I have pulled the trigger on obtaining a 2010 XJL, deals done, I am lining up those things I always do on cars I obtain (regardless of history), I am also well aware of EGR and DPF topics - I run two Passat diesels and maintained appropriately neither system is an issue - but dealer maintenance isn't always appropriate and I wouldn't trust a main ******* to diagnose anything without a PC and 'idiot sheet'.

So my list is essentially to replace the oil / filter as a minimum - no dipstick - really - that's a whole new level of BS especially in a diesel, flush and replace coolant and brake fluid, may purge the ATF in the trans and power steering too but I don't think the miles warrant it as there is a new transmission under the car with less than 10k on it - receipt to prove (over £3k ouch). Brake discs and pads are all new also, I am told the inlet manifolds have been replaced also - but if the induction system has been an issue the DPF may be in trouble.

What recommendations would there be from those with experience of the twin turbo 3.0 for a list of 'to do' items as preventative maintenance / peace of mind. How reliable is the suspension stuff especially the air dampers at the rear (is it worth getting spares when they're available) - what spares would you keep on the shelf for a rainy day.

I am inclined to pull the EGR system and generally clean up the induction system including the DPF differential pressure stuff which includes removal of inlets and cleaning up the back of the valves (I do this on the Passats every 40k or when the cambelt gets replaced whichever is sooner), I'm sure there may be an intercooler hiding under there somwhere - do these things need flushing periodically, my TD5 Discovery sure did, the crankcase vent on that was awful and didn't prevent oil from carrying over into the induciton system.

I don't do the breakdown thing, I have read the horror stories about self destruction of the 3.0 in the XF groups but not so much in the X351 community - if I can prevent such scenario's by a little preventative TLC then that works for me, cost is not an issue.

 

Hello,
Welcome to the forum.

I have 2010 XJ 3.0D with +295t km on odo. Yes, no dipstick. The electric one do actually work very well and by ultrasonic type it is error free reading, what long dipstics sometimes are not. There are pipe to the botton of oilpan, but it is only for sucking oil out. Do use only recommended low-saps C1 oil!!! Recommended are Castrol Edge C1. Using this prevent plastics to go britlle, since it have correct add-ons for the type of plastic used in the engine. (i still have all original plastic parts on my engine)
I change my engine oil in every 10t km to prevent possible oil-dillution issue, what are issue on these platforms. There are risk of rotation of main bearings causing major failure.
With external eletric oil pump an oilchange are about 20min job. Oil filter are top of the engine and easy to change meanwhile the pump are sucking the oils out. With low saps oil, i don´t have almost anything over intake valves on these kilometers. So, no need of valve cleaning like in some of VAG or PSA engines, where this have to be done as a routine.

The timing belt have to be changed every 180t km. There are another short belt for high pressure fuel pump what have 1st change in 240t km and then every time with timing belt.
The air suspension on back seems to be reliable. (not like S-Class, where it is better to order new ones to the shelf every time they are changed on car)
Front lower connection arm (Banana arm) inner bushes do lose their stiffness in 60t-90t km. You will note this by vibration on steering wheel what do not disappear by wheel balancing. Cheap and easy to change. (OEM brand are Lemförder, chinese made are cheaper, but last sometimes only 10t km)

XJ (x351) do have slightly too long distance between Cat and DPF. This means that if you drive short distances, the DPF burning do not complete. (it takes long to get DPF burning running) On pre 2016 model 3.0D the burning cycle are dome every 200km-400km, depending the driving conditions. If the burning cycle do not complete, the system will try again in next time the conditions are met (engine temp, oil temp, position of the moon and bee fly) Every burning cycle increase the amount of unburned diesel entering the engine oil. This are called oil dillution. If you drive an short distances there are a trick to fix the DPF heat issue somewhat better if needed.

Most of the problems and fault codes are caused by weak battery. Even many battery testers will say that your battery are Ok, the x351 with ign On and engine not running the power consumption do are something above 7A-12A !!
If you note that your instrument TFT goes black after engine start and then wake up again -> Your battery are low.

To keep injectors in good and clean i use twice a year (spring and autum) Lucas upper cylinder head lubricant for three full tank in a row. Smoke tester on yearly MOT still giving 0.00 value.

I have been very pleased on my one. It have been great runner. (i drive long distances, what propably help)

 

I appreciate your input a lot - I was about to buy in 20 litres of the recommended oil. I used the Castrol Edge stuff in the XF so I will get some of that in, car has a full Jaguar history (no independents) so who knows what they have used in it - Castrol Edge was pretty much the only oil recommended in the XF.

Lemforder I am familiar with - I use their parts on the XJS.

