Hello,
A head gasket in my 2011 XF Portfolio 5L V8 engine is blown at 54K miles. I asked the dealer if it was repairable and they quoted me an insane cost, and also discouraged me from attempting the repair stating they could not guarantee it. My mechanic (independent Jaguar and Land Rover shop w/certified Jaguar mechanics) also told me the head gasket could not be repaired - something about a part being too thin to be machined. He suggested I get a used engine, which I did, but the replacement engine I bought had issues and ended up blowing a head gasket in less than 200 miles of driving. I received a refund for the engine but not the labor (of course). New parts and installation of the first used engine cost $3500. The used engine (61K miles on it) was $5400 (refunded). The car can be driven (barely), but it runs rough. Once engine gets hot (3-4 miles of driving) it misfires and loses power. Also, coolant enters the engine and comes out of the tailpipe.

I hadn't thought of asking on a forum before, but now that I am in the exact same place I was before - a blown head gasket (and $4150 poorer), I'm reaching out to get suggestions on next steps. Has anyone successfully replaced a blown head gasket on an XF? What are my options now? I don't want to buy another used engine and take the risk of getting another bad engine (though my mechanic said he would work with me and only charge me $2K + needed new parts to try again). The car is in excellent condition and I serviced it regularly. It was well-maintained and had not had any mechanical issues... until the water pump busted which led to the blown engine (kept driving it not knowing car was overheating). Water pump failure is a known issue, and as my mechanic tells me, a blown engine due to this happens frequently. Seeking advice.

Thanks in advance.

 

Before going any further, have a read of this thread and discuss it with your Technician:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...warped-198197/

 

Thank you for this. So there's a chance. I'll share with my Tech.

 

Was there a cause to your head gasket issue? Or was it just one of those things?

Kinda concerned . I might be buying a 2013 XFR.

 

Almost all head gasket failures are because the engine overheats. Jags, and a lot of other cars have tons of plastic pipes in the cooling system that will blow after a certain number of heat cycles and time, and then you lose your engine. You could wait for the plastic to go bad, and then lose an engine and then have to replace the plastic on top of it, or you can just replace the plastic every 5-6 years.

To the original poster, you would have been much better to sell the car for parts and buy another one than going down this financially poor path that may never get you a reliable, running car. If I were you, I would cut bait even after the $4K loss.

 

Is there any warning? Check engine light? Temp gauge rising?

Seems like a pretty expensive preventative maintenance measure. Removal of the supercharger, intake, part of the cowl, etc

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That's one of the problems on the XF, there is no temperature gauge, all you have is a warning message and by then it may be too late.
Much the same with the coolant level, no gauge but there is a "low coolant" warning message which again could be too late.

 

That is truly unfortunate. No temp gauge on a high output sports sedan? My Nissan Quest has one

Is there an aftermarket temp gauge that can be implemented that doesn't look bad?

I'm asking because I'm torn between an E550 I'm looking at(Renntech goodies will be added) and an XFR I'm also looking at. The possibility of the XFR being turned worthless so easily and without warning is tipping the pendulum to the Mercedes.
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If you don't mind having your mobile phone sitting in a phone holder attached to the dash or the windscreen or an air vent then you can run an app such as Torque (or even the free Torque Lite) which shows a number of things including coolant temperature.
I use Torque Lite and from memory it doesn't show coolant level but Torque just might.
There are others out there as well.
You will also need an OBD2 plug-in Bluetooth dongle such as an elm327 but they are dirt cheap on Fleabay.
Torque is available for both Android and iPhone.

 

What usually blows engines is this scenario.
"my low coolant light came on but the temp guage showed normal, so i just assumed it was a sensor problem for the low coolant so i kept driving. And then the engine just shut off!!!!!"
yeah because a fluid temp sensor doesn't read air they need coolant or liquid to be in contect with them. Until they get REALLY HOT, then they will show it and then its too late. So is the coolant just a little low? Is it full and just a float level sensor?
Or is a pipe or hose blown and no coolant in the engine???
Seriously a guage or light is not going to help your laziness from getting out of the car and checking. Your consequences are a minor repair or a new engine!!
And is there a car that uses a coolant level guage im not aware of???

 

Well, turns out the XFR I am considering comes with a transferable extended warranty. There is about 3 years and 40k miles left on it.

So that tips the pendulum from the E550 to the XFR.

 

Whoops! Wrong category.

 

The head gaskets are absolutely replaceable. I had one head that was not machined properly and left enough room for the gasket to fail. I had to have the engine pulled, the heads taken to a shop and machined. It was doable and 50k miles later the engine is still running just fine.