Hello all,

Went on that 2 day cruise with the Eurotopia guys down the coastal road of California today, and got within 18 miles of Hearst Castle, and the oil pressure gauge went to zero! Then it came back up and went back down. It did this for about a minute or two, then just stayed at zero, and the engine cut off.

Engine was running fine all day, and even while the gauge was bouncing back and forth the engine sounded fine. no clattering or knocking or anything that would suggest it was low on oil. Pulled over, and some of the guys in the club did also, and the whole back of the car was covered in oil. One of the guys looked under the car and said it is leaking from the center of the car. maybe an oil cooler line? Or maybe it is leaking from the oil filter area. Not sure, in any case I am about 360 miles from home, so I will have to either have it fixed at a local shop, or rent a car, go back to my home and get my F350 truck and car hauler trailer, and come down and get it. Going to be a bit expensive either way.

Jim

 

USA car, so 4ltr, so oil cooler o/ring on the underside of the oil filter housing. Lots of threads on here about them.

Oil sender units do leak, rather common on here also from time to time.

Agreed, either way going to cost ya.

 

Thanks for the info, I don't know what I was thinking, but I was not 360 miles from home, only 150. And since I had not used my once a year 200 mile tow from AAA I was able to have them tow the Jaguar and me home yesterday. That saved me some $$$. I have a mechanic living across from me, and he agreed to check it out. At least now I can point him in the right direction.

Jim

 

Well, when it rains it pours it seems. It was not the O-ring, it was this:



Obviously I hit something sharp on the roadway, but I never saw, or heard anything hit the car, so I do not know what it was. All I know is that now I need a oil pan, and have to pay my mechanic to remove the engine and do the repair. At least I got to enjoy it for five weeks before it did this, I have not been able to enjoy the XJ-S much in the three weeks I have had it. However, that should change tomorrow or Wednesday as I will bring it home so my mechanic can work on the XJ6.

Jim

 

Ouch! It might be worth bodging some kind of temporary patch on there to let you fill it up with oil and run it so that you know what you are dealing with.

 

What a lousy way to end a fun ride! Great that you made it back home without much cost. Unusual damage there. +1 Norri's comment, you must find out if all is still ok internally since it had no oil for a time, then shut itself off. In the meantime have fun in the XJ-S!

 

Might not be a bad idea to try and patch it and start it, but, the engine made no death rattle, or knocking before it shut off. I think it was shut down by the computer as a precaution.

Jim

 

I would try the patch and not trust the computer to prevent damage.

 

The best thing is to drop the pan and have a look. If nothing looks amiss, you might remove the fuse for the fuel pump and the sparkplugs and first turn it over with a breaker bar on the crank in front to feel for any resistance or crunchiness. If that feels smooth then maybe crank with starter still not plugs or Fuel pump. Look carefully around the running gear for reports of contact from this now missing bit of pan.

I'm not where I can assess my JTIS but you may but able the drop the front cross member and steering rack and a few more goodies to get the pan out.

Second thing a good machine shop can take a piece of similar billet and make a very good patch, v groove it and weld it in so as to be as good as new. I once had an industrial firm repair a cast E-type water pump impellor and balance it and it ran well after I sold it on. At the time I did not know I could get a bearing shaft a seal kit for $35 bucks either and rebuild my pump in a half hour.

Which ever way the pan is removable, a new one is the best way, but a repair may be a bit cheaper and if done correctly just as good.

Best wishes on finding no additional issues and a return to service.

Cheers Robert

My first E-type had a horribly unreliable and intermittent oil pressure gauge, so I replaced it with a hydraulic one from a TR and ditched the electric one. Those cars had no to brain to save the engine, only the nut behind the wheel to sort it properly.

 

Okay, if there was no computer to shut it down, then it is likely I have a seized engine. As it shut off by itself, I didn't turn it off. Will have to check it first, no sense doing all the labor to remove the engine and pan if the engine is destroyed.

Jim

 

A product called kwikweld is very good for that sort of repair.

It's half the price on Ebay than in the stores.

Here's a link to the companies website so you can see what it is.

KwikWeld | Quick-Setting Steel Reinforced Epoxy

 

Thanks, will see if my local Pep Boys has any of that stuff.

Jim

 

My friend, I'm sure that the poster meant well, but don't consider using that as a patch for your oil pan. Trust that $6000 engine on a non structural cement. Please don't do it. I'll have to see if there are any cast member opening on Duck Dynasty if you do !

DROP IT.... V GROOVE IT....WELD IT WITH ALUMINUM AND RETURN TO SERVICE. Or get a used pan and return to service. JB WELD has it's purpose, but this is not what they intend.

I once found it use on an aircraft engine nicely patching the case, after I landed safely due to a catastrophic failure in flight, it was determined that JB WELD is not suitable to repair Lycoming engine cases. Did I mention there was a big fire enroute to my landing.

So I have more than an anecdote here.

Cheers Robert

 

My suggestion was only to patch it temporarily to allow it to run for a short time to assess any damage before possibly wasting time and money on repairs.

 

I will not be driving it with the patch job, I have already purchased a used oil pan, and am waiting for it to arrive. However, I would like to know before hand if the engine is toast, or still working.

Jim

 

Jim,

Any progress with the damaged oil pan? How about the engine itself, will she be on the road again?

 

None yet. Still waiting on my mechanic to find some time to work on it. It is sitting in my driveway under a car cover at the moment. Maybe after the holidays are over, he can get a chance to work on it.

Jim

 

Drove it today! Mechanic patched it with JB weld and duct tape. Let it sit overnight, and then started it this morning. It did not leak, so I drove it from my house to his nephews house so they can replace the oil pan. It did not leak or lose oil pressure during the drive (which was only 2 miles). Had to put a new battery in it because the one in it was dead from sitting so long. (The battery was bought for another car, but I stuck it in this one to get it over to the house where the oil pan will be removed.) Needless to say, I am happy I do not have to buy an engine for it.

Jim

 

Congrats Jim! Great news.

Another testament to the durability and (near) indestructability of this tank-like engine called the AJ16. She'll be on her way, to 200k!

Still curious as to whether the ECU knows if there is oil pressure or not. Seems to be so, with the engine shutting off by itself and without damage. Obviously any engine that is running without oil will be destroyed in short time. Thankfully, not this time!

 

I agree. I am very surprised I did not seize the engine, as I ran it a little bit while the oil pressure gauge was bouncing around wildly, and then dropped straight to zero. Soon after, it shut off, and I coasted to a turn out on a coastal road. At the time, I thought for sure I had driven it too long, and it just seized up. However, I did not hear any mechanical noise that would indicate that it had, and now, I know why.

Jim