Hello, I’m a new member and not a diy , I just want some ideas on what to do. X351 engine has just 35,000 miles and I’ve owned it since new. The car has had an oil change every January at the dealership. Mileage between oil changes has never exceeded 7,000 miles. No other work done on engine. This past
January, the dealer said I had some valve train noise and a ticking noise that does not go away regardless of the speed. I can hear the ticking noise outside the car but not in the cabin. There are no codes , burns absolutely no oil between changes, has no performance issues at any speed. Dealer said it would
cost about $14,000 to open up engine, fix valves, but there could also be flex plate issues as Jag changed flex plate specs since 2012. Took car to indy Jag garage, he said to write to Jag engineers in England to complain about this issue due:to low mileage before I spend $2000 to open up the engine and diagnose it. Then took my car to ultra high end Jag, Aston Martin mechanic who thinks it is under rear of engine like a flex plate. I’ve been told to sell it, I’ve also been told to drive it gingerly. I just luv this car , it’s only worth $15-20k, if it was a just a car I didn’t care about I would sell it. So, what your ideas, any help
would be appreciated, right now we just use it and if something really expensive goes wrong just junk it. Your ideas please ?

 

sorry to hear , 7k oil changes are a bit high should be 3-4 k between , vales can be changed . you need advice from our resident jaguar mehanic guy called Brutal . hope he sees this and good luck

 

wow, the Jaguar maintenance manual says one year or 15,000, at the most 7,000 is one half the recommended interval. Always used Castrol Edge as recommended, whatever the issue turns out to be these engines should never fail at 35,000 when following their recommendations precisely. Thanks for the
advice

 

Yes - the 15,000 mile interval is terrible.
7,500-ish should be okay, but we each have our preferences. I prefer around 5k miles myself.
Have you always had the dealership do the oil changes?
And if not, who changed the oil, and what weight was used? And we'll generally assume the filter was changed with each oil change unless you say otherwise.

I'd think the most likely source - and I'm surprised if none of your mechanics mentioned it - might be the timing chain tensioners & rails.
If you search for and read posts and info on that topic, it's a known weakness of the original engine configuration, and a revised tensioner/rail has been designed and fitted in newer XJs - I believe in 2013.
I have a 2012 Land Rover Range Rover with the AJ133 engine (5.0L naturally aspirated) and my wife has a 2012 XJ with the same engine.
My Range Rover does have the occasional ticking, not constant, and I plan to replace the timing chain tensioners & rails sooner or later, sooner if it worsens,.
My wife's XJ does not have any problems, and runs perfectly. I'll also change the tensioner & rails on her XJ eventually.

Both of our engines have between 155k & 156k miles on them right now (by coincidence).

Of course since the mechanics have the benefit of actually hearing the noise, their diagnoses has that advantage.

 

Good Morning, Thank you for the information. None of the mechanics mentioned that timing chain possibility, I suppose because the noise seems to be coming from the back of the engine. Also, another stumper about this is that when you take off the plastic engine cover the noise seems to die down a bit , but when you listen under the car by the rear of the engine that ticking noise is very loud. Its' as though the ticking noise is trapped by the plastic engine cover making it louder on top and when it is removed the noise is able to be dispersed and associated more closely to its possible source. The oil has always been changed at the Jaguar dealership with Castrol Edge 0-20w and the filter always changed at the same time-at least that is what their invoices to me shows It has also been suggested to do an engine flush the next time the
oil is changed, another suggestion was to increase the weight of the oil next time to 0-30w or even 0-40w. I live in a very warm and dry climate so the heavier weight oil is of more importance than the lower winter weight designation (0). I also read about clicking fuel pumps but those
were both replaced about two years ago; 10,000 miles or so. Thank you for your reply and expertise, I could only dream of the mileage you have attained so far with no problems.

 

Can you post full details?
We don't even know what engine is in your car??
Has the car ever been over heated?
Have the water pump and the two weak plastic coolant pipes up front been changed?
Have you checked the timing chain to see if it's loose? You can take the oil filter cap off and use a 90 degree pick and see if there is any looseness in the chain. Not a for sure test but it does not require anything to be taken apart or any special tools.
But again I am guessing because we don't know what engine you have?

