Well I have to admit my guess is it is something I have done. First of all it had been leaking all be it a slow leak. Then the alternator died so I got new one and a new serpentine belt. I went the route of taking out the alternator through the top. Took out the air filter assembly and the air filter mount and that was it. Had trouble getting the old Alternator out had to hammer on it a good bit to get it out. When it came time to put the new Alternator in I tried to get the bushing on the engine mount to back up. I took a 3/8" bolt with a nut on it and tried to hammer it back with a 3 lb sledge hammer. Would not budge. Then a made up a "spanner tool" with a 3/8" bolt and 3 nuts. Did not torque down in it much (scared I might break off an ear). I If I cracked anything during this process I never heard it and if I did it was gonna brake soon anyway. Car cranked up fine when I pulled it back into the garage it looked like I had stabbed it to death. Oil everywhere. I did notice while I was working on the car that it was leaking more oil but had no idea how much. I want to say its a gravity leak but I did let it Idle for a while after I cranked it up. During the process I made the assessment that the old oil leak was a bad Oil pan gasket, but I'm just a novice. There a good amount of oil above the oil pan but I can't say it did not come from the belt throwing it up. It would seem that it is unlikely that is how it got up there since the oil pan is below the belt for the most part. Well that's all I have to say about that......Any thoughts?

 

Are you sure it's engine oil and not transmission fluid?

 

Yes, engine oil. Looking at related threads my guess it is related to the Oil cooler or one of the lines. Not sure yet.

 

The only oil coolers on the xk8 are the transmission cooler, part of the radiator, and the power steering cooler.

 

First thought is NOT to run the engine out of curiosity. Low oil and consequent minimal oil pressure can rap[idle do serious damage.

That's a huge amount of pounding for a component which should move easily once the fixing bolts items 2 and 3 are slackened and the tension is off:





Nevertheless, to crack the block does seem unlikely. Any chance you've disturbed/damaged the oil filter?



You need to identify the leak source and probably the easiest way to do this is from below with the undertray removed for better visibility.

Graham

 

There are 2 sending units that are in the oil sump that are next to the oil filter. There are also just below the alternator. My money is on you damaged or broke one or both of these when you changed the alternator.

 

First of all I am not receiving email notifications on this thread is there an issue with that feature?

Ok I'm gonna some something more stupid than I usually do here goes....There is some oil slowly dripping from near the right front headlight. Please note I said near....hard to to tell from exactly where and how it got up there. Could be just stored oil from the spill, and it is simply dripping out now since I just jacked the car up. However it did get up there somehow.

 

My suggestion. It maybe messy but what I would do is top off the oil. Then you get under car while somebody else starts the car. Then see exactly where it is coming from. My money is still in the two sensors. If you have a pinhole leak it can shoot several feet in any direction giving you oil by the headlight and other places. You can guess all day but you need to see where the oil is coming from.

 

Never thought of sensor, sounds like the best plan.

 

Glad Bob Roy mentioned it. That was my initial thought given the proximity to the alternator. On the 4.2L, one can R&I the alternator ,if positioned properly, w/o removing the fan shroud or hose. There was a thread regarding this procedure and it worked for me. The alt. pulley must face down and rear of alt. must face up. The air box and it mounting bracket must be removed to enable just enough space. No BFH needed. A search should reveal the thread I mentioned.

 

From memory, there is also power steering plumbing in that general area. Double check the fluid level in the tank (driver side) to make sure. The transmission cooler is driver side, so it is unlikely to be transmission fluid.

 

^^ Correct - the power steering fluid hose is routed right beside the alternator, and that metal tube-to-rubber hose plastic connector that tends to leak is right there as well....

 

I suggested both power steering and transmission, but he says it's definitely motor oil.

 

Just an FYI.....Would have never guessed all of that oil came out of a hole in the oil filter that was so small that I could almost not see it. would best describe it as half the diameter of a human hair. At first it looked as if it was coming from the alternator itself, but not even the British are that stupid. It was such a fine stream of oil that as it hit the area that the oil pooled up in you could not see it hit the pool area itself....It was a NAPA oil filter. If I hit it by accident it did not leave a blow mark on the oil filter....that is to say I obviously did something but it was collateral damage at most....Thanks so much for all of your input. Hopes this helps in the future....

 

What a grossly offensive and xenophobic remark.

This particular Englishman identified the possible cause in post #5:

We are an international forum with active and knowledgeable members participating from around the World. If you fail to understand or appreciate what that means, you have no place here.

Graham

 

Like you Graham I'm English rather than British. I'm quite broad minded so I guess the remark was an attempt at humour but can understand how others may take offence. Just throwing something out there - I do wonder how many understand the difference between England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. You may recall that we were recently visited by a Head of State from an English speaking country who thought Scotland was outside the UK! Now that's questionable intellect.

 

I'm not sure how the oil filter got punctured, but I wanted to mention that all oil filters are not the same. Cheaper ones use thinner shells, and NAPA is in that group. I buy Mann filters or OEM ones to be sure of the quality. NEVER skimp on filters, buy the best you know of, it will return the favor in the long run.

 

+1
I was about to respond to this objectionable comment until I read your post.

 

I don't think that's true, which is why I have a seized engine and a very large repair bill !!