It's with the utmost of appreciation for the info posted on this forum, and with the desire to better understand these beautifully crafted and yet complicated machines, that I write to ask for a bit of time from those with experience in these matters to summarize a bit of info, for myself and all the others that will benefit, re: the seemingly inevitable "mainstream" issues that crop up with 5.0 liter supercharged engine. I'm posting in the XF/XFR (X250) page, but this engine seems to have numerous applications across the JLR lineup in it's earlier "Denso" form and later "Bosch" form.

I have a 470hp 2010 version in an XF Supercharged with a 6 speed transmission. I bought the car 9 months ago and have put about 3,000 of its current 83,000 miles. The car makes me feel special each and every time i experience it. I looked for a special car such as this for a number of years, going without because i just couldn't make up my mind. Jaguar wasn't even on my radar for some odd reason and i almost paid 5k more for an Audi with 160 less hp, thinking that going with the top trim A6 would somehow be rewarding. A good friend surprised me with his new used car - the exact year and model XF S/C that I'd end up searching for and purchasing after that first ride.. and what a ride - a drive actually. Triple digit speeds were quickly and easily achieved - almost accidentally and the exhaust popped on overrun - I was hooked!

So enough babbling about all that. the point of this post is to politely request some folks to summarize their actual experiences with repairs, preferably DIY types. Service shop repairs are fine for reasons of establishing costs, suggestions and such, but I'm wanting to move forward with winter DIY projects and, although aspirations of mild capability, I've not a ton of experience here. I'd like to think this isn't a lazy post as I've truly spent hours scouring all of the great info on here. Some of it is exhaustively thorough and some posts disagree with others. For me, all leads to more questions - sorry that I'm a bit compulsive that way.

if you've still reading...

I've got 83,000 miles. Only real "service" work has been a dealer oil change service that i had done when i bought the car at 80,000 miles.

item #1 - I have the loud "thud/rattle" noise upon turning off the engine. some engines seem to start hard.. this one seems to stop hard? from my research this could be a number of things, but the supercharger snout thing could solve this one?

item #2 - sometimes, usually at low idle speed such as when restarting a warm engine when running a bunch of errands, there is a loping sound that i can't quite call a knock in the engine, but definitely a repeating rotational sound. it is no longer evident with even the slightest throttle application. i really don't think it's failing bottom end internals, but it is seemingly from the driver's side behind the wheel and low like under the car. Other times at low idle and medium idle its not there at all.

item #3 (S/C snout) / item #4 (water pump) -
- i just started hearing a mild version of the "marble" in the top front of engine. is this S/C coupling in snout of water pump or?? i will be taking tension off serpentine belt so as to pull it off pulleys and check the water pump and supercharger as best i can based on what I've read here.
- is there any potential catastrophic failure of interference with either the S/C snout or the water pump - or does everyone just deal with it when they start hearing it because that's what you've supposed to do? i do get it that the water pump seizing what be very bad for the engine if it weren't immediately turned off.
- can the S/C snout actually be removed without such major surgery as I've seen documented or is the S/C removal necessary to simply get at the bolts for the snout? Furthermore, does one of the re-manufactured fully assembled eBay S/C snouts for $400 - $500 (and that can be had with smaller pulley already installed) make sense or are there other bearings in the S/C that need to be changed while this repair is done?

item #5 - coolant hoses. are there a dozen different hoses to worry about failing or is it just prudent to take care of the often mentioned rear coolant crosover tube(s) if you have the intake out? seems like rear crosser tube and water pump are the source of leaks and subsequent repairs most often.

item #6 - spark plugs. these sound like a real pain to get to.. is this an independent task from all the other aforementioned repairs? seems like different parts need to be removed for access.

item #7 - do individual coil packs need to be changed at some service interval?

item #8 - what about injectors and cleaning of same?

item #9 - transmission fluid / rear diff - does this really need to be changed and is there a factory supported procedure? I'm only referring to the 6 speed from my 2010 and this is a bit off topic as i stated with the 5.0 s/c engine..

item etc / etc / etc - please add as needed. this isn't intended to be a summary of anything that can go wrong, but the common things that can go wrong / will need servicing as many of our engines approach 60, 70, 80 and higher thousands of miles.

i'll restate - the elective of sharing of your time and experience in regards to these talking points is much appreciated! and feel free to add items. i can edit the original post as applicable to modify / add / delete for clarity if needed.

