Hello to Everyone,
Have had this '06 XK8 for over five years with no engine problems. Last weekend I checked the oil level as an oil change was due in a few hundred miles and I was very, very surprised to see that it was over a quart low.

Okay I thought, the oil filter did come loose awhile back and leaked some oil out, so I added a quart and thought nothing more of it.

Checked oil level today and down a quart! This is with about 200 miles of driving the last two weeks; all in-town, stop-n-go traffic. Car is a daily commuter for my wife.

I check the garage floor under the car every morning for any drips...have been doing this for years...that is how I found the leaking oil filter....

There are no oil drips at all.

Car has 47,065 miles on it. Runs great, no smoke out the tailpipe when she leaves in the morning, back of car is not all oily or anything either.

WHAT is going on here??????

Appreciate any suggestions as to what to check.

Lannyl81

 

Check the part load breather to see if it's plugged. Use the search on the forum for instructions.

 

My '06 XK8 has the 4.2L engine and from poking around I say there is no part load breather; at least not the same as on earlier 4.0L engines.

There is something on the right side cam cover, just not sure what it is, still searching for info.

 

Hi Lanny,

I have an '03 XKR with 95k on the clock and found the same issues, runs great, no obvious smoking from the exhausts, no sign of leak etc. Had it checked out by a local mechanic who specialises in heritage Jags and XK8's who couldn't offer any suggestions, only that sometimes the dip sticks can be difficult to read and over a 5 minute period we got readings from on the bottom to mid-way up the hashes on a cool engine.

I appreciate that this does not answer your query but, this was 3 months ago. Since then I have not added any oil, just driven the car and each time I have checked I have the same range of readings?

Cheers

Steve

 

The Part Load Breather is on the front of the Left Side Cam Cover on both the 4.0 and 4.2L Engines.

 

Okay...part load breather on left cam cover: removed it and appears to be fine. Will check it with the engine running to ensure there is a vacuum.

Have made sure the dipstick is all the way down...so that's not the problem. I am going to change the oil and start with a good baseline and go from there.

?????????????????

 

Don't want to scare you now to quickly, but I heard once that some engine failures on the 4.2 engines where caused by a sudden increased oil consumption which could have been via a crack (or so) in the piston. You may detect this if you would do a leak down test (not a compression test).

 

The part load tube is not likely to block. The port in the valve cover should be checked using a 3/32 drill bit to open it up.

 

The part load breather has a≈4" diameter housing that is attached to the left side cover with a hose that goes to the throttle body.

I removed the hose with the engine running and the engine immedately stalled.

I also removed the "housing" and looked inside and it appears to be a diaphram of some sort, there is no 3/32" restriction like in previous years. There was no oil in the diaphram.

I re-installed everything.

Plan is to change the oil & filter and then monitor oil level daily along with mileage...see what happens.

If an engine failure is coming....just want it to come quickly before my service contract expires in mid Nov.

 

The engine breather system on the 4.2 engines is different as on the 4.0 ones. And also for the small breather (lh side) on the 4.0 cars, the orifice for the AJ26 ones is smaller than the AJ27 versions.

It is also swapped between the 4.0 and 4.2 cars, so the LH side on the 4.0 is small, and goes after the TB (so where it sucks vacuum), and for the 4.2 it’s the bigger rh pipe that goes after the TB. That is also why the engine would stall if you decouple this one on the 4.2, as you get a lot of air coming in the engine.

If the cause would be a crack in the piston, than it could be a classic issue where the engine would die because of lack of oil, not sure if that is covered...

So maybe better to prove now that something is wrong (possible with the leak down test), before your contract expires…


Edit: Please take note that this would just be one specific cause, of which I have only heard off! So best is to dirve a lot now and monitor the oil loss carefully. Maybe you have done lots of very short drives recently, not having the engine getting to operating temps, so you could have a lot of moits/fuel in the oil, that will evaporate after a good drive, just as an example of what else could be a cause...

 

I hear you loud and clear about inducing any potential engine failure prior to your service contract expiration date....

Best of luck to you and keep us posted on your efforts....

 

At this point I am monitoring the oil level daily; every morning before wife drives car to work. The quart of oil I added earlier this week brought the level to about mid point between the dots on the dipstick.....so far so good....level has not changed.

I will report back when there is a change.

Thanks to everyone.

 

Any other info on this point? I have a 2005 xk8 in the shop with heavy smoke on start up and has consumed 5+ quarts in 2000mi (10-40 high milage). I was going to suggest a leak down over a compression test. Car only has 75K miles. Part load breather is oily, but not blocked. Looking down oil filler looks clean.

 

Lanny,
I had a similar scare and I hope your problem is the same as mine was. My 2005 started using oil like crazy - a quart a week or more. But my driveway was spotless, the tailpipes clean, no smoke. I was due for an oil change, which I almost put off since I was adding so much new, clean oil to the mix. Take it in and oil change guy tells me I have a leak somewhere in bottom of engine, as he found some oil on the frame, etc. And yet I never saw drips. Figuring I would be taking her in to my indie, I thanked the oil guy and left. Continued to drive and monitor the oil. After a few days, I had to accept that the leak had stopped. The oil filter must have been loose but only leaked when the engine was running at higher RPM and the car was moving. The drops of oil would blow away, leaving a coating under the car that was not visible from a casual inspection. With the new filter properly tightened, all was good. Afterwards, I realized the light layer of dirt on the rear of the car was actually a fine film of oil mist. You did say the filter had been loose. My fingers are crossed that it is again. Good luck!

 

The car we were working on had no visible oil leaks and very sooty out the exhaust pipes covering the rear bumper. On further inspection, it consumed almost 6 quarts of 10/30 high mileage semi synthetic in 1642 miles.

paul

 

I see that you are in Arizona and it is my guess it is hot! Check you owners manual and you will see for that temperature range 10w-30 is recommended, if you are not already using it and I suspect you are using 5w-30 I would move up the viscosity. I am in Virginia and use 10w-30 in both my jags and they are at 130,000mi on each.

 

As I finally figured-out why I could not post any longer, thought I should update this thread.

My car is fine, the problem was ME.
It was not ME reading the oil dipstick incorrectly, it was ME not putting enough oil into the engine. For some reason I only put 6 quarts (US) in when 8 quarts (US) are required.
Hopefully I did not cause any engine damage by doing this for the short time. If I did, well....my fault and I will pay the price.

And Gus, oh yes I am using 10W-30 due to the temps here in the Arizona desert and how the car is driven (short trips).