Dear all,

I unfortunately have a situation where my car overheated after coming off the highway. The thermostat dropped to 0 and then began to shudder. After dragging it to the dealer, they want 2500 dollars to strip it down and find out exactly what caused the overheat and if the head gasket is intact or if this is a valve issue.
Preliminary: It looks like one cylinder has no pressure, which is why it will turn over and run but sounds awful. and another is 100 psi down.

Apparently one numbnut disconnected the low coolant sensor according to the dealer as apparently it was showing low coolant when plugged in.

Since I have to leave the USA in 6 months, it's not all that worth it to replace the engine since it will add up to the value of the vehicle.

Warranty people don't accept liability since the fluids were not at the proper level.

Any advice here since I can't really afford to write this off as a 15 thousand dollar mistake?

I am in your debt.

 

Sounds like a blown headgasket or warped head.

If you had a warranty I would get a lawyer and see what he says. Most of those aftermarket warranties are junk but they have no way of knowing if fluids were below normal levels. You would have lost a bunch when the headgasket went anyhow. At the least you should get your $$$ for the warranty back.

Failing that not much choice. Replace or repair the engine, either yourself or have someone do it.

You also never said what year and model it was.

 

It's a Jaguar XKR 2002 as per my signature.

 

Agreeing with Auburn here...probably a blown head gasket...especially if you ever had an overheating event beforehand.

Valves aren't a common problem with this engine.

Instead of having the dealership charge you $2,500 just to find out what's going on with it, I suggest taking it to a local mechanic that you trust and just have them fix whatever may be wrong with it.

Dealerships are no place for something that major unless you have a lot of cash burning a hole in your pocket.

My head gasket blew 4 months ago, and after having the heads resurfaced, primary tensioner replaced (I already did the secondary's), gaskets, fluids and labor, I spent $1,700 and the cat now runs like a champ and just turned over 100,000 miles yesterday.

I can only imagine what the dealer would have charged.

 

Well, the dealer wants the best part of 30,000 to replace the engine.

According to their inspection, the valve seat on on the 8th cylinder fell down and made contact with the pistol head, leaving impact marks. Seems pretty safe to say that I need new piston heads as well. Now, as I said before, I only need the car to operate for 6 months but since it's a nikasil engine what would be the primary concerns that would make this inoperable? The liners?

 

Installation of good used engine by a well rated independent Jaguar mechanic is likely your best bet at this point. Probably about $4.5-$6K and you will be back on the road. Repairs will likely cost more and be riskier.

 

I thought 2002 engines did not have nikasil. Are you sure your engine is nikasil?

I have a 2002 XKR and everything I saw indicated no nikasil worries.

Sorry about the engine. If it were me I'd see what an Indy would charge to fix/replace the engine. I suspect it would be a lot less than the ***********.

 

If the car is a 2002 i would say it is not Nikasil

Link JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

 

I think you can find out if it is steel lined by the engine serial #- if it is, you may be able to just get away with head gaskets and rebuilt heads *different from the ones you have, they are junk* if the piston is not severely damaged.

I would remove the heads and see what everything looks like and go from there.

Indy mechanic is definitely the way to go here.

 

You have a non Nikasil engine, not that that is an advantage. Over heating is very bad for these engines and lack of compression and even worse sign ! I think I would source a good second hand engine and swap. Why not upgrade to a 4.2, a decent indi should be able to sort you. If your warranty covers over heats , the fact you are now short on fluid should not make a difference, you will certainly have lost a load !