 

Hope your thread, when fully developed with others' contribution, would become a must-read item for XFR ownership.

My recent experience is tackling the notorious DTC "P0236 Turbo/Supercharger Boost Sensor A Range/Performance". This code is often caused by vacuum/air leak or toasted inlet manifold gaskets. Many XFR owners have found that replacing the supercharger vacuum hose (an easy DIY job) would sort it. Others who are less lucky would find the DTC and engine light returning very soon, suggesting that there are more than one causes for the original warning. It could be the MAP sensors (front and/or rear), or worse still the inlet manifold gaskets (set of three), but it take times and patience to investigation what is wrong, especially tracing air leak from those areas - the engine compartment is well packed and unfriendly to the mechanic. Also, other adjacent parts may break when removing the inlet manifolds. Beyond the vacuum hose and front MAP sensor that can be easily accessed by removing the engine cover, the rest would be the job for the specialist or the dealer.

I also read about water leak from the water pump, which may occur some time down the road. A few XFR owners have done it as a DIY item.

Interior-wise, dash leather pulling and headliner sagging are common issues. There are various posts covering these with DIY or other solutions.

Hope others would help build this list.

 

All of the things you ask about I've pretty much done and written up
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...=7398088&pp=25
The XF is not a hard beast to work on, but it's not easy either. Time and Tools will be needed.

 

If the link is not working just go to all the threads started by me and you'll see all I've done.

 

Rattle is almost certainly the supercharger torsion spring isolator. The thud may also be worn engine mounts, especially if your car has spent time in warm climate as the rubber dries out, though I'd expect to experience driveline shunt if those are worn.

I definitely, definitely had this on my 5.0 S/C engine before it lunched itself, and the noise did concern me, but I never discovered the cause of it. I'm also not sure whether a) it was there when I bought the car or developed over time and b) whether these engines are supposed to make that noise, or whether it's a sign of impending engine failure. I'd love to know what it is. Maybe oil pressure issues? Sometimes it almost sounded like a blowing exhaust, but it wasn't. I'm certain we're talking about the same thing here though.

S/C snout removal may be technically possible with the supercharger in place, but I couldn't do it at all, and it wasn't for want of trying. To split the sealed join I ended up having to back out the bolts halfway and then smacking the **** out of the assembly with a rubber mallet. I just don't think I could get the forces required with the supercharger in place, or I'd have to remove so much I may as well just get the supercharger off at that point to give me the room. Also worth noting that the supercharger can be on tight. I ended up having to get two lengths of box section and some threaded bar to bolt through it and then getting a gym buddy to help me rock it off. It's not light either!

The only one I'd really "worry" about as such is the rear crossover tube because it's such a pain to get to (really need the supercharger removed). Anything else should be pretty obvious. Common failure points are the small plastic L joint on the end of the pipe that goes from the coolant expansion tank to the front metal coolant crossover pipe above the throttle body, and the even smaller L joint on the front of the coolant pump that goes to the Y pipe above the thermostat.

It's a ******* of a job. Mainly because of access down the sides, and having to remove wiring connectors on injectors and plugs one at a time to gain very slow progress.

 

Dave and Will - first off - thank you both for all your forum contributions. I'd be lying if i said i hadn't spent hours pouring over the more technical posts from you both.
so i went for it today - i've been working up the courage all week..

 

i could do this much faster a second time.. as would be expected.

what were they thinking with the wire harnesses and such at rear of supercharger assembly???? PITA doesn't touch it!!!!

Will, i see why you cut the wiper sheet metal on yours. i chose not to, but i was close.

many thanks to Austin, my 15 year old, what a help!!

 

i have several questions - any help appreciated.

is throttle plate to be cracked slightly at rest? see pic.. i assume no idle air control valve and this is how idle is handled??

best place to buy hoses, fittings, (intake) gaskets, various parts?

how to tell if S/C bearings are good? have the slightest "thrust" fore and aft.. spins nicely and no audible noise (coupler another story)

how to clean intake valves (see next thread post for how filthy they are) and any thought on installing oil catch can to keep the intake cleaner in future?

water pump not leaking, but will check tomorrow for pulley wobble? if any wobble = bad and needs to be changed?

 

intake valves caked with deposits.

