I don't think that I am going to feel the same about any other car, but it is time to say goodbye to Duchess, my 1996 VDP. It is starting to leak quite a bit of oil and I have been given a $5K estimate for the repair (from a trustworthy mechanic), which is beyond my skill level. This is far in excess of what the car is worth and since we are looking at purchasing an electric in the not-too-distant future it looks like it is time to say farewell to Jaguar ownership.
It has been great pleasure owning this excellent car. Although there have been many fixes along the way (most done by me with the assistance of the incredible generosity of the members of this site), it has all been well worth it. Thanks very much to all of you for taking the time to share your time and knowledge!
My chief regret is that the car has many useful parts and is still a good driver, but it will likely end up in a junkyard and crushed for scrap metal. I don't want to part it out, because I don't want a car in pieces in my driveway. (Been there, never doing it again.) If anyone out there is looking for a project or a parts car, get in touch. I can't bear to think of this work of art going to waste.
All the best,

Andrew

 

Andrew,

Good to hear you have enjoyed the Jaguar ownership experience and found useful information to help on the forum.

Sad to think of a Jaguar going to the breakers because of an oil leak. Worth listing it in MARKETPLACE first .......?
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/marketplace-104/

Graham

 

Hi Andrew,

I'm sorry to hear your Jaguar has brought you to this point. Since I'm having difficulty thinking of an oil leak on an X300 that could cost $5,000 to rectify, can you share any details of the mechanic's diagnosis? Perhaps one of our members in your area may be interested in taking on the project.

Cheers,

Don

 

Hi Don and Graham,

Thanks for the link to the marketplace, Graham and to both of you for your responses.

My wife took the Jag in and what I have is that the "leak appears to be coming from the timing gasket" and the repair would involve "taking the head off, planing and new bolts, timing belt, etc." They also said that this job generally has to be done at the dealer. That is all the information I have.

Andrew

 

Hi Andrew,

Oil leaking from the timing cover gasket suggests that the front crankshaft oil seal needs to be replaced. While this is an involved job, the head does not typically need to be removed. Also, your Jaguar engine has timing chains rather than a belt, so while this mechanic may be trustworthy, he may not know Jaguar engines well enough to assess the real issue and provide you with an accurate estimate. Is there another shop in your area that specializes in Jaguars or European vehicles where you could get a second opinion?

Cheers,

Don

 

I hope that you can find a good mechanic nearby who can do the repair at a reasonable price. My own XJ6 is leaking a bit from the timing case which I'm keeping an eye on. I had a '94 Cadillac STS that I bought a couple of years old.. It developed a nasty oil leak from the front and rear crankshaft seals. It was messy and would drip on the exhaust pipe and smell pretty bad. The sideways V8 would have to be pulled along with the subframe, then flipped over to pull the oil pan. Quite a job, and not worth it financially on that twelve year old car.

Unfortunately the high cost of labor needed in some repairs makes them unfeasible. DIY keeps the costs down to a manageable level but sometimes the job is just too much for the non professional mechanic owner. I suppose that it is the fact that the costs are unrecoverable if the car needs to be sold or is totalled out in a collision. If it was an E-Type almost any expenditure can be justified by the current high values, although there was a time when many run down E s were either scrapped or left to rot in sheds or worse, out in the elements. This is the dilemma of the old car ownership hobby. It can also be the amount of time needed to complete the DIY repair. As a non professional it takes me a bit of juggling to get the car set up in position to start the repair. Personally I am currently quite involved in some extensive property repair projects and I haven't done any work on my hobby cars since last summer.

I guess the question is, "what you will select to replace the car with?". Comparison of the price of repair against the cost of the replacement car will tell the story. I would suspect that most of us own our older Jags as "hobby cars" and we have other everyday vehicles that we can rely on. Good luck and let us know what happens.

 

Ah yes, the old Vancouver Island Jaguar mechanic expert's diagnosis.

My parts car was also condemned by a "Van Isl trusted Jag mechanic". The previous owner was so disheartened that after throwing tons of new components at it he still couldn't get it to run smoothly. After fitting new injectors, FPR, ICV, he was told the only cure was head off, new valves etc etc so he sold it to me with a mere 60,000 miles on it.

A day later with a good clean out of the throttle body she ran like a clock. Was really a pity to dismantle it, but I couldn't store two running cars ...so she lives on in several crates in my friend's basement and I have a new set of injectors etc ...

If you can't do the job yourself, take it to Frank's Car repair at Government and Bay st. in Victoria and at least get a second opinion. Frank works on X300's all the time.

Larry

 

Thanks to all for your responses and advice!
I did call our local British car mechanic, only to find that they were closing down due to the death of the owner. We do travel down to Victoria regularly, so I shall try to get it into Frank's next time we are down. (Great tip, Larry.)

Duchess continues to run like a top, which makes it all the sadder somehow...

 

Andrew,

Coming in late, normal for me.

Both my AJ16 had strange oil leaks similar to what you have.

The 3.2 turned out to be the Top Timing chain tensioner gasket/o,ring, and new ones fixed it.

The R was the same, AND the head gasket front section, between the timing cover top edge and the cylinder head. NO way that head was coming off. I sat and scraped the muck away from that seam, sprayed it with Carby Cleaner Solvent, scraped some more, and kept at it until it was clean, and NO oily residue in sight.

Applied a thin bead of Hi-Temp GREY RTV, and "worked" it into that seam, I used my thumb.

When satisfied I got all sorted, BEER o'clock was called.

Next morning, fired it up and waited, COFFEE this time, and waited some more. 3 years now, and DRY.

3 weeks later, the 3.2 started the same damn thing, bloody pairs of Cats, drive ya to drink, so the same process was repeated, and still DRY.

OK, the usual suspects, Cam cover seals, timing cover seal, were all done earlier as a matter of known issues.

 

Tried an oil leak additive? Some of them actually work. I know they might not be recommended, but it's better than scrapping the car..

 

It's never too late for a bit of discipline.

 

Steve,

YES, but he really should have a chair if dealing with a BIG Cat, HAHA.