Ok folks, apparently there is an oil cooler and hoses on SOME of our 2003 and up NA XK8's and all XKRs that, without warning, will split and spray oil everywhere while you are on the highway with no place to pull over.

In hindsight, I should have immediately stopped when the low oil pressure warning light came on, but I was unable to see a safe place to do so.

SO- I replaced the lines and the engine runs, albeit not as smooth and I am sure thousands if not 10s of thousands of miles were shaved off its' life.

I will drive it until I can find a suitable replacement- It had 130K on the clock, so I am not TOO sad about replacing it.

IF you have one of these cars, DO check underneath and replace them- they are about $250 for both and not too difficult to replace.

I'll be driving the coupe until I finish the refresh on the convertible, (hopefully it lasts?) then I will swap projects and replace the 4.2 with (hopefully) a low mileage one that I find for not too much $$.

 

The TSB is here: 303-S846

Take the VIN range with a grain of salt. Speaking in general, these hydraulics hose have a life time of 10 years I believe.

FWIW, my understanding is that oil from the pump is pushed to the cooler, then forward on to the head. In other words, the entire set of _four_ hoses is under pressure. So, it is best to replace all _four_ lines in spite of the expense...

 

I had to replace both of those lines on my 2004 xk8 in the last year, seems to be age related as I have 127,000 miles on my car.

 

Thanks Fmertz- I'll replace them all when I A: swap the motor with a good one or B: rebuild the bottom end. I wonder if I can leave the top end intact and just replace the bearings on the bottom end with the engine still fully built?

 

The thing that really got me was there was not leaking beforehand or signs of an issue- it just split without warning.

 

Has anybody here figured out how to address this and valley hoses with braided steel lines so all of these bits last longer and cause less worry?

 

I "tried". I contacted a semi local hydraulics shop and asked for a quote. I was told (for the one shop that actually was willing to hear me out) that they would cut off the existing rubber hose and associated crimp, and solder/braze/weld some other fitting. In other words, they would only keep the aluminum tubing and all the ends. Cost and associated delivery delays made this a non starter. The Jaguar parts are expensive, but not that expensive.

Other option is to locate the tool to do the crimping. I found a press and dye on eBay for irrigation/garden hose that seemed similar, but I did not take the plunge. The outer collar was not entirely obvious to identify. I assumed I could easily find a box of 10 or something, but it was a fail. Next step would have been to locate the actual hose with the proper ID/OD/oil/pressure, and then cut that to length. When all said and done, it is hard to believe it would have been worth it...

 

My '04 is outside the VIN numbers. Is there still reason for concern?