2010 xf 3.0d v6 90664 miles. She's spun her shells. A common fault apparently.
1, scrap it
2, fix it
3, pay someone to fix it
4, buy a 5.0 supercharged xkr in pink

 

The question is simple. The answer can be quite complicated since "love" is involved.
Having gone down that road more than once, I'll share what I've learned.

If your motivation is to have your dream car and save money, find the best deal that you can on a one owner, well maintained, accident free, low mileage example with the options that you want in a color that you prefer. You can enjoy it right away and likely save money in the long run.

If you love the technology, enjoy learning about and working on it, are competent with tools or are motivated to be, have or willing to purchase tools and have a place to work, keep reading.

If the vehicle's title bears a mark as re-built or similar, it will only fetch 50% to 60% of retail. Not a problem if you find a life-partner but problematic if you meet a younger, more attractive model.

Like any relationship, there will be ups and downs. Sometimes things will run smoothly, other times a bit rough.
The relationship requires commitment. It looks easy at first but when you get to know it there will be new things to learn.
You start off with the idea of pulling the pan and replacing main bearings, but the crank requires turning and now you need oversized bearings. And rod bearings. And piston rings. Then you realize that parts, especially Jaguar engine parts, are a bit difficult to source.
Finally, you realize that a low milage replacement engine will save time and cost just a bit more than the planned rebuild.
So, you happily install the engine, running smooth and notice that rubber boots on ball joints require attention, a little more time, new skills.
The driver door won't lock using the remote, another opportunity to learn.
Finally, the touch screen goes dark (sometimes) but comes back on (or not).
Did I mention that the driver seat adjusts one inch at a time?

If you can face each new problem with a can-do, positive attitude, you are ready for a relationship with that fixer-upper that you love.
And unlike other loves in your life, you can fix this one!

Best regards,
Bill

 

Yes that's exactly what I needed to hear. She is all of those things but I'm unsure of its title. It was a stop gap car but ended up staying. Its just a car but taking a hit on it and spending the same replacing it I could spend half with a bag of spanners. Might even be a leaky injector or split pipe chuff as there is no dingaling tone to the knock. It's like a consistent pfkd noise with no thuds if you understand my meaning. Could've been a dodgy oil sensor and until I get the sump off. If it is scrap I'll just chuck the bits in the boot and put my w124 mercedes on the road

 

Had the father in law over the weekend and decided we'd go and have a tinker.

The knock is present on the right side of the engine but not the left.

Placing a 1/2" drive extension bar on top of the cam cover at the front of the engine as a stethoscope we could hear a definite knock on the right.

A couple of videos on YouTube suggest it is a tensioner on other makes and looking at a jaguar 3.0d engine there is a belt tensioner on the right hand side.

I've got no further than this bit surely if it was collapsed or spun shells then both sides of the engine would have the knock?

I'm feeling lucky.

Let's run with that.

Not drained the oil yet as the undertray has been less than compliant.

 

Go for it. A great project for bonding.
Stay focused and don't get discouraged.
Keep us posted.
Love conquers all!