Hi all, in the last few weeks I have noticed a large puddle of oil in my garage after initial starting of my car. This has had me quite worried. I've only owned her a couple of months
It's only happening when coldish in the morning below approx 14 degree celcius (57 F) here in New Zealand. It probably lets around 50-75ml out I reckon creating a puddle 200mm wide or so.
The leak stops after 20 seconds or so when the revs come back down after initial start.

I removed the little cover below the oil filter in my 04 XKR and noticed drips at end of the filter, ok so I'm thinking a bad seal with the gasket being either doubled/not there/ not lubed or filter just not tight enough.
I tried to hand tighten it more but she feels pretty tight...well it seems to be. I don't have a filter wrench and it's a little awkward to gain much purchase by hand on the filter in that little space.

Time for more investigation, I set a video camera up with a light source under the car. Started her up and to my surprise the entire filter when initially pressurized unseated to one side and an opening formed allowing oil to leak from the oil filter seat face.
Please watch the video (if I can manage to upload it correctly)
Only a drip or 2 today as in the video due to the warm ambient temperature and I suppose an already semi-swelled gasket.
When the car is warm there are no visible leaks at all. It's currently 24 Celcius here or for those who use Fahrenheit 75 degrees.

I will promptly replace my oil filter with the new K&N that arrived at my door this morning.
I thought this might be interesting for some to see up close.

 

you know what? I'm glad you posted that.. I bought a OEM filter and changed my oil last fall and man alive mine kept leaking.. I knew it had to be the oil filter but I kept on putting more torque on it and re-cleaned the surface - it was a pretty good leak too! But for 2-3 days I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong :/

Anyway VERY frustrating I'm not sure if the surface is uneven or maybe a bad oil filter but I had to really crank down the oil filter to make it not leak (never had this happen on a Japanese car before)... but I'll try an aftermarket one next time..

thanks for the video - that was probably what mine was doing as well..

 

What brand of filter was that?

Years ago, there was a bad batch of oil filters. Maybe
one survived on the back shelf somewhere.

Best bet for gripping an oil filter is a rubber glove.

 

Thanks for the post. I hate climbing under a leaky car. Mine is dumping transmission fluid, not sure where. Probably going to have a shop fix it, but I like to have an idea of what I'm in for first. The video idea is so simple, but I never thought of it. Doh ! And thanks.

 

I've been doing my own maintenance since the late 1970s and have experienced just two faulty right-out-of-the-box oil filters that leaked from new. Attempting to tighten them rarely works because they typically have a compromised seal that will not function regardless of how tight you crank the filter down. The best thing to do is to replace the filter with a new one and claim a refund on your faulty one. By the way, both faulty oil filters I experienced were Fram. I put Fram on my **** list back in the early 1980s and have never again purchased another Fram product....

 

It was on the car when I bought it a few months back.
Funny thing is this could have been leaking for ages, (since last oil change maybe a year ago even) but as we are just coming in to Autumn or Fall as you USA folks call it the temps are coming down and I guess exposing this little nasty in the process.
The brand appears to be available in Australia and New Zealand only.
I just found same on ebay in Australia for $52.95 see link here Ryco Oil Filter Z692 fits Jaguar XK 4.2 XK8, 4.2 XKR | eBay thats hugely expensive even at our exchange rate! FYI today 1 NZ Dollar equates to $1.44 USD so this Ryco would cost me around $51 USD including freight to NZ from Australia!!!
The new K&N authentic made in the USA one that came from a filter supply company here in NZ cost me $25 + 5 freight. Or around 21 USD. Can't beat that I think and I'm pretty sure K&N are pretty darn good from what I've read so far. Race bred high flow etc...

 

I found this info on the Ryco company who are based in Australia.
They derived from Fram!!!! Ouch!
Heritage | Air Filters, Oil Filters and Fuel Filters | Ryco Filters | Automotive Filters Australia

Thanks for your input...this is becoming more interesting.
I will contact Ryco and show them my video and see what they reply with....should be a laugh, I'm sure they will say some silly person cross-threaded the thing putting it on or some rubbish whereby the thing isn't seating properly. lol

 

I contacted the oil filter company...guess what they said?
I quote: "We appreciate the video. Gives excellent view of the fault."
"It would probably be best to send that filter back to us so we can examine it and confirm the cause. If it is what we expect then you are best not to drive the vehicle until we can examine the filter."
"The most common cause of this issue is vehicle related and if it is that, any filter you fit can / will flex and if it flexes enough to blow the gasket you risk serious engine damage"

Vehicle related??? My mechanic thinks B....S to that.
I'm still yet to change the filter and oil as our weather here has been terrible.
Comments please...

