I come to you with hope that you will somehow, off the top of your head, know exactly what I am referring to in my meandering sprawl, and reassure me that everything is fine, or at least that a quick fix with a hammer and duck tape should return this heap of steel to the elegant chariot that it was once hoped.
My wife’s grandfather has allowed me the use of his '91 Jaguar XJ6 and I find myself stuck. I am aware of the engine knock…or ping…or whatever it is, but there is another noise, when accelerating as hard as this boat can.
It seems like power is dissipating somehow, because it doesn’t always happen like this. Sometimes, without letting me know of it’s viriloty, the engine stops with it’s flactulence and launches like the European it dreams to be.
I have brought this to the attention of a mechanic and they don’t think anything is wrong. Am I insane or is this something you have hear of?
There is so much wrong with the car, but this is something that has particularly bothered me.
Please help, I would call and give you a bad immitation but I don’t know when you are live. Love the podcast. Please keep it up, you make Dallas roads bearable. Thank you
Do you realize that those are compiled reruns from years old shows . And I agree with DB why are you messing with this , the owner should be the one to decide what to do. Also why are accelerating someone else’s vehicle as hard as it can.
Do you really think that it is a good idea to do full-throttle acceleration runs with a 27 year old car that doesn’t belong to you, and that is EXTREMELY expensive to repair?
That suggests the problem is electrical in nature.
Perhaps an intermittent misfire.
I would first replace the spark plugs and plug wires if they’re of unknown age.
What do you know of its service history?
I don’t see a problem with trying to help out grandpa.
He is family after all.
Does grandpa know you’re going to get this fixed . . . ?!
I have relatives that want to exert control over every aspect of their lives, and they wouldn’t be happy if I “messed around” with their belongs without telling them
Maybe grandpa was planning on fixing the car next month
What if you bring the car to a shop without grandpa’s knowledge, and then something goes horribly wrong?
then the conversation will be “Kid, I knew what was wrong with the car before I let you use it. Now you brought it to a shop without telling me, and I’ve got a whole new set of problems, on top of the ones from before . . .”
Thank you all for your concern regarding “Grandpa”'s feelings, I shall forward them to him…
He has persistently said “just take it in if you have any problems” so no, I am not looking to do this without his say so…but he had it parked under a pecan tree for 6 years, and has thrown thousands of dollars getting it driving again. It has definitely seen better days.
With regards to full throttle? we’re talking any load - I’m not fast and furious, I’m trying to not get a ticket for impeding traffic. But thanks for the advice.
So no it’s not my car, but I’m stuck not having an option, but trying to not spend all of someone else’s money. and Thanks for pointing out that the show is on repeat…I feel a bit silly now…shame!
I know the thing is a massive liability, I am stuck, I have no money, and a really expensive car with problems, I thought maybe someone maybe might have a hack or something that the mechanics haven’t thought on.
Seeing as we are here - sometimes when it doesnt start, I get my trusty battery starter, connect it up to the positive and negative, try to start, with no luck. Then I connect the negative to somewhere in the engine bay, then again try to start with no luck, but THEN if I reconnect to the negative, there’s a buzzing sound for a fraction of a second, then the beast will start on the next go…its freaky, but it works…ever heard of that?
You really have to approach your Grandfather and tell him that you appreciate the vehicle loan but it has so many problems that you have no idea what to do. Maybe he can help you another way .
I thought the car just accelerated poorly. Apparently it won’t start now. For the starting issue, I’d be checking ground wires. Maybe the engine starting the second time you ground the battery to the chassis / engine is a fluke and the battery just isn’t getting a good ground when you’re trying to start it. I’m not sure if the poor acceleration could be from an intermittent ground also…maybe…? But you probably won’t get that lucky!
Got a pecan tree where you live? Maybe you should park this boat under it and drive something that won’t blow your wallet until your fortunes improve.
I’m being serious - a lot of people look enviously at luxury cars and wish someone would give them one. But that’s a bad wish to make, because the initial cost of buying a luxury car is merely a hurdle that keeps people who can’t afford to drive them away. Keeping them running can be ruinous, especially if they were built in the UK or Germany. I’ve known a few people who’ve bought old Rolls Royces for less than the price of a new compact car, and then discovered that a routine brake job can be over $1,000.
You have yourself a money pit here, and even though you were spared the cost of buying it, you will have to deal with all the costs of maintaining it, and you can’t afford it.
… or more…
I can recall, back in the '70s, just for the hell of it, I decided to find out what a muffler for a RR cost. Back then, more than 4 decades ago, a muffler for a RR cost more than $1k, and that was back in the days when muffler replacement was a fairly commonplace repair on all cars.
