Common maintenance issues?
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Joined: Aug 2023
Posts: 50
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From: Indiana, USA
*Copied from a post I made on a similar thread a few weeks ago*
There's a good sticky for this topic already: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...d-know-112913/
What I can think of to look for at a glance off the top of my head:
Engine: Check for signs of a subtle misfire at idle or signs of oil leakage at the valve covers or on the VVT seals. If possible, pull one of the ignition coils and see if there's oil on it. If so, the valve cover gaskets and spark plug o-rings will need replaced. These AJ-V8 motors are stout and reliable, no real gotchas to look out for mechanically.
Transmission: Look under the car and check for any signs of seepage or transmission fluid leaks. The transmission pan is black with long ribs and can be found just behind the catalytic converters. If you see leaks around this area, the transmission pan and mechatronics unit seals will likely need replaced. Also check if the fluid has ever been changed, 75k miles is right in the questionable zone where if there's no record of fluid service, you'll want to have that done immediately after you buy it. These ZF transmissions are reliable, but lack of fluid changes is usually what kills them.
Air suspension: A decently reliable system, but can lead to a cascade of problems if early warning symptoms are ignored. If the car doesn't sit level, or you hear the compressor (located in the left-hand wheel well) run for a long time, there is likely either a leak in one of the struts or the compressor will need rebuilt soon.
Maintenance: This car is honestly decently easy to work on for European luxury standards as many components aren't blocked by random things (looking at you Land Rover LR3). For example, a lot of the stuff on the top end of the engine is decently easy to get to and because of the placement of the transmission, there's plenty of room to maneuver your hands and tools to drop the mechatronics unit to replace the seals. You'll find more info in the stickied thread, but those are the issues that can be easily checked off the top of my head currently.
What I can think of to look for at a glance off the top of my head:
Engine: Check for signs of a subtle misfire at idle or signs of oil leakage at the valve covers or on the VVT seals. If possible, pull one of the ignition coils and see if there's oil on it. If so, the valve cover gaskets and spark plug o-rings will need replaced. These AJ-V8 motors are stout and reliable, no real gotchas to look out for mechanically.
Transmission: Look under the car and check for any signs of seepage or transmission fluid leaks. The transmission pan is black with long ribs and can be found just behind the catalytic converters. If you see leaks around this area, the transmission pan and mechatronics unit seals will likely need replaced. Also check if the fluid has ever been changed, 75k miles is right in the questionable zone where if there's no record of fluid service, you'll want to have that done immediately after you buy it. These ZF transmissions are reliable, but lack of fluid changes is usually what kills them.
Air suspension: A decently reliable system, but can lead to a cascade of problems if early warning symptoms are ignored. If the car doesn't sit level, or you hear the compressor (located in the left-hand wheel well) run for a long time, there is likely either a leak in one of the struts or the compressor will need rebuilt soon.
Maintenance: This car is honestly decently easy to work on for European luxury standards as many components aren't blocked by random things (looking at you Land Rover LR3). For example, a lot of the stuff on the top end of the engine is decently easy to get to and because of the placement of the transmission, there's plenty of room to maneuver your hands and tools to drop the mechatronics unit to replace the seals. You'll find more info in the stickied thread, but those are the issues that can be easily checked off the top of my head currently.
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 972
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From: Northern Virginia and Hong Kong
I'd add that the 2005 X350's 4.2 NA V8 is both easier to work on than the 2011 L320's 5.0 NA V8, and NEEDS work far less often.
"That's all 'relative' " ..... of course.
If the both of them were 'daily drivers' for a person still active in the workforce instead of a retiree's substitute for wasting time and treasure on pubs and Brothels, I'd have to trade them out for a Dodge // 'Ram' pickup, or a MOPAR "Caravan".
Nothing much breaks or wears-out prior to 200-250 K miles on those. The steel just rusts away and leaves the good bits nothing to keep them off the ground and in any sort of fixed positional relationship.
By contrast?... Near-as-dammit 'all' aluminium construction is the X350's greatest single virtue.
And the most important one.
By the time it has become too gnarly // costly to maintain the fragile 'niche market' // low unit-volume, ergo eventually uber-scarce PARTS "AJ" V8?
I'm out from under emissions testing (25 Model-Year age, here) .... and can put any of several install-and-forget 'forever' motors in its place.
Then again, "forever" ....in the zone of "Old Age and Treachery" isn't all that many years, going-forward.
There could yet be a DIFFERENT flavour of "hand grenade" motor put into the L320.. so I'd at least get a NEW set of gnarly shortcomings to mess with?
"That's all 'relative' " ..... of course.
If the both of them were 'daily drivers' for a person still active in the workforce instead of a retiree's substitute for wasting time and treasure on pubs and Brothels, I'd have to trade them out for a Dodge // 'Ram' pickup, or a MOPAR "Caravan".
Nothing much breaks or wears-out prior to 200-250 K miles on those. The steel just rusts away and leaves the good bits nothing to keep them off the ground and in any sort of fixed positional relationship.
By contrast?... Near-as-dammit 'all' aluminium construction is the X350's greatest single virtue.
And the most important one.
By the time it has become too gnarly // costly to maintain the fragile 'niche market' // low unit-volume, ergo eventually uber-scarce PARTS "AJ" V8?
I'm out from under emissions testing (25 Model-Year age, here) .... and can put any of several install-and-forget 'forever' motors in its place.
Then again, "forever" ....in the zone of "Old Age and Treachery" isn't all that many years, going-forward.
There could yet be a DIFFERENT flavour of "hand grenade" motor put into the L320.. so I'd at least get a NEW set of gnarly shortcomings to mess with?
Last edited by Thermite; Jun 28, 2024 at 11:01 PM.
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