 

Oil Filter,

Don't know what you guys saw in this video, but when I ran it, it was over almost before the starter stopped making a noise..../

 

The filter pressurizes and moves off it's seat then a small leak begins.
It's quite clear.

 

I've had no trouble with FRAM PH5618 oil filters, ever. Perhaps you happen to hit a bad batch...

 

Excellent video; pretty obvious that the face of the filter is flexing due to initial startup pressure, indicating thinner or softer metal construction. I'm guessing that other brands you have used have not exhibited this characteristic.


What alternatives have you discovered that are available to you? There are over 45oil filters that will fit your XKR, all of which will do at least an 'ok' job (exceptfor the territory-marking one under your car...). Would you consider a larger-capacity-but-excellent-fitting filter if you could get one?

 

I suggest using a quality filter. I use a Mann W7/197. A filter doing what yours is doing could lunch your engine. Be careful with filters, the XKR uses a different filter from the other 4.2 engines.

 

Do you use the correct oil? You say it only happens when cold and the oil is thicker.

 

Something I wanted to mention about XKR oil filters based on experience...the XKR always had a steady tappet tick at idle, not real loud but annoying. I had always used the same filter for my 2004 XJ8 and 2006 XKR because Purolator said they were interchangeable. When I went on the Mann filter site, they had two different filters shown for the two cars. I got the correct filter for each and found that the tappet tick went away with the new filter. This is significant to me. this means that the wrong filter was somehow restricting the oil pressure or flow or both to the cams. That's why I said be careful with the filters.

 

Trev. I buy from SNG Barretts in the UK. Approx £11.56 (for OEM) plus shipping. Far cheaper than local rip of merchants. If you need one in a hurry I have a few in the garage (Whitby ). Suggest it's changed quick smart.

 

Hi Gerald, thanks so much for the offer but I have a K&N that I got from NZAirfilters site for only 25 bucks, 30 incl shipping, swapped out 2 days ago problem solved.
I have had Ryco NZ operations manager contact me so will probably send the faulty one to him.
I inspected it quickly and to me the thread looked a little oval, as if someone has screwed it half on (being unseated still) then put some force on the filter body and bent it over causing the tapped thread to stretch and warp slightly / oval. Not sure if that's indeed possible and how strong the thread plate is to actually allow that. It could just be my 50 yr old eyes however but it just looked out a little. I could also just be looking for a fault and 'seeing things' lol
This could cause the problem I had I'm sure with less thread purchase on one side. I've had the car only a few months and would have assumed the issue show itself sooner...however it's been warm (barely lol) and the ambient heat I suppose could have created enough swell in the gasket to keep it sealed till cooler temps kicked in? I'm just happy I got this one off my car.
Thanks again

 

I only bought the car in January and unhelpfully there was no previous sticker showing oil grade.
I just replaced with a K&N filter and the correct Castrol Edge 5W-30. It's not so much when the oil was thicker - it was upon pressurization of the filter at startup only, maybe 20 seconds max, it warped to one side for a split second as per the video but had the gap in the gasket which seemed worse on cold days...gasket shrinkage due to temp I'm guessing. I think the filter thread is bad and seemed a little oval as if someone had bent the entire filter body before it was seated correctly...damaging the thread in the process. Its going back to filter manufacturer more than likely as they have been in touch. Thnx for your comment.

 

I did a little research, K&N should suffice I hope. We don't have Mann filters here in NZ as far as I know. EDIT: apparently I can get Mann from Australia...going to cost me around $52 not this exact model but I'm sure it would be similar, I found them for sale on a popular auction site here...this one was W713/29 and for Jaguar XK - 2006 to 14. I'm sure they'll stock the one you sate above to. Thanks

 

Thanks for your comments. I've only owned the car 3 months so have been researching as much as possible.
I found K&N to be fairly reputable with decent filtration and construction so found one here in NZ.
Our main problem is choice and availability.We are quite limited to suppliers. In the past I have used Ryco (the brand that failed here) lots of times and the filters have been fine. However in saying that the cars weren't XKR's!
As for filter capacity, I can't really comment due to lack of experience with the vehicle.
I will see how the K&N filter performs. I will never buy Ryco again for this car though.
I think it's the filter thread in this case being either A: faulty to begin with or B: someone has damaged the filter by bending it whilst partially threaded on and created an oval shape allowing the flex.