Question on Oil Leak 2012 XJ Base
 

I am having a small oil leak about the size of a nickel under the front right side of my car, the area is: 13.5" from inside of front tire and 19" back from the front bumper. No one can see where this leak is coming from?
It doesn't happen all the time it's intermittent after short or longer trips, has anyone experienced this and have any suggestions where this minor leak is coming from??

It's a 2012 Jaguar XJ Base Portfolio with 46,548 miles. Any suggestions or help will be appreciated.

Thank you.

scottjr1, to really find the location of the leak, you are going to need to pull the underplate off and see where the oil is leaking on to the plate. There is a big plastic plate (about 4x6 feet in size) that sit under the whole engine. any sort of leak is going to drop on to that plate and then roll around until it finds a place to leak out (the low point). Removing the plate is not too bad. You have 3 fasteners up front, 2 in the middle, and then 6 (maybe 8) back by the tranny. From there, you can drop the plate down and see where your leak is hitting the plastic and then where it is rolling to. From there, you can look up and hopefully see the leak.

Because engine oil is a liquid, it flows to the lowest point and then drops to the ground. While flowing, it can be blown all around the engine by the fan and from the speed you're driving. As a result, finding the source of the leak might not be so easy ... unless you put fluorescent dye in the crankcase! That, together with a blacklight and proper glasses, will enable you to see exactly where that leak is coming from. Use a dye specially made for use in a car engine.

There are lots of products available. Search Amazon for user reviews or check with your local auto parts store. Good luck!

I just got my XJ back from it's 6 year service (I have 93.5k on her)and I had had an oil smell when in the garage after driving. Matt at Hennessy Jaguar Northpoint found that the vacuum pump mounted on the engine that supplies vacuum for the braking system had a small leak and was replaced under warranty. However, I never saw any oil on the garage floor.

Wow 6 year and 93.5k how did you manage to get it under warranty?

I bought the Jaguar offered "Assurant Extended Warranty" extended warranty just before my original warranty lapsed at 4/50 and extended to 6/100k (6 years was added onto the 4 years original so good to 2021, but miles are total to 100k miles), for $3700 and have had more than double that in claims they have paid for.

Okay I have the Carchex Titanium Warranty until 2020 or 100k miles (which I will never reach) I have booked my car in with my local Jaguar Dealer so hopefully whatever the problem is it will be covered!! I checked the warranty and it seems to cover everything even wear and tear?

Good Luck!

There are many positive Carchex reviews on the internet, but are they real? I question everything that I read on the internet, even reviews posted on the Better Business Bureau website. I hope your experience is better than these reviews.
https://www.bbb.org/us/md/hunt-valle...stomer-reviews

Please let us know.

Well my experience so far with Carchex (which is actually administered by Assurant) on my last service with my Jaguar dealer I needed a new water pump and the claim went without a hitch they okay'ed it and paid it without a problem. My car is at the Jaguar dealership now for the oil leak so hopefully this will also go okay?

I hope so, too!

Update on my oil leak, turns out it was in the front lower control arms so both were replaced also rear transmission mount replaced both rear sway bar ends replaced and both rear toe links replaced. All was agreed with Carchex (Assurant) the cost was $2031.31 and all I had to pay was my $100 deductible.

Thought this would be of interest to all XJ owners that might experience the same oil leak problem. Also why I gave Carchex (Assurant) 5 stars.

Based on the position, I kinda suspected the hydra-bushings in the control arms but there's not much fluid in there to provide a continuous leak. Also, the fluid is usually orange or purple and so its hard to confuse it with regular motor oil.

Hey, Thanks for your reply, I did mention in my original forum that the leak was only the size of a nickel and it was intermittent, as to the color of the leak it could of been a dark purple color I am not very mechanical so hopefully this info is helpful for some owners.

Once again thank you for your response much appreciated.

One comment?
The factory Castrol oil has UV dye in it already. So all you need is a black light flashlight to look for leaks.
Same with the refrigerant.
.
.
.

Has anyone used and experienced this oil for 2012 Jaguar XJ Base 5.0L: LiquiMoly Special Tec LR 5W-20 this appears to be the exact formula required for 2012 XJ as the Castrol seems to be available to the dealers only??

Liqui-Moly is the only other oil I have found that meets the MC-925 spec. I have used it in my 2012 XJ 5.0 S/C for three oil changes with no issues or chastising from the dealer during warranty visits. I know others have, as well, as I found this on line in other posts.

Thanks Nedoerr I checked out RAVENOL GFE SAE 5W-20 and yes it does meet specs but is double the price of Liqui-Moly 5W-20 is it really that much better both are made in Germany?

I've been using the Liqui-Moly with no issues.