Ok, I need the advise. The car doesn't care. I have been working on my 2000 XK8 project car. I bought it in June of 2014. I'll start of with this observation. It is running beautifully. The engine is smooth, transmission shifts well and suspension feels great.

Now for the bad stuff. So far, this is what I've done to the car.
1. New coolant hoses including valley hoses
2. Secondary Chain Tensioners, with new cam cover gaskets
3. Complete update of front suspension, including shocks but not springs.
4. Transmission fluid and filter change
5. Rusted floor panels fixed
6. Convertible top fixed (had the rams redone)
7. New thermostat housing
8. New coolant expansion tank
9. New water pump
10. Both oil and temperature Real gauges installed
11. Leather seats recolored
12. Convertible top painted and sealed
13. Small rust areas cleaned up with POR15
14. New battery
15. New oil pan gasket
16. New MAF sensor

I've done all the work myself.

I plan on having the car resprayed in the same British racing Green as it is now. I need help deciding what to do about the rear suspension and new oil leaks that have appeared (one leak was there from when I got the car).

Oil leaks. I have oil leaking from the replaced oil pan gasket. Also, there seems to be a leak from the oil sender unit of the Real Gauge. The bigger problem is an oil leak from the transmission bell housing. This leak as started to get more drops of oil than before. What to do?

Next problem is the rear suspension. I feels fine and I don't really want to take the whole thing out, but there are rust wholes in the rear subframe. I feel a little weird about leaving it after doing all the other work. What do you guys think?

 

John, a well done for all the work so far. The leaks are a seal problem, sorry. The one on the pan could be more pain than the others. So many over tighten those bolts and it takes the flat surface out of the sealing.
I would look for a good used part on Ebay for that rear sub frame, a Florida junk yard would be ideal, no salty roads.


Wayne

 

the rust on the rear sub-frame will only continue. With all the work you have done, you know the answer. Drop the frame, repair the rust and check out the all the other parts while you are there. If you do not do it, you will not be happy when you "must" do it.

 

I stand behind RealGauge. Send me a private email with your contact information and I will send you a replacement oil pressure sensor no charge.

 

That's a lot of work in a little over six months. Do you really want an engine oil and a transmission fluid leak to spoil the finished result?

1. clean off the engine oil and determine exactly where it's leaking before replacing the gasket.

2. transmission fluid from there looks horribly like an input shaft seal on the way out.

3. you 'll save a lot of time and get a better result in the end by removing the rear subframe to do the repairs rather than trying to work in situ.

Graham

 

The leak in the bellhousing might be the rear main seal. I was able to reduce mine to an occasional drip with Lucas Oil stop leak.

 

Thank you WhiteXKR. I want to make sure that the unit is leaking. It looks so from my visual inspection but I want to clean it up and run the car and see if it returns from that spot. I appreciate the offer.

By the way, the work you must have put in to make these gauges work is appreciated by me.

 

I think you may be right. It's definitely oil and not transmission fluid. Is there a fix for this without dropping the transmission?

 

Of course you're right. I love working on cars but for some reason I'm not looking forward to dropping the rear end. Oh well.

 

In a word-no. That's why I tried the stop leak. It definitely made a difference, but I would not keep it in the pan for a long time, as it has a very high viscosity. Eventually, I will drop the transmission and replace the seal.

At least two members have reported the leak due a oil gallery plug seal, but that will not be seen until the transmission is out.

 

Ouch.

 

Ok, I really need help now. I have a bunch of questions and hope I don't overwhelm everyone with too many questions.

I will be taking out the rear end and the transmission. On the transmission removal, Must I remove the catalytic converters or can the tranny be dropped with the exhaust removed from the cat back?

Getting the back bracket for the exhaust removed seems almost impossible at this point. If I drop the front of the exhaust and then lower the rear end, would I have better access to get to the hanger bolts?

On the the oil leak. It looks like my oil leak might be coming from the timing chain front cover. I've attached a picture. Very hard to get a clear shot but the picture is the bottom of the cover just above the oil pan. I think the oil is spilling from the cover onto the oil pan and Real Gauge sender unit. Has any had an oil leak from this area before?

Another question. When I changed the oil pan gasket, I found pieces of broken tensioner in the intake. Picture attached. The problem is, when I replaced the secondary tensioners, they were cracked but didn't have any large chucks missing. I'm afraid this may be pieces of the primary tensioner or guide. Again, any thoughts?

 

An update. I have the rear suspension unit out. Will be working on taking the tranny out this week. Rear main seal on order. Used rear main frame cross member on order. Wow.

 

Looking good!!! Nice to know I'm not the only one out there on this work

 

Your 2000 xk8 probably was originaly equiped with 1st gen secondary tensioners. Red plastic. Those were failing and probably replaced by the previous owner with the ones you replaced. Hence the plastic on the oil pan and pickup.

 

This is one of the tensioners I replaced.

 

I am working on the transmission now. Only problem I'm having is getting the top four bolts out of the top of the bell housing. I don't want to remove the throttle body to get better access, but I might have to.

 

Remove the throttle body and clean it while it's out. Thank me later.

 

Yeah, it looks like it has to come out. I didn't want to remove it because I had already taken it out when I did the heater hoses. It was cleaned at that time also. My memory was I didn't like removing the vacuum lines electrical connectors and coolant hose.

 

I like your trolley, can you say where you got it?