www.jec.org.uk

Hi all, I wonder if anyone else has had this problem. had my car serviced and went off to France, half way through the hoiday checked the engine oil noticed it was low, tried the car in different locations thinking it was,nt level, after 2000 miles and returning home the oil was on the low mark on the dipstick, took it in to the main dealer who had serviced it, he assured me there was nothing wrong with the engine and I said why has it used all that oil, then his reply was the dont fill the engine up to the top mark on the dipstick as the engine throws it out,so I said its still used a lot of oil, he is now monitoring the oil usage of the engine, he filled it up with oil,( I thought wont it get thrown out ) and told me everything will be fine,got to take it back next week for him to check it out, the car is a 53 plate xk, 13,000, on the clock, my pride and joy,worried to say the least,is there any thing I can get the service manager to check to see if it is burning oil. thanks for your help. stanner

Hi,

I was at a JEC XK Seminar last year when David Marks commented that it was a fact of life that these engines do use some oil and as long as it isn't excessive this is not a problem.

Sorry, but I can not remember how much he felt was excessive. I have also heard that they will use more if run on fully synthetic oils with grades such as 0W-40 (ie Mobil 1). Do you know what the dealer filled it with?

I run a 2000 MY XKR, use 5w-30, it has 49,000 on the "clock" and uses very little oil.

David Marks is extremely knowledgeabe and if you get no joy from your dealer it may be worth contacting him, if only to set your mind at rest.

Good luck,

Steve.

Hi Stanner,
Mine is a MY00 XK8 which I have owned for just over 2 years and have done about 24Kmiles. The car has now 69Kmiles on the clock.
I guess I topped up with 1.5 - 2 ltr of oil between the two last 10Kmiles services and that seems quite reasonable I feel.
As Gasman mentioned, I used a fully synthetic oil, on recommendation of my dealer, the last time and feel it uised a bit more. I will go back to the traditional 5W-30 semi-synthetic oil as specified in the manuals.

Thanks for your help guys,it is helpful to know some of the facts about owning one of these cars. it behaved perfecly on holiday averaged 29 ish to the gallon and turned heads everywere we went, one of the highlight sof the trip was cruising around with the top down, cant be beaten, filled the boot with a fair amount of wine,and loads of room for all the luggage, very pleased with it to say the least,

and turned heads everywere we went,

Get used to that

Even Hackney Cab Drivers and Van Drivers pass favourable comments on my car

My 1998/9 4.0 XK8 uses no oil between services and is running on fully synthetic ,it is serviced every 5000 miles (6months as I like to look after the old girl ) incidently it is the original nikasil engine and is showing close to 105000 miles !!! all servicing and repairs carried out by the Jaguar Centre in Hull (great bunch of guys and gals and sod the expense!!)

Nik (East Yorkshire)

Obviously being looked after well, your P&J should give you lots of enjoyment over a long time to come yet

Hi All,

My XK8, early 96 Nikisil with 92000mls on, doesn't burn any at all between oil changes it is always up to the full mark and is smooth as silk, oil changed every 5000mls with Duckhams Fully Synthetic.

Sorry to disappoint, but as David Marks says, some do burn oil. Mine was down to 900 miles p/ltr, fully synth. Now back up to 1200 miles p/ltr on 10w/40 semi-synth. Last service "blow-by check" was 13 ltr/p/min. So everything else is OK. Cheers, Peter.