I don't plan on short journeys though sometimes not avoided so I will factor for a trip on the motorway monthly or something like, I do try to make sure the car comes back good and hot if I use it but it is hard to meet the criteria for regen on the roads around here.

I had the same issues with battery on the XF but I still reckon the Jaguar onboard monitoring is garbage - I measured an 8A draw if you so much as got close to the car with the key ( I couldn't store the key in our kitchen because the car wouldn't sleep ). You could charge that battery for a month or have it sat on a maintainer for weeks and it would still complain 'low battery turn off media or start engine' - pain in the butt - I lost confidence in the cars ability to start after trips where it sat in an airport car park so had a lithium booster in the boot permanently charged. Not sure how old the battery is, I'll verify and probably replace - not even seen it yet.

Sounds like the DPF is a candidate for post combustion injection where an injector in the manifold or downstream of the engine injects fuel into the exhaust - way too much trouble to rig that up so I'll go with the oil changes more frequently.

 

Hi,

Do you lock the car? If you leave it unlocked in your garage, then it will never go to sleep mode and for sure the battery drain are high. By locking the car it will enter in sleep and the power consumption will drop as low as any other modern vehicle on park. Mine have been 4 weeks in airport parking and started Ok.

If it would be downstream injector, it would be super, since no risk of oil dillution. Now it is main injectors adding post combustion fuel cycle for DPF burning and piston rings have to sweep unburned fuel. Because diesel fuel are thin, the piston rings are not working very well with it and so the fuel will end to the engine oil.
The trick are to insulate the downpipe from CAT to DPF with heat insulator materials or tape mentioned to use on exhaustas. There are many products for the purpose. Exsample this: The DPF will heat up faster so the burning cycle are shorter and odds are that it need only one go to get burn done. (less fuel to the engine oil)

 

I've tried resisting this question (but have obviously failed ).
They aren't sold on this side of the pond, I know, but what is allure of automotive diesels? A quick, back-of-the-envelope calculation for UK petrol vs. diesel 6-cylinder X351 looks like 23% better fuel economy but 13% worse fuel price for the diesel. With all of the extra maintenance, this doesn't make sense without driving lots of miles annually. Under that scenario, the issue of MPG vs. MPC (miles per car) comes into play.
Is there a massive UK tax break for diesel registrations, etc.?

 

Yes I lock the car, I got so fed up of the battery vampire that I installed a logging multimeter and logged the parasitic draws. It isn't unknown in these cars for a module to go rogue and not shut down. The car will start to wake up if you get anywhere within a 3 metre radius of the car, presumably some genius programmers idea to speed things up, why people are in such a darn hurry I do not know - like people whining because a PC takes more than 10 nanoseconds to boot up - figuratively speaking of course.

I am pretty sure the guilty party is the sat nav because the standing draw is higher when the DVD is in place and you can if careful hear it still running. I tried all the usual reset strategies, had the module code versions verified and updated where necessary.

The car let me down only once but that is enough to trigger me - I don't do the breakdown thing - I'm a bit OCD about such things - I don't mind if the fault is mechanical and unavoidable but if it is 'avoidable' I can get pretty cranky.

I'm currently reviewing the potential for injector replacement - have you ever replaced yours ?

I've been offered a 42k complete engine for 3k from a 2014 car - which doesn't seem a bad price when you look at the cost of replacing belts and a set of injectors and you get a spare engine out of the deal.

 

No not really, the opposite if anything. The big challenges here are what we call road tax - the lower the emissions the lower it is - and for a big 5.0 petrol it can be £600, plus the spares for the larger petrols are more expensive, because the cars are not so common. To find a full fat supercharged XJ in good order isn't for the impatient.

Diesels are I agree a pain in the wallet maintenance wise and I agree only make sense for high miles. There are also beginnings of the California 'everything gives you cancer' nonsense sprouting here and to enter some areas now it costs extra if your car doesn't make the grade - so my XJS will never see one of those places - I pay my taxes quite frankly if they want to keep people out of the cities I'm fine with that - I don't care much for cities anyhow (I'm a country bum / Redneck / Hillbilly - find an adjective) - best way to see any city is in the rear view mirror.

I've had my 7 years with a supercharged beast, just ready for a change - besides - old and new XJ - considering building a set ....

