I had my oil changed by a corner garage that I have used before, and in the past the spot under the engine has been dry as the Sahara. The car doesn't seem to be burning oil as I check the dipstick periodically. I have them use the Castrol GTX with a OEM filter, and the only difference is that this time I did not supply a Jaguar seal. Any thoughts on this issue? Please cheer me up, my friends ......this does NOT make me happy!

 

Sometimes an over enthusiastic mechanic can overtighten the drain plug and crack the sump fitting ...hopefully this is not the case!

Larry

 

Thanks for the input. Any thoughts on how I can determine if this is the case? I am taking it back to the same shop to check it out as I do trust the owner, who didn't happen to be there that day. How much engine damage could this cause if it was the sump fitting?

I haven't driven it all that much since the oil change...maybe 50 miles altogether.

 

I always hated that the drain plug size was 30mm.

The wrench required gives some idiot the ability to easily tighten the STEEL drain plug to tear the ALUMINUM pan threads.
When I worked in shops that serviced the AJ6 and AJ16 engines we always had a M20 x 2.5mm thread repair kit for the pans that were damaged by Hercules the mechanic.

 

I would definitely take it back to the shop -and check the oil before you leave. But I would suggest you take a look at it yourself first so you can have an idea where the leak is. If it IS the drain plug, then you'll know how honest they are.

 

Hey, thanks so much, Jerry. I do trust the owner, but he had his one day off in a long while because they've been busy. The other guy knows the domestic and probably Asian cars, but I never see anything beyond those types of cars there. This guy was the same one who couldn't determine if the reverse lights worked and failed the car for its State inspection....a foreign car specialist passed the car with flying colors the next day.

I'm (rather) confident that the owner will be able to do what is right. That being said, I don't think I am going back with this car.

 

Maybe the oil filter is just loose or double gasketed?
Hope for the best.

bob

 

Thanks, Bob. That is my hope and would make my life easier.

 

I took it over to the shop today and the owner was there. He and the mechanic checked the seal, the filter, and the pan, and all seemed all right, and they showed me. Anything is possible, but I just can't understand how a significant leak could develop suddenly after they did an oil change I barely have driven it in the time sincethe oil was changed. I don't think they are untruthful; I am just not convinced they are knowledgeable enough to perform work on this car.

Would damage to the pan threads be apparent to the average corner mechanic, or is this more specialist stuff that people who have worked on these would be familiar with?

I just don't accept the "it's an old car" explanation due to what I have read about these drivetrains and no apparent leak since I have owned this vehicle.

 

The oil can get on the front subframe when the oil filter is removed. Maybe the residual oil just finished 'dripping' when you got it home?

bob

 

I have several thoughts to help muddy the waters. When they showed you the area, were there ANY drips or wet spots at all? If there were, what was their likely origin? Have you needed to add oil since? How big was the initial puddle? Have you observed any continued dripping on your own floor?
That filter is in an awful place and I can Never get it done without spillage.
And, does anyone know what they were thinking using the enormous plug?
Sorry if I seem cranky, I didnt get my coffee yet.

 

Hi Bob and Jerry...thanks for the input. They showed me under the lift that it was coming from "up there", and said it could be anything. I am leaning towards the possibility that you both suggest that it could be excess oil spillage because there was a good-sized puddle on the garage floor a week ago, but now it seems to have soaked into the concrete floor and nothing pooling.

I'll continue to monitor it and I think I might take it to a shop (250 miles away!) where I had the first oil change done because they gave me a clean bill of health on the car when they looked it over upon my acquisition.

No, you don't seem cranky, Jerry, and if you did, you gave me some great stuff to go on so it wouldn't alarm me. Bob never took me up on the case of beer that I owe him for the diagnosis, where should I send your's? (I don't drink, so you're quite welcome to it!)

 

Put a sheet of cardboard under the engine and have a look at it from time to time. That should tell you if you still have a leak.

Larry

 

Yes, thanks for the suggestion. I put a metal painter's pan under there to drive over. I'll follow up on this in a couple weeks and report back on this issue.

 

'Back-in-the-day' all the British car owners I knew put a large baker's tray under the car and 'straddled' it when parking at home.

All my old MGs, Triumphs, Jaguars leaked oil.

I think the XJ40 was the first Jaguar I owned that did not leak oil regularly.

 

Thanks, and yes, from the research I had done long before I bought mine, that did not come up as something to look for. But yes, a cookie sheet or the cardboard idea is probably even easier to drive over and cover a larger collection area.

 

Update: It does continue to leak oil. The drip is in the center, exactly 20 inches from the front of the bumper, and it is light brown. Oddly enough, I have been checking the oil frequently, and there is no noticeable change in level. Yesterday, I drove the car on a highway run of about 30 miles put cardboard down as Larry suggested rather than a painter's pan or cookie sheet, and when I checked about five hours later, there was already a pool on the cardboard of about three inches diameter.

Honestly, going from a well-maintained car that was not leaking / burning oil whatsoever to a sudden leak of this magnitude is suspicious. I check the garage floor regularly and it has been dry, The car had the oil change at this garage, a State inspection elsewhere that took about ten minutes done while I waited, and the car is parked in the garage when not in use. Other than the aforementioned 30-mile round trip highway run, the only driving I have done with this car were to those two local garages, and one 25-mile round trip to a store where the car was parked in the lot for ten minutes. I'm absolutely perplexed where the issue lies.

Thanks so much in advance for your thoughts and support.

 

The oil cooler bypass near the oil filter housing can leak but can be remedied by renewing the o-rings in the assembly. O-rings are inexpensive and the bypass assembly is secured by one bolt, so not a big job. You must however purchase the o-ring part numbers CAC5118 as they are a not a standard size.

here's a better description - even though this is the X300's AJ16 engine, the procedure/parts are the same.

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

Larry

 

That's been my suspicion too, that bypass. Mine went bad on a trip into Chicago ?. What a mess. I was however able to source some o rings from my local hardware store (sorry Larry, but they're holding up). You might also check the oil pressure sender, has your gauge acted funny at all?

 

Thank you, gentleman. I feel a bit relieved after reading this.

Actually, the oil pressure gage has been behaving pretty normally. My biggest concern on any older car is that there is an oil leak or issue, so I keep pretty close watch on that.

I think I will take it to a European car specialist for this, and keep these suggestions in mind.

Again, the advice is most appreciated! Enjoy your weekend (with your Jaguars, of course!)