Damaged exhaust and MOT failure

charlier6790 · Postby **charlier6790** » Mon Nov 27, 2017 12:36 pm

My 1999 XJ8 Sovereign has just failed its MOT on excessive emissions on the offside hand cylinder bank. The garage thinks the problem is a damaged flexible section of exhaust just after the cat causing an air leak. That fault is compounded by a split seam in the rear silencer causing another leak. Unfortunately, my garage says it is struggling to obtain replacement XJ8 exhaust parts. Can anyone point me in the direction of a supplier of suitable new or used parts, please? Many thanks. Charlie

3.8etypephil · Postby **3.8etypephil** » Mon Nov 27, 2017 3:12 pm

Any exhaust wholesaler should be able to supply a suitable section of flexible pipe which can be adapted to suit. If the split seam is the only fault with the rear silencer, I would be inclined to weld it up; if you can't DIY, any garage will be able to do it.

Postby **J44EAG** » Mon Nov 27, 2017 4:43 pm

Give Eurojag a call in Rotherham. The break and salvage high quality used Jaguar parts. I suspect they may have suitable components in good usable condition that might get you out of trouble.

Mike K

charlier6790 · Postby **charlier6790** » Tue Nov 28, 2017 3:09 pm

Phil/Mike, Many thanks for your advice. I'll try Eurojag first and, if unsuccessful, will ask my garage to try a welding repair with a replacement section. Incidentally, do you know if the central section of the XJ8 exhaust is also common to the XK8? I only ask because I see that companies such as "Double S Exhausts" advertise stainless steel exhaust sections for these models. Thanks again for your help. Charlie.

Andy P · Postby **Andy P** » Tue Nov 28, 2017 3:13 pm

Hi Charlie,
Sorry to hear of your emission problem,I had a damaged flexible pipe where the stainless steel braiding had come away from one end due to the ring on the pipe corroding but there was no exhaust gases leaking.
I used the exhaust wrap that the custom guys use to cover the braided parts and still allows it to flex.
This stuff:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10M-BLACK-HE ... 1c6ae80fef
For second hand parts I always use eBay to start with and if I get no joy there just do a Google search of the part you want.
Link for exhausts:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from ... t&_sacat=0
If bad emissions still persist it is worth checking the upstream O2 and downstream O2(if you have them) sensors as they have been known to cause problems with emission's.
Also do you give the car a good run before taking it to the MOT station? Engine cooking hot on drop off? Always a good idea

You could look at fuel trims to give you an idea of what's going on.
To do that you need one of these to read data and codes which helps alot with trouble shooting problems.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ELM327-OBD2- ... 2112418c29
It pairs with any android phone and an app called Torque.
Hope this helps a bit.
Keep us up to date with progress if you can,it's good for the forum.
Good luck.
Andy

charlier6790 · Postby **charlier6790** » Mon Dec 04, 2017 8:23 pm

Hi Andy, Many thanks for such a helpful and comprehensive post. I'll be happy to follow-up your suggestions. The car is still at the garage (!) and I've not chased things up as they've given me a loan car and my car still has nearly three weeks left on its old MOT. But I guess I'd better ask the garage for an update in the next day or two. In fairness, they've already replaced the leaking rear silencer and are still trying to obtain a good secondhand replacement central section. But I'm not sure why these seem so difficult to source. Will keep you posted. Thanks again.

Postby **J44EAG** » Mon Dec 04, 2017 9:52 pm

Another idea on getting the exhaust issue sorted.

You might have seen my magazine article about seventeen months ago about the bespoke system I had built by Longlife Exhausts in Carshalton, Surrey for my X350R. Longlife have depots/franchise set ups in many major towns across the UK. They will build part or full exhausts to your own spec. Their prices are very competitive and may not be as expensive as you imagine. Top quality work on a very fast turn around. Highly recommended.

Mike K

charlier6790 · Postby **charlier6790** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 2:46 pm

Just a quick note to thank everyone for their advice and to let you know that the exhaust has been repaired and the car has a new MOT. Longer term, I think I will either try Eurojag for a replacement central section or take Mike Kennedy's advice and ask Longlife Exhausts to make a replacement. The difference in the before and after CO and HC was incredible. Before the repairs, the CO reading was 2.222 (against a limit of 0.300) and after it was 0.136! Before the repairs the HC reading was 216 (against a limit of 200) and after it was 21! Thanks again everyone.

Postby **J44EAG** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 3:17 pm

An excellent result!

Here is what Longlife built for my X350R.

Cat cases cut open and standard 600 cell removed. New sports 200 cell media inserted and cases rewelded. Centre exhaust section modified with big resonator box with internal H-pipe removed leaving one small resonator box in place forward of the diff. Where the big resonator/H-pipe used to be, a custom high flow restriction-less X-pipe was installed. Back boxes remain standard. Just a moderate increase in noise apparent. Years with a Miltek resonator-less modified S-type R taught me the raucous bellow could really become too much on long journeys! What I now have on the R is a good compromise and is far less restrictive. A noticeable increase in low down torque resulted from the mods. The only slight down side is that tired Lambda sensors become very pertinacity where 200 cell cats have been installed. This necessitated replacement of the near side post cat Lambda having to be replaced due to a re-occurant PO430 code regularly being generated. Other than that, all good.

Mike K

charlier6790 · Postby **charlier6790** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 4:09 pm

Mike - what you say about the work Longlife Exhausts carried out on your X350 sounds fantastic. There is a branch near me at Bristol so I think I'll give them a try. Thanks again.
P.S. I've always fancied an X350 supercharger. A present for 2018, perhaps?!

Andy P · Postby **Andy P** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 4:18 pm

Hi Charlie,
Thanks for keeping us updated,it's always good to hear of an M.O.T.pass.
Glad you got everything sorted,really pleased for you and your emission result

.

Hi Mike,
That looks a good job they did on your exhaust,also very clean underneath

,well done.
Enjoy your car's both of you.
All the best.
Andy

Postby **J44EAG** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 7:46 pm

Its easy to enjoy a 350R! Especially if it has a few tweeks!!

Those under-trays do help keep things clean but what lurks above them? Sadly the fixings are a corrosion nightmare...particularly the bolts that screw into the captivated nuts on a plate which appear riveted to the floor pan. I have several nuts which just spin in the plates and without some serious drilling or cutting out, serve to make getting those tray off and tedious and frustrating business. No waterproof grease or other anti-corrosive compound applied at Browns Lane.

I removed the huge front under engine tray two years ago. It was a cuss to say the least. I`ve never put it back on. It covers the oil filter and the sump drain plug and I don`t have the patience or motivation to have to take the tray off every 5k miles. That said, access doors could be cut in the tray and secured in place with cable ties. I now use an electric down dipstick oil changer unit and presently just run the front up onto a couple of blocks to change the oil filter. I use the K&N HP1014 filter as it has top filtration media and a 1" lug on the end of the canister which a socket and ratchet removes in seconds. Highly recommended.

Nearly eighteen months after the exhaust mod was done, it still looks as if it were fitted yesterday. Longlife certainly build with some good stainless stock.

Mike