Hi all -
I have an oil leak that I can't track down. I did the valve covers and the oil pan gasket and the oil seems to be coming from above the oil pan gasket, but on the lower front of the engine.

The next move is the timing cover and crank seal, but I noticed the oil looks like it's coming from this little semi-circular thing at the bottom front passenger side of the engine.

Sometimes it'll drip and sometimes it'll leak what looks like a cup worth.

What I want to know is that semi-circular thing something that could leak oil in random spurts? a valve or something? or is it most likely the timing cover gasket?

here's the picture, it's down at the bottom at around 7:00

 

Well 39 people read it so thanks for looking! I guess i'll just go for the timing cover gasket change. Any thoughts are appreciated though! ...probably selling the car for something that doesn't require constant attention if anyone is interested.

 

Easy there cowboy- we are here to help, but sometimes it takes more than 23 hours and 48 minutes for someone to chime in.

If I had to hazard a guess (and I do) It looks like your front main seal- it MIGHT be a loose pulley though. You could probably do it insitu with the radiator removed, but may as well do the tensioners and slippers while you are in there. (water pump as well if you are so inclined.)

Check to make sure it the pulley is tightened first, as that is what is sounds like. (lots of oil sometimes, barely a little other times.)

 

Fair enough - forgive me I'm used to LS1 tech... it's so big if you don't hear back in a few hours you're pretty much done.

My car is an 03 would you still find it necessary to do the slippers and tensioners?

When you say in situ do you mean not pulling the timing cover and just putting in a new main seal?

Also - I say I want to get rid of the car because it's going from a headache free daily driver to a project car every 4000 miles. Is this everyone's experience? I don't mind working on cars or fixing them I just need a car that I don't have to do that with and I may have made a poor decision.

 

My car is an 03 would you still find it necessary to do the slippers and tensioners? In that case, probably not- 02/03 had the new metal tensioners.

When you say in situ do you mean not pulling the timing cover and just putting in a new main seal? Yes- not the professional way, but less time and $$.

Also - I say I want to get rid of the car because it's going from a headache free daily driver to a project car every 4000 miles. Is this everyone's experience? I don't mind working on cars or fixing them I just need a car that I don't have to do that with and I may have made a poor decision. In my experience, they have been the same as the other brands I have owned as long as you take care of the problems when they arise- with the exception of a VW Jetta- that is a NIGHTMARE. I have owned 9 1988-2001 XJ's and none of them broke the bank. (I do my own work though) Check the tightness of the harmonic balancer, and look for wear or damage.

 

Instead of guessing, you need to find out what that "thing" is by getting a better angle on it. Either crawl underneath or use a mirror.

 

I have an AJ26 sitting in my garage- I can go look and see what it is.

 

In my experience, X308 is not worse than ANY other car of that age. They DO need maintenance,....all of them. With me is more of a "hobby" than the daily transportation (I have other vehicles). It is unreasonable to expect that a 10 year old car will be "trouble free daily transportation". All the seals, hoses, and everything else on the car has it's "lifespan". At one point in time, EVERYTHING will need attention/replacement. There is no way around it. Except,.....buying a new car that's under warranty, and worry free! But if you buy a new one, and add up all the payments over the course of five years or so, you will find out that an old X308 is CHEAP to keep running. Even if you pay cash for the new one (no payments), it will be worth less than a third of the purchase price by the time it's out of warranty. That's a lot of money.

You could take an old X308 to the trusted Indy, and let them go over EVERYTHING with a fine tooth comb. Everything that is coming of age replaced, and pay for it. This cost, plus the purchase price of a 10 year old X308, will be about a third of the value lost on the new car! Still the good math, don't you think. Driving a classy automobile for less than 100 bucks a month (that's roughly what it amounts to!) is not a bad thing.

If the repairs and "constant attention" aggravates you,....get something else to drive when you need it to. IF X308 needs some work, it can wait until it's convenient for you. The major factor in deciding to buy another X308 "for my wife", was to have two identical (to the point) cars. If one needs work, the other one is on the road,....and there are other vehicles to use too.