 

petrol xj are is miles better even the v6 supercharged version so smooth and quiet compared to the diesel (tractor) versions and no silly problems for short journeys , over here in the UK most have the diesel version , I had two myself till I seen the light and with diesel pricing now and I do think it will go up further as the UK do not make diesel they rely on Russia and old putin is about to screw the EU and Uk more in his economic war on the west now they have imposed a $60 a barrel ceiling for Russian oil , diesel prices will go up further , more road space for us luxury petrol owners

 

If there are an question, don´t hesitate to shout it out loud.
Like already ansvered, it´s quite common that vehicles are taxed in European side by CO2 emissions. Big V8 or even V6 petrol do have its costs, therefore pretty much 90% of big and heavy vehicles (MB, BMW, VAG, JLR...) are sold with diesel engine) Also when the gasoline price are higher here in EU area, the difference on miles/gallon really pays off. (specially if driven 20-30t km / year)
We pay pretty much double (or more) on this side of pond. Today 95 octane gasoline was 1.9€/litre and Diesel 2.0€/litre in Helsinki area. (Diesel used to be about 0,2€ cheaper here, but our coverment raised the taxes....Green thing. I am not against it, but can´t calculate it out how rising the fossil fuel prices increasing sales of electric vehicles in a masses. In my head it will eat the savings away from masses and by that way the electric vehicles are further away. Maybe i am just stupid. )

About servicevise by my experient in both, gasoline and diesel, the diesel do run with less servicecosts in high mileage. (exept 2.7l3.0D V6 diesel on Jag/LR have the short oil change interval, but in PSA (Peugeot/Citroen) application, where the DPF are much closer to the cat, the same engine can run 25t km between chances without any issues with oildillution -> PSA volumes on same 2.7/3.0 V6 diesels outruns JLR by 2-3 times)
There are about equal amount of sensors on Diesel/Petrol, there are EGR:s in both, filters to change, timing chain/belt,,,,, Exept no spark plugs or failing coils on Diesel
On petrol Ford based V8 / V6 engines in JLR:s there are painfull issue with waterpump, what can cause rapidly total wreck of the engine. If the temp rises, shut the engine off immediatly.

 

I have a Passat on 160k miles still on the original DPF, clogged DPF's are a symptom not a cause - if the DPF is choking something else is wrong which could of course be how the car is used.

 

Absolute. My XJ 3.0D have now +295t km (+226t miles) with original DPF. I used to have 607 Peugeot 2.2D what i runned up to bit under 500t km (380t miles) as well as my van, i used to drive xross the central Europe many times a year back pre-2015, reached near the same. Ever had even DPF full indicator lit any of these. (propably long distance driving was the key, but i also believe regulant services with correct oils, etc..)

 

Dare I ask @Vasara given your mileage have you ever replaced the injectors on your XJ, glow plugs, Turbo's ?

I am looking at the costs for replacing such things as injectors, turbos and belts and the total cost is making the proposition of a complete 'with everything' low mileage engine from a 2014 car very appealing - only has 40 k miles reportedly - so besides coding the injectors and a bit of hassle replacing said engine it is looking like a cost neutral option and I get a spare engine to refurb at my leisure and other 'stuff'.

 

Hi,
I have all original. EGR:s, turbos, injectors, high pressure pump, glows, even waterpump. The belts and rollers i have changed on time. (timing belts are well doable as DIY)
I have noticed that my valve lifters are not anymore holding oil as well as they should. Been thinking that if and when any of inlet manifold goes, i keep dismantling the heads as far that i can change lifters.

Note that the timing belt have anyway max 10 years of "tension" age, so even you purchase 2014 engine, it is soon ahead.
Having an another engine what to overhaul to pieces and back together are Ok hobby. Been spend 3k for much worse... (search youtube "tdv6 piston broke garage" - its Range, but same engine)
How about purchasing the 2014 engine, rip it to parts and service it good meanwhile driving the original one once you get it done? (and offcource report how it´s proceed)

Btw: You vehicle might need an full system reset if you have constant battery drain. On x351 just removing battery and draining condensators are not enough, since some data are also saved on non-volative memory. The full system reset can be done by factory tool SDD. I sourced one from webshop advertising themself as german, but they are far east. Software for sure are original, but the activation do not nessesary meet every step of the lawbook. It have been working Ok. (you need min 25A charger to keep reguired voltage level when operate)

 

I actually have the correct cable and also had the SDD tool but I refuse to pay Jaguars price to use it - quite frankly a Topix subscription I cannot justify as I am not prepared to pay an annual cost and I also can't be sure that one day will be enough I suppose I shouldn't be such a cheapskate.

I've been looking at the XTool D8, I already have the iCarSoft LR but it is too limited and a real pain to use with its piddly little screen, SDD was actually a nice tool until Jaguar boosted all the prices - which I'm sure is fine for businesses to justify but not a weekend warrior like me.

Biggest chargers I have are 10A max and they aren't exactly auto they're classed as light commercial. What do you use ?

I'm probably just guilty of man math and planning to fix something that isn't broken and when I start that my projects have no boundaries - it gets silly really quickly.

