Hi guys,

2003 XKR 4.2

I finally got the block test and turns out I have a failed head gasket. Car runs fine but have a slight trace of oil in coolant (not foamy) and intermittent white smoke on startup. No coolant in engine oil. Since I bought it few months ago it had coolant issues, always drove it with Obd reader, temps run between 92 and 98 celsius.

I will do one more test and by pass the egr coolant lines just to be sure egr has not failed and mixing exhaust and coolant.




Im trying to find a full kit for the 4.2 to replace all gaskets as will have to remove supercharger, intake, throttle, exhaust manifold, and not sure what else. Is there a full kit. Any brands you recommend. For the head gaskets I think I will go OEM jag.

Also any advise before doing this job.

Thanks

 

Maybe check the trans fluid? A buddy of mine had a similar issue ( but not a Jaguar) and the trans cooler inside the radiator was leaking, mixing the fluids there.

 

compression test? surely?

 

Did a second test with EGR bypassed. Same thing combustion in coolant. Im hoping its head gasket and nothing worse. Compression test tomorrow.

I cannot find a full kit for all the gaskets that I need. Can someone please help. 2003 XKR 4.2.

This is the list, please let me know if I am missing anything while doing this job as I am ordering everything from abroad.

- Head, throttle body, supercharger, intake, valve cover, and exhaust gaskets
- valve stem seals
- valley pipes
Anything else?

Thank you

 

I have had big success in the past with the modern ceramic gasket sealers. Steel seal,K-Seal etc .In Birmingham all the black cabs were filled when new with gasket sealer by the cabies as they had a tendency to leak ...problem solved

 

Thank you, Pistnbroke.

Could you provide any advice if you have used this product on an XKR before? Specifically, I would like to know if there is a particular one that worked well.

Additionally, if the sealer fails in the future, would it result in any further damage to the heads or other components? I'm not concerned about the heater core or thermostat getting clogged, as I can bypass.

 

As long as it a modern ceramic seal go with what you can get

 

The fix worked for a few days, but eventually gave up. I will do the job properly, my only concern is that I have a warped block or something really bad as I have not seen any member with a 4.2 R that ever had a head-gasket failure.

 

It's more likely to be a warped head so, to be on the safe side, I would take it to a machine shop to have it measured and skimmed. As you will have the head off anyway, it's not very expensive.

Richard

 

Apologies for the late update. I removed the heads and noticed a minor warp on the right bank, so I machined both heads by 0.1mm and replaced the valve stem seals. Additionally, I replaced all gaskets, head bolts, and valley hoses during this process, opting for OEM parts which were not inexpensive. Thankfully, everything is now functioning properly, and the coolant level remains stable.

Given the vehicle’s relatively low mileage (117,000 km), I initially wasn’t concerned about the oil consumption I observed before doing the job, attributing it possibly to seal issues. I’ll create a new thread to discuss this matter further as I am still loosing oil.

I’m truly grateful for all the support received.