My '95 VDP 4.0L has developed an oil leak. It seems to be coming from the back of the block above the starter motor. I've noticed the area below near the flexplate has oil residue from the leak. I'm hoping that it's not the rear main seal. Are there problematic areas that I can check for leaks? It's very hard to see exactly where it's coming from due to the limited space. Are there known places to look for leaks? Any fixes?

The area of oil leak is pretty rare, I think, but I found a very similar case in another forum.
X300 OIL LEAK

Perhaps it may be from the valve cover gasket or the engine coolant outlet tube / hose / clamp . Less intrusive look at . Alot harder would be the head gasket

Thanks , Joe

my Daimler 6 ZF gearbox had to come off to fix a similar leak. Many hours' labour...it wasn't even the rear crankshaft seal, but a 20c O-ring.
A good mechanic will do the rear crank seal at the same time. there is a kit for doing the O-rings and crank seal, as you don't want to be repeating that job.

let us know.

Cam Cover and Oil Cooler bypass plate o-rings are the common ones.
I'd bet on the oil cooler bypass O-rings until you rule it out.

Just in case: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...l-pics-160138/

From what I can see,it appears to be leaking just above the starter,right where the engine bellhousing meets with the transmission. That leaves me to believe it's one of those dreaded 0-rings. Cheap part but all labor. Not looking forward to paying a few hundred $$$ for a 20 cent part,but I am getting tired of seeing oil drips everywhere.

I had a leak free car for about two weeks after having the oil pan gasket replaced but today I noticed a new leak back where the motor meets the transmission. I had a friend put it on a lift and it appears to be coming from a spot above the starter. Guess I need to bite the bullet and have these "O" rings replaced, along with the rear main seal.

A man with more experience then I named Vee had a suggestion of using foot powder to track the source .

A common and least intrusive source is the back edge of the valve cover as the gasket forms 2 separate " D " s that point down into the head .

If you place your fingers behind there without removing the valve cover you may find the 2 " D "s may have pushed out or if they have imperfect gasket factory molding requires a bit of high temp sealant to make up for it it the corners of the " D " s

As the gasket ages , hardens , and shrinks over the years this make up sealant may not be enough

There is also the issue of the vlve cover casting surface on the T seal seat becoming grainy and not smooth , but sealant after smoothing

There was some discussion of someone putting extra washers under the valve cover bolts to shim the cover down lower and giving the gasket more pinch .

There is a Jaguar TSB that specifies a torque value and pattern but in reality they are shouldered bolts and they will stop at a certain pinch

I had the valve cover gasket changed last month. I checked the back edge and it was dry.

I've dealt with the valve cover leak in the past but this one is further back and much more significant, small puddles instead of drops

So I had this same issue and took me a while but figured it out, eventually, when it started coming out a lot. Since I am no real mechanic, like a lot fo the people on this site, I really am unsure what it is called or what it does. On the driver side, there is a rubber ball like piece coming from the valve cover that has a few rubber tubes coming out of it. When you pull the cover off you need to pull that and that part is put together in two pieces and if they are not sealed properly you will get a leak. Mine was just "tired" so I had to pull it off my parts car to fix the problem. ​​​​​​​

It doesn't have one. The procedure is to clean the faces and apply a continuous bead of Hylomar.




The drain plug threads were stripped when I acquired my X300 so the only way to do a proper repair was by replacement. A leak from this joint is very unusual. More frequent is oil running down from the camshaft covers or from the crankshaft rear seal. Another cause I've seen is a perished rubber connector sleeve at the bottom of the dipstick tube. This rubber connector can be seen on both old and new in the photo.

Graham

Your're right. It wasn't a gasket but was resealed.

Is there a TSB for the "O" rings above the starter?

Turns out to have been the "O" rings, they crumbled when removed. New "O" rings, new rear main seal. No leaks for now (knock on wood).

Hi, I have 1997 xj6 just got it a couple days ago. Went to check the oil took the dipstick out and noticed a lot of yellow cream on the sides of it. What could be the issue? Please help me out. Thank You.

P.S. probably not the right thread to post the question, sorry about that.

Blown Head Gasket?

Well those are your two options.....blown head gasket or condensation.

LOTS of short trips and never warming it up all the way...could be condensation.

Lots of cream on the dipstick? Probably not condensation.

Pull the oil fill cap and inspect....what do you see?

Does the coolant look good? Is it disappearing?

I'd change the oil at minimum and inspect it for water.