Hi there,

I recently drove to my mechanic (who are pretty reputable working with Jaguars, Porsches, Bentleys and Maseratis) to do a check on a recently purchased 2012 XKR (Polish market).

They have found an oil leak that from what they said is a core plug in the engine block. It’s located just above the oil pan, behind the alternator.


The part with the “ball” in the middle

This is from the YouTube video of a tear down of the AJ133 engine to pinpoint location better.


They tried sealing it 3 times with epoxy and “liquid aluminium” to no avail. I find it extremely strange as I thought a core plug, if leaking, would leak coolant.

Upon very close inspection they ruled out a cracked block.

The only remaining advice I got is that they can either drill a hole and seal it themselves or weld it, so it’s sealed for good. I’m not a fan of that, as these are destructive actions.

I’d like to ask for your advice: what exactly is this part? Have you seen a similar case? Is there any further diagnostics I could do or any recommendation whatsoever?

I’m feeling pretty hopeless about it now without any sensible options.

Thanks in advance for your responses and help!

Marek

 

There are blanking plugs used in the end of oil galleries but I agree that these are not usually referred to as core plugs which block the holes in the external crankcase used in casting. They are usually threaded for obvious reasons. If it is a threaded blanking plug, I don't understand which it can't be resealed. If it's not threaded, is there enough wall thickness for it to be threaded?

Richard

 

"epoxy and liquid aluminium" but not JB Weld! ..........Pity. Since it works on cylinder heads of flat heads, it should be good on engine blocks.

 

This works really well - I repaired my sailboat diesel inboard cylinder head years ago and still good. Important thing when using any epoxy stuff is getting the part(s) really clean:

https://www.leaktools.com/ab-epoxy-p...kit-white.html

 

Sailboats! The other noble passion.