I noticed a couple of drops of oil on the garage floor after the car sat for about 5 days. I found seepage at the point where the rear axle connects to the differential. I assume there is some sort of seal that has gone bad or is this a really big issue?

 

Not a big deal, the new seal assembly was about £150 and I was charged two hours labour by my local Jag indi, £250 all in. Looked like an easy job compared to how it was described in JITS.

This is how I found mine.

 

Thanks for the advice. BTW, what is that orange stuff on the metal? Oh, I remember now, you Brits call that rust. Don't see much of that in California!

 

The local indy Jaguar shop says that a rebuilt rear differential will cost less than replacing the seals in the long run due to the extreme amount of labor. It seems hard to believe but I have used this shop for years (Mercedes before). Any thoughts?

Help!!

 

Change your indi.

Cheap option is just to change the seal, £32 Differential Oil Seal - JLM20326 | Jaguar XJ8 X308 - XJR, Jaguar XK8 - XKR | Jaguar | British Parts UK

Jag recommend changing the entire flange, not sure why, £168 Differential Flange Kit - C2N2581 | Jaguar XK8 - XKR | Jaguar | British Parts UK

My indi changed the entire flange kit in sub 2 hours without a lift, his lift had just failed so he jacked up the back of the car and did it lying on his back at ground level.

 

Here's where he may be coming from. The parts from the UK will be $768 + shipping. You can buy a complete differential on Ebay for $250 + freight with a 90 day warranty. He is recommending a rebuilt with a 1 year warranty. I will know the cost on Monday and will post where this is going.

And here I thought I would be doing the interior in a few weeks.

 

have you confirmed that the breather is functional?

 

No. Would that cause leakage at the axle seal?

 

Yes it can force the gear oil through the seal but in my opinion once it is compromised it should be replaced. You should also note that the part you need to replace was upgraded by Jaguar, the newer style C2N2581 "companion flange" has a redesigned seal that is made from a different material. Gaudin Jaguar has it listed for $325.00 MSRP and are selling it for 264.06 plus shipping. The parts and labor should be no more that $500-$600. I just had mine done two weeks ago. Note: I had my indi in AZ source the parts but have used Gaudin in the past and they were great.

 

It doesn't necessarily compromise the seal. Lot's of people have unclogged the breather, refilled the diff and never seen any leakage thereafter. Lot's of threads about this in the x308 section.

 

RE: The pricing d for the seal parts is what I am being quoted. My Indy says this is a dealer job so I will see where it goes from here. Keep you all in the loop.

 

Took the suggestion to find a new Indy and hit the sweet spot with British Car Service in Sacramento. A bit of a drive but worth it. They put it up on the rack, showed me the issue and quoted $700 for both side seals. They actually said the leak was slight on one side and I could cut the price in half if I wanted to wait to do the 2nd side. I figure do both now. Work gets done on Monday and am looking forward to having my baby back.