One thing I notice strongly is these DI gas engines have a pretty good clatter to them at all times. It's especially loud at startup and then fades somewhat as the engine warms up.

Avoid the engine flush with 7K oil changes your engine is clean. Good job on getting the oil changed when you did. It's surprising the dealer did not argue with you and make you wait until 15K miles?
I also think you should stay with the recommended 0W-20. This is for the VVT stuff and there are very tiny oil passages that are critical to the VVT operation.

I think 12jagmark is on the money BUT lets not do an expensive repair yet!
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.
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Good Afternoon and thank you for your reply.

The engine is the 5 liter 385 hp model;

This engine has never been oveheated. However, it is interesting you ask about this , because this a Jaguar replacement in warranty engine that they gave me when the original engine overheated and virtually melted. The original lasted about 30,000 before it melted due to those
water pumps and cooling pipes failing . That engine went through a total of three water pumps before the overheating issue. This ticking engine had the water pump and cooling pipes changed about 2 years ago (10,000 miles ), it didn't overheat though . I woke up one morning to
find all the coolant had leaked out of the engine overnight on my garage floor.
I will have someone take your advice and do the timing chain looseness check., its' certainly worth a try.

Thank you again for your expertise and advice,I will also stay with the 0-20w as I don't want to make matters worse.

 

Gpktwo, atleast for my own knowledge, I would say to go to the local auto parts store and for like $15-20, you can get what looks like a stethoscope (like what doctors use to hear your heartbeat), but it will have a metal rod where the round piece would be. You can start the car, remove the cover, then stick the metal rod against the top of the motor. You are not necessarily worried about the noise itself, but where it is louder and where it is quieter. If you find the noise is more noticeable on the front of the engine, then you are looking at the timing chain guides. If it is more towards the rear, you are most likely looking at the flex plate. You find it happens in a particular spot on the engine, then it is most likely valves. So, in your case, I would start with a spot in the front, one in the middle and one near the rear. Listen to all 3 spots and see which one is the loudest, which is the softest. Get rid of the softest spot and pick a new spot near the loud spot. Listen to the 3 points again and figure out the quietest. Remove it and pick a new spot near the 2 remaining spots. Repeat until you find yourself in a very limited part of the engine. All you hae to do is watch for moving parts on on the front of the engine if you happen to be focusing on that part of the engine.

This should give you some confidence as to what is causing the noise and if you pull the trigger to make a repair, as to what should be replaced. If it is the fuel pumps, I would not worry about them. I drove my car with what I thought was a loud fuel pump tick, but I chalked it up to just being a characteristic of the car. Drove the car for 100K miles like that.

 

I add my penny for finding possible cause of ticking noise: Check serpentine belt and rollers. If the belt have "kink" or other failure or rollers have something forein objects stuck on them, the belt tensioner can make all kind of alarming noises. Most of the cases you can see if the tensinoner are jumping or steady against belt when engine are running.

 

Good Morning Thermo and Vasara

Thank you very much for your "sound suggestions" I will go and buy that stethoscope and by process of elimination try and get a more specific area of the car for the location of the ticking sound.

I really appreciate all the input from Jaguar Forum members, it's great to know that I am being looked after by Jag experts !

gpk

 

pshh I do oil changes every other weekend at 500 miles

 

wait wait wait, so you've literally changed water pumps in this car more often than most change their oil
sure I suppose that's totally normal, as you talk about them so casually

 

aye diesels are bad mate

 

Good Morning

500 mile oil changes, I need to add Castrol stock to my iRA retirement porfolio ( no pun intended)

 

yeah, since the last one was installed two years ago, my mind set is to get ready for another one in 5-6 months. After awhile I just got used to it .

 

just stick to the strict 500 mile oil change, 10K mile water pump change, 30K mile engine change schedule and you should be fine

 

Hey Elite,

I needed a good laugh today, I will budget accordingly
gpk

 

no offence m,ent and not trying to prove an argument but who are you ? change oil every 500 mile . i bit my fault shall slowly back of coz guys not right in head . com

 

a car forum you get these key board warriors now and then . change your oil say every 5000 your car will be fine

 

do whatever makes you feel comfortable, I also put in a new cabin air filter each drive