Hi Everyone!! Whilst touring southern Europe I am at present 'stranded' in Malta with a blown head gasket. There has not been any overheating however there is now pressure in the header tank, water loss and steam from the exhaust! I'm a mechanic by trade and have my tools with me. what I don't have is the resources to pay the local Jag agent for the work! Soooo any advice on DIY roadside Head Gasket replacement would be very welcome!!! i.e do I need special tools etc and what is torque setting for head bolts please?

 

Hi Warrick, sorry to hear you are stranded. I'll kick this back to the top.

 

Alldatadiy.com lists the spanner sizes needed, and the torque values/bolt tightening sequence, but does not detail the step-by-step procedure or any special tools needed....hopefully BRUTAL or one of the other techs on the board will jump in here with details for you!
________

1999 XJR

 

Many thanks for that guys! This morning I had a chat with my local jag guy in UK.. he says he has never had a problem with the V8 Jag head gaskets! he suggested the thermostat housing or water pump.. however would this account for steam from the exhaust and bubbles in the header tank... also a mild misfire? Is there a possibility of water ingress into intake manifold via supercharger etc...could this account for the pressure in the header tank also?
Cheers1

 

Hi Warrick, I'm not a tech, perhaps one will check in and set me straight. From my mechanic days, I would check the oil to be sure coolant has not invaded the sump. Depending on how the intercooler is plumbed that could introduce coolant to the exhaust through the combustion chamber. I would be wary of hydrolock if you are sucking a lot of water in that way.

 

There are several special tools required for the headgasket job. Most of it could be winged in a pinch but the one that concerns me most is the tool to hold the damper while the bolt is removed. On a '99 model year engine that bolt will be extremely tight and also held with a thread locking compound and then after the bolt is removed the fit of the damper and locking cone to the crankshaft requires another special tool to press the damper off and back on. On most engines there is a keyway that would help hold the damper but the jaguar V8 doesn't have anything like that. My second concern would be problems with the threads pulling out of the engine block when the head bolts are removed. That is much more of a problem if overheating has occured but then again what exactly caused the gasket failure in the first place as it is not a common problem on the jaguar v8. If that were to happen during a "roadside" repair I would consider the job failed and the car would have to be moved to a suitable shop with the facilities to install the special helicoils required to repair the block. Those concerns and the lack of available parts would make me find an agreeable shop that could either help with the job or at least provide a safe haven for the car until the repair could be made properly.

 

You can take out the crank pulley bolt the old school way and air chizzel the pulley off gently . Faulty water pump can cause the spitting and boiling of the coolant in the reservoir . But the evrything together seems like a head gasket . A pump cud of caused the overheating and blown the headgasket .

 

Thanks again Guys...got the Alldatadiy info, however any help with special advice regarding removal/replacement procedures would be welcome, (I have now discovered water in the oil!).

 

Thanks to christo's download I now have the info I need for strip and rebuild of head from engine. Next question I have is... when the heads are off, is it worth whipping the con rods out and checking piston ring wear? (the engines done 120000 miles tho' hasn't used oil before)
Cheers All.

 

then you wud have to take the engine out or lower the front suspension , it s a bigger job , not really sure if its worth it ..if your was running good and not burning oil or making noise i wudnt

 

Bit my tongue long enough, hopefully this makes sense to you.

At the end of 1981, I was moving from Florida to Ohio in my 1968 Pontiac Firebird conv., 400 C.I.D. 4 speed. Every tool I owned was packed into the car, which blew the head gaskets on a snowy piece of highway in the mountains of North Carolina.

I was able to find a small town gas station who rented me a bay for two days, found the relatively commongasket setin a nearby parts store, and was heading north the next day after pulling an all-nighter.

By comparison, that enginewas a tractor motor. No special tools were required, I had all sufficient hand tools, specs and knowledge,and didn't need anything else I couldn't find or fake.

ON THE OTHER HAND, the repairs you are contemplating are a bit more complex, to say the least. Not meant as an affront to your knowledge, but it is only basic as it pertains to your XJR engine. Additional information you have acquired looks good on paper, but repairs of that complexity would make me reluctant to attempt major enginework in a makeshift environment... and I know what I'm doing. And that's even if I had my full set of tools, required special tools, access to parts cleaning equiptment, straight edge to check for cylinder head warpage, etc.

I salute your moxy and appreciate your situation, don't get me wrong. I just think that sometimesdiscretion is the better part of valor, and that this is one of those times. Ten more days in Malta withthe engine scattered apart and no way home would make me wish I had considered a more discreet alternative. Best wishes with whatever you decide to do.

 

Howdie!!! Your comments are much appreciated..I'll keep all informed.
Cheers.