 

The AJ27 w/ VVT also has a oil temp sender in that vicinity. Both the pressure and temperature switches/senders can leak through the internal seals.

 

Looking at my engine, it is where the oil cooler pipes go in for a S/C engine- on the NA it is not open, just casting.

Look at this engine for sale- you can see the red plugs blocking the ports:

Engine Motor Short Block Jaguar XK8 XJ8 2001 01 02 03 V8 4 0L | eBay

 

Thanks dsnyder! Yeah I did in fact get in there with a mirror as well as pull that little plastic piece off the front bumper for a better look before I posted, and it was still hard to tell.

Good point danielsand. I'm really horrified about the transmission going out, because I guess it will eventually, but even if I didn't have time to do it myself i'd still have only 13k in a jag.

 

Did you check the tightness of the balancer yet? There is no woodruff key, just a cone washer- so if it starts to get loose, it just keeps getting looser. I had this happen with my XJR.

 

Did you ever find the source of thus leak? I have a similar leak.

 

I was actually moving last week, so I couldn't order parts or anything, but I'll let you know as soon as I find out.

 

and yes I did check the tightness of the balancer and it seems okay - but it wasn't a thorough check

 

Also look at the balancer while the car is idling and see if it wobbles at all- it shouldn't.

 

To check for delamination of the outer ring on the harmonic balancer, make a radial chalk mark across the inner and outer parts. If it moves after driving, it's delaminatated.

It can be re-bonded ... about $100.

 

okay excellent thanks so much I'll do that.

 

You'll get a better view of the front & more space to access things if you take the electric cooling fans & mounting bracket off.

Then completely clean the area around the oil leak with a thin cloth or thick kitchen roll moistened with WD40-work behind the crank pulley as far as you can get to thoroughly clean the oily area.

Then start the engine from cold & let it warm up, and then see if any oil appears as the engine warms up fully & from which direction it's coming from. From your photo it may be the crank seal or the timing cover seal-either way the crank pulley will need to come off.

The engine will be alright to run from cold & warm-up without the electric cooling fans, but watch it doesn't overheat when fully warmed up without the electric fans connected. The X308 temp gauge has a 'dead spot' in the centre where quite a wide variation of engine temp will not cause any change in gauge position-once it does move beyond the centre position then the engine will be hotter than you think, because of this dead-spot in the gauge.

 

We are all a little paranoid about the tranny going out.

If you look at other posts, there is a way to replace the valve body (the part that causes the spikes in pressure that fracture the drum), during the normal transmission service. It should be cheap.

Another thing is,.....tranny WILL give you enough warning before it dies (delays is engaging D, or R, jerking, banging....), so once the warnings start you'll know what's coming.

And as I am as curious as a cat, I researched used transmissions for sale in CA also. There is a boneyard in Hesperia, CA that has several low mileage units, that are very reasonably priced. Buying one of them, and sticking it in the garage for later, might not be a bad idea. One could also buy the upgraded drum, valve body and all, and replace it on the bench with the help of the people on the forum. And when the time comes, one can have a ready to go transmission with all upgrades. Swapping the broken unit out is not a big deal. DIY is about one afternoon of wrenching, if one has the means of lifting the car high enough.

It all depends what is your personal reason for owning the X308. Some people fall for their beauty (and the disproportionaly low price), and buy them from the third/fourth owner that didn't want to put any money in it, and "unloaded" it in the various stages of disrepair. These people say "Wow, a Jag for 3K!? I'll get it!" And think they will have a reliable (and cool) daily driver. And as I said in my earlier post,.....there is no vehicle out there on the road with 100K+ miles that doesn't need some maintenance. "Pay now, or pay later" is the name of the game. Once all the gremlins that come with X308 are sorted out, it is as reliable as anything else of the same vintage.