My pride and joy is hemorrhaging oil which has been identified to be the engine seals.

I've also got a blowby problem that has not been cured by the can of restore. My intake filter is oil soaked. I'll try once more the tsb that involves the drill bit.
I'll buy a longer drill bit in case that is my problem. I am also wondering if my temporary fix for the part load breather hose is clogged up. I wouldn't be surprised if the plumbers tape I used is blocking the breather.

In case my blowby problem is not cured by the tsb, how much is a set of piston rings with all the needed gaskets, including intake manifold gaskets? If I have to go the piston ring route, what else should I change while I'm at it?
Part numbers?

 

Typically replacement engines are easier/cheaper than rebuilds.

What do you do when you open up the engine to replace the piston rings and you find worn main bearings? or worn cylinder liners?

The cost of a low-mileage engine (even a 4.2L) will be less than doing a worthwhile rebuild, i'm sure of that...

 

I don't know what MY your mystery car is but if you have a nikasil lined engine and the lining is damaged/worn, new piston rings will not help.

The engine disassembly is fairly complicated and bearing replacement can be as well.

There is a code on the side of your block for bearing colors (sizes) and a matrix for reference in the Engine Course 168 I uploaded in the large file area.

As CAMBO stated, it will more cost effective to replace with good used.

bob gauff

 

Huh, my signature has dissapeared.

This is a '00 XK8.

I'll try uncloging the breather hoses. It's a last ditch effort that hopefully takes care of my problem. The car performs amazingly well. It almost runs like new, save for the oil in my intake.

Oh, and I forgot; the car only drips oil through the seals when it is not running. I drove about 56 miles the other day and no oil was lost during the trip. It was overnight that the oil dripped out. When I checked the level, it still read as nearly full.

I will note that my part load breather hose is broken in two sections and is currently mended with a brass fitting and plumbers tape. I've got a new one which I haven't gotten around to replacing. Maybe that's causing the blowby? The blowby began when that hose broke and was mitigated when I mended it.

What are the causes for blowby? Will a compression test reveal if I need a new engine?

How much does a replacement engine cost?

 

By the by, much to my surprise, my throttle body is squeaky clean. I would've expected to find oil there, but that's not the case.

 

Rather than replacing the engine at the moment I would suggest identifying the engine block to see if you have a nikasil block. I will provide a link for you to know where and what to look for.

Link JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource
Link http://jagrepair.com/images/AutoRepa...sb_09_2003.pdf

In either situation I would up your oil from 5w-30 to 10w-30 I would also add to your oil a can of restore if the upgrading to the 10w-30 does not fix the problem.

 

I'm currently using 10w-40.

I'm fairly certain I have a Nikasil block, but I'll check to make sure.

 

I would suggest that you use a can of restore and see what takes place. Many with a Nikasil block have had success with it. Just a side note it is NOT snake oil!!!

 

Here's what I'll do:

Change my broken part load breather hose and use the small drill bit to unclog the orifice.
Change the intake filter, clean intake pipe and MAFS.
Change oil and add a can of Restore.

Report back with results.

I will also check to be sure that the R cam cover has the plate I read about on a few threads here.

Should I go ahead and get a compression test as well?

 

Do not operate the drill bit with a drill! You do not want to drill a hole in the plate below the clog.

 

Hand operated, according to the TSB.