Hello Jaguarforums!

I recently bought a 2011 5.0 naturally aspirated XF Premium Luxury that upon inspection when driving was making a slight rattle or clanking noise that would be apparent on 1.5k - 3k rpm if you listened closely. Other than that the car looks to be really well kept and the model being the only 5.0 model in the country for a long time I decided to go for it.

The guy I bought it from drove it himself so it can be seen that he took care of the case since the state of the car is really good and when asked about the noise he said he visited a few places for inspection and he was told that the DI engines can be noisy and it is nothing to worry about. That was not enough for me so he sweetened the deal by adding a 10 000 km warranty for the engine so I finally got the car I've been longing for for about 5 years.

Fast forward over 1000kms driven and now the sound has become really apparent to the point where its really audible in the car. I did my research which pointed to the timing tensioners so I started the hunt to find a place that would take the car in for inspection and if needed the timing chain replacement. Jaguars are extremely rare in my country and frowned upon for repairs and especially big engines like this one which meant I have been having a really hard time finding a mechanic that would even look my way. Eventually I took it to a place for a mechanic to take a look and drive around with it for a quick inspection and after driving around with it together he said that it is not the tensioners/chains but rather something coming from the intake manifold or around that area and he said I can drive around for the time being until he can take the car in to actually work on it (think weeks of waiting). Recently the noise has become so loud compared to previously that I am not touching the car anymore until I can get it to be looked at for sure...

I have been reading these forums for all the numerous causes for engine noise such as the engine not liking the oil/fuel or the injector sounds. I can discern the injector sounds as they are electrical switches turning on/off whereas this is more like shaking a quarter in a can or a pastic bottle. I have video of the sound which should give a better understanding of the nosie. Maybe someone has come across this type of situation. I did not have the car for that long, but I really want to figure out the issue asap or at least have any idea of what kind of fixes might have to be done. Here are a few observations of mine from the experience of driving it recently

• The sound does not really change when its a cold start or when the car properly heats up.
• The sound only really comes out when throttle is applied. Easiest to hear is very light throttle inbetween 1.5 - 3k rpms. The more rpms - the faster the frequency of the sound. Letting off the gas pretty much makes the sound stop.
• I don't think the car runs with any significant performance restrictions. Perhaps once it heats up the throttle is a bit less sensitive in low rpms.
• No fault codes or any other warnings are being thrown in the car and we couldn't find any codes after hooking up a computer to it.
• During the test drive the mechanic said he thinks the car does not get enough air on low throttle and should have more power than it has. (I may have to slightly agree with this one, but then again my head might be playing tricks since I did not have it long enough to understand)
• Air intake filters have been changed by previous owner and are still new.
• He seems to have deduced that the noise is coming from the intake manifold and said that it is definately not the tensioners/chains, although I will ask him to inspect them aswell, but from the video I uploaded I think its clear that the manifold makes the noise.
• He also mentioned that the idle is very slightly inconsistent. I cannot confirm this, to me it looks fine, but I am not a mechanic. The rpms do not jump around . I'd say the rpm change might be less than 50 rpms very rarely which I think is normal.
• Oil has been changed by previous owner ~5000 kms ago to 5w30. New OEM water pump installed once I bought the car as the car was leaking coolant. (Was not the pump, just some triple connector hose that is under the intake manifold I believe)
• Mileage is 190 000km or 118,061 Miles
• I tried using a full tank of regular E95 fuel, switched to E98 fuel for a tank aswell. The sound kept progressing without any change.
• One thing that I have noticed is the clanking can sometimes disappear for a while. e.g if u properly drive the car for a while, park it for 10 mins, it cools off just a bit and the sound has disappeared for a while or at least was reduced, but it may be circumstantial.
• There are no leaks coming from the car as far as I am aware right now.

The car is basically one of a kind here with this engine and there are no new/used parts to buy locally and no people who have a lot of experience working on this engine, so I have to look abroad for parts and ship here, which takes weeks of time, so I'd liek to jump on any possibilities asap. I am not ready to give up on this car and return it because this car is truly AMAZING!

Sorry for the long post. :/

Part 1 video: Part 2 video:

 

I recently encountered a similar noise on a LR4 (Discovery 4) which uses the same motor. I mistakenly thought it was the timing chain tensioner noise that can happen on these engines so I started doing the replacement job only to find new timing chain components had already been fitted. So I reassembled the motor and carried on with trying to identify the noise. I discovered the noise was the loudest from the top of the engine and only from around 2000 rpm and up so I removed the inlet manifold which is a very easy job on the LR4.

I then removed the variable intake actuators on the rear of the manifold and discovered the problem. Each of the actuators control a shaft that runs from the rear to the front of the manifold internally and the one shaft was broken which allowed it to move around and caused the clattering noise. I did not even try to repair it and fitted a good used manifold which solved the problem. If you are not able to source a replacement it may be possible to open the rear of the manifold to make a temporary repair but the actuator mounting assembly is bonded to the manifold which will be difficult to remove but doable. I dont know what the internals look like but whatever you do, you need to ensure that there is no way for components to come loose which could then be ingested by the engine. That would be terminal.

Perhaps the variable components could be locked in either the closed or open position which would mean the engine would be less efficient and performance will be suffer but it will allow the vehicle to be used until a replacement can be sourced.

 

Message elviukai for where to get it fixed, he is in Kaunas. You don't know how lucky you are, I wish this guy was my neighbor.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/m...viukai-174472/

 

Thanks for the reply. Hopefully I'll get to find out how lucky I get to be.

 

So, hopefully you are correct. Ordered up a used replacement, should be arriving next week. The rattle has gotten worse, up to a point where I don't even want to start the car and I believe its coming from the manifold since the sound originates from that area. I was suggested it might be valve lifters or timing chains, but the sound is centered I feel.

Hopefully next week I can provide an update that it has been fixed and finally start enjoying the car guilt free.

 

UPDATE:

So, intake manifold arrived. Replaced it and all sounds that were there and I did not like (there was a strange whine sound when it was idling especially, I think coming from the throttle body) ARE ABSOLUTELY GONE.

The job itself was an easy one, took a few hours with my friend. Just be careful when disconnecting the back of the manifold because there are some parts there that can break easily.

I also think my mileage has improved by like 10 - 15 %, and the throttle response is better. Thank you for the advice, gt40. <3

 

Glad to hear that your problems are solved.

 

Just wanted to pop in and express my gratitude for this thread. I recently purchased a 2012 LR4 that decided to start making this ticking noise literally halfway back to KC after picking it up in Chicago.

My stethoscope pointed to the noise originating somewhere on the intake but I couldn’t think of what could possibly be making that racket.

Used intake and new gaskets are on order. I am going to be one happy camper if this resolves it.

Side note. Is there any danger in driving it as it is until the new (used) intake arrives?

Thanks again, relieved to find someone with almost 100% exactly the same symptoms.