Jaguar Skipping - Could It Be Timing?

In our Ask a Mechanic forums, Sterl asked about his 2003 Jaguar X-type. The car "skips" (hesitates) and the engine light came on. Asking a friend, a timing problem was suggested.

That answer would be probable on many of today's cars, given the number of miles on this vehicle (92,000) and the type of hesitation being shown. It's not the only possibility, but it's the one that most DIY mechanics would probably assume at first glance.

Except for one problem: the X-type uses a timing chain, not a belt.

So the timing being off is very unlikely. The next option is a bad burn in the cylinder - one, two, most or all of them. If that's the case, it's likely a fuel delivery, oil leak, spark delivery, or air blockage problem. The Big Four as most diagnostic mechanics say. Whenever the engine has problems running, those are the first things to look at.

The first step is to test for those four things - check spark, which usually involves removing each plug individually, one at a time. While doing this, you can check for oil leaks as well by looking for oil on the end of the plug and for fuel delivery by sniffing for gasoline on each plug as well.

Air blockage is simply checking the air intake system from start to finish for blockages or flow inhibition - valves, bad filters, etc.

Chances are, one of these four things will be present. Often times, more than one. Also check basic tune up items - fuel filters, air filters, condition of the engine's oil and fluids, condition of the spark wires, etc.