Today on my way to work, I first noticed that the red battery light had illuminated on the dash, and then I realized the power steering was gone. I then realized that the temp was in the red with the red light illuminated. Nothing was showing on the errors except for the park break fault, which I have not been able to clear despite it working correctly.

So I turned around and tried to get home. The AC seemed to have stopped working too and as I neared home it seemed like it was now stuck in gear 1. Again nothing was shown on the dash readout.

I have run the scanner for the codes and will update the thread when I am done work. I did pop the hood and realized the front of the engine was soaked in fluid (possible rad fluid judging by taste). I could hear the expansion tank bubbling but no steam.

My gut feeling as that it's the head gasket. If that is the case should I expect to get specific DTC's?

Thoughts

 

Unwise not to stop when the red coolant light came on. You may well have wrecked your engine continuing to drive it with the coolant rapidly disappearing

 

Sounds like you lost your serpentine drive belt and might have toasted your engine and trans along with it.

Your first clue was your alternator not charging...

 

Seriously!!!! I was about 10 minutes from home when I turned around. The temp gauge at one point went back to middle (as it usually is). What would cause the transmission to 'Toast'? Does the serpentine belt connect to the transmission fluid pump?

 

Your temp gauge returning to the middle was a very bad sign.

That meant that your engine blew a hose or gasket, and you lost coolant to the point where it dropped below the level of your temperature sensor, which would cause the gauge needle to lower itself for a short time.

Meantime, your transmission fluid that is normally cooled by the radiator is no longer cooled as it should be, and loss of cooling can cause it to lock up as it sounds like it did.

It can be checked by seeing if the fluid is burned (dark in color).

 

What would you suggest the next step should be?

 

Have it towed to a qualified repair facility, where you personally have a rapport with the head technician.

Keep yourself open for options, like a used engine/trans package if needed.

 

Get the belt on there for starters. Look for any leaks while topping the coolant (remove are with bleeder screw open. You may not be fully toast, but there is going to be a price to pay in any event. Sorry this happened to you, but the lesson for all is that aluminum engines need to be shut down ASAP when they are overheating. 10 minutes is an eternity with an overheat condition - My son blew up a Mercedes 300 SDL by driving it for about that. Blew head gasket and the car was too old to be worth doing a $1500 head repair. And those things are generally bullet proof. Yes you can fix this. Question will be how much damage has ensued in the overheat.

I hope its not that bad. But I am not feeling too optimistic based on what you said occurred.

 

OK. So I came home and took a look under the hood. I reached in and pulled out the serpentine belt, which was snapped, as expected. I will replace it this weekend and refill the reservoir (checking for leaks). After that I guess I will need to determine if the head gasket has gene (Most likely) and if the tranny is pouched.

Truly heartbreaking. I love this car. I literally just got the electrical problems fixed 2 weekends ago.

 

Just wondering, how many miles is on it?

 

204k (kilometers)

Try to be kind. I wanted to restore the car. I am from England and have loved this particular model forever.

 

I understand perfectly!

Jaguars have a way of attaching themselves to you.

That is why I suggested a good used engine/trans if necessary.

In other words, that is why I would not consider any typical patch-and-fix trial-and-error methods for what can be a reliable, satisfying car.

Just remember to change the serpentine belt at under 100K miles.

 

Best to try the low cost solutions first ! So replace the belt and top up the coolant and see how it goes. God may have smiled on you that day, but you'll only find out after this cheap fix is done. If it doesn't work, maybe God was out in the back having a cigarette ! With the mileage on your car, (127k miles), the cost of serious repairs is inevitably going to exceed the value of the car.

 

Here in the 'States, 127K miles is not that many miles for a 2006 car.

Here we commonly get over 200K miles on post year 2000 cars before we seriously consider "looking around".

Under the same circumstances, I would consider doing the same thing for my 2006 Ford Fusion that has just over 130K miles, and is a such a pleasure to drive, that I have had technicians make me offers to buy after a plug change, and such.

And I know my Ford will never be as collectible as a Jaguar.

 

I dodged a huge bullet a couple of months ago, when my son overheated his (our) p-38 Range Rover. After a head/valve/front cover seal/ full coolant system replacement, ect, it came back to life (pure luck). At least the Jags don't suffer from slipped cylinders, like the old Range Rovers.
I would bet that I used up all my prayers on that one, and wont be so like if there is another. Most of us don't even get that lucky once, nevermind twice. My son now knows: Orange light-call your dad, Red light- shut the %*& damn thing off, NOW
Put a belt on it, fill her up and see.

