Help! Oil dripping out.

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Please can any one point me in the right direction. After finally getting my car on the road since December. I decided to take her on a reuniting drive, which was nice.
On bringing her home today just before returning her to bed for the week, some one pointed to a puddle of OIL on the floor...
...on a brief inspection I found what looks like a small radiator fitted above the bumper in front of the radiator and behind the grill. It has a pipe running from is below the panel it's fitted to, which is about 3/4 of an inch.
Firstly if anyone could help with some advice.
Is this the Oil cooler, if so how difficult is it to replace with the pipes. Do I have to drain out all of the oil as it was only serviced on Friday.
In advance if anyone can help Thank you.

[iain1980]

Yes this is the oil cooler, and both of the pipes from it lead back to a 'sandwich' plate under the oil filter.
The pipes are unfortunatley nearly impossible to replace as the fittings on the bottom of the cooler sieze and most of the time removing them breaks the oil cooler.
When this happened to me with a 91 3.6 I had pipes made by pirtek and the oil cooler repaired by a company called arrow radiators in bristol, the total cost was about £250.
I later found out that the six cylinder cars dont need the oil cooler and I could have just removed the sandwich plate, pipes and cooler- had I known that at the time I wouldn't have bothered!
When the engine is not running most of the oil is in the sump, so you should only have to top it up after.

[ptjs1]

adsb,

What car is that you have? You mention a '98 XJS which naturally sounds rather confusing. Is this a car that was somehow sitting around for some years before it was first registered?

Also, you don't seem to have entered the vehicle in the XJS Register. I would be grateful if you could do that when you get a chance. Tks

If you can let us know what year and engine is your car (and perhaps put that in your profile signature), we may be able to give some advice re the oil cooler problem.

Regards

Paul Sinnott
XJS Registrar

[adsB]

Hi Paul,

Yep the car wasn't registered till '98 which is a bit wrong but there you go. I'm transferring it to a P/Plate now so it won't look so strange. I will fill in the register and put some pics up (when I get some) as she looks fantastic after a mild bit of surgery...

The car is a 4.0 ltr if that helps with the Oil cooler.

Many Thanks
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[almcl]

I had the same thing happen on my 4.0 a while back. Never mind the seized fastenings on the oil cooler, the pipes were a nightmare to remove as well.

I replaced the oil cooler connection with the blanking plate and got rid of the oil cooler about three years ago. The oil pressure has been fine since (perhaps slightly better than before) and I have an idea the air con is a bit cooler, particularly at low speeds, too.

There was an article about this in the magazine, although I am not sure if the archive is up to that point yet.

[ptjs1]

Ads,

I'll be interested to hear about the car - how it managed to stay unregistered until 1998 - fascinating! Leave it on the original plate - it's the only S registered XJS on the road!

As regards the oil leak - are you sure it's coming from the oil cooler or oil cooler pipe? Other causes could be a sump plug leak, loose or damaged oil filter. Is it definitely engine oil? It's certainly worth a good investigation as it could be something expensive or soemthing very cheap!

I also had an oil cooler prob. Mine started leaking at the pipe joint with the cooler. As others have said, there's a 99.9% chance that the boss thread in the cooler will strip when you try and disconnect the pipe. I was luckier than Al, I managed to get it all out quite easily.

I decided to replace the cooler, working on the basis that if Jaguar felt it necessary to fit one so should I. (I also think the cooling fins on my water rad are a bit marginal, so want all the help I can get to protect the engine) I know that many owners have successfully blanked off the coller with no ill effects so I guess it's just a matter of choice.

If it is the cooler and you need to replace it, then West Kent Jags can be very good on supplying the original spec cooler from the same manufactuer at about 50% of the Jaguar price.

Do let us know how you get one.

Paul

[BigCatXJS]

I have heard that the oil cooler may be dispensed with on 3.6 and 4.0 6-cyl XJS/XJ-S's, but to be honest I would keep with it.

I recently had my oil cooler replaced on by XJ-S V12 (mandatory to have a cooler on this big lump!). I sourced from David Manners. Be aware that you may need to replace the pipes as well. If so, then this can get expensive! Details below for DM website;

http://www.jagspares.co.uk/Manners/CarS ... &offset=30

Thanks, Rich.

[adsB]

Thanks for everyone who has helped so far.

I now have the parts and I'm going to attempt this over the long weekend.

Wish me luck...

[keithmervyn]

The oil cooler burst on my 4.0 litre 6 years ago. It was removed, and the usual bypass pipes fitted. No problems since then, including a "heavy" trip up and around the Pyrenees and back to UK. I wouldn't tow a caravan though !! Good Luck

[adsB]

Well thanks for everyones advice and help. I decided to go with the Oil cooler.
Unfortunately while I was jacking the car up it slipped off of the jack and put a hole in the sump, so a small oil leak turned into a torrent, opps.
Anyone know how Exxon did the clean up...

[dhdove]

adsB

OOOOOOOOPS

I guess the lack of replies to your post is a result of shock........you must be totally hacked off - anyway, please accept my commiserations. I do hope that you manage to get sorted before too long - has the search for a new sump started?

V Best Wishes
Tony

[adsB]

Hi Tony,

'I guess success just isn't my style'

Seem to have had a run of bad luck with this car. So far I've had to have a restoration done, and my school boy errors have cost me a small fortune. Only driven it 4 times since I got it for my birthday in october. It's cost me even more than when I owned a Maserati!

None of this I saw coming usually good with buying cars, still she is a beaut now. (or will be).

Sump being fitted over the next few days, I'm just crossing my fingers now hoping that nothing else needs immediate attention. Except maybe my bank manager...

Thanks for your concern.

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[ptjs1]

Ads,

Sorry to hear about the sump problem - bad news!

Just a suggestion - as you've obviously realised, in order to change the sump you need to lower the subframe. Jaguar thought it was a clever idea to fit the oil pressure relief valve inside the sump meaning that it's normally a real pain to examine and replace.

Whilst you've got the sump off, I would examine the relief valve spring and turn it through 180 degrees if you see wear on one side. (it's not available new from Jaguar - don't know if anyone else provides one. If you can find one, then change it). It's not normally known to wear but it's a 5 minute job once the sump is off.

Good luck

Paul