About to buy a 2004 X-type 3.0 AWD w/ 63K miles...

Documented service records other than oil changes/ rotors non-existent.

Anything in particular/ trouble-spots I should look out for?

From reading the forums, I think the oil pan gasket is #1 on the list.

If I buy, first thing I will do is most likely drain/fill trans fluid/ transfer case fluid/ coolant; possibly replace manifold gaskets and spark plugs.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks

 

if you do that the day you recieve the car you would be in better shape than most members,get the fluids change before and driving,so your one step ahead of the game
with maintanace, i now that sounds a little exagerrated but just get the mechanical parts some fresh fluid
look for oil leaks

 

Thank you for the advice, I was starting to I had post pox or something as no one was responding to any of my posts... lol

 

Fluids and filters are a good idea, sounds like you have that in hand.

If you are going after the plugs, then you will need to take the throttle body off the manifold to get at the rear bank of three - which is a great excuse to clean up the throttle body around the butterfly valve thoroughly - there have been quite a few owners on here (myself included) who have had their engines shut down completely as a result of a sticking butterfly valve in the throttle body. There is a throttle body gasket that should be replaced when you take the throttle body off but I didn't have a new one so just replaced the old one - and 10,000km later there is no problem.

The manifold gaskets were (I believe) originals on my car. I replaced them at 240,000km's although they were not causing any problems. Beware that when you reach the upper gaskets and come to remove the fuel injection rail to access the lower gaskets, you will find that the fuel rail appears welded in place - it took quite a lot of effort to prize that rail off the lower manifold for me and for a while I was convinced I had missed a bolt.

Also worth knowing that OEM intake manifold gaskets cost a small fortune for some reason - many people (including myself) used after market Felpro gaskets that have worked well and cost considerably less.

My final 2 cents - you may also want to replace the IMT O-ring gaskets as these have been known to leak. Unlike the intake and throttle body gaskets, this job can be done in 10 min without need to disassemble anything - however, if you have the upper air intake manifold off the engine, it would be slightly easier to do.

If you need the info, you will find full details of how to do all these jobs (and many more!!!) on this forum with just a few searches - I can personally vouch for the fact that there is enough info here for the proverbial martian just arrived from outer space to perform these jobs competently!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Thanks for the advice... let me return the favor. Great deals on parts at rockauto.com - like the intake manifold gaskets you mentioned.

Per their site:

lower end: Fel Pro Part # MS96485 set of (6) for $11.88

higher end: ÜRO PARTS Part # XR8435366PK set of (6) for $46.79

They have everything for the X from what I see...

Cheers