Or did I just make a mess when I changed the oil in my supercharger oil last month? I was checking the SC plug to make sure it didn't come loose and noticed the oil/fluid in the photo. Is the hose leaking or did I just leave a mess when I changed the SC oil? If so what hose is it?

 

Something is definitely weeping... I would be more suspect of a coolant leak. Check your Norma connector (black plastic line) coming off the back your bypass. Mine broke off clean inside at the O-ring and took me awhile to find it (even longer to get the end out for replacement). Also check either hose on the induction cover.

 

Hi,

good question on what could be the reason for this. My guess is that you spilled a little bit of SC oil which has now spread out between the dark debris. I'm quite not sure about being leaked coolant - this area there gets quite warm with the engine running, so that any coolant evaporates leaving behind a (in my case white-pinkish) crust from the antifreeze. Oil however doesn't evaporate and stays there for a long time leading you to believe it's spilled just recently.

I once had a coolant leak in this area from the connector port of the heater feed pipe at the aluminium outlet pipe (see arrow mark). The heater feed pipe is one of the valley hoses, which runs from the outlet pipe alongside the RH side of the valley. What I experienced was that all coolant which was leaking is sprayed all over the place in that area in front of the supercharger due to the airflow coming from the car front. Due to the engine heat the coolant evaporated leaving behind hundreds of tiny white speckles from the antifreeze (mainly precipitated on the front side of the coolant inlet hose, red mark).

By the way - why is your engine coolant inlet hose (the big one which disappears below the supercharger and runs into the middle of the engine block and which I marked red) covered whitish? Or is it just because of an unfavorable camera angle?

But back to your initial concern: I recommend cleaning that area, taking the car out for some drives and look if there's anything reappearing.

Best regards, Alexander

 

Hey xjr, is it possible there could be weeping from the snout? I'd also snug (not wrench) the plate bolts to be sure they aren't the culprit along with xjr's cleaning and driving recommendation.

 

I wiped it clean as suggested. I drove it 450 miles from San Diego to Sedona and when I checked once the engine cooled off there was more oil there than ever before. When I changed the supercharger oil a month ago I left the plug out for a while to make sure I didn't put in too much oil. It runs great and the supercharger works fine. Weird!

 

Hi all together,

@Highhorse: Yea, definitely could also be weeping from the snout. Even though it's hard to imagine since the bolts are lockthreaded. But good idea to wrench them carefully down if accessible. The torques for the front plate bolts is 20 NM and a external torx nut size E10 is the right way to go.

@SteveW: Damn....and it's oil? Or is it just some kind of fluid? Did you rub it between the fingers and it felt oily? Can you post a picture of that area? Where is it wet now - same area? Is it a puddle or just a thin wet film on the surfaces?

It's quite hard to imagine how any oil from the filler point gets on top of the supercharger while driving. Even if you spilled some during filling, it would've run into the V and never get anywhere else when driving.
Do you see any oily traces around the filler point? Should be quite possible to monitor, since you can clean the front plate around the filler point throughly with some brake cleaner and a (tooth) brush so you can see any changes/traces after driving.
That's how I narrowed down a tiny leak from the waterpump alongside the front cover of the engine.

What about engine coolant and oil level? Any changes there?

engine oil: One of the few possibilities for being engine oil in this area are the load breathers. Please check full and part load breather for cracks or if they're oily outside. It's imaginable that there's a pinhole at some point which is directing the oily vapors from the crankcase and cylinder heads to the affected areas. Next possibility are the cam cover gaskets, but I can't imagine that they're spraying around when leaking. And there should be some oil on the coolant lines and wiring also.

engine coolant: If the mess is as wide spreaded as shown in your first picture there should be a significant loss of coolant. And if it's not evaporating from the hot surfaces, then you should find any wet spots on the coolant hoses there too. Especially on the underside. Maybe a (developing) pinhole or leak from the short C-shaped hose which connects the aluminium outlet pipe with the bleed hose? In european cars this connection is a Norma connector - didn't see this kind of connection anywhere else than on the purge valve.

Keep us updated and fingers crossed,

Alexander

 

The puddle on top of the supercharger's snout felt like it was oil. It was still there the next morning. I called the Jaguar service place I go to and they are closed today and tomorrow. I'll give an update after I talk to them Wednesday.

 

The Jaguar service place thinks it's either excessive super charger oil coming out from the hot weather (103) or engine coolant. The oil does not smell like coolant though. I'll take it in to the Jaguar place when I get back to San Diego.

 

...but from where for either fluid?

 

Could it be that the duct seal between the supercharger and the V8 plate is bad? If it's got a small hole in it, and there's oil being blown through from something like a blocked PLB, it could be spraying oily mist out of there possibly?

You could try wiping down again, then wrapping paper towels around suspect areas like the hoses, said duct seal, etc. in a way that they won't fall out while driving around. Then do a small bit of driving and see what soaks up first where, and what color it is.

 

Looks like SC oil ....you're messy ;o)
Spray the area with degreaser and check again in a couple of days.

 

You are correct. The Jaguar service place saw it today and just like you said it is supercharger oil.