air intake system blown up

[carlshodgkinson]

jaguar xj sport 3.2 v8 1998.57000 miles
i have a dispute with an emergency callout service who will remain nameless.
problem is saturday i moved the car forward about 10ft engine was only running for about 15 seconds.
next day came to it and it would not start called out the mechanic who told me it had flooded from day before having the engine running for a short time called it a start stop flood.
he then proceeded to remove the fuel pump fuse and bridge the connections with a switch on a long piece of wire after about 1 min of winding the engine over while flicking the fuel pump on an off there was a large backfire the air intake trunking departed from the throttle body snapping the clamps sheared the breather pipe off and blew the sides off the airbox.
got the car towed to a garage who qouted £300 for the damage and they got the car running again by just cleaning the plugs.
so i phoned up the customer service who were looking into wether it was the mechanic's fault or engine fault that caused this to happen the technical dept said it was a common fault and the mechanic was not to blame and i have to take it up with jaguar warranty.
explained to jaguar what had happend and they say i have no chance and they cannot give me a reason unless they get to examine car £200.
any ideas or help in getting the money out of this company or putting my mind straight as to the reason this happend would be apprieciated.
first time post.

[GreenV8S]

Sounds like one of those things. If it had flooded (and it's quite possible that it had) then the mechanic had the choice of either taking all the plugs out and cleaning them, potentialy quite a long job and I don't know how accessible they all are, or crank it over with the fuel off and try to tickle it into life. The second approach would have you on your way within minutes where the first might keep you waiting for an hour or more. It is just bad luck that the engine back fired so severely. It could have easily happened while you were trying to get it started, and just the mechanic's bad luck that it happened to him.

[8Pack]

carlshodgkinson said:

jaguar xj sport 3.2 v8 1998.57000 miles i have a dispute with an emergency callout service who will remain nameless. problem is saturday i moved the car forward about 10ft engine was only running for about 15 seconds. next day came to it and it would not start called out the mechanic who told me it had flooded from day before having the engine running for a short time called it a start stop flood. he then proceeded to remove the fuel pump fuse and bridge the connections with a switch on a long piece of wire after about 1 min of winding the engine over while flicking the fuel pump on an off there was a large backfire the air intake trunking departed from the throttle body snapping the clamps sheared the breather pipe off and blew the sides off the airbox. got the car towed to a garage who qouted £300 for the damage and they got the car running again by just cleaning the plugs. so i phoned up the customer service who were looking into wether it was the mechanic's fault or engine fault that caused this to happen the technical dept said it was a common fault and the mechanic was not to blame and i have to take it up with jaguar warranty. explained to jaguar what had happend and they say i have no chance and they cannot give me a reason unless they get to examine car £200. any ideas or help in getting the money out of this company or putting my mind straight as to the reason this happend would be apprieciated. first time post.

This has happened to me also Carl, the flooding I mean. Moved the car out of the garage in order to work inside and switched off. Later I restarted it and drove it back in and switched off.

The following day I couldn't get it started for love nor money, and realised it was flooded.

The Jag dealer said this was common after a quick start & stop and many other brands are the same. Something to do with the engine management system on cold start up. I was advised to always let it run longer before switch off.

Mechanic came out, held the accelerator to the floor, and turned the key........Fired first time! Suppose same COULD have happened to mine!

Ever since I've always let it run for at least 3 minutes,if it's cold. It's never happened since.

So, on the one hand, yes it is a known Jag fault, but nothing to worry about if you take the right precautions.

On the other you'd expect a mechanic not to blow your car up when fixing it. Take your pick.

>> Edited by 8Pack on Saturday 20th November 23:30

[GreenV8S]

Some engine management systems recognise full throttle while cranking as an attempt to clear a flooded engine, and cut the fuel. Otherwise it can be a very hit and miss solution.

[GavinPearson]

I do know for sure that S-Type 99 to 02 model years switches off the injectors at full throttle whilst cranking to prevent flooding.

You'll probably see this in the owner's manual.

My view is the recovery service should pay. If they can't fix certain makes of cars they should get the dealer to come out.

[carlshodgkinson]

thanks for the info guy's.
i see now it's just one of those thing's that happens guess i'm going to have to pay for the repairs myself.
but i will be seeking advice from the citizens advice bureau to see if there is a way to get the money from them you expect a large company to give you a hard time when trying to get compensation out of them.

[sybaseian]

carlshodgkinson said:

jaguar xj sport 3.2 v8 1998.57000 miles i have a dispute with an emergency callout service who will remain nameless. problem is saturday i moved the car forward about 10ft engine was only running for about 15 seconds. next day came to it and it would not start called out the mechanic who told me it had flooded from day before having the engine running for a short time called it a start stop flood. he then proceeded to remove the fuel pump fuse and bridge the connections with a switch on a long piece of wire after about 1 min of winding the engine over while flicking the fuel pump on an off there was a large backfire the air intake trunking departed from the throttle body snapping the clamps sheared the breather pipe off and blew the sides off the airbox. got the car towed to a garage who qouted £300 for the damage and they got the car running again by just cleaning the plugs. so i phoned up the customer service who were looking into wether it was the mechanic's fault or engine fault that caused this to happen the technical dept said it was a common fault and the mechanic was not to blame and i have to take it up with jaguar warranty. explained to jaguar what had happend and they say i have no chance and they cannot give me a reason unless they get to examine car £200. any ideas or help in getting the money out of this company or putting my mind straight as to the reason this happend would be apprieciated. first time post.

I had the same flodding problem, when a friend moved my car from outside his garage to get his car out.

I called out the AA, who said that this was a common problem. The only thing different that the AA did was to disconnect the airbox before trying to clear the flood.

I'd say that you are being fobbed off if they didn't disconnect the airbox first.

[John Millar]

I don't think this is a good way to start a flooded engine, it might be the quickest way, but i would never do it. As well as the air box, it can shatter the plastic intake manifold or blow the intake gaskets.He at least should have warned you of the dangers, and given you the option of doing it the correct (time consuming way).This would have then put the responsibility with you. Don't let them fob you off.

[carlshodgkinson]

have been in touch with another jaguar garage and they tell me there are 2 outstanding recall notice's on the car 1 is a modified throttle body which caused the problem and another is a power steering pipe which needs to be rerouted so it does not rub on the alternator.
the jaguar garage say they will do these under warranty f.o.c.
bit scary to find this out only had the car 6 months and brought it from a non jaguar dealer.