Hi guys, got the oil changed today and added the restore product, reports to follow. There is a small amount of oil seeping out of the L.H rocker cover, last bottom bolt next to the firewall the awkward one, needs nipped up I hope. Was foggy and cold after the test drive so will have to wait until Wednesday. Have to say it went according to plan and was not that difficult, will check for leaks befor bolting the alternator air dam back on. Was very nervoius when taking him for the test drive after changing the tensioners and the oil, only travelled about 6 to 7 miles just to get up to temp and check things were in order, which they apeared to be apart from the oil issue.
The gearbox behaved very well apart from one minor bump early on, so finger crossed it continues that way for a long time to come.
Will try and change the drive belt on Wednesday too as that is in desperate need to be renewed.
Pics later on with update, as its to late now.
Cheers,
Arty

 

Arty,
TEST DRIVE - that's major progress.
Good to hear it went well after all your hard work. Hope the leak is easily fixed.

Graham

 

Good to hear Arty!

 

Many thanks Graham & Norri, yes its a big step forward, but when you think doing nothing could well have destroyed the engine. Those plastic tensioners were probably only a few miles or trips away from failure. Thank heavens for a forum like this!
Pics from yesterday as promised.
First ones are of the front wheel well in order to check the suspension and inner wing section. I was very pleased to see it was in such good condition.
The second set are of under the car looking from the front to the oil filter, as you can see it is NOT a genuine Jaguar part, NOW it is!
Looking under the car, at almost 16 years old ( 16 end of this month ), its in pretty good condition. It needs a bit of welding near the seats area, the mounting area where I believe they normally get the metal worm, but quietly getting on with the job.
Thanks for all the advice and encouragement.


Arty

 

I've been under enough British cars (in Britain) to remember how they can be but it's a shock to the system to see under one now after a few years of only AZ vehicles!

 

Have a closer look here it looks like there may be an issue.





My passenger side was ok but driver side looked like this.

 

I hope you aren't working underneath with only the vehicle jack for support!

Graham

 

Hi RaceD are you referring to area in the same pic like yours? Just behind the strut? I will check again, but it looked fine on first inspection. I know this can be a problem area as well as the rear arches and examined them best way I could when I originally checked the car our when I bought it.
Fingers crossed........

 

Have a look at the small black area at the tip of the arrow in your picture, could just be a shadow but that area should be the same colour as the rest of the chassis.

 

Deliberate mistake Graham, was about to pack in as it was raining, and remembered no pics taken, so was a rush job after stands removed. Great reminder though and well spotted, cheers.
Arty

 

Ahhhh, after re tightening the last bottom bolt on the l.h side it is still weeping. Must have the gasket on incorrect. Will have to wait until the afternoon tomorrow as my cls is in for its mot and a service. Would notmally do it myself but my friends garage has a special deal at this time 100 for service and test, rude not too. Fingers crossed it passes, oh by the way its blue too, wish the 8 was the same colour as its lovely.
Gave him a bit of heavy right foot tonight and was quite impressed.

 

Arty,

Not necessarily caused by the gasket. These covers are known to crack and it's difficult to spot.

Graham

 

Nice work Arty, fingers crossed for you on the test mate

 

Good news, MOT pass and no advisories, a service all for £99.
Seriously good value, the foreman said the office staff had incorrectly quoted me, makes up for the £400 welding job they did on my sons Punto last year, you win some.....etc.

Arty

 

It was the gasket after all, sloppy work on my part! Could not see if it was in place for the header tank.
Took him for a drive this afternoon and after burning off the old oil, could not see any new leaks. Will check again tomorrow for any tell tale signs and leakage on the drive. I deserve a but hopefully all good now and the motor sound very smooth.
I used some black mastic to stick the gasket in the rocker groove and applied a bit of black gasket sealer over the short length of cover from top to bottom.
Fingers crossed, there were no cuts so should be O.K.
Will check again over next few days.
Cheers,
Arty

 

Arty,

Good news on the MoT.

It looks like the gasket has been nipped at the two places arrowed in red. Hasn't cut so should be OK if put back in the groove and refitted.



Is that a crack or just discolouration arrowed in blue?

Graham

 

Thanks for the input Graham, yes nipped in two places as you arrowed in red, I have cleaned and de greased the cover and gasket and re fitted and added a bit of black mastic to prevent it coming loose again. Waited til it dried and then a bit more on the front of the gasket where it needs it then refit, alowed to dry and then tested for about 15 miles. Will wait until tomorrow to see if there are any patches on the drive......
The bit you pointed out in blue is just poor casting and thankfully not a crack but well spotted, its a hole for the wiring to rest on at the back of the rocker cover so would not be critical for oil leak purposes, nice to know its in one piece though.
Thanks again for taking an interest.
Arty.

 

Going to try and change the drive belt tomorrow, and grease the idler and tensioner pulleys. Is it a straightforward slacken the adjuster off, remove and grease? Or is there more to it than that?
Cheers,
Arty