I'm curious that you say DIY is possible. I must look for a better source of information than the workshop manual - they make it sound quite complex with the 'don't slacken bolts more than a 3/4 turn' make sure both wheels are fully clockwise - it makes no sense at all so I'm guessing the cam wheels are not keyed and are held by friction alone on a taper like the VAG TD5's - oh how I hate that design - perhaps I'm just getting old but the workshop manual did not make a lot of sense in a number of places.

Then there is the fuel pump belt - how accessible is that and how easy to do ?

 

The "chinese" copy came with sw "tool" to allow SDD acess without on-line connection. Only small detail are that the laptop date/time have always be within 30days from original installation date, otherwise SDD start to look SW updates from topix server instead of starting. I agree that business need to be running and so on, but weekend warriors should get eased up a bit.

I use 40A AC/DC powersupply what i adjusted to give out 14.4V DC. It is one of these high brite outdoor LED screens for advertising. (Meanwell brand) Slim desing, autocontrolling, light and with +90% effiency it have worked well.

I used to racing in past and tuned/serviced my vehicles myself. I know what you mean about fixing what are not broken. It is true, but in otherhand, if you need to be sure that everyting are Ok and do not fail on these critical (and quite expensive) miles down to the racetrack, you have to open working engines and check tolerances etc...

The exact timing on modern engines are quite important. This method are used in many engines. You need to lock cams with pins (or 6mm drill bits (not sure if i remember size right) and special locking tool to the "flywheel". Opening are behind the starter motor. Seek eBay for tool)) and get cam wheels turning loose when you add the new belt on plase. The thooted belt alone are not accurate enough to reach correct timing, If done by bores, they have to be very thin. Therefore the cam wheels are turning freely and once the belt are on place and tightened, the cam wheel bolts are tighten and cam wheels positions are lock to the cams. By this the timing adjustment are complete analog. (exept the drilled holes for the timing pins) There are millions on this kind of adjustment on the road. Friction method are surprisingly good. In racing i seen more failed keys (or bores) than slipped friction joints.

On XJ the high pressure fuel pump belt are not bad, compared to smaller XF. For better access remove the plastics covering the wiper mechanics. There are an tool for timing on that too. On 2.7L the timing are not needed, but for 3.0L it needed to be timed. (will run without timing, but with less power). It is bit of fidlle because you can´t get you head in there to see directly. I recommend to get one of these small mirrow with magned "swan neck" arm. (i did not have it but managed still. Next morning wify wondered what in earth has happened her small make up mirror? It is still a mystery)

 

Already have the pivoting mirrors, I looked at the job again and I was misunderstanding the way the pulleys rotate - it seems that the cams are actually locked but the pulleys can shift slightly to ensure timing is set correctly and not pulled in any direction by slight deviations in the belt, on the whole it looks fairly simple although the starter looks to be a bit of a challenge.

I had bad experiences removing the scuttle covers and wipers on the XF - those plastic covers are hard to remove without breaking them in the clamp at the bottom of the windscreen.

And much like you were with racing engines etc so I am with the cars I drive - I don't do 90%, I like my cars 110% when it comes to maintenance (hence this post) and that really means my maintenance - I don't trust dealers or other mechanics unless I know them really well, I especially don't trust dealers because they no longer go the extra mile - what is on the job sheet and no more and that is done as fast as possible, what they call a service these days is laughable. Gone are the days when things were fixed, now it is all about replacing and hoping it fixes - and the customer gets the bill whether it fixes or not.

I watched one guy on YouTube bitching about an old XJS because he couldn't connect a diagnostic tool - pathetic - he was completely out of his depth and totally wrong to boot, such people are not mechanics and shouldn't be allowed to touch peoples cars, whats worse is people will watch these things and believe them..

Been looking at manifolds too - that looks to be abit of a horror story. I am impressed that your injectors and turbos have gone the distance they have - very impressed - they've got to be getting due for some TLC.

 

The starter could be worse. If i remember correctly i used long extension for upper main bolt to have wrench on frontside of enginemount, where was more space to turn.

Today i am going to change 1st thing i need to replace in rear axle: When i change wintertyres few weeks ago, i noticed that the rubber cover of the rear tie rod (outside joint) have cracked in right side. New Lemforder arrived yesterday.

 

As a preventative is it too difficult/costly to change some if not all of the coolant plastic piping? Should that be a priority? Could you get away with changing some parts if so what ones?

 

On 3.0L diesel engine there are only one known weak plastic part, an Coolant Flange top of the engine, not many failed reported. Its easy to change and cheap component. Wise to change during timing belt job, since its well visible during the work. Search one of these OEM numbers: 1316061, 1331447, 1357091, LR073372, FA4201. I still have original, but just bought replacement and going to change it in next coolant change before summer. Even the water pumps seems to last forever on 3.0L diesel. (i am running with original at 300 00km (184 000 Miles) on clock.