding or other unusual noise when you crank the starter? I can’t imagine a bad crank or rod bearing binding failing suddenly as you first described, and to such an extent that it prevents the engine from rotating properly. Is it possible for the HP24 transmission to fail in such a way as to restrain flywheel rotation?

You might try removing the spark plugs, testing & recording compression on each cylinder (put a squirt of oil into each cylinder before testing). The engine should turn more easily and faster with the plugs out. If you can get a bore scope to look into the cylinders through the plug holes, you could look for piston damage or cylinder wall scoring from bad rings.

You could also remove the cam cover and make sure the timing chain is intact and that the cams are still timed properly (notches on both cams, behind front cam bearing cap should be straight up when crankshaft is at TDC on cylinder #1 ignition).

George Balthrop, Clifton, VA USA
85 & 89 XJ-S Coupes; 89 XJ40 VDP

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7

Have you tried removing the spark plugs and turning it over?
Verify you don’t have any water in the cylinders. Myself I would remove the
plugs and the valve cover.
Do a visual inspection of the chains and cams and then try to turn it over
by hand.----- Original Message -----
From: “kellyj” jaguarjeff65@msn.com
To: xj40@jag-lovers.org
Sent: Saturday, May 06, 2006 3:28 PM
Subject: Re: [xj40] mysterious noise and no start

In reply to a message from Brian Caro sent Wed 12 Apr 2006:

Thanks for the great suggestions from George, Brian, and Pajitas.
I have not been able to work on the cat for awhile but I have now
just finished trying to start her up with all belts removed and she
still turns over very slowly. I replaced the starter and still no
improvement. I Tried starting in nuetral with no change. My battery
is fully charged and I have 12 volts going to the starter. It seems
to turn over a little easier when its warm during the day. I cant
think of anything else it could be other than an internal siezure.
Where should I begin looking? What can I test without tearing out
every rotating part?

kellyj 94 Vanden Plas 137M miles, 95 xjs 4.0 conv 68M mil
Albuquerque,NM, United States
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Line Books and more !

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8

In reply to a message from Dave sent Sun 7 May 2006:

Hi Dave.

Just spotted your message. I think your problem is a bad ground
connection to the engine. In this case a meter will measure the
full 12.42 volts but this will collapse as the high current load is
applied to the starter. The other thing could be a damaged coil in
the starter itself but my guess is your ground lead. On this 1994
can the ground lead in is the boot. Easy way to check is to connect
a battery with the ground direct to the engine and the positive to
he jump start terminl under the bonnet. I bet when you do this the
engine turns over with no problem. I had the same problem.–
trennie
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9

In reply to a message from Dave sent Sun 7 May 2006:

As suggested, I have removed the cam cover,and found everything to
be in order with the timing chain and cams positioned with TDC on
number 1 cylinder. I find no water in the cylinders or in the
crankcase.I did a compression check on the cylinders both without
oil squirt and then with 2 or three squirts. The results are
disturbing. Keeping in mind that the engine is cold because it will
not start and something is binding that is preventing the starter
from rotating the crank at a normal speed, I get the following
readings: 4 cylinders read between 125 and 140 psi and increase by
about 15 psi with oil injected. Cylinder #4 reads 90 psi and
increases to 110 with the oil. #6 reads 65 and only increases to 70
with the oil. It appears that my rings are a bit worn judging by
the increased psi with oil. From what I have read, the low
compression in 4 and 6 and relativley small increase, signals
leakage at the exhaust valves. Am I on the right track here and
could the original squeal and susequent binding be caused by one or
more valves bieng bent, or stuck partially open?–
The original message included these comments:

Have you tried removing the spark plugs and turning it over?
Verify you don’t have any water in the cylinders. Myself I would remove the
plugs and the valve cover.
Do a visual inspection of the chains and cams and then try to turn it over
by hand.

–
kellyj 94 Vanden Plas 137M miles, 95 xjs 4.0 conv 68M mil
Albuquerque,NM, United States
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10

In reply to a message from kellyj sent Tue 9 May 2006:

The low compression cylinders could be due to burnt or bent
valve. If one is stuck open, you should be able to tell
easily with the cam cover off - just check the valve
clearances on that cylinder at TDC on the firing stroke.

Since there should only be a 10 psi difference between the
cylinder readings, it sounds as if you should pull the head
off anyway.–
The original message included these comments:

the increased psi with oil. From what I have read, the low
compression in 4 and 6 and relativley small increase, signals
leakage at the exhaust valves. Am I on the right track here and
could the original squeal and susequent binding be caused by one or
more valves bieng bent, or stuck partially open?

