Hi there fellow Jag X-Buffs,
I'm looking for the "latest and greatest" step by step in fixing some leaks, so anybody who might have a spark of wisdom to share or anybody who's done this recently, please jump in the mix.
I was noticing burnt oil smell going through the cabin coming from the right side of the engine. I went to a local shop to get some input. Quoted me almost $3k for them to fix it. Brought it back home and thought I'll consult my Jag forum friends first as you guys share the same joy and pain that I feel.


This is the diagnosis I got from the local indy:
"Cleaned oil leak area and rechecked. Located a leak at the rear valve cover and timing cover gaskets. Mid-Block gasket is sweating. Located a coolant leak as well at the water outlet on the engine."
I'm by no means a DIY Rock Star yet but I'm willing to take suggestions from you guys!

 

mda419, the valve cover gasket is fairly easy to do. Just don't be in a rush as you are looking at probably a 4-5 hour job based on your abilities/experience. In short, you are going to remove the intake from the engine and then you will remove the coils from that bank of the engine. From there, it should be undoing about 12 bolts and the valve cover will come off. From there, you will remove the old gasket, clean the surfaces really well and then put on the new gaskets. Not a hard job, but not something that you will be done in a jiffy with.

As for the coolant leak, odds are you are getting a leak from where the thermostat T housing bolts to the block. There is an o-ring there. This is another one of those that it isn't hard to do, but it takes lots of time to do. In short, you will drain the coolant out of the radiator. Then you will need to remove the airbox from the car. Now remove the lower radiator hose and thermostat. At this point, you will notice that the T section has a joint in it. I find it easier to remove the retaining clip and separate it into 2 pieces (note, there is a bolt that holds the one end on the far left). From there, you can remove two 10mm nuts and the rest of the T section will come out. The big problem is there is very little room in this area. So, have a flexible joint socket set handy. Then you will need a new gasket (Jaguar part number C2S11282, unfortunately, I have not found a source that can be obtained from your local auto parts store, but I got mine on e-bay for $6 delivered to my door). Pull out the old gasket and slide in the new. I would say to plan on another 4-5 hours for this job. Part of it comes down to whether you are getting lucky in figuring out how to pull the piece off or if you are getting caught up on things.

The sweating mid block gasket, not sure what to say about that. Not familiar with that.

 

First of all a big "thank you" to Chris "Thermo" Coleman and X'Re Ann for an early response.


This sweating is from the gasket in the spot where the top of the Engine meets the bottom of the Engine.

 

You aren't talking about the head gasket, are you? That wouldn't be cheap.

 

Alfadude, no not the head gasket, I hope I wouldn't have to replace that for now! The lesser the expense, the better.