Jaguar XJ8 Throttle Body Cleaning

One of the flaws of the Jaguar XJ8 design from the 1998-2003 model was the throttle body.  It's very sensitive to carbon building up inside it which also complicates things with a TPS sensor that isn't as reliable as it should be.  In my short year and a half of owning this vehicle I've had to address both of these issues first hand.

While I was able to resolve my throttle body/TPS issue by swapping out the TPS from a salvaged part in the summer, I actually had some success earlier in the spring by cleaning the throttle body altogether.  While the TPS failing will actually throw you a code and will put the car into failsafe mode, a dirty throttle body will instead cause the car to stall or make it feel very jerky on acceleration.  It is possible that the code and failsafe mode could be linked to a dirty throttle body, but there obviously isn't a code that tells you to clean your car.   


This is something you can feel when you're driving though.  It's like the RPMs will putter out when you slow down or your acceleration will feel sticky on lower revs.  At the very least, knowing how to check out your throttle body is a valuable skill with this car that will save you time and money in the shop.  Cleaning is a relatively simple fix for a lot of this stuff.

To summarize what you need to do, you're just trying to clean the black carbon and soot that has built up underneath the butterfly valve in your throttle body.  Below I've posted pictures of what the engine looks like with the air intake tube removed.  At the top of the engine is the throttle body.  Cleaning it is as simple as buying throttle body cleaner, spraying it on a micro-fiber cloth, and diligently cleaning the soot from underneath the valve.

What is happening with a dirty throttle body is when that carbon/soot heats up it becomes a bit sticky and also reduces the narrow opening of the butterfly valve when the car is idling.  This explains why the car feels like it's about to stall sometimes and why the acceleration feels like it's lurching more than it should. 

CLICK HERE to download the step by step guide and walk through of how to specifically clean the Jaguar throttle body (with pictures illustrating the process).  These are the instructions I used, and I noticed a huge difference immediately after completing this job. 

Carving a Pumpkin and Roasting Seeds

When I was a kid we always used to carve pumpkins together as a family.  I never carved anything elaborate, but I was always a fan of roasting (or more specifically, eating) the pumpkin seeds.  I drive passed a place that has rows and rows of pumpkins displayed outside everyday on my way home from work, so I finally decided to stop and pick one up.

I cut open the top of the pumpkin and then scraped out all of the seeds.  I put all of the pumpkin guts in one bowl, and all of the seeds in a strainer to wash them out.

Then I heated the oven to 250 degrees and laid the seeds out on a baking tray, coating them lightly with salt.  I put the seeds in the oven and set the timer for 40 minutes. This is when I decided to carve the pumpkin while I waited for the seeds to roast.

I kept the tradition alive by not carving anything fancy, but I think my jack o'lantern turned out alright. By the time the seeds were done and my pumpkin had been carved my apartment smelt really good - very seasonal. Sadly, the seeds turned out to be so tasty that they were gone that night. Happy Halloween in any case!

Singapore Merlion

The merlion is a national symbol in Singapore.  It represents two halves of the city's origin as a fishing village and Singapore's original name, Singapura, which means lion city.  The most famous of Singapore's merlion statues is this one in Marina Bay next to the financial district.

When we were in Singapore in 2010 one of the first things we did after we landed was go to the Red Dot Design Museum.  From there we walked around downtown until we found this famous landmark.  These are a few of the pictures I shot as we walked around the merlion and spent the evening hanging out down there.