Joseph Buhagiar

Dear Trevor, Thank you for finding the time to reply and your welcoming note. My mechanic - to whom I have been loyal for over 20 years - and who knows how how much I believe (being an engineer myself) that any car can only be as good as the quality of the service which it receives over the years, said the same thing which you did. "Joe, you have enough experience, just watch the temp and the oil pressure light in case it starts to flicker and any noises or any odd and not normal instances - and it should be as good as any of the 2 Merc cars you have." Besides this I continued to read and follow any cases of S Type disasters and from the details I collected, I can also understand that most of these cases arise when people buy second hand without a clear proven well documented service history. Needless to say, God only would knows about the abuse such cars went through and hence the outcomes are obviously unpredictable. So it is not worth anybody's time to take these into any equation. This Jag I bought has 154,000 miles - one owner - one Jag mechanic. Oil was always Castrol Edge 5-30 fully synthetic and all filters were Jaguar originals and they followed the periodic mileage recommended dived by 2 - since Malta is small and hence no highway miles. So if anything this goes to prove that if these engines are properly serviced and on time - they are dam reliable really. So we are going to replace the cam belts and all other belts and tensioners, replace the gearbox filter & gasket, top cover oil gaskets, all oils including gearbox, diff, engine, drain and replace the hydrolic fluid (it was never completely replaced), AC filter / fryer, coolant and take it up from there. However, I am not happy at all with the method Jag chose to burn the DPF stuff to ashes - injecting fuel in the exhaust stroke etc - a decision that is taken by the ECU - which can only be as good as the code that comes with it and the sequence of processes in place - and the conditions needed to start, end, stop, etc - something which is complex and which could be a drive without a finish. And in any case - this coding could only be as good as the Country, the Driver, the Distances, the Temperature, the Maintenance and God know what else. Truth is that if you remove the inside of the DPF, and leave the DPF in place; This engine would still be within the Euro 4 test parameter if the injectors and all sensors that increase or lower the diesel injected and spray patterns, are still functioning within speck, and the engine will still pass the yearly Government Emissions test. So inside of DPF will be removed. A copy of the ECU code will be sent to a UK company that is already experienced in removing the ECU routine (set of conditions and instructions) that perform this DPF Burn only- leaving the rest of the code intact. I know this may sound strange, but I love this car and I would not trade it in for even one of the latest models which to me look more like a Hyundai or a Kia. Thanks again for your reply. If you are eer in Malta give me a call - 79793100. Regards, Joe.

Hi Dave, I am new to Jags but over 30 years exp., on Mercs. If you are suspecting the EGR (and that code could be telling you, hey Man I am choking down here)- you can use additive to temporarily solve the problem of a sick engine. But if you are after a lower total cost to own the car long term, you had better get them cleaned since the cost would A. be far less that the serious engine damage and expensive repair this could cause and B- the improvement in pulling power and fuel consumption would be significant.

Basically I am from Malta aged 69, very experienced with Mercedes cars but fell in love with this one owner Jaguar S 2.7 V6 Diesel Automatic which has 154,000 miles on it but has always been serviced at Jaguar Agent - Always garaged - in as new condition inside and out - And I could not resist its looks to start with (to me its timeless) the drive, the pulling power at such low revs is a dream to me even though I have a 2.7 Merc Tdi Diesel.......... The thing is, the service history clearly shows that apart from the cam belts that were replaced at 100K Miles + 2 other belts and tensioner etc, oils and filter every 5000 miles, coolant every 3 years, EGR cleaning on one occasion, brake pads, front disk rotors replaced at 133Kmiles, auto gearbox oil and filter every 50K miles etc, which are all consumption parts really, no Major Parts ever had to be replaced like Oil Pump and Water Pump. Now I read the many unfortunate stories of some oil pumps bit that damage the engine or pumps that are not delivering enough pressure to bearings etc or water pumps that fail etc... And so I ask myself. should I replace them just in case they fail, or is it enough to - just keep a watchful eye on the Oil Pressure Light just in case it starts to flicker at idling (early warning sign of low pressure) and - keep an eye on the temp gauge normal default position, in case it starts to change going slightly higher with passing time (could be early sign of water pump vein wear and circulation)? I have driven Merc forages now and never remember being so worried - something might blow up. Anyway, my apologies for boring everyone - but will appreciate some words especially from experienced jaguar users that are more likely to know how it really is.