 

Hi Guys! I believe I may have found a garage here in which I can fix the Jag! So... more advice please??
1. Would you remove and check both heads even though only one may show a compression down?
2.Is it necessary to disturb the front exhaust to remove the head/manifold or will it lift off and slip back onto the catalytic converter flange?
3. What other goodies could I look to replace whilst I'm inside the patient?
4. Does the JTIS show a procedure for head gasket replacement? (I'm sure I came across it once...but it's gone!...this is like being in Narnia!)
Cheers!

 

Thanks to advice from the forum, I have today successfully removed my heads!
I am so glad I had the use of an inspection pit for this job..the bolt holding the crank damper was amazingly tight...I had to insert a lever into the underneath inspection hole of the bell housing and jam the torque converter from turning whilst pulling on the bloody torque wrench! Add to that the need to remove a cat. converter (a bolt sheared when removing the exhaust manifold) and I would have been 'up the swany' for sure!
However the heads are off and I have discovered a blown gasket at number 2 pot left hand bank.. into the water jacket. I am sooo glad I took your advice and removed the the right hand head also ...the gasket here was showing signs of failing in exactly the same place on number 2 pot on this head also!
Tomorrow I'm taking the heads for checking and rehab. I've not dealt with an alloy block before... is it possible for it also to be warped? Is it necessary to be checked? Could someone please advise?
It would be interesting to know what caused this failure, I've had the car for the last 5 years and it has never overheated and the water pump looks like new inside.
The good news is that after 10 years and 120000 miles there is no sign of any wear in the bores!!!!
Cheers everyone!

 

Hi Warrick,

Good on ya, mate!

You HAVE to replace the thermostat, even it you test or inspect it and assume it wasn't the original cause. Something was, and that's most likely.

The block is fine, no worries there. I have not yet had to deal with warped heads on these engines: if you have it checked and it has moved into the "banana" catagory, resurfacing the mating face may not be a sufficient repair. A badly warped head is not straight on the top anymore either, so the camshaft journals will now not be a straight shot. Have a good look at the camshaft bearing caps to see if there is any sign of wear or scoring.

 

Hello everyone.
Just over a week ago I completed the job, I turned the key and she started almost immediately...I'm not religious but...etc. etc.
I am so grateful for the help you guys have given me... this forum has sure restored my faith in human nature!!!
I have attached two photo's. The gasket on the right is the left bank... check out no.2 cylinder (the gaskets are upside down), I reckon this is the one that created all the symptoms, you can see the track from the fire ring to the water jacket. The gasket on the left (right hand bank) is also showing signs of tracking in almost exactly the same place same cylinder...and to think I was considering not removing this head...thanks again guys!
The other photo shows the 'special' tools I needed. I got a mate to manufacture the camshaft alignment tool from 1 inch square bar (on the right). The timing chains were tight on refitting so no wedges required. I used a screwdriver to lever thro the cam gear to prevent it turning (would have preferred the real tool to be safe). I jammed a bar thro the bell housing to the torque converter to prevent the crankshaft turning when removing the very tight crankshaft sprocket bolt!
The flywheel locking peg was purchased online from the 'Jag Enthusiasts Club' in the UK (very helpful people!) and the 10 mill hex socket for the cam gear bolts.
So, my reflections...yes, definitely not a 'roadside job'! and under vehicle access was necessary. The heads were skimmed of course and thermostat replaced, my hope is that the block's ok. I've driven around the island here to test out my work for about 100 miles or so since last week. No signs of water or oil loss or contamination (however I do shiver if I smell hot coolant or see steam...other peoples so far ...fortunately!).
Unfortunately some of the gaskets in the set I bought online were incorrect or incomplete and so I had to re use all the silicon cam cover gaskets etc. fingers crossed here!
So in a couple of weeks I'll be starting my 'delayed' 2000 miles journey back to the UK from here in Malta.
When I get back I am considering converting her to LPG... any feedback from the forum on this subject would be useful.
Once again thanks to all who have given me support and assistance through this site and if you guys from the States are ever in the UK I hope you will look me up!
Cheers!

 

Warrick, you are an undaunted and resourceful soul. Good on ya!

There are a few LPG guys on JagLovers.org, you might get some advice there. Just don't take what you read there as gospel without independant corroboration.

 

I just looked at the pictures of the gaskets...that was one down, one to go.

 

Warrick,
You mentioned christo's download gave you all the info needed to strip and rebuild head. The downloads I got don't explain anything to do with head gasket removal on the '99 XJ8. Do you have any additional helpful information for that car? I am also replacing the tensioners, guides, timing chains and the thermostat housing.

 

bumping an old thread.. 01 jaguar xkr head gasket diy help thread started today on the x100 board.. can you guys especially the techs and warrickuk weigh in... lessons learned.. etc..