 

Trust me, we are ALL rooting for you. If some of the i initial posts came off rough, I think it was a combination of thinking worst case scenario and being frustrated that you kept it running even for a short while. I do get the desire to "just get home" before you get stranded on the roadside. As observed a lot of have stories where we wish we had been thinking differently. I do tell my wife and kids, if you get into an overheat condition, 1. Get the car off the road to a safe place quickly. 2. Shut it down ASAP. Some schools of thought have you running at a fast idle (in park, no load on engine) - Others say turn off the AC. On that one I completely disagree. The AC system typically employs more engine cooling via a second fan, or forcing the single fan to run constantly / faster or some other method to raise cooling

One thing people CAN do if forces to drive with a hotter than optimal engine is: Turn on the heat and highest fan setting - open windows so you don't cook the human occupants. This is a desperate method to shed some excess heat, and I can't say how effective or likely to save an engine it is. But I have done it once, and the temp came down significantly, in a 2 liter 4 cylinder Triumph.

I hope, as the rest of us here, that you dodged a bullet, and can get a belt on it, coolant topped up and clean up under the hood and a head gasket hasn't failed or a head hasn't warped. All aluminum (aluminium for you, lol) engines seem to survive over heat events somewhat better than aluminum head/Iron bock designs, at least anecdotally. The thinking is that temperature expansion/contraction is more uniform, and that all aluminum parts work more in tandem. It makes sense on paper anyway.

As for mileage (kilometerage?) these cars can go the distance. As long as the transmission continues to deliver, they can live long and prosper, My last one I had from 107k miles until 179k, and it was doing well. It needed both front air shocks, and was the victim of a number of scratches and paint chips, but the pic in my signature was taken about 2 months before it decided to drive at 75 mph into the back of a STOPPED PANEL TRUCK sitting on an unlit section of highway WITH IT'S LIGHTS OFF. That was beyond its abilities. It is a SAFE car. I came away with a hand abrasion (airbag) and bruised ribs (seatbelt) The all-aluminum monocoque unibody took such a hit, that the roof had a crease and the trunk (boot) lid was misaligned - from a frontal collision.

My current car had 89k at purchase. just over 100 currently. Based on the 18 months I have had it, I expect it to be with me for quite a while. Putting less than 10k a year - hopefully another 8-10 years.

As long as your engine is still viable, hasn't warped or blown a head gasket and the transmission oil hasn't gotten cooked - Your Jag could hopefully survive this.

We (my brother, one year older) and I have worshiped Jaguars forever. In the 60's my dad had a 1961 Mark IX in a green that was so dark, everyone thought it was black. Then, starting with the 1977 XJS that leaked power steering fluid out of the rack as fast as you could pour it in. Over time, my brother did well. He's far from rich, but has enjoyed many Jaguars over time. He currently has 11 of them - including a XJ-13 Replica on an all aluminum racing chassis with 12 Piston front brakes (two 6 piston calipers per wheel) with a built 5.3 liter 12 with 6 dual throat throttle bodies (not sure I a saying that right) making a conservative 450 HP in a 1700 lb car. Big fun that one. Oh - and he has a signed plaque from Norman Dewis to put on it when completed - nice touch.

My current dream car would be a Mark X - but I think they have slipped past the point where I could afford one - you know... one that actually runs, lol. That is a spiritual predecessor to the XJ, in a size LARGE. It's sort of a Texas style XJ - "Nothing exceeds like excess"

Please let us know how things pan out. Hopefully you won't be shopping for a used drivetrain.

 

UPDATE:

I put a new serpentine belt on the other day (two days actually, since day one was a waste of three hours, but day two went smoothly). I had to put the battery on charge and condition since it had gone dead since the day I got it home back in July. I topped up the fluids (surprisingly not that low) and hooked the battery back up. With fingers crossed I turned the vehicle over and it started first time. I took it out for a test drive and the engine runs as well as ever (slight squeak from the belt). I cleared the fault and ran a diagnostic. I have some codes that I will post in another thread, but none of them seem to be related to the overheat, insomuch as I was seeing them before it happened.

All that said, I did indeed dodge a bullet, as some of you had phrased. I am feeling optimistic about getting back on track with my restoration.

 

Hope all reading this remember. I think the temp gauge is confusing. But if you throw the belt. Stop and at least let it cool down before scurrying home.
I would have a hard time changing the belt in the side of the road 5 minutes from home.
Towed our Sequoia earlier this year after fuel issues killed it. Bought a 20.00 tow rope and drug it the 3 miles.

 

Hello Leslie,
Can you update this bullet dodging thread with an update please mate?

How many kilometers since the belt and coolant?
Head never warped?
Good on ya!
michael

 

just a note for finding the parking brake fault...i finnaly found my problem the other day with mine. it worked great but i always got the "park brake fault" Turns out to be the ignition switch, do you have slop in it. Mine would go to acc, then run then start. there should be a noticeable stop between each one. Mine had no stop between acc and run, so it would cause the ignition signal to turn off to the instrument cluster. hope this helps this other problem.