Question for the x type owners how hard is it to replace a head gasket or would be worth replacing the whole engine please help

 

I'm also getting smoke out of the resavor while engine is cool as I'm filling it with coolant what could this be

 

Bryan, the difficulty of replacing the head gasket is going to be dependent on your mechanical ability. It can be done, but plan on spending about 12 hours doing it. it is not going to be a quick process. Having a JTIS manual (see sticky at top of the X-Type board) to help guide you through everything will be helpful as this is your first time doing something to this car. It will also help you get things put back like they should.

One thing I will caution you on is as you are removing the overhead cams, note how the cams are orientated to the timing chain. If you look, you should notice some marks on the end of the cam gear and discolored links in the chain. These should line up if you roll the engine. You need to make sure that you get this "timing" back like your found it. Otherwise your cam is not going to be installed properly and can lead to engine damage. Not a hard thing to do, but it is very important.

The big thing that you have to know is how often/long has the engine been overheated. The more often or the longer the engine has been overheated, the more likely the head is going to be warped which will mean more cost/work to get it straight again. if you shave the head to get it true again, then you should do it to the other side too so the compression is the same across the whole engine. This is where it may become more advisable to simply replace the engine.

As for the steam, this can be two things. If the engine is up at temp, then this could simply be the water in the coolant steaming off. This is where smelling the steam can tell you a lot. If it has a sweet smell to it, then it is just the water steaming off. If you get the exhaust smell, then you have a bad head gasket. Just a note though, don't be smelling the steam too much as it can lead to medical problems as the coolant is what is causing the sweet smell and it is a poison. Quick sniff and all is good. Long deep sniffs, you can cause major problems. Another check you can do is start up the car when the motor is cold and see how much white exhaust is coming out. If you get a whisper, then this is normal. If you are getting a lot out, then you most likely have a bad head gasket. Granted, you should also be seeing your coolant tank loosing coolant and requiring fluid replacement every few days or so.

If you are wanting to prove things beyond a shadow of a doubt, you can do a compression check of all 6 cylinders. If you have a bad head gasket, you will see where 1 or more cylinders will have a low compression (should be up around 150 psi or more, less than 120 psi and that cylinder has something wrong with it). That will help narrow down what part of the engine you need to be looking at.

If you need more info, let me know.

 

Thank you for your reply as I checked the dip stick today I noticed signs of water in the oil and on the oil cap as for the steam coming from the resavor the engine was at a low temp with a exhust smell I am most definite I have a blow head gasket. As to witch side of the engine needs fixed I am uncertain on is there a way to find this out without doing a compression check and a way find out if my heads are warped before spending the time tearing the engine down. I'm pretty confident in my ability to do the job just have some uncertainties on the condition of the engine it self. Replacing the head gasket will save me alot of money from buying a new motor. I only have 137000 mi on this engine so I believe I still have some life in it if the heads are good. I would also like to know how I can obtain a JTIS manual for doing the job. If need how hard would it be to replace the motor all together. How time consuming would the job be to do?
Thank you for your time and consideration for my jag very much appreciated I'll be look forward to your reply as I'm more then ready to get it fixed and back on the road.

 

Bryan: To download a pdf JTIS manual:

1) Go to the home page of this forum: X-Type ( X400 ) - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

2) Click the "How To / Quick Links" sticky near the top of the forum. It takes you here: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...essories-5915/

3) The last post on the "How To" page is titled "Workshop Manual in PDF.(thanks to LCGI)". Download the JTIS in pdf format.

4) While you're at it, the first post on the "How To" page is titled "Jaguar_EPC_electronic_parts_catalogue". Very helpful to find Jaguar part #'s.

If you haven't seen this yet, *****-k replaced his 2.5L X-Type engine with a 3.0L Lincoln LS engine, essentially the same as an X-Type 3.0L, but more common at lower cost from US recyclers: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ype-jag-34228/

 

Bryan, there is no way I am aware of that you can check the trueness of the head with it installed on the car. As for knowing whether the head gasket is bad or not, the only other way I know to check the head gasket is to create yourself an adapter that would go into the plug well in place of the spark plug. From there, you would use an air compressor to pressurize the cylinder to around 100 psi. From there you can check the overflow bottle to see if you can spot any bubbles appearing. The big trick with this is knowing where in the rotation the engine is and knowing where the valves are so you can do this check with both valves closed (ie, on the compression stroke). The benefit of this test is you can apply pressure with say a regulator and then you can listen to the intake and the exhaust and determine if your valves are good. But, this is more work than doing a compression check.

 

Thermo thanks for all your help I have replaced the gasket and all is well now. I have another question I believe I need to flush my radiator I have bought a kit to do so but it shows in the directions as a radiator with a direct fill port on top as for the x type has a tank fill how would I go about flushing my radiator with best results.

 

Bryan, treat the port on top of the overflow reservoir as the cap on top of the radiator. Keep feeding water in the bottle and out the bottom of the radiator like the directions state. I have also seen where people have added a tee into the one coolant line so you can directly attach a garden hose to the coolant system. Then all you have to do is make sure the garden hose doesn't get wrapped up in a fan or other moving part.