83,000 miles

lots of oil residue and some puddling throughout intake.. now i know where the quart every 1,250 miles is going..

how to clean? i hear brake cleaner and wire brush? will that work? ok for debris to fall down in cylinder or should i try to run a vacuum while doing this? is brake cleaner bad for piston rings if it gets down in there?

 

isolator / coupler

look how worn the shaft is / notice all the grindings and deposits when this was opened up

it got real noisy, real fast.. or at least i never noticed the marbles till last 500 miles.. i've noticed a distinct clunk sound when turning engine off for last 1,250 miles

have owned car for 3,000 miles

 

i will admit that these pics are going to look like the approach was a bit Neanderthal.. but i took my time and the supercharger was fairly easy to pry off it's gaskets and alignment pins. i used a 48'' pry bar on very front and found what i felt to be a nice safe spot on top of water pump to apply a bit of leverage to S/C. it worked well and fairly quickly. i pried and say the slightest movement then wiggled up and down a few times and soon enough it was as loose as the pry bar was going to make it. the snout wasn't much more difficult - there are 2 locations for prying, by my assessment, at the top side where the 2 castings mate up. used same pry bar as for S/C. a bit too large for application, but i was gentle.

 

Great pics - I'd say your S/C looks in a similar condition to mine was when I took it apart. You may want to consider replacing the torsion spring isolator with a solid coupler - just make sure if you do this that you file the holes in the coupler so they slide on the pins easily. I'd just clean up the rusty dust from it and get a solid coupler.

Also YES the wiring loom behind the supercharger - SUCH a PITA. I coudn't even get the plastic top of the wiring loom holder off. Perhaps even more frustrating is the workshop manual is like "simply remove this loom" as though it's the easiest thing ever!

Good work with the pry bar, I might have found that easier than the solution I eventually went with including threaded bar into the supercharger and box section to lever it up!

I cleaned by heads/intake manifolds with a walnut shell blaster.

 

Aww, it's not so bad once your virginity to doing the job is lost..
And yes change the rear cross over pipe and the hose that attaches to it and runs under the supercharger to the throttle body, as far as the harness, my girl held it while I mounted the supercharger. I also changed my working rear MAP sensor, didn't want to have go back in next year with 80kmi I didn't want to chance it.
As far as cleaning my ports and valves, mine really weren't that bad so brake cleaner and a wire brush did the job for me. Spun my engine by hand and cleaned the 2 closed cylinders, blew out the gunk with compressed air.
Parts searches will mostly get you back to the dealer, I try and buy ahead of need, also I've found as Dave suggested Range Rover parts shared with Jag usually cost less, Ebay-Alibaba and Amazon can be your bestie.

 

also regarding the supercharger snout removal, i know there was some back and forth on a few threads, including where i asked the question, but there is NO POSSIBLE WAY to remove the snout without the entire S/C coming out. there are 3 torx bolts on top and 1 hex on bottom of each side wing. the side wing must come off to have access to the 7th snout bolt. and that's after lift up the front of the S/C to access the bottom snout bolts that can barely be seen, let alone accessed.. at first i saw the 3 torx bolts on side wing and thought it would be removable to access that 7th snout bolt.. but nope.. and i'd already disturbed the intake gaskets so it would be of no benefit anyway.. just wanted to clarify this for anyone with the engine - cannot remove snout with s/c in place. not even if you cross your fingers really hard..!

 

thanks man! yeah i spent way too many hours downloading the workshop manual the other day from topix.. way to many hours.. but it's a good resource. still learning how to navigate it because it likely assume i've been trained up as a jag tech already..
i will definitely take the advice about the tube and MAP/MAPT sensor replacements! although i'd be faster, i don't want to do this again soon. i'm not particularly looking forward to the reconnection of the rear harnesses and those hard to reach bolts that finally allowed the S/C to be free.

 

gents, thoughts on buying a snout rebuilt already as per link below or is that waste of money as the pulley is only around $200 anyway? are there other parts within snout that get "rebuilt"? see link below.

Rebuilt w/ Performance Pulley Jaguar Land Rover 5.0 TVS Supercharger Snout | eBay

 

Yes, there are two bearings in the snout at each end of the shaft.

 

I'd go for it, they have a good rating and you already have it apart. Just get a tune to really wake it up. I'd give them a call for ALL the rebuild details.
MAP sensor link. Intake Manifold Temperature Sensor-(New) BOSCH 0261230295 | eBay
It senses Pressure and Temp.

 

Great find Will - at under 30 bucks that's a no-brainer.