Slow Fuel Filling

[keithmervyn]

Does anybody know of a cure or advice to improve the speed of filling the fuel tank. Sometimes I have to press the pump-nozzle many times before it will even start to fill the tank Ii.e immediate back-flow of fuel cuts it out). Nearly always, once the fuel gets going, I can only fill with the nozzle at half speed otherwise it trips out again - stop, start etc, it can take 5 or more minutes to get just a few gallons in.

Other times, but infrequently, it will fill normally and quickly. I'm told XJS is prone to this - all thoughts & advice welcome.

Thanks

[SimonR]

Hi Keith,

Yeah, I have this problem with both my XJ-S and XJ-40.

You can try putting the nozzle only half way in or holding it at a different angle but by far the most effective way I've found is to park the car such that the filler cap is on the wrong side and you have to dangle the fuel-line across the width of the car. That one works every time for me, I think it's because the nozzle is pointing 180 degrees in the other direction. Just don't drip fuel across the boot when you've finished.

Simon R.

[Jon]

Am I imagining things or are the (maybe) different nozzle sizes at various garages more or less prone to this? I have that problem big time at the local Shell garage but then not at the local Sainsbury's.

Try going to a different garage?!

[keithmervyn]

Thanks Simon & Jon - its nice to know that slow fuel filling is a widespread problem. Incidentally Simon, my XJ40 does not suffer, but it will rarely fill much past 3/4 full on the fuel gauge.

Obviously it's an air-lock matter, but whether Shell, Esso, BP, Sainsbury or Tesco, I usually end up staring into space as other customers come & go. Incidentally, my car does not like Tesco petrol at all - (4.0 AJ6) - runs noticeably rough on it, so don't use it now.

Changing the "angle of dangle" can be done without leaning over the boot lid, and this is usually the only way I can get the filling process started - after the pump has clicked out a dozen times for a dozen different angles.

No doubt other members will turn this into a great issue, which will at last fill the "Fuel" section of the forum, to keep up with the other busy sections.

[GlennH]

Well, I can add my four penn'th.
My foolproof method (or should that be fuelproof? ) for a quick fill is this:-
Nozzle 1/2 way in (only up to the bend in the nozzle), handle of nozzle and hose angled towards the front of the car, nozzle pointed to the back of the car to make the fuel 'swirl' down the inside of the filler pipe.
The fuel flows down the wall of the pipe like a whirlpool leaving a nice clean gap up the middle for the air to get out. This works just fine on my '89 XJR-S as it has the wide 'leaded filler pipe', it works less well on the narrow 'unleaded filler pipe' on my X-type as I still get some cut-offs with fast flow pumps.

One word of caution, listen to hear the fuel rising up the pipe and slow down when you do, if not, you can get a facefull.

One other tip, use a fuel that doesn't foam as you fill the tank. Jet is pretty low froth but Esso is good too.

Now don't tell me I should get out more, I get plenty of time to think about these matters standing on petrol forecourts. Putting nearly 20 gallons in the tank isn't going to be quick however good you get at it.
When you only get 15mpg, it comes around all too frequently too

At least this cold weather numbs the shock of the fuel bill...

I've come to the conclusion that the petrol station, not the south american jungle, is a Jaguar's natural habitat

Happy Jaguaring,

[keithmervyn]

Thanks Glenn - I will try and get as scientific as you suggest - I usually just twiddle the nozzle in a blind panic, hoping nobody is watching !

If you change to a 25 mpg 4.0 litre cat, you will spend much less time staring into space re-fuelling than you do now - but with those 6 litres under your hood I bet you wouldn't change it for all the world !

[dhdove]

Does anybody know of a cure or advice to improve the speed of filling the fuel tank. Sometimes I have to press the pump-nozzle many times before it will even start to fill the tank Ii.e immediate back-flow of fuel cuts it out). Nearly always, once the fuel gets going, I can only fill with the nozzle at half speed otherwise it trips out again - stop, start etc, it can take 5 or more minutes to get just a few gallons in.

Other times, but infrequently, it will fill normally and quickly. I'm told XJS is prone to this - all thoughts & advice welcome.

Thanks

Keith

Fuelling problems were noted early on by Jaguar (in the late eighties I think) and a recall and mod was issued on the breather system, perhaps your car missed this.
As a not too difficult "sort".......if you remove the front carpet trim in the boot immediately behind the tank so you can see the tank, at the top right hand corner as you look at it (ie directly opposite the filler neck) you will see three small rubber pipes coming off tubes on the top of the tank. These are the breathers.It may be worth checking that these rubber tubes are not kinked thus preventing breathing, I hesitate to suggest blowing them through with compressed air as the breather system is complex and you would need to consult the parts and service catalogues to see where each one goes.
Hope this is of use
DH Dove

[keithmervyn]

Thanks "DHDove" - this sounds like the first solid technical suggestion. I will indeed ask the service-man to inspect these tank breather tubes when he fits a new slosh-module (wandering fuel gauge) at the next service. Incidentally it is a late 1992 car, so presumeably not affected by late 80's recalls. Thanks again.