X-Type Engine Woes

[fatboy69]

So, yesterday, my 3 Litre X-Type ceased to be a functioning car as the engine destroyed itself & left pieces all over the A46 just outside Warwick.

Initial diagnosis - by the AA & the garage to whom the car was recovered too - is that the bottom end of the engine broke for no apparent reason.

I was minding my own business when the dashboard lit up like a sodding Christmas tree, the engine started to make some awful noises & i lost all power - luckily i was able to steer the car up a side road much to the annoyance of a early morning horse rider!!!

Anyway i know have a knackered car although quite why a well maintained & regularly serviced engine with just over 64k on the clock would destroy itself in such a way is, at the moment, a puzzle.

So what do i do with the car? Initial quotes for a new engine, fitted etc, have ranged between £1700 & £4000!!! On a car worth no more than £2k....

Do i spend an initial £300/400 (or more) on a partial strip down of the engine to see what went wrong & what needs replacing, do i simply buy a new engine or do i scrap the car?

Fuel consumption aside i love the car & i will be reluctant to get rid of it however i dont know what do. I need a car for work as if i dont work i dont earn however to work i need a car - the usual catch-22 scenario.

One other irritating point - when the AA recovery bloke arrived he insisted on putting 2 litre's of oil into the car before he turned on the ignition.

And then he proceeded to relive me of £26.00 for the oil.......

A rip-off? I think so, particularly as he switched the engine on, & straight off again, before telling me that engine was broken!!!!!

Which i knew anyway!!

So, does anyone know of a reputable engine supplier in the Gloucester area from whom i might be able to get a good deal on a new engine?

Also does anyone with a knowledge of the 3 litre engine know whether the engines have a reputation for destroying themselves in such a catastrophic way?

Any help, guidance or sensible suggestions will be gratefully received.

[fatboy69]

No unusual noises until the engine let go yesterday morning.

Running like a dream up to the point of destruction.

[fatboy69]

AmitG said:

Would it be easier+cheaper to scrap it and buy another 3.0 X-type of similar age and mileage?

Possibly however i like my car!!!

[fatboy69]

jith said:

LordLoveLength said:

I'm sure I read on here that the engine was originally designed for transverse mounted applications, and that when fitted longitudinally that they suffered from oil surge - due the sump baffles being not ideal.
I'd suggest, looking at the number of these that appear on ebay with bottom end problems, that there may be someting in that theory.

That is right on the button M'lord. You get no warning whatever, just the oil light followed instantly by bearing failure which can result in a con rod poking through the side of the block.

As usual Jaguar not doing their development work properly. These V6 X type engines are desperately flawed because of this fault.

J

Exactly what happened to me. Driving along, in no particular rush, the oil light came on & that was it.

fked........

Total failure, uneconomical to repair & i am left without transport which means i cannot get to work therefore i dont get paid.

And not a sodding thing i can do about it.

Spoke to 3 car breakers today during my search for a replacement engine - all have got X-Type's & S-Type's waiting to be scrapped due to the same fault. Mine is in a very good condition yet it will have to be scrapped or broken up simply because of an apparent design fault.

If the engine had 200k miles on it then i could accept it - mine has got less than 67k on the clock. With a full service history.

Extremely pissed off right now tbh.

[fatboy69]

Has anyone got any experience - good or bad - of the National Engine Centre who are down in Cardiff?

They have quoted me what seems to be a really good price for the installation of a new engine in my Jag - cost includes collecting the car from Gloucester, a courtesy car whilst they have mine & a 12 months/20k miles warranty.

They seem to know what they are on about & seem competent on the phone.

Just need to know if they are as good as they sound. Id so then i think i will be using them.

[fatboy69]

melhookv12 said:

When did you last check your oil level fatboy ?

Weekly as it happens - last time was three days before the damn thing broke. I do a fair bit of motorway driving so always ensured oil was topped up.

Valid question as so many people dont bother. I do though.

Seems the general thought train is to scrap the car due to the cots of dropping a new/replacement/rebuilt engine into the car.

Gutted. Pissed off. Irritated that Jaguar were aware of the fault & seemed to do fk all about it.

Cheapest quote i have had is from the National Engine Centre in Cardiff - only thing is that i have never heard of them & i cant find anything out about them so i am a little reluctant to use them simply because i am up in Gloucester so it isnt exactly a five minute trip to see what their premises are like etc.

So does anyone know anything about them? Good or bad?

[fatboy69]

Thank you - i have seen the link & also read some of the claimed good & bad reviews on Google etc.

Wont go into detail for obvious reasons (never sure that some of the reviews on Google an be believed - just spend a couple of hours reading Trip Advisor to see what i mean) however a couple of local garages are sceptical that the work can be done for the amount quoted.

I am not mechanically minded so i dont know who to trust tbh.

Also i have not been able to source a decent engine for less than £800 so you can see why i am a little reluctant bearing mind i have been told that it will take anywhere between 12 & 16 hours (if not more) to remove & replace the engine assuming that it is a straightforward job.

Decided, i think, to scrap the car simply because i dont know what to do. Cant find anyone who has used them so i cannot get a good honest answer from someone not connected with them.

I am wary of being stung - not saying that they would - hence my reluctance to entrust my car with them.

I am not, in any way, saying that they are dodgy. Just reluctant simply because i dont know what their reputation is like.

Hope that makes sense - so please do not take offence.

[fatboy69]

My lovely, but still knackered, X-Type is about to be hauled off to the scrap yard due to me being unable to find anyone who is even remotely interested in fitting a new engine for me, let alone being able to source n engine or to get some idea of exactly what is wrong.

So - last call. Any offers, takers or comments before she goes & earns me £100 from the scrap yardm- a loss of over £2.5k.........

Gutted.

[fatboy69]

I called him although never got a reply so i have given up.

The damn thing needs to go asap as the garage owner now needs the heap moved from his site - which is fair enough as the car has been with him since last October!

It has been advertised on fleabay, gumtree & in a couple of magazines however it didnt sell so doesnt anyone on here want it?

I know that i cannot blatantly advertise on PH so please PM me for details.

Thank you.


MODS - If posting needs to be removed then fair enough however i am hoping that you will allow me to leave the posting on here as i am sick of the sodding car!!!!!

It just has to go & is too good to be crushed.

[fatboy69]

Eurojag? Really????

Quoted me £1550.00 + VAT + carriage for a 'short' engine with a 1 month warranty & £2k + VAT + Carriage for an all singing all dancing engine with a 2 month warranty!

Told them, swiftly, to do one!!!!

[fatboy69]

Sadly the X-Type now has to go as the long suffering garage owner has, politely, requested that I move, repair it or scrap it.

Looks as though it will be crushed as zero interest in it on fleabay or gumtree so final call - anyone interested in it?

If so please PM me failing which it will be off to the crusher on Monday.

Gutted.