Hi guys,

THERE'S SOMETHING ALIVE IN MY ENGINE...

2 months ago my thermostat went on my xk8, it overheated and wouldn't change out of 2nd, then 1st.... then there was a lot of steam, and what smelt more like rancid smoke billowing out of the front right (from the drivers seat wheel arch). Thermostat repaired and off we go. No great problem.

A few days later whilst crawling in traffic the car had a stutter, like a misfire which got worse over a few days until under torque-y acceleration the stuttering sensation became far worse. It was best described a slipping which was felt through the throttle pedal. Also, in crawling traffic the vibrations were so bad that I had to pull over to take the strain off whatever the issue was. It only starts after a long drive when it's got warm.

I went to a Jag specialist near Maidenhead (no names), who suggested forward clutch pack as the cause as I'd mentioned the burning smell from the previous overheating, he suggested new clutch pack to solve the slipping under drive (there are no symptoms revving the car in neutral).

Another garage agreed and with my dad's garage's assistance I fitted a new 2nd hand gearbox last weekend (easier than take my box apart, £300 for the box and no labour so seemed an easy solution)

I'd only done local driving since I fitted the new box, smooth changes, suns shining and I was thinking, 'great, this is what owning a Jag is all about'

Then this morning was my first long commute, first 20 miles no problem, then I got stuck in traffic.... the first stutter, then it got worse... By the end of my journey the XK8 was almost useless, any acceleration resulted in this awful vibration/shaking with awful noise attached. Faced with a slight incline on the motorway I was down to 50mph as the car couldn't pull itself.

Does anybody have any suggestions? Car is fine when it's cool, can take hard acceleration and higher speeds (77mph ) Call to a different specialist this morning suggested heat related coil/lead problems but after just fitting a new gearbox for no reason I wondered if anybody else may have experienced something similar?

Sorry about the essay.

p.s. 1 gearbox for sale

 

Im no expert but it sounds like the overheating could have warped the head. i wonder if there could be damage to the cylinders or pistons and when they get hot are loosing compression? just my thoughts

 

This evening I went to see if my throttle body might need a clean and found it soaked in oil... Air intake pipe also soaking with oil and it's wet around the breather pipe. I assume as the car is getting hot the engine is blowing oil up the breather pipe which is finding it's way back into the throttle body and causing rough running...

Does this make sense??? And could this have done more damage?? I will see if my plugs need cleaning later.

All pipes removed and cleaned in my white hotel bathroom... Should have waiting until I got home.

 

It would appear your engine is toast. All that oil where it doesn't belong is a good indicator. I didn't notice what year, but if a nikasil engine, 96- mid 01, overheating will destroy the lining.