This is a post I was hoping I would never be the one to have to make. I took the car out a few weeks ago since the weather was nicer than it usually is and there wasn't any salt on the roads. Got about a mile from my house and the car felt wrong, like there was a hiccup. Said, alright I will turn around and take a different car, deal with this when its warmer. It got worse then suddenly the car just died. Couldn't re-start it. Had the car towed to a local mechanic. They are now telling me that they can't turn the crank no mater what. He thinks the engine is seized.

How screwed am I, is there anything else on this engine that could cause the crank to not turn? I am going to have to find a good local Jag guy and have it towed there (recommendations for north west NJ would be appreciated) and have them look at it, but I am kinda worried here, the engines for this car aren't cheap!

Thanks guys, wish me luck, I could use it!

 

How is the oil level?

 

Hydro lock?

 

Dumb question, how would one know the difference? It was pretty cold out and had been very cold before hand

 

I doubt hydro-lock. Water would have come out of a spark plug hole when removed.
Again, was oil low or a milky brown color?
How many miles?

 

It could be something jammed up in the bell housing. When I looked at the failed Gen 1 clutch/flywheel parts after warranty replacement there were clearly loose parts. I didn't inspect very carefully but the dual-mass flywheel seems to have partially come apart.

 

Sorry to read about your car trouble.
Im located in Morris County NJ.
I know of an excellent independent mechanic who specializes in service & repair to Range Rover vehicles and Jaguar cars.
The auto shop is in Essex County.

Where are you located?

 

The OP had no mention of having the spark plugs pulled, but that would be a step towards figuring out what's going on. With the plugs out, if the engine cranks and water sprays out of the plug holes, that's your answer. Hydro locked engines are often, but not always, toast. Sometimes you can get lucky and simply crank the engine until the cylinders are empty then hope that it didn't do any damage to the crank, etc. Hydro lock could occur if you have an aftermarket intake that is mounted low enough that that driving through a puddle causes the engine to suck up water through the intake.

Another possibility is that the coolant froze and cracked the block and allowed coolant into the combustion chamber as the engine warmed. This could also cause hydro lock. I've had coolant freeze on a Tercel, but I caught it before any damage was done. I happened to notice that the temp gauge was not moving and I didn't have heat in the passenger compartment. Opening the radiator revealed slushy coolant. Disaster averted by letting the coolant thaw due to the engine heat, running the engine for a minute or two. Rinse and repeat until the coolant was thawed.

Could also be something like the timing chain broke. If it is an interference engine (dunno if it is) then a valve could be hitting a piston preventing the engine from moving. If it's not an interference engine then the repair is pretty straightforward.

At any rate, prepare yourself for a salty repair bill.

 

Hope it turns out to be something inexpensive and easy. Here's a link to a rebuilder:

https://tapajaguarlandroverengines.com/

 

It's best to find a local shop.
The OP is in NJ.

 

I'm serious about checking that something hasn't jammed the flywheel in the bell housing before tearing into the engine. I'm not sure what generation clutch and flywheel you've got but failure rate on Gen1 is alarmingly high. I was going to say "near 100%" but I don't know the actual numbers. It just seems that way.

 

Low oil, can lead to oil starvation to the bearings, witch can cause a lock up.

This is what I found in my engine, could hardly be turned. Mine is very rebuildable. A hint was metal parts in the oil filter.



A former rod bearing

Journal seems good

 

I'm near Lake Hopatcong at the border between Morris/Sussex

 

You know, now that I think of it I did half wonder if something was up with the clutch right before it happened.

 

Bro I hope everything turns out ok. Same thing happened to me, but the infamous "Y" Pipe failed on me after a quick race that I won. Sat there and talked with the other driver with both our cars running for a few minutes, drove off and lost power about a mile down the road. No warning lights, noises, smell...nothing. Just died all of the sudden. I bought a used motor off ebay from a reputable dealer for 6,500 with 37,000 mi. on it(mine had 77,000 on it) and now a few thousand miles later I'm still enjoying my baby.

 

How bad was the install? I am seeing $5kish

 

Yep I got a deal for $3,000 though because I know the guy so well, been doing business with him for almost twenty years.

 

C & G IMPORTED CAR REPAIRS

780 Bloomfield Avenue, Verona New Jersey

973-239-9726

The shop is constantly purchasing auto parts from Paul Miller Jaguar, Parsippany New Jersey. They specialize in Range Rover and Jaguar vehicles.

Keep us updated.

 

Me too. In fact, I bet we are both in Roxbury Twp.

Another shop that is well-liked is Marotta Motors in Hawthorne NJ. Mario is a JLR Specialist.

 

Joe Augustine at 12VoltDoctor in Staten Island does engine replacements. I hope it does not come to that.