Hi fellow Jaguar owners.
I entered into your elite group with a bang. After 30+ years of owning German cars, mainly Porsches, I finaly saw the light and dipped my toe in the English waters. I bought a very pretty 2000 MY XJ8 3.2 Sport in a very fetching shade of blue with half leather seats.


The interior of the car looks like it has never been sat in and the exterior is remarkable, resplendent with some very shiny 18" rims. The car has a moderate mileage (96K) for its age and has been festidiously mantained with a full set of stamps in the book. Unter the bonnet looks like new and has been detailed to concourse levels.

Now for the bad news...........I was driving the car home from the dealer's on it's maiden voyage of 180 miles. I got to within a mile of home and the low oil pressure warning came on for a few seconds and then went off again. I was cruising at about 60-70mph and I lifted off and watched to see if it would come on again but after about 1/4 of a mile there was a nasty mechanical clatter from the engine bay and the engine stopped.


I coasted to a halt and examined the dash for clues. I turned the ignition off and selected park. On turning the key to PII the display 1st said the engine had stalled followed by a message for reduced performance mode. Both the oil light and the battery light are permanently on and the engine would not turn over.


I got the car recovered the final mile to my house and am not quite sure what to do next. My initial though was that either one of the primary or secondary hydraulic cam chain tensioners had collapsed hence the drop in oil pressure and the clatter noise followed by cam phasing going out of sync causing valve to piston contact locking the engine solid.

I've just popped the cam covers off to take a peek and all four of the tensioners look fine and the chains look tight and intact.
I'm confused to say the least so could really do with some input from you guys with your vast wealth of experience of this britsh marvel of engineering.


Any ideas what in hell is happening ?

 

Welcome to the forum Stuart,

Good to have you with us at Jaguar forums. Sorry to hear about your traumatic introduction to Jaguar ownership.

Follow this link XJ XJ8 / XJR ( X308 ) - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the X308 forum for help, advice and information. The 'HOW TO' thread at the top is a good place to start for info on regular issues.

Please remember to add vehicle details to your Signature to help others to give relevant advice. Go to the User CP button on the left of the top menu bar, then Settings & Options under Your Control Panel. Select Edit Signature and enter the details.

You can also visit the UK & Eire Region forum by following this link https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/uk-eire-68/ to find other members in your region.

Enjoy the forums.

Graham

 

welcome to the forum, you will find a wealth of info and support here so sit tight as folks in the know will be along soon to offer assistance.


Once the issue is resolved - then you can really enjoy!!

 

Hello, Stuart,
I'm sorry to read of your disaster because from here that's certainly what it sounds like. Oil lights don't come on for no reason, but only because they register no oil pressure. Normally that means there is NO oil in the engine.

With no oil pressure the engine seizes up Very quickly and won't turn over with the starter. So from your description I would say your engine ran out of oil and is ruined.

You say you bought the car from a dealer. That should be your first line of inquiry to resolve this. Any reputable dealer will have a warrantee on every car they sell. The fact you didn't even get home with the car and have tow receipts to prove it is on your side.

The dealer should go to some length to resolve this for you, up to and including replacing the engine; for customer relations, to avoid bad press and entanglement with whatever consumer agency has jurisdiction over such a matter.

I hope you can get this resolved quickly, but you Do need to contact the dealer first and give them an opportunity to make it right for you.

For future reference, If you're driving along and the oil light comes on, Don't continue! Shut off the key Immediately and coast to a safe stop. Of course if you're on a bridge or in a tunnel you may have little choice, but as you have learned, the engine only has Seconds of life left.

Welcome to the forums from ElinorB.
(';')

 

I am curious to hear what the dealer's response is.

I was also surprised to read that you took a look inside the engine before speaking with the dealership. Perhaps the litigious society in the US has affected my thinking, but here actions like that might weaken any claims against the seller.

At any rate, good luck!

 

Hi ElinorB
Thanks for your reply :-)
The engine was not excessively hot and still has a full sump of lovely clean oil. I've experienced a seizure on a ford V6 many years ago and I'm pretty sure this is not what has happened here. What do you think the "clattering" noise was?
Regards
Stuart

 

Hi guys n girls
Thanks for all your replies and support.
I will move this thread to the appropriate forum and will edit my signature as requested :-)
I have of course contacted the dealer who has been very helpful. The problem is (a) they are 180 miles away and (c) the insurance backed warrany scheme has a maximum claim limit which is well below the cost of a major engine rebuild. These problems are exacerbated because of the age, mileage, and low purchace price the car. Remember this is not a new car purchace from a Jaguar dealer! The seller has endeavoured to find a suitable Jaguar specialist in my area to investigate, and have offered to collect the car and give me a full refund in I want. I am reluctant to return the car to them just yet as I feel they would treat it as an ecconomic write-off and I would never see the car again and it is by far the nicest one I have looked at.
I'll keep you all posted
Regards
Stuart

 

Stuart,

It sounds like the dealer is being very fair about this so hopefully you will not end up out of pocket.

In the worst case scenario that the engine is seriously damaged, another considerably less costly option than a rebuild is a replacement unit. Far more X308's die from rust or accident damage than do from powertrain failure. The specialist Jaguar breakers usually have plenty of engines and transmissions available.

Graham

 

Stuart,

Welcome first and foremost.

I have seen a few here that AFTER the top tensioners have been replaced, the mechanic has been slack with the tightness of the bolt that holds the sprocket onto the snout of the camshaft, as it is a crush fit, so TIGHT, REAL TIGHT is called for (I do not know the spec) and NO keyway means if it comes loose, oops, as the sprocket will actually slip on that snout, and the valve timing goes AWOL.

On inspection, as you have done, all "looks" sweet as, but the valves and pistons have done obscene things to eash other.

 

Hi Grant Mate
I understand the principle of your diagnosis. 1st question is why no keyway? who's dumb idea was that! 2nd question is that why did I get a low oild pressure warning? Also if the cam goes out of sync wouldn'y the cam position sensor signal the issue to the computer?
Thanks for you input from down under

 

Welcome to the forum. I hope the dealer looks after you.
I would take the full refund if I was in your shoes,and look for another car. Or as GGG said, replace the engine complete.

 

Hi Grant
Bingo......you got the answer spot on. The left bank cams have gone out of sync. See my post in the X308 forum for details and photo
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...1/#post1235597
Cheers

 

Welcome to Jaguar Forums Stuart,

Good to have you with us.
Enjoy the forum.

If you haven't done so already you should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.
If you need help with getting around and using the forum follow this link for some help Forum Help

 

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