Got in My X-Type one morning to move it within our drive way and no movement! Wouldn't move in any gear. Thought that the linkage might have disconnected, so looked underneath and oh my! There was fluid all over the driveway, under the car. Took me awhile to refill it due having to remove the battery then reinstalling, checking, same thing a few times....Finally got it to move so, took it straight away to the shop we use. Explained the situation then went home dreading what will come next. I assumed that the seals might need replacing but will it be one, two, or all? Got the dreaded call and they said 3 seals will need replacing, told them to replace all since they have it out. On another problem, this has had a front main leak for several years but didn't do anything since the evidence amount was small and needed a quart every other month or so. Since the engine and tranny was out, I told them to check the front main and replace if needed...Well they sent us photos of something else unexpected, I had to go in to take a look. The passenger side valve cover needed to be replaced (firewall side). Photos attached. They ordered a cover but when it came in they found that it was for an S-Type and wouldn't fit. I told them I would search for it (to locate a cheaper cover) as they had issues locating a cover. Searched for a few days but found out why they had problems, covers available were either so dirty they required a chem bath or one or two new covers that didn't match. I remembered a post somewhere in this forum that mentioned that the X-Type and Lincoln LS had the same engines so, I searched for LS covers and, located a new one and it matched and, best of all, it was less then half the price of the other filthy covers. They had a gasket so, I just ordered the cover, they installed it, installed the engine/tranny assy and tested it. Everything was good so I took it home (not going to mention the bill). The next day, I took it to the car wash but noticed a vibration and problems with the brakes. The rear brakes seem to be slow to grip, like they were slipping then a sudden stop. I noticed the pedal move a little when the brakes held. Now brake issues and a vibration. I took it back to the shop the following Monday to have them look at it. I watched as they right away, narrowed the vibration to the belt tensioner. When they applied pressure to he tensioner, the vibration stopped. OK so now the brakes, well, they said the rear right caliper needed replacing as they couldn't complete the adjustments. I told them to hold off on that as I could do that. They replaced the tensioner but the vibration was still there, then they noticed the brake pedal issue and with that located the new problem. The Brake booster diaphragm had a leak, they demonstrated how they located that issue. I was like what? How did I forget about that, well its been about 40 years since I last worked on a brake booster issue. They now had to replace the booster. More $$$. They called and said they tried to reset the computers but had issues with the fuel settings that indicated a bad throttle body? Not again! I did a search for a new throttle body and almost had a heart attack, average about $400 to $1000 depending where and what country. I'm now thinking its too late to get ride of this car...wish I did when I first noticed the front main leaking. Searched eBay and found a clean throttle body under $100. Got that and the required gaskets. That was last week so we are still waiting on what to replace next. Updates to follow.

Was this damaged by someone or a heat issue?

What would cause this?

Now I'm suspicious of a certain Jag dealer in Arizona.

 

First pic, pretty normal on these older cars. You can buy new boots. #2 & 3, it's HOT in Arizona (yeah but it's a dry heat).

 

I don't live in Arizona, was passing through when we had to visit a dealer for front end problems. Also, would have been great if all we needed was those seals, but the valve cover was also damaged. That damage was never noticed as it's on the firewall side and can't be seen. The dealer took about 2.5 hours to replace a rim, wondered what else they did as I was an out-of-state-customer.

 

Update, just picked it up today, not mentioning the cost..... Drives and rides like it did when we got it in 2005. I guess when performance slowly degrades, you don't notice it till its too late. Now I have to fix the headliner as it has slowly dropped over the last 10 years. Oh yeah, forgot about the driver's seat malfunctioned-will not go up-down. Need to search this site for a fix.

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WvHzB98cMTw