–
Bryan N, '91 Sovereign 4.0 L, (RHD)
Cambridge, United Kingdom
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11

With a cold engine I don’t think that an increase in compression by injecting oil necessarily means bad rings. Since they are cold they may not be sealing as well as they would when they are hot.

Have you tried turning the engine by hand (ie put a socket wrench on the crankshaft bolt) to ensure the slow turning is not a electrical or starter issue? With all the plugs out it should not be very difficult to turn by hand. It should also turn evenly.

From: “kellyj” jaguarjeff65@msn.com
Date: 2006/05/09 Tue PM 12:08:16 EST
To: xj40@jag-lovers.org
Subject: Re: [xj40] mysterious noise and no start

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12

In a message dated 5/9/2006 12:08:16 PM Eastern Daylight Time, “kellyj” jaguarjeff65@msn.com writes:

As suggested, I have removed the cam cover,and found everything to
be in order with the timing chain and cams positioned with TDC on
number 1 cylinder. I find no water in the cylinders or in the
crankcase.I did a compression check on the cylinders both without
oil squirt and then with 2 or three squirts. The results are
disturbing. Keeping in mind that the engine is cold because it will
not start and something is binding that is preventing the starter
from rotating the crank at a normal speed, I get the following
readings: 4 cylinders read between 125 and 140 psi and increase by
about 15 psi with oil injected.

It is to be expected that adding oil will increase the pressure readings 15 to 20 PSIG, as dry rings in an engine that has sat for some days do not seal as well as those with oil.

Cylinder #4 reads 90 psi and

increases to 110 with the oil. #6 reads 65 and only increases to 70
with the oil.

These two cylinders are obviously suspect, but you may have multiple problems. A burned exhaust valve on each cylinder could easily give lower compression test results (approaching 0 pressure). Yet the engine should start & run on 4 or 5 cylinders, even if 1 or 2 have 0 compression, and burned valves alone do NOT explain the engine being slow to turn over.

It appears that my rings are a bit worn judging by
the increased psi with oil. From what I have read, the low
compression in 4 and 6 and relativley small increase, signals
leakage at the exhaust valves. Am I on the right track here and
could the original squeal and susequent binding be caused by one or
more valves bieng bent, or stuck partially open? �

If a valve is sticking open, as Bryan suggested, you can determine that by larger clearance than spec. when the cam lobe is opposite the tappet.

Do you hear any grinding, scraping or squeaking when the starter rotates the engine, from the timing chain area, from the distributor, the P/S pump drive, the transmission bellhousing, or at any of the sparkplug holes?

George Balthrop, Clifton, VA USA
85 & 89 XJ-S Coupes; 89 XJ40 VDP

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13

In reply to a message from kellyj sent Tue 9 May 2006:

I was rereading your posts and realized that it may be a problem
with a component dragging, the first thought was the starter
itself, but since you replaced it I am now thinking it may be the
power steering pump or the hydraulic pump. Have you looked at them?
Either of these could fail with a squeal and cause starter drag. I
would not worry about the rings and the internal engine stuff right
now, I am guessing it’s not the issue.–
Brian Caro 96XJ6 4.0 63E-TypeS1FHC
Newport News, VA, United States
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14

In reply to a message from Brian Caro sent Thu 11 May 2006:

Since my last post I have read the further suggestions and have
done the following: Checked valve clearance and find the two
cylinders with the really low compression, #4 with 90 and #6 with
65, have excessive clearance. # 4 has .016 and .015 0n the exhaust
valves and the same thing on the intake valves. #6 has .014
and .013 on the intakes but .017 and.016 on the exhaust. the other
cylinders show exhaust valve clearance of .012 to .014. and intakes
about the same. When turning the crank with a 1 5/16 socket, it
seems to turn fairly easily with a 12 inch ratchet with only slight
resistenance increase when # 6 opens the exhaust valves. I don’t
know how much resistence I should feel. My jag seemed to run fine
without misfires or smoke with plenty of power before this sudden
skreeeech event at start-up and refusal to start thereafter. I dont
think I trust the compression reading and am going to follow up
with the suggestions to check the power steering pump for sizure
and confirm full voltage to the starter.–
The original message included these comments:

power steering pump or the hydraulic pump. Have you looked at them?
would not worry about the rings and the internal engine stuff right
now, I am guessing it’s not the issue.

–
kellyj 94 Vanden Plas 137M miles, 95 xjs 4.0 conv 68M mil
Albuquerque,NM, United States
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