I live in the mountains, so my usual driving is on fun mountain roads. I was enjoying a spirited drive this evening when my brakes locked up and I started swerving. It was pretty nasty, but I managed to pull out of it without hitting anything. I saw that my oil pressure light had gone on and pressure was way down.
I pulled over and called a tow truck. Big oil puddle under the car. I don't know why the brakes went, but I'm wondering if an oil hose blew and the oil sprayed on the ABS sensors, causing the ABS to engage.
So - car is at the shop, and tomorrow I'll know what the damage is.
Fortunately, bot the car and I are all right.

 

Are you sure that something in the driveline didn't lock up. If the engine stops, the brakes would feel like they are locked, because there would be no assist.....Good luck.....Mike

 

More likely, the oil spill coated your tires, causing some loss of traction, and prompting the ABS/Traction Control to do its job.

The oil cooler hoses in the lower front of the engine have been known to occasionally give up. This has been reported many times for the older 4.0 cars, and our 4.2 cars have an improved design with better crimping. Apparently, this new design is not a cure-all as mine was leaking a bit when I got the car. I changed it a few weeks back. Cheap and easy job, I hope this is what is going on with your car, too.

Best of luck, keep us posted.

 

fmertz - you're correct, it was the oil cooler hose. And likely that the tires were sprayed by oil. New hose(s) going in on Wed, and once it's driveable we can check the brakes.

Thanks for the input, guys.

 

Hopefully you shut down and the low oil pressure caused no issues.

 

I pulled over and shut down as soon as I got out of the skid.

 

I'll pick up the car today. Oil cooler hoses replaced, fresh oil, and brakes cleaned.
Oil all over the engine compartment - it was suggested that I have it steam cleaned.
I read MrPlow's nightmare after washing his engine. https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...urvive-149400/
Is steam cleaning anything I need to worry about? I know the shop has done Jags before.

 

Wipe it off some with plenty of towels,do not steam clean a jaguar or have it washed in the engine bay. Consider it a warning.

 

Hmmm i have seen this oil cooler line issue come up a few times, perhaps we should be changing these as preventative maintenance, considering how disastrous it can be. Is it the clamping mechanism that comes loose or the actual hose that is bursting?

 

For my 2003 XK8, supposedly with the improved design, there was a small leak at the transition crimping between the aluminum pipe and the rubber hose. As you can visualize, the pipe comes off the engine, and the oil cooler is attached to the chassis, so some form of flexible connection is needed, hence the rubber part. The leak is where you would expect it to be, on the hose going _to_ the cooler, where the pressure and vibrations are the highest. The overall routing has this line go around the radiator, so it is made of 4 individual sections. From what I have read (and experienced on my car), only the first section seems to be troublesome.

To answer your question, I would venture that any sign of a leak should prompt a replacement. Besides the mess it does over time, I take it to mean the probability of a catastrophic failure is high.

Taking a step back, my understanding is that these pipes/hoses are made with hydraulic components (as in big hydraulics systems like excavator and forklifts). There are apparently shops out there that can make new or repaired components with the same fittings. Maybe these guys could provide more input on the life expectancy of a part like this. Or even supply a more durable part if provided with a template.

Separately, someone posted pictures once of a oil cooler bypass (a U-shaped tube, really) that fed the output back into the return. Seems like only some of the cars came from Jaguar with oil coolers, not all of them, so there is some logic to this bypass. I personally would not do it, but it is out there.

Altogether, this hose is less than $100 and easy to change. When it fails, it leaves you stranded, or much worse. We all have done replacement of critical components ahead of failure (think thermostat housing, etc. ). This one should be on that list, too, in my opinion, especially in the early cars.

PS: Tubes, Pipes and Hoses mentions this:

 

That is precisely where the failure happened.

 

Thanks for the info, I am thinking I will be changing these as a precaution eventually. So did you replace both the feed line and the return line? Do the new lines come with the necessary connectors or o rings or are those separate part numbers that can be re-used

 

I can't answer as to what the lines come with, as my mechanic did the work. It appears, though, that they come with both the hoses and the aluminum tubes to which they connect, so I'd suspect they come with connectors.
There are a total of 4 lines, he replaced 2 of them.
His comment seems to align with what fmertz said - that of the four hoses, the parts house had 9 of the first one in stock, and either one or none of each of the other three. That implies that they get a lot of orders for that first one, and not so much for the others.

 

The feed line is made out of 2 separate sections, same for the return line, 4 separate parts total. All these lines connect with screws that can be re-used. There are O-rings, too.

In my instance, I just changed the first feed line, and it came (sealed in a plastic bag) with just 1 O-ring, for the engine side. I had to find another O-ring for the other side. I guess that O-ring might come with the next section, but it is just speculation on my part.

 

fmertz,

You had said you found the hoses cheap. My last estimate was about $400 for all four (which I thought was a bit of a bite). Do you have a source for more affordable ones?

My swivel joints have started leaking in the winter and I'd love to put new hoses in before it get frigid.

Thanks - Jim

 

I just changed one of them, the first one off the block, driver side. Turns out the site sponsor (SNG Barratt) had the better deal. About $80, from memory. There is a forum discount, which more or less covers shipping.

 

Thanks fmertz,

Looks like I'll give William at SNG a nod then. I have some other things on the back-burner that I'll pick up at the same time. I'll probably replace both hoses on the side leaking most now, and do the other two later. Most of the winter leaks are from the slip joints, but one of my hoses is a little moist from possible seepage.

I hadn't considered the safety aspect of blowing a hose, as Kess experienced. This definitely raises the priority.