...and I think I can help him a long way, I think I know what to say about a 4.2 that I've now had for some years. But what's to look out for with a 2011 5.0 XK? I seem to remember reading about water pump and cam chain followers? Are these issues only up to a certain VIN? Anything else a buyer of a 2011 XK should be aware of, compared to my 2007 XKR?
Thanks

 

The newest 5.0L XK is now over 6 years old and anything can happen. You can't trust the seller, and you can't rely on CarFax to buy a car because they report only events that are reported to them - and not all body shops and service providers send information to CarFax. Only you can do your due diligence. The 5.0L Jaguar X150 requires specialized tools and knowledge that your neighborhood independent mechanic probably doesn't have.

IMHO, the best advice to tell your friend is to pay a Jaguar new car dealer to do a Pre-Purchase Inspection using the Jaguar Certified Pre-Owned checklist. That will provide a written evaluation of the mechanical and electrical components together with a cost estimate of the parts and labor for repairs.

The X150 has an aluminum alloy body and chassis, and proper repairs require specialized knowledge and tools. For that reason, another PPI should be obtained from a body shop that is approved by Jaguar to do aluminum body and chassis repairs to determine if there was any paint or body/chassis damage.

Those PPI costs often pay for themselves after negotiating a lower price from the seller because of the deficiencies revealed by those inspections.

There are lots of old threads that address your question and provide specific trouble spots, such as the water pump, valve tensioners, e-diff, leather bubbling, etc. I can go on and on, but what's the point? As I said, anything can happen to an old used car. You can't tell a book by its cover, so do your own due diligence and know what you're buying. The best way to do that is with written Pre-Purchase Inspections.

P.S. I know that the OP is in Denmark, where CarFax and the Jaguar Certified Pre-Owned program might not exist. Nevertheless, the above due diligence principles still apply.

 

They still haven't solved the water pump issue, but having replaced several on my XF, I'm not so sure its the water pump itself, but something else. Regardless of the cause, just tell him to plan on a water pump every 25K miles and keep his nose on it (he'll smell the problem before he sees it). If he gets more than that, consider himself lucky, but otherwise, somehow, psychologically, it doesn't feel as disappointing like the car let you down when it happens if you know it's coming and have planned for it. Also, if its got more than 50-60K miles on it, then he needs to replace the front and rear coolant crossover tubes before they blow and clean the intake valves at the same time while the intake manifold is off.

I haven't yet read about the chain guides being an issue except on higher mileage, maybe 85K at the earliest and some believe they can stave it off for far longer with more frequent oil changes. That update I believe happened in the 2013 model year but I haven't spotted a post with a date. It'd probably be an engine date code rather than a VIN number as that's what we knew about the 4.0L changeover from plastic to aluminum tensioners in August 2001. I'll be curious if anyone posts that information.

 

As you will know from your 4.2, this was "right" at introduction which is unusual for most new models. The same couldn't be said for the 5.0 version which superseded it.

I had a 2007 4.2 and delayed updating to a 5.0 until the early issues had been resolved. As stated in previous replies, the water pump remains an issue on the early 5.0 vehicles.

Graham

 

I'm at 60-some thousand miles with the original water pump. I do think I'm getting some seepage from the stupid valley lines now though, just a tinge of orange on the torque converter cover.
Water pump fine!

 

Bottom line....You are still having the common coolant loss issues with the 5.0 engines....Weather it's the water pump or any of the plastic lines....it's still needs attention in order to avoid any catoostrophic event. The coolant is the weakest link in XK 5.0 ownership and chronic as well.

 

All these engines have plastic everywhere, it's not a 5.0 exclusive.

 

I have the '14 MY XK 5.0L NA. The engine as stated has seen three problem areas, water pump, coolant pipes and the timing chain tensioners. Jaguar uses a resin for the coolant lines that seems to deteriorate faster over time than other manufacturers, so the pipe and junction at the thermostat at the back of the engine seems to wear out. Broke and repaired around 67K. The water pump is a well known issue and the parts lists have been upgraded several times to replace the OE and fix the issue. I changed mine at 75K. As I neared 90K I took it in for the recommended service interval. It is a long list of things to change, flush and test. All went well but I had the mechanic listen and try to measure the chain slap of the timing chain when cold and hot. Almost no discernible slap. I will keep an eye and ear out for any change. The other issue was a old battery that needed to be replaced along with a bad cable.

 

Just wanted to weigh in. I have a 2011 XKR and have not had any issues at all other than with the battery. I have to connect a battery tender to it every few weeks during the months that it is not being driven. It's a pretty small inconvenience and the fun of driving it makes it totally worth it. I currently have about 40,000 miles on it.

Best of luck!

 

How much does the water pump job cost usually?

 

The last time I had it done at the dealer was under warranty, but the bill showed about $950, $600 for labor and $350 for parts and supplies but that was a few years ago. The most recent one I did myself and this time I'm trying an aftermarket brand pump (sometimes the aftermarket winds up solving OEM problems). This is actually not a difficult DIY job, a little "tight", but surprisingly really not any more difficult than any 1960's Chevy small block. Probably even easier as there's no brackets mounted to the water pump like there is on a small block Chevy. There are lots of cars out there that are much more involved to change a water pump (Honda V6 comes to mind). You can get one from Autozone with their "lifetime warranty" for about $160 or you can get one on Amazon with a three year warranty for about $100. If you pay the $300 for the pump at the dealer, you only get a one year warranty. You also need a little plastic tube and o-rings that go on the back of the pump. That little kit is about $15 at the dealer. And of course about $15-$20 worth of fluid. Altogether about a $160 DIY job and can be done in a few hours on a Saturday. Probably at an independent shop you could get it done for much less than the $600 Jaguar would charge for labor.

 

Back to OP''s question, Ive a few for him:

1) Is your friend also in Denmark?
2) Are there a ready supply of X150's where your friend lives?
3) Are there lot of experienced Jag Indy's where he lives?
4) Is he an experienced mechanic?

If I guess the answers are Y, N, N & N then convince him to buy a Peugeot 2008 or loose him as a friend

 

Hi Mikael,
I have now passed 180,000 miles on my 2010 XKR. For the 110,000 or so that I've owned the car, it has been relatively free of issues with the exception of the water pump (on number 5), and twice a clogged fuel injector. The 20" rims are prone to cracking on occasion, and I've had 3 but that's due to the streets of Los Angeles not the wheels. As you know when I first suggested to you that you take a look at an XKR over on the Pantera forum and about 48 hours later you owned one when you had never even considered it, these cars have a special quality to them and the 5.0L (especially the supercharged version) has even more of that quality. And at the prices at which you can get them now, at least in the states (low $20,000 range for 2010-2011), they're just a steal even if there's some maintenance to do. My car still looks virtually new, drives like it did when I bought it, and is still a pleasure to look at and drive every, single day, and I still enjoy it.

And by the way, after two years of issues with the fuel injection system we installed on my Pantera, today it is going back to carburetion. The FI would simply shut down after getting warm, and in the Pantera that only takes a few seconds as you well know. I look forward to driving it again next week after not being able to do so for the past 3 months as all attempts to diagnose the problem were unsatisfactory, and Holley's customer service at this point in time is non-existent.

Happy New Year.
Ted